Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 26 - Stick and Carrot

Lei Tao was placed in a tough spot in this situation. Master Huo asked him to invite Liu Wuxie in for his treatment, and Lei Tao would have to suffer Master Huo’s fury if Liu Wuxie was killed here.

Not to mention Liu Wuxie was their cash cow because the Heavenly Spirit Pills were booming, and they made a lot of money in just half a day. So Lei Tao naturally couldn’t let anything happen to Liu Wuxie. He wouldn’t question if Liu Wuxie was dead or alive after Master Huo managed to refine the Heavenly Spirit Pills, but he couldn’t let anything happen to Liu Wuxie now.

“Commander Guo, Young Master Liu is a valuable guest of my Treasure Pill Pavilion. If you want the Nine Yang Fruit, you can order, and we’ll have it delivered five days from now.” Lei Tao took a deep breath to suppress the struggle in his heart. He said those words reluctantly, and even he couldn’t believe that he was led by the nose by a trash.

After saying that, he waved his hand, and Liu Wuxie stepped into the inner hall, leaving behind Commander Guo and his men fuming in rage, and their murderous intent was focused on Liu Wuxie.

Commander Guo slammed his fist on the counter, breaking apart. No servant in the Treasure Pill Pavilion dared to say a word, and they pretended not to see anything. After all, they couldn’t afford to offend the City Lord Mansion.

“Commander, what should we do? If the missy’s injury isn’t treated in time, it might leave behind sequelae. The City Lord has ordered us to find the strongest yang-attributed herb we can,” a guard said. They sheathed their blade, but they weren’t willing to leave.

“We’ll wait outside. If he dares to show up, we’ll take the Nine Yang Fruit from him,” they decided. It was the only solution they could think of. They didn’t dare to storm into the Treasure Pill Pavilion, so they decided to ambush Liu Wuxie on the road and kill him.

The group from the City Lord Mansion quickly left the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and calm was restored to the establishment. The servants began to clean up the smashed counter. They had changed the counter multiple times in just a few days.

When Liu Wuxie was brought to a private room, Master Huo had already been waiting for a long time. When Master Huo saw Liu Wuxie, he stood up and personally welcomed him.

The three of them sat around a table with a pile of cards on it. The sales of the Heavenly Spirit Pill had far exceeded their expectations. They had already raised the price three times, but demand still outstripped supply.

“Young Master Liu, the five hundred Heavenly Spirit pills are sold for 1,000,000 gold coins, and 500,000 gold coins are yours. As for the ingredients, consider them to be provided by the Treasure Pill Pavilion for free.”

In just one morning, they had earned 1,000,000 gold coins, which was equivalent to several months’ worth of income from the Xu Clan’s Weaponry Workshop. The profits from selling pills were staggering.

Liu Wuxie wasn’t polite with them and kept the 500,000 gold coins. He took out the silver needles, which Master Huo stood up excitedly upon seeing it. After all, Master Huo began to feel pain in his solar plexus in the past few days.

Liu Wuxie’s technique was faster this time, and he completed one treatment cycle in just a few minutes. When Master Huo let out a breath, his solar plexus felt a lot better.

“Young Master Liu, can we shorten the next supply date? The first batch is selling extremely well. We should strike the iron while it’s hot and release large quantities to occupy the market share,” Lei Tao said. He was in charge of sales, and his position would increase when the sales result was sent to the main branch in Imperial City.

Lei Tao didn’t say it directly, but Liu Wuxie could tell that Lei Tao wanted him to hand out the refining method so they could refine the Heavenly Spirit Pills themselves. But the refining method was Liu Wuxie’s chips against the Treasure Pill Pavilion. If he handed them out, he would probably be kicked out of the cooperation even if the Treasure Pill Pavilion didn’t turn against him immediately.

“Let’s change it to eight days. I’ll provide a thousand Heavenly Spirit Pills for the next batch!” Liu Wuxie said after a brief pondering. That was two days ahead of their initial schedule. He had to focus on refining the Pulse Guarding Pill, which would take a few days. He wanted to reach the Xiantian Realm quickly and didn’t want to spend too much time refining the Heavenly Spirit Pills.

But cultivation was inseparable from resources, meaning he needed money to buy them. However, if he focused on earning money and neglected his cultivation, it would go against his initial intention. Liu Wuxie wanted to make money while cultivating, killing two birds with one stone.

“As long as Young Master Liu is willing to hand over the refining method to us, I can help you deal with the City Lord Mansion. What do you think?” Lei Tao’s tone contained a hint of threat. After all, the profits of the Heavenly Spirit Pills were enough for him to go insane. It had been years since the Treasure Pill Pavilion introduced a new pill, while the other branches would occasionally introduce it, and their status rose higher over the years.

On the contrary, the main branch hadn’t been happy with their branch’s performance over the years, which was why Lei Tao was so anxious. This was an opportunity for their branch to turn around.

As for the Wan Clan’s side, they wouldn’t touch Xu Clan within a month, with Master Huo backing them. But the City Lord Mansion didn’t have that restriction, and the City Lord Mansion wouldn’t give him face even if he intervened. Hence, Lei Tao was using the stick and carrot approach. If they negotiated with the City Lord Mansion with Treasure Pill Pavilion’s name, even the City Lord Mansion had to think twice before making a move.

“Thank you, but I’ll deal with the City Lord Mansion myself. I’ll take my leave if there’s nothing else. You can send the herbs for refining the Heavenly Spirit Pills directly to the Xu Clan.” Liu Wuxie stood up when he was done. He didn’t linger momentarily because Lei Tao’s words enraged him. This made him even more anxious about increasing his strength because the Treasure Pill Pavilion couldn’t be relied upon.

He passed through the main hall towards the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s exit. Now that he had obtained the Nine Yang Fruit and Scarlet Spirit Grass, he was racing against time. This was because he could use some means of an Immortal Emperor only after reaching Xiantian Realm, and he would have some odds even if he fought against someone in the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

But before he even left the Treasure Pill Pavilion, there were voices from the surroundings as people pointed at him. “That brat won’t live long. He’ll surely die for offending the City Lord Mansion.”

The City Lord Mansion wasn’t the Wan Clan, and they had a lot of powerhouses, not to mention the City Lord’s cultivation was in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

As Liu Wuxie walked back to the Xu Clan, he passed through an uninhabited region. A huge battle broke out here a few years ago, causing houses to collapse in large patches, and most of the residents here had already moved away.

When Liu Wuxie stepped into this area, whooshing sounds could be heard as ten people emerged from the darkness. Commander Guo had surrounded Liu Wuxie with the guards.

“Hand over the Nine Yang Fruit, and I’ll let you die without suffering.” Commander Guo’s murderous intent enveloped Liu Wuxie. After all, what Liu Wuxie did in the Treasure Pill Pavilion was a slap to his face and embarrassed the City Lord Mansion.

“Are you sure you want to make a move against me?” Liu Wuxie smiled. Aside from Commander Guo, who could pose some threat, he could quickly deal with the guards with just one strike. He had hidden his actual cultivation, which was only around the fifth level of the Houtian Realm in the eyes of others.

“Who gave trash like you the courage to oppose the City Lord Mansion? Let me deal with you!” A guard at the right waved his hand, wanting to slap Liu Wuxie. His hand was fast, and his cultivation was in the seventh level of the Houtian Realm.

“Get lost!” But before that guard could even get close to Liu Wuxie, a foot appeared that sent him flying with a kick. The guard was like a broken kite as he fell to the ground, smashing into the debris, and the impact made him grimace in pain.

Liu Wuxie didn’t take that guard’s life because the Xu Clan already had enough enemies. So it was inappropriate for him to incur hatred from the City Lord Mansion.

Commander Guo narrowed his eyes when he saw this scene. After all, the weakest guard was in the sixth level of the Houtian Realm, and it was unprecedented that he was sent flying with a kick.

“What audacity! How dare you hurt the guards of the City Lord Mansion?!” The other nine guards became furious as they drew their weapons and swung them at Liu Wuxie. Each of their attacks was ruthless, wanting to claim Liu Wuxie’s life.

Commander Guo had no intentions of stopping, and he even showed a hint of interest. This was how domineering the City Lord Mansion’s men were.

Liu Wuxie drew his blade and drew a beautiful arc in the air, creating red flowers from gushing blood. The nine guards suddenly froze, feeling a chill on their necks. When they raised their hands and touched their necks, their necks felt damp, and their hands had blood on them.

This is just a small lesson. If you dare to act against me, the cut won’t stop at your skin, but it will sever your neck,” Liu Wuxie warned. It took great control to strike nine people and leave only shallow wounds on their necks. If Liu Wuxie made even the slightest mistake, he could have severed their necks.

Commander Guo’s eyes narrowed, momentarily stunned by the swift movement of Liu Wuxie’s blade. He struggled to track its trajectory.

The ten guards stood at a loss because they were in a dilemma. They would only ask to be humiliated if they made another move, but they were also reluctant to let Liu Wuxie leave just like that.

Commander Guo suddenly clapped his hands and looked at Liu Wuxie with a playful gaze. “It’s rumored that Xu Clan’s son-in-law is a piece of trash. But it seems like I made a mistake today after seeing your performance.”

Commander Guo unleashed his deadly aura, honed from decades of service in the City Lord Mansion and countless kills. With a flick of his wrist, his whip shot out like a viper, aimed at Liu Wuxie’s face from an unexpected angle.

If the whip struck its target, it could easily rip Liu Wuxie’s flesh and leave him disfigured. But instead of retreating, Liu Wuxie advanced, deftly executing the Seven Dipper Steps. In just nine strides, he was upon Commander Guo, who seemed to move as clumsily as a toddler in comparison.

Everyone beneath the Xiantian Realm was considered mere ants. Liu Wuxie could face someone in the first level of the Xiantian Realm with his physique alone, not to mention facing Commander Guo, who was only in the Quasi-Xiantian Realm. He could easily kill Commander Guo with one hand.

When Liu Wuxie swung his blade, his simple swing was accompanied by a powerful momentum and aura that tore apart Commander Guo’s defenses.

“Shit!” Commander Guo was caught off guard by Liu Wuxie’s speed. Most importantly, Liu Wuxie’s draw strike was lightning-fast, and the blade was already going to reach him before he could even respond. Left with no choice, Commander Guo’s only option was to retreat.

But as Commander Guo retreated, the blade followed him like a shadow, always just three inches away. In frustration, he let out a roar and swung his whip horizontally, targeting Liu Wuxie’s legs.

“You’re too slow!” Speed was crucial in fighting, and there was nothing speed couldn’t overcome. Liu Wuxie’s blade techniques focused on speed to the extreme. Like a dragonfly skimming on the lake, he leaped into the air and landed behind Commander Guo.

The realization that he was no match for Liu Wuxie in combat power struck Commander Guo with fear. Turning his back to his opponent meant he had lost all control of the fight and could only try to dodge the fatal blow. If Liu Wuxie had truly wanted to kill him, he would already be dead.

As Liu Wuxie’s blade descended, Commander Guo felt a chill on his back and collapsed to the ground. After a moment, he regained his senses and reached for his back, only to find his clothes torn and his smooth skin exposed to the cold air.

When he got back up with great difficulty and turned around, Liu Wuxie had already left. Liu Wuxie’s blade only tore apart his clothes, and Commander Guo subconsciously thought he was cut.