The next morning, Xiao Xiao indeed prepared many of the foods Ye Qingchen loved and diligently saw him out the door. Only after Ye Qingchen’s figure had completely vanished from sight did she return to the yard with a light sigh.
"What’s wrong? Can’t bear to see him go?"
A charming, teasing voice called out, startling Xiao Xiao. When she saw it was Yao Yue, she grew bashful.
"Sister Yao Yue, you scared me to death."
Seeing Xiao Xiao’s shy demeanor, Yao Yue couldn’t help but laugh. "You, oh you! But we’ll be leaving soon. Have you been cultivating diligently these days?"
Hearing Yao Yue’s words, Xiao Xiao seemed somewhat disheartened, but she still nodded and replied, "Don’t worry, Sister. I cultivate diligently every day."
***
When Ye Qingchen arrived at the entrance to Redflame Mountain as agreed, Zhao Jiehui was already waiting for him. With him were two men and a woman, all of them at the fourth level of the Martial Master Realm.
Seeing Ye Qingchen approach, Zhao Jiehui greeted him warmly and began the introductions. "Junior Brother Qingchen, these three are our teammates for this trip. They are also your seniors. All three are fourth-level Martial Masters."
"Wang Tao." One of the slim Inner Sect Disciples announced his name, but his tone held no enthusiasm, and he didn’t even deign to glance at Ye Qingchen.
"Zhou Quan." The other male Inner Sect Disciple introduced himself in a similarly lukewarm manner.
The only female Inner Sect Disciple present made no effort to hide the disdain in her eyes and didn’t bother to speak to Ye Qingchen at all.
To avoid awkwardness, Zhao Jiehui introduced her, "This is Zou Mei, a renowned beauty among our Inner Sect Disciples."
Ye Qingchen nodded, clasping his hands in a salute to the three. "My name is Ye Qingchen. Greetings, Senior Brothers and Sister."
Zou Mei shot Ye Qingchen a contemptuous look and spoke for the first time. "Brother Zhao, we agreed to enter the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire out of respect for you. But now you’ve brought along a liability who is only a second-level Martial Master. Isn’t he going to hinder our hunt for the Fire Rock Beasts?"
Wang Tao also spoke scornfully, "Exactly, Brother Zhao. The Fire Rock Beasts are as strong as fourth-level Martial Masters. If he comes with us, we’ll have to waste effort protecting him."
Zhou Quan was even more direct. "He’s not just a liability; he’ll probably expect an equal share of our resources in the end."
The three of them went on and on. While they didn’t dare complain directly to Zhao Jiehui, their words toward Ye Qingchen grew increasingly malicious.
Zhao Jiehui’s previously cheerful expression turned cold. Seeing the change in his face, the trio finally stopped their mocking, though their disdain for Ye Qingchen remained.
Zhao Jiehui cleared his throat and said, "Do you know his other identity? Not only did Junior Brother Qingchen win the Pre-Alchemist Conference, but not long ago, he also became a Second-Rank Alchemist!"
"What? A Second-Rank Alchemist?" Wang Tao and Zhou Quan couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.
But Zou Mei remained dismissive. "So what if he’s a Second-Rank Alchemist? Once we enter the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire, we’ll have to fight. Won’t we still have to protect him then?"
Zhao Jiehui sighed and said earnestly, "You only see that Junior Brother Qingchen is a second-level Martial Master, but what you don’t know is that his combat strength is far greater than it appears!"
He glanced at Ye Qingchen, worried that the trio’s mockery would anger him and create friction before the mission even began. That would be detrimental to their expedition.
However, Ye Qingchen’s expression was completely unruffled, as if their taunts were directed at someone else entirely.
What Zhao Jiehui didn’t know was that Ye Qingchen had fallen from a genius to a waste for a full ten years. During that decade, he had endured countless cold stares and taunts, which had forged his unyielding character. Truthfully, he didn’t take the trio’s mockery to heart at all.
What’s the point of arguing with such short-sighted people? Once we enter Redflame Mountain, we’ll inevitably clash with Monster Beasts. It won’t be too late to demonstrate my strength then.
Zhao Jiehui felt relieved. The others, seeing that Zhao Jiehui was genuinely angry, said no more, but the disdain in their eyes as they looked at Ye Qingchen was still palpable.
And so, the group of five, led by Zhao Jiehui, entered Redflame Mountain.
They didn’t rush directly into the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire. Their mission was not only to hunt Fire Rock Beasts for their fire essence but also to find fire-attribute herbs.
With Ye Qingchen in the group, their efficiency in searching for herbs improved dramatically.
The Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra contained a special Chapter on herbs that not only detailed their properties, compatibilities, and antagonisms but also recorded their specific growth environments and their guardian Monster Beasts. Thanks to his knowledge of the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra, Ye Qingchen consistently found herbs that others would have missed, leading to a bountiful harvest for the team.
Often, Ye Qingchen was in charge of finding herbs while Zhao Jiehui delivered the killing blow to any guardian Monster Beast. The other three simply reaped the rewards without lifting a finger. As a result, their complaints about Ye Qingchen grew quieter.
"Brother Zhao, look over there," Ye Qingchen said suddenly, pointing at a small mound as the team moved forward.
Zhao Jiehui knew that when Ye Qingchen spoke up like this, it meant he had found new herbs. He was never wrong.
"The environment here is perfect for Fire Dragon Grass, which is the main ingredient for crafting fire-attribute Second-Rank Spirit Pills. I believe Brother Zhao will have a use for it," Ye Qingchen said with conviction. He had already used his Dual Pupil Martial Soul to spot the Fire Dragon Grass. Guarding it was only a juvenile Flame Tiger, whose strength was equivalent to a fourth-level Martial Master.
Zhao Jiehui nodded and cautiously approached the mound. When he was just a short distance away, a tiger’s roar erupted, and a giant, yellow tiger about three meters long leaped onto the mound.
The Flame Tiger’s fur was yellow, but faint red flames flickered intermittently across its body. It was said that an adult Flame Tiger’s strength could rival that of a high-level Martial Master.
The Flame Tiger eyed the humans before it, showing a trace of wariness. But, remembering the Fire Dragon Grass it guarded, it was reluctant to leave and began to paw restlessly at the ground