The Phoenix Empire Took Notice

What should I do? I have a shit ton of money…

Hmm…I guess I can convert that into contribution points.

Thinking for a bit, I went to visit my grandfather. The old man already had a breakthrough to [Ninth of Spirit Profound]. Recently all he does is cultivates. This is expected since he wants to reach [Earth Profound] as quickly as possible.

It's the first realm where one starts to prolong his life.

Regardless, I was the only one who was allowed to disturb him.

"Long'er what is it?" My old man's hair was no longer as grey as it was before. Higher cultivation already is showing its colours.

"I assume no one told you that I have improved the version of both pills? Since you are cultivating."

"Oh? Have you improved them further?" 

"Yes. The improved vitality pill gives you a permanent boost to vitality. This means you can consume it even as [Spirit Profound]."

"... Fascinating Long'er! And the Sensitivity pill?" 

"It boosts the sensitivity it allows one to perceive Profound Energy types. This is the main reason I am here." 

"You have something in mind?"

"Yes. Our Xiao Clan is practising Wind arts. The mountain outside our grounds has high winds at its peak. I am thinking we should claim the mountain for ourselves and make it part of the Xiao Clan." 

"...This…is possible but the amount of money—"

I pulled out a purple card.

"I have been selling my pills to Black Moon Guild, they made me their Provider. You could say our clan already has the backing of the biggest merchant guild in the continent." 

*Loud Gulp* 

"T-Thats…"

I handed over the card to my grandfather. It had the money from my first sale, not the latest one. Though it still has a large mountain of purple coins, it should be enough. 

"Heavens…how much money is this!?"

"Is it enough to expand?"

"Of course it is!"

"Good, and here are the pills." I handed over a small smack of the pills. 

"I will be exploring the medical pavilion in the meantime, Grandfather." 

The old man nodded his head several times.

After I left his pavilion I walked myself to the medical pavilion and started to explore and see the plants growing there.

Xiao Gu, the Chief doctor of the clan excitedly explained all the herbs growing here.

My attention ended up on the wide-leaf grass, it used to accelerate the rate of wounds close up. 

This made me think of a pill that could potently rapidly close up wounds. I can see this working with catalyst grass and vitality one as well.

"How many of these do you have, Doctor Gu?" 

"Oh? These are quite common grass. They grow up in a lot of places. We have been cross-breeding them to improve the capacity of their effects." 

I nodded hearing that. It sounds like something I would do as well.

"Fantastic, this means I could take quite a bit of these?" I asked while I had a thoughtful look, mentally I was already thinking about the pill and the stages it will go through.

"Of course, Young Master! This is at least what I could do."

Hearing the all-clear, I proceeded to take a multitude of stacks of this wide-leaf grass.

I swiftly returned to my warehouse and proceeded to experiment.

I swiftly pulled out a single desert flower, some catalyst grass and vitality root.

First, I started with the desert flower and melted it into the essence and then proceeded to use some of the catalyst grass to improve the absorption ability of the flower. Instead of feeding the healing ability to the absorption ability I proceeded to melt the wide-leaf grass and bond it with another catalyst grass

Once I had the result I improved it further with the vitality root. After the fusion is done I started to feed this mix into the absorption essence. 

A frown appeared on my face as it was not enough so I repeated the procedure with wide-leaf grass, catalyst grass, and vitality root.

I needed to repeat this process for a few times before the absorption ability settled down. Once it did I proceeded to mould and refine it into a pill.

*Phew* 

"That was stressful," I said while taking a deep breath. This was the first time when creating one pill I used up to 20 grasses, 3 roots, and a flower.

*Ding* 

{[Basic Refinement] art has evolved into [Refinement] art}

I raised my eyebrow when I saw this. So I finally left the children's zone and went to the adult one.

With a mental command, I opened the Profound Arts window.

[Refinement]

[Refinement Art]

[An art of refinement that involves using fire to remove impurities from herbs, metals, crystals, minerals, and other things.]

As I was holding the greenish-orange pillow I activated the purifying fire and proceeded to purify the remnants of impurities from the pill. It took longer than usual as it was a pill made from a multitude of grasses, once it was done it was nearly crystalline in beauty.

"...Wow…now this is a piece of art!"

I was shocked at how beautiful it looked.

Still, I needed to test it out. So after looking at it for a while, I swallowed it.

At that moment my eyes bulged out as I felt heat spreading out from my stomach to all of my body and eventually to my limbs.

Feeling hot for a while, I was wondering what the hell is going on. 

It wasn't stopping at all so I was ready to start to rotate my cultivation base. But, eventually, the heat settled down and washed my whole body one more time.

Then steam came out from my mouth. I felt like a goddamn dragon for a second!

"...What the fuck was that!?"

Feeling strange, I decided to test it out. So I pulled out a knife from my storage ring and gently cut my finger. 

The moment it happened I felt a small bit of my profound energy move to my hand and seal the wound in a single moment!

"...Whoa… rapid regen!"

I stared at this with wide eyes. Fuck! The desert flower is impressive! It gave me regen! Though I wonder can I make it stronger?

Well, maybe if I find better materials, for now, I will see what else I can do with the stuff I have here.

For a bit I inspected myself. I could feel my body being strange for a bit, as it felt like it was adjusting so I stopped working for today and instead, I went back to my pavilion.

Over there I saw Xiao Lingxi cultivating diligently. Quite a bit of Profound Energy was in the air around her.

It appears she figured out how to do this with the upgraded sensitivity pill. It's not that hard as you capture wild Profound Energy in the air and bring it back to be absorbed.

Though the thing is not all of it can be absorbed at once so some of it stays in the area.

'I wonder…'

I pulled out the book and started to look if the Black Moon Guild sells manuals.

'Well, if they can get you people, I am pretty sure they can get me some manuals…'

Sure enough, they do sell manuals, but nothing fancy, and even then they are expensive.

'There it is…' 

"Young Master, you are back early, is there anything you need?" Xiao Lingxi's voice brought me back. I lifted my head and looked at her. She looked slightly worried. Did she worry that I was not working on my art?

"No, I am fine. I am just resting after consuming a new pill."

"D-Did anything happen!?"

"Yep." I grinned internally, time to tease her a bit.

"I-I-Is everything fine!? Does it hurt anywhere!?" The girl started to panic.

"Yes. From now on I need to cuddle with a girl to lessen the pain."

I said quite seriously, and Xiao Lingxi, like a good girl, instantly moved.

I ended up having her sitting on my lap and hugging me quite fiercely.

By this point, I could not control myself and started laughing.

"I-Is everything alright?" She still was quite clueless.

"It's fine. I just wanted to see how you would react."

"?"

It finally came to her that was messing with her. She started to pout like a hamster.

"...You are messing with Lingxi! I thought you were hurt!"

*Sigh* 

"I didn't mess with poisonous or dangerous plants. So nothing has happened, it's that my body is adjusting to the new ability I got from the pill."

"...new…ability?"

"Yes…I can regenerate rapidly now." I whispered into her ear.

"...I-I-I see…" There was a deep blush on her cheeks as she realised in what kind of position she was. We were in quite an intimate position. Facing each other as she was sitting on my lap.

"By the way… Since I teased you so badly, why don't I buy a dress for you?" As I said that there was a certain glint in her eyes. What girl doesn't want a new dress? 

"...T-There is no need to spend more on me, Young Master." She asked with an uncomfortable look.

Oh, she still likes that. Well, by this point she should accept if I am pampering her.

Still…though I find something strange about her. 

There is no sign that she was an Ancestral Goddess, I scanned her countless times. Opened all of her Profound Entrances, and of course took her maidenhood, if there was any chance… Then I would have probably exploded from the amount of energy in her vital yin….

A chill passed through my body when I thought about this. Was it a close call? Or not? What I got from her was a negligent amount…I would need to take several hundred virginities from the girls of a similar cultivation level to hers to even get a breakthrough in cultivation.

"Nonsense. You are mine so your dress reflects how great your master is. Don't you think?

Honestly, I just want to dress her up.

"...If…this is what you want, Lingxi won't resist…" 

"No, she will enjoy this," I whispered into her ear which once again made her blush hard. I then proceeded to change her sitting position as she ended up turning around and then I pulled the book. I skimmed through the pages where the clothes were.

~~~~~~Divine Phoenix Imperial City~~~~~~ 

The Divine Phoenix Empire is the biggest nation in the entire Profound Sky Continent. They control over 50% of the whole continent. Its size is enormous and its power is…or was unquestionable. 

The only reason Sacred Grounds, which are the true powers of the continent, allow them to do as they please is that they don't really care about the political situation of the continent. They pursue the martial way.

However, once the Divine Phoenix Empire stopped sending tributes to the Sacred Grounds the people started to move. After all, resources of half of the continent are not being collected.

But, the Divine Phoenix Empire had a triumph card, the remnant soul of Divine Phoenix. The Royal Family of the Divine Phoenix Empire inherited the blood of the Divine Phoenix which allowed them to cultivate fast and rapidly expand.

However, the Divine Phoenix's soul passed away just a few short years away. Their ultimate protector was gone. 

And their Phoenix Ancestor was only [Ninth of Sovereign Profound] while multiple elders in the Sacred Grounds are at the very peak. The [Tenth of Sovereign Profound] 

While only a single stage, that stage is enormous in [Sovereign Profound].

This means the Divine Phoenix Empire is at an enormous disadvantage and it only takes a single rebellious factor to declare to the entire continent that their Phoenix is gone. 

So far, no one spoke about this as the Phoenix Emperor was working to find some sort of a solution to his.

As if Heaven knew a solution appeared not long ago.

Black Moon Guild started to sell incredible pills. The Profound Energy Sensitivity pills. Why these pills are impressive is quite simple, it allows one to sense specific Profound Energy one needs.

The Phoenix Imperial family practices Fire Profound Arts and these pills allow one to absorb specific Profound Energy much more easily!

Feng Hengkong, the Phoenix Emperor, decided to find this Alchemist and make him work for his family!

However, he didn't expect Black Moon Guild to ruthlessly deny any information, he even learned that the Supreme Ocean Palace is involved which means the Alchemist is under their complete protection.

This means that the Alchemist is far better than he had initially thought.

In the end, Feng Hengkong decided that he needed to give up some ground to get some of the pills directly from this particular individual.

"Arrange a meeting with the Black Moon Guild Leader." The Phoenix Emperor said while taking a sigh. It's time to take a course of action.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The servant nodded and went to arrange the things for the Emperor who was still deeply thinking about this situation.

By this point, it's only a choice between lesser or greater evil.

He will take a lesser evil if he can. Worst case he will lose a lot of land and become a lapdog of one of the Sacred Grounds. He would need to wait for many years for his daughter to awaken the Phoenix soul and its true power. 

Such torture he doesn't want his Imperial family to experience.

~~~ 

"This old man is privileged to see the Phoenix Emperor himself grace me. How can this old Zi Ji be of service?" The purple-dressed old man respectfully greeted Feng Hengkong who went to visit the Leader of the Black Moon Merchant Guild.

"Those pills you sold me. I wish to meet the Alchemist who made it."

The smile on Zi Ji's face instantly disappeared.

"...Sadly, This old man has agreed on the confidentiality of the Alchemist. I cannot tell who made them."

"Even if I am willing to strike a business proposition with Black Moon Merchant Guild being the middleman?" The Emperor smoothly said. This made Zi Ji stop for a bit in his tracks.

He had a thoughtful look.

"...This old man can't be sure. It depends on the alchemist."

"This Emperor is willing to wait. Your Guild profits especially if you agree. The Divine Phoenix Empire is willing to pay handsomely for those pills."

Zi Ji internally frowned. This was too good and the Divine Phoenix Empire will lose a lot of wealth. 

It's far too drastic of a move. Something is off, or do those pills work especially well with the Phoenix Bloodline?

Well, either way, his Guild will profit from this. He doesn't need to do anything but provide basic services. 

"Very well, then this old man will contact the Alchemist. My guild will contact you with the answer, Your Majesty." 

Feng Hengkong nodded before he left the main office of the guild. The meeting was short. It didn't last 5 minutes but it has sent ripples through the Continent.

~~~~~~Xiao Long~~~~~~ 

"Hmm…"

I looked at the blue sky and the occasional cloud which passed through the skies. 

Not much is left to the wedding, the city is getting into the festive mood. A lot of red and starting to pop in the clan grounds and the city as a whole. From the looks of it, the city will be celebrating just as much as the clan will. 

Though my mind was thinking about something else.

I got a manual for basic array deployment, it's a fascinating art similar to Alchemy. But one needs to refine things like crystals and metal and write runes with profound beast blood.

It's quite complex and interesting.

But my mind…AGAIN was not on this. 

Nope, it was the Freaking Divine Phoenix Empire! Feng fucking Hengkong wants to talk to me! 

The most powerful Emperor of the Profound Sky Continent! The dude is a Peak Overlord, he is strong.

Thankfully Black Moon Merchant Guild is keeping their word. I can easily decline the Phoenix Empire. 

However, accessing what that Empire has to offer is hard to decline. The Imperial Family with the Phoenix Bloodline horde anything fire related in their lands. So, getting something fire related would be an incredible opportunity.

*Sigh* 

"I can't say no to extra herbs and materials," I said with a sigh as I pulled out the communication talisman and sent a message to the Black Moon Guild.

After agreeing to meet I proceeded to return to the array deployment manual.

As usual, I don't get a notification for just reading so, I pulled out some of the materials, like Profound iron, some Profound Beast blood highest quality, and some ink.

They arrived just another day. It appears the service has gotten even faster. Well, I guess the delivery guy had a breakthrough or something.

Well, it doesn't matter.

To start with I proceeded to use my fire to melt the Profound Iron and then purify it. 

It took some time but the metal got cold enough to be used for practice.

The ink mixed with the profound blood was quite gory but I got used to it with the help of my focus art.

…

…

…

*Ding* 

{You have created [Basic Array Creation] art!}

"There it is… Now I have a sense of direction…" I mumbled to myself as I got a general idea of what I wanted. 

How to deploy a wide array of Profound Energy gathering.

The thing with Cultivation is that with each stage one needs more to cultivate. But, a Cultivator only has 54 entrances so no matter how much you want you can't cultivate faster after a certain point.

This means one's surroundings need to be adjusted and improved.

This is why I decided to expand to Array creation!

My first goal is to make Xiao Sect get jealous of Xiao Clan's location and the array of which I will build here. I will make them grovel on the ground!