Chapter 3477 — Demanding the Cauldron

Likewise, some ancient sects and noble houses were reluctant, while others, eager to curry favor with Wei Zhao, were quite forthcoming. Together with the materials he had already gathered, Wei Zhao now held enough ingredients for a full fifteen batches of Qi-Gathering Pills!

Even allowing for a few failed refinings along the way, that much material would still yield a considerable number of Qi-Gathering Pills! Wei Zhao had three fragments of a heaven-tier trial entry token, which meant two remaining slots. Of those two, he intended to give one to Han Jingyi, and the other to either Wang Xinyan or Sun Jingyan!

Wang Xinyan's constitution was somewhat peculiar—no one knew whether she could cultivate at all. Sun Jingyan, meanwhile, was of the support type, and her mental cultivation method differed from Wei Zhao's, so it was unclear whether it would work for her. The crux of it was that Sun Jingyan's level did not follow the normal progression; whether she broke through to the Heavenly Dao or went to Cloud-Tier Island seemed to matter little to her!

But the Qi-Gathering Pills still had to be refined. Han Jingyi had to break through sooner or later!

Han Jingyi's first- and second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons had already hit the market, yet the Xuan Dan Sect's—or rather, the Five Luminaries Sect's—imitations were still nowhere to be seen! It was not that Dr. Benjamin II did not want to release them; it was that a certain energy stone used in the first- and second-grade automatic cauldrons—the so-called spirit stones—could not be obtained at all!

The Five Luminaries Sect itself had precious few of these left—enough to keep for their own use, but far from sufficient to outfit their cauldrons. And even if they did sell them, they would be unable to provide after-sales service to the buyers!

When this news arrived, it threw Old Ancestor Xuanchen into a foul mood!

The Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pills had not killed Wei Zhao. He Meiyue had not dealt with Wei Zhao. Now the technology for the first- and second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons had been cracked, only to prove utterly useless—the most important material, the energy stone, simply could not be procured!

"Zhaoming, word has come from the automatic cauldron project—they cannot replicate it at all. We don't have enough energy stones, and I have no idea where Wei Zhao got his!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen said with some helplessness. "Forget about making money. It seems the Five Luminaries Sect is simply not suited to commerce. All this time we've been chasing every trend, and we've made nothing—we're on the verge of squandering our last reserves! And now my disciples are all but gone—dead or wounded. When the two of us leave for Cloud-Tier Island, I fear the Five Luminaries Sect of the mortal world will decline into ruin..."

"Well... Father-in-law, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If you and I both break through to the Heavenly Dao at the same time, then when we return, reviving the Five Luminaries Sect will be no difficult task! I say we stop fretting over this. Wei Zhao's energy stones were probably obtained from the Poli clan—they have plenty of the stuff. Heaven knows what agreement Wei Zhao struck with the Poli clan back then; otherwise they would never have lifted a finger to kill our senior brother!" Kang Jingming said. "Still, speaking of energy stones, something did just occur to me! When Wei Zhao took the Limit-Breaking Qi-Gathering Pill, perhaps it was precisely because he had energy stones to draw power from that he turned disaster into safety!"

"Oh? That is quite likely!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen's expression darkened at the thought. "We should have realized this earlier. Had we known, we never would have refined that pill for him—what a waste of effort with nothing to show for it!"

"Indeed!" Kang Jingming nodded. "Next, I will devote myself entirely to preparing for the heaven-tier trial, Father-in-law. During this time, I intend to refine several Qi-Gathering Pills and raise my strength to the peak of the late heaven-tier—full great perfection!"

"Oh? Zhaoming, are you truly resolved?" Old Ancestor Xuanchen was slightly taken aback. "It's true that we alchemists have the advantage of being able to refine Qi-Gathering Pills for our own use, but those pills only work on cultivators below the Heavenly Dao—you cannot use them to ascend to the Heavenly Dao. And if there are no elixirs above the Heavenly Dao capable of raising one's strength, then you may never be able to set foot upon the Heavenly Dao at all. After all, no one can say what lies beyond—no one has ever been there!"

"At my current strength, when Cloud-Tier Island opens, I'll be nothing but cannon fodder! So I must raise my power—this is my last chance, so I'll stake everything on it! If I have no hope of advancing after reaching Cloud-Tier Island, then I'll return here and lead the Five Luminaries Sect onward! Once my strength is up, that's a good thing in itself—at worst, I'll give up on the Heavenly Dao." Kang Jingming spoke with fierce determination. "Besides, Wei Zhao got where he is by popping pills too—he's hardly ever leveled up on his own. As far as I can tell, he's relied on elixirs every step of the way. If he's fine, then I reckon I'll be fine too! And Wei Zhao has been frantically collecting Qi-Gathering Pill materials lately. He claims it's for his own breakthrough to the Heavenly Dao, but I'd bet eighty percent it's for the people around him!"

"Very well, then go." Old Ancestor Xuanchen nodded and agreed to Kang Jingming's proposal!

Meanwhile, Wei Zhao was making the very same plans—and Kang Jingming had indeed guessed correctly! Upon receiving the news, Han Jingyi rushed back to Donghai City overnight.

"Brother Wei Zhao, you mean to refine third-grade pills? I'm fairly confident I can do it, but we don't have a third-grade medicinal cauldron!" Han Jingyi said with some difficulty. "Jingjing has been simulating and calculating the formulas and methods for refining third-grade pills all along, but without a cauldron, I can't run any trials!"

"That is a problem!" Wei Zhao suddenly recalled that he still lacked a third-grade cauldron himself. He had wanted one for a long time, but You Panhu had flatly refused to give it up. Of course, now he would probably be willing—Wei Zhao decided to give him a call. "Hold on, I'll get one from You Panhu!"

"Sure! Hee hee, this time You Panhu will definitely hand one over!" Han Jingyi said with a grin.

Wei Zhao dialed You Panhu's number. You Panhu had not been in contact with Wei Zhao for quite some time—so long that he had nearly forgotten him. With Wei Zhao gone and Han Jingyi gone, peace had returned to the class. Just when he had assumed Wei Zhao had vanished for good and that their paths would never cross again, Wei Zhao actually called, giving him a small shock!

"Leader Wei Zhao, is there something you need from me?" You Panhu asked cautiously as he picked up the phone.

"Two things. First, the Right Family goes into hiding and joins the Cultivators' Alliance Association I founded—from now on, you'll be regulated and governed by the Mysterious Investigation Bureau. Second, get me a third-grade medicinal cauldron. Any problem with that?" Wei Zhao said bluntly.

"Uh... this... it seems like there are problems with both, but also like there aren't. I'll have to discuss it with my uncle, You Zhentian. Leader Wei Zhao, could you give me a bit of time?" You Panhu did not dare decide on his own and could only seek someone to consult.