Empress: I Asked You to Detoxify Me, Not to Become the Supreme Immortal Emperor - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“Please speak freely, Elder!”

Hearing that there might be a solution, Qin Chuan’s eyes lit up at once and he immediately spoke. If it were just him, it wouldn’t matter—at worst, he could simply go into hiding. But the Qin family was too large to disappear so easily. If there was a way to solve the problem once and for all, nothing could be better.

Inside the council hall, everyone, including Qin Zhantian, turned to look at the elder who had spoken.

“It’s said that the Heavenly Sword Sect is currently in the process of recruiting. If the Young Master can be accepted and recognized by them, the family will naturally be under their protection. At that point, even if the Azure Thunder Sect finds out that their Young Master died at our hands, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.”

The elder spoke slowly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhantian’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Are you talking about the Heavenly Sword Sect—one of the two great sects of the Southern Region?”

“Exactly.”

“I see now!” Qin Zhantian was suddenly enlightened. He looked at Qin Chuan and smiled. “Chuan’er! This is indeed a viable path. With your age and talent, I believe you’ll definitely be admitted into the Heavenly Sword Sect and receive their favor!”

“The Heavenly Sword Sect…” Qin Chuan muttered to himself, deep in thought.

The Southern Region had six major powers, commonly referred to as One Palace, Two Sects, and Three Halls.

They were: the Infinite Palace, Heavenly Sword Sect, Yin-Yang Sect, Hundred Flowers Hall, Flamefire Hall, and Brahma Heaven Hall.

The Heavenly Sword Sect was one of the two sects.

If the Azure Thunder Sect was considered a giant within the Qianyang Empire…

Then the Heavenly Sword Sect was like Mount Tai to the Azure Thunder Sect—utterly beyond comparison.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Chuan asked, “When does the Heavenly Sword Sect begin accepting new disciples?”

“One month from now,” the elder replied.

One month…

After a moment of silence, Qin Chuan nodded. “Very well! Then I will go to the Heavenly Sword Sect!”

…

After leaving the council hall, Qin Chuan headed straight for the trading district.

Within this one month, he planned to improve his strength as much as possible. Not only did he need to enter the Heavenly Sword Sect—he also had to be recognized and valued by them.

Only then could he truly protect the Qin family!

Qin Chuan planned to visit the pill market and purchase a large number of herbs for refining within the Heaven and Earth Spirit Furnace.

With the Yuan Pill Manual in hand, the pills he refined would be far more effective than what was available on the market. He had no need to purchase finished pills. With pill support, his cultivation would progress twice as fast with half the effort.

Having made up his mind, Qin Chuan headed directly toward one of the Qin family’s pill markets.

Guiyun City was home to three major families: the Qin family, the Zhao family, and the Ouyang family. As one of these top clans, the Qin family naturally owned many industries in the city.

Last time, when he visited the Guiyun Mountain Range, Qin Chuan had gone to a random trading market. But this time, because he needed a large number of herbs, he planned to visit one of the Qin family’s own pill markets.

As the old saying goes, “Don’t let fertile water flow into others’ fields.”

The Qin family operated three pill markets in total, which sold both medicinal ingredients and finished pills.

Half an hour later, Qin Chuan arrived at one of them.

“Greetings, Young Master. How may we assist you today?” Upon seeing him from afar, several guards immediately stepped forward to welcome him.

Qin Chuan said indifferently, “Call your manager.”

“Yes, sir!”

One guard quickly turned and ran to summon him.

Soon after, a chubby man with two thin mustaches came running out in a flustered state.

“Young… Young Master, I am Liu Fugui, the manager of this market. What can I do for you?” Liu Fugui wiped the sweat from his forehead and cupped his fists, panting heavily.

When he heard that Qin Chuan was coming, Liu Fugui had immediately dropped everything. As a high-ranking member of a Qin family business, he had heard the recent rumors.

They said that since the Young Master’s return, he had displayed overwhelming strength—beating the Grand Elder’s grandson to death and even killing the Grand Elder himself.

He was terrified that if he showed even the slightest disrespect, his own life would be forfeit…

Seeing Liu Fugui trembling in fear, Qin Chuan was puzzled. He didn’t understand why the man was acting like this.

But soon he remembered his reason for coming and didn’t dwell on it. He pulled out a prepared list of herbs.

“Have your people prepare these herbs for me, in quantities worth a hundred thousand spirit crystals.”

When Liu Fugui realized that Qin Chuan had come for herbs, he secretly let out a sigh of relief and took the list.

But after scanning the herbs written on it, Liu Fugui hesitated for a moment before speaking with difficulty, “Young Master, it’s not that we’re unwilling to prepare them for you, but we simply don’t have that many of these ingredients. Some of them—we don’t have at all.”

“What’s going on?” Qin Chuan frowned. How could such a large pill market not have such a modest amount of herbs?

Liu Fugui’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained the entire situation in detail.

“Master Mo?” Qin Chuan’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing across them after he understood the situation.

It turned out that the Ouyang family had recently brought in an alchemy master who had almost monopolized the pill market in Guiyun City.

Not only were his pills of high quality, but they were also sold cheaper than anyone else’s. Gradually, everyone in Guiyun City began buying from the Ouyang family’s pill markets.

Worse still, this Master Mo had begun purchasing up all the available herbs. If any other pill markets refused, he would stop supplying them with pills.

As a result, Ouyang family now controlled nearly all the city’s medicinal ingredients and pills.

Qin Chuan’s expression turned ice-cold. He asked sharply, “Why wasn’t this reported to the Qin family?”

Seeing him grow angry, Liu Fugui trembled and quickly replied, “Y-Young Master, I did report it to the Qin family earlier, but there hasn’t been a good solution… so it was left unresolved.”

Qin Chuan paused for a moment, then let out a cold snort. “Where is this Master Mo now? Take me to him.”

“Yes, sir! At this hour, Master Mo should be at the Wanxing Pill Market in the eastern part of the city,” Liu Fugui replied respectfully.

Without delay, he led Qin Chuan toward that location.

About a quarter of an hour later, with Liu Fugui leading the way, Qin Chuan arrived at the Wanxing Pill Market.

The scene that greeted him left him slightly stunned.

The pill market was bustling with people, an endless flow of foot traffic.

Compared to the Qin family’s own deserted markets, the difference was night and day.

“Looks like this Master Mo is indeed somewhat capable…” Qin Chuan muttered, realizing that this man was no ordinary alchemist. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have drawn so many people to the Ouyang family’s market.

“Young Master, look! That man is Master Mo!”

At that moment, Liu Fugui pointed toward a middle-aged man in the crowd whose eyes were narrow and face full of arrogance.

Following his gaze, Qin Chuan saw the man standing proudly among the crowd, clearly enjoying the attention he was receiving.

Suddenly, someone whispered a few words into Master Mo’s ear, and he began walking in Qin Chuan’s direction.

“So it’s the esteemed Young Master Qin! Have you come to buy pills? If that’s the case, I’ll personally offer you a discount,” Master Mo said with a smile, though his tone was full of arrogance.

Qin Chuan narrowed his eyes and curved his lips into a faint smile.