Lord of the Demon Sect

“This is no problem at all! If the herbs you need are common materials, the Liu family can definitely find them! As for the price, we’ll give you a rate based on our cost!” Liu Mo said generously.

Landing an outstanding alchemist like Jiang Chen truly made her overjoyed, as if she had struck gold! Her father, Liu Jie, repeatedly emphasized to her the importance of winning Jiang Chen’s favor, hoping that after he completed the sect’s minor examination, he would still come to the Liu family to serve as an alchemist. Therefore, Jiang Chen’s request for herb procurement was a piece of cake.

At this point, Jiang Chen took out a piece of paper and wrote down around a hundred types of materials. He handed it to Liu Mo and said, “Mo’er, let’s start with a hundred of each! These materials aren’t rare at all; they should be relatively easy to find!”

He secretly felt proud, as half of the items on the list were the materials needed to refine the Jiangshi cultivation pills, while the others were just random herbs mixed together, including ones for the detoxification pill and the mind-enhancing pill, all jumbled up to prevent Liu Mo and Liu Jie from discerning what exactly he intended to refine.

Liu Mo furrowed her brow as she examined the list for a long time. She concluded that while the materials were numerous, they were all common goods, most of which could be found in their own bazaar. The rest could be easily purchased at some herb and spiritual herb shops, or even at auctions. It wasn’t a big deal at all.

With a radiant smile that could captivate anyone, she snapped her fingers and said, “Jiang-Ge, no problem! I can deliver these materials to you within three days! The price will definitely be the best in the city!”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen was equally delighted and said, “In that case, I’ll quickly get to work on refining pills! After all, we’re on the same team now! I also want to defeat the Shang family!”

In the following days, Jiang Chen almost spent all his time beside the golden jade furnace, tirelessly refining pills. He was not only making Qi condensing pills but also the Jiangshi cultivation pills necessary for Xiao Qian to enhance her cultivation level.

When his spiritual power was depleted, he would pick up the jar of spirit wine and take a sip. After the fragrant spirit wine entered his belly, Jiang Chen felt a burning sensation within, as a burst of intense spiritual energy began to generate in his Dantian. This power slowly flowed through his meridians, filling his body, restoring the spiritual energy that had nearly been exhausted.

“It seems this spirit wine really has a fast recovery effect! I’ve heard this is just a low-grade fruit essence wine. Using a higher-grade spirit wine would surely yield even better recovery results! However, given my current cultivation level, the fruit essence wine is already sufficient,” Jiang Chen thought to himself.

He glanced at the golden jade furnace, only to see that the flames had turned the alchemy furnace a bright red. It looked like another batch of pills was about to be ready…

Jiang Chen sighed, gripping the switch for the ground fire with one hand and preparing a jade porcelain bottle with the other. In no time, a faint aromatic scent began to waft from the alchemy furnace, signaling that the pills were forming.

A flash of brilliance appeared in Jiang Chen’s eyes as he quickly turned the handle to switch off the ground fire. The fierce red flames extinguished immediately. He opened the lid of the alchemy furnace, using his spiritual power to gently lift the pills from within…

The room was filled with a rich herbal fragrance as another batch of Qi condensing pills was completed. This time, he had used a hundred portions of materials and ended up with thirty-one pills, which delighted Jiang Chen immensely.

He understood very well that his successful pill-making rate had a thirty percent bonus from the Holy Lord System. This meant that out of the hundred portions, the thirty successful pills were thanks to the system’s rewards. This time, however, he had made thirty-one pills from a hundred portions, meaning one of the Qi condensing pills had been perfected entirely through his own skill.

This significant breakthrough filled him with sheer joy. He hadn’t expected to discover some innate talent for alchemy, managing to successfully create Qi condensing pills in just a few days.

“Alright, for the next batch, I’ll try refining Jiangshi cultivation pills and see if I can also produce thirty pills from a hundred portions!” Jiang Chen clenched his fists, boosting his own morale.

Although the days spent refining pills were extremely taxing, witnessing each aromatic pill emerge from his furnace and into the jade porcelain bottles filled him with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Of the Qi condensing pills Jiang Chen had produced, only one-third was set aside for Liu Mo. The rest he consumed himself, while most of the excess was stored in his storage bag.

As for the Jiangshi cultivation pills, he let Xiao Qian consume all of them. This made her incredibly happy; every time Jiang Chen finished a batch of pills, she would look at the lid of the alchemy furnace with big, hopeful eyes, wishing that this time the pills would be the ones she could take.

Now, she was able to assist Jiang Chen by handing him bottles and passing along the boxes of powdered herbs, making herself useful around the alchemy furnace. As her cultivation level gradually rose, her skin began to glow, making her appear more lifelike.

In Jiang Chen’s heart, she started to feel more like a little sister to him rather than just a Jiangshi servant.

During this period, aside from Liu Mo occasionally bringing him herbs and spirit wine, no one else disturbed him. It seemed that she and Liu Jie were saving their strength, gearing up for a major counterattack three months later when Jiang Chen’s alchemy was complete, hoping to reclaim their lost customers and market share.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that during this continuous alchemy process, Jiang Chen found that his control over spiritual power was becoming increasingly proficient. This mastery directly affected the potency of spells and the accuracy with which spiritual artifacts could be utilized. Now, when he fought, he believed he wouldn’t be as helpless as he was at the beginning.

Buoyed by this dual benefit, Jiang Chen finally persevered through three grueling months of pill refining.

While Jiang Chen was diligently practicing in the Liu family’s alchemy workshop, the tension between the Liu family and the Shang family on East Street in Blood Shadow City was becoming increasingly apparent.

Three days ago, the Shang family took advantage of the Liu family’s prolonged absence from the pill market and formally proposed to purchase the storefront in the Liu family’s bazaar that was specifically dedicated to selling pills.

They argued that leaving the alchemy shop unused would be a waste and that transferring ownership to them would allow it to serve a better purpose. Although they knew that the Liu family’s storefront would never be sold to them, making a loud declaration like this would further highlight the Liu family’s decline and make neutral cultivators aware that the Liu family was like a phoenix with its feathers plucked, barely better than a mere chicken!

However, the head of the Liu family, Liu Jie, and the designated successor, Liu Mo, remained silent in the face of this provocation, showing no signs of a counterattack. Consequently, many merchants and old customers who had previously cooperated with the Liu family began to shift their allegiance to the Shang family’s pill shop, and some even brought along customers for artifact crafting and talismans…

This strategy from the Shang family, which aimed to completely annihilate the Liu family, ignited outrage among all members of the Liu household.

Several high-ranking members of the Liu family were furious. They convened the clan members in the main hall to discuss a counter-strategy.

“Damn it! We can’t just sit here waiting any longer. The alchemy shop may be closed due to the lack of alchemists, but it’s now affecting my talisman shop as well. Yesterday, my talismancer asked if we could still hold on. He’s considering accepting the Shang family’s offer to work for them, as they’re offering a high salary,” Liu Yong, Liu Jie’s second brother, shouted angrily.

“Exactly! My shop that sells formation flags also received an invitation from the Shang family, who are willing to pay a premium to poach our formation master. They are claiming that the Liu family is on the verge of bankruptcy. They are simply too arrogant!” Liu Wei, Liu Jie’s third brother, also declared, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Right! Brother, what should we do now? Is the Liu family, which has stood for hundreds of years in Blood Shadow City, really going to fall into a state of decline?” Liu Yong asked, his face filled with a sense of unwillingness.

He was deeply dissatisfied with his elder brother and Liu Mo over their unusual actions in the past three months. While they had been tirelessly acquiring medicinal materials, there were no pills being sold in the bazaar. This consumed a large amount of the family’s spirit stones and even impacted the operation of the bazaar, which made him very angry.

In the main hall, other family members, including those without spiritual roots who were merely mortals, sat quietly. Each of them wore a dark expression. The fate of the Liu family was intricately linked to their own lives; under the shade of a great tree, they could enjoy comfort. If the Liu family fell, life would become difficult for all of them.

“We truly can’t delay any longer…” Liu Jie sighed slowly and said, “We need to swiftly sell a batch of pills, and they must be both high-quality and reasonably priced, so that the Shang family’s pills can’t compete with ours!”

At this moment, Liu Yong’s eyes flickered with an idea. “Brother, since we can’t compete with the Shang family, what if we consider the marriage proposal put forth by Shang Zhengwu? This would naturally resolve the conflict between the two families, and the alchemist Huang Zong who was poached could return to our Liu family and continue to serve. This could eliminate the crisis facing our alchemy workshop!”

“Second brother, how could you say such irresponsible things?” Liu Jie was furious upon hearing this. “You know well who Shang Kexi is. How could I possibly betroth Mo’er to him? If it were your daughter, would you agree?”

“But brother! If my daughter had a spiritual root and the Shang family showed interest, I would have no hesitation! But right now, the only unmarried woman with a spiritual root in our family is Mo’er. If you can’t bear to part with Mo’er and you can’t save the family crisis, then why not let me, Liu Yong, take over the family affairs? Perhaps I could still turn the situation around!” Liu Yong argued fervently.

Liu Jie glanced at Liu Yong, thoughtfully considering the proposition. “Then, Second Brother, if you were to take charge of the family affairs, how would you cope?”

“Naturally, I would emphasize harmony and seek common ground while putting aside differences!” Liu Yong assumed that his elder brother didn’t really want to be the head of the family, and he was immediately pleased with himself. “I would propose that we merge our bazaar with the Shang family! After all, our two bazaars are both located on East Street. If we combine them, we could share the profits-wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?”