Zheng: Ximen Yaoji

Liu Ding could only sneer at this sort of villainous accusation. He refused to believe that, once he left the Spirit Herb Pavilion, he would not be able to find another medicine hall willing to sell his Du Ling Juice on commission.

Seeing Liu Ding leave with an unhappy expression, the young lady frowned again. "Little brother, I'm sorry. There have been too many matters at our medicine hall lately, and everyone's been in a bad mood. We've caused you trouble."

If you're in a bad mood, then close up and reopen when you feel better. I've never seen that used as an excuse for an apology. Liu Ding could not be bothered to respond. He walked around her and stepped out of the Spirit Herb Pavilion.

"I know this apology isn't very sincere. How about this, little brother? Whatever medicinal ingredients you need, I'll give them to you for free." Seeing that Liu Ding had already stepped one foot over the threshold, the young lady hurriedly added.

Liu Ding stopped, but did not turn around. "Really?"

"Really," the young lady immediately replied.

"Anything I want?" Liu Ding asked.

"As long as our Spirit Herb Pavilion has it," she promptly answered.

"If I say I want a Soul-Devouring Beast's Gallstone Crystal, you'll definitely say the Spirit Herb Pavilion doesn't have one." Liu Ding sneered again. Still making empty promises.

"We do." To his surprise, the young lady answered with absolute frankness.

Liu Ding abruptly turned around. He could hardly believe his ears. A Soul-Devouring Beast's Gallstone Crystal cost at least five thousand gold coins.

"Yaoji, giving away a Soul-Devouring Beast's Gallstone Crystal is too expensive, isn't it?" Sure enough, the man beside the young lady was startled.

"The medicine hall is practically about to close down. Why should we care about such things?" Miss Yaoji sighed, then said to the young clerk, "Xiao Zhu, bring out the best Soul-Devouring Beast Gallstone Crystal we have in storage." Seeing the clerk's unwilling expression, she sternly added, "Did you hear me?"

Holding the Soul-Devouring Beast's Gallstone Crystal soaking in a transparent jade bottle, Liu Ding still found it hard to believe. This Ximen Clan miss named Yaoji was far too wasteful.

But he liked it.

Slowly drawing back the foot he had placed over the threshold, Liu Ding turned around. "Although the clerks at your Spirit Herb Pavilion are pretty awful, you, as the proprietor, are so wasteful—no, I mean generous." Liu Ding scratched his head awkwardly, then continued, "Tell me. Why is your medicine hall about to close? Maybe I can help."

"Enough. You've already gotten the Soul-Devouring Beast Gallstone Crystal, so stop making fun of our Yaoji." The man beside Ximen Yaoji looked thoroughly displeased. He had gotten what he wanted and was still acting smug, even mocking Yaoji for being "wasteful."

Ximen Yaoji stared at the boy before her, who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen. Yet his expression was so certain that, for some reason, she felt a sense of reassurance. "Are you sure you can help me?"

"If you fire that troublesome clerk, I guarantee that I can even bring down the Murong Divine Pill Chamber." Liu Ding did not so much as blink.

"Miss, did you hear that? Isn't this just nonsense?" The young clerk was furious and shouted loudly.

Even the man beside Ximen Yaoji said with displeasure, "Yaoji, don't listen to his—"

Before he could finish the word "nonsense," Liu Ding coldly interrupted, "If you keep yapping too, I'll have you fired along with him."

The man choked on his words. Liu Ding's remark actually stunned him.

Ximen Yaoji fixed her beautiful eyes on Liu Ding. She had never seen such an arrogant youth. He looked rather slight, and he was only barely as tall as her shoulder.

Liu Ding looked back at her. Her purplish-red gown wrapped around her mature figure, accentuating the full, delicate curves that rose and fell in graceful lines. Her face possessed an enchanting allure utterly unlike Zhi'er's pure beauty, making her look even more like a seductive enchantress.

After a long while, Ximen Yaoji turned around. "Xiao Zhu, take a long leave and go home to rest. There's no business anyway."

The young clerk froze, then—

his face filled with indignation. "Fine, I'll leave! Your Spirit Herb Pavilion is about to go bankrupt anyway. Don't think I care about your long leave. The Murong Divine Pill Chamber is expanding its business, and they approached me in secret long ago. Don't expect me to come back later. Hmph!"

"Get out!" Only then did the normally elegant Ximen Yaoji become furious. She turned back to face Liu Ding. "There. Are you satisfied now?"

"Not bad. That's sincerity." Liu Ding watched Ximen Yaoji sway her waist as she walked into her inner office. She stood by the doorway and looked at him. Liu Ding understood what she meant and strode inside after her.

"Sit." Ximen Yaoji closed the door, her voice turning somewhat cold.

Liu Ding did not stand on ceremony. He sat down brazenly and said, "Such a large medicine hall, yet you've managed to run it to the point of closing down. I imagine there must be some problem behind this, right?"

Ximen Yaoji's delicate body seemed somewhat weak as she leaned her waist against the desk. She stared blankly at Liu Ding and said, "Are you from the Liu Clan? If you intend to trade your Qilin Soul Forging Pill formula, then there's no need. The Murong Divine Pill Chamber has already gotten there first."

"What?" Liu Ding abruptly rose to his feet, his face full of shock. "Who dared sell the Liu Clan's Soul Forging Pill formula?"

"I don't know about that. But according to reliable intelligence from my informants, Nie Zhengxu of your Liu Clan has been keeping very close to people from the Murong Clan's Divine Pill Chamber."

Them again. Liu Ding suppressed his anger and sat back down, becoming calm instead. "Even if the Murong Divine Pill Chamber bribed someone for the Liu Clan's Qilin Soul Forging Pill formula and managed to make it, they would not dare put it on the market."

Seeing that Liu Ding could remain so composed despite his shock at such a young age, Ximen Yaoji secretly nodded. This little fellow was not simple. She said, "They truly do not dare manufacture and sell it, nor do they dare use it recklessly. The Primordial Power from your Liu Clan's Soul Forging Pills can instantly surge three tiers, and it is extremely terrifying. If one has not always advanced through your cultivation method, rashly consuming and refining it would lead to exploding to death, if not immediately, then certainly to having one's meridians destroyed. Many cultivators who refused to believe it have already proven this."

"It's good that you know." Liu Ding snorted inwardly. No matter how much of a traitor Nie Zhengxu is, he can't possibly sell every Soul Forging Pill formula in the clan. Those are also the foundation he relies on.

Moreover, the secret of the final stage in refining Soul Forging Pills—using a Pill Consecrator to consecrate a beast soul into the pill—was in the hands of his grandfather, Liu Yandong, the clan patriarch. When he had refined the Du Ling Juice, he had planned to ask his grandfather for guidance if he failed.

The reason he had not asked beforehand was that only the clan patriarch could know that secret. Unexpectedly, he succeeded on his first attempt by using his divine soul to consecrate Qilin soul essence, sparing his grandfather the difficulty.

"However," Ximen Yaoji glanced at Liu Ding, "the Divine Pill Chamber combined your Liu Clan's Qilin Soul Forging Pill formula with the Murong Clan's Taotie Soul Forging Pill and developed a mild medicinal liquid. They have begun promoting it for trial use throughout Bleser City."

The Murong Clan's Taotie Soul Forging Pill was also a pill for the Five Cauldrons Realm. Different paths led to the same destination, so combining it with the Qilin Soul Forging Pill was not impossible.

Moreover, according to the introduction to Du Ling Juice, advancing from Five Soulforging Cauldrons to Six Soulforging Cauldrons required suppressing the violent aura of the beast soul. It seemed that the Murong Divine Pill Chamber had stumbled upon the right answer by sheer luck. By turning the Soul Forging Pill into a medicinal liquid, although the medicinal potency declined, the chances of advancing actually increased.

"Then their business must be doing quite well." Liu Ding shrugged.

Ximen Yaoji nodded. "If it were merely business competition, that would be one thing. But those despicable people at the Divine Pill Chamber demanded that cultivators trying their Zhe Spirit Liquid were forbidden from entering my Spirit Herb Pavilion. Our business has plummeted as a result."

This Murong Divine Pill Chamber truly was arrogant and shameless. Seeing Ximen Yaoji's gorgeous face darken once more, Liu Ding smiled instead. He took out the jade bottle of Du Ling Juice and tossed it over. "Take a look at my Du Ling Juice. How does it compare to the Murong Divine Pill Chamber's Zhe Spirit Liquid?"

Zhe Spirit Liquid? I think you named it wrong. My Du Ling Juice has one more ear than yours.