I just want to be a middleman between the two worlds.

The mossy market town is rife with undercurrents.

The Sihai Chamber of Commerce retaliated faster and more ruthlessly than expected.

Within days, the pressure on Liuyun Sect's stall in the market was palpable. First, several long-term suppliers of medicinal herbs hesitated, citing insufficient stock or prioritizing their "regular customers," thus declining Liuyun Sect's orders. Then, rumors began circulating that Liuyun Sect's pills used "inferior ingredients" and that their "efficacy relied entirely on opportunism." Even worse, the market management tax officials suddenly became "diligent," checking Liuyun Sect's accounts and business licenses every few days. While they couldn't find any major errors, their actions severely disrupted normal operations.

"Senior Brother Lu, Junior Uncle Zhao, Manager Sun of 'Bai Cao Tang' said directly today that the manager above has given instructions that we can no longer sell 'Artemisia leaves' to them." Wang Lei returned from the market with a grim expression and reported, "Also, Old Man Li of 'Li's Pharmacy' secretly told me that the Sihai Chamber of Commerce has declared that anyone who dares to sell raw materials to us is going against them and can forget about doing business in the market in the future."

Uncle Zhao was so angry his beard trembled: "This is outrageous! They're trying to cut off our lineage!"

Su Muxi frowned slightly, and a layer of frost covered her cold face: "With the raw materials cut off, our 'standardized' alchemy has become like water without a source. The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is cutting off our lifeline."

Lu Yan stood by the window, gazing coldly at the misty market town below. In the end, business competition boils down to resources and distribution channels. The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, with its century-long accumulation, possesses an overwhelming advantage in this area. The situation that Liuyun Sect had just established through "standardization" could collapse instantly due to a shortage of raw materials.

"How long can our own medicinal herb garden sustain us?" Lu Yan asked in a deep voice.

"At most half a month," Su Muxi estimated. "Moreover, the product range is limited, and we can only barely maintain the production of 'Qi-restoring powder' and some 'hemostatic ointment,' and we can't do anything about other pills."

Half a month...time is tight.

"Wang Lei, does Scarface have any new information about 'Mr. Mo' and the source of the pills for the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce?" Lu Yan turned to Wang Lei.

"Yes!" Wang Lei's spirits lifted, and he lowered his voice, "Scarface spent a lot of money to get some information from a night soil collector within the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce. He said that 'Mr. Mo' rarely goes out, but every few days, a mysterious man in black visits late at night, bringing some sealed jade boxes containing what seems to be... semi-finished medicinal liquids or powders! 'Mr. Mo' seems to only be doing the final 'blending' or 'processing' within the Chamber of Commerce!"

Semi-finished product? Blending and processing?

A glint flashed in Lu Yan's eyes! This information was crucial! It explained why "Mr. Mo" could produce so many "new pills," and why the "Fragrance Condensing Pill" felt somewhat impure and mixed in its medicinal properties! It was highly likely that what the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce obtained was not a complete pill formula, but rather some "pill base liquid" of unknown origin, possibly even mass-produced through some forbidden means. "Mr. Mo" was merely using some method to perform the final processing and disguise!

If that's the case, then the foundation of these "new elixirs" from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is weak! There are huge hidden dangers!

"Also," Wang Lei added, "Scarface also said that there have indeed been some negative rumors circulating recently about the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's pills. Some people said that after taking their 'Power Pill,' their spiritual power became weak, and others said that after using the 'Heart-Clearing Powder,' they felt agitated. However, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce has suppressed these rumors."

The hidden dangers have already begun to emerge!

Lu Yan's mind raced. This was a crisis, but also an opportunity! A chance to completely destroy the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's pill business! But the prerequisite was obtaining conclusive evidence! Proving that their pills had serious problems, and finding the root cause of the problem!

"Wang Lei, tell Scarface to do whatever it takes to get some of the 'semi-finished products' that 'Mr. Mo's' camel's way out of there, or... the remnants of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's pills, especially the 'Fragrance Condensation Pill'!" Lu Yan ordered. "Also, have him keep an eye on the whereabouts of the man in black who delivered the 'semi-finished products' and try to find out his background."

"Yes!" Wang Lei accepted the order and left.

"Young Master Lu, you mean..." Su Muxi seemed to understand.

"Strike the snake at its vital point." Lu Yan's eyes sharpened. "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is cutting off our raw materials, so we'll expose their dirty secrets! As long as we get evidence proving that their pills are problematic, or even of dubious origin, all their current suppression will backfire!"

But all of this takes time, and time is exactly what the Flowing Cloud Sect lacks most. If a solution cannot be found within half a month, the Flowing Cloud Sect's pill business will come to a standstill.

Just then, a disciple rushed over to report: "Senior Brother Lu, Senior Sister Su, an old farmer has come to the outside of the mountain gate. He says he's here to deliver a 'thank-you gift' and specifically requests to see Senior Sister Su."

"An old farmer? A thank-you gift?" Everyone was taken aback. The Flowing Cloud Sect didn't have much interaction with ordinary mortals.

Su Muxi seemed to remember something and said, "Could it be the old man I treated a few days ago when I went down the mountain to buy supplies, the one who had been poisoned by snake venom?"

The group arrived at the mountain gate and saw a simply dressed, wrinkled old farmer carrying a bamboo basket covered with a blue cloth, waiting anxiously. Upon seeing Su Muxi, the old farmer immediately knelt down, repeatedly expressing his gratitude: "Thank you so much, Fairy, for saving my life the other day! I have no way to repay you, so here are some mountain produce I grew myself, and... and this strange thing I found in the mountains yesterday. It looks like a medicinal herb, but it's not quite. I thought it might be useful to you, so I brought it all along..."

Su Muxi quickly helped the old farmer up and comforted him gently. The old farmer handed her a bamboo basket containing fresh mushrooms and wild fruits, as well as a strangely shaped plant wrapped in cloth. The plant was dark purple, with thick leaves and a faint fishy smell.

Su Muxi had only glanced at it casually, but when her gaze fell on the purple plant, her beautiful eyes suddenly narrowed! She carefully picked up the plant, examined it closely, and even brought it close to smell it, her face showing an expression of disbelief!

"This is... 'Purple Houttuynia cordata'?!" Su Muxi exclaimed in a low voice.

"Purple houttuynia cordata? What is that?" Uncle Zhao asked in confusion, as he had never heard of this name before.

Su Muxi took a deep breath, suppressing her excitement, and explained, "This is an extremely rare poisonous herb, recorded in a tattered ancient alchemical text. The herb itself is slightly poisonous, but when mixed with the root juice of 'Dewdrop Grass' (the main ingredient in the Fragrance Condensation Pill), it produces a peculiar reaction, revealing traces of... exotic medicinal properties hidden or mixed in using special methods!"

She suddenly looked at Lu Yan: "Young Master Lu! If the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's 'Fragrance-Condensing Pill' really was formulated using 'semi-finished products' of unknown origin, perhaps we can use this 'Purple Spirit Grass' to detect traces of its impure medicinal properties!"

A glimmer of hope appears after a period of despair!

Lu Yan's heart pounded! This was truly a case of heaven never closing in on anyone! A seemingly insignificant act of kindness had actually brought forth the key to breaking the deadlock!

"Old man, this item is of utmost importance to us. We are extremely grateful!" Lu Yan solemnly thanked the old farmer and had his disciple bring some gold, silver, and low-grade healing pills as a generous gift in return. The old farmer left, profusely expressing his gratitude.

Holding the unexpectedly acquired "Purple Fish Grass," the Liuyun Sect's high-ranking members immediately returned to the laboratory next to the alchemy room.

Su Muxi carefully scraped off a little juice from the "Purple Houttuynia cordata" and took out a little "Fragrance Condensing Pill" powder (from the residue on the clothes of the cultivator who vomited blood that day) that Wang Lei had previously managed to obtain. She mixed the two in a jade dish, added water, and slowly injected a wisp of spiritual energy to catalyze the process.

Under the tense gazes of everyone, the mixed liquid in the jade dish remained unchanged at first, but after a moment, several extremely fine, almost invisible gray-black threads gradually appeared at the edge of the liquid! These threads twisted and coiled, emitting a cold and foul aura, completely incompatible with the pure medicinal power that the "Fragrance Condensation Pill" should possess!

"There's definitely something wrong!" Uncle Zhao gasped. "This is absolutely not the aura a righteous elixir should have! The medicinal power of this 'Fragrance Condensation Pill' is impure; it's mixed with something evil!"

unambiguous evidence!

Although we don’t yet know exactly what those gray-black threads are, it’s enough to prove that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce’s “Fragrance-Condensing Pill” has serious hidden dangers!

"With this evidence, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's elixirs are tainted!" Uncle Zhao exclaimed excitedly.

Lu Yan shook his head and calmly said, "This alone is not enough. The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce can easily deny it and say we framed them. We need more direct evidence, such as... exposing them on the spot!"

A bold plan quickly took shape in Lu Yan's mind.

He looked at Su Muxi and Uncle Zhao, his eyes gleaming with wisdom: "Isn't the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce trying to monopolize raw materials and suppress us? Then we'll give them a... 'quality inspection storm'!"

"Quality inspection controversy?" Su Muxi and Uncle Zhao asked in confusion.

"Exactly!" Lu Yan's lips curled into a cold smile. "Aren't they trying to attract attention with 'new pills'? Then we'll organize a public 'Pill Quality Appraisal Meeting,' inviting respected alchemists and cultivators to randomly select various pills from the market, including the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's 'new products,' and use some... 'special' methods to test their purity on the spot!"

"Then, we'll use this 'Purple Houttuynia cordata' reagent to expose the problems with their 'Fragrance-Condensing Pill' in public! We'll catch them completely off guard!"

Su Muxi and Uncle Zhao's eyes lit up! This plan was brilliant! It was open, fair, and impossible to deny! Once successful, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce would be utterly discredited and would never be able to recover!

"But this matter requires careful planning," Lu Yan said thoughtfully. "The selection of personnel, procedures, and security for the appraisal meeting all need to be carefully considered. In particular, we must prevent the Sihai Chamber of Commerce from resorting to desperate measures."

Just as the Flowing Cloud Sect was busily planning its counterattack, a faint, rhythmic warmth emanated from the jade pendant in Lu Yan's arms. This was an emergency communication signal set by Li Mo—there had been significant progress in the modern world, or… something had happened!

Lu Yan's heart tightened. The crisis in the Azure Profound Realm had not yet been resolved, and now the modern world was also in turmoil. Fighting on two fronts, there was no room for the slightest mistake.

He gave Su Muxi and Uncle Zhao a few instructions, then hurriedly returned to the quiet room.