Chapter 274: Grandma Is Still Alive
The old matron started, quickly placing her hands on Cheng Yuan and Shen Youchu’s wrists. She felt an overwhelming power!
Tears of emotion streamed down the old matron’s face.
"Xiaoyuan, I never expected you to grow so quickly. Although you’re only at the Divine Realm Peak, you can truly defeat a Martial King! And Youchu, you can defeat a Martial King, too! In that case, Grandma will tell you everything that happened back then!"
Cheng Yuan sat bolt upright, ready to listen intently.
The old matron started with a bombshell.
"Cheng Yuan, your father wasn’t an orphan. His mother, your grandmother, might still be alive."
’My grandmother might still be alive?’
The rims of Cheng Yuan’s eyes instantly reddened. He had always envied other children for the love and affection of their grandparents. But since his father was an orphan, he had never met his own, a regret he had carried his entire life.
"If my grandmother is still alive, why has she never come to see us? Did she abandon Dad?"
The old matron shook her head gently. "No. How could her Ladyship abandon her own flesh and blood? Back then, right before her due date, she was attacked. Her very core was wounded, but she disregarded her own condition and forced herself to give birth to the young master. Her Ladyship entrusted the young master to my care, then set out alone to face the danger. I heard that in the month after giving birth, she was besieged and attacked more than a dozen times!"
BOOM!!
A terrifying killing intent erupted from Cheng Yuan!
"Who are they?"
"I don’t know the specifics, but I am certain the King of Jiangnan was involved! Once, my Lady slashed the mask from an assassin’s face. I’ll remember that face until the day I die. I later discovered that man was Qiu Zhenliang, the Left Protector to the King of Jiangnan!"
"The King of Jiangnan? The Left Protector? Good. Grandma, why did they want to assassinate my grandmother?"
"Because she was carrying several bottles of Four Patterns Elixirs!"
’Four Patterns Elixirs?’
Cheng Yuan’s pupils constricted. Even with his current abilities, he was still incapable of creating a Four Patterns Elixir. A Three Patterns Elixir was already exceptionally rare, so one could only imagine the value of a Four Patterns Elixir.
’No wonder those people attacked my grandmother!’
"How did my grandmother get Four Patterns Elixirs? I thought no one in the Ancient Martial Realm could create them. Just who is she?"
The old matron smiled bitterly. "I was taken in by my Lady. She fed me, clothed me, and taught me Martial Arts. I don’t know where she came from either! However, I always suspected that someone of her stunning talent must have come from the world above."
As she spoke, the old matron raised a finger and pointed toward the sky.
Cheng Yuan looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the heavens to the Ninefold Celestial Palace beyond.
’Does an Upper Realm really exist in this world?’
’If there really is an Upper Realm, then no matter the cost, I will find my grandmother and reunite her with Dad!’
’But first, I need to avenge my grandmother!’
’Everyone involved in the attack back then... they will all die!’
Cheng Yuan pulled out his phone and dialed Zhu Xue, the person in charge of the Luocheng Dragon Flame Branch. He ordered bluntly, "Investigate everything you can find on the King of Jiangnan and his Left Protector. Immediately."
"Yes, Young Marshal!"
The report arrived quickly.
[Name: Gao Qiming, the King of Jiangnan. Male. One day shy of his 60th birthday. Strength: Martial King Middle Stage. Controls assets in the hundreds of billions and has dominated the Four Provinces of Jiangnan for a decade. He is a childhood friend of the Xuanyuan War God, and possibly his proxy.]
[Name: Qiu Zhenliang. Strength: Martial King Peak. Position: Left Protector under the King of Jiangnan. Formerly a Named Disciple of the great Kunlun Sect.]
’One day shy of sixty?’
An interesting detail caught Cheng Yuan’s attention.
’That means tomorrow is the King of Jiangnan’s sixtieth birthday celebration!’
’In that case, I’ll have to go crash the party!’
’Now, what would be a good gift for the King of Jiangnan?’
’A coffin should do.’
’After all, tomorrow will be his death day anyway!’
Cheng Yuan took out a Celestial Witch Foundation Establishment Pill and handed it to the old matron. "Grandma, this is a Divine Pill I refined. It can help you reconstruct your heart’s meridians, re-condense your core energy, and restore you to your peak strength."
The old matron didn’t refuse. She took the Celestial Witch Foundation Establishment Pill and popped it into her mouth without a moment’s hesitation.
It had to be said, the Celestial Witch Foundation Establishment Pill was truly worthy of its name as a Divine Pill from the Celestial Witch Inheritance. Its effects were incredibly potent!
The old matron’s heart meridians and channels, severed for decades, all reconnected. The hidden injuries that had plagued her for just as long were completely healed!
The old matron’s complexion improved visibly. Even the wrinkles on her face faded considerably!
If someone were to claim she was a woman in her thirties or forties, they would be believed!
In less than fifteen minutes, the old matron was restored to her peak strength!
Martial King Peak!!
The old matron actually possessed the strength of a Martial King Peak!!
The old matron slowly retracted her aura and bowed gracefully to Cheng Yuan. "I will never forget your immense kindness, Young Master! From this day forward, I pledge my life to your service!"
Cheng Yuan quickly helped her up. "Grandma, you were an adoptive mother to my father. Raising a child is as noble as giving birth to one. You will always be family to us! You must never refer to yourself as an ’old servant’ again."
"Good, good child." The old matron’s eyes welled with tears of gratification.
Cheng Yuan took out a Qi Enhancement Pill and handed it to her. "Grandma, this is a Qi Enhancement Pill. Keep it safe. You can take it after you’ve stabilized your new realm."
The old matron accepted the Qi Enhancement Pill instinctively, then let out a soft cry of surprise. "Eh? A Three Patterns Qi Enhancement Pill? Young Master, where did you get this?"
Shen Youchu, standing to the side, finally found her chance to chime in. "Grandma," she said proudly, "he refined that pill himself!"
The old matron’s eyes lit up. "My Lady," she murmured, as if speaking to the air, "your legacy finally has an heir! The Young Master is a Third Grade Alchemist!!"
With that, the old matron produced a small booklet and handed it to Cheng Yuan.
"Young Master, these are the Pill Recipes that my Lady collected. They are yours now."
Cheng Yuan quickly took the booklet and opened it eagerly, revealing pages filled with graceful, elegant script.
Even though it was his first time seeing the script, it felt strangely familiar, as if he could picture a gentle, cultured grandmother watching over him.
He could tell from the beautiful script alone that his grandmother must have been a lady from a prominent family!
Cheng Yuan quickly focused his mind and began to study the booklet’s contents, swiftly learning several new Pill Recipes.
[Essence Enhancing Pill—An advanced version of the Qi Enhancement Pill, highly effective for experts at the Martial Emperor realm and above.]
[Rejuvenation Pill—A Life-extending Divine Pill. As long as the user is still breathing, it can extend their life by one month.]
[Soul Refining Pill—Condenses the Divine Soul, greatly enhances Spiritual Power, and allows for a better understanding of the Celestial Dao.]
...
There were several even more profound Pill Recipes that were beyond Cheng Yuan’s ability to master at his current stage.
Even for the three elixirs mentioned above, the required ingredients were all exceptionally precious.
Cheng Yuan was struck by a profound realization: being an Alchemist was an incredibly expensive profession!