"Huh?" Zhang Ji asked, completely stunned.

"The Alchemy Elder and I have reconciled. There's nothing wrong with you becoming his disciple. Zhang Ji, did you know that the Alchemy Elder is the second wealthiest person in the clan besides the clan master? Even a few supreme elders are no match for him. He also has a high position which even the clan master respects."

Chen Chen explained, expecting better from Zhang Ji.

"But..."

"No buts, it is settled then. Hurry back to apologize to your master."

After being stuck in a daze for a long while, Zhang Ji seems to have thought of something. The look in his eyes showed that he was moved by something.

"Brother, I will cultivate well and not drag you down!"

After he spoke, Zhang Ji left the courtyard resolutely.

"This kid has finally become a little brighter."

Staring at Zhang Ji's back, Chen Chen shook his head slightly, and then his expression suddenly became ferocious. He then turned his head to look at the little morning glory in the medicinal herb field.

"Little thing, you need to be educated too. Be careful, I might sell you one day!"

The little morning glory in the medicinal herb field obviously understood what Chen Chen meant as its branch immediately drooped down.

"Hmph!"

Chen Chen humphed coldly, turned around, and made his way into the cultivation room. He still had to study foundation building, and did not have time to continue educating the morning glory.

Upon returning to the cultivation room, Chen Chen immediately found a few books related to foundation building and began to study them.

...

"The difficulty of building a foundation depends on the amount of ethereality contained in the practitioner's body. The higher the tier of Qi training, the more difficult it is to build a foundation."

...

"The Foundation-Building Elixir contains a massive amount of ethereality. With the help of this ethereality, the Qi cultivator's diaphragm will enter a special state for a short period of time, pushing the cultivator to establish his foundation."

...

Seeing the introduction to foundation building, Chen Chen frowned.

The Foundation Establishment realm was different from other realms. The higher the talent, the more difficult it was to break through the Foundation Establishment and other realms. With his talent, it was already as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The ethereality in the Foundation-Building Elixir was considered majestic for ordinary Qi cultivators, but for Chen Chen, it was ordinary. He swallowed it and absorbed a few Spirit Stones.

As for the Heavenly Spirit Bell Stalagmite and the other heavenly treasures... the ethereality contained in them was too mild to achieve the effect of foundation building.

If he wanted to build his foundation, he would need to refine a special Foundation-Building Elixir, or find heavenly treasures that likewise contained overbearing ethereality.

"Cultivation of immortality has finally taken its toll on me, a poor bug player..."

Chen Chen sighed, as the gaze in his eyes grew melancholic.

...

Time passed like flowing water, and half a month had passed in a flash.

On this day, Chen Chen was just about to go out when he suddenly heard Xiao Wuyou's voice coming from the Clan Master Hall.

"Disciple, come to the main hall."

Hearing these words, Chen Chen hurriedly turned around, and moments later, he entered the Clan Master Hall.

Xiao Wuyou was in the main hall at this time, dressed differently than usual.

"How is your progress going? Is there any progress in your foundation building?"

"No, I feel like I'm about to enter the 21st tier of Qi training."

Chen Chen had a bitter expression. For the past half a month, he had been searching for heavenly treasures and did not have time to cultivate at all. However, he was extremely talented, and hence, his status of cultivation grew automatically even without cultivating.

Xiao Wuyou couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this.

'Talented people have their own troubles too. That makes me feel much more at ease.'

"The cultivation of immortality is not easy. We, cultivators of immortality must be in awe of the heavens at all times. The higher the status of cultivation, the more so. You acted too casual before."

"Master, you are right, but why did you ask me to come here today?" Chen Chen asked after assenting helplessly.

"I want to take you to see the world, and at the same time, see if you can solve your foundation building problem."

After he spoke, Xiao Wuyou did not wait for Chen Chen's reaction and simply pulled him outside.

The moment he left the Clan Master Hall, the giant sword came flying from out of nowhere.

When Chen Chen saw it coming, he simply jumped up onto it skillfully.

"Master, where are we going?"

"To the border of Ji Zhou and You Zhou. Remember what I told you a month ago? There's a demon dragon at the peak of the Golden Core realm, at the border of Ji Zhou and You Zhou."

While recalling it, Chen Chen's eyes lit up. He then asked, "Are we going to slay a dragon?"

To be honest, Chen Chen had never seen creatures like demon dragons in this world before, but he had once eaten carp that was about to gain sentience.

"Somewhat. The demon dragon has an inner elixir known as a Dragon's Pearl and its inner ethereality is extremely overwhelming. It might even allow you to build your foundation successfully.

Xiao Wuyou's words were vague and he seemed to be hiding something. Chen Chen didn't ask any further questions and simply remembered his master's kindness.

...

An expert at the peak of the Golden core realm could fly the sword quickly. In less than an hour, Xiao Wuyou brought Chen Chen to a large river.

The river was known as the You River, and it spanned thousands of miles in length. It was the boundary between Ji Zhou and You Zhou. Ever since ancient times, it had always produced flood dragons.

As soon as the two landed, a voice filled with discontent sounded from a spot near them.

"Wuyou, you're here. Why did you bring a kid along with you? What we're going to do today is a matter of life and death. The fewer people who know, the better."

Hearing this voice, Chen Chen subconsciously turned over his head to look, only to see a woman who was shrouded in white chiffon fabric, with her watery eyes exposed. However, her gaze was full of coldness as she walked over.

"Ruoshui, Chen Chen is my only personal disciple, and also the future clan master of the Tianyun Clan. There is no need to hide anything from him."

Xiao Wuyou's expression was stiff, and his tone was mellow and gentle.

Chen Chen stood by the side quietly as he observed the two in their conversation.

From the way the two addressed each other, Chen Chen could almost conclude that the two had previously had an affair with each other.

Furthermore, Xiao Wuyou's expression looked like that of a henpecked man...

It was likely that the two of them were in a relationship!

"No wonder Master had changed his clothes before going out today. Turns out he's here to meet his lover."

Chen Chen murmured in his heart. On the other hand, Xiao Wuyou introduced, "Disciple, this is the clan master of the Youshui Clan in You Zhou. She's an old friend of mine, you may address her as Senior You."

"Old friend? Hmph, Xiao Wuyou, you really know how to use your words! Let me ask you, are you really going to step into the Nascent Soul realm today?"

You Ruoshui directly interrupted Xiao Wuyou nonchalantly.

"Ruo Shui, according to the report, the Wuxin Clan will be pulling a great move in a month's time. If I don't step into the Nascent Soul realm, the Tianyun Clan would never have a chance of fighting."

Xiao Wuyou's tone was solemn and he seemed ready to go all out without fearing death.

Seeing this, You Ruoshui's cold gaze grew more tender as she muttered, "Do you remember the Gigantic Sword Sect? Back then, the sect master of the Gigantic Sword Sect entered the Nascent Soul realm and refused to join the Wuxin Clan. What happened in the end? They were ruined overnight and the Gigantic Sword Sect completely fell and was subsequently replaced by the Divine Blade Sect. You..."

"Doesn't matter, I'm here today to slay the dragon, all for the sake of hiding the fact that I'm going to enter the Nascent Soul realm. No one from the Wuxin Clan will find out."

Xiao Wuyou's tone was composed.

Chen Chen was shocked to hear that the matter of the dragon-slaying had a hidden agenda.

To add to the chaos, the Wuxin Clan previously annihilated the clan that had a member of the Nascent Soul realm.

Obviously, the development strategy of the Wuxin Clan was based on driving away the external forces and focusing on strengthening their inner clan. Even if they had to weaken their forces that defended against the demon clan, they had to ensure that the Wuxin Clan dominated in the State of Jin.

"Since you've already made up your mind, I won't persuade you. I'll force that demon dragon out." You Ruoshui said, looking at the calm river as the domineering aura within her body slowly became stronger.

"Ruoshui, wait."

"Yes?" You Ruoshui turned around.

"If something happens to me, this disciple of mine will be entrusted to you, be it when I break through the Nascent Soul later, or when facing the Wuxin Clan."

Xiao Wuyou's tone was extremely earnest.

At this point, Chen Chen's mood and emotions had become extremely complicated. At such a moment, his master actually entrusted him... to his lover and the leader of another clan.

It seemed that the situation within the Tianyun Clan was much more difficult than he had imagined.

After hearing his words, You Ruoshui glanced at Chen Chen before suddenly turning around again. She then said, "If something happens to you, I will take this kid to the demon clan. Since the Wuxin Clan is heartless, they shouldn't blame me for being nasty!"

She then raised her hand to the sky and quickly chanted an incantation, after which massive ripples and waves surged in the calm river.

Bang!

A few moments later, the roar of a dragon echoed from the center of the river, penetrating through Heaven and Earth!