Attacked by the Female Demon at the Beginning - Chapter 160

Chapter 160: Dealing with The Pill Refiners

Hearing Cheng Chou’s description, Jiang Hao could feel how much of a headache the Alchemy Court lineage had been.

Pill refiners indeed held high status.

Especially since they also knew how to unite and increase their advantage.

Once targeted, it would be very uncomfortable.

Offending one or two of the twelve main lineages was no big deal for them.

But for other lineages to offend the Alchemy Court lineage, that was a significant problem.

No big issues, but there would always be inconveniences.

That wasn’t even the main problem; the key was who had provoked the Alchemy Court lineage.

If today’s Duanqing Cliff Spiritual Medicine Garden had offended someone from the Alchemy Court lineage, causing some pill refiners from the Alchemy Court lineage to target Duanqing Cliff, then those in charge of the Spiritual Medicine Garden would likely suffer.

Jiang Hao still maintained his calm:

“What if they keep not handing over the spiritual medicines?”

“Then we occupy the space and still have to look after their spiritual medicines. They wouldn’t forcefully take them, but we would continue to suffer losses. Because of the delay, they definitely won’t pay spirit stones,” Cheng Chou explained.

“How was it resolved before?” Jiang Hao asked.

“By using inferior quality pills to offset the debt,” Cheng Chou said thoughtfully.

“Almost all the cases I’ve encountered were like this, but these inferior quality pills are hard to sell. The sect has no buyers, so we have to sell them outside. Generally, we won’t lose money, but they are likely to get stuck in our hands.”

Jiang Hao nodded slightly; that made sense.

If the people from the Alchemy Court were to let the Spiritual Medicine Garden bear all the losses, there would be resistance.

If they couldn’t bear it themselves, they wouldn’t care about offending others.

Having inferior quality pills to offset the debt was troublesome, but it was at least a way to keep going.

“Since debts could be offset before, why is it not working now?” Jiang Hao voiced his confusion.

“The amount is quite large,” Cheng Chou said.

“How much?” Jiang Hao asked.

“Three thousand seven hundred spirit stones.”

“…”

Three thousand seven hundred spirit stones?

Jiang Hao was surprised internally; no wonder the two parties were at an impasse.

What did nearly four thousand spirit stones represent?

Jiang Hao remembered that he had to compensate Tianhuan Pavilion one thousand spirit stones.

It took almost three months, and that was only possible because he earned them by making talismans.

During that time, he even had to use the divine ability Clear Heart and Pure Mind.

For others, even if they frequently did sect missions, it would be very difficult to accumulate four thousand spirit stones.

Unless they were in the late or complete stage of Foundation Establishment, at which point they would start saving spirit stones for a Heaven Replenishing Pill.

But no one would take such a big risk to exchange their savings for inferior quality pills.

“Why is it so expensive?” Jiang Hao asked.

A Foundation Establishment pill refiner, no matter how you looked at it, couldn’t pay it back unless they stopped alchemy.

“Actually, it’s not one person, it’s six,” Cheng Chou reminded him.

“Six?” Jiang Hao did some quick calculations.

He realized that even if the six people shared the debt, it would still be over six hundred each.

The amount was still considerable.

If it were just one person with six hundred, it might be okay, but six people with six hundred each, they wouldn’t want to use inferior quality pills to offset the debt.

“How much are their spiritual medicines worth in spirit stones?” Jiang Hao asked again.

“Fourteen thousand spirit stones,” Cheng Chou thought for a moment and added:

“These spiritual medicines require spiritual liquid to grow, and we provide the spiritual liquid. That’s why the cost is as high as three thousand seven hundred.”

“So that’s how it is,” Jiang Hao nodded.

After some thought, he realized that being a pill refiner was indeed lucrative, albeit with high expenses.

“Now, the six of them seem to be out of spirit stones and have even called someone over today to ask for spiritual medicine. Continuing to drag this out is not to our advantage,” Cheng Chou said apologetically.

“That’s why I was hoping Senior Brother could help.”

Jiang Hao stood still, pondering the situation.

This wasn’t exactly his responsibility, but having the spiritual medicine lying around was still affecting him.

He guessed that Cheng Chou sought him out hoping he would take on some of the inferior spiritual medicine.

After all, everyone knew he made a decent amount selling talismans.

“Is it only our group encountering this issue?” Jiang Hao inquired.

Cheng Chou had already looked into it and immediately replied, “Other lineages are facing this too. Out of the eleven lineages, six are dealing with this. In fact, everyone wants to refuse, but no one wants to be the first to make a move.”

No one wants to be the nail that sticks out, as it gets hammered down. This was a principle everyone understood, so they were all waiting for one sect to fall out with the pill refiners.

That way, the pill refiners would only remember the leader of the revolt.

Jiang Hao nodded and said, “Gather some detailed information.”

“I already have it.” Cheng Chou produced a list.

“The situation for all six lineages is here. Since the pill refiners are quite united, those responsible for the orders are also banding together, hoping to find a solution.”

This surprised Jiang Hao; it seemed that people from all places were not to be trifled with.

If the other side was united, their side was not inferior. It’s just that no one was willing to step forward.

Everyone was afraid to take responsibility.

“Which lineages are not affected by this?” Jiang Hao asked.

After a moment of thought, Cheng Chou explained methodically.

“The Baiyue Lake sect is not to be provoked, and the same goes for the Enforcement Peak sect. The pill refiners wouldn’t dare to mess with them. If they were to be investigated because of this, the pill refiners wouldn’t be able to escape the consequences. The Hundred Bones Forest sect doesn’t rely much on the Candlelight Alchemy Court. The other two sects have their own reasons.”

Taking the list from Cheng Chou, Jiang Hao saw that it involved forty people and a total of twenty-five thousand in funds.

All things considered, the amount was neither too large nor too small for the pill refiners.

“I’ll pay them a visit in a few days. For now, keep an eye on the spiritual medicine,” Jiang Hao decided internally.

He wanted to handle the situation but didn’t want to make a big fuss.

If he really caused the pill refiners to target the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Duanqing Cliff, he would have to start alchemy himself.

There was no need for that. It was too time-consuming, and he couldn’t afford it at the moment.

Mainly because the pills were almost useless to him.

His advancement didn’t rely on those; the only first-level pill he needed was the Snow God Pill, but such a pill, let alone being made, didn’t even exist in the entire Tianyin Sect.

Probably only sects like Haotian Sect or Mingyue Sect might have it.

He could ask Liu Xingchen if he had the chance.

As for dealing with the debt in a few days, it was because he wanted to comprehend 《Merge with Light and Blend with Dust》 in the next few days.

Keeping himself in the best condition was the only way to feel secure. He also needed to take care of some matters in the next few days.

Afterward, Jiang Hao inquired about Xiao Li’s situation.

“Junior Sister Xiao Li loves to eat, and the cafeteria side hopes to communicate with Senior Brother.”

Cheng Chou pondered before adding, “Other than that, there shouldn’t be any issues. Junior Sister Xiao Li is uncontrollable, and she spends her time playing with Lord Rabbit in the Spiritual Medicine Garden. The Senior Brothers and Sisters who taught cultivation have completely given up on her.”

“I’ll stop by the cafeteria later,” Jiang Hao said.

If it was just the cafeteria, the problem wasn’t significant.

As he finished speaking, an excited voice came from outside:

“Rabbit, rabbit, will you pick peaches for me from Senior Brother’s tree today?”

“What did you say?”

The rabbit replied righteously, “It’s because the peaches on the street gave face to Lord Rabbit and fell from the tree on their own.”

“Huh?” Xiao Li, who had just run in, looked confused.

She was about to say something else while pinching the rabbit’s face but then saw the rabbit winking at her, which puzzled her even more.

However, at that moment, she saw Jiang Hao approaching.

Instinctively, she hid the rabbit behind her and stood obediently, her head bowed as if she had been caught doing something wrong.