BOOM!

His pill furnace violently shook and terrifying energy surged within. It was as if his pill furnace was trying to seal a struggling Magical Beast.

“SEAL!”

Long Chen shouted and tightly pushed down the furnace lid. But a medicinal pill’s essence couldn’t be sealed just relying on physical strength.

At the same time as his hand pushed down on the lid, his powerful Spiritual Strength surged out and completely locked down the pill furnace.

This intense struggle continued for a full two hours before his pill furnace gradually returned to calm.

Slowly opening the lid, the originally dark room immediately lit up. A pearl-like medicinal pill was emitting a gentle light.

“Hehe, I finally succeeded.”

Long Chen relaxed and wiped away his sweat. He was incredibly exhausted and almost fainted.

This was the third furnace of pills he had refined. The first furnace of pills had been to refine the Starfusing Pill Chu Yao needed. Of his three refinements, the Starfusing Pill had been the easiest to refine.

Then, he had refined the Soul Devouring Heart Rotting Pill, a poison pill refined from the Heart-Rot Grass. It would be one of his protective measures in the future.

The last thing he had refined just now was the hardest to refine, a soul nourishing pill. He had refined it by using the Night Devil skull he had obtained from the Huayun Pavilion.

The Night Devil had a similar shape to a bat. An adult was a dozen meters long and fiercely bloodthirsty. Its most terrifying aspect was its ability to use spiritual attacks.

To directly attack the spirit; that was a terrifying kind of method that was practically impossible to defend against.

Long Chen had used the second rank Magical Beast Night Devil skull’s crystal core as the main ingredient to refine a single soul nourishing pill.

Soul nourishing pills were exceptionally special medicinal pills. They had practically vanished from this era. Even in Long Chen’s Pill Sovereign memories, there were only three formulas that could nourish the soul.

Consuming it would benefit the spirit greatly, and at the initial stages of soul cultivation, consuming one soul nourishing pill was equivalent to having a huge head start over your competition.

This was a rare medicinal pill that had absolutely no side effects. This pill was extremely precious to Long Chen in particular. As an alchemist, he definitely required a powerful Spiritual Strength.

But the first thing that popped into his head when he looked at that pearl-like soul nourishing pill was a vision of Meng Qi’s flawless face.

Meng Qi was a Beast Tamer. That was a true soul cultivator. It would be a waste for anyone else to take it.

But Meng Qi was now in the Wind Spirit Pavilion. He didn’t know where that was at the moment, so it would be impossible for him to send it to her.

Sighing, he put away the soul nourishing pill. If he still didn’t see Meng Qi again within half a year, then he would simply consume it himself.

That was because this soul nourishing pill was not like other medicinal pills. If it wasn’t consumed within half a year, the spiritual energy inside the pill would begin to fade.

After putting away the medicinal pills, Long Chen could no longer support himself. Exhaustion caused him to collapse onto his bed. The next time he opened his eyes, it was already noon the next day.

After washing up, he chatted with his mother, ate lunch, and left, ready to meet up with Chu Feng.

He had already set up a meeting with Chu Feng for today at a teahouse. By the time Long Chen arrived, Chu Feng had already been waiting for a long time.

Chu Feng had a middle-aged guard beside him. When he saw Long Chen approaching, that guard was just about to say something when his vision suddenly darkened and he fainted.

After knocking him unconscious, Long Chen took out some Face Changing Liquid and applied it to his face. In just a couple of minutes, he had changed into the guard’s clothes and left with Chu Feng to go to the imperial palace.

Everything was going according to plan. Chu Feng had followed Long Chen’s instructions to keep a guard beside him at almost all times. This was all in order to fool people for today…

Now Long Chen would no longer appear as conspicuous in other people’s eyes. The two of them managed to easily enter into the inner section of the imperial palace.

This was Long Chen’s first time in the imperial palace. The winding palace maze completely confused him; without his powerful Spiritual Strength, he would have lost track of his directions.

“Brother Long, my big sis is under house arrest in her Jade Yao Palace. There are guards outside. They’ve never blocked me from entering, but whether or not I can bring you in is still unknown.” Chu Feng was hesitant.

“Don’t worry, let’s try our luck. Just follow the contingencies in our plan. If it really isn’t going to work, then I won’t force it,” nodded Long Chen.

Long Chen had come to deliver Chu Yao the medicinal pill, but he also wanted to help her resolve those foreign spiritual seeds.

There was only one Starfusing Pill, and refining its medicinal pill’s energy required skill. With Long Chen by her side, even if something unexpected happened, he might still be able to remedy the situation.

But another reason he had come was because he missed her. Ever since they had revealed their feelings for each other at the Lantern Festival, her beautiful image had always been held within his heart.

He wanted her to have more faith in him. He wanted her to know that no matter how hard her days were, she would always have Long Chen with her. He wanted her to share a part of her pain with him. He wanted her to never have to suffer helplessly again. 

That was why he had come.

Finally, they arrived at Chu Yao’s Jade Yao Palace. There were eight guards wearing imperial robes guarding the gate.

There were also dozens of other soldiers surrounding the perimeter. That truly angered Long Chen.

This was the imperial palace, which was equivalent to Chu Yao’s home. But it was completely surrounded by guards; how was this any different from being imprisoned? Long Chen was becoming increasingly disgusted with the royal family.

“The Empress Dowager has ordered that outsiders cannot enter the Jade Yao Palace.”

As expected, Chu Feng and Long Chen were blocked from entering.

“Outrageous! I’m here to see my sister; why can’t I enter?!” Chu Feng shouted angrily.

“Seventh prince, I’m sorry. You can enter, but your guard cannot.” That guard was neither overly servile nor overbearing.

“He is my personal guard! He’s my most trusted guard, and if you won’t believe me, then I’ll make your head tumble to the floor!” Chu Feng shouted sternly.

That guard shook his head. His voice was as indifferent as ever as he replied, “I’m sorry; these are the Empress Dowager’s orders. No one can change them.”

While Chu Feng and that guard were arguing, Long Chen had already spread out his divine sense. Sensing a figure sitting and leaning against a window, he couldn’t help but feel pity.

Chu Yao was as beautiful as ever; however, she had become wan and much thinner. It was obvious that this constant imprisonment over these days had made her suffer.

Long Chen truly wished to punch the guard who was blocking them, but he didn’t dare to. This was the imperial palace, and he didn’t dare to be reckless here.

“What matter is causing this much ruckus?”

Suddenly, a displeased voice came from behind.

“Greetings, fourth prince.”

That was the fourth prince Chu Xia. It seemed he had just happened to be passing by when he heard the commotion.

Long Chen frowned slightly when he saw that it was the fourth prince. That was because he could see Chu Xia looking at him with a bit of surprise.

Although he didn’t know where he had messed up, he was now certain that Chu Xia had recognized him.

“What’s going on?” After glancing at Long Chen for a moment, Chu Xia turned to the guards.

“Reporting to fourth prince, seventh prince wanted to bring this guard into the Jade Yao Palace, but…”

“Impudent! You audacious slave, are you doubting my little brother? You actually think he’d harm his own sister?” The fourth prince interrupted angrily all of a sudden.

“This little one doesn’t dare.” That guard jumped in fear. He hastily kneeled down. Obviously, the fourth prince instilled much more fear in him than the seventh prince.

“Let them in,” ordered the fourth prince coldly.

“But…” The guard was still hesitant.

“If the Empress Dowager wants to assign blame, naturally it will fall on me. Could it be that you don’t even trust me?” The fourth prince asked coldly.

“This little one doesn’t dare.” That guard fell back and no longer said anything.

“Enter then.” The fourth prince patted Chu Feng on the shoulder, but he was clearly looking at Long Chen.

Long Chen nodded. Although he didn’t know why the fourth prince would help him, now wasn’t the time to think about it.

After the seventh prince and Long Chen entered the Jade Yao Palace, the fourth prince smiled and also left.

Entering the Jade Yao Palace, the two of them went into the central courtyard. Chu Yao had been leaning against the window and looking down at the fish swimming in the pond when she turned slightly and suddenly saw them.

When she saw Long Chen, first she was dazed for a moment before wild joy filled her. Her jade hand lightly covered her cherry lips, and her tears began to fall wildly.

She had somehow managed to recognize Long Chen. Long Chen slowly walked up to her and apologized, “Sorry for being so late.”

Chu Yao couldn’t hold back any longer. With her head on Long Chen’s chest, she began to truly weep, seeming to want to cry out all her grief.

During this time, she had been under constant house arrest. When she heard that the Empress Dowager had already decided to marry her off to Xia Changfeng, she had almost collapsed.

If Chu Feng hadn’t secretly brought Long Chen’s promise to her, she might have already become hopeless and left this colorless world.

Every day she would watch the sun rise and bitterly wait for Long Chen. Each day had felt longer than a year to her. That kind of suffering was something only she knew about.

Long Chen enjoyed her fragrance as he gently stroked her long hair, letting her give vent to her grief.

At the same time, he also swore to himself that no matter the price, he would definitely protect Chu Yao. Even if that price was his life.

Sometimes, he would feel that Chu Yao was even more pitiful than himself. After all, Long Chen at least had a mother and father who loved him. But Chu Yao had lived her whole life in the loveless imperial palace. The imperial palace was a place where there was no trust or love. For a weak woman like her, it really was too painful.

After feeling enough time had passed, Long Chen noticed that Chu Feng was just awkwardly standing in his original location, not knowing whether he should stay or leave.

“Cough.” Long Chen lightly coughed, and Chu Yao broke out of her daze and hastily escaped from Long Chen’s embrace. Her entire face was red, and she couldn’t even bring herself to look at either of them.

“Uh, how about I go for now?” Chu Feng asked probingly.

“No need. Just help to keep watch for me. I have some secret matters I have to do with your sister.” Long Chen waved his hand.

But as soon as he saw Chu Feng’s shocked expression, he knew that the kid had misunderstood and hastily added, “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

He didn’t explain further. Not explaining was better, as the explanation was even more explicit. Chu Yao’s pretty face was completely red, and she was too embarrassed to even show her face.

Long Chen straightforwardly pulled Chu Yao upstairs, leaving behind a stupefied Chu Feng who just stood there alone and in a daze.