The Facade of the Demonic Pill Trade

Lin Xingjian transformed into the form of Chen Jie and stood in the forest.

He narrowed his eyes, recalled the steps of the others, and secretly adjusted his pace.

Before long, his every step became slow and heavy, indistinguishable from Chen Jie’s usual gait.

To mimic Chen Jie’s voice and intonation, he meticulously practiced and experimented.

At times, he would lower his voice, making it resonate like a deep bell in a hidden valley; at others, he would deliberately raise its pitch.

He repeated this process tirelessly, until he was thoroughly satisfied.

Once everything was confirmed, Lin Xingjian, bathed in the lingering twilight, set off along the path Chen Jie typically took to return.

Today, this ‘Chen Jie’ had certainly reaped a bountiful harvest.

He had harmed more than five cultivators by selling them demonic pills.

Lin Xingjian secretly committed the names of those unfortunate individuals to memory.

He mused that as long as they hadn’t immediately consumed the Demonic Foundation Establishment Pills, a sliver of hope still remained for them.

Many cultivators would only take Foundation Establishment Pills when they were on the verge of breaking through a bottleneck.

Unlike him and Li Xingtong, who, in their prior destitution, had consumed them the moment they acquired them.

As Lin Xingjian continued forward, he repeatedly muttered in Chen Jie’s voice.

“My name is Chen Jie, a mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, though my true name is Chen Jie, a rogue cultivator who regrettably fell into the demonic path and became involved in this demonic pill trade.”

He quickened his pace.

After all, intercepting Chen Jie on the road and extorting a confession had consumed a significant amount of time, which he now needed to recover swiftly.

His figure darted through the streets and alleys like a phantom, his steps hurried.

Once he had made up some time, he deliberately slowed his steps, allowing them to become sluggish once more.

He ensured his return to the stronghold was around the same time Chen Jie usually arrived, even intentionally delaying it slightly.

Eventually, he arrived before the slightly dilapidated alchemy shop of the Gu Sect, where the banner hanging by the entrance swayed gently in the breeze.

“Big Brother, I’m back, hehe, truly sorry, I’m a bit late today.”

Mimicking Chen Jie, Lin Xingjian scratched his head, forcing a simple, guileless smile onto his face.

“I was held up on the road for a while.”

As he spoke, he entered the shop, guided by his memory.

It was then that he finally saw the man referred to as ‘Big Brother’.

The man was powerfully built and brawny, standing like a small, imposing mountain.

His square face was covered in a thick beard, and the jowls on his cheeks jiggled with every shift in his expression.

His eyes gleamed with fierce malevolence, making him look every inch a bandit or ruffian.

“Joking around with me again!”

Big Brother’s eyes bulged with rage, the muscles on his face twisting in fury.

He lunged forward with a wide stride, his thick finger pointing directly at Lin Xingjian as he cursed.

“How many times have I told you, always be on time, always be on time, yet when have you ever returned punctually?”

“Only yesterday were you barely on time!”

Lin Xingjian could only listen in silence, an awkward expression on his face.

He occasionally scratched his head, his eyes cast downwards.

Once Big Brother’s tirade had mostly subsided, he hastily interjected, eager to claim credit, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

“Big Brother, my slight delay today was truly because the demonic pills sold exceptionally well.”

“I actually sold twelve portions today, isn’t that impressive!”

“You sold what nonsense!”

Big Brother flew into a rage, kicking over a nearby stool with a resounding clang.

“Didn’t I tell you, selling more is fine, but you absolutely cannot exceed ten portions in a single day? Selling too much at once makes it incredibly easy to expose our whereabouts.”

“You actually dared to sell twelve portions? Have you fallen into a money pit?”

Lin Xingjian slightly lowered his head, concealing the emotions in his eyes, his face reverting to a wronged, pitiful expression.

Though Big Brother sensed something, he paid it no mind.

He was a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage, while Lin Xingjian was merely mid-stage Qi Condensation; there was simply nothing to fear.

“Big Brother, say what you will, but why resort to violence?”

“Besides, didn’t you say we should sell more demonic pills? Why then impose a daily limit?”

“Is it that I’m not working hard enough?”

As Lin Xingjian spoke, he subtly pouted, his face etched with a profound sense of grievance.

Big Brother let out a soft sigh, the anger on his face receding slightly.

He slowly walked to a chair and plopped down.

“Sigh! What choice do I have?”

“Do you think I don’t want to earn more money?”

“This demonic pill trade is a highly profitable business, but this time, those above have instructed us to proceed with extreme caution.”

“Our objective this time isn’t to earn a huge amount of spirit stones from selling demonic pills, nor is it to cause significant trouble for the Xuantian Dao Sect; all of this is merely a grand facade.”

Lin Xingjian’s heart lurched in surprise; he hadn’t anticipated reeling in such a big fish.

Over the past three days, he had been meticulously observing in secret.

On the first day, he noticed these individuals were timid and hesitant when selling demonic pills.

Nearly ten people were out selling, some selling less, others more, yet without exception, none completed more than ten transactions.

If they were truly selling demonic pills, why not sell more?

Could it be that they feared selling too much at once would alert the Xuantian Dao Sect?

If that were the case, why then continue selling daily?

If they genuinely feared discovery, they should have paused for a day or two before resuming sales.

It was truly perplexing.

After two days of Lin Xingjian’s observation, the stronghold’s leader had shown extreme concern for their sales performance.

Especially towards cultivators who sold fewer than five pills.

His manner of speaking and linguistic habits were noticeably more amiable towards those selling fewer than five pills, compared to those who sold more.

In other words, for the stronghold’s leader, the fewer pills sold, the better, yet they still had to be sold daily.

Wasn’t this a deliberate attempt to attract the attention of the Xuantian Dao Sect, rather than simply for profit?

The real Chen Jie today hadn’t sold nearly this many demonic pills; he had only sold seven, one more than yesterday.

Yet Lin Xingjian chose to test the waters, eager to see the consequences of selling twelve demonic pills.

Indeed, his probe immediately unearthed different intelligence.

“A facade?”

Lin Xingjian’s eyes suddenly widened, a curious expression appearing on his face as he feigned a rather lewd demeanor.

“What kind of facade, Big Brother, do you know?”

“This humble one… is truly curious, immensely curious.”

Upon hearing this, the stronghold leader narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lin Xingjian from head to toe with a watchful gaze.

It was as if he were trying to ascertain Lin Xingjian’s true intentions.

At that moment, Lin Xingjian, too, wore a tense expression; his hands trembled slightly behind his back, poised to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

His heart pounded fiercely within his chest, threatening to burst free.