Library of Heaven’s Path

It was not time yet, but the largest square of Drifting Specter Royal City was already filled with a bustling crowd.

Zhang Xuan expected to receive around a hundred thousand people at most, but it was clear with a glance that the scale of the crowd was far higher than that.

There were already elevated platforms erected in the square for him to address the crowd. The entire place was jam- packed, such that there were some cultivators who chose to ride on aerial divine beasts in order to avoid being packed like sardines.

There must be at least five hundred thousand people here, right?”

A gray-robed elder sitting on the back of an aerial divine beast looked down at the massive crowd below with a frown on his forehead.

“I can only say that the allure of the Beauty Pill is greater than I thought!” the black-robed elder beside him replied.

“I have tried examining the content of the Beauty Pill, and no matter how I analyze the ingredients and the forging method, it appears to be no different to other low-tier God Essence Pills. It’s baffling how it can bring out such miraculous effects!” the gray-robed elder said with a shake of his head.

Upon learning of the sudden spike in the popularity of the Beauty Pill, he had immediately ordered a subordinate to buy a couple of them for him to study. He had spent three whole days examining it from the outside to the inside, and the conclusion he had eventually arrived at was that… it was simply an ordinary low-tier God Essence Pill!

Back then, he had been shocked beyond words.

A low-tier God Essence Pill could be bought for just one Divine Coin, and the cost of the Beauty Pill was a staggering 1,500 Divine Coins! Yet, he could not call it a scam at all. He had tried out the effects, and it was as spectacular as the rumors made it out to be!

A severe trauma that he had suffered many years ago was easily removed, and his complexion also looked much better than before.

That was not something an ordinary God Essence Pill could do.

Eventually, he could only give up on the notion of deciphering the Beauty Pill.

It was also for this reason that he had rushed all the way here to attend this event. He was interested to see the genius who had forged such an amazing pill.

“I also tried studying the Beauty Pill, and I came to the same conclusion as you,” the black-robed elder remarked with a bitter smile. “I know many other apothecaries who tried to decipher the Beauty Pill. In fact, the Apothecary Guild of Royal City has been working tirelessly on it over the past few days. However, none of them have been able to figure out the secret behind its effects. I heard that the guild leader is on the verge of losing his mind.”

“You are referring to Apothecary Zhou Feng?” the gray-robed elder looked over curiously.

“Yep, that’s him!” the black-robed elder replied.

“Zhou Feng is Fu Jiangchen’s direct disciple, right? His skills in pill forging should be far superior to the both of ours!

He is unable to figure out the Beauty Pill, too?” the gray-robed elder asked in disbelief.

Fu Jiangchen was the most famous apothecary in the entire Firmament. Rumor had it that he had once forged pills for the God Monarchs.

He had many disciples all over the Firmament, and every single one of them was famous among the apothecaries. Zhou Feng was known to be one of his better disciples.

“An apothecary that I have once taught is in Royal City’s Apothecary Guild at the moment, and he told me about it. It seems like they bought three pills back when the Beauty Pill first appeared on the market, and they have examined the medicinal components and the forging techniques used for the pill innumerable times. The conclusion that they arrived at each and every time was the same—it is identical to how low-tier God Essence Pills are made!” the gray- robed elder replied.

It was no easy feat to reverse engineer the process of how a pill was made. It would take a great deal of knowledge, time, and effort. Nevertheless, it was still possible, and that was also how many of the exclusive pills eventually became less exclusive.

“There must be something inside the Beauty Pill that makes it different from the God Essence Pill, but we just aren’t able to find it…” The black-robed elder shook his fist in frustration.

He knew for sure that there was something special about the Beauty Pill, but it was eluding their notice, and this left him feeling deeply exasperated.

At this moment, the gray-robed elder beside him suddenly exclaimed in agitation, “Wait a moment… Look over there! Is that person Master Fu Jiangchen?”

The black-robed elder immediately turned his head over and saw an aerial beast floating not too far away. Sitting at the very front of the beast was an old man with a snowy beard. There were a few other people standing diligently behind him, seemingly not daring to take a seat in his presence.

One of them happened to be Apothecary Zhou Feng, whom they had just spoken about.

“It’s him!” the black-robed elder exclaimed in disbelief. “I had the honor of meeting him and listening to one of his lectures back when I was touring the Nine Skies. You don’t know how impressed I was with his teachings… Why would he come here personally?”

“Indeed. He’s a God King realm expert, but he still came here personally. Could it be that he’s researching the Beauty Pill too but was unable to make sense out of it?” the gray-robed elder asked hesitantly.

That was the only reason he could think of.

“It’s possible… But if even the most formidable apothecary in the Firmament is unable to decipher the Beauty Pill, I can’t begin to imagine how remarkable the person who forged the Beauty Pill is!” The black-robed elder turned to the stage with an incredulous look in his eyes.

That was Fu Jiangchen, a God King realm expert, as well as a person who had once forged pills for the God Monarchs! If even he was unable to decipher the secrets of the Beauty Pill, this might be bigger than they thought!

“If the Beauty Pill is that formidable, why don’t we just kidnap the apothecary and force him to reveal his pill formula?” a middle-aged man amid the crowd asked his companions. “Don’t tell me that you are afraid of making a move just because we are in Drifting Specter Royal City!”

As the capital of the Sky of Drifting Specter, rules were strictly enforced in Drifting Specter Royal City. That being said, thievery still occurred from time to time.

The Beauty Pill was obviously a business with tremendous potential for profits. Furthermore, its surfacing in the market had also affected the business of numerous apothecaries within Royal City. Given so, there were bound to be many people who would want to claim his life.

“Of course not! Do I look like a lawful citizen to you?” the companion of the middle-aged man scoffed. Then, he shook his head and sighed. “I dispatched a team of three high-tier Celestial Gods to kidnap him, but I suddenly lost contact with them in the midst of their mission. I tried looking into it, and it turns out that they were killed!”

“Three high-tier Celestial Gods have been killed? Is that apothecary that formidable?” The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes in shock.

Given the limited number of God Kings and Conferred God Kings in the Firmament, a group of three high-tier Celestial Gods could already be considered an elite force. Yet, all three of them ended up dying in the midst of their mission. Could the apothecary possibly be a God King?

“It’s not that the apothecary is formidable. Rather, it’s because of the Qi Clan!” his companion replied.

“The Qi Clan?”

“That’s right. The clan head of the Qi Clan has let out word that anyone who dares to touch the apothecary will be an enemy of their Qi Clan. There was a God King who opposed the interference of the Qi Clan, viewing it as tyranny.

However, before he could even finish his words, he was struck with a heavy blow and evicted from Royal City. Rumor has it that it was the old ancestor of the Qi Clan who made a move on him!” his companion said.

“The old ancestor of the Qi Clan? You are referring to… Conferred God King Qi Meng?” The middle-aged man’s face paled in fright.

If the medicine was as invaluable as the rumors suggested, it was worth taking the risk to capture the apothecary and coerce the pill formula out of him. However, if the old ancestor of the Qi Clan was involved…

Qi Meng was a person who had once dominated the world alongside the Qiankun Demon Monarch! His authority was unrivaled in the Sky of Drifting Specter. Unless the God Monarch made a move, no one would be able to bear the burden of his rage!

If the apothecary was under the protection of such a person… unless they were tired of living, they had better not lay their hands on the apothecary!

You get it, right? I’m only telling you this because of our relationship. I advise you to rein in your thoughts, or else you won’t even know what struck you when you die!” the companion warned.

If the apothecary did not have ways to protect himself after pushing out such a formidable medicine, he would have been killed many times over by now!

The Firmament, even in the capitals of the Nine Skies, was not as peaceful as it seemed on the surface.

In a massive floating manor in the Sky of Drifting Specter, a middle-aged man clasped his fist and reported, “Old ancestor, I have looked into that matter, and it was indeed the doing of that person from the Qi Clan!”

A slightly bewildered voice echoed from the room. “Qi Meng sustained grave injuries in the past, just like me, and his lifespan is already nearing its end. He has been lying low in order to avoid making any more enemies for the Qi Clan, so why would he suddenly choose to protect a medicine peddler? Even if the pills sold are incredible, it’s unlikely that they have much effect on a Conferred God King!”

He was another Conferred God King of the Sky of Drifting Specters, Beitang Xue!

Having reached their level of cultivation, there were very few things that could catch their attention anymore.

Most of them had retired from the secular world, wishing to live in peace and quiet. It was incomprehensible to him why Qi Meng would suddenly get involved in a matter as minor as this.

Not only so, he even made a move on a God King and severely injured him…

That was equivalent to offending the power behind the God King, thus creating another potential enemy for the Qi Clan.

“I don’t really know the details. So far, I only know that the Qi Clan has bought one thousand Beauty Pills for their younger generation, causing their potential and fighting prowess to grow significantly. This is especially so for Qi Yue. I heard that he has started to grasp the secrets of a God King, and it’s likely that he will make a breakthrough in the near future,” the middle-aged man reported.

“He’s already on the verge of a breakthrough?” Beitang Xue was taken aback. “Is that medicine really that amazing?”

“It is,” the middle-aged man replied. He took out a jade container and presented it. “Please, do take a look.”

Hu!

The jade container flew right into the room.

Within the room, Beitang Xue picked up the pill and examined in bewilderment. Then, he swallowed it.

“This…” Beitang Xue narrowed his eyes in shock. “I sense the aura of a God Monarch in the pill!”

“God Monarch?” The middle-aged man jolted in horror.

“Indeed! If I’m not mistaken, this pill is indeed nothing more than an ordinary low-tier God Essence Pill. It’s the infusion of a God Monarch’s zhenqi that resulted in its spectacular effects,” Beitang Xue analyzed grimly.

“This is only my speculation at the moment. Based on what I know, the zhenqi of a real God Monarch should be even purer than this… But at the same time, it shouldn’t have the ability to heal internal traumas. I guess I’ll have to meet Qi Meng to understand the situation!”

Together with Qi Meng, he had fought alongside the Qiankun Demon Monarch a very long time ago, and they had been privileged to catch a glimpse of the overwhelming power that the God Monarchs wielded.

The energies that they wielded were extremely pure, and they emanated tremendous pressure that felt almost as if the whole world was crushing down on them.

Such was the feeling that he felt from the Beauty Pill, but the prowess of the energy within had been dampened innumerable times.

“Old ancestor, are you planning to meet that person from the Qi Clan?” the middle-aged man asked.

“It’s only right that I should. I thought that old fellow has decided to wash his hands of everything, but it seems like I have misjudged him. Instead, I am the one who is lagging behind. Even if the person who has forged the Beauty Pill isn’t a God Monarch, it’s likely that he has close ties with one. Lag one step behind, and we’ll always be a step behind them. It’s one thing if we didn’t know about this matter, but now that we have learned of it, we can’t just turn a blind eye to it. Otherwise, our Beitang Clan will forever be behind the Qi Clan!” Beitang Xue said as he rose to his feet.

Even though he had no idea how the pill was forged, the fact that it was effective was enough to show that it was authentic.

If there was something in the world that even a Conferred God King like him was unable to comprehend, chances were high that a God Monarch was involved.

This was both an opportunity and a threat. If he could get on the bandwagon together with the Qi Clan, there were great benefits to be earned. Otherwise, the Beitang Clan would only start to lag behind the others.