Chương 43: Fifth Level of Qi Refining

Ye Chen found himself inexplicably threatened a new enemy at the Qi Refining Stage, and honestly, he couldn't help but feel helpless. But what else could he do? He'd already stirred up the hornet's nest. All he could do now was focus on improving his strength. Jin Zhaodi, though at the seventh level of Qi Refining, was still a loose cultivator at the end of the day. Loose cultivators, after all, learned a mishmash of various techniques.

They used whatever they could find, with little room for refinement or specialization. That meant their overall strength was usually nothing to be overly concerned about. Once Ye Chen reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, he was confident that he would no longer need to fear Jin Zhaodi's vengeance. As for time, well, it was on his side. He was currently in the safest area of Silver Moon Market, and there was no way Jin Zhaodi would come here for revenge. For now, he was safe.

But Ye Chen wasn't fond of being targeted. What he needed most right now were resources. The tenfold return from Lin Ke'er and Lu Jing's gifts, while helpful, were no longer enough for his needs. What would really be perfect was the fifteenfold return opportunity from Sun Ruoxin. That would solve everything. And for that, he'd need to find that old man, Sun Ye, and beg to be his disciple.

"Old man, you can scam me out of my spirit stones, but I'll get them all back with interest from your daughter." Looking down at the spoils from the middle-aged man, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.... Whether it was Ye Chen being targeted by hired assassins, Jin Wuqing's death, or Jin Zhaodi's flight, none of it caused much of a stir in Silver Moon Market. On one hand, the Mo family made sure to suppress the news.

On the other hand, such things were too common in the cultivation world to warrant much discussion. Cultivators died in large numbers every day for all sorts of reasons. There was nothing worth mentioning. Four days passed just like that. One morning, as Ye Chen sat cross-legged in meditation, a sudden light flared before his eyes. He had broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining! Feeling the surge of power within him, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile brightly.

In the cultivation world, only cultivation and strength were fundamental, everything else was secondary. Now that his breakthrough had been achieved, how could Ye Chen not be overjoyed? Moreover, the system's cooldown period for rewards had ended, which meant it was the perfect time to hand over the storage bag. A single storage bag was worth fifty low-grade spirit stones. With tenfold return, that would be five mid-grade spirit stones.

Five mid-grade spirit stones in hand would allow Ye Chen to go to Green Cloud Shop to find a master and present a more valuable gift to Sun Ruoxin. In the past few days, both Lu Jing and Lin Ke'er had been unusually attentive, vying for Ye Chen's favor as their simp. Lu Jing would casually rub against him when pretending to be clumsy, ensuring Ye Chen had his fill of benefits. Meanwhile, Lin Ke'er practiced her kissing technique with him once more yesterday.

Though Ye Chen's hand instinctively rose higher, only to be firmly pressed down by her, it still satisfied his craving. With all Lin Ke'er had given, it was about time to give her something sweet in return, or else she might lose interest. Ye Chen chuckled at himself. In the beginning, he was the simp. But now, everything seemed to have flipped upside down. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

As the knock echoed at the door, Lin Ke'er's brow furrowed slightly when she saw it was Ye Chen. To be honest, she wasn't entirely satisfied with Ye Chen. This past week, he had been wavering, hesitant, as if unable to make a choice between her and Lu Jing. The idea that he wanted both sides was something Lin Ke'er deeply despised. It felt as though she were competing with another woman for his attention. And it had been an entire week. Ye Chen hadn't given her a single gift.

Could it be that Ye Chen had run out of spirit stones? Lin Ke'er hesitated in her heart, wondering if it was time to give up. But then, her first and second kiss had both been taken by him. If she gave up now, the sunk cost would be too high. Lost in her thoughts, Lin Ke'er still managed to greet him with a smile, though it was a little strained as she went to open the door.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, what brings you here?" Her surprise was evident, but she still kept a slight distance. After all, the last two times, Ye Chen had caught her off guard with sudden advances, leaving her on edge. Ye Chen smiled gently.

"Today, an elder from my family gave me a storage bag. I don't have much use for it, so I brought it for you, Fellow Daoist Lin." With that, he handed her the storage bag. Lin Ke'er's eyes lit up immediately. A storage bag! She had been wanting one for a long time. With a storage bag, she wouldn't have to carry a bulky satchel around. It would make things so much more convenient. But as soon as she grasped the bag and probed it with her divine sense, her smile faltered. It wasn't as large as she had hoped.

Only half a cubic meter. It was smaller than Lu Jing's. Why? But then, Lin Ke'er quickly remembered. Though it was smaller, it had been given to her by Ye Chen. And, more importantly, Ye Chen had given it to her, not Lu Jing. This meant something. It meant that, after everything she'd done over the past week, she had, in some way, gained an advantage over Lu Jing. Her efforts had paid off. A smile slowly curved across Lin Ke'er's lips. Emboldened by her own thoughts, she decided to take the chance.

No longer holding back, she closed the distance between them, rising on her tiptoes to face Ye Chen, her voice soft and sincere.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, thank you." The first kiss had been an awkward moment; the second kiss had broken the ice. Now, there was no longer the same psychological barrier. With her body so close, Ye Chen couldn't help but notice the pure, almost innocent look on her face. Her lips parted slightly, her eyes closing as if savoring the moment. The subtle yet intense allure of her presence was undeniable. When a beauty actively offers a kiss, Ye Chen, of course, couldn't refuse.

He lowered his head immediately, savoring the sweetness of the moment. The kiss lingered for quite a while before they finally parted. Lin Ke'er's face was flushed, her eyes shooting Ye Chen an admonishing glare. She, too, had become lost in the kiss for a moment, and in that fleeting instance, she hadn't been able to guard against Ye Chen's wandering hand. That had allowed him to take further liberties.... Ye Chen didn't linger long with Lin Ke'er.

After enjoying the kiss, he was in a good mood and bid her farewell with a smile. He then checked his system notifications.

"Gift successfully!"

"Gift: Storage Bag."

"Processing feedback…"

"Tenfold feedback: Reward—Ten Storage Bags."

"Storage bags cannot be stored in the host's personal storage equipment. Physical rewards will be temporarily stored in system space, available for retrieval at any time." Ye Chen's mood lifted as he read the message. He hadn't triggered any critical rewards, which he thought was perfectly reasonable. After all, he had already given a storage bag to Lu Jing before, and it had been a bigger one. Given that, it was unlikely Lin Ke'er would be exploding with happiness over a smaller one.

But the system really was considerate. Ye Chen had been worried that the tenfold return would reward him with a massive ten-cubic-meter storage bag. While such a bag would have a high value, its size would be impractical in a small place like Silver Moon Market. However, ten storage bags were manageable. With a smile, Ye Chen changed his appearance, his attire shifting subtly, his aura altering as well. He slipped into different shops, each time dealing with the storage bags in turn.

Most of these shops had a buyback policy. However, even if the bags were practically new, they could only be sold for around 80% of their original value. If he were to set up a stall and sell them himself, he might get a little more. But Ye Chen couldn't be bothered to waste time on that. Besides, it could stir up trouble. As he continued to change his appearance and move unnoticed, Ye Chen efficiently disposed of all the system-rewarded storage bags. He ended up with four mid-grade spirit stones.

With a tidy sum in hand, Ye Chen grinned and reverted to his original look, making his way toward Green Cloud Shop. Sun Ruoxin, your simp has arrived!