Wen Jiao froze, released Chu Yunfei's hand, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, and turned away coldly.
A young man dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe with cloud patterns walked in through the doorway.
He was tall and handsome, with a purple-gold jade pendant hanging from his waist.
That was a symbol of status for the Holy Son of the Jade Firmament Sect.
The newcomer was none other than Zhou Heng, the current Holy Son of the Jade Firmament Sect.
The smile on Zhou Heng's face slowly faded after he saw the scene inside the room.
He immediately saw the unconscious young man in black on the bed, and he also saw the intimate gesture of Wen Jiao placing that person's hand on her cheek.
His right hand, hidden in his sleeve, quietly clenched into a fist.
The veins on the back of his hand stood out, and a cold, jealous fire burned in his eyes.
From childhood, he regarded this young lady of the Pill Pavilion as his future Daoist partner.
Wen Jiao possesses exceptional talent and beauty that rivals that of the Great Qian Princess in the Eastern Continent. Furthermore, she is backed by the immense wealth of the entire Eastern Continent's Pill Pavilion.
In Zhou Heng's eyes, he was the only one in the entire Eastern Continent who was worthy of Wen Jiao.
For many years, Wen Jiao remained indifferent and cold towards him.
He had originally thought that Wen Jiao was naturally indifferent to love and had no interest in romantic relationships, but now, she was weeping bitterly by the bedside for a dead stranger, and even behaving so intimately.
Zhou Heng took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the jealousy in his eyes, and put on a warm smile again.
"Junior Sister Wen, I heard you've returned to the sect, so I've prepared some small gifts to visit you. How have you been?"
Wen Jiao stood up, subtly blocking the path in front of the bed, her tone distant and indifferent. "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Zhou. Wen Jiao is perfectly fine."
Zhou Heng's gaze swept past Wen Jiao shoulder, then casually glanced at Chu Yunfei on the couch. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "May I ask who this fellow Daoist is? His injuries seem extremely severe. Should I summon a few sect elders to assist him?"
Wen Jiao said indifferently, "Just an old friend. Second Grandfather already came to see me, no need for Senior Brother Zhou to trouble himself."
Zhou Heng was met with a rebuff, his expression stiffening slightly before he smiled and said, "Since Uncle-Master Wen has already made his move, there should be no problem. Junior Sister has returned from afar, weary from her journey. Why don't you come with me to the Moon-Gazing Pavilion, sample this year's new spiritual tea, and catch up?"
Wen Jiao frowned, her eyes revealing obvious impatience. "Senior Brother Zhou, I've been traveling for days and am exhausted, both physically and mentally. I just want some peace and quiet to rest. If you have nothing else to say, please leave."
The blunt order to leave caused Zhou Heng to tighten his grip on his hands hidden in his sleeves once more.
He stared at Wen Jiao's expressionless face for a long time before forcing a stiff smile, "Since Junior Sister is tired, I will visit again another day. Junior Sister, please rest well."
After saying this, Zhou Heng cupped his hands in greeting, flicked his sleeves, turned around, and strode away.
The moment Zhou Heng stepped out of the bamboo grove courtyard, the gentle smile on his face vanished.
He beckoned to one of his trusted disciples guarding the courtyard and said coldly, "Go, find out immediately who that critically injured man in the house is. I want all his secrets by today."
The disciple trembled and immediately responded, running away as fast as he could.
Zhou Heng glanced back at the closed door, his gaze dark and brooding.
"You shameless woman, you act all innocent and pure in front of me, but behind my back you're shedding tears for some random man."
"I'd like to see who you really are."
"Dare to touch the woman this Holy Son has set his sights on? No one can protect you then."
at the same time.
The main peak of the Jade Firmament Sect, the council hall.
Inside the hall, incense smoke curled upwards from the burners, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere.
The Jade Firmament Sect, Danyuanzi, sat upright on the purple-gold dragon-carved chair in the center, his eyes slightly closed, his expression inscrutable.
On the large armchairs on both sides of the main hall sat more than a dozen powerful elders of the sect, their bodies radiating spiritual light, all of them being at the Divine Sea Realm.
The Wen Buqi was prominently listed among them.
Danyuanzi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall. His authoritative voice echoed in the spacious hall, "Elders, I have summoned you all here today because Elder Wen has an important decision regarding the sect and the Pill Pavilion that requires discussion with the sect."
The group exchanged bewildered glances.
The Jade Firmament Sect relies entirely on the Pill Pavilion for the sale of most of its pills. The two have cooperated for over a hundred years, always working in perfect harmony, splitting profits equally, and have never made a mistake.
What major events could happen today?
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Wen Buqi slowly stood up and bowed to Danyuanzi, who was seated in the main seat.
"Sect Leader, fellow disciples."
Wen Buqi's loud voice echoed clearly throughout the hall, "Today, I have been entrusted by Wen Daoyuan, the Pill Pavilion Headquarters, to formally propose to the sect that we renegotiate the future profit sharing between the Pill Pavilion and the Jade Firmament Sect."
Upon hearing this, the elders in the hall all frowned.
The middle-aged man sitting at the head of the left seat had sharp, hawk-like eyes; he was none other than Zhou Changgeng, the Grand Elder of the Jade Firmament Sect.
Zhou Changgeng snorted coldly and said indifferently, " Elder Wen, the 50/50 split between the two families has been a rule established for many years and has been operating smoothly for a hundred years. Is it possible that the Pill Pavilion suddenly proposed to redistribute the profits because it thinks it has earned too little and wants to take a bigger slice from my Jade Firmament Sect?"
Several elders who were affiliated with Zhou Changgeng's faction immediately chimed in.
Wen Buqi remained unfazed, a knowing smile playing on his lips, and said calmly, "Elder Zhou has misunderstood. The new profit-sharing ratio proposed by the Pill Pavilion is... the Pill Pavilion will take 20%, and the Jade Firmament Sect will take 80%."
"What did you say?"
"A 20/80 split?!"
Elder Wen, you're not joking, are you?
An explosion erupted inside the main hall.
Most of the dozen or so Divine Sea Realm elders, who usually kept their emotions hidden, suddenly stood up, their faces filled with disbelief.
Even the sect leader Danyuanzi, who was in the main seat, had his eyelids twitch violently, and his expression changed.
Pill Pavilion was in charge of sales and bore the huge expenses of various shops, the risks of escorting goods, and manpower costs. Originally, taking 50% of the profits was already extremely fair.
Now they're giving up 30%, only taking 20%?
Given the terrifying size of the Pill Pavilion's current monopoly on most of the pill market in the Eastern Continent, the 30% of net profit it relinquishes would amount to an astronomical amount of spirit stone mines every year.
Zhou Changgeng's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at Wen Buqi. He said in a deep voice, " Elder Wen, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The Pill Pavilion has made such a huge concession; perhaps their appetite is even greater? What exactly do you want?"
Wen Buqi looked at Danyuanzi and solemnly said:
" The Pill Pavilion is willing to sign a century-long contract with the sect on this condition. The Pill Pavilion's only request is that the sect bestow upon it the seventh-grade divine pill, the Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill, which is sealed in the ancestral pavilion's forbidden area!"
The hall fell into a deathly silence.
The Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill.
The Jade Firmament Sect's prized artifact, passed down for a thousand years, is also the only seventh-grade elixir in the entire Eastern Continent.
Zhou Changgeng abruptly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted sharply, "Absurd! Absolutely impossible! A seventh-grade divine pill is the foundation of our sect; how can it be used as an ordinary medicinal herb to exchange for profit?!"
Wen Buqi to back down, retorting loudly, "Elder Zhou, you are mistaken. That Nine-Aperture Life-Restoring Pill has been sealed in the Ancestral Pavilion's forbidden area for a full thousand years. Does anyone in my Jade Firmament Sect have the ability to refine this pill? Does anyone dare to use it?"
Zhou Changgeng's face was grim, but he did not answer immediately.
Wen Buqi surveyed the crowd, his voice low and deep. "In the Ancestral Pavilion, it would be nothing more than an inanimate object, but the 30% of the pure profit relinquished by the Pill Pavilion, calculated over a hundred years, would be enough for my Jade Firmament Sect to cultivate over a thousand more Heavenly Origin Realm True Disciples, and even forge ten more Divine Sea Realm Elders."
"To exchange a useless, inanimate object for the sect's unprecedented prosperity for the next hundred years—among all the elders present, who dares to say this is a bad deal?"
The sound of the Wen Buqi resounded throughout the hall.
The elders, who had initially strongly opposed the move, suddenly became thoughtful, their eyes flickering.
Indeed, although seventh-grade pills are expensive, they are useless if no one can use them. A 30% profit over a hundred years is a huge resource that can be swallowed whole.
Even Zhou Changgeng fell silent.
Danyuanzi tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest and slowly asked, " Elder Wen, what is the purpose of that pill in your Pill Pavilion that would make the Grand Pavilion Master willing to pay such an astonishing price?"
Wen Buqi took a deep breath and solemnly cupped his hands. "Reporting to the Sect Master, to be honest, the Pill Pavilion obtained this pill solely to save someone."
"Save them?"
Grand Elder Zhou Changgeng sneered and immediately pressed, " Wen Daoyuan was still at the sect a few days ago, and we haven't heard of anyone in the Pill Pavilion facing a life-or-death crisis."
"Who exactly is this person Elder Wen is talking about?"
Wen Buqi paused for a moment, then said, "This person saved the Pill Pavilion's life, and his identity is special. Please forgive me for not being able to reveal it for the time being."
Zhou Changgeng's gaze turned cold.
"They don't even dare to say their name, yet they demand the sect hand over its most precious elixir?"
" Elder Wen, how can you expect us to believe that the Pill Pavilion didn't save our Jade Firmament Sect's mortal enemy?"
"If you won't even say who you're saving, then there's no need to discuss this further."
Zhou Changgeng's words immediately drew the agreement of the other elders.
"The Grand Elder is right."
"The sect's most precious treasures must not be entrusted to people of unknown origin."
" Pill Pavilion should at least clarify the other party's identity."
One voice after another rang out.
Wen Buqi looked at the elders before him, knowing he could no longer hide the truth, so he steeled himself and spoke loudly.
"This person is currently within the sect; he is none other than Chu Yunfei, the Great Qian Prince Consort who thwarted the Cangyun Sect and the Puppet Sect in the Imperial City!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall was thrown into an uproar once again.
" Chu Yunfei?"
"Is that the young man who severed Qin Hao's arm at the grand banquet in the imperial city, making Yue Chenzhou unable to lift his head?"
Shouldn't he still be in the Great Qian Imperial City?
"Why were you so badly injured, and why were you brought to the Pill Pavilion Cloud Sect by the Jade Firmament Sect?"
Several divine senses subconsciously spread out, seemingly trying to confirm the authenticity of the news.
Zhou Changgeng, however, did not participate in the discussion.
He stared intently at Wen Buqi, his mind racing.
Chu Yunfei is actually at the Jade Firmament Sect?
Moreover, he suffered a near-death experience.
Once this matter reaches the capital, it will surely cause a great stir.
Zhou Changgeng raised his eyes and sneered, " Wen Buqi."
"Are you sure this person is really Chu Yunfei, the imperial son-in-law of the Great Qian Imperial Family?"