Li Sibao's Hesitation

Manager Chen was in a foul mood.

After attending the celebration banquet yesterday, he had been summoned by several clan elders for another talk.

Their meaning, both overt and implied, was that he should resign from his position as manager of Branch 2 and return to the clan to study the Pill Dao, so as to cope with the Jiang Family's increasingly fierce competition.

The Chen Family boasted Dual Excellence in Pills and Weapons, but ever since the Jiang Family's rise, the Jiang Clan had seized a large share of the pill market, cutting profits by more than half.

One key factor was pill-refining time.

In the past, many Second Order pills had been supplied by the Chen Family. Other Foundation Establishment Cultivators not only had to pay and provide spiritual herbs, but also had to wait in line.

But now that they had another option, many people chose the side that took less time.

If Manager Chen, as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, could successfully switch to pill refinement, he would naturally be able to win back much of that business.

But he had never been interested in pill refinement since childhood. Instead, he had been obsessed with learning different spells.

In the past, relying on his status as a member of the Direct Lineage, it had not been much of a problem even if he did no work. Such a vast clan did not lack one person like him.

But worse still, with the trade routes cut off, the Chen Family's weapon-refining business had also suffered a tremendous blow.

Li Province was poor. In the past, they had profited by mining local spirit ore, refining magical artifacts, and reselling them in the prosperous regions beyond.

But now that the Divine Fire Sect had firmly established itself, the trade routes would likely be unable to recover for the next several years. They had to control the number of magical artifacts produced.

Otherwise, the overall price of magical artifacts would inevitably collapse like an avalanche.

In fact, two months ago, the Chen Family had already reached an agreement with the weapon-refining families of the other two sects to jointly reduce the production of magical artifacts.

Naturally, the income brought in by weapon refinement had fallen sharply as well.

After the clan elders did the math, they realized—hey, Manager Chen was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, yet he had not learned a single craft. How could that do?

So they began seeking him out frequently for talks, trying to make him contribute more to the clan.

Especially after seeing the Song Family's new generation yesterday, the contrast made many people in the clan speak up to persuade him, putting considerable pressure on Manager Chen.

"I can hand over thirty percent more Spirit Stones to the clan, but I truly don't like the Pill Dao."

Manager Chen tried to evade the matter with his old method, but this time, it did not work.

"We're all family. Do you think we're forcing you to hand over Spirit Stones to support the clan? We want to earn outsiders' money."

"What use is there in taking your Spirit Stones? One stroke cannot write two Chens. It's just moving from the left hand to the right; wouldn't the total still be the same?"

"In the coming years, pill shops in Li Province will provide the clan's main income. Zhi'an, your great-uncle is getting old. Come lend your great-uncle a hand."

Manager Chen raised his head to the sky, feeling a pounding headache. These vexing matters seemed to have become a ball of fire burning before his eyes.

Hmm? Why did this fire look so real?

Ten breaths later, a Pale White Sword Light descended.

Manager Chen waved his hand and froze the entire roof solid. Then he surveyed his surroundings and saw Xiao Chen casting the Water Healing Art nearby, with the barely living Li Sibao beside him.

He strode forward. "What happened?"

As he spoke, he reached out to grasp Li Sibao's wrist and examine his injuries.

Xiao Chen was relieved at the sight. The poison before him was even more potent than he had imagined. At this rate, it would invade the Heart Meridian and kill Li Sibao in at most half an hour.

Fortunately, Manager Chen had arrived in time. The rest would be much easier to handle.

"Reporting to Manager Chen, this disciple was resting this morning when Li Sibao suddenly burst in and attacked me. He was injured by this disciple during our fight, but then somehow fell victim to an unknown poison."

"This disciple just questioned him. He said someone had instructed him."

Li Sibao was already breathing his last. He struggled to raise his voice. "Manager, save me. The poisoned wine is buried at the corner of the right wall. I still have half a bottle left that I didn't drink."

All he wanted now was to live, so he voluntarily revealed the bottle's location, hoping they could identify the poison from it.

Manager Chen's expression remained calm as he spoke gently. "It's all right. Since I'm here, you don't need to be afraid. Tell me first—who gave you the wine?"

Li Sibao struggled to say, "I don't know, but I know his face. Once I recover, I can take you to see him."

Manager Chen turned to Xiao Chen. "Do you have any leads? Have you offended anyone recently?"

Before Xiao Chen could speak, Li Sibao grew anxious. "Cough, save me first. Cough, save me..."

When he saw Manager Chen arrive, Xiao Chen had stopped casting the Water Healing Art.

With nothing suppressing it now, the poison was spreading faster.

Yet Manager Chen did not cast any spell. Instead, he took out a pill from his Storage Bag.

At first glance, the pill was the same size and shape as the most common Qi Nourishing Pill, yet it gave off a strange fragrance.

Xiao Chen merely caught a faint whiff, but it felt as though a spring breeze had brushed over his face, leaving his whole body fresh and invigorated.

Li Sibao also seemed to regain a little spirit, and hope flickered in his eyes.

Manager Chen looked into Li Sibao's eyes, his tone exceptionally steady. "The poison in your body is extremely domineering. I have no good solution either. Only this Family Secret Medicine can save you."

"But it is expensive—more expensive than your life. Now, you must make a choice..."

"Ah!"

Li Sibao cried out. With strength from nowhere, he suddenly reached out, trying to snatch the pill.

Slap!

Manager Chen knocked away Li Sibao's outstretched right hand. "Prove the value of keeping you alive, or I'll take you to seek an Elder's help."

"If you cannot prove it, I will still do my utmost to find someone to save you. But if it takes too long, I cannot guarantee that you will survive."

Li Sibao hesitated slightly.

After several encounters, he had already vaguely guessed that the mysterious person came from the Azure Flame Sect, one of Li Province's Three Great Sects.

On the surface, the Three Great Sects appeared harmonious, but in truth, there were countless dirty dealings between them.

Li Province's resources were far too barren. It had only four large Spiritual Veins, enough to accommodate the Three Great Sects and one Thousand Bamboo Market.

Yet there were an enormous number of small Spiritual Veins within the province, nurturing thousands upon thousands of Cultivation Families of all sizes, as well as tens of thousands of Rogue Cultivators. This led to extremely severe internal strife.

And the founders of the Azure Flame Sect and the Li Fire Sect had both established their sects through fire-attribute cultivation methods.

Thus, for over a thousand years, each had wished for the other's entire sect to vanish into ash overnight.

That way, the remaining sect could unify Li Province and happily monopolize all of the province's resource output.

So the real situation was that the Azure Flame Sect and the Li Fire Sect were secret enemies.

Li Sibao feared that once he told the truth, he would be branded an infiltrator or traitor. Even if he was temporarily saved, he would still be unable to escape death in the future.

Fortunately, he soon no longer had to worry.

First, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of Blood Water without warning. The moment it splashed onto the ground, it melted several small black pits into it, with wisps of Black Smoke rising out.

Then Li Sibao's head lolled to one side, and he lost all signs of life forever.

His hesitation at the critical moment had made him miss his last sliver of survival.

"Li Sibao!" Manager Chen immediately bent down to take his pulse, then shook his head.

He rose and put away the pill, a look of uncertainty crossing his face. "What a formidable Strange Poison. It actually has further mutations."

"Wait here for a moment. I'll go bring the Elders."

Xiao Chen clasped his hands and acknowledged the order, waiting where he was.

After Manager Chen left, Li Sibao's corpse rapidly turned into a pool of black Blood Water.

In only a quarter of an hour, aside from that low-grade Flying Sword still glimmering with spiritual light and stubbornly resisting the corrosion, not even his clothes or Bones remained.

Even the ground had been corroded into a large pit. Anyone who saw it would have their hairs stand on end and a chill seize their heart.

A full half hour later, Manager Chen finally returned with Elder Chen, another Elder Xiao Chen did not recognize, and several senior brothers clad in the Magic Robes of the Law Enforcement Hall.