"A misunderstanding, it's definitely a misunderstanding," the Sect Master of Ruyi Sect, Fu Song, was covered in cold sweat. He inwardly lamented how they had managed to provoke such a monster.
Ye Bufan alone was already troublesome enough, but Song Mingqin of Chijian Sect shared a master-disciple and friendly relationship with Ye Bufan. Rumor had it that Ye Bufan was very close to Chijian Sect and Badao Gate. If this matter wasn't handled properly, Ruyi Sect would face the disaster of annihilation.
"I'm not deaf, nor am I blind," Ye Bufan looked at the Sect Master of Ruyi Sect. "I heard every word you just said, crystal clear."
"Ye Bufan, Mr. Ye, our Ruyi Sect merely..."
"Merely wanted to obtain the Zhu You Thirteen Needles from Zhu Zizhen," Ye Bufan interrupted. "Whether this is a misunderstanding, I don't know. But since I returned, in these past few days, everyone has claimed to be from Ruyi Sect. What explanation do you have for this? Are my disciples someone you can bully as you please? And then dismiss it with a mere 'misunderstanding' if you don't feel like it?"
At these words, everyone from Ruyi Sect felt the pressure. They all felt a headache coming on, especially Fu Song, the sect master. He had already made up his mind that to get through this safely, Ruyi Sect would have to shed a layer of skin.
"Mr. Ye, this isn't a case of the Dragon King's Temple being flooded by its own family, an internal conflict among kin. How about this: to express our apology, our Ruyi Sect will gift you the newly developed Foundation Establishment Pills. What do you say?" Fu Song proposed.
"Do you think I, who teaches the Zhu You Thirteen Needles, would lack a mere Foundation Establishment Pill from you?" Ye Bufan retorted. "I don't think much of your pills."
"This..." Fu Huan's face turned unsightly. In their eyes, throughout the entire cultivation world of Blue Star, there were very few people who could refine medicine. Ye Bufan's tone was arrogant and dismissive.
"Ye Bufan, I know you have extraordinary talent in cultivation, but you're looking down on us alchemists too much. You're truly arrogant. Many people can't get their hands on our refined pills, lining up all the way to foreign countries," at this moment, an elder, displeased that Ye Bufan was disregarding their sect's refined pills, immediately retorted.
"Is that so? This is a Foundation Establishment Pill I refined. If the quality of the pills you refine can reach two-thirds of mine, I'll admit you're厉害 (lìhài - impressive/capable)," Ye Bufan casually waved his hand, tossing out the Foundation Establishment Pill he had previously refined.
The elder caught Ye Bufan's Foundation Establishment Pill in mid-air. As it landed in his palm, a cool sensation spread into his hand.
"Hiss—this quality!" The elder looked at the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand, then at Ye Bufan, still unwilling to believe that Ye Bufan could refine such a pill.
"You're so young, yet you can refine a pill like this?" The elder still held doubts about Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan disdained to respond. He was too lazy to prove himself and simply said, "You are not worth my time to prove my medical or alchemical skills."
"I can prove it!" At this moment, Song Mingqin's voice rang out, which surprised Ye Bufan slightly.
Turning his head, he saw Song Mingqin flying on his sword from the back mountain of the villa area, finally landing in front of Ye Bufan.
"Tell me, Sect Master Fu Song, can I prove it?" Song Mingqin asked.
Fu Huan forced a smile. "Immortal Jian Mingqin, how come you are here?"
"Alas! I heard my brother's disciple was being bullied, so I came to support him, lest people think my brother is a lone wanderer with no backing." Song Mingqin's words were pointed. "My brother, besides his excellent cultivation skills, is most renowned for his medical expertise."
"Oh, right, detoxification is also a piece of cake for him. When we broke into the secret realm and came out, we were attacked by people from Sakura Island, and it was my brother who treated us," Song Mingqin added.
Song Mingqin's words, while seemingly proving Ye Bufan's abilities, were like daggers piercing the hearts of the Ruyi Sect with every sentence.
"I say, Fu Huan, it's been so many years, and your Ruyi Sect still hasn't changed its habit of taking advantage of others' small favors. I told you before that you'd easily suffer a loss, and now look, you've offended my brother. How about this," Song Mingqin suggested, "you compensate my brother a million or two, and then send some of the legitimate medicinal herbs from your Hundred Herb Garden to my brother."
Ye Bufan listened to Song Mingqin's words and smiled faintly. He had the Hundred Herb Garden within the Taiyi Divine Sect, where he could get any herb he wanted, so he didn't care much for the things from Ruyi Sect.
"Senior Song, I don't care about their paltry offerings. As long as they apologize to Old Zhu, it's fine. In the future, if Old Zhu needs to refine any pills, they can provide the medicinal ingredients," Ye Bufan pondered for a moment, finally coming up with this solution.
Song Mingqin was slightly taken aback. He suddenly remembered that Ye Bufan had inherited the Taiyi Divine Sect's legacy, and knew Ye Bufan naturally lacked nothing. He could only nod.
"This, this..." Fu Song looked somewhat reluctant. Clearly, he wasn't very willing.
In the current situation, the medicinal ingredients required for alchemy were extremely rare. Ruyi Sect wouldn't easily give away medicinal herbs as they pleased.
"What? Unwilling? Didn't you just say it was a misunderstanding? If you want to resolve the misunderstanding, you can't even pull a hair from yourself. Your sincerity in apologizing is insufficient," Song Mingqin directly pointed out, applying pressure.
"This... Immortal Jian Mingqin, of course, we wish to turn enmity into friendship," Fu Song quickly said.
Seeing Fu Song say this, Song Mingqin quickly replied, "Look, we're not unreasonable people. Ultimately, this is a friction between your Ruyi Sect and Ye Bufan's territory, so let's resolve it between your sect and Ye Bufan's disciple. You go and apologize to Ye Bufan's disciple. After that, your sect will provide the medicinal ingredients needed for their alchemy. How does that sound?"
Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Song Mingqin, Fu Song immediately replied, "This matter was indeed our Ruyi Sect's fault. Since we've come, we are here to apologize and resolve the issue. We will definitely apologize. As for the medicinal ingredients needed for refining, with our Ruyi Sect providing them, I, as the sect master, agree to this."
Ye Bufan stood by, sneering faintly. If Zhu Zizhen were not his disciple, the Ruyi Sect would have likely succeeded by now. This was a world of the strong preying on the weak; only strength could allow one to stand firm in such a world.