Li's Pill Pavilion

Time flew by. A month quietly passed amid the increasingly tense atmosphere of Qingshi Market.

In Zhang Gui's Pill Hut courtyard in the Inner Circle East District, he was leisurely sipping spiritual tea as he inspected a freshly refined batch of Harmony Qi Pills, a hint of self-satisfaction on his face.

In his view, the quality of this batch was fairly good and should fetch a fine price.

Just then, an apprentice rushed in from outside in a panic, shouting breathlessly:

"Something's wrong! Master! Something's wrong!"

His refined mood interrupted, Zhang Gui set down his teacup irritably and snapped:

"What are you panicking for? Have you no sense of decorum? Is the sky going to fall?"

The apprentice swallowed, pointed toward the courtyard gate, and said urgently:

"Master, something... something really happened! Right across from us, at the corner of that street, a new pill shop has opened! They've put up a sign—it's called... called 'Li's Pill Pavilion'!"

Zhang Gui blanked for a moment before giving a derisive snort, his face full of disdain:

"I thought it was something serious!

A new pill shop?

Hmph, are there few pill shops in Qingshi Market that open and close every day?

It's probably some Rogue Cultivator who knows neither heaven nor earth, learned a few scraps of the craft, and now dares to come out and show off!

What future could he possibly have?

Could he really surpass the skill of this mid-grade alchemist?"

Zhang Gui was quite confident in his skills after advancing to a mid-grade alchemist. Among the Rogue Cultivators of Qingshi Market, he considered himself among the very best.

Yet the apprentice remained frantic, waving his hands repeatedly.

"No, Master! Y-you should go take a look! They... they're selling Qi Condensation Pills and Harmony Qi Pills too, but their quality... their pill fragrance... so many passersby have gone in to look! They all say... they all say they seem to be just a little better than the ones in our shop..."

"What? Better than ours?" The smile on Zhang Gui's face instantly froze. He shot to his feet. "Nonsense! Did you see clearly? Were you tricked?"

"It's absolutely true, Master! This disciple saw it with his own eyes. Every pill was plump and full, with spiritual radiance contained within. The pill fragrance was so pure it was... it was frightening!" the apprentice swore.

Zhang Gui's expression darkened, and an inexplicable irritation rose in his heart, along with a barely perceptible flicker of panic.

"Go! Take me to see it! I'd like to find out just who dares to show off his skill before an expert right across from me!"

With a cold snort, Zhang Gui flicked his sleeve and strode away, while the apprentice hurriedly led the way.

Before long, Zhang Gui arrived in front of the newly opened Li's Pill Pavilion.

The shop was not large, and its decor was rather plain, yet it was packed with cultivators who had come upon hearing the news. Discussions rang out without pause.

"Tut, tut, these Qi Condensation Pills—look at that color, smell that pill fragrance. They're definitely top-grade!"

"Not just the Qi Condensation Pills! Look at these Harmony Qi Pills. Their pill patterns are faintly visible, and they're brimming with spiritual power. They're far better than the ones I bought elsewhere before!"

"And the prices are fair! Who is this 'Master Li'? I've never heard of him before."

"Who cares where he came from? Good pills are all that matter! Hurry and buy a few more bottles—I heard they're running low on stock!"

Listening to the discussion, Zhang Gui's heart sank bit by bit.

He squeezed through the crowd and reached the counter, his gaze sweeping over the pills displayed in jade bottles.

The instant he saw them, his whole body jolted as though a basin of icy water had been poured over his head!

Whether Qi Condensation Pills or Harmony Qi Pills, every one of them was round and plump, evenly and purely colored, with faint spiritual radiance flowing across their surfaces and a rich pill fragrance utterly free of impurities.

The Harmony Qi Pills in particular bore incredibly fine yet clearly visible natural pill patterns!

This was plainly a sign that the refining technique had reached an extremely high level, that Heat Control and the fusion of medicinal properties had been mastered down to the finest detail!

With trembling hands, Zhang Gui picked up a jade bottle marked "Harmony Qi Pill," poured one into his palm, and examined it closely.

That pure, surging Medicinal Power, that perfectly sealed Spiritual Energy, that quality with scarcely a flaw to be found... compared to the batch of Harmony Qi Pills he had just inspected so smugly in his courtyard, the difference was obvious at a glance!

His own batch looked unbearably crude before this single pill!

The fury with which Zhang Gui had come to demand an explanation vanished the moment he saw that pill, like a balloon pricked by a needle—poof, gone without a trace. In its place came indescribable shock, shame, and... a thread of fear!

Whoever could refine pills of such quality possessed an alchemy skill absolutely far beyond his own!

At the very least, they were among the finest of mid-grade alchemists. Perhaps... they had even touched the threshold of the high-grade!

Zhang Gui abruptly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the young-looking shop owner behind the counter, who was lowering his head as he sorted medicinal herbs.

The moment he saw the owner's face clearly, it was as if Zhang Gui had been struck by a bolt of thunder. His pupils shrank sharply, all color drained from his face, and his mouth opened and closed, but he could barely make a sound!

That shop owner... was none other than the Qi Refining Level 5 Rogue Cultivator named Li Chengjie—the very man whom he and Young Master Su had called "shallow-rooted" and "unworthy to discuss alchemy" outside his courtyard a month ago!

Li Chengjie was still dressed in the same plain clothes, and his cultivation level appeared to remain at Qi Refining Level 5. Yet his bearing was composed, his gaze calm and deep as he focused on the medicinal herbs in his hands, as though the clamoring crowd around him had nothing to do with him.

Sensing Zhang Gui's burning stare, he slowly raised his head and looked at Zhang Gui. A faint, indifferent smile appeared on his face. He gave a slight nod in greeting, but did not take the initiative to speak.

Zhang Gui only felt his face burning, as though he had been slapped several times in public.

A month ago, the other man had respectfully sought his guidance, only to be mercilessly humiliated and driven away.

A month later, the other man had used facts—used this shop full of pills whose quality far surpassed his own—to give him the loudest, most ruthless reply!

Zhang Gui recalled his arrogant words at the time, recalled Su Yuchen's scornful sneer, then compared them to the tangible, irrefutable quality of the pills before him. A tremendous sense of humiliation and inadequacy surged up within him.

All of Zhang Gui's pride was shattered to pieces at that moment!

The discussions of the surrounding cultivators seemed to turn into mockery directed at him.

Zhang Gui stood frozen in place, trapped between advancing and retreating, his face shifting from green to white.

In the end, before that mountain of irrefutable proof, every shred of his confidence drained away.

With difficulty, Zhang Gui moved his feet and walked to the counter. Looking at Li Chengjie's calm expression, his dry throat bobbed once as he struggled to speak in a respectful tone that carried a trace of tremor, yet had to be forcibly squeezed out:

"Li... Senior Li... truly... truly hides his depths well. Your mastery of alchemy is exquisite. This junior... this junior admires you beyond measure..."

The words "senior" and "junior," spoken by him—a former mid-grade Alchemist—sounded so abrupt and ironic, yet so perfectly natural.

Before such an absolute gap in skill, age and seniority appeared pale and powerless.

Li Chengjie looked at him, still wearing that faint smile. His tone was gentle, yet carried an unshakable composure:

"Master Zhang overpraises me. It is merely a trifling skill, nothing more than a way to make a living. I am unworthy of being called 'Senior.'"

Hearing that breezy reply and seeing the other man's calm, unruffled gaze, Zhang Gui's heart became an indescribable tangle of emotions. He was so ashamed he nearly wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Zhang Gui could no longer bear to remain. He hastily cupped his hands in salute, then practically fled in defeat, squeezing out through the crowd without daring to look back.

Inside the shop, the other cultivators paid little attention to that minor episode. Their attention was wholly captured by the high-quality pills, and they rushed to buy them.

Watching Zhang Gui's bedraggled figure leave, Li Chengjie's gaze remained calm. He felt little satisfaction in it, only the steady reassurance of having his feet on solid ground and his fate in his own hands.

Lowering his head, he continued sorting the medicinal herbs in his hands, as though everything that had just happened had been no more than a trivial matter.