I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

The Second Palace

Long Tian ultimately only glanced at Ye Yong from a distance for a moment before retracting his gaze. After all, the disparity in their statuses was too great; he couldn’t recklessly approach.

With the third-grade elixir produced and having won against several second-grade alchemists in a public setting, Long Tian had already achieved his purpose for coming to the Dan Huo Hall. Next, he just needed to wait for the news to ferment and spread to the ears of other elders in the Sword Pavilion.

Long Tian was quite confident that with his swordsmanship and alchemical abilities, he would surely attract their interest and compete with Elder Bai for the qualification to accept disciples.

However, as long as the root of the problem remained, troubles would continue to breed. Thinking of the formidable Bai family, Long Tian felt somewhat vexed; he was too passive in his weakness. But as the saying goes, when soldiers come, block them; when water comes, dam it. For now, he could only take it step by step, responding to whatever came his way.

At this moment, Ye Yong followed Xie Ming into an alchemy room, while Ye Gou acted as a runner, fetching medicinal materials from the steward in charge of the medicine cabinet.

The surrounding disciples were in constant discussion, seemingly amazed that Ye Yong was engaging in alchemy. Long Tian was not surprised; the moment Ye Yong appeared in the Dan Huo Hall, he had anticipated this. As a multifaceted prodigy backed by several prominent saints, it was only natural for Ye Yong to try his hand at alchemy—after all, having more options meant having more escape routes.

“Young Master Ye Yong should be able to refine some impressive elixirs, right?” Qiu Li beside him looked on with admiration. Thanks to Long Tian, he had also entered the inner hall of the Dan Huo Hall and witnessed the mysterious alchemists who were usually so high above, as well as Long Tian’s alchemical skills, which had opened his eyes.

Long Tian did not respond, merely patting his shoulder to signal that it was time to go.

——

Xie Ming had prepared a profound-level alchemy room for Ye Yong, a facility that ordinary second-grade alchemists could not enjoy. Ye Yong’s access was a clear indication of Xie Ming’s regard for him.

Looking at the towering alchemy furnace before him, with the faintly glowing formations and inscriptions on the ground, Ye Yong had no mind to speculate whether Long Tian sought revenge.

Some things, once they happened, had happened; entanglement was futile, especially when it came to the protagonist’s revenge, which could not be stopped. All he could do was try to mitigate his hatred and hope he would show mercy.

“The way to activate this alchemy furnace is…” Xie Ming began to explain the basics of using the equipment to Ye Yong.

The internal space of the furnace was much larger than he had imagined, and Ye Yong inexplicably thought of Sun Wukong, for the fiery eyes of the golden-eyed monkey were forged within an alchemy furnace.

If he were to… never mind, at that point, he would probably end up not with fiery eyes but rather transformed into a golden ham.

With the system’s support, Ye Yong felt it was better not to take unnecessary risks with unconventional cultivation. Soon, Ye Gou brought over several medicinal materials, and Ye Yong began the real alchemical game.

—— Echo Peak;

Meanwhile, Qin Shidong and Liang Xiaorou were sitting in the living room, waiting for Ye Yong to return.

“Strange, it’s been several hours, hasn’t it? Why hasn’t the young master come back yet?” After practicing the Cloud Blade Technique, Wu Xue came from the courtyard. Seeing Qin Shidong and Liang Xiaorou reading to pass the time, she brewed them a new round of tea.

Having been by Ye Yong’s side for so long, Wu Xue’s tea-making skills had greatly improved. Although she couldn’t form hand seals, she could still manage to prevent the spiritual energy of the Ling Ye from dissipating too much.

“He’s refining pills in the Danhuo Hall.” Liang Xiaorou put down the comic book in her hands. The story had abruptly stopped at the competition, and she had read it over and over again, growing more anxious and frustrated with each read. Why hadn’t it been finished? At least wrap up the climax! What a jerk!

Thinking of Ye Yong’s slightly mischievous personality, Liang Xiaorou felt he was doing it on purpose.

As for how she knew Ye Yong was in the Danhuo Hall, please, with his current fame, wherever he appeared would immediately spread like wildfire. Liang Xiaorou wasn’t like Qin Shimeng, who was so aloof she had no friends. She had quite a few friends, and with just a casual use of a communication stone, she could easily find out the news outside.

“Why would the young master go to refine pills?” Wu Xue had interacted with many cultivators and had deepened her understanding of various systems, knowing the difficulty of pill refining. But the young master usually treated his own pills like candy, taking them freely… Could it be that he had eaten too many himself, forcing him to refine pills personally?

“Probably just doing it for fun, but while he’s at it, he might surpass others.” Liang Xiaorou wouldn’t think Ye Yong lacked pills; it was just that Ye Yong was completely different from the cultivators she knew, his actions unpredictable. So, she couldn’t judge his intentions, but she was absolutely certain of his talent: “I’ve never seen anyone weirder than him.”

Qin Shimeng empathized, preparing to continue reading while waiting for Ye Yong to return, when suddenly a white shadow appeared at the corner of the corridor.

“Eh? Is the master not here?” The fluffy creature emitted a soft, sweet voice.

“Yes.” Qin Shimeng wasn’t the type to scream at the sight of a cute creature, nor did she think she particularly liked small animals, but she was very interested in the white fox before her. She wanted to understand why Ye Yong liked it so much; after all, if he didn’t like it, he wouldn’t carry it around all day. Qin Shimeng longed to discover its charm: “Are you looking for him for something?”

“I encountered some issues in my cultivation; it hasn’t been going smoothly.” Last night’s feast had been a grand affair, filled with spirit meat supplements, and Hua Ningyan couldn’t suppress her cultivation, waking up this morning to break through to the eighth layer of crystallization.

“Tell us about it; maybe we can help you.” Liang Xiaorou was quite curious about the fox’s cultivation.

“It’s about the heart method; you two should be unable to assist.”

“With three thousand paths, all roads lead to the same goal.” Qin Shimeng also expressed her support.

After hesitating for a moment, Hua Ningyan decided that the others were close to her master, so she explained her predicament of being stuck at the second palace.

“What kind of heart method is this? It actually divides the body, dantian, qi sea, and soul into nine palaces… Isn’t that terrifying?” Just hearing a small part, Liang Xiaorou was greatly shocked.

Qin Shimeng felt the same; she had never imagined that spirit beasts would have such peculiar cultivation heart methods.

“The second palace is called the Form Palace. If understood literally, it’s about form?” After their astonishment, Liang Xiaorou and Qin Shimeng seriously analyzed the situation for Hua Ningyan, each contributing their thoughts, which made quite a bit of sense, given their experience was far richer than that of Hua Ningyan, who had just started cultivating.

“Oh, so I shouldn’t continue using the methods of the first palace, the Spirit Palace, to accumulate spiritual power. Instead, I should focus on sensing changes in my body, or rather, use spiritual power to try to influence my body and strengthen it?”

“That should be correct; you can refer to it, but it’s best to wait for Ye Yong to return before trying.” Liang Xiaorou exchanged glances with Qin Shimeng. If they weren’t mistaken, once Hua Ningyan fully comprehended the second palace, she would likely transform.

Firstly, the first palace, the Spirit Palace, is the most basic related to spiritual energy, which is not much different from the heart methods of most cultivators. The second palace, however, begins with the Form Palace, clearly emphasizing form. Moreover, according to the realms of ordinary spirit beasts and demon beasts transforming, it’s roughly around the transformation of the spirit. Ye Yong’s chosen spirit pet surely wouldn’t have poor qualifications, so it was very likely to advance to the Nascent Soul realm ahead of time.

Hua Ningyan had already reached the eighth layer of crystallization, comprehended the first palace, and was beginning to advance toward the second palace, which was entirely reasonable. The nine palaces, each corresponding

Two women grew increasingly curious and a bit awed by Ye Yong’s “ancient legacy.”