Chapter 233: Not Short on Money

Seeing the Canghua Sword, Xiao Jian's gaze sharpened, then he tremblingly took it from Ye Yuan's hands.

He gently stroked the blade, and his eyes were already moist.

Ye Yuan and Mo Yuntian remained silent, quietly watching Xiao Jian reminisce about Lu Yan.

"Canghua, I never thought our parting would last over a hundred years!" Xiao Jian sighed.

By now, Xiao Jian had clearly emerged from his nostalgia for Lu Yan and returned to being the Sword Hall master brimming with sword intent.

He handed Canghua back to Ye Yuan and said with emotion, "It seems Canghua has already acknowledged you as its master. It followed Master for two hundred years, almost becoming one with him, yet it recognized you so quickly. This shows you are its destined one."

Ye Yuan was rather dismissive of these words.

It was merely an eight-restriction spirit weapon; subduing it was a simple task for Ye Yuan.

Moreover, Ye Yuan had fused the Qinggang Ziyang Sword Intent on the Nine Heavens Path, which was a great attraction for the Canghua Sword, so its acknowledgment was not surprising.

What Lu Yan had pursued all his life was nothing more than the Qinggang Ziyang Sword Intent. But Ye Yuan's sword intent far surpassed it.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Canghua has a spirit; it has indeed helped me greatly these days."

Of course, the Canghua Sword was an excellent aid for Ye Yuan at present.

Without the Canghua Sword, his Qinggang Piaoling Sword would not have such formidable power.

Both the Nine Swords Style and the Thousand Flowing Blossoms required a powerful weapon to support them. For Ye Yuan at the Spirit Liquid Realm, the Canghua Sword was naturally the most suitable weapon.

If Ye Yuan did not have the Canghua Sword, the power of these two techniques would be greatly diminished.

"Master... is he well?" Xiao Jian asked somewhat nervously.

Ye Yuan smiled without speaking, and Xiao Jian came to his senses.

Ye Yuan had traversed the Nine Heavens Path and must have sworn a Heavenly Dao oath; how could he answer such a question?

"My question was too rash. Back then, Master had little lifespan left but suddenly disappeared. I guessed he might have gone to the Nine Heavens Path. Master's lifelong wish was to revive the Youyun Sect and then fight back to the Northern Domain! For that, he did not hesitate to abandon his physical body and enter the Nine Heavens Path with his soul, truly burning himself out like a candle! Heaven blessed him, letting him wait for you. I think Master must have been very happy at that time!"

From Xiao Jian's words, Ye Yuan could see that he truly understood Lu Yan well, and the facts were not far from his guesses.

"When my lifespan is exhausted, I will surely follow in Master's footsteps and find a successor for the sect!" Xiao Jian said firmly.

Ye Yuan's heart stirred, but he shook his head and said, "Hall Master Xiao, perhaps you and your master will meet again. Why say such disheartening words?"

Xiao Jian thought Ye Yuan was comforting him and waved his hand, saying, "I thought I would never hear news of Master again, but I never expected he would have you bring out the Canghua Sword. Ye Yuan, I know you are no ordinary person. I only hope you will treat Canghua well and treat my Youyun Sect well!"

Besides seeing the Canghua Sword, this was probably Xiao Jian's greatest purpose.

After the performance at the Three Halls Trial and the Thousand Flowing Blossoms that Mo Yuntian had witnessed, Xiao Jian had already seen that Ye Yuan was not someone a small sect like Youyun could retain.

Like Lu Yan, Xiao Jian only hoped that Ye Yuan would remember the nurturing of the Youyun Sect and not forget his origins.

As for the sect's strength, it could not be achieved overnight. Unless Ye Yuan was willing to devote his life's work to it, it was clearly impossible to make the Youyun Sect powerful in just a few decades.

Ye Yuan himself had said that joining the sect was only for training; his true backing was his unfathomable master!

Hearing Xiao Jian say this, Ye Yuan knew that his purpose in bringing up his 'master' had been achieved.

The Youyun Sect was just one stop on his rise; he could not stay here too long. It would be a grave mistake for the sect to place all its hopes on him.

Ye Yuan did not have that much time; he needed to return to the Divine Realm as soon as possible.

Of course, Ye Yuan would do his utmost to help the Youyun Sect, but how far they could develop would depend on the sect's fortune.

"Hall Master Xiao, rest assured, I will always be a part of the Youyun Sect!" Ye Yuan replied simply.

This was the greatest promise he could make.

"Haha, good! That's enough!" Xiao Jian laughed heartily.

...

Leaving Xiao Jian's place, Ye Yuan did not return to his quarters but went to the alchemy room again.

In the Youyun Sect, elders and above had their own alchemy rooms, while disciples used communal ones.

Like cultivation rooms, using an alchemy room to refine pills required spending contribution points.

However, Alchemy Hall disciples who used the alchemy room to refine finished pills could sell a portion to the sect in exchange for contribution points.

Thus, Alchemy Hall disciples would prepare ample materials and refine many pills at once each time they used the alchemy room.

Of course, the contribution points exchanged for each type of pill varied.

But comparatively, Alchemy Hall disciples earned contribution points much more easily than Martial Hall disciples.

Most Alchemy Hall disciples had a foundation. Alchemists like Nanfeng Ruoqing, who were selected into the sect, could independently refine finished second-grade pills, so earning contribution points was naturally easier.

"Senior Brother, I need a third-grade alchemy room," Ye Yuan said to the disciple on duty.

The duty disciple glanced at Ye Yuan and said in surprise, "You're a Martial Hall disciple, right? A part-time junior alchemist, why do you need such a high-grade alchemy room? Junior Brother, you may have plenty of contribution points, but you shouldn't waste them like this. Use a second-grade alchemy room."

Ye Yuan wore the attire of a Martial Hall disciple but had a two-star badge on his chest, which the duty disciple naturally noticed.

This duty disciple was quite warm-hearted and kept advising Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan hadn't expected this situation and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother, but a second-grade alchemy room really isn't enough. Please give me a third-grade one."

A second-grade alchemy furnace simply couldn't withstand the refinement of third-grade pills, because the flame intensity required for third-grade pills was much stronger than for second-grade. Even the top-tier second-grade furnaces could explode if mishandled, which was why Ye Yuan needed a third-grade alchemy room.

"Junior Brother, are you new here?"

"Uh, yes, I've only been in the sect for a few days."

"No wonder! You probably don't know how precious contribution points are. Wasting them like this will affect your future cultivation!"

"...Senior Brother, I really need a third-grade alchemy room."

"Sigh, why are you so stubborn? You're just a junior alchemist; can you even refine third-grade pills? A third-grade alchemy room costs three hundred contribution points a day. Even if you're rich, you shouldn't spend like this!"

Ye Yuan was about to break down, but the other party was genuinely trying to help, so he couldn't get angry.

Helpless, Ye Yuan directly pulled out his identity token and tossed it to the duty disciple, saying, "Senior Brother, just swipe it. I'm not short on money!"