Chapter 18 Mu Family 

Xi'An City, Black Sea Commerce, in a pill refining room, sat two figures.

"How confident are you in refining the Cleansing Water Pills?" asked an old man in black robes.

"Don't worry," replied the middle-aged man. "I'm a level 2 high-grade pill refiner. There's no way my ability is lower than that boy from Azure Cloud Pavilion. After studying it for three months, I'm confident I can refine it to cleanse 70% of impurities. But the quantity..." He lowered his voice, signaling his concern.

An old man in black robes, Hei Ming, looked deeply at the middle-aged man.

"You don't need to be worried about the benefits. I'll give you 60% of the shares for each pill you refine," Hei Ming spoke calmly, though inwardly he cursed the middle-aged man's greed.

The middle-aged man, Gu Yao, known as the youngest level 2 high-grade pill refiner in Xi'An, nodded and said confidently, "That's good. Then I'll devote all my time to refining the Cleansing Water Pills."

"Very good. Many cultivators have flooded into Xi'An, and this is our opportunity to make huge profits. The price will be higher once we've dealt with those smaller distributors," Hei Ming said, feeling much better after hearing Gu Yao's assurance.

Gu Yao was a genius in pill refining. Coming from an average sect, his name wasn't well known when he was a mid-grade pill refiner. However, through great effort, he made his name ten years ago by becoming the youngest level 2 high-grade refiner at the age of 40. After this achievement, he was invited to join Black Sea Commerce and now holds the position of an elder.

Gu Yao was known in the Black Sea Commerce for his stinginess and greed. He would only work when there were significant benefits involved. In the case of the Cleansing Water Pills, while the potential rewards were huge, the challenges were equally high. Many elders were unwilling to take on the task, so they agreed to let Gu Yao handle it.

Gu Yao might have been stingy and greedy, but his talent was undeniable. Everyone accepted his abilities. When he decided to refine any pills, failure was a rare occurrence.

"Then, I'll start my refining now. I won't send you off," Gu Yao spoke, making it clear he didn't want to waste any more time.

Seeing his enthusiasm, Hei Ming felt better about giving up a share of the pills. He left with a satisfied mood.

…

The Mu Family held vast territory in the southern part of Xi'An City. As one of the great families, they were the overlord in this area, commanding hundreds of cultivation families beneath them.

The Mu Family traces its origins back to Mu Xuanyin, a great pill refiner and the great ancestral figure of the Mu Family. She was a genius in her era, possessing talent surpassing that of the geniuses from other great families of her time. Her beauty also exceeded that of her peers, attracting pursuit from many young geniuses across various backgrounds. However, she rejected all suitors, claiming she was already in love with someone whose name began with "Yun" and who had left Xi'An. Despite her declarations, many persisted in pursuing her, unwilling to believe her words.

At that time, the Mu Family was merely a mid-grade family and unable to protect Mu Xuanyin from numerous threats. Forced to flee Xi'An, she returned a century later as a Core Formation Cultivator and a level 3 pill refiner. Her return allowed her to dominate many factions in Xi'An. Over the next 300 years, through her efforts, the Mu Family ascended to become a great family. She remained with the Mu Family for another 200 years to consolidate their position before eventually leaving Xi'An after that.

From then on, pill refining became one of the foundations of the Mu Family. Occasionally, pill refining geniuses would emerge within the Mu Family. Although they couldn't rival the Azure Cloud Pavilion and the Black Sea Commerce, the Mu Family managed to keep pace and not fall too far behind them.

Inside the meeting room of the Mu Family, many figures were present—elders from both the main family and the branch families.

"Recently, the Black Sea Commerce has started targeting the Azure Cloud Pavilion in pill competition. What are your thoughts?" Mu Xingyao, the patriarch of the Mu Family, swept his gaze across the elders in the meeting room.

The meeting room was quiet, with none of them speaking yet as they pondered the situation.

It was only after a while that a middle-aged man spoke up, saying, "The Azure Cloud Pavilion and the Black Sea Commerce are the largest pill industries in Xi'An. Their foundations and strengths are nearly equal, and they have been vying for the top position for centuries without either gaining the upper hand. This situation has been beneficial for all of us. However, recently, the Azure Cloud Pavilion has produced a talented pill refiner who can successfully and consistently refine the Cleansing Water Pill in large quantities. This has improved the Azure Cloud Pavilion's position and worsened the situation for the Black Sea Commerce."

"Although the Cleansing Water Pill is just a mid-grade pill, we must not overlook the fact that most cultivators are at this level, and its effects are highly beneficial for them. Moreover, it sells every day, attracting customers away from the Black Sea Commerce, including some of our own Mu Family members. Naturally, the Black Sea Commerce is unwilling to tolerate this situation. This has led to the current standoff where the Black Sea Commerce is attempting to seize control of the Cleansing Water Pill market area. While they may not succeed outright, the Azure Cloud Pavilion cannot monopolize this benefit either."

Many elders nodded and agreed with the middle-aged man, but some experienced elders remained deep in thought. Drawing from their extensive experience, they sensed that something about the situation was not quite normal.

Mu Xingyao sat in his seat without saying anything, allowing others to voice their thoughts first.

"Although I see no flaw in Yuanming's conclusion, I still believe that the Black Sea Commerce shouldn't be too careless in directly competing with the Azure Cloud Pavilion over the Cleansing Water Pill. While they may currently benefit from the pill's popularity, I foresee limited long-term prospects for it. Moreover, Shanxi County is indeed facing shortages of Essence Dew and Aqua Crystal. The Black Sea Commerce could capitalize on this opportunity to sell large quantities of essence pills instead of solely focusing on the Cleansing Water Pill. I suspect they have hidden motives behind their actions!" Elder Mu Cao voiced his concerns.

Upon hearing his words, many elders fell into deep thought, finding his conclusion quite reasonable.

Suddenly, they all looked at Mu Xingyao simultaneously, as if seeking an answer from him.

Facing the gazes of all the elders, Mu Xingyao maintained his composure and smiled mysteriously. "The chaos time will arrive in 8 years," he declared.

"Chaos time!" exclaimed the elders in the meeting hall simultaneously. The news truly shocked them, leaving the meeting room in silence for a long moment.

It was then that Mu Xingyao broke the silence, saying, "The world will enter a time of chaos, but you shouldn't worry too much. Our Mu Family passed through the last chaos, and we will prevail through this one as well. Our focus should be on protecting our foundation and capitalizing on the opportunities that arise from this chaos."

Hearing his words, many elders calmed down considerably. They understood that as the patriarch of the family, Mu Xingyao had access to deeper insider information than they did, and his confident words brought them a sense of relief.

"So, it's like this. The actions of the Black Sea Commerce are reasonable now. On the surface, they are challenging the Azure Cloud Pavilion with the Cleansing Water Pill, but deep down, they are drawing out the essence pills from the Azure Cloud Pavilion. It seems that the foundation of the Black Sea Commerce couldn't be underestimated; they even receive information faster than the Azure Cloud Pavilion," Mu Cao concluded.

Many elders nodded repeatedly.

"So, you all should know what our goal is next," Mu Xingyao declared, sweeping his gaze across the elders in the meeting room.

Many of them nodded in understanding.

"The essence pill is crucial during the chaos time. While the Black Sea Commerce aims to draw out the essence pills from the Azure Cloud Pavilion and secretly procure the ingredients, our Mu Family should follow suit. We must also discreetly purchase the ingredients for the essence pills and recruit as many pill refiners as possible in preparation," Mu Yuanming declared, articulating what was on everyone's minds.

All the elders in the meeting room nodded in agreement, and the discussion proceeded with various topics and preparations.

…

Meanwhile, in the Azure Cloud Pavilion, after bidding farewell to Old Wang, Shangguan Yi returned to his room, completely unaware of the situation outside.

He had indeed chosen the Blazing Dust Pill to refine, but he didn't intend to start it for another month or two.

What he continued to prioritize most was cultivation. Upon reaching the 7th level, his progress slowed again due to increased density. Consequently, he now needed to consume 7 high-grade pills each time to support his cultivation.

A single high-grade essence pill was sufficient for a genius to complete two or more cultivation cycles. However, Shangguan Yi required 7 high-grade essence pills to finish just one cycle. It could be said that without refining pills himself, his cultivation wouldn't reach the 2nd level within 5 years.

Moreover, considering that a single high-grade pill costs 1,000 essence stones, one can imagine how reliant he is on these resources.

Shangguan Yi began considering the supreme-grade essence pill. At this point, his essence was dense enough to produce such a pill.

Shangguan Yi didn't hesitate; he immediately began checking the ingredients and conditions required to refine the supreme-grade essence pill.

"The Essence Leaf, Essence Orb, Essence Sand, Level 2 Beast Heart, Blue Vine, Red Cloud, Black Water, Black Wood, Purple Crystal, thousand-year-old ginger, and another 100 kinds of supplementary ingredients."

The system also required 50% essence each time.

Shangguan Yi looked at the ingredients and felt weary; they were difficult to obtain, especially the thousand-year-old ginger. It's no wonder there are very few supreme-grade essence pills.

Fortunately, he also noticed that he could use the high-grade essence pills to replace some of the ingredients.

——

Cultivation Realm: 

-Body Refining Realm (mortals / practitioners)

-Foundation Establishment Realm ( genuine Cultivators)

-Core Formation Realm 

Technique/Pill/Artifact/Array/Beast/Herb/Talisman Level

-Warrior (level 1)

-Elite (level 2)

-Master (level 3)

Each level divided to 4 grades: low, mid, high and supreme.