I Have Medicine

Chapter 629 - (Two Royal Realm Cultivators) The ones who hold down the fort

Gu Zuo was stunned. “A private medicinal pill auction?”

Gongyi Tianheng nodded with a smile. “In the past, although most of the rare pills you refined were Flawless ones, you still have some of lower grades leftover in your hands.”

Gu Zuo nodded in agreement.

This was indeed true.

Especially after reaching the stage of refining Profound-Level Pills, whenever he refined a certain pill for the first time, it was impossible to achieve complete Flawless status on the very first batch every single time. As a result, there were always some accumulated pills—though there were few of the lower three grades, there were still a fair number of the middle three grades, the upper three grades, and the tenth and eleventh grades. To Gu Zuo, these were considered substandard pills and fell outside his collection criteria, so most were sent to the medicine shops under Tianheng’s name to be sold. However, there were always some extremely difficult or exceptionally rare ones of Grade 10 or higher that weren’t suitable to be sold off casually—they were kept to trade for resources with others, or to hide a portion of their hidden trump cards.

Because of this, it was inevitable that Gu Zuo had accumulated a fair amount of “substandard” pills of various other kinds over time, all of Grade 10 or 11. Accumulating up to the present day, it amounted to quite a lot.

Even so, Gu Zuo had never considered holding a medicinal pill auction to clear them all out—or rather, given his past reputation and his Big Brother’s foundation, they hadn’t possessed the qualifications to host such an auction in the first place.

But now, this was by no means a bad idea.

Gongyi Tianheng continued: “With your current strength, you are already comparable to a Pill King. Once the two of us achieve the Celestial Realm, we will head to the foreign battlefields, and at that point, who knows when we will be able to return? Furthermore, by the time you truly become a Pill King, it is also uncertain when you will be able to hold a Pill King convention. Therefore, before that happens, why not use this auction to showcase your strength?”

Since the conversation had reached this point, Gu Zuo naturally nodded. “We’ll do exactly as you say, Big Brother.”

Tianheng smiled. “Then over the next few days, you should sort through your past accumulation, and refine a few more Earth-Level Pills… Earth-Level Pills must be present, regardless of their specific grade.”

Gu Zuo nodded once more.

With that, the two reached an agreement.

Tianheng cast a glance at Gu Zuo, his eyes darkening slightly.

His reason for having Ah Zuo host this auction was to further elevate his renown, and the underlying motive for boosting this renown was entirely due to the matter of the foreign battlefields.

They didn’t know the first thing about the situation within those foreign battlefields. Even if they managed to pry some details from his Master later on, the situation would undoubtedly change at a moment’s notice once they truly arrived. When they departed, they would merely be small pawns at the Ascendant Realm. Even if he carried the reputation of a prodigy, what of it? In the end, raw power was the most vital asset. As a martial artist himself, it mattered little if his skin was thick and his flesh tough, but Ah Zuo was a pharmacist; they had to ensure that those fighting enemies on the foreign battlefields felt an urgent, absolute need for him, rendering them unable to easily allow any harm to come to him.

Furthermore, leveraging this auction would allow them to connect with as many networks as possible… After all, elite descendants from major powers like Lei Pengfei would all eventually head to the foreign battlefields.

The reason they hadn’t gone yet was to achieve a breakthrough. While the bonds they forged now meant those individuals minded and respected Ah Zuo deeply, they might not necessarily be able to be of much use yet on the foreign battlefields. The scions of other major factions still didn’t have a deep understanding of his Ah Zuo, so it was best to “advertise” a bit ahead of time.

Of course, Gu Zuo was completely oblivious to these thoughts of Gongyi Tianheng’s.

Both of them became very busy afterward; Gu Zuo busied himself with refining medicine, while Gongyi Tianheng had to contact his own Master to deploy personnel and arrange the logistics for hosting the auction.

Within the secret chamber of the Huaxie Palace of the Shijue Sect.

Xue Li, the Master of the Huaxie Palace, sat cross-legged inside a blood pool. Heavy, dense blood qi enveloped his body, coating his exceptionally pale skin in a crimson layer that gave him a subtly magnificent, otherworldly look.

His expression was calm, save for a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. That smile lent a touch of the eerie to his demeanor, yet carried a peculiar charm.

Suddenly, he reached out and caught a flashing runic message in his palm. After hearing the voice transmitting from within, he stepped out of the blood pool entirely bare. In the next instant, he turned, a blood-red robe draping over his form, and walked out barefoot.

After tidying himself up slightly, Xue Li took his high seat and looked down at a battle slave under his command. “My disciple sent you here to deliver a message. What is the matter?”

The battle slave was extremely respectful, not daring to lift his eyes to look directly at Xue Li. Instead, he raised both hands to present a letter and a wooden box.

Xue Li waved his hand, drawing them into his grasp, and opened the letter to read.

A brief moment later, a smile graced his face. “So, it is about Ah Zuo.” He then opened the wooden box to find a long-necked jade vial inside. Within it were ten medicinal pills emitting an incredibly surging aura, causing the bloodline inside his own body to stir restlessly.

Sensing it carefully, Xue Li couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, “Ah Zuo’s skill in medicine refinement has advanced yet again.”

Because he had been stunned by the offerings of his disciple time and time again, the Palace Master’s mindset had grown much more resilient. He wouldn’t lose his composure as easily as he had at the very beginning, but even so, seeing another type of pill that yielded massive benefits to martial artists—and specifically to the Huaxie Palace—still caused a ripple in his heart.

…It had to be said that the Palace Master was once again hit right in his sweet spot by the treasures provided by his disciple and his disciple’s lover.

Xue Li paced back and forth in the hall a few times before making up his mind.

He quickly penned several letters, ordering his subordinates to deliver them into the restricted grounds of the Huaxie Palace. Afterward, he wrote a reply to his disciple, clarifying how everything would be handled.

This time, although it was inconvenient for Xue Li to leave the Huaxie Palace personally to back his disciple up, his Palace possessed plenty of powerhouses in secluded cultivation awaiting a breakthrough. He could command several of them using the Palace Master’s Token to make the trip on his behalf.

Gongyi Tianheng had been incredibly busy over the last few days. Because he was a disciple of the Shijue Sect, and since the Shijue Sect possessed a fair amount of influence within the Imperial Capital of the Longque Dynasty, he made a trip to their local stronghold. He required them to secure a venue to host this Dan Tu Auction.

—Indeed, because the purpose was to elevate Gu Zuo’s renown, the name of the auction naturally had to be instantly recognizable as Gu Zuo’s. Thus, this name—which made Gu Zuo feel thoroughly embarrassed—was chosen.

However, given that they couldn’t come up with a more pleasant or fitting name, protesting was useless.

The Shijue Sect nurtured Gongyi Tianheng with utmost care. Even though he belonged to the Huaxie Palace, when dealing with external matters, the members of the Shijue Sect still cooperated to the best of their ability. Furthermore, Tianheng himself was an all-star prodigy and the personal disciple of the Huaxie Palace Master, so the others naturally wouldn’t dare treat him with any negligence.

Thus, the matter of borrowing a venue was settled effortlessly by Gongyi Tianheng.

Once the venue was set, next came the security personnel.

Gongyi Tianheng deployed his own Tianlong Guards and battle slaves, forming a security detail responsible for the general public order of the auction. However, their strength was clearly insufficient and could only serve a basic intermediary and defensive role at best. The true top-tier combat power required to safeguard the security of the entire auction was what he had requested from his own Master.

The auction was set to take place in three days. With two days remaining, the personnel deployed by the Master of the Huaxie Palace arrived.

After the Tianlong Guards entered to report, Gongyi Tianheng went out personally to welcome them.

…The Master of the Huaxie Palace was truly giving his all for this disciple of his.

Thus, the moment Gongyi Tianheng walked out, he was met by a group of thirty people. With his sharp perception, he instantly realized that the two leading figures were unfathomably deep—in his estimation, their foundations were so profound that they were not a shred inferior to his own Master!

Both individuals wore blood-red robes, and while their auras felt somewhat eerie, their facial features were remarkably striking.

Most peculiar of all, these two red-robed powerhouses were both women. They possessed graceful silhouettes, and their faces were identical—they were actually a pair of twin sisters!

The one on the left had long hair flowing down to her waist and wore no makeup, giving off a somewhat aloof and cold demeanor. The one on the right carried a touch of charm and felt overall much gentler than her sister.

Their realm ought to be the Royal Realm! Perhaps… even the peak of the Royal Realm!

The crowd following behind them was also clad in blood-red attire, each bearing an incredibly intense aura. Based on Tianheng’s perception, their realms were all at or above the Celestial Realm. Judging by their unique appearances, it was hard to tell if they were the battle slaves of these two Royal Realm cultivators or his Master’s own.

With such a group arriving, they only needed to conceal themselves within the various blind spots of the venue to naturally serve as a massive deterrent, ensuring that those attending the auction wouldn’t dare act rashly.

After a swift, brief glance, Tianheng stopped studying them and stepped forward to bow. “Many thanks to the two Seniors for coming to assist us.”

Seeing that Gongyi Tianheng bore no trace of arrogance, the two Royal Realm cultivators formed a favorable impression of him.

The gentler sister spoke, “We sisters share the surname Qi. I am Erniang, and my younger sister is Sanniang. Martial Nephew may address us as Aunt Qi Er and Aunt Qi San.”

Gongyi Tianheng naturally followed their lead smoothly. “Greetings, Aunt Qi Er and Aunt Qi San.”

The two women grew even more pleased. Erniang then said, “With us sisters backing you for the auction the day after tomorrow, we will certainly not allow your hard work to go to waste. However, we must also ask you to introduce us to your exclusive pharmacist.”

Tianheng smiled and replied, “Of course. Ah Zuo is currently busy with preparations, which is why he couldn’t come out personally to welcome you. However, he prepared a small token of appreciation for both Aunts and our fellow sect members in advance. I hope you will not look down on it.”

Having said that, he specifically presented each sister with a small box. After a brief thought, he also gave a jade vial to each of the twenty-eight battle slaves behind them.

In the Huaxie Palace Master’s reply, he had already mentioned that one or two Royal Realm cultivators would come to hold down the fort, so Gu Zuo had prepared two sets of gifts just in case—which came in handy now. The Palace Master hadn’t explicitly mentioned that the battle slaves would accompany them, but fortunately, Tianheng carried plenty of medicinal pills in reserve, allowing him to hand them out according to the situation.

Once the gifts were distributed, Tianheng guided his helpers into the auction venue.

Over the next two days, they would reside directly in the living quarters behind the venue, ready at a moment’s notice to safeguard and ensure the smooth operation of the auction.

With these powerhouses present, Tianheng naturally felt much more at ease.

Immediately after, he formally publicized the date of the auction. Most importantly, he informed the public that the star of this auction was none other than Pill Slaughterer Profound Shadow—who, despite not having reached the Celestial Realm yet, already possessed secret techniques capable of refining Earth-Level Pills.

Two days later, the auction officially commenced.