Yao Cheng was a city where merchants and alchemists gathered, with thetter having the highest influence.The sphere of influence of the Nine Pills Sect was mainly spreadacross other continents, but not all cities had the honor of having their own branches.


    "Unfortunately, I expected to see their branch here. They have quite good recipe books!" sighed Xie Qing. However, even if the city did not have such high-quality books, there was still something to see. People were also looking for alchemists who would sell them pills.


    "It seems that there isrtively free trade in pills and openpetition here.But, of course, you need to find out first which trading organization epts the best terms." Xie Qing wandered around the city and asked about it. Although money was not his primary necessity, considering his current financial stability, he still wanted to gainsomefunds for the road.


    His hobby, which he inherited from hisMaster- collecting expensive spiritual wine and drinking it on special days after some time, hit his wallet hard. "Although it isvery expensive, in the long life of a cultivator, a hobby is what needs to be valued. That''s why I have a collection of all the works of the great artist Haose De!"


    ...perhaps some began to admire his love for art. However, the artist named Haose De...was a porn artist.His works were soldin an instant, and Xie Qing even exchanged letters with him, not hiding his identity. The artist happily provided him with all the works for agoodsum.


    And Xie Qing had so many of these works that they could fill an entire room. All these "treasures" he carefully carries in a spatial ring, which he always keeps with him. If you are interested in the total number of these works that Xie Qing has, then there are 17,524 of them.


    "Heh, it''s time to milk the clients... I mean, show my skills!"


    ***


    Skipping therathertedious process of pill refining...Xie Qing set a box with twenty vials filled to the brim with pills in front of him. "And so... this is thest batch. I have a total of five boxes. In total, this is...a hundred vials of pills! I think I''ll be able to sell them at a good price!"


    Although these pills were not particrly rare - their name was "Wisdom Pill," which helped cultivators from Foundation Building to Qi Condensation meditatemore easily, theywere valuedon the market, but not so much that there was a battle for them. For such a vial, a fair price would be 240 Spiritual Stones.


    As a result, Xie Qing, under the best conditions withouttaking into ountall the expenses, will earn...


    24,000 Spiritual Stones gross! Considering that he did not spend much time on it, it was already good. "Moreover, there is no guarantee that the price will remain at market level. After all, each of these pills is purified by 97%!" Xie Qing smiled: "Not many people know about my achievements in alchemy... so I can juste up with a new pseudonym for myself."


    For a cultivator,it wasnormalto haveseveral pseudonyms and hidden identities to have a trump card in case of anything.Xie Qing wantedto havetwo images - one of a genius swordsman and the other of a genius alchemist.Thiswas, at least, his current goal.


    "I want to develop. Now is the time to show off my talent as much as possible.Thisis a chance for every genius!" Difficult times created strong people. Therefore, Xie Qing understood that thepetition would be great.However, if he could stand out,his name would be heard by everyone.


    And ording to his exnations, he did it all forveryimportantreasons..."I want to one day pull off my mask and say: ''Ha ha, bastards. You thought I was Ge Hong (pseudonym made up just now), but no, I am Xie Qing!''... something like that."...I will notment on this.


    ***


    Commerce ''Silver Moon.'' An organization ofmerchants,and one of thergest, if not thergest, organizations. Their influence covers the entire Dynasty and goes beyond the borders of one continent. They have a lot of money.A lot.Most sects,especiallyrgeones, are financed directly by them,andtheyhave arge share and a lot of power.


    Their leader''s name was Wang Feifei. She was the one who ran this entire organization. However, what was surprising and oh, Heaven...what a coincidence! "Lady Wang Feifei! I''m sorry for making you wait! I didn''t expect you toe to such an insignificant ce!"


    In the city of Yao Cheng, in the mayor''s residence, in a luxuriously decorated room with two sofas facing each other and separated by a tea table, two people sat.One of them was themayor of the city, hisname was Zhou Xiaolong. Despite hisrathercute name (Little Dragon), he did not lookvery attractive.


    He was short, overweight, andlooked unhealthy. There were many pimples on his face, and his whole body looked weak. In contrast to him, Wang Feifeilookedquite attractive. She had long, slender legs - shewas dressedin a red qipao.


    Her hair, as if tempered by fire,was neatly braided into one braid.Her eyes, like molten gold - shonebrightly,but gave off coldness.Her chest could beparedto Xu Mei''s.


    "Mayor Zhou... I am in this city in passing. I decided to look at how the construction of our branch isgoing" began the conversation Wang Feifei in a businesslike tone, not paying attention to the hints of Zhou Xiaolong: "I would like to ask about some rumors before everything continues."


    "Of-of course,dy! No problem! I will satisfy your requests, no matter how difficult they are!" ttered the mayor with a ttering smile. He was like obsequious eunuchs at the emperor, who at any time were ready to lick the boots of theirmasterto a shine.


    Fortunately or unfortunately for Zhou Xiaolong, Wang Feifei was not one of those who liked ttery, let alone having her boots licked. She always kept herself cold and only raised topics about business. Narrowing her beautiful golden eyes, she asked one question that interested her:


    "I heardthat an alchemist appearedwho can purify pills up to 98%.I amvery curiousto learn about hisidentity,because, surprisingly, my subordinates were unable to see through hispast" exined her question Wang Feifei.


    "Ah, amazingly, but this time I guessed the question of the Lady..." smiled the mayor and, seeing that the cold gaze of Wang Feifei intensified, he awkwardly coughed and changed the subject: "Well, what I know is hardly likely to satisfy the curiosity of thedy, but at least I will tell you everything I know."


    "..."


    "...The man is called Gu Heng. I can assume that this is a pseudonym. He has another name...um...but it seems to be faketoo. We believe he is rted to the Sect of Heavenly Sword, but mostlikelyit is a forgery. Unfortunately, I dare not pronounce this fakename" said the mayor with embarrassmenton his face.


    "Hm? What is this fake name?"


    The mayor almost lost consciousness. He was alreadyveryembarrassed to talk about it, but this woman wanted him to say that name. "Please spare medy" the mayor bitterly smiled.


    "Stop dragging it out, Zhou Xiaolong. I swear by the Heavens, I will not harm you!" Wang Feifei scowled and shouted.


    "His... um..."


    "Zhou Xiaolong! Are you doubting me?!"


    The poor mayor wanted to cry, but he had no tears. Woman, are you seriously insisting on this? However, there was no other choice but to say this name and...


    "Cao Ni Ma... um... that''s what he''s called..."


    "What?!"


    Wang Feifei, being aratherlong-lived cultivator, for the firsttimelost the power of speech and could not understand what to answer to this. Although her facedid not express anything, she could not help but feel annoyance and shame. Nowit''sno wonder that the mayor was so embarrassed! In addition to the fact that hewas forcedto utter such a rude insult...


    It was also in front of her - the head of a major tradingorganization,andfirstof all, a woman! "This..."


    The woman fell silent. She didn''t even know how to react to this. Could there be anyone with such a humiliating name? "This..."


    The woman thought. She even didn''t know how to react to this. Could there be anyone with such a humiliating name?


    "This... is definitely a fake identity.TheSect of Heavenly Sword, although ithas reliable tokens,mostlythey canbe simtedwith the help of experienced formation masters..."Wang Feifei thought and narrowed her eyes: "If the sect learns about such an incident, they may even kill this cultivator. Therefore, I should use this fact as a lever of pressure."


    An alchemist who can purify pills so well cannot beanordinaryperson.To recruit such a person,a lot of effort had to be applied.Wang Feifei, as a businessman first of all, was ready to use cunning methods to achieve her goal.


    "But still... this person must be very cynical to choose such a pseudonym..." thought Wang Feifei, clicking her tongue: "For some reason, I feel like I won''t get along with him."


    ***


    "Achoo..." Xie Qing sneezed and wiped his nose, puzzledly looking out the window: "Damn, beautiful women are thinking about me again. I can''t even rest on my day off...sigh!"


    Nowhewas in a rented two-story house. He was sitting in the bedroom and drinking wine. And when he looked at the stars...


    Knock-knock.


    "Hm?"


    In his field of vision, outside the window, a creature appeared. When the moonlight illuminated it, Xie Qing was surprised. "An owl? I thought they were extinct..."


    Silver Owl-a special kind of spiritualcreature,whichis not easy to tame.Their feathersare soldat a high price as a material for alchemy, and the meat has concentrated Yin energy in it, and female cultivators often buy it. Therefore, their poption was low and was under protection.


    "Hm? Does it have a letter in its hands?" Xie Qing wrinkled his surprised face: "Maybe I was invited to a magic academy or something?"