Chapter 120: Primordial Breath

"Enough! That’s all for now..."

Ye Qiu finished speaking, stormed back into his room, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. The others, finding themselves unwelcome, dispersed. No one dared to provoke Ye Qiu when he was in such a foul mood. Poor Cao He was left to lament the cruel reality of having his wages docked.

"Damn that chicken! Just you wait! Because of you, my entire paycheck is gone. I’m not finished with you..."

Back in his room, Ye Qiu began to contemplate his next moves. He sat silently by the window, gazing out at the quiet, desolate wilderness. Suddenly, a fleeting smile touched his lips before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, his expression returning to its usual calm.

"Heh, interesting. An unintentional act has triggered such a massive reaction. It seems there’s a good show in store for us. Chaos? The more chaotic things are, the better. The more disorder there is, the easier it will be to flush out those things lurking in the darkness. If the root of the darkness lies on the other side of the dam, does that mean Xiaodong is there?"

Ye Qiu looked deep into the darkness covering the sky, his heart heavy and conflicted. Too much had happened today, and he needed to organize his thoughts; otherwise, he wouldn't know what to do next. Although the tavern had suffered heavy losses, it was within his control. He could replicate those treasures at any time, so that wasn't a major issue.

The smoke of battle had cleared. It seemed the Void, exhausted from the previous calamity, was unwilling to continue its invasion and was preparing for a period of rest. This window of time provided the Great Wilderness with a chance to catch its breath, and Ye Qiu intended to use this opportunity to prepare the treasures he would need next.

His gaze shifted to the fields cleared by the Sky-Swallowing Sparrow. He planned to start planting a vast array of immortal peaches, apples, and other precious medicinal herbs tomorrow. He would wait patiently for the right moment to act. Additionally, the tavern required more manpower. He intended to recruit from the itinerant cultivators who had come to the battlefield, with plans to establish an auction house and a merchant guild. With the future looking turbulent, Ye Qiu had to make comprehensive preparations.

"Whatever. I'll deal with these things tomorrow."

After weighing his options, Ye Qiu set aside the chess pieces in his hand. He didn't want to dwell on these issues any longer; there was much to do, and he had to take it one step at a time.

Sitting on his couch, Ye Qiu closed his eyes to meditate, entering a marvelous inner world. In this realm, he saw the vast, noble energy within him—the very same Haoran Immortal Qi that had saved him on multiple occasions. Beyond this energy, his inner world remained in a state of chaos, with many regions still sealed in gray, lightless voids. Ye Qiu was convinced that these regions likely held the key to unlocking his true power.

"What kind of realm is this, really? Why is there absolutely no basis to judge it?"

He observed for a long time, unable to discern his cultivation level. He didn't even possess a Life Spring, something every cultivator should have; he didn't resemble a cultivator at all. Yet, despite this, he was incredibly powerful, which was truly baffling. The only explanation was that the path Ye Qiu cultivated was not governed by the laws of the Great Wilderness. No one in the world practiced this, which explained why it was absent from ancient records.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Ye Qiu noticed another energy coexisting alongside the Haoran Qi, evolving in tandem with it. It was a strand of purple immortal mist, containing profound mysteries. A single glance left Ye Qiu feeling as if the Great Dao itself were speaking to him, his mind suddenly enlightened.

"Primordial Qi?"

Ye Qiu recognized it. Was this not the Primordial Qi recorded in the ancient texts of the Ye family? He never expected it to be within himself. It was unbelievable. He couldn't fathom that the legendary Primordial Qi resided in him rather than in Ye Dong. This Primordial Qi was on the same level as the Primordial Dao Body; they were the two supreme treasures left behind by the Ye family’s eternal heritage. They were not passed down from generation to generation, but appeared across generations. Legend had it that these two treasures would never appear simultaneously; they were separated by hundreds of years.

Yet, in this generation, both had appeared! What did this signify? One had to realize that anyone possessing either the Primordial Qi or the Primordial Dao Body was a supreme being among men.

"Could it be that I am the true one destined to face the tribulation?" Ye Qiu murmured, his heart filled with shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible. How could I be the one destined to face the tribulation? I have always lived by the code: 'Better a fellow cultivator dies than myself.' How could someone like me be the one to save the world? Isn't that a joke?"

Ye Qiu refused to believe it, but a more brutal reality awaited him. "The curse mentioned that the Primordial Qi and the Primordial Dao Body are mutually reinforcing yet conflicting. If they appear at the same time, it is best if they are in the same person. If they are in different people, it ends in a life-or-death struggle! The one who dies will have their essence absorbed by the other, allowing them to reach a state of perfection..."

"Damn it... does that mean I’m destined to be the sacrificial lamb for the protagonist to defeat the final boss? This is it. In these stupid novels, the final battle almost always involves sacrificing a relative so the protagonist can become all-powerful and turn the tide..."

Ye Qiu panicked. He hadn't expected to possess the Primordial Qi, and with Ye Dong being the Primordial Dao Body, wasn't this forcing them to kill each other? Even if he didn't want to fight, he had no choice. It was a curse—an unavoidable curse.

The worst part was that Ye Dong had been taken by the root of darkness. After being brainwashed, how could he still see him as his older brother? He probably only saw the Primordial Qi. If he killed Ye Qiu, he could attain the Dao. He wouldn't have any psychological burden at all.

"No, no! I absolutely cannot allow this to happen. If it must happen, then I’m sorry, Xiaodong, but your brother doesn't want to die!"

Ye Qiu made his decision. "Better a fellow cultivator dies than myself!" The heavy burden of saving the world should be left to someone else; he didn't want to die.

"The Primordial Qi has appeared! It seems the battle in the Chaos Heavens accidentally awakened it from its slumber. Now, I seem to be able to easily control the Haoran Qi within me. Does this mean I’m truly invincible? Well... although I lack combat skills, it's not a big problem. Based on the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting I've studied for years, I'm not inferior to anyone when it comes to combat."

One could see from the encounter with Liu Jianchen that Ye Qiu's calligraphy and zither music were not useless—they were genuine weapons of mass destruction. It was just that he hadn't fully believed that writing or playing music could kill, so he hadn't used them.

After clearing his mind, Ye Qiu let out a long sigh and looked coldly at the black clouds in the sky. "Dark calamity? I don't care who you are or how strong you are. One day, I will personally reclaim the debt you owe me from the past!"

The deep-seated hatred he had harbored for years finally surfaced. His eyes filled with newfound confidence and composure.