Chapter 59

Gurulu!

In the dead of night, Ye Zhen swallowed two Ningzhen Pills in succession and closed his eyes again.

The moment the powerful medicinal energy from the Ningzhen Pills spread out, it surged towards Ye Zhen's dantian like a whale sucking water, following the circulation of the Yiqi Hunyuan Gong.

However, before surging into Ye Zhen's dantian, it had to pass through the first layer of space within the Mirage Dragon Pearl, where it instantly became extremely dense.

The Yiqi Hunyuan Gong continuously circulated, continuously converting the medicinal energy into true essence energy and sending it into the true essence vortex in the dantian. Each circulation passed through the first layer of space within the Mirage Dragon Pearl, and each time, the true essence became a bit purer.

The moment the last bit of medicinal energy from the Ningzhen Pills completely transformed into true essence and converged into the dantian, the true essence vortex in the dantian suddenly grew a bit more.

Crack!

Ye Zhen vaguely felt that a small bottleneck that had been troubling him for the past few days was suddenly broken.

"Broken through, my cultivation has broken through to the second level of the True Essence Realm!" Ye Zhen's expression suddenly brightened.

He urged the true essence in his dantian, and the speed of the true essence circulation suddenly increased by more than a fold. During the circulation, a layer of qi light was produced, and when he urged it, it felt like it was piercing his meridians, causing pain.

"Qi armor?"

With a thought, Ye Zhen slightly urged the true essence, and a thin layer of green qi armor immediately covered his body like armor.

"Protective qi armor? The Yiqi Hunyuan Gong has broken through to the fourth level!" Ye Zhen was overjoyed again.

Since the clan meeting, Ye Zhen had thought that this time, after leaving, he wouldn't know when he would return home, maybe in a year, maybe in two or three years, or even longer.

So, with the time he had now, Ye Zhen planned to stay at home for a few more days to accompany his parents, and to help them with their health, using the marrow-washing pills and stone marrow spirit liquid he had brought for them.

While accompanying his parents, Ye Zhen practiced even harder, increasing the number of Ningzhen Pills he took each day from one to two. This consumption rate was probably unmatched by many inner disciples of the Qiyun Sect.

With such a large consumption of pills, after just twenty days of intense cultivation, Ye Zhen's cultivation broke through twice, not only reaching the second level of the True Essence Realm but also breaking through to the fourth level of the Yiqi Hunyuan Gong, condensing protective qi armor.

It should be noted that under normal circumstances, ordinary martial artists would need to reach the third level of the True Essence Realm, or even the peak of the third level, to condense protective qi armor.

However, Ye Zhen, whose cultivation was only at the second level of the True Essence Realm, had already condensed protective qi armor early thanks to the Yiqi Hunyuan Gong, greatly enhancing his defensive capabilities.

This was one of the benefits of cultivating a high-grade cultivation technique.

"It seems it's time to leave!"

The next day, Ye Zhen informed his parents of his intention to leave. However, since he was now a prominent figure in the Ye clan, he couldn't just leave without a word.

After the news spread, the clan leader Ye Tianqi and the clan elders came to see Ye Zhen off. Before the farewell, they first presented several gifts.

The first gift was a stack of land deeds. When the clan leader Ye Tianqi presented these land deeds, his face turned slightly red.

"Ye Zhen, you understand the difficulties I faced in the past. Let's not mention it. I've put in some effort these days and managed to gather the deeds for five thousand acres of prime land as compensation. I hope you won't hold any grudges against the Ye clan. The clan will need your support in the future!"

"Clan leader, I, Ye Zhen, am not someone who doesn't understand reason. However, what I care about most is my parents. As long as they are well, the Ye clan will be well. Otherwise..."

Pfft!

Suddenly, a three-foot-long true essence sword finger shot out without warning, even scaring the clan leader Ye Tianqi, who had reached the peak of the third level of the True Essence Realm.

Seeing the fluctuating sword light at Ye Zhen's fingertips, Ye Tianqi instantly understood that during the clan meeting, Ye Zhen had held back. Otherwise, the heads of Ye Haitian and Ye Hao would have already fallen.

"Rest assured, the honor and disgrace of the Ye clan are tied to you. Whoever dares to disrespect your parents will be the enemy of the entire Ye clan." The clan leader Ye Tianqi said resolutely.

"Then I can rest easy!"

"This is a silver ticket for fifty thousand taels. Ye Zhen, please accept it!" The clan leader Ye Tianqi suddenly said, "Don't think it's too little. This is all the Ye clan can currently offer."

"What is this?"

"Oh, this is a family tradition. We provide support to talented young members of the clan. In the past, it was always given to Ye Hao, but now, it naturally belongs to you. You will receive it every year, and if the Ye clan becomes stronger, the amount will naturally increase."

Ye Zhen accepted the silver ticket without hesitation. This was the Ye clan's support for him, and accepting it also represented his recognition of his identity within the Ye clan, a mutual responsibility.

"I will inform Captain Guan."

Hearing this, the clan leader Ye Tianqi smiled. Communicating with smart people was easy. Regardless of Ye Zhen's future achievements, the Ye clan would benefit greatly from the relationship with Captain Guan Ping.

"Father, Mother, I'm leaving. Take care of yourselves!" Ye Zhen bowed deeply to his parents and turned to leave.

"Zhen, you..."

As soon as she spoke, tears rolled down Mi Jiangxue's eyes. All her words were condensed into one sentence, "Son, take care of yourself out there. Come back and visit when you have time..."

"Um..."

Ye Zhen choked back a response, holding back the tears in his eyes, he mounted his horse and rode away, the sound of hooves echoing as he rode off into the distance...

...

Wu'an County City, Delightful Tower!

"Brother, since you're here, let me accompany you and have some fun in this county city. It has everything you could want..." In Wu'an County City, Captain Guan Ping specially set up a banquet to entertain Ye Zhen, and during the meal, he was extremely warm.

"Brother Guan, I appreciate your kindness, but my sect has given me orders, and I have already delayed my return for too long this time," Ye Zhen said.

"Ah, I understand!"

Captain Guan Ping suddenly sighed, "You are a man with great ambitions, how could you be trapped by the pleasures of this world? When I was young, ah, let's not talk about it..."

After a satisfying meal, Ye Zhen was about to leave, but Captain Guan Ping insisted on seeing him off, all the way to the city gate.

"By the way, the snake king leather armor you asked me to make is all done. Here, two pieces. The other beast hides have also been sold for over five thousand taels of silver, all here." As he spoke, Captain Guan Ping handed a bundle to Ye Zhen, "Try it on, see if the snake king leather armor fits."

In a few quick movements, Ye Zhen put on one of the snake king leather armors. This thing was a great treasure for survival, especially for those below the Spirit Induction Realm or even the Spirit Transformation Realm.

After putting on one piece of snake king leather armor, Ye Zhen handed the other piece to Guan Ping, saying, "Brother Guan, try it on, it should fit you!" Ye Zhen smiled.

"What is this?" Guan Ping was taken aback.

"Ha, it was specially made for you. As the county's captain, you face great danger in killing bandits and suppressing rebels. With this snake king leather armor, you will be safer," Ye Zhen said.

Guan Ping was instantly moved, "Brother, did you order two pieces of snake king leather armor that day, and one was for me?"

Ye Zhen smiled but didn't speak.

"Brother, you really are... such a valuable thing, how can you..." The snake king leather armor was an extremely precious item, worth thousands of gold, and even with money, it might not be easy to obtain.

Moreover, no amount of money could buy a life!

"Brother Guan, saying this is too formal," Ye Zhen said.

Guan Ping was straightforward and immediately accepted the snake king leather armor.

"Brother, rest assured, as long as you are in Wu'an County, your parents will not suffer any injustice. If they do, I will come to see you with my head on a platter!" Guan Ping said, thumping his chest.

Ye Zhen smiled; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

If he was away for a long time, his parents would need someone powerful to take care of them, and Captain Guan Ping was the best choice.

"Brother Guan, I'll take my leave!"

With a flick of the reins, Ye Zhen rode south. Behind him, Guan Ping was taken aback, "Ah, brother, shouldn't you be heading east to return to Qiyun Sect? Why are you going south? You're going the wrong way!"

"No, Brother Guan, I'm not going the wrong way. I need to go to Yanshan County City to complete a task given by my sect," Ye Zhen said.

"Yanshan County City?" Guan Ping's brows suddenly furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

"Brother, you need to be extra careful when going to Yanshan County City."

"Why?"

"Yanshan County City is the territory of the Lishui Sect."