Chapter 4986 — A Seventh-Rank Pill Order!

"So that's how it is. It seems Vice Island Master Wu has a keen eye after all—when you burn incense and pray to Buddha, the worst mistake is bowing before the wrong temple. But this time Vice Island Master Wu has truly found the right man. With Master Zheng himself stepping into the fray, refining pills is surely no more than a matter of lifting a hand." Tong Yangxi seized the moment to toss out a flattering word, thinking to himself that no wonder Zheng Dongyang had agreed to help so readily this time; in the past, no matter how high the price, this great deity had been exceedingly hard to move.

Zheng Dongyang laughed heartily, well pleased by Tong Yangxi's flattery. After a moment's thought he said, "How about this: I'll write Vice Island Master Wu a personal letter, and you, Manager Tong, find someone to deliver it. He will certainly come."

"Good—then I'll leave it to Master Zheng." Tong Yangxi was overjoyed. Wei Zhao might be unexpectedly formidable, but if Wu Che could be brought into the game, what was a mere Wei Zhao?

While Zheng Dongyang and Tong Yangxi were speaking, Diao Huanshan, limping along just as Zhao Youque did, suddenly appeared at the doorway, his face a mask of misery.

"You should be resting and healing your wounds—what are you doing here?" Tong Yangxi frowned at the sight. If not for the fact that Zhao Youque, who had come with Zheng Dongyang, had also suffered badly, he would never have shown this creature a kind face; after all, the man had made him lose face before Zheng Dongyang.

"Manager Tong, Master Zheng, disaster has struck!" Diao Huanshan said with a bitter smile.

"What disaster? With Master Zheng and me here, can anything really go wrong? Running about in a panic—it's undignified!" Tong Yangxi scolded.

"Manager Tong, it really is a disaster. Just now a servant came to report that the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion has also begun taking pill reservations—and they are accepting orders for seventh-rank pills!" Diao Huanshan said.

"What?" Tong Yangxi and Zheng Dongyang both sprang to their feet in shock.

"It's true. Because the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion produces top-grade pills, they have built up considerable popularity over the past two years, and their reputation has always been sound. Their only weakness was that their pills were not of high enough rank—but now, with this move, that last weakness has turned into a strength. Seventh-rank pills! That is even higher than our Famous Medicine Sect!" Diao Huanshan said, his face bitter.

This time they had gone to the rare trouble of bringing in Zheng Dongyang to hold the fort, and the Famous Medicine Sect had proclaimed that sixth-rank pills would be refined on the spot. They had already stolen the limelight from the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, and combined with Diao Huanshan's deliberate provocations earlier, the two houses had become implacable foes. Amid the uproar they had become the focus of public attention without question; the Famous Medicine Sect had thus gained no small measure of prestige and drawn a great crowd of admirers.

Yet now that the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion had let slip word of seventh-rank pills, the following the Famous Medicine Sect had just attracted was snatched away in an instant, and even customers who had already placed orders for sixth-rank pills were canceling one after another—plainly they had all run off to the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion. All their hard work had only ended up making a bridal gown for someone else's wedding; how could anyone bear such a thing?

"Impossible! How could a tiny Heavenly Elixir Pavilion possibly refine seventh-rank pills!" Tong Yangxi's first reaction was disbelief. Seventh-rank alchemists were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns on these Cloud-Tier Islands. Even if one or two did happen to emerge, they were quickly snapped up by those Eastern Continent academies.

Setting all else aside, how could a little pill shop with no foundation like the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion possibly afford to keep a seventh-rank alchemist? Even if they poured out every last bit of profit, it would be nowhere near enough!

"Since they dare to make such a claim, it means they truly have the ability—otherwise they are simply courting death. I doubt that Wei Zhao is that foolish. Could it be that the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion also has Eastern Continent backing?" Zheng Dongyang said thoughtfully.

This was the only possibility he could think of: the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion, like the Famous Medicine Sect here, had paid a great price to bring in a high-ranking alchemist like himself. Only so would they dare utter such wild boasts.

"Impossible. I've spent no small effort these past two years investigating the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion's background. It is purely a small pill shop, and its only backing is the Heavenly Dao Guild. It has no connection whatsoever to the Eastern Continent." Tong Yangxi spoke with certainty. The Heavenly Elixir Pavilion was now the thorn in his eye and the splinter in his flesh; had he not investigated thoroughly, he would never have dared let Diao Huanshan go to their door to provoke them.

"If that is so, then we really must think this through carefully. Perhaps there is an expert behind them." Zheng Dongyang frowned. Then he said to Tong Yangxi, "In that case, never mind the letter. Manager Tong, take my card and go invite Vice Island Master Wu directly. There's no time to lose—go now!"

"Right!" Tong Yangxi nodded again and again.

"And while you're at it, bring my cousin along as well. The more people, the more strength." Zheng Dongyang added.

"This..." Tong Yangxi hesitated. The cousin Zheng Dongyang referred to was, of course, Zheng Dongjue, vice hall master of the Pill Hall. On the surface, his Famous Medicine Sect and the Five Elements Chamber of Commerce had never gotten along, and naturally he was hardly on warm terms with Zheng Dongjue, the man who ran the Pill Hall—but that was only the surface relationship; the hidden truth was not for outsiders to speak of.

Zheng Dongyang naturally knew of this hidden circumstance, but this time they were inviting Wu Che; if Zheng Dongjue were brought in as well, it would inevitably give rise to suspicion.

"There's nothing to hesitate over. Vice Island Master Wu is one of us, someone to be trusted. Sooner or later he must be told of this relationship; better to take this chance and come clean to his face. That way we leave a good impression of frankness and sincerity. Just say it is my wish—Dongjue will not object." Zheng Dongyang instructed.

"Yes." Tong Yangxi nodded, then hurried out at once to summon the man.

Half an hour later, several great personages had gathered in the Famous Medicine Sect's guest parlor. Zheng Dongyang unhesitatingly took the seat of honor, and at his right hand sat his cousin Zheng Dongjue, with Tong Yangxi seated below Zheng Dongjue.

To Zheng Dongyang's left was a stern-faced man with a long beard. Without question, this was Wu Che, the newly appointed standing vice island master of Middle Island!

Yet below Wu Che sat an unexpected and uninvited guest—Nan Tianjiguang of the Middle Island Cultivators' Academy!

Given Nan Tianjiguang's strength and status, though he had lost the contest for vice island master against the Heavenly Dao Guild last time, he still counted as a person of no small consequence. However, he had never had any dealings with the Famous Medicine Sect, and naturally Tong Yangxi would not have gone out of his way to invite him. That he appeared here this time was in fact pure coincidence.

The reason was simple: when Tong Yangxi went to invite Wu Che, Nan Tianjiguang happened to be there as well. On hearing that the matter concerned dealing with the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion and Wei Zhao, he was immediately seized by a whim and came along to join the fun.