The next morning, the field of the alchemy great competition was even noisier than usual.
Not only had the number of spectators surged, but even the sect leaders and elders of various sects had arrived early—clearly, they were all there for Li Nanzhu, who had refined an extreme-grade pill yesterday.
As soon as Li Nanzhu reached the arena, she caught sight of Ling Xiao and Zhao Wufeng sitting in prominent positions with Pei Ji and the others. Turning her head, she saw that Cang Dongqing was already standing with Jiang Zhi and several others from the Shenmu Sect, chatting.
But a closer look revealed that while they seemed to be talking happily on the surface, it was mostly Cang Dongqing taking the initiative to speak. The Shenmu Sect disciples only responded politely with a few words, their attitudes clearly distant.
This surprised her a little—the heroine's halo, which was supposed to be invincible in the original story, didn't seem to be working very well this time?
After a moment's thought, Li Nanzhu quietly retreated to her seat and tugged on Duan Xianxing's sleeve.
"Seventh Senior Brother," she whispered, "do me a favor..."
Cang Dongqing's situation was indeed as Li Nanzhu expected.
She had been dealing with these Shenmu Sect direct disciples for quite a while, but they maintained that lukewarm attitude. Had it not been for her status as a direct disciple, they probably would have brushed her off long ago.
Cang Dongqing gritted her teeth inwardly—these Shenmu Sect disciples were truly difficult to deal with. Relying on their superb alchemy skills, every one of them was arrogant, even more so than refinery masters.
Of course, a deeper reason was that every time the Sword Heart Sect purchased pills, they would always find various excuses to press the price down. Although the cuts weren't huge each time, over the years, it directly affected the commission income of these disciples.
The resentment from lost profits had accumulated over time, so naturally, they wouldn't show a good face to her, a direct disciple of the Sword Heart Sect.
Cang Dongqing grumbled internally, but her face remained gentle. "I heard that the Shenmu Sect recently developed a new refining method that can increase medicinal efficacy by thirty percent. I wonder if it's true?"
Jiang Zhi glanced at her indifferently. "A sect secret technique is not for outsiders."
Ye Zhiqiu turned away directly, clearly not wanting to continue the topic.
Cang Dongqing's smile stiffened. She was about to say something more when she was suddenly interrupted by a loud shout: "Come take a look! Tier 1 extreme-grade qi-replenishing pills! Exclusive secret method! Once they're gone, they're gone!"
The entire venue was in an uproar!
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw that Duan Xianxing had pulled out that amplification magic tool again at some point and was shouting energetically in front of their seats.
On the light screen behind him, the originally exaggerated slogans had been replaced with golden characters: 'Tier 1 Extreme-Grade Pills, Limited Sale.'
The direct disciples of the Shenmu Sect were stunned at first, then showed expressions of disdain.
"The Five Elements Dao Sect again? Doing these showy tricks all day long."
"Is a tier 1 extreme-grade pill worth such a fuss? Our sect's storehouse is full of them."
"With that commotion yesterday, someone who didn't know better would've thought they took first place in the competition."
Cang Dongqing wanted to take the opportunity to say something, but she was surprised to find that while Jiang Zhi and the others were dismissive verbally, their feet were unconsciously moving toward the Five Elements Dao Sect's side.
Cang Dongqing gritted her teeth. 'They're just tier 1 pills! What's the big deal!'
A crowd of curious people had already gathered in front of the Five Elements Dao Sect's stall, but when the direct disciples of the Shenmu Sect approached, the onlookers instinctively made a path.
Someone whispered, "The people from the Shenmu Sect are here. Could they be here to cause trouble?"
Duan Xianxing, however, remained beaming, holding the amplification magic tool as he said to Jiang Zhi and the others, "Are you fellow Daoists here to buy pills too? Welcome, welcome!"
Jiang Zhi swept a cold gaze over the pills on the stall and asked as if casually, "What's the price?"
Duan Xianxing held up an index finger, his smile undiminished. "One high-grade spirit stone. Honest Dealing!"
The price caused the surroundings to fall silent instantly.
The onlookers who were still discussing things all showed hesitant expressions. Buying a tier 1 pill for one high-grade spirit stone, no matter how good the quality, was indeed far too expensive.
Seeing the frowning expressions of the direct disciples, Cang Dongqing immediately spoke up considerately, "Fellow Daoist Duan, is this price a bit... unreasonable? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to sell a tier 1 pill for such a price?"
Her words seemed to be speaking for everyone, but in reality, she was secretly trying to embarrass the Five Elements Dao Sect.
The crowd also chimed in:
"Yeah, it's too expensive!"
"Selling a tier 1 pill at this price, are you robbing us?"
The doubts from the crowd rose one after another, and the direct disciples of the Shenmu Sect also looked hesitant.
Seeing this, Duan Xianxing became unhappy. "Too expensive? If it's too expensive, you can buy elsewhere! There are plenty of cheap tier 1 pills outside, why come here and feel cheated?"
His words were blunt, making Cang Dongqing's face darken. She was about to speak when she was interrupted by Li Nanzhu's voice.
"This tier 1 extreme-grade pill may seem ordinary, but it actually contains great mystery."
She held a pill in her palm. "In a moment of crisis, a pill with such pure efficacy might be the key to saving a life. Moreover..."
She paused deliberately, her gaze sweeping over the Shenmu Sect's direct disciples. "For high-level alchemists, such extreme-grade pills are rare research subjects. If one can comprehend even a fraction of the refining essence within, perhaps they can find the secret to refining extreme-grade pills themselves."
Those words hit the mark!
Jiang Zhi and the others' eyes lit up immediately.
Indeed, although they could refine high-tier pills, refining extreme-grade pills had always been a difficult problem. If they could study these finished products, they might truly gain something.
Jiang Zhi was the first to react, speaking up immediately, "I'll take all of these pills."
Ye Zhiqiu hurriedly said, "Leave a few for me!"
Wei Zhaoheng was even more direct, already taking out spirit stones. "Give them to me first!"
They completely forgot their attitude from just a moment ago about it being too expensive.
Duan Xianxing beamed instantly, while Cang Dongqing stood to the side, her face turning pale and green in turns.
These Shenmu Sect disciples had been indifferent to her earlier, yet now they were so enthusiastic about the Five Elements Dao Sect's pills. This was practically a slap in the face.
What made it even more embarrassing was that Li Nanzhu deliberately walked up to her and said with a smile, "Senior Sister Cang is truly considerate of everyone. However, it seems that those who truly know their business still recognize the quality."
Cang Dongqing suppressed her rage and turned to leave without a word.
The other cultivators, seeing that even the Shenmu Sect's direct disciples approved of these pills, beat their chests and stamped their feet, regretting why they had tried to save that one high-grade spirit stone.
Li Nanzhu pulled the spirit stones into her sleeve with satisfaction and even took out half, stuffing them into Duan Xianxing's hand.
Duan Xianxing smiled so wide his eyes were barely visible. "Little Junior Sister is so generous! Next time there's a good thing like this, remember to call me again!"
She nodded with a smile and turned to head toward the competition area, but she was suddenly stopped by a shout from Duan Xianxing behind her.
"Little Junior Sister, you're the best!"
Li Nanzhu was about to turn back to say something when she saw that Duan Xianxing had changed the light screen back to yesterday's slogan.
Li Nanzhu: "..."
As expected, the sentimentality didn't even last three seconds.
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