Five days later, Huangfu Yujia's medicinal bath time ended, and with Ye Bufan's help, she stepped out of the bathtub.
After rinsing herself in the bathroom, Huangfu Yujia found that her skin had returned to its original state, even better than before, smooth and tender, like a baby's skin.
Ye Bufan asked Wang Xinyan to prepare a suitable set of clothes for Huangfu Yujia. When Huangfu Yujia arrived, both Ye Bufan and Zhu Zizhen couldn't help but come to see her.
"You've recovered well," Ye Bufan said.
Upon hearing Ye Bufan's assessment, Huangfu Yujia felt both happy and a little disappointed. She was confident in her current appearance; not necessarily comparable to Chu Mengyao, but at least on the same level as Wang Xinyan. However, Ye Bufan's evaluation was very serious, and his face showed no reaction at all.
Ye Bufan took out a Marrow Cleansing Pill from his spatial jade pendant and handed it to Huangfu Yujia.
"Take this Marrow Cleansing Pill and see if it can help you improve your current cultivation. Qi Refining mid-stage is simply too low."
Huangfu Yujia looked at Ye Bufan hesitantly before taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
"I hope you can fulfill your promise," Ye Bufan said to Huangfu Yujia. "After taking this Marrow Cleansing Pill, I need you to do something for me."
Huangfu Yujia nodded heavily and said, "I, Huangfu Yujia, always keep my word."
After saying that, she swallowed the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Seeing her like this, Ye Bufan nodded with satisfaction and asked Zhu Zizhen to arrange a room for Huangfu Yujia so she could cultivate peacefully.
In the span of a whole day, Huangfu Yujia completely refined the medicinal power of the Marrow Cleansing Pill. This speed surprised Ye Bufan. He used his spiritual power to sense her strength and found that she had actually broken through to Qi Refining late-stage.
After Huangfu Yujia broke through, she cupped her fists and bowed to Ye Bufan, saying, "Your kindness and help to me are beyond my ability to repay. From now on, I will obey your commands."
"I don't need you to obey me; I only need you to help me with one thing," Ye Bufan said. "This is what I need you to do for me."
"What is it?" Huangfu Yujia looked at Ye Bufan.
"For a long time to come, both Jinhe and the entire world will gradually become unsettled. During the times I am away, I need you to protect Chu Mengyao and those related to her. However, considering you might be overwhelmed, I can provide you with some resources to cultivate your own trusted subordinates," Ye Bufan said.
Huangfu Yujia looked up at Ye Bufan in disbelief.
"You trust me this much?" Huangfu Yujia asked.
Ye Bufan smiled and said, "Since I chose you, I naturally trust your character."
"Since you choose to trust me, I will not disappoint you," Huangfu Yujia said, looking at Ye Bufan. "As long as I, Huangfu Yujia, am still breathing, I will never let you down."
"Very good!"
Huangfu Yujia's breakthrough to Qi Refining late-stage was something Ye Bufan hadn't expected. Originally, Ye Bufan thought that with Huangfu Yujia's Qi Refining mid-stage strength, protecting Chu Mengyao would be fine, and escaping from under the hands of a Great Martial Venerable would be relatively easy.
Now that Huangfu Yujia had reached Qi Refining late-stage, Ye Bufan's concerns were completely gone.
As Wang Xinyan led Huangfu Yujia away, Ye Bufan let out a long sigh of relief.
With these preparations made, Ye Bufan had no lingering worries and felt more confident in handling his own matters.
The most pressing issue now was to improve his strength. No matter where or in what industry, strength was paramount. Ye Bufan knew he could deal with Martial Saints relatively easily, but above them were the Great Martial Saint realm and the Martial God realm. Whether he could handle them was unknown.
As night fell, Ye Bufan set up a defensive array around the villa and then went to the lakeside to continue refining the unfinished Banyan Heart.
Ye Bufan sat cross-legged, circulated the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art, and refined the Banyan Heart with all his might.
The spiritual energy around the artificial lake converged towards Ye Bufan. He greedily absorbed the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Under Ye Bufan's full absorption, the Banyan Heart became smaller and smaller, until it finally became the size of a ping pong ball.
"Ch--!" A fluctuation in the defensive array suddenly came from the direction of the villa. Ye Bufan, who was in deep cultivation, vanished from his spot out of thin air.
Outside the villa, three figures appeared. The three intended to sneak into the villa but were directly repelled by a mysterious force.
Ye Bufan stood on the roof of the villa, looking down at the three figures. After a brief discussion, they split into three groups, preparing to enter the villa.
"Three Great Martial Venerables. The Jin family is truly willing to spend," Ye Bufan mused inwardly. "It seems the Jin family is ready to make their move."
One of the three black-clad figures leaped up and landed on the balcony of the second floor.
"Huh?"
The figure didn't expect to be able to enter the second floor so easily and felt a surge of excitement.
"Who!" In the next second, the black-clad figure's face changed, and he threw a punch fiercely behind him. A black shadow flashed past and disappeared instantly.
The black-clad figure spread out his senses but found no trace of anyone, becoming instantly vigilant.
"Could there be a martial artist of a higher level than myself?" The figure shook his head. Before setting out, he had received definitive information from the Jin family that Ye Bufan was a Great Martial Venerable.
"Whoosh--"
A black shadow flashed before his eyes. Just as the black-clad figure was about to grab it, the shadow disappeared again in the next second.
Ye Bufan chuckled in the shadows. In the next second, he appeared in front of the black-clad figure. Simultaneously, he activated his Illusion Sound Demonic Eyes. The figure, who was preparing to attack, was instantly plunged into endless darkness.
"Die!" The Broken Sword silently appeared behind Ye Bufan and flew towards the black-clad figure's neck.
In the next second, the black-clad figure fell to the floor, lifeless.
"Two more."
Ye Bufan temporarily placed the opponent's body into his spatial jade pendant and then appeared behind the second black-clad figure.
This figure was even more alert than the first. The moment Ye Bufan appeared, he unleashed a palm strike behind him.
At that instant, Ye Bufan pulled the first black-clad figure's corpse out of his spatial jade pendant and used it as a shield. The second black-clad figure was shocked and hastily retracted his palm.
"Zhang Lu, didn't you go to the second floor? Why are you back?"
But the figure waited for a long time and didn't get a reply from the first black-clad figure. He realized something was wrong, gently checked the first black-clad figure's breathing, and found that the man was already dead.
As the first black-clad figure fell towards him, Ye Bufan appeared behind him and simultaneously cast his Illusion Sound Demonic Eyes, preparing to repeat his previous tactic.
Unexpectedly, a gust of wind suddenly blew from behind. Ye Bufan chuckled coldly and vanished from his spot. The first black-clad figure's corpse took a solid punch.