After obtaining the jade bottles, Ye Shu found that his actions became much more convenient. The remaining Hunyuan Water was stored in the jade bottle by him and did not dissipate for several days, which was indeed useful. While he continued to cultivate as usual, he pondered in his heart what item to give Yan Changlan in return.
In his past life, Ye Shu had countless treasures in his private collection, any of which he could casually take out, but now he had nothing of value. Even wanting a jade bottle was a gift from Yan Changlan. If he truly intended to give a gift, he couldn’t be perfunctory and damage their relationship.
Ye Shu pondered for a moment.
If he wanted to express his sincerity, making something by hand was the best option, but what exactly to make was a bit difficult.
After some thought, Ye Shu remembered Yan Changlan’s martial arts practice, the brilliance of his swordsmanship… His gaze suddenly fell on the peach tree outside the house, which had grown robustly after being watered by the Hunyuan Water.
So he temporarily put aside his cultivation, carefully selected from the peach tree, cut off several straight and smooth peach branches, and began to slowly carve.
This carving didn’t require any sharp tools; Ye Shu concentrated his spiritual power on his fingertips and gradually peeled off the bark, shaping it into the desired form.
In his past life, he was quite adept at various studies, and he also had some insights into the art of refining. Although his current strength was not enough for refining, it wasn’t difficult to carve using some of the techniques of refining.
Before long, under the influence of his spiritual power, the peach wood gradually took shape, turning into a translucent wooden sword. Each layer of the sword was thin, almost allowing the scenery on the other side of the sword to be seen, which was quite unusual.
After completing it, Ye Shu was not entirely satisfied, but just crafting this one wooden sword had already consumed a strand of his spiritual power. Given his current state, this was the best he could achieve.
After a short pause, Ye Shu took another piece of peach wood and carved another wooden sword.
This sword was no different from the previous one. After it was made, he combined it with the first one. With a light press, they seamlessly merged as if they were one.
This was a small trick in refining. Ye Shu found it somewhat acceptable, so he proceeded to make a third wooden sword, which he then combined with the previous two… followed by a fourth wooden sword, combined with the previous three… until finally, he had made seven wooden swords in total, all merging together to form one.
Although it was a wooden sword, it emitted a faint cold light, no different from a real cold iron sword. Moreover, because it was composed of seven interlocking swords, its blade was exceptionally sturdy. Even when clashing with an iron sword, it would remain undamaged.
Satisfied with the creation of this sword, Ye Shu then took a bucket of diluted Hunyuan Water and soaked the sword in it.
In a few more days, the wooden sword would undergo changes. By then, he could take it out and give it to Yan Changlan.
By this time, Ye Shu had exhausted his spiritual power.
In his spiritual dew, he only had a total of five strands of spiritual power. Initially, one strand of spiritual power was enough to carve a wooden sword, but as he progressed, his spiritual power became more refined, allowing him to carve all the wooden swords without needing to meditate and rest.
Now that his dantian was empty and his spiritual dew was clear, Ye Shu intended to take advantage of this opportunity to retreat for a few more days. This way, he could gather the sixth strand of spiritual power, and if luck was on his side, he might even be able to gather the seventh strand, though it was uncertain. So he first added a few more formations that could confuse others and placed them in different locations. Then, he took several times more large cabbage than usual and placed it on the mountainside, leaving a note explaining that it couldn’t be delivered at the moment.
The person who took the cabbage, upon seeing his note, naturally felt a bit anxious and hurriedly brought the cabbage back to Yan Changlan, explaining the situation.
Yan Changlan glanced at the cabbage, which was several times more than usual, and then at the seven or eight mountain chickens and four or five live rabbits inside. He couldn’t help but smile and said, “It’s alright, you may go. You don’t need to come next time.”
The person taking the cabbage quickly took his leave, relieved.
Yan Changlan, however, felt happy and thought about what his friend had said when they parted ways. He assumed that his friend had gone out to prepare a gift for him, so he was naturally happy and not the least bit annoyed.
He only hoped that the gift would be ready soon so he could see it early.
Thinking about this, Yan Changlan couldn’t help but smile.
Originally, he had a bright and clear appearance, but now with his hearty laughter, he became even more captivating, making it hard for people to look away.
In the mountains,
Ye Shu had made up his mind to retreat, so he would not eat any food anymore. Although he hadn’t completely fasted, with spiritual power within him, he couldn’t easily starve to death.
In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
This retreat had yielded excellent results. Not only did Ye Shu successfully gather the sixth strand of spiritual power, but even the seventh strand, after he repeatedly drank Hunyuan Water and exerted his full power, successfully surged upwards and condensed.
Originally, Ye Shu could continue his retreat, but for some reason, he suddenly felt restless, unable to calm down no matter what… A cultivator’s intuition was not to be underestimated. Although Ye Shu’s cultivation was weak, his true realm was far beyond this, so he wouldn’t overlook this sign.
At this moment, Ye Shu could only think of one person.
Yan Changlan!
Since helping Hong Yuan and Ye Jun get married and fulfilling the original host’s obsession, the only person closely related to him now was his friend Yan Changlan. If there was anything that could stir his emotions, it would surely be Yan Changlan.
Although it was late in the day, and he didn’t know if the intuition was good or bad, Ye Shu thought it would be best to go down the mountain and check.
He just hoped it wouldn’t be something bad…
With these thoughts in mind, Ye Shu tiptoed and immediately left the door, swiftly traversing through the mountains.
The journey to the city gate, which normally took half an hour, only took him the time it would take to drink a cup of tea. Upon arriving at the city gate, he noticed that today was different from usual. Not only was the city gate tightly closed, but it was also under martial law?
—Yan Changlan’s father was the lord of Mingshan City, so this martial law must be related to him.
Feeling a sudden sense of foreboding, Ye Shu paused for a moment, then activated a strand of spiritual power and cast a spell.
This spell was a invisibility spell. Once cast, it would envelop him in a layer of aura, making him invisible to ordinary people, and even some low-level cultivators would be deceived. In essence, it was just a trick to deceive the eyes, somewhat useless. If he were at his peak, he would naturally not bother with it, but at this moment, it was very useful.
After becoming invisible, Ye Shu immediately arrived at the city gate.
He didn’t dare to delay at all because even though this kind of invisibility spell only lasted the time it would take to burn an incense stick, and his spiritual power was limited. Not knowing where the ominous feeling came from, he naturally didn’t dare to overuse it, for fear of causing trouble.
Ye Shu swiftly flew onto the city wall and entered the city.
On ordinary days, there were few people out at this time, but tonight was different—everyone tightly shut their doors, and the streets were deserted.
A kind of elusive threat hung over the streets and many houses, even the night seemed exceptionally heavy, making people uneasy.
Ye Shu’s pace quickened as he headed towards the lord’s mansion. However, just as he passed an alley, he abruptly stopped.
In the corner, there were rustling sounds, and faintly… a hint of a poisonous smell.
Something is wrong, very wrong.
In a city of ordinary people, why are there so many… poisonous creatures?
With this thought in mind, Ye Shu changed direction and headed towards the source of the rustling sounds.
Sure enough, as he approached, he saw several poisonous spiders crawling along the corner of the wall. Behind them were centipedes, scorpions, and other creatures, all pitch black and evidently extremely venomous.
These poisonous insects roam around, baring their fangs and claws, as if searching for something.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, these poisonous insects quickly crawl towards a dark alley.
Ye Shu followed without hesitation, following his instincts.
The alley was dirty and messy, with several dirty bamboo baskets sealed in the corners. Each bamboo basket was quite large, and after being filled with dirt each day, they would be taken away and emptied the next day.
The poisonous insects were crawling towards these bamboo baskets. At this moment, Ye Shu also caught a faint smell of blood, emanating from one of the bamboo baskets… With a thought, he unleashed a burst of magic, killing all the poisonous insects that had almost reached the top of the bamboo baskets.
Then, Ye Shu approached the bamboo basket, threw aside the large items on top, and looked inside—
Curled up inside the bamboo basket was a young man. He had a strong physique and a handsome face, but he looked pale, with few visible wounds on his body. He was barely conscious and on the brink of death. It seemed that if not for immediate help, he would die here in no time.
This young man was none other than Ye Shu’s acquaintance— who else could it be but Yan Changlan?!
Ye Shu couldn’t believe that just a few days ago, Yan Changlan was still full of vigor, but tonight he was in such a state. Where is Lord Yan? Why is Yan Changlan so severely injured? Ye Shu furrowed his brow and quickly checked Yan Changlan’s pulse.
At a glance, he noticed that all the meridians in Yan Changlan’s body were broken, and his martial arts were completely ruined. In the future, he might even be disabled… The assailant was truly ruthless.
But what shocked Ye Shu was not this, but the faint trace of mana still present in Yan Changlan’s body. However, the person did not directly inject mana into Yan Changlan’s body; this faint trace of mana seemed to have been contaminated when the person used a bit of mana while incapacitating Yan Changlan.
Those who could use mana must be cultivators.
Ye Shu’s heart skipped a beat.
He didn’t know the realm of this unfamiliar cultivator, nor did he know what had happened. For safety’s sake, he couldn’t linger here recklessly. So he immediately lifted Yan Changlan out of the bamboo basket and used two strands of mana to cast an invisibility spell on both of them. Then, he quickly used another strand of mana to cast a spell of swift wind, rushing out of Mingshan City!
When he returned to the mountains, Ye Shu didn’t dare to delay. He placed Yan Changlan on his own bed and hastily got to work.