Alchemy, make money!"
Because the System had arrived and given him new hope, Ye Chen, full of vigor, no longer slacked off.
Having lived two lives, Ye Chen understood one truth very clearly.
That is, money is a man's courage.
It's the same in any world.
On Earth, with money, you can work out, buy a house, buy a car, travel the world, and be beholden to no one.
And in the Cultivation World, it's pretty much the same.
Without Spirit Stones, you can only be like Lin Ke'er, acting like a green tea b**** for a bit of resources.
If you have Spirit Stones, you don't have to waste time working every day.
You can rent a better courtyard, use better Medicinal Pills, and eat better spirit rice.
When your strength is high, others will curry favor with you.
And Ye Chen possessed the Simp System.
The stronger his power and the higher his level, the more powerful female cultivators he would be able to encounter in the future.
The higher the feedback multiplier.
Therefore, Ye Chen's drive to strive was at its peak.
He might as well experience the effects of the insights of a Great Perfection Alchemist and see what they were like.
However, when Ye Chen took out the medicinal ingredients from the storage box and meticulously checked them one by one, he frowned.
These medicinal ingredients had a problem.
To refine a Gathering Qi Pill, the main ingredients required were Withered Yellow Grass and Monthly Rose.
But this Monthly Rose had some issues.
Several stalks clearly hadn't been stored properly; their petals were slightly pale, though not obviously so.
Such slightly pale Monthly Roses, due to the loss of their medicinal properties, could no longer be used as a main ingredient.
Forcibly using them would only result in a waste pill.
His previous self was a noob and didn't discover this problem.
But the current Ye Chen was different; with his Great Perfection insights, he understood the medicinal ingredients used at this stage very thoroughly.
Ye Chen took out all the Monthly Roses and found that at least one-third of them had this problem.
Ye Chen's expression immediately darkened.
No wonder his previous self had such a high failure rate.
When he was in the Family, his previous self's success rate could at least be around one-fifth.
Out of five furnaces of Medicinal Pills, at least one could succeed.
But after coming here, he only succeeded once out of seven or eight attempts.
So that was why.
Someone was secretly causing trouble.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen's eyes narrowed.
The medicinal ingredients were supplied by the shop.
This was the Ye Family's own property, and an increased failure rate in his Alchemy was not good for the Family.
So, who was behind this?
..."Thump, thump, thump..."
The door was knocked, and a kind voice came from outside the window: "Nephew Ye, are you doing well?"
Listening to this voice, a cold smile appeared on Ye Chen's lips.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!
Ye Chen tossed the Monthly Roses back into the storage box and closed it, then immediately put on a smiling face, politely and warmly opening the door to welcome the other party in: "Steward Zhang, why have you come? Please come in, please come in."
Ye Chen had worked in a state-owned enterprise for ten years; it wasn't for nothing.
And Steward Zhang, who entered the room, looked portly with a genial smile: "I just came to ask how Nephew Ye's Alchemy is progressing."
"I haven't disturbed Nephew Ye's Alchemy, have I?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Chen immediately shook his head: "No, no, the Alchemy is going quite well, it's just that this junior has not been out of the Family for long and hasn't fully adapted yet, so the progress is a bit slow."
"I'm afraid I'll have to wait until the end of the mission period to hand in the Medicinal Pills."
Steward Zhang smelled the lingering traces of burnt odor in the room, and saw the pile of uncleaned dregs of medicinal ingredients, his smile grew wider: "Nephew, what are you saying? You are a member of the Ye Family, and this shop belongs to your Ye Family."
"Let alone handing it in within the mission, what if we extend the deadline for a few days?"
"I still have this much authority; helping Nephew with some convenience is not a problem."
"This way, Nephew will have an even better chance to join the Qingyun Sect in the future, won't he!"
Qingyun Sect?
Ye Chen listened, his expression unchanged, but in his heart, he was completely certain.
The one who was sabotaging him with the Monthly Roses was this guy right in front of him... The Qingyun Sect was a major Sect in the area, suppressed by a Golden Core Old Ancestor.
And the first generation Old Ancestor of the Ye Family was once an Outer Sect Disciple of the Qingyun Sect.
However, unfortunately, he had bad luck and never achieved Foundation Establishment.
Later, he came out and established his own Family, spreading his branches and leaves.
The Qingyun Sect supported this.
Disciples with no future going out to establish Families could increase the Qingyun Sect's control over various regions.
Occasionally, some missions would also be assigned.
The first generation Ye Family Old Ancestor had a good friend who became a Foundation Establishment Elder, and combined with former fellow Disciples often visiting.
When encountering problems, he could also find connections to ask for help.
So, after establishing the Family, it was quite prosperous.
But once the first generation Old Ancestor died, this personal connection faded.
It could only be said that a little remained, but not much.
And by the time the current third-generation Family Head took office, the personal connection with the Qingyun Sect had completely disappeared.
However, the Qingyun Sect had a preferential treatment for these semi-affiliated Families.
That is, if a Family produced a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, they could get two slots to enter the Qingyun Sect.
And the current third-generation Family Head had a Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivation, and was now trying to Break through to Foundation Establishment.
But to support a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator required too many resources.
Thus, this batch of fifth-generation Ye Family members, including Ye Chen, were also driven out of the Family to work and earn resources to support the Family Head.
It was considered sacrificing the small self to achieve the Family.
But it wasn't without benefits, that is, the Qingyun Sect's entry slots.
There were seven people in this generation of the Ye Family.
They would compete for these two entry slots based on their performance during this period.
That's why his previous self worked so hard at Alchemy, right up until he died from overwork.
After all, joining a major Sect meant a better future and a broader vision.
It was far beyond what could be achieved by staying in the small Ye Family.
But in the small Ye Family, even though there wasn't even a Foundation Establishment cultivator now.
Factionalism was still very serious.
Ye Chen was the sole heir of the Third Branch.
As for this shop, it was managed by the Second Branch.
Even his previous self's Alchemy was learned from his Second Uncle.
Thinking of this, Ye Chen suddenly understood everything.
No wonder his previous self's Alchemy was so terrible, unable to even distinguish if a Monthly Rose had problems.
And no wonder the shop would secretly provide tampered Monthly Roses.
This was setting a trap for him.
To prevent him from competing for the Qingyun Sect's slot... Thinking of this, Ye Chen just wanted to sneer.
A mere Qi Refining Family, not thinking about working together to elevate the Family, even if it meant everyone rising to prominence.
Yet, they were fighting internally over an entry slot that might not even be obtained.
Deliberately suppressing their own Disciples and engaging in internal strife.
It was utterly ridiculous.
Such a Family, even if the Family Head truly broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, would have no future.
Anyway, after figuring it out.
Ye Chen had absolutely no expectations for this Family anymore.
However, Ye Chen was still very interested in this Qingyun Sect slot.
After all, the System also said.
The higher the quality of the female cultivator, the higher the multiplier.
On Earth, beautiful women all flocked to big cities.
This principle must also be true in the Cultivation World.
Excellent female cultivators must have all joined Sects.
If he entered the Qingyun Sect, he might encounter beauties with twenty, thirty, or even a hundred times the multiplier.
Directly saving thirty years of struggle.
Just thinking about this made Ye Chen's heart pound.
And the Disciples officially recruited by Sects all had very high requirements.
Moreover, they had to be uncultivated and have a clean background.
Loose Cultivators like Lin Ke'er, without an Opportunity, would have no chance to join a Sect at all.
The same went for Ye Chen.
So, Ye Chen really had to compete for this slot...