A Man’s Ancestral Emblem

Since the Disciples of the 36th Branch were beaten and sent home in disgrace after coming here to provoke us, the Disciples of the entire branch have been in a state of extreme excitement.

Although the branch initially tried to keep it quiet, fearing that other Disciples might develop feelings of inferiority, many Disciples still learned the truth.

Now, their branch's ranking has not brought them any sense of inferiority; instead, it has made them even more confident.

To completely defeat a powerhouse from the 36th-ranked branch with a bottom-ranked standing—what kind of glory is that?

This has further strengthened their Dao Heart. There are no shortcuts in cultivation; even with countless resources, without a firm Dao Heart, one is nothing more than a paper tiger.

At first, they proudly claimed that they had won against the strong while being weak, but Long Chen corrected them: "You were already very strong to begin with."

Strength does not lie in how high your cultivation is, how good your background is, or how powerful your combat skills are; it lies in whether you have the heart of a powerhouse.

Three days later, Tu Fang quickly exchanged for the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills. Every Disciple was able to receive one precious Medicinal Pill.

One must know that the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pill is a top-tier item among Tier 3 Medicinal Pills; branches ranked after fiftieth don't have this benefit at all.

The Disciples knew that Long Chen was looking out for them. Originally, such precious Medicinal Pills should have been prioritized for Core Disciples.

When some Disciples suggested they didn't need the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills, and Tu Fang told them this was Long Chen's decision, many Disciples couldn't help but tear up.

Long Chen's heart, which always considered others, deeply moved them. This was Long Chen; whenever there were benefits, he never forgot anyone around him.

Among Prodigies like Long Chen, which one isn't arrogant and disdainful of the world? Look at the powerhouses of the 36th Branch; even a mere Inner Sect Disciple acts as if they are high and mighty.

Yet Long Chen is always so easygoing, never putting on airs, and can get along with everyone like a brother.

Holding their Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills, all the Disciples returned to their respective Immortal Caves. They knew the only thing they could do was improve their strength so as not to disappoint Long Chen.

As long as they aren't left too far behind by Long Chen, they still have a chance to fight alongside him. For the sake of this opportunity, they had to strive with all their might.

The Disciples' performance left Tu Fang filled with emotion. One might ask, who in this world is without selfishness? The larger a team is, the harder it is to control.

Yet, without any tricks, Long Chen firmly united all the Disciples. Tu Fang could feel the heartfelt gratitude of those Disciples when they received the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills.

During this time, the branch Disciples were all refining the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills to enhance the toughness of their Meridians, thereby passively increasing their combat power.

The Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pill is a rare Tier 3 Medicinal Pill with no side effects. It can continuously nourish the Meridians until they reach their limit.

There are not many Medicinal Pills that nourish the Meridians, and most others have side effects.

There is an old saying in the world of Alchemy: "Pills shouldn't be taken more than three times." This means that most enhancement-type Medicinal Pills can only be taken three times.

The first time you take it, you get 100% effectiveness; the second time it is halved; the third time it is halved again; and by the fourth time, it is basically ineffective.

This is why the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pill is so precious—not only because of its powerful efficacy, but also because it allows one's Meridians to reach their limit.

While all the Disciples were digesting the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills, Long Chen was not idle either. He continuously refined the pills and distributed them to Tang Waner and the other Core Disciples.

What made Long Chen somewhat helpless was that his current Alchemy fire was clearly unable to keep up with his growth.

It took a full six hours to refine a batch of Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills using the Fire Lizard Blue Flame. It was boring and tedious. If he had a more powerful beast fire, he could refine the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills much faster.

Long Chen had originally planned well: he would refine more Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills and train everyone around him to become experts.

When encountering someone acting arrogant, he wouldn't even need to make a move. He could just make a gesture and have the enemy beaten to a pulp; that would be satisfying.

But over the past half-month, just refining pills had exhausted Long Chen like a dog. However, the fortunate thing was that he had refined over two hundred Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills.

He had Tang Waner and the others each receive ten pills. Long Chen had absolute confidence in his Medicinal Pills; he could guarantee that if everyone refined the ten Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills, it would definitely, 100%, allow their Meridians to reach their limit.

Regarding the art of Alchemy, Long Chen was even more confident than in his own combat power. It was just a pity that his fire power was insufficient; otherwise, he could have refined Tier 4 Medicinal Pills.

A Nameplate suddenly appeared in his hand. Looking at this Nameplate, Long Chen couldn't help but sigh.

This was left to him by Great Master Yun Qi. Thinking of Great Master Yun Qi left a bitter taste in Long Chen's heart.

Although Great Master Yun Qi's Alchemy skills were average, he was definitely a respectable elder who had sacrificed himself for Long Chen.

Although Long Chen had eventually killed the man in white, he didn't feel any sense of relief.

"I don't know what kind of existence this Pill Valley is. To be called a Holy Land in the hearts of Alchemy cultivators, it must be quite extraordinary."

Long Chen had always yearned for Pill Valley. If it were truly as sacred as Great Master Yun Qi had described, then Long Chen would definitely have to visit it.

Putting away the Pill Valley Nameplate, Long Chen wondered if he should continue refining Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills, although the Core Disciples already had basically enough.

He didn't need to worry about the Outer Sect Disciples and Inner Sect Disciples for now, because they were not in a rush. As long as they hadn't entered the Bone Forging Stage, they could refine the Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills at any time.

Long Chen still had dozens of Three-Flower Tendon-Connecting Pills left in his hand, but he knew that once he entered the Tendon Changing Stage, given the abnormal cultivation difficulty of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, the Medicinal Pills he would need would definitely be a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times that of others.

Thinking about that terrifying consumption, Long Chen felt his scalp tingle. He even suspected that the Pill Emperor's memories and the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art were a matched set.

Without powerful Alchemy skills, wanting to cultivate the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was simply a pipe dream. Even now, with his powerful Alchemy skills, Long Chen still felt his future was shrouded in fog.

As Long Chen's cultivation level increased, he would consume countless rare medicinal herbs in the future, and that was all money. He had to find a way to make money.

Looking at the Pill Furnace in front of him, Long Chen had another headache. He wasn't afraid of Alchemy, but refining for six hours without moving was, especially for a lazy person like Long Chen, a life-threatening pace.

Especially now that he wasn't refining for others, but for himself, he felt even less motivated.

"Brother Long, I'm back."

Just as Long Chen was struggling with whether to slack off, a rough voice came, and Long Chen felt the entire Immortal Cave shake.

He rushed out of the Immortal Cave and saw A Man sprinting toward him. On his back was his huge wolf-tooth mace, making the ground tremble.

However, this time A Man had finally learned to control his strength; the road along the way had not been crushed by him.

"Awoo."

Suddenly, a huge figure pounced toward Long Chen. The speed was so fast that Long Chen was knocked down before he could react.

"Haha, Little Snow, you're being naughty again."

After Little Snow knocked Long Chen down, it stuck out its tongue and licked Long Chen's face, leaving him unable to laugh or cry.

After returning this time, Little Snow's size had become even more terrifying. It was nearly ten zhang long, its claws were larger than a tabletop, and its talons were as sharp as steel, with patterns even appearing on them.

At this moment, Little Snow was exuding a terrifying aura all over its body. It was the pressure belonging to a king, making one's Soul feel a tremor.

"Little Snow, you've promoted to Wolf King?"

Long Chen stood up and looked at Little Snow, unable to help but say in surprise.

At this moment, Little Snow had actually advanced to Tier 3 Peak, reaching its own limit, which was why the king's pressure on its body was so obvious.

The Scarlet Flame Snow Wolf was originally the king among Tier 3 Demonic Beasts, an invincible existence among Tier 3 Demonic Beasts. Now, Little Snow was in its Peak period.

One must know that Little Snow's combat power had always been very strong. During the last great battle, Little Snow was only at Tier 3 Middle Stage, yet it could instantly kill a Core Disciple.

Now that it had advanced to Tier 3 Peak, Long Chen estimated that Little Snow's combat power could fully rival an average Dao-Deriving Expert.

Most importantly, Little Snow's attacks were exceptionally sharp, especially its attack range, which was frighteningly large. It was an invincible killer in group battles.

"Brother Long, I heard you fought in the branch. It's a pity I came back late and missed it!" A Man said with some frustration.

Long Chen couldn't help but find it funny. Now A Man had also become a battle-hungry individual; back then, this kid was a good child who wouldn't fight back when beaten.

"It's fine. When we reach the Secret Realm, there will be plenty of opponents. Wait, A Man, you have an Ancestral Mark?"

Long Chen suddenly discovered that a pale red mark had appeared on A Man's forehead, looking like a birthmark.

That mark was octagonal and looked extremely strange; there seemed to be something inside the mark.

But it couldn't be seen clearly. When Long Chen wanted to carefully study that birthmark, a sharp aura suddenly rushed toward Long Chen's Divine Sense.

Long Chen was shocked and couldn't help but take two steps back. That aura was extremely terrifying; he seemed to see a scene of an ancient savage beast shattering the sky.

"Brother Long, what's wrong?" A Man asked.

"It's nothing."

Long Chen shook his head. It seemed that some secret was hidden on A Man, but Long Chen believed that A Man himself didn't know about it.

Although that aura was extremely terrifying, Long Chen didn't sense any hostility from it, which put his mind at ease.

Long Chen asked about A Man's recent situation. A Man said the old man had taken him and Little Snow to a very far place, where there were countless powerful Demonic Beasts, and he and Little Snow were always full every day.

As for the cultivation and appearance of those Demonic Beasts, A Man didn't remember. He only knew that the meat of those Demonic Beasts was very tough and hard to eat, but his strength grew very quickly.

Most importantly, with the experience from last time, Cang Ming had prepared a lot of reserve "food" for A Man.

Long Chen nodded. A Man's body seemed to have awakened something now. This might be related to the super-strong combat power he erupted with when he fought the Dao-Deriving Expert last time.

But no matter what, this was a good thing. After giving A Man a few instructions, Long Chen took Little Snow and left the branch.