Day and night tour

Chapter 504 The Secret of Autumn Insects
"If I don't kill that alchemist, won't I have to build my own alchemy furnace?"

Zhou Xuan gestured for a while and said, "That alchemy furnace is as tall as a ten-story building. I'll build it myself. Funding is one issue, but besides, I can't afford to waste time."

"So you've gone to steal the family business?" Yun Ziliang exclaimed.

"We have to grab it! The alchemy business is such a huge undertaking. With such an existing business, why not take it?"

Zhou Xuan felt that if every time he refined pills, he had to rely on Sister Cui's "Earth Law" to build a brand new pill furnace, wouldn't that exhaust Sister Cui to death?

"We should take it, we should take it." Yun Ziliang responded twice, then returned the white cricket in his hand to Zhou Xuan, saying, "This insect can actually replace incense? I've never heard of such a thing, I can't figure it out."

"Can't you tell either?"

"I can't tell."

Yun Ziliang said, "This autumn insect shouldn't be a magic artifact; it's a living creature..."

Just as the two were about to discuss, there was a knock on the shop door.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The knock was neither too light nor too heavy. Zhou Xuan asked, "Who is it?"

"The leader of the Longevity Cult requests an audience with Master Zhou."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan stored the "Dream Horn" into his secret realm, then stood up and flicked his sleeves.

The shop door immediately opened, and the Immortal Cult Leader and Li Changxun stood side by side at the entrance.

Li Changxun walked straight into the shop, while the leader of the Longevity Cult bowed deeply to Zhou Xuan before stepping into the shop.

“Master Zhou, it feels like three autumns have passed since we last met.”

"Our relationship has come to this point?" Zhou Xuan replied with a forced smile.

The leader of the Longevity Cult smiled slightly and said, "Our relationship was bound to reach this point sooner or later."

It's said that one shouldn't hit a smiling face. Zhou Xuan's impression of the Longevity Cult Leader wasn't good, but since the other party was being humble, it would be beneath him to give him a cold shoulder or a disdainful look.

He walked to a corner, poured a cup of tea, handed it to the Longevity Cult Leader, and said, "You're lucky, the tea was just brewed and is still warm. Have some."

“How can it be considered half-hearted when the master personally pours the tea?”

The leader of the Longevity Cult took a sip of tea and then adopted a conversational posture, saying, "Master Zhou, my descent to the mortal realm this time is also on the orders of the Palace Master, to discuss Ning Bukong's matter with you."

"Ning Bukong? The alchemist I killed?" Zhou Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"That's him."

The Longevity Cult Leader said, "As for Ning Bukong, he is insignificant on his own, but he is a member of the Zoroastrian Cult and can be considered one of the Zoroastrian nuns' confidants."

Ning Bukong was hardly a confidant of the Zoroastrian. The Eternal Life Sect Leader's words were merely to give Ning Bukong a more prestigious status, so that Zhou Xuan would naturally write a letter of apology.

He thought to himself, "Although you, Master Zhou, hold a high position, it wouldn't be too difficult for you to write an apology letter to the Zoroastrian confidante after killing her."

But Zhou Xuan ignored the suggestion of a trusted confidant and instead continued the conversation, asking, "And then?"

"Then, the Palace Master's idea is to write an apology letter, and that will settle the matter."

"Is it just writing an apology letter?"

"correct."

"Isn't there any other compensation?"

"No."

"Then ask the Palace Master again. After causing such a big incident, all she did was write me an apology letter and that was it. There was no compensation whatsoever. Look how pleased she is with herself," Zhou Xuan said indignantly.

"..." The Lord of Immortality.

The leader of the Longevity Cult was stunned for a long time before he realized what was happening. He then said earnestly, "My Master Zhou, it was you who wrote the apology letter to the Zoroastrian woman, not the other way around."

"Me write it?" Zhou Xuan poked his nose.

"Otherwise what?" The Longevity Cult Leader shrugged, realizing that Zhou Xuan's thought process was rather abnormal.

Zhou Xuan slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang," stood up, and began to berate the leader of the Longevity Sect.

"You in the Heavenly Realm truly cannot distinguish right from wrong, and officials protect each other. I'm going to file a complaint against you; I'm going to the Jade Capital to file a complaint against you!"
I'm accusing you of ostracizing newcomers, of sabotaging my alchemy career, and of making things difficult for me.

"What are you talking about?" The leader of the Longevity Cult was also a little flustered when he saw Zhou Xuan slam his fist on the table and stand up. He tried to comfort him.

Zhou Xuan snorted coldly and said, "Do you know what kind of awful things Ning Bukong has done?"

"We don't know that, but we'd like to hear more details."

"Listen carefully," Zhou Xuan said.
"I refined that Origin Power Pill for 'Heaven and Earth,' which allowed 'Heaven and Earth' to send my friend Mu Hua back to the mortal realm. However, when Mu Hua returned to the mortal realm, Ning Bukong abducted Mu Hua's soul."

"If I hadn't arrived in time, Mu Hua would have been taken by Ning Bukong to be used for alchemy."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Hey, the Zoroastrians are something else. They dared to rob the people sent to me by 'Heaven and Earth.' I, the Jade Capital Divine Pill Master, don't seem to have much prestige. I might as well resign and stop refining pills altogether."

Zhou Xuan's words were laced with barbs, making the leader of the Longevity Cult's hair stand on end.

If Zhou Xuan's words are true, then Ning Bukong truly deserves to die.

That Mu Hua is no ordinary person—he was someone Zhou Xuan saved using the first batch of pills. This time, Zhou Xuan used pills to ask "Heaven and Earth" to save people, and both the Heavenly Vault and the White Jade Capital agreed to it.

Ning Bukong detained Mu Hua, which offended Zhou Xuan, Tian Qiong, and Bai Yujing.

Such outrageous behavior, should he be executed instead of kept alive for the New Year?
“Cult Leader of the Longevity Sect, you are just a messenger, so I won’t make things difficult for you. Go back to your Heavenly Vault. I’m going to use this plaque to file a complaint with the Jade Capital and see if you still have any sense of reason.”

Zhou Xuan gripped the white jade identity plaque in his hand, speaking with conviction.

The leader of the Longevity Cult was truly frightened and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Master Zhou, Master Zhou, we, Tianqiong and the Longevity Palace, were also kept in the dark. Now that the truth has come out, just watch! Those Zoroastrians and Zoroastrians will not be spared unless they are cut in two pieces."

"The apology letter?"

"Of course there's no need to write it down. This whole mess was caused by Ning Bukong. I can't say what the Palace Master thinks, but my stance is that Ning Bukong deserves to die!"

Zhou Xuan's expression softened somewhat, and he said, "If this is your attitude, then things will be easier to resolve."

He said, "Well, Master, let me make this clear first. I want Ning Bukong's alchemy fire pit. The alchemists and fire towers inside will all belong to me, Zhou Xuan. Consider it an apology from Ning Bukong and the Zoroastrian Fire Sect."

He finally revealed his true colors, leaving Yun Ziliang, who was standing to the side, dumbfounded.

He never expected that Zhou Xuan would not only steal someone else's fire pit, but also do so in such a respectable way, forcing the "official" to nod in agreement.

“A real bandit, a genuine bandit.”

Yun Ziliang called out inwardly.

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's "compensation," the leader of the Longevity Cult immediately said, "Master Zhou, this fire pit should belong to you, but Ning Bukong has already committed treason. How can we let this go so easily over such a small fire pit?"

"Wait for me to report to the Heavenly Palace, and for the Palace Master of Qingyang to know the secret of this matter. If the Zoroastrian sect doesn't give you some flesh, I'll write the word 'immortality' backwards."

"..." Yun Ziliang was speechless—so Xuanzi stole someone's things, and the person had to give him something in return? Xuanzi is quite a capable person.

"Then I'll wait for the sect leader to go to the heavens and seek justice for me?"

"We must seek justice." The leader of the Eternal Life Cult thumped his chest loudly.

Thus, the dispute over Ning Bukong's death at the hands of Zhou Xuan came to an end, but the Longevity Cult Leader had not yet left.

He was also waiting for the outcome of another matter—that is, he wanted to see what Zhou Xuan's attitude was towards the "elixir mission" sent down from the heavens.

Li Changxun handed Zhou Xuan a booklet and said, "Master, the Heavenly Azure Sheep Palace Master has already said that Bai Yujing will come up with a way to prevent you from being killed by a Heavenly God in the next two or three days. As for this booklet, it is the alchemy task that Heavenly Azure has assigned to you."

"Really? Let me see."

Zhou Xuan opened the booklet, saw the "Alchemy Task" section, and said nothing. He simply closed the booklet and tossed it back to Li Changxun.

The leader of the Longevity Cult quickly asked, "Master Zhou, what are your thoughts on this alchemy mission?"

"No idea."

Zhou Xuan said to the Longevity Cult Leader, "Perfect timing. My elixir is about to be fired up today. If you have nothing else to do, please stay in the East Market. Once the furnace is opened, I'll show you my results. How about that?"

"Master Zhou is so decisive and efficient?" The Longevity Cult Leader was somewhat surprised.

"That's for sure," Zhou Xuan replied firmly, "I didn't buy this position as a pill refiner. Once you become a pill refiner, you must refine pills."
I not only want to refine elixirs, but I also want to refine the best elixirs. In the business world, there's an old saying: "When people call out to each other, they remain silent even after a thousand calls; but when goods call out to people, they nod and come running."

"Once I open the furnace, you'll know that the pills I, Zhou Xuan, produce are absolutely top-tier."

"it is good!"

After hearing Zhou Xuan's words, the Longevity Cult Leader was even more impressed and thought to himself, "This capable person speaks so frankly and has real substance. Compared to those empty-headed good-for-nothings, he is worlds apart in terms of confidence!"
“Then I, the leader of the Longevity Cult, will stay in the East Market Street for a few days and quietly await Master Zhou’s elixir.”

"Easy to say, easy to say."

After Zhou Xuan had settled all the "official business," he finally sat down. Now he wanted to talk about his personal matters.

There were actually two reasons why he wanted to keep the leader of the Longevity Cult.

First: Zhou Xuan was extremely confident in this batch of pills. He wanted to get the Longevity Sect Master to take this batch of pills to the heavens as soon as possible to prove their value.

The greater his value, the more unscrupulous he can be in his actions.

The better he refined his elixirs, the more he could suppress the Zoroastrian sect.

The second reason is that Zhou Xuan also wanted to find out something from the leader of the Longevity Cult.

An ancient deity who has long resided in the heavens must know a great deal about the heavens and the Heavenly Fire Clan. It would be best to extract some of the secrets of the heavens from him.

Now that the leader of the Longevity Cult has gladly accepted Zhou Xuan's invitation, Zhou Xuan is about to ask him about the first secret.

Zhou Xuan then took the white cricket out of the secret realm and handed it to the Longevity Cult Leader, saying, "Cult Leader, do you know the origin of this autumn insect?"

"Hiss—I wonder where Master Zhou got this insect?"

The leader of the Longevity Cult pondered for a moment.

"Naturally, it comes from Ning Bukong," Zhou Xuan said frankly, without hiding anything from Qiu Chong.
“Since Ning Bukong offended me, I thought I would break his incense offerings to torment him. But instead of breaking the incense offerings, I caught an autumn insect.”

“Oh… Master Zhou… this insect…” The Longevity Cult Leader certainly knew where the autumn insect came from, but he didn’t want to explain it to Zhou Xuan. So he wanted to find an excuse to make up a story for the white cricket and deceive Zhou Xuan.

But Zhou Xuan's eyes were sharp; judging from the expression on the Longevity Cult Leader's face, he knew that this ancient deity had no intention of telling the truth.

Zhou Xuan remained calm, for he had a plan to deal with the Longevity Cult Leader.

Zhou Xuan reached out and placed his hand on the right forearm of the Longevity Cult Leader, saying in a cryptic tone, "Cult Leader, do you know why I kept you in East Market Street?"

"Just so I can see your newly refined golden elixir."

"Opening one's eyes is secondary," Zhou Xuan said. "If I refine a hundred pills from this batch, and then take five out to give to the sect leader, will Heaven know?"

"If I refine two hundred of them, and I give you ten, who would know?"

Zhou Xuan had already arranged the percentage of the "kickback" for the Longevity Cult Leader—five percent.

Upon hearing this, the Longevity Cult Leader immediately understood, but he still pointed to his temple and refused, saying, "Master Zhou, I don't like taking pills; they might damage this area."

Then, he whispered, "In the heavens, many people have had their spirits destroyed by elixirs; there are plenty of examples of this."

Zhou Xuan sneered, "Master of the Longevity Cult, we've already talked this far, there's no point in pretending to be confused."

"If you don't take the pills, plenty of others will. If others do take them, then the pills have value. If you take my pills, you can exchange them for quite a few benefits in heaven, right..."

"In the heavens, elixirs are the hard currency."

Zhou Xuan then rose and said, "If you don't like my pills, then you can go back to the Heavenly Vault to report. I, Zhou Xuan, will not force you to stay."

His "feigned indifference" tactic piqued the interest of the Changsheng Sect leader, who repeatedly said, "Master Zhou, I was just teasing you. The elixir you promised me is naturally of great value, so I, Changsheng, will not be polite... am I greedy for money?"

"That's right."

Zhou Xuan then sat down, crossed his legs, drank his tea, and pointed to the cricket in the hand of the Longevity Cult Leader.

The leader of the Longevity Cult understood, as he was also "he who was obliged by others' hospitality," and immediately began to introduce the white autumn insect.

“Sir, to tell you the truth, this autumn insect is a stick of incense.”

Zhou Xuan nodded secretly. It seemed the Longevity Cult Leader was going to cooperate. He asked knowingly, "How can a live insect become someone's offering?"

"Oh dear, the people in the sky and the people in the secret realm both have an insect living in them, but the species are not quite the same."

The Immortal Cult Leader laughed and said, "Some people are centipedes in the secret realm, some are maggots, and some are earthworms coiled up in the secret realm. The variations are endless."

"Why are the people in the heavens and the incense offerings in the secret realm so strange?"

"I am not aware of the extraneous matters. I only know that a disciple of the mortal realm is like a stick of incense in the secret realm, while a person of the heavens is like an insect in the secret realm."

The leader of the Longevity Cult avoided eye contact.
Zhou Xuan continued, "Then what's the difference between this autumn insect and the incense offerings of the human world?"

"Don't underestimate this little autumn insect; it can control a vast number of fragrant souls and fireflies in the human world."

The leader of the Longevity Cult stroked the white cricket's shell while emitting a strange whistling sound.

As he touched and called out to it, the white cricket seemed to receive some kind of command. It raised its wings and pressed them together, its muscles vibrating constantly, causing the membranes on its wings to rub together forcefully, producing a "chirp chirp" sound.

The sound was extremely piercing, and throughout the entire Jingyi Shop, red and blue, thread-like insects kept appearing and moving around in the air.

These countless insects initially swam erratically, but as their chirping grew louder, they all swam towards the outside of the shop.

Zhou Xuan immediately felt as if he had "lost his lineage." He secretly tried to connect with his folding fan, but found that he could not.

At this moment, he seemed to have gone to the Ancient Hall of Returning Souls, and could no longer use his supernatural powers.

The leader of the Longevity Cult pointed to the departing red and blue insects and said, "Those are fire spirits and fragrant souls. They revealed their forms amidst the chirping of these autumn insects."

The chirping of these autumn insects can even control the movement of fire spirits and fragrant souls.

Zhou Xuan then understood—so this was the secret behind the Heavenly Fire Clan's ability to strip people of their incense offerings and cultivation.

The insects in their secret realm can actually control a massive amount of "incense" in the world.

Zhou Xuan then asked the Longevity Cult Leader, "Is Ning Bukong also a member of the Heavenly Fire Clan?"

"That's not it."

"Then why are there white autumn insects in his secret realm?"

"Oh... it's because he has made some contributions to alchemy over the years, so the Heavenly Firmament has cut off his original incense offerings and replaced them with autumn insects."

"The Lord of Immortality said."

Zhou Xuan immediately replied, "So, this is a reward from the heavens?"

The leader of the Longevity Cult smiled: "This can be considered a reward, but... hehe..."

He said no more, but continued to stroke the white cricket's shell with his right hand, showing no intention of saying anything more...

(End of this chapter)