Peony grabbed out at the coming wind and accurately caught something in her hand. Amaze the world? She wasn’t optimistic at all. For her to be capable of being selected by the branch to serve as the assistant to the Xingtian Legion’s commander, she herself has passed through the hands of several B-rank legions until she’d gained the opportunity to work as an A-rank legion assistant. 

For each promotion in rank, there wasn’t that great of a raise in wages. However… the true raise was a legion’s invisible resources! A large-scale cultivation authority like the Bountiful Treasures Pavilion used tens of millions of spirit stones each year to advertise and find spokespersons. 

These

 were resources!

And then for example, there were some designated missions from certain apex clans that the personnel of B-rank legions couldn’t even view. This was also a resource! For instance, there were some high-level locations that B-rank legions lacked the qualifications to enter. Such as… the Chu Clan’s cultivation gala?

It was precisely because she knew about these matters that she was compelled to dissuade Xu Yangyi this time. Her chance hadn’t come easily. The opportunity of the Xingtian Legion was even more difficult to acquire! The Legion Inauguration Ceremony was very much important, equivalent to a movie’s debut ceremony. It was to tell everyone that I, the superstar Xingtian Legion, have arrived on stage! This event would have figures and powers in the darkness pay attention to one’s legion.

Of each Legion Inauguration Ceremony, which one didn’t exhaust the mind’s capacity to plan and outline? For example, five years ago for Chu Zhaonan’s Hidden Dragon Legion, Deputy Minister Chu had personally attended. And for instance, the contemporary commander of the Buried Flower Legion had slain a demon as a blood sacrifice. Peony truly didn’t believe something that could amaze the world would be so easy.

“Commander, I also have some accumulated resources here that can be used to give to esteemed guests. As soon as we give… give… give…” As Peony spoke, she slightly brushed an eye over the dark and swarthy pellet. By all rights, she should’ve kept speaking, but she was rendered stupid.

In her thoughts, a fragment emerged. A kind of human habit to finish one’s words. A fragment that was created by this remarkably thrilling object was suddenly inserted in the middle, though. In that twinkling, Peony felt her mind become a snowy-white field. No longer did her words continue. Her mouth ajar, she was like a robot, lowering her head in gear-like increments. She looked at her hand in disbelief. 

The pellet in her hand… contained pure qi! A mild medicinal aroma was faintly discernible from the thumb-sized black ball. This appearance… This form...

“Medicinal… Medicinal pill?” It was unknown after how long, but when Peony regained her wits from amidst the spinning world, she asked in a faltering pitch, “A medicinal pill… This is a medicinal pill? This IS a medicinal pill! Isn’t this a medicinal pill!?! Commander, is this a medicinal pill?!”

The expression in her eyes appeared to tell Xu Yangyi that if he said it wasn’t she would immediately fight with every fiber of her being.

“It definitely is… It definitely is! Positively! It HAS to be!” Simply not waiting on Xu Yangyi to respond, Peony mindlessly stroked and caressed the black medicinal pill. “So very beautiful… It’s been over a hundred years… over an entire century, but it’s actually appeared again! This is beyond human expectation… Commander! Where did this little thing come from?! This is basically a peerless treasure!” The light of her eyes was fiery as she lifted her head, yet upon seeing Xu Yangyi’s gaze, a smile yet not a smile, her mind quickly sobered.

Gosh… Didn’t I come to dissuade him? I’m really stupid… really…. What am I still doing trying to save the nation in such a roundabout way? I used numerical facts to tell Commander that the Xingtian Legion can’t afford this operation, but in less than three minutes there’s another story telling him that we don’t lack funding instead. There’s no point in using these other things. 

What am I even persuading him for?

“Commander…” At this instant, the core of Peony’s heart was a tangle of complex emotions. With a medicinal pill in hand, the legion certainly wasn’t short of cash! However, this time’s objective was Danxia Temple’s vicinity! One needed to have a life to have money!

“Sir, this medicinal pill was given to you by someone? Your good friend?”

“That’s right.” Presently, Xu Yangyi had just gotten over the excitement phase of concocting pills. He was now only lacking the step of exhibiting the medicinal pill in front of others. “Any time constraint and any variety can only provide for our Xingtian Legion.”

Any time constraint! Any variety! At this very instant, Peony merely fell short of madness! 

This was concocted by your lover, right?! There’s no doubt! You saved his father or his entire family!

Nonetheless… this wasn’t important! What was important was that she had already caught sight of fireworks exploding before her eyes! She had already gazed upon the Xingtian Legion’s beautifully brocaded future!

“Now, if I say to hand over the Legion Inauguration Ceremony to me, do you still have doubts?”

Peony shook her head reflexively. Was this a joke? This item… This object… This great killing device! So long as it was taken out, the Xingtian Legion’s reputation would absolutely rise to the next level!

“I have no objections whatsoever!” Her face was fairly flushed because of over-excitement. “Commander, how are you preparing?”

Xu Yangyi laughed, “What if I handed things over to you?”

“An auction!” Both of Peony’s eyes went red! “Only an auction! It has to be an auction! The first medicinal pill after two centuries! The Dao of Pills has come into being! A pill master has emerged in the world! We’ll make those damned pill-elixirs drop dead! Drop dead! DEAD!!! We’ll make those capsules drop dead, too!”

“Commander! Believe me! This auction will definitely send the cultivation world into commotion! The Bountiful Treasures Pavilion will go crazy… No! The CSIB will go crazy, too! Oh… Goodness gracious… Goodness gracious! This really is unimaginable. Something like a medicinal pill still actually exists in the world!”

Xu Yangyi’s gaze flickered, also bearing an incredibly expectant fervor. Two and a half years of bitter training, a single pill. In five days, a second pill. Peony had gone mad, and Li Zongyuan and Mao Ba’er had went crazy. At the moment, he only fell shy of bringing the pill in front of everyone, having the entire cultivation world enjoy this sumptuous feast!

“Prepare well.” Xu Yangyi looked at Peony with a burning gaze. “This first batch of ten pills will be added to our auction sequence… No, this auction will only sell ten Spirit Strengthening Pills!” The rarer an item, the greater its value. For this initial deal, Xu Yangyi had to work carefully to earn his first barrel of gold! “Right now it’s the beginning of the month.” He looked at his watch. “At the end of the month, the Xingtian Legion will hold the Legion Inauguration Ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, I’ll announce the news about auctioning the ten Spirit Strengthening Pills to the entire cultivation world.”

“Yes!!!” Currently, Peony was awfully enthusiastic to fulfill the task. She’d already even forgot that she’d come to advise her commander not to select Danxia Temple as their first-issued mission.

Even if it was the surroundings… If they had to go, they had to at least prepare a billion Chinese dollars in reserve, arming themselves to the teeth! As for now, this reason seemed somewhat weak… As an assistant for many years, she understood very well what a pill master entailed… It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this was the cultivation world’s horn of transformation! 

One medicinal pill would certainly fetch a sky-high price, but ten pills absolutely wouldn’t bring forth the astronomical gale of hundreds of millions. However, what was important wasn’t the price of these medicinal pills, but rather the connections! The resources!

A pill master… The last pill master in the End of Days. These words could be financed for a billion! By no boundary or limit was this overstated! Even if this unseen pill master wasn’t a great master! Or a grand master! Even a mere pill disciple! He possessed this qualification!

“I-I will make immediate preparations! I’ll inform Branchmaster Thousandedge straightaway! I’ll also get ready to contact an auction house and an auction expert! Right! Commander, does that noble pill master have some other requests? Before the month’s end, I’ll get in touch with a good venue and an auction official!”

Xu Yangyi’s smile dwindled, and his expression grew solemn. “Remember at all cost, by all means, you cannot speak of the item being auctioned. Moreover, our chief objective must not be leaked. It especially can’t be reported to the Branch Master.”

“Understood!” Although Peony didn’t know why, she wouldn’t inform Thousandedge.

“In addition.” Xu Yangyi beckoned with his hand. “You have to hand me these things before the end of the month.” After everything was finished, he entered the cultivation room without further ado. In the remaining time, he had to provide the auctioned items!

Time passed by quite quickly. In these few days, the woman-dog relation between Peony and Mao Ba’er was swiftly deepening, attaining a degree of close friendship, like that of oil mixed with honey. Peony believed that Mao Ba’er had long since known of this matter as Xu Yangyi’s traditional manager. She wasn’t any the wiser, however, that only Mao Ba’er and Li Zongyuan were aware of the pill master’s true identity.

[1]

Nothing else withstanding, both Li Zongyuan and Mao Ba’er had a life-death pact with Xu Yangyi. And while Cheng Jianfeng also did, all in all, his relationship with Xu Yangyi was too shallow. 

Three days later, an announcement stating “The Xingtian Legion’s Legion Inauguration Ceremony” was being pinched at with slender fingers. A pair of eyes narrowed as they studied the memo.

“An auction?” Thousandedge looked at the announcement before him in surprise. Three seconds later, he sneered loudly, not concealing his sarcasm in the slightest. “Am I seeing this right?”

“Stupid… The Legion Inauguration Ceremony requires all parties to take note. There are many original approaches, but never has anyone used an auction. Fellow Daoist Nameless, might you know why?”

After several seconds, the empty voice of a man rang out in the room. “How could a low-level cultivator have an auctionable item? Their move is unique in its unwiseness.”

“A heap of worn copper and shoddy iron. Do they feel no shame to auction it? Who gave them this face and boldness?” Thousandedge sniggered darkly. In passing, he used his spiritual sense to sweep over the announcement and toss it on top of his desk. He threw it away like trash without the least bit of care. Afterwards, a brush from his brush rack flew up, and he carefully played with it in his hand.

After a brief moment, his expression had already turned from coldness to indifference. He said neutrally, “His time of death… has already come.”

“Presumably, Daomaster Floatingcloud has also been waiting very long… Within a year, I will take his head.”

Silence. A few seconds later, a man’s voice rang out, “Is this him deciding to take up a mission?”

“In these two and a half years, I’ve continued to suppress eleven missions.” Thousandedge’s eyes narrowed into thin slits. “They’re all B-rank and above missions, but they’re not enough… They’re still not dangerous enough… They still aren’t capable of sending that little animal to a proper death…”

“Only in danger is there upheaval. Only in upheaval is there time for myself to snatch an idle moment in business. I will deliver a great present to Daomaster Floatingcloud…”

“If I remember correctly, an A-rank Legion has the right to a self-drafted mission?” Nameless’s voice followed.

“Does he dare?!” Thousandedge snorted, a murderous aura worn on his face. “When all is said and done… this place is my Featherwood Guard! Here, I am the father of the emperor himself!”

“As long as he dares to self-decide a mission, I’ll just give him a B-rank rating. How can he look up SS-rank and SSS-rank demons without an A-rank rating?” Thousandedge licked his lips and crossed both his arms. He leaned back in his chair and said coldly, “Besides… doesn’t he want revenge for his hatred? Hehe, if he was so passionate before, and he sets things down so easily now, it’ll be a double-crossing of three knives. Sooner or later, it will transform into his heart devil. With a heart devil, can he still think about Foundation Establishment?”

[2]

“He can only accept an A-rank mission issued by myself. And only by my mission will I grant him an A-rank rating. Of course, that’s contingent on whether he’s able to return alive.” Thousandedge laughed, pursing his teacup to his lips. “In any case, he doesn’t have the choice. To make me wait for two and a half years… Little bastard… The ominous star of your death has already approached. Wait for death, insect.”

In the air, a faint sigh rang out, “He can be considered clever enough, to forcefully prolong his life for over two years.”

“Whether he sticks out his head or pulls back, there will be blade. Nothing more than sooner or later.” Thousandedge set down his teacup, bereft of a sliver of emotion. “I admit, he really is intelligent. He understands how to use his own advantages. By his pressuring of Daomaster Floatingcloud’s avatar into retreat, I dare not place him below my eyes… but in the face of absolute power, his insignificant intellect is worthy of dragging out two and a half years of his lowly existence.” 

He picked up the telephone. “Starting from now, increase the degree of attention paid to all missions at A-rank and above!”

“Once discovered, prohibit their posting. Bring them all to me!” Hanging up the telephone, Thousandedge sneered, “Junior… wait. Even now, your dirge is playing…”

1. “Like that of oil mixed with honey” This line originates from one of China’s four great novels, 

The Dream of the Red Chamber

. The idea is that oil and honey are somewhat similar. From what I researched, in ancient times during economic turmoil, real honey would be “oiled down” to provide greater stock and lower costs.

2. “Double crossing of three knives” This line originates from the texts of a Yuan dynasty playwright Li Xingdao. The specific line is used in the play 

The Chalk Circle

. A character uses this line literally as “two faces, three knives” to say she is a virtuous woman. However, she is actually a bad person. 

The Chalk Circle

 might be considered a Chinese version of King Solomon asking two women to split a baby with a sword.

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