Chapter 240: A Woman’s Contempt

Although Qin Shuang was the first to enter the core of the Ziqing Palace, the scene before her left her slightly stunned.

Her luck had been excellent—she was directly transported into the true core area of the Ziqing Palace! However, the problem was… the spot where she was teleported was inside a protective barrier!

Clearly, if she wanted to access the core of the Ziqing Palace and claim the treasures, she would need to break through this barrier.

But the issue was… she couldn’t!

In a treasure land of this level, someone at the Yuan Realm was far too insignificant!

“Ah!” Qin Shuang roared in frustration. Gathering black energy in her hands, she launched an attack on the barrier.

However, the strong rebound force immediately slammed back into her, sending her flying again!

The treasure was right in front of her, yet she couldn’t even touch it. This powerless and stifling feeling made her eyes slowly turn crazed.

Chen Fei hadn’t been actively seeking treasure, but following the guidance of the Void Heaven Cauldron, he still encountered many rare herbs along the way. He reluctantly accepted them, though he didn’t waste too much time.

Perhaps other areas had powerful beasts guarding their treasures, but here it was completely empty—only countless precious herbs growing like wild grass.

Then again, that made sense. This was the cultivation ground of an ancient immortal. Why would there be any beasts lingering here?

As for these herbs… they were indeed precious in the present, but in ancient times, maybe they were no more than common weeds.

Chen Fei finally reached the teleportation array. Looking at it, he sighed deeply.

Heartache!

He had never used this array before, but the clear engravings indicated that activating it would require top-grade spirit stones.

“I’ll find that wretched woman later, and once I get the core, I’m going to loot this place clean!” Chen Fei grumbled before placing the top-grade spirit stone he’d exchanged for at the Heavenly Spear Holy Land into the array’s groove.

As the spirit stone’s energy poured in, the teleportation array began glowing blue.

When the light fully engulfed the formation, Chen Fei stepped in.

There was a brief sense of disorientation—much like when he’d entered a secret realm—and then the scenery before him changed.

An awe-inspiring palace appeared in front of him. The sense of majesty could only be felt in person.

At the entrance stood two statues, each ten zhang tall, eyes wide and glaring. They exuded immense authority and pressure.

Chen Fei stepped inside slowly. The Void Heaven Cauldron trembled violently, signaling that the treasure was close—very close.

Finally, upon entering the main hall, Chen Fei saw Qin Shuang trapped within the protective barrier.

Her expression changed drastically when she spotted him. “Chen Fei!”

“Looks like you’re pretty lucky too,” Chen Fei said with a cold smile.

Qin Shuang’s face darkened.

She was unable to break the barrier and thus couldn’t move, let alone reach the core! Meanwhile, Chen Fei was free to act—that flash of hatred in her eyes grew stronger.

Why him?!

Why was this useless man, who’d already lost his spiritual roots, able to come this far?! Was it just because he bore the surname Chen?

Just as Chen Fei approached her, suddenly a barrier rose around him as well.

Qin Shuang burst into laughter. “Haha! Chen Fei, look at your smug little face. Can’t laugh now, can you?!”

Chen Fei frowned, examining the barrier around him.

He had to admit, this situation was unexpected. But he could sense it: if they wanted the core, they would have to pass this test.

RUMBLE!

Just as Chen Fei was still observing, the ground began to shake.

He quickly stepped aside, and a pill furnace slowly rose from the ground.

The same happened on Qin Shuang’s side.

“W-What’s this?” Qin Shuang’s eyes widened. Was this… a test to refine pills? Only by succeeding would the barrier disappear?

This possibility made her face light up with joy.

“Chen Fei! Back then, you were just an ignorant fool who relied on your Three-Eyed Spirit Root and became arrogant. Never took cultivation seriously. Now, you regret it, don’t you?”

Qin Shuang wouldn’t miss a chance to mock Chen Fei.

Chen Fei glanced at her, then sneered. “Qin Shuang, you’ve really shown me the true meaning of ‘if you’re shameless, you’re invincible.'”

“Save your breath! Once I break through this barrier and obtain the core, your death is certain! You were lucky to survive last time, but this time, let’s see how you die!” Qin Shuang snorted coldly and turned her focus to the pill furnace.

But the more she looked, the more her expression changed.

She had some talent in alchemy—otherwise, even with the support of the Ding Mountain faction, she wouldn’t have reached the Yuan Realm so quickly.

But the pill she had to refine… the difficulty was immense!

Worse yet, there were only three sets of ingredients.

If she failed all three times, she might never leave this barrier!

She didn’t know what would happen if both of them failed, but she couldn’t afford to lose this opportunity.

“I don’t believe I can’t do it!” she gritted her teeth, eyes locked on the furnace.

Chen Fei stared at the furnace before him, sighing softly in his heart.

Some of Qin Shuang’s words were true. When he had first arrived on the Xuanhuang Continent, he had relied too much on the Three-Eyed Spirit Root and never really tried alchemy.

Mainly because pill refining was costly when you failed.

Back then, he had focused more on building up his trading caravan—who had time for alchemy?

Even after entering the Heavenly Spear Holy Land, all his time was spent on cultivation. He never got a chance to seriously learn pill refining.

But now… if he couldn’t make the pill, he wouldn’t get the core.

He had no choice but to go all out!

Still, Chen Fei didn’t panic. He calmly sat down and began carefully inspecting the ingredients before him, studying each one with intense focus. Fortunately, he recognized them all.

Alchemy… required real talent!

He sighed again. This felt like cramming for an exam at the last minute.

Just then, the Void Heaven Cauldron suddenly trembled violently. Chen Fei felt a wave of dizziness, and the next moment, his vision spun as he collapsed.

Qin Shuang saw this and scoffed. “Now you regret it? Too late!”

With that, she confidently tossed the ingredients into the furnace and began refining.

Meanwhile, Chen Fei, pale and sweating, stared blankly at the furnace. But in his mind, an ancient book slowly appeared.

On the pages were written four large characters:

“Ten Thousand Dao Pill Codex” (“萬道丹訣”)!

Chen Fei looked toward the Void Heaven Cauldron. This… this was his true guarantee for surviving in the Xuanhuang Continent!

Without hesitation, his divine sense touched the book. In the next moment, a flood of alchemical knowledge surged into his mind.