Chapter 10: The Second Meeting Gift

"Yingying, where is the second meeting gift?" Ye Junlin looked at the tower spirit, Yingying, before him with anticipation, his very breathing growing a little hurried.

"Come with me, master. I'll take you to a magical place," Yingying said with a gentle smile. Then, with her fair, jade-like hand, she grasped Ye Junlin and whisked him away. Together, they traversed the world within the Tower of the Demon-Slaying Ape, a world filled with countless stars.

"This... what a terrifying speed..." Ye Junlin gasped as he watched enormous planets flash by, retreating rapidly behind him. He couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, deeply shaken by the sheer immensity of the world inside the Demon-Slaying Ape Tower.

After about ten minutes, an ancient, towering tree appeared in Ye Junlin's vision. Its massive canopy overshadowed the entire heavens and earth, and the planets, which to Ye Junlin's eyes had seemed vast beyond measure, were like specks of dust before this colossal tree. Its tangled roots burrowed deep into countless gigantic planets. Ye Junlin saw, from time to time, planets being drained of all life and energy, crumbling into dust and fading from existence.

"Yingying, what... what kind of tree is this? This is terrifying!" Ye Junlin was truly stunned, swallowing hard, suddenly aware of his own insignificance.

"Master, this is the Primordial Reincarnation Tree," Yingying replied with a gentle smile. With a wave of her hand, a fist-sized, emerald-green seed, rich with the essence of life, emerged from the tree and hovered before Ye Junlin and Yingying.

"Yingying, what is this?" Chu Yang couldn't help but exclaim softly as he looked at the seed.

"Master, this is the second meeting gift I've prepared for you: the seed of the Primordial Reincarnation Tree." Yingying's voice was gentle as she handed the seed to Ye Junlin.

"Heh, the Primordial Reincarnation Tree? Just the name sounds formidable!" Ye Junlin chuckled, his imagination already running wild. "I wonder what kind of sapling this will grow into, and what powers it might possess, what surprises it might bring me!"

Following the method Yingying provided, Ye Junlin placed the seed of the Primordial Reincarnation Tree in his dantian, nourishing it with the energy of the five golden serpents coiled around the ten-thousand-meter-tall demon ape within his inner world.

"I wonder when it'll sprout?" he mused. "No, enough daydreaming—time to focus on getting stronger. If Ye Chuan gets into trouble with that bastard Ye Haoyu again tomorrow, I'll make sure he doesn't walk away."

Inside the Demon-Slaying Ape Tower, Ye Junlin sat cross-legged. He took the ten Essence Cultivation Pills Ye Chuan had given him and swallowed them, beginning to cultivate. The pure energy of the ten pills was devoured by the ancient demon ape in his dantian. Ye Junlin thought that, with ten such pills, he should surely be able to form a sixth golden serpent and break through to the sixth level of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Yet, after three days, the sixth golden serpent still hadn't appeared within the demon ape.

"Ten Essence Cultivation Pills and still no breakthrough? Just how much energy does it take to reach the sixth level of the Meridian Opening Realm?" Ye Junlin was genuinely shocked. A sense of worry crept over him. If ten pills weren't enough for the sixth level, how many would he need for the seventh? Did he have enough resources for such cultivation?

"Master, the ancient demon ape bloodline is extremely potent and domineering. To break through, naturally, you'll require far more energy," Yingying reassured him. "But Essence Cultivation Pills aren't rare. As long as you gather the herbs, I can refine as many as you need."

"What? Yingying, these are Essence Cultivation Pills! As many as I want?" Ye Junlin shrieked in disbelief, gazing at Yingying as if she were a priceless treasure.

"Yes, master," Yingying replied, a hint of pride in her voice. "With me here, you can eat Essence Cultivation Pills like candy if you wish."

Ye Junlin's heart beat rapidly with excitement. To think that, after only ever receiving two pills a year from his family, he could now consume them at will! What a miraculous tower spirit! This was beyond incredible.

He decided that, at dawn, he must go to the Pill Treasure Pavilion and buy the herbs for refining more Essence Cultivation Pills. Just the thought made him so happy that he laughed silently to himself.

After his conversation with Yingying, Ye Junlin threw himself into cultivation with renewed vigor. Though his realm wouldn't advance in the short term, he could still train in martial techniques. In battle between equals, the importance of martial techniques was paramount. Those who mastered high-level skills could even defeat opponents at higher realms.

Martial skills were divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, each with upper, middle, and lower ranks. The Ye family's most advanced technique was the high-level yellow-grade "Ninefold Barbaric Bull Fist."

Within the Demon-Slaying Ape Tower, Ye Junlin trained diligently in the Ninefold Barbaric Bull Fist.

Three days passed. "First Transformation! Haha, I've finally mastered the first transformation of the Ninefold Barbaric Bull Fist!"

Five days passed. "Second Transformation!"

Nine days later, he achieved the third transformation.

After fifteen days, "Hahaha! The fourth transformation! I've actually trained the Ninefold Barbaric Bull Fist to the fourth transformation!"

Inside the Demon-Slaying Ape Tower, Ye Junlin was so ecstatic that he danced with joy, laughing aloud. Although eighteen days had passed within the tower, not even a full day had elapsed in the outside world.

"Heh, if those fools in the Ye family who looked down on me saw that I mastered four transformations of the Ninefold Barbaric Bull Fist in just one day, their jaws would drop!"

"Alright, it's about time to leave the tower and see how things are outside. If that bastard Ye Haoyu dares to trouble Ye Chuan, I'll beat him so badly his own mother won't recognize him!"