I've already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and you're saying I didn't time travel?

Chapter 149 As expected of a second-rank!
Pfizer: Youchanling Liquid has passed safety verification.

Roche: The final trial of the Cicada Elixir is now open for testing.

Novo Nordisk: The application for the "Phantom Cicada Elixir" has been submitted and is being expedited for approval.

AstraZeneca: Yuchanling Liquid will be available within the next week.
Ji's Pharmaceutical: Youchan Ling Liquid is recruiting distributors, with a pre-sale price of 220,000 yuan per bottle.

……

As pharmaceutical companies around the world released updates on their research and development of Youchanling Liquid, the stock market reacted immediately, with related stocks surging, and people around the world becoming excited.

"Haha, there's a miracle cure! I don't have to worry about osteoporosis anymore!"

"As expected, it's all thanks to modern technology; they developed the antidote so quickly!"

"Qi Shen is still desperately searching for a cure, but little did he know that our antidote is about to be available on a large scale!"

"While I appreciate the speed of research and development by major pharmaceutical companies, this is just too fast! It's only been a few days?!"

"As an insider, I can tell you that the Youchanling Liquid that is about to be launched by major pharmaceutical companies is actually just using the name of Youchanling Liquid. It is just an extract of cicada venom and not a real new drug."

The differences between various brands of Youchanling Liquid lie in the degree to which they filter impurities from cicada venom, resulting in varying side effects for ordinary people. Therefore, there's no need to get overly excited; caution should be exercised when purchasing any new medication after it's launched on the market.

"I knew it! How could they develop it so quickly? Turns out it's all just extracts! And they dare to market it under the name of Youchan Spirit Liquid?"

"To be honest, there's nothing wrong with using the name of Youchan Spirit Liquid. The active ingredient of Youchan Spirit Liquid is cicada sap, but it has been enhanced with the addition of spiritual plant elixir and further refined and strengthened using the Nine Aperture Spirit True Plate."

But now that the Nine Aperture Spirit True Plate has collapsed, and various spiritual plants are extremely scarce, theoretically, apart from the box in Qi Shen's possession, it is impossible to produce the same Nether Cicada Spirit Liquid in the world.

"I don't care what it's called, I only care if it works."

"It's hard to judge whether it's effective or not. After all, there hasn't been an outbreak of osteophyte disease yet, and everyone is in a prevention phase. It would be great if we could turn Youchanling Liquid into a vaccine someday."

"Research and development of vaccines is indeed progressing, but it certainly won't be available on the market as quickly as the extract. It's necessary to eliminate impurities as much as possible and reduce various side effects in the human body."

After all, cicada venom is a drug that can cause huge negative effects even for those born with it; making it acceptable for ordinary people to receive injections is clearly not an easy task.

"Two hundred and twenty thousand yuan per dose. Other pharmaceutical companies will probably price it similarly after they launch their products. Don't you think this price is too high?"

"It's normal for prices to be high. The first batch of drugs to hit the market are definitely not cheap, after all, the cicada sap used as a raw material is very expensive and the quantity is extremely limited."

When the main components of cicada venom can be produced industrially on a large scale, the price of the extract will definitely drop significantly. Perhaps, with fierce competition, it could even be sold for just a few dollars a bottle.

"A few dollars a bottle is almost inevitable, and it might even be a few cents. After all, all of humanity is a potential patient who needs the medication. In addition, given the terrifying symptoms of osteoporosis, everyone will try to stock up on some. Under these circumstances, the price will inevitably drop to a level that most people can afford."

"Wait a little longer! Those who wait will never lose out!"

“Rich people definitely don’t care about that much. Let alone 220,000 per bottle, even if it’s 2.2 million per bottle, they might just buy it on a whim.”

"Thanks to the wealthy first for providing research and development funds to major pharmaceutical companies, so that we, the less fortunate, can also taste the antidote."

"Let's not talk about that now. Let's hurry up and buy stocks of major pharmaceutical companies. As more drugs are launched, the stock prices will continue to rise. Maybe we can even buy the drugs with the dividends alone."

"But all the major pharmaceutical companies are located overseas, so how can we buy their stocks?"

"There are domestic ones too. Isn't the Ji family a domestic one? Although the pharmaceutical company isn't listed, it's a branch of a family business. You can just buy their stock."

"The stock market is risky, so please be cautious when speculating."

"No words needed, I'm charging in! If I win, I'll get a glamorous model at a club; if I lose, I'll have to work in the sex industry!"

……

Ji family villa.

Seeing the soaring stock price, Ji Yun Shen felt a surge of smug satisfaction:
"See? The stock market is the fastest way to make money. With just this surge, the billions invested in the early stages can be easily recovered. After the drug is launched, the stock price will rise again, and selling the drug will generate another wave of profits. The profits from this alone could easily create a second or third Ji family!"

Ji Yuwei, however, was not optimistic about this, and her face instead showed a coldness:
"I've read the drug's research and development report. You haven't actually produced the Youchan Ling Liquid; it's not even a crude extract. Some of the side effects haven't been resolved at all. Long-term use will only harm the body, which is wrong!"

"What a joke! What medicine doesn't have side effects when taken long-term? They all have some, more or less."

Ji Yun Shen scoffed at this:
"As the saying goes, it's all nonsense to talk about dosage. As long as we reduce the effective ingredients and reduce the side effects to a level that the human body can accept, this drug will be fine."

Ultimately, osteoporosis has never existed, and may never exist. The drugs launched by major pharmaceutical companies serve more as a reassurance. Even if our drugs are effective and contain no active ingredients, a lot of people would still buy them.

Once the first batch of drugs hits the market and the funds are recovered, further research and development can be conducted to remove impurities and lower the price. This will create a positive cycle, allowing everyone to buy cheaper drugs. At that point, who will care about the impurities in the first batch of drugs?

Anyway, even if someone asks, we can just use excuses like insufficient equipment or undetected potential side effects to brush it off. At worst, we'll lose some money, but what's that compared to the huge profits from drugs?

Ji Yuwei remained silent.

She knew that this was how a considerable number of people made their fortune, and indeed, as Ji Yunshen said, a bad start could lead to a positive cycle. But the question was, what should be done with the first batch of drug buyers?
Drugs are related to the human body and involve human life, so they are inherently very sensitive. Other industries may make mistakes, but if a pharmaceutical company makes a mistake, many of the consequences can accompany the patient for life.

Besides, even if you don't care about the patient's life or humanitarianism, will people be fooled a second time after being scammed once? It's not a good thing for the long-term operation of a business.

Ji Yun Shen wasn't unaware of these things, but he was blinded by the prospect of huge profits and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

Seeing him excitedly preparing for the distributor conference, Ji Yuwei felt utterly powerless.

……

9:30 a.m., Sky Screen Live Broadcast Room.

On the cliff face, strong winds howled, causing clothes to flutter wildly.

Upon seeing this scene, many netizens were completely stunned:

"Holy crap, where did they all go?"

"Wasn't he still in the forest after the live stream ended yesterday? With such a vast sky, where did Qi Shen go?"

"Judging from the surrounding rocks, it should be on a mountain."

"I understand! Qi Shen is preparing to go down the mountain to investigate!"

"Well done! Keep it up, Qi Shen! We're all looking forward to dealing with the Zhang family!"

……

Qi Xuan turned the camera around, pointing it at the buildings that were somewhat distant below, and said calmly:

"As you can see, there are almost no obstacles along the way when going up the mountain to Zhang's house, so it is easy to be discovered by the other side."

"So I decided to change my approach and take a detour to the other side to reach the summit."

"To be honest, this method is barely reliable, but it's not particularly amazing, because the Zhang family probably guessed that someone would launch an attack from the mountain, so they set up several traps on the mountain road."

Luckily, I'm quick-witted and have many tricks up my sleeve, so I didn't fall for their trap.

But this incident made me even more wary of the Zhang family. Although this family acts aggressively, they are not without reason, and we cannot treat them as complete brutes.

"Now that I've come all this way, I must find out about their family situation so that my long climb won't have been in vain."

Qi Xuan stretched his body and then said to the live stream:

"Then let's begin, let's see what the Zhang family is really like."

As he spoke, he suddenly opened his arms, revealing two large pieces of tough animal hide sewn between his arms and waist. When he opened them, he looked like a giant flying squirrel.

Amidst gasps of surprise from countless netizens, he suddenly leaped from a rock and, like a flying squirrel, swiftly rushed towards the buildings below.

If possible, Qi Xuan would not want to be an aerial acrobat, but he had no choice. The Zhang family's architectural complex was so well-constructed that he could not see inside even from the mountain, forcing him to take the aerial passage.

Anyway, they just took a look from the sky, and the Zhang family probably never thought that someone would pass by in the sky.

As they flew through the air, their speed increased, and a strong wind rushed in. If an ordinary person did not wear goggles, they would definitely be unable to open their eyes. Even a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator might be affected. However, Qi Xuan, as a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator, naturally ignored this effect and looked directly into the building complex.

Before they could even get a clear look at the buildings inside, they spotted four enormous ballistae mounted on the roof.

Qi Xuan was stunned when he saw the crossbow body engraved with spirit patterns. Such a large ballista, with such thick bolts, if it were fired immediately, it would surely leave a huge hole in his body on the spot.

For a moment, Qi Xuan even considered using the Minor Teleportation Talisman.

But finding that the ballista was unmanned and showed no signs of firing automatically, he barely regained his composure and continued flying forward, his vision gradually expanding into the interior of the complex.

Desolate houses, broken boulders, collapsed courtyard walls, overgrown inner courtyards... and corpses scattered everywhere.

With a "whoosh," Qi Xuan suddenly shot out two vines, which wrapped around a large rock in the courtyard. With the help of the rock, he quickly fell from the air.

Now that it's confirmed the Zhang family also suffered, there's no need to wander around anymore.

As they landed in the courtyard, a cloud of dust was instantly kicked up by their feet.

He patted himself down, took off the sewn animal hide, and began to search the courtyard.

Beside the broken artificial hill, lay two skeletonized corpses.

Qi Xuan briefly examined the corpse. All the bones on its body were intact, without any abnormalities or bone spurs. It looked just like Zhang Xinglan.

The problem is that Zhang Xinglan is in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and is a top-tier combatant in his family. It's understandable that he suppressed his illness symptoms after taking the Condensation Dew.

But the two corpses in front of us were at most at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining when they were alive.

With such a low cultivation level, how could someone be able to use the Condensed Dew to suppress their illness? Did the Zhang family obtain so much Condensed Dew that even the lowest-ranking members of the clan could get some?

Or did the Yuchi family later improve the preparation method, enabling them to produce the condensed dew on a large scale?
If that's the case, why did the Zhang family perish, ending up like other families?

Judging from the bodies of these two people, they clearly did not die of natural causes, but were killed by others.

Who was the perpetrator?

Qi Xuan was filled with doubts, and netizens outside were also discussing it extensively:

"I never imagined the Zhang family would be wiped out too."

"What a pity, I wanted to see what the eldest daughter of the Zhang family looks like."

"It's good that they're wiped out. Given the Zhang family's style of doing things, they're not suitable as targets for contact. Who knows if Qi Shen would be arrested and used for research if he ran into them?"

"It seems that even the Dew of Condensation can't cure the [Bone Disease], so the fate of the Yuchi family is hard to predict."

"It's hard to say. Perhaps it was because the Condensing Dew was so effective, coupled with the Zhang family's past actions that provoked public outrage, that so many families rose up to attack them."

"Honestly, just by looking at how well their building is preserved, you can tell that the enemy couldn't have come from outside; there must have been internal strife!"

"So the question is, what is the cause of the internal strife? They can't just be killing each other without any reason."

"Let's wait and see what God does next; we should be able to find out the truth soon."

……

While chatting, Qi Xuan had already left the small courtyard and entered another very spacious area.

This must be the Zhang family's training ground. There are many weapon racks set up around it, with rusty weapons hanging high in them, as well as many stone locks and fine iron puppets for training.

The ground in the arena was paved with large, refined stone slabs, covered with many protective runes. However, many of these runes had been torn apart, and many stone slabs had shattered, demonstrating the power of the attack.

The ground was littered with corpses, many of which were just broken pieces.

Looking at the remains of the corpses, Qi Xuan couldn't help but frown slightly.

The bodies here are severely damaged; a normal battle wouldn't have caused such extensive and irregular destruction.

If the missing body was collected by the Zhang family, it's impossible that the remaining remains would still be here.

Qi Xuan squatted down in front of a skeleton and examined it carefully. He quickly noticed that the broken marks on the half-skull looked as if it had been bitten by some ferocious beast.

In an instant, he remembered the terrifying lizard monster he had encountered in the forest earlier.

The teeth marks and the wounds left on the skeleton were extremely similar, and the claw marks left on the nearby ground also matched perfectly.

Without a doubt, all the people in the training ground were killed by the lizard monster.

Even if some of the dead on the field were at the Foundation Establishment stage, they should theoretically be able to withstand the lizard monster's attack.

Unfortunately, there wasn't just one lizard monster here. The numerous attacks on the ground also indicated that several of the lizard monsters from that group had reached the Foundation Establishment level.

It's unclear whether he was already at the Foundation Establishment level or if his strength suddenly surged to the Foundation Establishment realm, as he had in the previous battle.

Considering the beast-taming ring found inside the lizard monster, it's possible that the lizard monster's owner was also involved in the battle nearby. The complete annihilation of a group of Zhang family members is entirely acceptable.

The problem is, there were no signs of attack on the Zhang family's perimeter, and none of their defensive weapons had been used. How did these lizard monsters and their controllers manage to break into the Zhang family's compound? Was it like when the Zhao family was destroyed, with an inside agent opening the door for them? Or was it that the Zhao family invited other families to discuss some business, but someone took advantage of the situation to sneak in?

Qi Xuan looked in the direction where the traces of battle were spreading, and walked towards the courtyard on the left side of the training ground.

Before long he arrived at the large courtyard on the left. This courtyard had many side rooms, and it looked like a lot of people lived there.

At this moment, all the rooms were in complete chaos. Many doors and windows were broken, wooden walls and pillars were destroyed, corpses and remains were scattered everywhere, and broken weapons were everywhere. The scene was like a civilian house after a massacre by soldiers. It was hard to imagine that this was the residence of cultivators.

As Qi Xuan was deeply shaken, he faintly heard a creaking sound.

From a dilapidated house at the far end, a misty figure shrouded in fog suddenly stepped out.

Qi Xuan: "Damn it!"

Many netizens exclaimed: "Damn!"

Almost the instant they saw each other, the misty figure rushed over excitedly.

The good news is that this guy doesn't even have two arms, let alone four; it was obviously cut off or bitten off during the fight.

The bad news is that this guy's strength level is still at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He has almost no chance against anyone who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Faced with the fierce, charging armless man, Qi Xuan used the Binding Immortal Talisman without hesitation.

A platinum rope, about the thickness of a thumb, immediately shot out from his hand, following his will, and in an instant bound the charging armless man from head to toe.

The armless man, bound like a dumpling, fell to the ground on the spot. No matter how much he struggled, he could not break free of the ropes.

Seeing this, Qi Xuan couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

As expected of a second-grade item, its effects are truly powerful.

Although it can't completely immobilize a Foundation Establishment cultivator like the Immobilization Talisman, as a ranged weapon for locating enemies, he even felt that the Immortal Binding Talisman was more useful than the Immobilization Talisman.

However, like the Immortal Binding Talisman, the Immortal Binding Talisman also has a time limit.

Qi Xuan wasted no time and immediately stepped forward to handle the situation.

He pulled out the broken blade of his magic weapon and fiercely slashed at the neck, but still couldn't cut it.

Even if they switched to the magical silver shuttle, it still wouldn't be able to drill through.

Damn it! How can a Foundation Establishment cultivator's body be so tough?!
With time running out, Qi Xuan had no choice but to grab the armless man and suddenly rush to the highest roof of the Zhang family's house.

He used his spiritual vines to entangle the armless man, swung him around in the air, and finally used the acceleration to suddenly release his grip, throwing him far away into a deep ravine!
Watching him struggle through the air as he plummeted into the deep ravine, Qi Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was a monster with little rationality, and it couldn't fight its way back after falling into the deep ravine, so this threat was temporarily put away.

Qi Xuan was about to go downstairs when he caught sight of the things left on the tiles and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

This thing... seems to have fallen from a Foundation Establishment cultivator without arms, right?

(End of this chapter)