Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 605 - Stolen Formula

A sworn oath was the most feared among cultivators—heaven would record the oath, and one's fate would be bound with a chain. If the Green Python Gang's leader had lied, his path to the Nascent Transformation Realm would be severed.

Furthermore, the Green Python Gang's leader had already comprehended the laws of the Nascent Transformation Realm, and he was waiting to return to undo the seal.

"I'll take one Demon Purging Pill!"

"Me too!" Over a dozen voices echoed, with cultivators eagerly requesting a Demon Purging Pill to rid themselves of their inner demons. With only a thousand pills available for free, competition was fierce, and many could only hope to secure one.

In the end, thirty cultivators managed to secure a Demon Purging Pill for free, each valued at fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, a rare opportunity for everyone.

Yet, skepticism lingered among some in the crowd. They found it hard to believe that such a heaven-defying pill could purge inner demons so quickly.

The thirty cultivators who obtained the pills wasted no time, swallowing them immediately. For those with mild cases of inner demons, the effects manifested within moments. As the pills took hold, cries of elation erupted from the group, their disbelief transforming into astonishment.

When one cultivator in the fifth level of the Astral River Realm got rid of his inner demon, he successfully made a breakthrough in his cultivation.

This immediately sent an uproar among the crowd. No one was a fool; they had been observing every change of the thirty with their divine senses.

"Slow down your true essence, direct it to the Yongquan Point, Baihui Point..."

"Speed up your true essence, direct it to Tianling Point, Qihai Point..." The thirty made swift advancement in their cultivation under Liu Wuxie's guidance. One person in his thirties in the Astral River Realm even made a breakthrough of two levels.

Some managed to rise in a level, while others reached the pinnacle of their current level.

This time, no one could keep on watching any longer. They all looked at the porcelain bottles in the attendants' hands with excitement blazing in their eyes, wanting a share of the pills.

After they were done, the thirty cultivators stood up and gave Liu Wuxie a deep bow.

"Young Master Liu, we owe you an apology for our disrespect earlier. I spoke out of turn; please accept my apology," one person said, even addressing Liu Wuxie with respect and using an honorific. After all, Liu Wuxie could be considered half of their mentor since he had enlightened them on their cultivation.

"Is there a problem with my pills?" Liu Wuxie smiled. He knew that he had already achieved his goal.

He had already achieved such positive results by giving out thirty-one pills, and who wouldn't flock to the Heavenly Pill Pavilion when they gave out all thousand pills?

"I swear upon the heavens that there is nothing wrong with the pills!" The Green Python Gang's leader couldn’t convince the crowd alone, but it was different, with so many people taking the oath.

"Do you think there are any True Profound Realm experts from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion here, secretly transmitting messages to guide Liu Wuxie in his cultivation?" someone murmured. Most people had practically believed the effects of the pills, but it made no sense how Liu Wuxie could enlighten someone in the Astral River Realm.

"It must be someone in the True Profound Realm. They must be helping Liu Wuxie discreetly," others speculated.

However, the majority of the people present didn't care about that, and they were fine with it as long as they could benefit from it.

Liu Wuxie merely observed the discussion without commenting, and it was better for them to misunderstand. After all, it was too unbelievable for someone in the Heavenly Phase Realm to guide someone in the Astral River Realm.

Now that Liu Wuxie had achieved the desired effects, he naturally wouldn't spend time guiding the others.

"I want one Soul Condensing Pill!"

"Transcendent Pill for me!"

"Give me an Energy Manifestation Pill!" Everyone came over with excitement. With only a thousand pills to distribute, there weren't enough pills for everyone.

More people began charging into the Heavenly Pill Pavilion until the entire hall was packed, and all eyes were on Liu Wuxie.

The four attendants wouldn't give out the pills without Liu Wuxie's instruction.

"Everyone, remain calm! It's fine even if you don't receive a pill because our pills are on sale for half the price today," Liu Wuxie declared, calming the crowd. Even if they couldn't receive the pill for free, buying them for half the price was still tempting to everyone, and the crowd's anxiety was settled.

Wan Xingwen and his two companions exchanged uneasy glances when they saw the crowd's reaction. They realized that they had underestimated Liu Wuxie.

After all, giving out a thousand pills for free was no ordinary display of generosity. After all, one thousand pills were estimated at one hundred million spirit stones.

Now that he had proven the effects of the Demon Purging Pill, Liu Wuxie swept his gaze through the crowd. He said, "You...you there...and you two. Come forward!"

The four were baffled to be called out by Liu Wuxie.

"If I'm not mistaken, you four must have suffered injury to your primordial spirits, right? The injury is so serious that your cultivation has stalled for decades," Liu Wuxie said solemnly.

The four were well-known cultivators in Treasure City, and they didn't belong to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

"You're right. My primordial spirit was injured a decade ago, and it hasn't recovered since," an older man admitted his injury with a bitter smile. The other three also shared similar stories.

"Give them a Soul Condensing Pill each!" Liu Wuxie instructed the attendants.

The four quickly received the Soul Condensing Pill, but they were hesitant. Throughout the years, they had tried various means to heal the injury to their primordial spirit, all to no avail.

"What are you waiting for? Eat it!" Those who were acquainted with the four yelled, urging them to take the pills and see if the effects were as powerful as claimed.

Under everyone's urging, the four swallowed the Soul Condensing Pills. Everyone held their breaths because pills that could heal the primordial spirit were rare in the entire Southern Province.

"What powerful soul energy fluctuation!"

Time slowly passed, and a powerful soul energy shockwave exploded from the four.

Triumphant roars echoed in the hall, and Liu Wuxie didn't guide them in their cultivation this time. Their breakthrough was natural due to their powerful foundation.

The damage to their soul sea had restricted their cultivation, and they already had enough accumulation for their breakthrough. Thus, they could smoothly make their breakthrough when their soul sea was healed.

Everyone's eyes lit up with envy because most of the cultivators had some injury to their primordial spirit, and it was just a matter of how serious the injury was. But with the Soul Condensing Pill, they no longer had to worry about suffering an injury to their soul sea.

"Reserve ten thousand Soul Condensing Pills for me!" one merchant called out. Many merchants had traveled from afar to purchase pills from Treasure City.

The shopkeeper was quickly swarmed with orders. There was a massive demand for the Soul Condensing Pill and Demon Purging Pills, and they received orders reaching hundreds of thousands in just a few minutes.

The thousand pills given away for free were insignificant compared to the orders they received. The orders even exceeded the Heavenly Pill Pavilion's expectations because the influx of orders never stopped.

Because the sale of Transcendent Pills was limited to twenty a day, they weren't available to everyone.

Due to the toxin in the pill refined by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, many merchants had abandoned them, and only a few long-term customers maintained their business relationship with the sect. The Transcendent Pills were reserved for them. Only a crisis could reveal true friends.

As for the remaining pills, they were no longer needed to be tested.

"Liu Wuxie, how dare you steal the formulas of our Azure Crimson Gate!" a roar echoed in the Heavenly Pill Pavilion, and the hall fell silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the entrance, only to see two old men walking in, donning the formal attire of the Azure Crimson Gate's elders.

Seeing the Azure Crimson Gate elders barging into Treasure City was a rare sight. Weren't they afraid of being killed by experts from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?

But under normal circumstances, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion wouldn't act as long as the other party didn't violate the sect's rules, and that was the same for Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples in the Azure Crimson Gate's territory.

The previous conflict was because the Azure Crimson Gate's elders had dared to ambush the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's disciples at their mountain gate.

The unexpected arrival of the Azure Crimson Gate elders sent a ripple of surprise through the crowd. However, before any action could be taken, the elders of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion stepped out from the shadows, positioning themselves to shield Liu Wuxie from any potential assault by the Azure Crimson Gate elders.

Upon seeing the Azure Crimson Gate elders, Wan Xingwen's group of three quickly walked over and stood behind them.

"Li Hongda, you really don't give up, do you? How dare you show yourself in Treasure City!" Liu Wuxie said, recognizing one of the two elders—Li Hongda, whom Liu Wuxie had met back in Serene Sea City.

What Liu Wuxie had done in Serene Sea City had made Li Hongda famous. After all, his misjudgment had led to the destruction of the Qiu Clan, causing the sect's reputation to plummet.

This was why Li Hongda hoped to reclaim his honor by killing Liu Wuxie, and he had rushed over to Treasure City upon hearing that the Treasure Pill Pavilion was introducing new pills, planning to sabotage their plan.

As long as they could destroy the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's pill market, Li Hongda would be greatly rewarded, and his status in the sect would rise along with his disgrace swept away. This was the main reason why he came to Treasure City.

"Liu Wuxie, you dare steal formulas from my Azure Crimson Gate and pass them off as new pills introduced by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?" Li Hongda accused, his voice booming as he scanned the crowd. "Everyone, witness the shamelessness of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion! Their so-called solution to their pill issues is theft—stealing from others and claiming it as their own!"

The accusation sent a wave of shock through the crowd. Could one of the ten major sects truly stoop to stealing formulas from a rival? Alchemy was the foundation of both the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and the Azure Crimson Gate, with their most prized formulas guarded as tightly as the sect’s core secrets.

The pills available on the market were typically ordinary, while the sects' upper echelons closely held rare and powerful formulas. Only select members were privy to these secrets to ensure the formulas were never leaked.

"Could it be true?" murmured a few onlookers. "Did Liu Wuxie really steal the formulas from the Azure Crimson Gate?" Doubt began to spread among the crowd.

Li Hongda's timing was impeccable, and his accusation threw the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion off guard.

"Let's not be hasty and watch first. Moreover, do you think it's normal for them to have such impressive pills suddenly when the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's position has been declining over the years?" one man whispered, and there were various discussions in the surroundings.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had been declining throughout the years, and why didn't they take out the pills sooner if they had them? There could only be one explanation: they had just gotten the formulas recently.

"Bullshit! If the formulas belong to your Azure Crimson Gate, why didn't you sell the pills using them?" retorted a disciple of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.