50 Skillfully earning a fortune. Just a little Ghost Fire Frost

After Fang Yuan's explanation, Chi Yan understood the situation.

Fang Yuan had joined Jiang He's group after the Year-end Examination.

Jiang He's group wasn't making things difficult for him, so after reaching Rank 2, Fang Yuan freely applied for the family assets-splitting mission.

But then Uncle Dong Tu's relationships struck and Fang Yuan received a clan mission that he could not complete.

Whether it was because Chi Yan had already completed the honey wine collecting mission or because Fang Yuan was in a different team in this world, the mission Fang Yuan received wasn't about collecting honey wine like in the novel but about cleansing a polluted water well.

Jiang He's group was not a regular five-man group, but a group focused on investigation, scouting and guarding places, being backed by the Punishment Hall Elder; and they had a weak healing Gu Master.

However, Fang Yuan's mission required a powerful Rank 2 healing Gu worm and a healing Gu Master with strong cultivation. Otherwise cleansing a large area of the well would simply be too difficult or even impossible.

For a mission like this, Clearing Heat Gu was simply perfect!

"So you want to borrow my Clearing Heat Gu?" Chi Yan said.

"That's right. I would be very grateful, Brother Chi." Fang Yuan cupped his fists.

Chi Yan smiled. "I can lend you the Clearing Heat Gu, it really isn't a problem, but I have one question - is it really fine if you receive my help for the asset-splitting mission?"

Fang Yuan faintly smiled. "I know what you mean. The asset-splitting missions are given to small groups and must be completed without the help of outsiders. It's forbidden to ask others for help, but if I use my own abilities to acquire an inanimate tool to help with the mission, then is it really wrong?"

"So that's the loophole you're using..." Chi Yan nodded in understanding. After a while he said, "Okay, I can lend you the clearing Heat Gu, but I have a price."

Fang Yuan nodded. "Please state your price."

"I want to be able to use your Nine Leaf Vitality Grass Gu for two weeks after you acquire it," Chi Yan said.

Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows.

Chi Yan then added, "I can also give you fifty primeval stones for each day I have the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass Gu, so you won't lack cultivation resources. How about that?"

Following that Fang Yuan attempted to negotiate, but Chi Yan firmly stood his ground. In the end, Fang Yuan could only accept Chi Yan's demand, as he had no other options and the price was not bad either.

The two had written down a recipe and after Fang Yuan left the Chi family's manor, there was a green jade worm-fossil inside his Aperture.

Fang Yuan faintly smiled as the morning sun shone on his fair face. Although it was still winter, he felt as if the spring of his new life was in sight. He laughed in his heart, 'Uncle's connections are really powerful, causing me to receive this tough mission, abusing the fact that my small team doesn't have a strong Healing Gu Master. He thought of bullying my lack of connections, but do I really not have any connections? Today, staying on good terms with Chi Yan has paid off. Hehe, once Uncle realizes that it's actually the Chi faction that helped me, he might even be too afraid to take further actions to snatch the Inheritance.'

Meanwhile Chi Yan was also in a great mood.

Having been left alone in the training room again, Chi Yan lightly laughed, 'Although I have been earning hundreds of primeval stones daily thanks to the Vitality Leaves, this isn't really money that I can use freely. Gu Yue Chi Lian is aware of how many Vitality Leaves he gave me, so this money can only be used on various public purchases of fire type Gu etc. But when it comes to Relic Gu, I cannot use it…'

'But now I will have another source of Vitality Leaves! After I sell these Vitality Leaves I gain from Fang Yuan's Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu, I will have more of my own money!'

…

Evening of the same day.

These days Chi Yan's cultivation also had a new chapter added in it.

He began to cultivate his soul.

Around the time of the small beast horde Chi Yan acquired a Rank 1 Ghost Fire Gu from one of the Chi family elders and began to use it to cripple his own soul, allowing it to recover afterwards to.

He had already been doing it for a week.

Before going to sleep, Chi Yan activated a Gu in his hand, forming a small lump of eerie blue ghost fire that was emitting a cold feeling chilling to the bone.

'Using Ghost Fire Gu to cripple one's own soul is a quite extreme method of soul cultivation, but without special Gu worms it's still quite effective for such a commonly available method. Apart from immense pain, as long as I do it in moderation, there would be no danger to my life,' Chi Yan's hearth thought knowingly.

Once a Gu Master's soul is injured after a failed refinement attempt, it would slowly recover and then grow stronger thanks to it.

Using Ghost Fire Gu to purposely injure one's own soul had the same effect.

Chi Yan didn't have enough resources or even time to keep practicing Gu refinement without limit, so he could only use this method.

As for purposely failing refinement, it was way too risky - when failing on purpose one could end up with crippled cultivation, becoming mentally retarded or even directly die.

Even by using the more controlled method of using Ghost Fire Gu, the damage to the soul would continue to affect the user, causing them to be negatively affected for some time, feeling groggy and mentally tired until they fully recovered their soul injury. It was the reason why Chi Yan didn't use this method earlier when he was still attending the Academy - he had to be in peak condition to memorize a lot of information every day and also to spar with Fang Yuan.

But now that Chi Yan could spend more days at home, he decided to finally begin using this method.

Ghost Fire Gu that he used was just a Rank 1 Gu, so while it might injure his soul, he would not kill him.

Soul injuries and soul torture are said to be the most terriying and painful in this world, but if this method was effective and didn't affect Chi Yan's cultivation, so he still decided to use it.

Chi Yan commanded the Ghost Fire Gu, let out a breath and decisively sent a ball of blue ghost fire at himself.

With a 'huuu' sound, the blue fireball flew at his chest.

"Ghhhhhrr!!!" Chi Yan let out a low growl in pain.

Chi Yan's body and clothes were covered in chilly flames. The Ghost Fire did not injure his body, but directly burned his soul; such pain was naturally extremely intense.

Chi Yan lowly growled and gritted his teeth as he forcefully resisted the tortuous pain. The feeling was not hot, but the opposite - it was chilling cold, chilling to the core.

After the initial attack, the ghost fire continued to burn Chi Yan's soul for a few short breaths of time until it died out. 

Chi Yan let out a breath of relief, breathing roughly.

Willingly using Ghost Fire Gu, in particular, to injure one's own soul was viewed as an extreme self-mutilation method for a reason. Chi Yan could still feel the lingering chilling cold in his soul itself, giving him a creepy feeling.

Using Ghost Fire Gu on oneself was like the worst possible torture method, like willingly jumping naked into a boiling cauldron of water or lava. No sane person would want to do that.

If someone sent this lump at Chi Yan, then he would have no choice but to resist it and would bravely fight for his life, but when he had to torture himself it was completely different - one could compare it to throwing a pot of boiling water over one's head - go ahead, you'll be fine, it's just pain.

But Chi Yan only hesitated for a moment. He only thought of what Fang Yuan or Bai Ning Bing would do, and he quickly regained a cool state of mind, his gaze hardening.

'It's just a little ghost fire frost,' he smiled plainly, laughing in his heart, and then sent a blue fireball at himself again.

A soul-crippling chill assaulted him again.

With this training method he might be able to use more Gu worms simultaneously, using more powerful killer moves, so it was definitely amazing and something he would want to do!

It was akin to a self-mutilation practice, but he still wanted to do it.

After resisting the second Ghost Fire, Chi Yan burned his soul one more time. Since he had already done it twice, what's the big deal with doing it again?

Chi Yan knew from experience that to injure his soul sufficiently, he needed to use the Ghost Fire Gu at least three times.

If he used the Ghost Fire Gu too few times, then he would wake up fully rested the next day and would not benefit from this kind of practice as much as he could.

If he used it too much, then he might wake up mentally exhausted and unable to control his Gu worms properly.

Chi Yan found out that with his current soul force strength, if he used the Ghost Fire Gu three times, then although he would wake up slightly groggy on the next day, this kind of soul injury would still not affect his Gu worm practice and everyday activities.

After using the Ghost Fire Gu, Chi Yan went to bed, falling asleep quite easily.

This kind of method was a torture.

As the time passed, he knew that he would have to increase the number of times he used the Ghost Fire Gu, but that would also indicate that his soul had strengthened.

…

Two days later Fang Yuan had returned the Clearing Heat Gu to Chi Yan, while three days after that he handed over the Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu, writing down a recipe agreement.

In the following days Chi Yan began to use Fang Yuan's Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu and dumped his spare primeval essence to produce twenty seven Vitality Leaves each day, abusing the Gu worm.

If the Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu is abused, producing more than eighteen Vitality Leaves per day, it would eventually die. But as Chi Yan calculated, the time until the next merchant caravan was only around a week, so he decided on this method.

Naturally, he wouldn't really cause the Nine Life Vitality Grass to die, but once Fang Yuan gets it back, the grass Gu would simply not be usable for some time. Fang Yuan would be forced to swallow his bitterness and wait for the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass to recover.

But to acquire a lot of money quickly, Chi Yan had no other choice. In truth, the agreement didn't say anything about the limit of how much the Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu could be used by Chi Yan, so it isn't like he couldn't do it.

These days Chi Yan continued selling the Vitality Leaves he received from Chi Lian to the Chi family's elders and then various Gu Master groups under the Chi family.

As for the Vitality Leaves produced from Fang Yuan's Nine Life Vitality Grass Gu, he first sold some to his girlfriends' groups and then used his girlfriends as intermediary to sell them to their relatives, and then random Gu Master groups - mostly to groups which their old classmates joined.

Chi Yan had to say that the girls were really a great help there!

In the span of a single the trio sold close to two hundred Vitality Leaves to various people, earning over nine thousand primeval stones for him, and they didn't even ask for compensation, being happy to be of help.

Chi Yan felt like a jerk at that time for not providing his girls with any cultivation resources. Unfortunately, from the very beginning he wanted to save up as many primeval stones as possible just for this last merchant caravan. It was only after that point that he could be generous and make up for being so stingy.

One of those days Chi Yan visited Fang Yuan's wine tavern.

Not only did Chi Yan need to pass Fang Yuan the primeval stones he promised him for using the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass Gu but Fang Yuan also wanted to buy a Wild Boar King's snowy-white tusk that was in his possession.

For the Wild Boar King's tusk, Fang Yuan used the excuse that he was trying to refine a Bone Handblade Gu, used by close-range Gu Masters.

Chi Yan naturally knew that Fang Yuan actually wanted to use the Wild Boar King Tusk as a supplementary Gu material to refine White Jade Gu, but he did not expose him and he sold it to him without problems. He expected that he would soon hear the news that Fang Yuan's Bone Handblade Gu refinement 'failed'.

Having made the transaction, the two chatted about the Vitality Leaf business and then the fact that Fang Yuan had left his group, becoming a loner group leader.

"Owner, someone is finding trouble again." At one point, a clerk carried a scared expression and walked towards Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan raised his brows.

Chi Yan stood up, looking at Fang Yuan, "Oh, that's good. Then let me deal with it."

He walked out of the partition and noticed two male Gu Masters standing at a table and causing a ruckus.

The one at the front was a man around forty years old, neither tall nor short, with dark yellow skin that made him look sickly. A pair of triangular eyes shone with a cold light.

Meanwhile the other was young, in his twenties, having black hair bound into a ponytail at the back.

Chi Yan's eyebrows rose as he recognized the people present. It was not Gu Yue Man Shi, but actually the Sickly Snake Jiao San's bunch! 

Chi Yan had already memorized all important Rank 2 Gu Masters of the clan, so he knew that the two were Gu Yue Jiao San and Gu Yue Kong Jing. It appeared that because Fang Yuan had not killed them in this world, they were the ones causing problems in the tavern.

Bam!

Jiao San crashed the wine jar against the floor. Then he called out, "This wine tastes like piss! You expect me to drink this?"

"Bleh, I've never drunk wine worse than this. Is this even wine?" Kong Jing asked.

"That's right. Just what are you selling to us here? Is this even wine or do you piss into jars?" Jiao San hissed, scanning the crowd with his snake-like eyes.

The old man who was the shopkeeper bowed his head low as he apologized in trepidation, "Lords, please be appeased, if this wine is not to your satisfaction, the shop will give you another brew free of charge!"

"We don't want this wine. Compensation, you must compensate us! Our good mood was ruined by you guys, so you have to compensate us with at least five hundred primeval stones!" Jiao San demanded, acting according to Dong Tu's script.

"This is the third time already, it seems this wine tavern has offended some people."

"Sigh, let's not drink here anymore."

"Quick, go, when Gu Masters fight, we mortals suffer."

The surrounding people frantically left their seats, only a few Gu Masters remained and continued their chat.

"I heard this tavern is owned by Fang Yuan, who is it that is finding fault with him?"

"Oh! The one whose parents died and inherited their fortune, the lad who got rich overnight?"

"No wonder people are doing this, even if it is me, I'd be jealous. Just think, we fight for our lives out there for these fortunes to live a stable life. But he Fang Yuan is merely a newbie, what rights does he have to obtain these things!"

"I heard that Jiao San has a retired elder behind him, let's keep watching," someone suppressed his voice and said.

Fang Yuan's face upon seeing this scene was emotionless, but his eyes glinted with cold light. 'Sickly Snake, huh? He tried to recruit me after the Year-end Exam, offering great terms. He was clearly recruited by Uncle.' 

At that moment Jiao San noticed Fang Yuan, as well as Chi Yan at the side. Kong Jing also noticed Chi Yan.

Immediately, the two were stunned. Gu Yue Chi Yan, what was he doing with Fang Yuan? It was only a while ago that thanks to Kong Jing's cousin their group received a good deal on Vitality Leaves that apparently came from Chi Yan.

Chi Yan took a step forward while looking at Jiao San's bunch. "You two, I heard you're causing trouble for my Brother Fang Yuan."

Jiao San and Kong Jing's eyes opened wide. 'Brother Fang Yuan? The inheritor of the Chi family really calls Fang Yuan his brother? They're actually that close?'

Jiao San recovered first from the surprise and said, "Chi Yan, don't go into this muddy water. This has nothing to do with you, so just step back."

"Chi Yan… Please don't get involved," Kong Jing said, seeming more timid than Jiao San.

Without giving a chance to Chi Yan to speak, Jiao San turned to Fang Yuan and said, "Fang Yuan, you only need to apologize and bow, and this matter will end here. As long as you do that, we'll leave, I can promise you that."

Jiao San patted his heart, showing an air of magnanimity, but his intention could not lie to the surrounding Gu Masters.

"This Sickly Snake really is cunning."

"That's right, If Fang Yuan apologized, he would no longer be able to raise his head and anyone would come over and step on him, and bully his weakness. But if he does not apologize, that is disrespecting a Senior, and with such an attitude, the entire community will keep him away."

"Yeah, he's stuck with two difficult decisions."

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms and decided to allow Chi Yan to speak up for him, seeing that he was already walking straight toward Jiao San.

While walking, Chi Yan spoke, "Sickly Snake, as a Senior, you really want to bully a junior and you purposely cause trouble in my friend's tavern. How about you fight me instead?" 

"What?"

"What did Chi Yan just say, he spoke up for Fang Yuan and challenged Jiao San?"

The people present were taken aback.

Jiao San was also stunned. "Chi Yan, you're actually challenging me?"

Chi Yan nodded. "I am, do you dare to accept?"

Jiao San coughed twice and said, "Chi Yan, you're making a mistake. I will give you a chance to take back your words, just step back."

"Just shut up. Sickly Snake, if you have the balls then fight me. Or are you too scared to even fight a junior?" Chi Yan called out.

Hearing Chi Yan's words, everyone present was stunned. Chi Yan was, after all, just a beginner who barely left the Gu Academy, while the Sickly Snake was an accomplished veteran Rank 2 Gu Master.

Too arrogant!

"But just fighting is boring. Let's make a bet. The winner will be able to take one of the loser's Gu worms. We'll fight right now in the arena, do you dare to accept or not?" Chi Yan said coldly and stared straight at Jiao San.

Jiao San was dumbfounded. Chi Yan was simply too arrogant and daring, even telling him to shut up.

But for a challenge like this, Jiao San naturally could not decline it, for if he did decline, it would be like admitting defeat against a junior sixteen years old; his reputation among the Rank 2 Gu Masters would then be completely ruined!

But this challenge also had great potential gains!

Jiao San's lips formed into a sneer. "Chi Yan, you're making a mistake here, but why would I not accept it? I didn't want to fight you out of respect for Chi Shan, but since you dared to disrespect a Senior and even made a bet like this, then don't regret it!"

"Sickly Snake accepted it, they're really going to fight!"

"Chi Yan is too arrogant, he's going to get hurt."

"This Chi Yan, I heard about him. Rank 2 middle stage cultivation at a young age and performed well during the small beast horde. Sickly Snake's group is not strong, but to challenge a Senior, he's too daring."

The Gu Masters discussed in shock as they watched Chi Yan and Jiao San leave the tavern.

The Gu Masters then all left for the arena as well, and Fang Yuan also followed, observing quietly.