The Karn Chamber of Commerce was practically the only power on the Northwestern Continent. Under such circumstances, even the Misty Cloud Sect could not remain unaffected.
After Xiao Yan left the Misty Cloud Sect, several more alchemists chose to leave. They could not endure the exhausting work of refining pills all day. Once held high above others, they had become little more than laborers, leaving them extremely dissatisfied. No amount of persuasion from Fa Ma helped.
In truth, even Fa Ma and Gu He were struggling to hold on. To attract powerful experts, their alliance offered substantial monthly stipends, placing enormous pressure on its alchemists.
With a group of alchemists gone, the alliance naturally could no longer offer more compensation, especially since it had already been barely scraping by.
After losing those alchemists, the alliance collapsed outright. Not only did its experts leave, but many of the Misty Cloud Sect's lower-ranking disciples fled as well.
Experts at the Da Dou Shi and Dou Ling levels at least received decent treatment in the Misty Cloud Sect, but its low-ranking Dou Zhe disciples were another matter. Pressure from the Jia Ma Imperial Family and the Karn Chamber of Commerce had already left them short on resources, yet the sect's higher-ups continued squeezing them. Even if Yun Yun knew, she could do nothing to stop it.
In the end, the Jia Ma Imperial Family forcefully revoked all preferential treatment granted to the Misty Cloud Sect. Its disciples were no longer allowed to hold any important checkpoint posts, military appointments, or similar positions within the Jia Ma Empire, yet the sect dared not resist.
Without these privileges, the Misty Cloud Sect's standing plummeted again. Now even its businesses could no longer stay afloat. Coupled with the mass departure of its lower-ranking disciples, its membership