Chapter 91: You Want My Child?

“Gift successfully given!”

“The gift is the Five Elements Cave token.”

“Processing feedback…”

“Thirty times feedback…”

“Detected that the gift given by the host is extremely important to the recipient and exceeded their expectations, causing a significant emotional reaction. Critical reward triggered!”

“Reward: Improved version of the Five Elements Pill recipe.”

“The improved version of the Five Elements Pill recipe, using current-world herbs, can produce a pill with the same effects as the original, without any side effects…”

The system’s feedback made Ye Chen smile uncontrollably.

Originally, Ye Chen had been wondering if the system would provide him with a personal Five Elements Cave or perhaps dozens of premium Five Elements Pills. But to his surprise, it directly gave him a new recipe. The value of this was beyond measure.

After all, the Five Elements Cave gathered and transformed spirit Qi for an entire year, and its effects were said to be roughly equivalent to two low-grade Five Elements Pills. It was effective, but not by much.

Ye Chen had read in ancient texts that during the ancient times, cultivators had to use hundreds of Five Elements Pills to fully expand their dantian. In comparison, the sect’s Five Elements Cave could only provide fifty years’ worth of spirit Qi for one person to use.

Now, Ye Chen had directly obtained the recipe. He could spend a few days making dozens of batches of pills, equivalent to fifty years of the sect’s Five Elements Cave accumulation. With ease, he could fully open his dantian.

Most importantly, Five Elements Pills were an essential item for any cultivator. If Ye Chen ever decided to establish his own sect, he could train a batch of alchemists to produce Five Elements Pills daily, which would support the entire sect. The profits would be astronomical.

In short, Ye Chen’s gaze toward Yao Xi became even more intense. With thirty times the feedback and a critical hit, the reward was absolutely ridiculous. Yao Xi truly was a massive treasure.

Yao Xi felt Ye Chen’s intense gaze and, in that moment, the awkwardness and discomfort she had felt earlier completely disappeared. Instead, she chuckled softly and said, “Junior Brother, if by the time I turn thirty I haven’t broken through to Foundation Establishment, then I will agree to become your Dao partner. I’m already twenty-five, just five years left. If I do break through to Foundation Establishment, the difference in our lifespans will be too great, and we will no longer be suitable as Dao partners. By then, I will naturally protect you and your descendants for life.”

Yao Xi’s words carried a clear tone of finality.

The reason Green Cloud Sect had rules requiring disciples to leave or become elders if they hadn’t broken through to Foundation Establishment by thirty wasn’t because it was impossible after thirty, but rather that the probability of success drastically decreased.

Before thirty, the chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment was one in a thousand. After thirty, the chance dropped to one in ten thousand. Moreover, the resources required to break through after thirty were exponentially greater, and many cultivators found their combat abilities significantly weakened, even if they succeeded.

For a sect like Green Cloud Sect, where resources were valuable, a disciple who hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment by thirty was seen as a wasted resource. This was why there was a saying in the cultivation world: “No Foundation Establishment by thirty means basically no chance.”

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…

Upon hearing Yao Xi’s words, Ye Chen’s face broke into a smile. Out of everyone in the sect, aside from his master, Yao Xi had the highest potential. Now she had given him such a huge surprise. His master seemed to have no desires or needs, so whether or not he could “serve” her after breaking through to Foundation Establishment was still uncertain.

But Yao Xi was definitely going to reach Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, once he reached Foundation Establishment and Yao Xi remained in Qi Refining, the gifts he could offer her—gifts meant for Foundation Establishment—would be useless to her. The system would never recognize them. That would severely delay his cultivation progress.

Therefore, even if it meant going all out, he had to help Yao Xi break through to Foundation Establishment. Moreover, his ultimate goal was the vast and boundless stars and seas, a path of endless growth. A thirty-fold reward wasn’t enough to make her his Dao partner. It would only slow his progress. Yao Xi had some lofty ideas if she thought things could be that simple.

Without hesitation, Ye Chen spoke, “I will do everything I can to help Senior Sister break through to Foundation Establishment.”