Chapter 28: The Haggard Ji Siyu

After arriving at the Mission Pavilion, Chen Chuan walked toward the area where the tasks for Grade Three Medicinal Pills were displayed.

His appearance immediately drew attention.

"Chen Chuan? What is he doing in the Grade Three task area?"

"He wouldn’t be trying to take a Grade Three Alchemy task, would he?"

Amidst everyone’s doubtful gazes, Chen Chuan walked straight up to the Elder on duty and said calmly:

"Elder, I am taking the tasks for the Heart Clearing Pill and the Barrier Breaking Pill."

Both the Heart Clearing Pill and the Barrier Breaking Pill were among the more difficult types of Grade Three Medicinal Pills.

Upon hearing this, the Elder abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with shock and suspicion:

"Chen Chuan? Are you sure?"

"This is a Grade Three Medicinal Pill! It requires the spiritual energy support of the Ming Quan Realm and a more delicate control over medicinal power."

"This Disciple is sure," Chen Chuan said with a certain tone.

The Elder carefully sensed the aura on Chen Chuan’s body.

His pupils shrank suddenly, and his voice carried a hint of trembling. "You... you’ve had a Breakthrough to the Ming Quan Realm?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Mission Pavilion instantly erupted into a frenzy.

"What? Ming Quan Realm?!"

"Impossible! Wasn’t he just at the Seventh Level of the Burning Lamp Realm a few days ago?"

"Three days? From the Seventh Level of Burning Lamp to the First Level of Ming Quan?"

"Breaking through three levels of Realm and a major Bottleneck in three days? Is he fucking using a rocket to Cultivate?"

"A monster! He’s a total monster!"

Ignoring the clamor and various uncertain gazes behind him, Chen Chuan collected the task Materials and returned to the Pill Hall.

With his previous Alchemy experience and his Invincible Talent, Chen Chuan faced no obstacles in refining Grade Three Medicinal Pills; his speed was just a bit slow at the beginning.

After spending six hours, Chen Chuan finally finished refining the Medicinal Pills.

Just as he finished refining, he happened to be spotted by Ye Linger, who was wandering over.

The girl first sniffed the air, and then her eyes suddenly widened larger than copper bells.

She lunged forward, pointing at the pills and stuttering: "Gra... Grade Three top-grade? You... you you you..."

She then suddenly sensed the aura on Chen Chuan, which was completely different from before, and acted as if she had seen a ghost; her finger pointing at Chen Chuan was shaking:

"Mi... Ming Quan Realm? When did you have a Breakthrough?"

Chen Chuan looked at her small face, which was distorted from shock, and curled his lips in a good mood, pretending to be profound:

"I am a Cultivation Genius; isn’t it normal for my cultivation to improve quickly?"

"Normal, my foot!" Ye Linger almost jumped up, circling Chen Chuan several times while muttering:

"From the Seventh Level of Burning Lamp to the First Level of Ming Quan, it’s only been a few days."

"You guy, have you been hiding your cultivation all this time?"

Chen Chuan smiled without saying anything, putting on a smug "guess for yourself" look.

This made Ye Linger’s teeth itch with frustration, yet she was helpless.

She had to admit that the guy in front of her was a complete freak, an Alchemy Prodigy, and his Cultivation speed was even more terrifying.

However, besides her annoyance, a hint of cunning and excitement flashed in Ye Linger’s eyes.

She thought of the place she was going to with Chen Chuan soon and had originally been a bit worried.

Now seeing Chen Chuan being so Heaven-Defying, she felt full of confidence.

"Hmph, what are you so smug about! Even if you’ve reached the Ming Quan Realm, you still won’t be enough when you face that woman Feng Zhixian in the Outer Sect Grand Competition."

Ye Linger refused to admit defeat, made a face, and skipped away.

In her heart, she was already calculating how to make good use of this little monster Junior Brother.

Chen Chuan watched her back and shook his head.

His attention soon returned to his great cause of making money and improving his cultivation.

The Outer Sect Grand Competition was drawing closer by the day.

He had to seize every minute and every second to accumulate enough capital.

To amaze everyone when no one expected anything from him!

...

Black Rock City!

Ji Family!

Ji Siyu sat alone by the window; her clear and beautiful face had lost its former luster, covered in a layer of deep exhaustion that was hard to dispel.

Her once lively eyes were now dim and lifeless, with faint dark circles under them; she was clearly exhausted from days of mental strain and had not slept well.

To find Chen Chuan, Ji Siyu had searched every place she could think of, but she always came up empty-handed.

Chen Chuan was like a pebble thrown into the vast ocean, disappearing completely without causing the slightest ripple.

This sense of loss from having no clues was like countless fine needles, pricking Ji Siyu’s heart day and night.

She often had a terrible suspicion.

Was he hiding from her on purpose?

Hiding far away, never wanting to have anything to do with a woman like her who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong?

Whenever this thought arose, her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe from the pain.

In her mind, the deep glance Chen Chuan gave when he left would always surface uncontrollably.

The self-mockery, coldness, and the finality that eventually turned into silence in that gaze.

Now, in her eyes, it was no longer the silence of a crime exposed, but the desolation of a heart turned to ash after being abandoned by one’s closest kin.

"Why wasn’t I willing to believe him just once?"

"Why didn’t I even give him a chance to explain?"

Ji Siyu murmured softly, her voice hoarse and carrying the sound of weeping.

Her eyes quickly turned red, and hot tears slid down uncontrollably.

That loud slap had not only landed on Chen Chuan’s face.

It was more like a branding iron, deeply searing her Soul, becoming a piece of evidence of her guilt that she could never let go of.

"Sister."

Ji Qingyu carried a bowl of warm congee and gently pushed the door open to enter.

Seeing her sister’s distraught state, her heart also ached with pain, and guilt twisted around her like poisonous vines.

She placed the bowl of congee gently on the table and said softly:

"Sister, eat at least a little something. If you go on like this, your body will collapse."

Ji Siyu seemed not to hear, her gaze still blankly staring at the deep night outside the window.

Ji Qingyu sighed in her heart, knowing that any comfort at this moment would seem hollow and powerless.

She hesitated for a moment but still reminded her gently:

"Sister, in a few days, we need to set off to report to the Primordial Holy Land. This matter concerns our future and must not be delayed."

The Primordial Holy Land was a Cultivation Holy Land that countless Cultivators yearned for.

But in Ji Siyu’s heart, it couldn’t stir even a ripple of excitement.

She only nodded extremely slowly, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "I know."

Seeing her sister like this, Ji Qingyu knew that although she had agreed, her mind was not on it at all.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but in the end, it only turned into a powerless sigh.

She silently left the room, gently closing the door.

The light sound of the door closing finally pulled Ji Siyu back slightly from her endless regret.

She was the only one left in the room, along with the cold moonlight seeping in through the window.

She slowly raised her tearful eyes and looked at the ancient, unchanging moon, as if she could see that figure whose whereabouts were unknown through the endless Void Realm.

The emotions that had been building up for a long time could no longer be suppressed, turning into broken and painful sobs that echoed lowly in the quiet room:

"Chen Chuan, where on earth are you?"

"I miss you so much."

"I really know I was wrong..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, drifting away in the cold night wind with endless longing, but receiving no response.

Only that cold moon silently gazed at the heartbroken person on the ground.