Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 195 - Fifth-Grade Talisman Paper

It wasn't trivial since it even troubled the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

Indeed, the Treasure Pill Pavilion was not under the jurisdiction of the Great Yan Dynasty. In fact, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, a renowned sect in the cultivation world, considered both the Pavilion and the Dynasty insignificant.

If Liu Wuxie wished to return to the Celestial Realm swiftly, he would need to leave the mundane world behind and immerse himself in the cultivation world to accelerate his cultivation progress.

Mu Yueying rose from the couch and retrieved a porcelain bottle from her chest, presenting it to Liu Wuxie. “Examine this pill,” she instructed.

After setting the pill down, she relaxed into the chair next to Liu Wuxie and sipped her tea. Liu Wuxie opened the porcelain bottle to reveal a brown pill, a color he had never seen before in a pill.

“The Treasure Pill Pavilion doesn’t refine this.” Liu Wuxie remarked. He had practically seen all the pills sold by the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and he didn’t recognize this one.

“The Cloud Xing Pavilion recently sold this. It’s cheap and has decent effects, surpassing Golden Spirit Pill.”

Just a month ago, the Golden Spirit Pill was all the rage, especially after Bi Gongyu began selling them to the Imperial Academy at a reasonable price. However, within a mere ten days or so, the Cloud Xing Pavilion introduced a pill that not only replaced but also surpassed the Golden Spirit Pill.

“The Treasure Pill Pavilion holds a monopoly over seventy percent of the alchemy market in the Imperial City, while the Cloud Xing Pavilion only has a twenty percent share. How could they possibly pose a threat to the Treasure Pill Pavilion?” Liu Wuxie queried, setting the pill down.

He had already analyzed the components of this pill, but he was curious how the Cloud Xing Pavilion managed to catch up with a colossus like the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

“Do you know the Cloud Xing Pavilion’s origin?” Mu Yueying placed the cup down and looked at Liu Wuxie with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

Liu Wuxie didn’t understand much about the layout of the True Martial Continent, and he shook his head at Mu Yueying’s question. He didn’t know the Cloud Xing Pavilion’s origin and signaled Mu Yueying to continue.

“The True Martial Continent is divided into various regions: the Eastern Domain, Southern Province, Western Barren, Northern City, and Central Plains. The Great Yan Dynasty is only a tiny dynasty in the mundane world located at the Southern Province's border. I was dispatched here a year ago to manage the Treasure Pill Pavilion,” Mu Yueying said and paused briefly.

This information was crucial to Liu Wuxie, who was determined to leave the Great Yan Dynasty sooner rather than later.

“You’re saying the Cloud Xing Pavilion belongs to another sect?” Liu Wuxie understood what Mu Yueying was trying to say. There was a possibility that someone formidable was dispatched to the Cloud Xing Pavilion, allowing them to surpass the Treasure Pill Pavilion in a short time.

“Within the Southern Province, there are ten prominent sects, and the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is one of them. It holds the top rank in alchemy but only the fifth in martial arts. This places the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion as a first-tier sect. However, there has been a longstanding rivalry with another alchemy sect,” explained Mu Yueying.

Liu Wuxie was taken aback by the vastness of the Southern Province, realizing that the Great Yan Dynasty was merely a small offshoot of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

“Continue,” Liu Wuxie urged after processing the information provided by Mu Yueying.

“I’m aware that the Great Yan Dynasty won’t be able to contain you, and you’ll eventually come across this information. As for the Cloud Xing Pavilion, they’re part of the Azure Crimson Gate. They’re also one of the ten major sects, and their alchemy prowess is on par with our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. A month ago, a team of expert alchemists arrived at the Cloud Xing Pavilion. They refined a large number of pills, capturing half of our market share in just over a week.”

Major sects naturally consumed a lot of resources, necessitating numerous branches to generate spirit stones. These were then transported back to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to aid their disciples’ cultivation.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion served as a resource collection tool for the main sect. As a former Immortal Emperor, Liu Wuxie quickly understood this. It explained why the Treasure Pill Pavilion seemed so deserted when he first arrived—the Cloud Xing Pavilion had usurped their business.

“The Treasure Pill Pavilion has dominated the market share in the Great Yan Dynasty for over ten years, and the Cloud Xing Pavilion couldn’t hold a cradle to us. So, why did they suddenly dispatch people over?” Liu Wuxie remembered that since he transmigrated to this body, the Treasure Pill Pavilion had been deeply rooted in the Great Yan Dynasty, and the Cloud Xing Pavilion had little presence. Thus, it was weird that they suddenly emerged.

“The Great Yan Dynasty’s rule has reached a critical state, and our Treasure Pill Pavilion has always supported the royal family. I suspect that someone must be behind the rise of the Cloud Xing Pavilion to confront us and sever our support to the royal family,” Mu Yueying said with a hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes.

“Did Prince Yongxian approach you?” Liu Wuxie inferred the situation from their conversation and asked. Mu Yueying looked at him with disbelief, as if she was looking at a monster.

“Are you truly only eighteen?” Mu Yueying began questioning whether Liu Wuxie was an ancient being residing in a young body.

“Absolutely!” Age couldn’t be falsified, and he was indeed only eighteen.

“A month ago, Prince Yongxian came to look for me, hoping that the Treasure Pill Pavilion could supply them with 5,000 pills monthly, which I refused.” Since Liu Wuxie had already guessed what had likely happened, Mu Yueying didn’t hide anything from him.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion would sell about 5,000 to 7,000 pills monthly. If they were to supply 5,000 pills to Prince Yongxian, it would mean that many ordinary cultivators would no longer be able to purchase pills from them.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion’s main business was selling pills, and it didn’t matter who they sold them to. This should have been a good thing since Prince Yongxian wanted 5,000 pills monthly.

“Why did you refuse?” Liu Wuxie asked. Since Mu Yueying refused Prince Yongxian, there must have been a reason behind it.

“He wanted us to refine the Black Shell Pill!” Mu Yueying said furiously, unable to contain her anger.

Liu Wuxie fell silent. He would've also refused if he were in Mu Yueying’s position. The Black Shell Pill was a forbidden pill mainly used to nurture killing machines as one would gradually lose their rationale and consciousness upon taking it.

Most importantly, those killing machines wouldn’t fear death, and they wouldn’t die even if their heads were severed.

The thought of him possessing 5,000 of these pills, enough to create an army of mindless killers, is indeed terrifying. Even the strongest of warriors would eventually succumb to such a relentless force.

As the Great Yan Dynasty controlled the Terrabreak Army, Prince Yongxian would have to face it sooner or later if he wanted to rebel. This meant that this troop of killing machines would be his trump card.

“The Cloud Xing Pavilion rose shortly after you rejected Prince Yongxian’s request. So, do you suspect that Prince Yongxian was behind its rise?” Everything became clear now.

Prince Yongxian needed many Black Shell Pills monthly to nurture and sustain his troops. Thus, he could only look for the Cloud Xing Pavilion since the Treasure Pill Pavilion refused his request.

“Let’s go back to the topic. Can you discern the profundity of this pill? All the cultivators in the Imperial City are crazy about it to the point of obsession.”

Despite this, Prince Yongxian had refrained from acting against the Treasure Pill Pavilion. After all, in the eyes of the Heavenly Treasure Pill, he was but an insignificant country bumpkin who could be easily dismissed with a mere wave of their hand.

Mu Yueying’s only concern was the Cloud Xing Pavilion. If the Cloud Xing Pavilion continued to develop, the Treasure Pill Pavilion would lose its market share in the Great Yan Dynasty, and she wouldn’t be able to explain this to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's higher-ups.

She had even consulted with the alchemists in the Treasure Pill Pavilion, but they were unable to devise a solution. Although the pill in question appeared ordinary, its effects were potent, surpassing even those of the Golden Spirit Pil.

“This pill is known as the Blood Mirage Pill, and it contains the Snake Demon Flower. Consumption will lead to addiction, causing discomfort if not taken regularly. The primary effects stem from the Snake Demon Flower, which stimulates blood flow. This gives the impression of the pill’s potency, but over time, it gradually corrodes and weakens the veins,” Liu Wuxie explained, picking up the brown pill. He quickly analyzed its components using his Ghost Eye.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yueying’s eyes lit up. This meant that the problem that had been troubling them for the past month was now solved. Having identified the problem, the next step was to resolve it. However, this wouldn’t be easy as they needed to inform the cultivators that this pill was toxic and that consuming it could put their lives at risk rather than benefiting them.

The Azure Crimson Gate had always acted without caring about the consequences as long as they achieved their desired results. In their eyes, ordinary people were no different from flies.

“Wuxie, do you have a way to stop the Cloud Xing Pavilion from refining these pills? I’m not worried about the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s business. I’m afraid that these pills might result in a dire consequence,” Mu Yueying frowned because this didn’t just involve the Treasure Pill Pavilion but the lives of countless people.

“It’s easy to resolve it!” Liu Wuxie wore a mysterious smile but didn’t reveal the solution directly. Instead, he took out a paper and wrote down the method.

As Mu Yueying glanced at the paper, she cast a playful look at Liu Wuxie. “I’m a bit too old for you. If I were a few years younger, I might have fallen for you.” After carefully storing the paper, her mood seemed to lift.”

“Lady Mu, I need some materials.” After resolving the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s problem, it was time to resolve his own.

“Take this medal. You have free access to the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s warehouse from today onwards. You can take as many herbs as you want, and there’s no need for my approval.” Mu Yueying took out a medal and threw it before Liu Wuxie.

It was fine even if Liu Wuxie emptied the warehouse with the medal. This exception was the first since the Treasure Pill Pavilion was established, and Liu Wuxie was the first to receive such a treatment.

“Thank you, Lady Mu!” Liu Wuxie gratefully accepted the medal. He was in urgent need of a batch of herbs, and only the Treasure Pill Pavilion could meet his requirements.

“Stop calling me Lady Mu; it’s too formal. You can call me Big Sister Mu. Feel free to tell me if you have any other requests.” Mu Yueying was in a good mood now that the problem troubling them for the past month was resolved.

“I wonder if Lady Mu can help me obtain a fifth-grade talisman paper?” Liu Wuxie asked. If he wanted to engrave runes, he would need special talisman papers, which were also graded. For example, one couldn’t use a first-grade paper to make a third-grade talisman.

Refining a talisman paper within twenty days was difficult as raw materials were limited. The best solution would be to go for those ready-made papers. This meant he would only need to be responsible for engraving runes on the papers.

It would be challenging to kill Qin Shi relying on his strength, and the only method was to resort to talismans. This was because setting up a spiritual array on the stage wasn't convenient, and Qin Shi wouldn’t give him the opportunity either.

“If we were in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, fifth-grade talisman papers would be as common as dirt. However, they are rare in the Great Yan Dynasty. I have some fourth-grade talisman papers on hand, but fifth-grade would be a little tricky.” Mu Yueying didn’t even ask why Liu Wuxie wanted the papers; she was already thinking of ways to help him obtain them.