Chapter 82 A Tumultuous Time (Please read on, please vote!)
Somewhat bewildered, Duan Ping asked instinctively.
"Then what should I do?"
Seeing this, Wang Yu comforted him.
"Don't worry, you can't escape responsibility, and neither can I. I came to you for this matter. Could you let me meet with Master Zhen in person?"
"Okay, okay."
Duan Ping agreed without hesitation, and after asking for some details, he hurriedly left the Ice and Snow Pavilion.
Lan Ji saw this and asked curiously.
"What's wrong with him? He seems startled."
"It's nothing."
Without saying much, Wang Yu quickly returned to the ordinary cave dwelling of the Evil God's Workshop.
While waiting for notification, they were also quietly cultivating themselves and making plans.
Another half month passed.
Instead of the news I was hoping for, an uninvited guest showed up at the door. I couldn't help but sigh that everything was happening at once, leaving no room to breathe.
The person who arrived was Zhou Tao!
Considering the matter of the alchemist society, Wang Yu could guess some of the other party's purpose.
"Brother Wang, how have you been?"
"I heard you've been back for a while now. Why don't you go visit the society? After all, it's the culmination of your hard work."
Zhou Tao came to visit alone, and he even carried a gift with him instead of putting it in his storage bag.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu's face showed displeasure.
He was selective in his interactions with people; he would humble himself before those from prominent families, such as Liu Jinxian and Zhuo Shouqing.
Zhou Tao has the cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining, but in his eyes, he is an ignorant and mentally challenged person who does not understand his own status.
Therefore, he spoke very rudely.
"What, you've run into trouble? So you think this society is all my hard work? I've seen you doing quite well, why are you even here to see me?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tao didn't feel embarrassed at all and kept smiling apologetically.
"Yes, it's my problem."
"However, I do need your help, Brother Wang. This is just a small gift, nothing more."
He placed the basket he was carrying on the table. Inside were some of the more upscale spiritual pastries from the market, which were quite expensive. There was also a storage bag at the bottom.
Wang Yu took it out and glanced at it briefly with his divine sense.
Good heavens, that's at least 20,000 spirit stones, an amount comparable to most of his fortune, which shows he's in quite a bit of trouble.
Wang Yu put the storage bag back into the basket and said:
"Tell me what it is, I might not be able to help you."
Zhou Tao nodded and quickly explained what had happened recently. In general, it was similar to what he had guessed before: the pill business was a monopoly, or it was owned by the alchemy hall opened by the sect.
Originally a small-scale organization of four, the pills they produced never entered the market but instead went to the Ice and Snow Pavilion and were consumed by some of the inner disciples. They didn't cause any stir and maintained a low profile.
In the first year after Zhou Tao took over the company, they were still cooperating with Zhao Shang, and even kept the share of profits that Wang Yu had received.
But as time went on, Zhou Tao's ambition began to sprout. He wanted to expand the number of people in his society, increase the production of elixirs, and profit more from it.
Zhao Shang disagreed, which led to the incident three years ago where someone reported Zhao Shang for betraying his own people, thus creating an opportunity for Lan Ji to step forward.
The two reached a new cooperation agreement. Taking advantage of Lan Ji's identity, Zhou Tao expanded the channels to other True Inheritance Buildings of Han Xue Fang, following a low-price strategy.
The society continued to grow, eventually exceeding one hundred members.
Production capacity has increased significantly.
Some individuals violated the rules set by Zhou Tao by selling cheap pills to fellow disciples under the guise of forming a society.
This move disrupted the stable pricing of the sect's elixirs.
This attracted a large number of low-level cultivators who actively purchased cheap pills from them.
At this time, another group of people, relying on Zhou Tao's connections, could not resist the temptation of the spirit stones and were bewitched, which led to a small group becoming the majority.
The expansion of the private market led to the downfall of everyone in the society, including Zhou Tao himself, who could not afford the large sums of spirit stones that came and went every day.
They completely disregarded the rules set by Wang Yu in the early days.
The snowball grew bigger and bigger until it reached a critical point. At this point, Lan Ji got scared. She dared not make any more money and took the initiative to break off her relationship with Zhou Tao.
The people who formed this society were willing to risk their lives for money.
The true transmission channels were gone, but the market among the lower-level disciples grew larger and larger, eventually leading to some people being arrested by the Enforcement Hall for engaging in private transactions.
This behavior is explicitly prohibited in the clan rules.
In the conversation, Zhou Tao spoke in great detail, not even concealing the parts that were unfavorable to Wang Yu, but choosing to tell the whole story, which showed that he was really panicked.
No wonder he was willing to spend 20,000 spirit stones to ask for his help; he was desperate.
After listening quietly, Wang Yu sighed.
"I can't help you. When Lan Ji left the stage, you should have realized that Su Zhenchuan couldn't protect her, at least that's what she thought."
"And what makes you think you can continue doing this?"
Zhou Tao slammed his hand on the table in frustration, his face extremely gloomy: "Brother Wang, I can give you 30% of the profits to help me this time."
“I know you have connections in the Enforcement Hall. The Xu Family Pill Shop was orchestrated by you. I can see that.”
"As long as we get those arrested out and keep it a secret from the Enforcement Hall for now, the Alchemist's Alliance Society will disband overnight!"
Wang Yu glanced at him speechlessly.
"It's too late. Do you really think they don't know? They're just waiting for you to get fat. You're too skinny... they won't get enough to eat."
The members of the Alchemist Society come from the bottom of the Reverse Blood Ten Workshops. Many of them are probably eyeing those low-level alchemists who have difficulty getting ahead.
What could Wang Yu possibly do? He wasn't the sect leader.
The words were very straightforward. Zhou Tao wasn't stupid; otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on following the rules he set. It's just a pity that he was blinded by the large amount of spirit stones.
After all, knowing something is one thing, but putting it into practice is the key.
Everyone understands the big principles, but not everyone becomes a saint or ancestor. This is just the inherent weakness of human nature, which is hard to avoid!
Perhaps it was the last hope that was shattered.
Zhou Tao suddenly turned fierce, his aura as a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator pressed down, threatening:
"You must help me, Wang Yu. Don't forget you are the true founder of the Alchemist Society. Tell the Enforcement Hall if I tell them about Zhao Shang's collusion with you; won't they take care of you then?!"
Wang Yu slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his late-stage Qi Refining aura making no attempt to conceal it, confronting Zhou Tao head-on.
"You dare?!"
"Oh--
"I'm about to die, so what is there to be afraid of!"
Not everyone has Zhao Shang's escape route, at least not Zhou Tao. Under the threat of death, he is capable of anything.
Wang Yu hated this kind of coercion the most. After all, this matter had nothing to do with him. It was a group of people's greed that caused the trouble. He didn't get any benefits, so why should he have to clean up the mess?
Zhou Tao was somewhat shocked to realize that Wang Yu was at the seventh level of Qi Refining. After all, Wang Yu had the aptitude of three spiritual roots and had a lot of resources to support him, yet it still took him more than fifty years to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining.
(End of this chapter)
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