Orders were passed down, layer by layer, from the magnificent Palace City.
In Emperor Jing’s plan, the Blockade Plan included a five-day implementation period.
The Kingdom of Dasi would gradually initiate the blockade over these five days rather than completing it instantly.
This was intended to give the various Sects and chambers of commerce time to react, avoiding severe trauma to the Kingdom of Dasi’s economy.
Meanwhile, Danxiu from all over gathered to begin the intensive development of medicine — or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.
However, when Li Zhuanming and Yellow Coward met with the Danxiu, the conversations they overheard were as follows:
“My Minor Detoxification Pills sold out at twenty times the price, and my other Dan are basically out of stock. I’m rushing to refine the next batch right now.”
“Who isn’t? Hurry up and refine while there’s time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich. If we miss this chance, it won’t come again!”
“That damned Emperor. I make tens of thousands of Magic Crystals every minute. Who has time to help him develop some antidote? I need to refine Dan to make my fortune!”
“As for the Antidote, can’t we just leave that to those big shots? What does it have to do with us? What could we even do to help… Anyway, enough talking, let’s get back to refining!”
Li Zhuanming and Yellow Coward stared at the Danxiu before them in stunned silence. Hundreds of thousands of Danxiu had gathered from across the nation in response to Emperor Jing’s call, yet they weren’t wasting a single second.
At this moment, they were racing against time to refine all sorts of Dan.
“Sigh, my Clear Spirit Pills aren’t selling. It’s worrying me to death,” one Danxiu sighed.
“Isn’t that simple?” a Danxiu nearby laughed.
“Go hire someone to shout on the street that Clear Spirit Pills might have a preventative effect against the new Toxin… I guarantee that all your stock will sell out at hundreds of times the price within three minutes!”
“Uh, isn’t that lying?” The Danxiu felt a bit conflicted.
“I want to make money, but my conscience feels a little uneasy earning it like this.”
“How is it a lie? I said ‘might’! It ‘might’ have a preventative effect! I didn’t say it definitely does!” the nearby Danxiu laughed.
“Just say, ‘Medical testing is still underway, but preliminary findings suggest Clear Spirit Pills may have preventative capabilities, though clinical verification is still required.’ That’s enough. You didn’t lie, did you? Besides, your Clear Spirit Pills are health supplements. It won’t hurt them to eat them.”
“Oh, you’re right.” The Danxiu looked pleasantly surprised.
“Then wouldn’t I be making money while keeping my dignity?”
“Exactly!” The other Danxiu slapped his thigh.
“By then, even if people want to criticize you, they won’t have anything to say. It’s their own fault for being stupid and letting panic drive them to snatch up the medicine. You never once admitted your pills could prevent it… This money is easy to earn and foolproof!”
“Fantastic! I’ll have my family do it right away!”
Similar conversations filled the entire plain.
The light from the Alchemy Furnaces made the plain as scorching hot as a flaming mountain, with billows of thick smoke rising into the sky.
Not a single Danxiu had empty hands; they were all converting their materials into Dan at the fastest possible speed.
“Everyone, stop!”
Li Zhuanming and Yellow Coward shouted, but out of the hundreds of thousands of Danxiu, only a few hundred slowed their movements to look at them.
Most of the people merely glanced at the two of them.
Their faces showed not a shred of respect for their status as they said dismissively, “Stop shouting. We’re busy getting rich.”
Cultivators continually arrived on flying swords to pick up batches of Dan and transport them to the markets.
Li Zhuanming and Yellow Coward could imagine the scenes at the markets.
Regardless of whether the Dan were useful, the Cultivators were likely spending their life savings to buy them, hoping only for peace of mind.
Unlike the majority of the Danxiu who didn’t realize the severity of the situation and felt it had nothing to do with them, the two men understood deeply how terrifying this ordeal truly was.
But what made their hearts turn cold was the state of human nature.
“Go to hell! That’s enough!” Yellow Coward suddenly flew into a rage and roared.
“Anyone who dares to refine another Dan will face the execution of nine generations!”
“Execution of nine generations? Who do you think you are?”
“Who do I think I am?” Yellow Coward sneered. “Do it!”
With a wave of his hand, a large group of soldiers immediately charged toward that Danxiu. With the rise and fall of a blade, a head instantly flew into the sky.
The plain suddenly fell silent.
But it was only silent for a brief moment.
The death of a colleague did not extinguish the desire of the Danxiu to become wealthy overnight. Great wealth is found in great risk, and they believed this was their chance.
“If you won’t let us make money, why the hell did you call us here?”
“Why do you think I chose to be a Danxiu instead of a combat cultivator? For the money, of course!”
“I like money, so what! Anyone who blocks my path to wealth is killing my family! Get lost!”
Yellow Coward’s face turned ashen with rage, and he nearly fainted from the stress.
Without another word, he dialed a communication to report the situation to Emperor Jing.
[I will immediately have the markets stop the chaotic sale of Dan and punish the spreaders of rumors without mercy,] Emperor Jing replied.
As soon as Emperor Jing finished speaking, Yellow Coward heard a voice from the other end of the communication: [Eh? Then what about our Dan?]
Emperor Jing waved his hand.
[Tell the Royal Alchemists to continue refining with increased urgency. Only the medicine we refine is allowed on the market. Any major Sect that wants to sell medicine must apply for a permit from me… We will simply use this opportunity to clean up these annoying independent sellers. Of course, more importantly, we must make them focus on researching the antidote.]
“…” Yellow Coward was momentarily speechless.
However, once Emperor Jing’s orders were issued, they quickly took effect.
One by one, the Danxiu received communications informing them that their Dan could no longer be sold. For a time, wails of despair filled the area.
Fortunately, this also caused them to shift their attention.
However, though the problem seemed solved, the Danxiu merely stood there staring at each other.
“Even if you want us to help with the antidote research, we don’t know how! Who has ever done this kind of work? It’s been years since a new Toxin appeared in Shenzhou!”
The shout of one Danxiu caused Yellow Coward’s expression to turn bitter.
It was true. Researching antidotes was never the primary job of a Danxiu.
They had never learned how to deal with an entirely new type of toxin. All they could do was test medicines one by one, but because they understood the *what* but not the *why*, the efficiency of their testing was pitifully low.
However, the people who were truly skilled at this had been completely driven away by Emperor Jing.
“Let’s just start researching and see,” Yellow Coward said, forcing himself to speak.
“Uh…”
However, just as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred.
Alchemy God Li Zhuanming abruptly fell backward.
His skin instantly began to rot, oozing pus and blood, and a spray of blood shot from his mouth toward the sky.
It was over.
Of the three main pillars of the Danxiu world, another had fallen.
As the sole survivor, Yellow Coward felt the pressure on his back within his protective suit as if he were carrying a mountain.
‘Epidemic Poison.’
Those two words suddenly jumped into Yellow Coward’s mind.
The collapse of his two colleagues made him realize that while he had been taking this toxin seriously, it was still far from enough.
He knew he had already exhausted all his tricks; it was impossible for him to develop an antidote in a short amount of time.
His only hope was to exchange ideas with other Danxiu and find inspiration, but all the Danxiu of his level had fallen, leaving behind nothing but a pile of useless trash whose heads were filled only with money.
He couldn’t blame them, either.
After all, the people who chose the path of a Danxiu had always done so to make money. He was no different from them.
Those idealists who dreamt of Suspended Gourd, Universal Benevolence and held onto their ridiculous, moldy kindness had all become Medical Cultivators — and they were currently under house arrest within Taiming Mountain.
Perhaps if he were given a few more months, he could find a new antidote independently, but Shenzhou could not afford to wait.
Before the antidote appeared, the Cultivators of Shenzhou would be completely wiped out.
‘I must ask the Medical Cultivators for help!’
Yellow Coward suppressed the deep-seated disgust he had felt for Medical Cultivators for years and suddenly fixed his eyes on his goal.