Both sides remained at an impasse, and Lei Tao had grievances he could not voice.
Master Huo had sent him out to invite Liu Wuxie inside to treat his chronic illness. If Liu Wuxie were killed here, Master Huo would certainly vent his anger on him.
Sales of the Heavenly Spirit Pill were booming. In little more than half a day, money had poured in by the bucket, filling the Pill Treasure Pavilion's coffers to overflowing. To them, until they obtained his alchemy technique, Liu Wuxie was their money tree. They certainly would not allow any harm to come to him.
Once they obtained the alchemy technique, Lei Tao would not care whether Liu Wuxie lived or died. But not yet. He could not die now.
"Commander Guo, Young Master Liu is a guest of our Pill Treasure Pavilion. If you want nine yang fruit, place an order today, and it will arrive in five days."
Taking a deep breath, Lei Tao spoke these words with great reluctance after an intense internal struggle. Even he could not believe that a day would come when a piece of trash would lead him around by the nose.
He gestured invitingly, and Liu Wuxie strode into the rear hall, leaving Commander Guo and his men behind. Their eyes blazed with fury, and their terrifying killing intent took tangible form, settling over Liu Wuxie.
Bang!
A fist slammed viciously into the counter, smashing it to pieces. Not a single attendant of the Pill Treasure Pavilion dared speak. They pretended not to see; they could not afford to offend the City Lord's Estate.
"Commander, what should we do? If the young lady's injuries aren't treated promptly, I'm afraid there'll be lingering complications. The city lord ordered us to find medicine of the utmost hardness and yang."
The guards behind him shouted in fury. They sheathed their sabers but refused to leave.
"We'll wait outside. As soon as that brat appears, we'll seize the nine yang fruit."
That was their only option. They still did not dare storm the Pill Treasure Pavilion, so they chose to ambush Liu Wuxie on the road and kill him.
The group swiftly departed, and peace returned to the Pill Treasure Pavilion. The attendants began cleaning up the shattered counter. Several counters had already been replaced in just a few days.
Liu Wuxie was led into a private room, where Master Huo had been waiting for quite some time. Upon seeing him, Master Huo rose to welcome him.
The three took their seats. Many cards lay on the table. Sales of the Heavenly Spirit Pill had far exceeded their expectations. They had adjusted the price three times, yet supply still fell short of demand.
"Young Master Liu, the five hundred Heavenly Spirit Pills sold for a total of one million gold coins. These five hundred thousand are yours. Our Pill Treasure Pavilion will provide the ingredients free of charge."
They had earned one million gold coins in a single morning, equivalent to several months of income from the Xu Household's weapons workshop. The profits from pills were frightening.
Liu Wuxie stood on no ceremony and put away the five hundred thousand gold coins.
He drew silver needles from his robes, and Master Huo rose excitedly. Over the past few days, his Shanzhong acupoint had shown signs of acting up again.
This time, Liu Wuxie's movements were faster, and the treatment ended in only a few minutes. Master Huo exhaled a breath of turbid air. Vigorous power surged through his chest, leaving him far more comfortable.
"Young Master Liu, could you supply the Heavenly Spirit Pills a few days earlier? The response to the first batch's effects has been tremendous. We should strike while the iron is hot, release them in large quantities, and seize market share," Lei Tao said.
He was responsible for pill sales. The better his sales performance, the more his standing would rise when the results reached the main pavilion in Imperial Capital City.
He did not directly ask Liu Wuxie to write down the alchemy technique so they could refine the pills themselves, but the expression on his face had already betrayed him.
The alchemy technique was Liu Wuxie's leverage over the Pill Treasure Pavilion. Once he handed it over, even if the Pill Treasure Pavilion did not turn hostile immediately, they would probably kick him out of the arrangement.
"Eight days. I'll supply a thousand pills at once!"
After a moment's consideration, Liu Wuxie moved the delivery forward by two days. Next, he needed to refine a Meridian-Restoring Pill, and repairing his heart meridians would take several more days. He wanted to break through to the xiantian realm as soon as possible and did not wish to waste too much time refining Heavenly Spirit Pills.
Cultivation required wealth, companions, methods, and a suitable place. Wealth was certainly important; only substantial riches could support the purchase of the resources he wanted.
But focusing solely on earning wealth while neglecting cultivation would put the cart before the horse.
Earning wealth while rapidly improving his cultivation, achieving two aims with one move-that was the path Liu Wuxie wanted to take.
"As long as you hand the alchemy technique over to our Pill Treasure Pavilion ahead of time, Young Master Liu, I'll smooth things over with the City Lord's Estate for you. What do you think?"
A hint of menace entered Lei Tao's voice. The profits from the Heavenly Spirit Pill were enough to drive him mad. The Pill Treasure Pavilion had not developed a new pill in years, while branches in other major cities had successively introduced new pills, raising their standing ever higher. The Canglan City branch had fallen out of favor with the main pavilion in Imperial Capital City over the past few years, leaving them burning with anxiety. The Heavenly Spirit Pill was their chance to turn things around.
Master Huo had intervened with the Wan Household, forbidding them from acting against the Xu Household for one month.
The City Lord's Estate faced no such restrictions. Even if Master Huo intervened, they would not give him face.
Threats and temptations!
If the pavilion master negotiated in the Pill Treasure Pavilion's name, the City Lord's Estate would certainly think twice.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Deacon Lei. I'll handle the City Lord's Estate myself. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Just send the medicinal ingredients needed for refining to the Xu Household."
With that, he stood and left without lingering another moment. Lei Tao's words had brought anger to his face and made him all the more eager to improve his strength. Ultimately, the Pill Treasure Pavilion could not be relied upon.
He passed through the front hall and left the Pill Treasure Pavilion. With both medicinal ingredients secured, he needed to seize the time to cultivate. Only upon reaching Innate could he employ certain Immortal Emperor methods and have a chance of winning even against the spirit cleansing realm.
Before he had even left the Pill Treasure Pavilion, pointing and murmuring came from all sides.
"That brat won't live much longer. He offended the City Lord's Estate. He's dead for certain."
The City Lord's Estate was no Wan Household. Its experts were as numerous as clouds, and the city lord himself was a marrow cleansing realm expert of unmatched might.
On the way from the Pill Treasure Pavilion to the Xu Household, Liu Wuxie passed through an uninhabited area. A great battle had taken place here several years earlier, causing large numbers of houses to collapse. Most residents had long since moved away.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The moment he entered the area, more than a dozen men emerged from hiding, disdaining to cover their faces. Commander Guo and the guards of the City Lord's Estate surrounded him.
"Hand over the nine yang fruit, and I can give you a quick death."
Icy killing intent descended over him. Commander Guo wished he could tear out Liu Wuxie's tendons and flay him alive. By refusing him in public, Liu Wuxie had stripped the City Lord's Estate of all face.
"Are you sure you want to fight?"
Liu Wuxie wore a smile. Aside from Commander Guo, who posed some threat to him, he could deal with the other guards with a single saber strike.
He had concealed his cultivation. To outsiders, he appeared to be only around the fifth layer of the Houtian realm.
"You piece of trash, who gave you the guts to oppose our City Lord's Estate? I'll teach you a lesson today!"
A guard on the right swung a palm toward Liu Wuxie's cheek with incredible speed. He was in the acquired seventh layer realm.
"Scram!"
Before he could approach Liu Wuxie, a mysterious foot suddenly appeared and struck him. Like a kite with its string cut, he crashed into a pile of rubble, baring his teeth in pain.
Liu Wuxie had not struck to kill. The Xu Household was besieged on all sides, and this was not the time to make an enemy of the City Lord's Estate. That was why he had shown mercy.
Commander Guo's eyes narrowed. Even the weakest guards of the City Lord's Estate were in the sixth layer of the Acquired. Having one sent flying with a single kick was unprecedented.
"You're courting death! You actually dared injure a guard of our City Lord's Estate!"
The other nine guards, their faces furious, raised their weapons and slashed at Liu Wuxie without another word. Every move was vicious, intended to take his life.
Commander Guo showed no intention of stopping them. Such was his overbearing manner. Instead, a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.
Liu Wuxie pressed his right hand to his short saber, then suddenly drew a beautiful arc. Crimson blossoms of blood flashed in the air as blood sprayed.
The nine guards suddenly froze in place. Feeling a chill on their necks, they reached up to touch them, staining their palms with traces of blood.
"This is only a lesson. If you dare attack me again, I won't merely cut your skin. I'll sever your necks."
One saber strike had struck all nine men, leaving a thin wound on each of their necks. Such a feat required extraordinary control. A fraction less would fail to intimidate them; a fraction more would sever their necks.
Commander Guo's eyes narrowed. That saber strike had been breathtaking, its path utterly untraceable, like a stroke that could slay the heavens.
The ten guards stood rooted to the spot as though bewitched, staring stupidly, at a loss.
They could neither advance nor retreat!
Attacking again would only invite humiliation.
But if they did not attack, were they to let him leave?
Clap, clap, clap...
Commander Guo suddenly clapped his hands, watching Liu Wuxie with a mocking expression.
"Rumor has it that the Xu Household's live-in son-in-law is a piece of trash. Today has truly opened my eyes. To think even I misjudged you."
Fierce killing intent rushed toward him—the half-step innate realm. Commander Guo had served the City Lord's Estate for decades and had committed no shortage of killings. This was familiar ground.
He flicked the flexible whip in his hand, sending it cracking through the air straight toward Liu Wuxie's face at an exceedingly devious angle.
If it struck, it would certainly split his flesh and leave his face disfigured.
Rather than retreat, Liu Wuxie advanced, unleashing seven stars in succession. He took seven consecutive steps and appeared before Commander Guo. In Liu Wuxie's eyes, every movement of his resembled a child's stumbling first steps.
All below Innate were ants!
With his physical body alone, Liu Wuxie could contend against the first layer of Innate. A mere half-step innate realm cultivator was nothing; he could destroy him with one hand.
The short saber suddenly slashed down, swift as lightning. A simple Blade-Drawing Form unleashed an earthshaking might, and terrifying Saber Qi tore through Commander Guo's defenses.
"This is bad!"
Commander Guo had never imagined Liu Wuxie could be so fast. Most terrifying of all was his saber-drawing technique, as swift as lightning. Before he could react, the saber's gleam was already upon him.
He could only retreat.
One step back led to another!
The saber's gleam followed him like his shadow, constantly hovering three inches from his body. The bone-piercing chill made Commander Guo let out a shrill roar. He wheeled his long whip around, using Sweep Away a Thousand Armies to sweep aside a thousand troops as it hurtled toward Liu Wuxie's lower body.
"You're too slow!"
Of all martial arts under heaven, only speed could not be overcome!
Liu Wuxie's saber technique brought speed to its utmost limit. Like a dragonfly skimming the water, he sprang into the air, traced a beautiful arc, and landed behind Commander Guo.
The sight frightened Commander Guo nearly out of his soul. In combat talent, even ten of him put together could not match a single finger of Liu Wuxie's.
Exposing his back to the enemy meant he had completely lost the initiative. He pitched forward, trying to evade the fatal blow.
Had Liu Wuxie truly wanted to kill him, he would already have been a corpse.
The short saber came crashing down. Commander Guo felt a chill across his back and thought his body had been cleaved open. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.
He waited a long while, but his mind remained perfectly clear. Reaching behind him with his right hand, he found his clothes torn apart, exposing smooth skin. That was why he had felt the chill.
He struggled to his feet, turned, and looked behind him.
Liu Wuxie had long since departed. That final strike had used Saber Qi to tear open his clothes, making him instinctively believe his body had been cleaved open.