344: Chapter 344 Dragon or Worm!

Ye Chen smiled: "And now?"

Chu Shixiong wore a solemn expression, his gaze burning as he stared at Ye Chen.

"I'll fight."

Two words, resolute and decisive.

No hesitation, no retreat, not even a moment's delay.

Seeing him like this, Ye Chen gave a slight nod.

"Good."

"Since the Chu Family Head has this resolve, I won't let you labor in vain."

He paused, his gaze settling on Chu Shixiong's face.

"Gather all those Earth Realm experts in one place. I'll give you a foundation of confidence."

Chu Shixiong was stunned for a moment, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

"Confidence?"

He was somewhat puzzled, somewhat confused.

Twenty Earth Realm experts, while nothing much in the capital, were already a force that could walk sideways in the Yanjing area.

But what did Ye Chen mean by "confidence"?

Could it be...

That Ye Chen still had some hidden card up his sleeve?

Chu Shixiong's heart shook, and he subconsciously asked, "Master Ye, what do you mean?"

Ye Chen didn't explain, just said calmly, "Just do as I say."

Chu Shixiong opened his mouth, wanting to ask something, but meeting Ye Chen's calm, unrippled eyes, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

He took a deep breath and nodded seriously.

"Alright."

"I'll make the arrangements right away."

...

Half an hour later.

The penthouse suite, Jingtian Grand Hotel, Capital.

The sofa and coffee table in the living room had all been moved to the corners, clearing out a large open space.

Twenty men in black martial attire stood neatly in two rows.

Each of them stood ramrod straight, their eyes sharp, faintly exuding the aura of experts.

Earth Realm.

All Earth Realm.

Though only early or mid-stage Earth Realm, twenty gathered together was still a force not to be underestimated.

Chu Shixiong stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over these men, a trace of pride on his face.

These were the core forces his Chu Family had painstakingly nurtured over the years.

Though they couldn't compare to the foundations of the top families, they were more than enough for the little plot of land that was Yanjing.

Chu Niubi stood beside his father, eagerly staring at the doorway.

Jin Meiting sat on the sofa in the corner, as quiet as a painting.

Miao Renfeng stood with hands clasped by the window, his gaze sweeping over the Earth Realm experts, a flicker of complexity in his eyes.

These people...

Even in the Miao Sect, they would be considered core strength.

But placed before the master...

He shook his head, not continuing that thought.

Footsteps sounded.

Ye Chen pushed the door open and entered.

The twenty Earth Realm experts all looked up in unison, their eyes falling on this young man in his early twenties.

They had long heard of Ye Chen's name.

The teacher of the young master of the Chu Family.

The Chief Instructor of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion.

Rumored to have unfathomable strength, rumored to have even killed Heavenly Master Realm experts.

But hearing was one thing; seeing this person in the flesh, they couldn't help but have doubts in their hearts...

So young?

Is he really as strong as the legends say?

Ye Chen ignored their scrutinizing gazes, walked straight to the front of the group, stopped, and spoke calmly.

"Next, I will bestow upon you an opportunity."

"Whether you can grasp it depends on your own capabilities."

Upon hearing this, the twenty Earth Realm experts looked at each other, their faces full of bewilderment.

An opportunity?

What kind of opportunity?

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Master Ye, this opportunity you speak of is..."

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Within the next hour, I will use a special method to help you unblock your meridians, temper your bones and muscles, and enhance your cultivation."

"How much you can improve depends entirely on your own foundation and comprehension."

"But there's one thing I must tell you in advance..."

He paused, the smile on his face fading a little.

"This process will be very painful."

The twenty Earth Realm experts were stunned.

Unblock meridians?

Temper bones and muscles?

Enhance cultivation?

In one hour???

No...

What kind of divine method is this?

They had lived for so many years and had never heard of anyone who could use one hour to help twenty Earth Realm cultivators improve their cultivation simultaneously!

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Master Ye, are you serious?"

Ye Chen looked at him but didn't answer.

He simply gently raised his right hand.

The next second.

A vast and mighty true qi erupted from his body!

The true qi was as if substantial, instantly filling the entire room!

The twenty Earth Realm experts felt an invisible pressure rush towards them. Their legs went weak, their breathing became labored, and their whole bodies felt as if pressed down by a massive mountain, unable to move!

Their expressions changed drastically. The look in their eyes when they looked at Ye Chen no longer held any doubt.

Only terror remained, along with fanaticism.

Ye Chen withdrew his aura and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Now, do you believe?"

The twenty men knelt on one knee in unison, clasping their fists in salute.

"We believe!"

"We are willing to follow Master Ye's instructions!"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Very good."

"Then let's begin."

As his words fell, he flipped his right hand, and the shanhai bottle slid out from his robes, landing steadily in his palm.

The translucent jade vial glowed with a warm luster under the light. The intricate patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, faintly flowing with a golden light.

Chu Shixiong's pupils contracted. His gaze fell on the vial, his eyes full of astonishment.

Although he didn't recognize what treasure this was, just its appearance told him it was no ordinary object.

Miao Renfeng's eyes widened even more, staring unblinkingly at the shanhai bottle.

This was the Miao Sect's treasure, used to guard the sect!

A supreme treasure passed down for over three hundred years, handed down personally by successive sect leaders!

Now, was it about to reveal its true power in the master's hands?

The twenty Earth Realm experts knelt on the ground, looking at the jade vial in Ye Chen's hand, their eyes full of awe and anticipation.

Ye Chen's gaze swept over them as he spoke calmly.

"All sit cross-legged."

"Five points facing the heavens."

"Close your eyes. Don't think of anything."

The twenty men didn't dare delay, immediately sitting cross-legged as instructed, forming hand seals, with their five points facing the heavens, and closed their eyes.

Ye Chen held the shanhai bottle in his left hand, formed a seal with his right, and silently recited an incantation.

The next second.

A vast true qi surged from his body like a bursting dam, pouring into the shanhai bottle!

The shanhai bottle trembled slightly.

The intricate patterns on its surface suddenly lit up!

A golden light shone from within the vial, illuminating the entire room brightly!

The light was warm and gentle, yet contained a pressure that made one's heart palpitate.

Though their eyes were closed, the twenty Earth Realm experts could still sense the presence of that light.

As the light fell on their bodies, it felt like a gentle hand softly caressing their skin, seeping into their meridians, flowing into their dantian.

Then—

"Hum!!!"

A strange tremor spread out from within the shanhai bottle!

The tremor spread like ripples, circle after circle, undulating in all directions!

Wherever it passed, the air seemed to distort slightly!

The twenty Earth Realm experts all jolted in unison!

They felt...

A vast energy was being separated from that light, forcibly pouring into their bodies through their pores!

That energy was extremely pure!

Vast beyond measure!

As if endless and boundless!

It rushed into their meridians like a bursting flood!

Flushing open blockages!

Breaking through bottlenecks!

Shattering all obstacles!

"Ah!!!"

Someone couldn't help but cry out in agony!

The energy was too strong!

So strong their meridians could barely withstand it!

The feeling was like someone was shoving a red-hot iron rod straight into their blood vessels!

Pain!

Excruciating pain that tore at the heart and lungs!

But the cry was cut off halfway, swallowed back by sheer force of will.

Because they discovered...

Wherever the energy passed, the hidden injuries that had plagued them for years, the bottlenecks they had never been able to break through, the meridians they could never unblock...

Were being flushed open! Repaired! Remodeled at a visible pace!

"Endure it!"

Ye Chen's voice sounded in their ears.

"If you can endure through this, you will be reborn."

"If you can't, your meridians will be severed, and your cultivation will be completely wasted."

"Whether you become a dragon or a worm depends entirely on yourselves."

The twenty men clenched their teeth, enduring the excruciating pain with all their might.

Some had veins bulging on their foreheads, their whole bodies trembling like sieves.

Some had blood seeping from their seven orifices, their faces deathly pale.

Some bit their lips fiercely until they were bloody and mangled.

But not a single one made a sound.

Not a single one gave up.

Because they knew this was the only chance they would get in their entire lives!

Ye Chen held the shanhai bottle in his left hand, his right hand constantly forming seals, guiding the true qi from his body to pour continuously into the vial.

Fine beads of sweat also began to appear on his forehead.

energy infusion.

This task, simple to say, was as difficult as ascending to heaven to perform.

Ordinary energy infusion required sacrificing the practitioner's own foundation, using their own painstakingly cultivated true qi to forcibly enhance another's cultivation.

Infuse one person, waste half of yourself.

Infuse two people, and you're basically finished.

Therefore, there were very few people in the world willing to perform energy infusion for others.

But Ye Chen was different.

The true qi within his body came from the [Thick Earth Inheritance].

Theoretically speaking, as long as the earth does not dry up, that power is endless.

As long as he could withstand the side effects, as long as his body could endure the impact of that power, he could continue infusing indefinitely.

And this...

Was exactly what he intended to do today.

He not only wanted to help these twenty people improve their cultivation, but he also wanted to use this opportunity to test the true power of the shanhai bottle.

According to the records in the inheritance, the shanhai bottle could swallow and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and even refine the side effects produced when Ye Chen exerted power exceeding his own limits, turning it into something he could use.

This meant his side effects were no longer side effects!

But a continuously flowing source of energy!

A cultivation resource that could be drawn upon and distributed to anyone at any time!

Ye Chen took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes slightly.

The next second.

The true qi within his body suddenly surged to an unprecedented level!