Chapter 39

"Shen Gongzi, please reconsider my previous invitation. This is a great opportunity, and you must think carefully!" Huayue Yun's clear and beautiful eyes were filled with a hint of pleading.

Huayue Yun left, and Shen Lüzong looked at Shen Xiang strangely, then whispered, "Kid, this woman is at least the head of the Danxiang Taoyuan, but she doesn't put on any airs in front of you. Also, what did she invite you to?"

Shen Xiang replied, "She invited me to enter the Danxiang Taoyuan, but I want to join the Taiwu Sect, so I refused."

"What?" Shen Lüzong was stunned, then he fiercely knocked Shen Xiang's head and continued, "The Danxiang Taoyuan is a holy place that alchemists aspire to, and you, a kid, actually refused."

Shen Xiang rubbed his sore head and pouted, "Grandmaster, this woman is just a maid in the Danxiang Taoyuan. Many people have been tricked by her, and I won't do such a foolish thing! Joining a sect is a very important matter, and I want to join a sect that I truly desire."

Once one becomes a disciple of a sect, they cannot leave unless they are expelled, and those expelled are not accepted by other sects. Therefore, Shen Xiang was very cautious about this.

Shen Xiang had Su Meirao teaching him alchemy and the Dragon Saliva Technique to mature spiritual herbs, so he didn't need to enter the Danxiang Taoyuan. That's why he wanted to join the Taiwu Sect, a sect with a rich heritage.

Before long, two alchemists came to the door. Shen Lüzong was responsible for screening them. When the alchemists arrived, they would first take a look at the Golden Spirit Fruit, and Shen Lüzong would proudly show it to them. Seeing the alchemists' envious faces, Shen Lüzong felt secretly pleased.

Shen Lüzong usually had them first show the pills they had refined, then asked them to refine a furnace of middle-grade ordinary pills. By observing the quality of the pills and the time it took to refine them, he could determine the alchemists' skill levels.

What made Shen Lüzong depressed was that, although about ten people came to apply in one day, only two or three could be considered alchemists, and they didn't meet the requirements. They were just people trying to take advantage of the situation.

Shen Xiang wasn't in a hurry because many alchemists were in seclusion refining pills and hadn't yet received the news. He guessed that in the next few days, more alchemists affiliated with various forces in the capital would come to apply.

Shen Xiang only wanted to hire four good alchemists, and two Golden Spirit Fruits would be enough to keep four alchemists here for a while. By then, the Pill King Pavilion would flourish, and he wouldn't have to worry about attracting other alchemists.

As usual, Shen Xiang left early in the morning and returned late at night. He practiced at night and refined pills at the Pill King Pavilion during the day. Three days after the notice was posted, Shen Xiang returned from the deep mountains outside the city and saw many elderly men with white hair gathered at the entrance of the Pill King Pavilion early in the morning.

It was just dawn, and the Pill King Pavilion hadn't opened yet, so these alchemists had to wait patiently. As alchemists, they were usually high and mighty, and even if a pile of spirit coins were placed in front of them, they wouldn't be tempted. However, they regarded rare spiritual herbs as treasures because they couldn't be bought with spirit coins.

Shen Xiang had already thought of a name for the shop, the Pill King Pavilion. As long as he had enough pills in stock, he could open for business! With Shen Lüzong, an experienced alchemist, in charge, many alchemists were optimistic about the Pill King Pavilion.

When the shop opened, the ten or so alchemists hurriedly greeted Shen Lüzong. Shen Xiang could roughly estimate the skill levels of these alchemists from the slightly warm aura they emitted. Except for two, the rest had impure true qi and could only refine low-grade pills.

Most of these half-baked alchemists were there to try their luck. Although they knew the requirements would be high, they still came to the Pill King Pavilion, and Shen Xiang followed them inside.

At this moment, an old man with yellow hair and a wrinkled face walked in and shouted, "The person in charge, come out here!"

When the old man shouted, he emitted a pure fire aura, which made the ten or so alchemists tremble. This level of fire aura was what they aspired to, and they were sure that the old man with yellow hair was a famous alchemist, though alchemists rarely showed their faces and were only known by name.

Shen Xiang stepped forward and replied, "I am the person in charge here. What do you want?"

Everyone knew that the Pill King Pavilion belonged to the Shen family, and the main person in charge was Shen Xiang.

When the old man with yellow hair saw Shen Xiang, a look of disdain appeared on his face, and he said arrogantly, "I order you to change the name of this shop immediately. You are not allowed to use the name 'Pill King Pavilion' because you are not worthy!"

Shen Xiang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "Why? Naming it doesn't interfere with you. If you're here to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The old man with yellow hair looked at Shen Xiang with disdain and sneered, "I am the Pill King, so I do not allow you to use this name for this shop."

Pill King?

Upon hearing these two words, Shen Lüzong and the old alchemists who had come to apply were immediately stunned. In the entire Southern Wu Kingdom, with its population of over a billion, there was indeed a highly skilled alchemist known as the Pill King, who had connections with the Medicine Family.

At this moment, they were certain that the proud old man in front of them was the Pill King of the Southern Wu Kingdom—Meng Bo!

Shen Xiang was not unfamiliar with this name. He had often heard it when he was very young. Now, to actually meet this person, he quickly realized that it must be the Medicine Family who sent the Pill King to cause trouble.

Shen Xiang frowned, as this matter was quite tricky. He had named the shop the Pill King Pavilion to make it sound more impressive, but he didn't expect the real Pill King to come and challenge him.

"Hmph, a mere guy like you dares to call yourself the Pill King? I have been refining pills for thousands of years and barely earned the title of Pill Master, let alone the Pill King above that!" Su Meirao's voice, filled with disdain, echoed in Shen Xiang's mind.

Shen Xiang was slightly startled. Only then did he realize that there were titles among alchemists. His eyes lit up, and he mocked Meng Bo, "Hmph, a mere guy like you dares to call yourself the Pill King? Do you have the ability to show off in those major sects? See if others will curse you, this ignorant old man!"

When he mentioned the major sects, the other alchemists' faces were filled with longing. After all, the alchemists in those major sects were even more powerful, and Meng Bo wouldn't dare to call himself the Pill King in front of them. He could only boast in this mundane world.

Meng Bo's face turned red with anger. He didn't expect that a mere kid like Shen Xiang would dare to humiliate him in front of him, but he couldn't refute it. He knew he was far inferior to the alchemists in those major sects and would be just a minor figure there.

Seeing Meng Bo's red face, Shen Xiang continued, "Since you claim to be a highly skilled alchemist, let's have a competition. The other alchemists here will be the judges."

"Of course... since it's a competition, there should be a stake. If I lose, I'll give you a Golden Spirit Fruit. What if you lose?"