How Could It Be
Yang Chen was treating Sun Qingxue like she was his little sister. If there were any good items, he would not be stingy towards her. He had shared the third-grade foundation building pill with her, as well as the Undying Wood.
However, he was a little hesitant now. He did not think it was not the right time to give her the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas yet. Though she might not have any knowledge about it, Hua Wanting would surely recognise its nature. Yang Chen was afraid that his good deed would turn around and stab him in his back if her greed took over.
Sun Qingxue was cheerfully showing off the items she had obtained. However, she still needed to wait until she had reached the peak of the foundation building stage to use them. Slightly dispirited, her face was filled with regret.
At that moment, Yang Chen suddenly realised something while looking at her expression. Her teenage innocence and excitement were mixed with a tinge of grievance. Yang Chen then understood that she was actually trying to repay his gratitude. She purely wanted to treat him well, so there was no need for him to avoid anything.
Even if Hua Wanting did not know about the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, she also knew that he could concoct the Heart Questioning Pill. Compared to the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, it was the latter that would interest her more. Since Hua Wanting had treated him this way, there was no difference for whether or not he took the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas out.
“You just happened to stumble upon it. You did not know about it prior to this.” After thinking it through, Yang Chen’s face revealed a smile once again as a jade cup suddenly appeared on his hands. He then said to her sternly, “This, is the gift that I have actually wanted to give to you for a while now.”
“What is this? Is it another kind of nice wine?” she asked. She hopped towards him while staring at the jade cup. Nevertheless, hearing that Yang Chen had given her yet another present, she could not stop smiling.
“Don’t be too bothered. Just drink it.” Yang Chen only gave her a smile and did not want to reveal it. He then presented the jade cup in front of her.
Seeing that the purplish liquid was shimmering with fluorescent lights, her eyes were wide open. They were filled with curiosity as she was trying to figure out what the liquid was.
After hearing that Yang Chen had given Sun Qingxue a present, Hua Wanting was delighted as well. She pampered her disciple Sun Qingxue very much and would not let her go through any hardships, not to even mention she would not let her be harmed at all.
Although she trusted Yang Chen that he would not lay a finger on Sun Qingxue, she still wanted to check out what he was giving to her.
When she had a glance at the purplish liquid, she was instantly stunned. There were no items which had those characteristics in her memories. It was purple and even reflective. When she used her spiritual awareness to investigate, there was no spirit power in it. Just what is this? she thought.
Instantaneously, a name popped up from bottom of her heart. She was suddenly enlightened. How can it be? Can this possibly be the legendary Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas?!
She could not prevent herself from being shocked. The Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas was extremely precious. Even if someone had it, it would only exist in drops. Nobody was able to even contain it with a big cup. There was already approximately a hundred millilitres of it inside Yang Chen’s jade cup. It seemed untrue looking at him with such an immense amount.
If people had a few drops of the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, they would already treat it like it was a precious gem. Unless they were forced to, they would only add a drop of it, the most being two drops in the middle of an important pill-concocting or tool-refining process. Only a reckless wastrel would consume such a valuable item.
“Wait!” Hua Wanting exclaimed when she saw that Sun Qingxue was about to take the cup and drink from it.
He must be joking. Drinking the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas would only cleanse the wastes inside the body. For a person who had a full wood spirit root like Sun Qingxue, the effect on her would not be significant. But if it was used to concoct pills or refine tools, perhaps an unparalleled pill or an unmatched magical item could be crafted. It would be a huge waste to just consume it like that.
“Master, why?” Sun Qingxue turned her head, looking at her master with a puzzled look on her face. She had never suspected that Yang Chen would harm her, so she was curious why her master had asked her to halt.
Hua Wanting had an imposing look on her face which Sun Qingxue had never seen before. Suddenly, Sun Qingxue thought to herself, Can the purplish liquid be something extraordinary?
“Yang Chen, that is too valuable. You must not do this!” said Hua Wanting nervously to Yang Chen, not giving any explanation to Sun Qingxue yet. She had no idea how Yang Chen could get his hands on such items. But regardless of which sect it had been stored at earlier, no sect would give out such a substantial amount of Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas away for no good reason.
Elder Hua still had some wild hopes within herself. She was hoping that Yang Chen did not know what the liquid was and what the liquid could be used for. Perhaps he thought it was just some liquid that could be drunk to nourish the body, that was why he had given it to Sun Qingxue as a beverage. If so, maybe she could still admonish him to store it away.
It was not that Elder Hua was not interested in the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas; the relations between Pure Yang Palace and Clear Sky Sect was simply too close. The long-term benefits of Hundred Thousand Mountains were more significant than the few unparalleled pills and unmatched magical items which could be produced using the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas.
Of course, if she could exchange the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas using something else, that would be even better. However, she could not just let Yang Chen unknowingly give it to Sun Qingxue as a drink.
“It’s just some Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, not too big of a deal,” said Yang Chen, causing her to be shocked. Some? Not a big deal? Yang Chen’s choice of words had stunned the Dacheng expert.
“Is it very precious, Master?” Sun Qingxue questioned her master as she was completely clueless.
“It is a thousand times more precious than you imagine,” Hua Wanting answered without any hesitation.
“Oh…” She did not expect such an outcome and dared not simply accept such a precious gift. She raised the jade cup and was contemplating on returning it to Yang Chen.
After observing Hua Wanting’s behaviour, Yang Chen sighed in admiration. It was indeed not by pure luck that the Clear Sky Sect had become so successful. Elder Hua managed to resist even the temptation of the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas. Just this disposition of hers alone had made her a thousand times better than Mo Qian.
“Yang Chen, don’t you know the rarity of the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas?” Elder Hua looked at Yang Chen and insisted on returning it to him. She persisted, “It is better if you just take it back.”
“Thank you for your care, Senior.” Yang Chen was extremely grateful towards Hua Wanting’s intention. However, he already had his own plans for it. He then replied, “But, if this is in my hands, do you think if I can store it safely?”
Indeed, once people knew that he had the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, the number of enemies he would need to face would definitely exceed ten thousand. Even if he could take down tens of thousands of cultivators with ease, he could not possibly fight the whole cultivation realm.
Hua Wanting became more suspicious of him instantly. If that was the case, why did he present it in front of her in the first place? Although she did not raise the question, her eyes had sold her out.
“If I can’t keep it safely, using it immediately is a good choice. Then no one will think about getting it from me,” Yang Chen explained with a faint smile.
After listening to the near preposterous reason, she became speechless. This explanation of his had shown that he knew just how valuable the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas was, while Yang Chen only made such decision because of that exact reason.
Of course, Elder Hua did not know there was an overabundance of the liquid inside the bottle gourd. Yang Chen had more than enough to bathe himself or even swim in it. At that moment, she failed to look for a reason to reject him.
Yang Chen could’ve asked her to keep it safe for him, but he gave it to her disciple instead. As a senior, it would be inappropriate to take advantage of someone from the younger generation.
“Moreover, if I am overly dependent on it, I will not be able to improve upon my pill concoction mastery.” Yang Chen started talking again to provide his reasoning. “As long as I have the pill concoction mastery in my hands, there will not be any difference whether or not I have items like this one.”
Hua Wanting was moved by Yang Chen’s recklessness. But to think it through, what Yang Chen had said actually made sense. He was only at the foundation building stage but he managed to concoct the Heart Questioning Pill, the Heaven Seizing Pill and the black tiger spirit supporting pill. Just as what he had said, if he were to depend on additional substances, his technique on concocting pills would not better.
Yang Chen understood the fundamentals well, which was why he had made such a decision. Hua Wanting could not help herself but envy Yang Chen’s master for having such an outstanding disciple. His sect would also prosper and develop due to his existence.
Luckily, Yang Chen’s gift was advantageous to her disciple. There was no doubt that Sun Qingxue would gain countless benefits upon consumption.
It would be the master’s honour to see their disciple excel. Elder Hua was convinced, so she did not stop Sun Qingxue from drinking it anymore. She nodded her head at Sun Qingxue, hinting her to consume it according to Yang Chen’s instruction.
Initially, Elder Hua had thought of keeping some for herself in case the sect needed it. But after seeing that Yang Chen did not reserve any, she did nothing of that sort eventually. When Sun Qingxue was benefited by the liquid, the sect and Elder Hua would indirectly gain an advantage as well. She comforted herself by thinking that way as she watched Sun Qingxue gulp down the cup of Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas.
“There isn’t much taste to it,” commented Sun Qing Xue cheekily after finishing the drink. That left Hua Wanting at a loss for words. Instantly, the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas began showing its effect. She felt light-headed and muttered under her breath, “So dizzy!” before falling into her master’s arms.
Hua Wanting had expected such a response and speedily carried her out of the room. In the blink of an eye, her shadow vanished, leaving only Yang Chen in the room. There was only an echo lingering in the room. “Yang Chen, you can rest here in the meanwhile. I will look for you once Little Xue wakes up.”
Under Hua Wanting’s care, Sun Qingxue should be just fine. Yang Chen was not very worried about her as well. He had rested in her room for a few days but he could not go outside. He practised the Three Purities Secret, the Great Yin and Yang Five Phases Secrets and the Huangjin Body Refining Technique, each once every day. With the rest of his spare time, he was just examining the jade slips in an orderly manner.
Even though the reputation of Yang Chen’s excellent wine had been known all over Clear Sky Sect, nobody came to disturb Yang Chen. Perhaps Elder Hua had instructed them not to do so. He was very relaxed while minding his own business, either reading his books or cultivating.
In the meantime, Elder Hua had paid him a visit twice. Her compound was just next to Sun Qingxue’s, very close to each other. This had made things more convenient for Sun Qingxue when she wanted to ask for advice from her. Actually, even if she did not come by, she would still know what Yang Chen was up to.
Elder Hua was just sighing emotionally. A youth like Yang Chen who could maintain his composure was even rarely seen even among the excellent disciples in the Clear Sky Sect. If she were to ask herself, she would not just simply give the cup of Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas away like what Yang Chen had done. Moreover, he was giving it to someone with no relations to his own sect, making it more unbelievable.
The only explanation was that Yang Chen actually cared for Sun Qingxue. Anyway, she had confessed to him that she wanted to become his dao companion for dual cultivation before this. Yang Chen even said he would think about it. Nonetheless, with such a big cup of the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, it had revealed his attitude clearly. Elder Hua was quite satisfied with the dao companion Sun Qingxue had chosen.
Yang Chen had saved Hua Wanting’s life. Moreover, he was so reliable at such a young age while his pill concoction mastery was also almost the best in the world. He even cared for Sun Qingxue, so it seemed that Little Xue had a respectable taste.
Had Yang Chen known that his gift for Sun Qingxue would be associated with so many other things, he would certainly regret giving it in front of Hua Wanting. He was not reluctant about the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas. More importantly, he did not want be misunderstood. Should he know about this earlier, he would have just given it to Sun Qingxue secretly. Nobody would know and there would not be such a big fuss.
After consuming the cup of Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas, Sun Qingxue slept for ten consecutive days. Naturally, her body started excreting a lot of wastes. There weren’t any problems from her side under Hua Wanting’s meticulous care.
When Sun Qingxue appeared in front of Yang Chen once again, there was a different kind of expression on her face. Hua Wanting had explained to her what the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas was together with its rarity. Facing Yang Chen at this moment, she was extremely grateful.
“Thank you, Brother Yang!” she thanked Yang Chen from the bottom her heart, feeling exceptionally glad. He was willing to give her the Dark Coral Liquid of the Four Seas which meant there was a place for her in his heart. She did not wish for anything else. All these were more than enough for her.
“What’s with the courtesy? You’re looking quite lively!” After examining her from head to toe, he nodded as he felt satisfied. After excreting the wastes in her body, her skin had become fairer and clearer. Feeling energetic, she seemed to have gotten younger all of a sudden.
“It seems to me that the Clear Sky Sect’s auction is starting soon right?” He saw that Sun Qingxue was getting a little shy and quickly changed the topic. “Isn’t it time for you to bring me there and have a look?”
“The auction starts tomorrow. I am already ready for it,” said Sun Qingxue while taking a jade slip out. She then handed it to Yang Chen and told him, “These are the items that are going to be auctioned tomorrow. You may have a look and see if there is anything you want. I will buy whatever you want for you.”