Chapter 336: An Entire Night, the Jia Clan's Killer Move

"Lu, where did you get so many soul pearls?"

In the park, Aodaili held a whole bag of soul relics, her mood still not calmed.

For a mage, spiritual power is crucial.

The higher the spiritual power, the easier it is for a mage to accumulate magic power, and the faster they can cast powerful spells.

Mages often replace sleep with meditation, using that time to accumulate spiritual power.

Treasures that increase spiritual power are few.

Even in ancient road nodes, they are scarce.

There are also some treasures that can increase spiritual power but come with significant hidden dangers.

The soul relics Lu Xun produced, however, have no such hidden dangers.

These soul relics come from the evil spirits on ancient battlefields.

After being burned by the Southern Ming Separation Fire, all evil and impurities are completely purged.

What remains is the purest soul power.

As long as Aodaili absorbs them, she can increase her soul and boost her spiritual power in a surge.

The best part is, spiritual power is unlike cultivation.

Increasing cultivation, if one directly uses another's cultivation relic, the hidden dangers are too great.

Spiritual power need not be worried about; as long as the soul relics contain no hidden tricks left by others, or impurities or distracting thoughts, they are safe.

The Southern Ming Separation Fire resolves these issues.

With these soul relics, Aodaili's cultivation speed will increase further.

"You guess."

Lu Xun kept them in suspense.

"These... you're giving all of them to me?"

Aodaili was somewhat unsure.

"Of course."

Lu Xun affirmed.

"Lu, you're wonderful!"

Aodaili's azure eyes shimmered with joy, and without a word she opened her arms and gave Lu Xun a passionate embrace.

Her soft golden hair brushed his cheek, carrying a faint rose scent, and her graceful figure pressed close against him.

What she didn't know was that Lu Xun had not been intimate with Murong Wan for three full weeks.

Moreover, they had already shared skin-to-skin memories; this sudden intimate contact made his body react honestly in an instant.

No wonder Lu Xun—the golden beauty in his arms had a figure so provocative that every curve teased his nerves just right.

Aodaili froze.

She clearly felt that scorching touch; her fair cheeks 'whoosh' turned crimson, spreading all the way to her delicate collarbone.

"Lu, not here..."

Aodaili's voice trembled slightly.

In her panic, she thought Lu Xun intended to do something bad, to possess her in broad daylight.

Little did she know, that hesitant whisper was like a spark igniting explosives.

Lu Xun's eyes darkened instantly, his breathing suddenly grew heavy.

He grabbed her slender waist and lifted her horizontally into his arms.

"Yah—!"

Aodaili only managed to let out a short gasp before the world spun before her eyes.

Lu Xun's figure flickered like a ghost; in the blink of an eye he vanished with her, leaving only a few startled butterflies fluttering wildly.

"Lu, you're truly a beast."

The twilight deepened.

In the bedroom on the top floor of the Lu Family Building, Aodaili's voice, languid yet hinting at satisfaction, sounded.

Lu Xun held her gently.

After a long separation, their reunion was especially fierce.

This golden-haired, blue-eyed foreign girl gave him a different experience.

"You're training your body?"

Lu Xun asked.

These past few months, Aodaili hasn't been completely idle; for example, Lu Xun previously received a report of her body-training gains.

She trains her body using magical means, with effects leaning toward magic.

Besides strengthening her physique, it also increases her body's magical affinity, making her spellcasting faster, while granting her some melee ability, turning her into a battle mage.

"Yes, Lu, a mage's body is too fragile, so I'm planning to train my body..."

Aodaili spoke of her plan.

She indeed intended to pursue the path of a battle mage, but her time is tight, and she currently doesn't have much time for body training.

"Lu, I didn't expect you to become this strong."

The topic turned back to Lu Xun.

Aodaili obviously knew of Lu Xun's astonishing growth over the past year or more.

Especially the matter of the Heavenly Dao Battlefield.

She also came to understand it.

"You don't know, you've become a hit in the West now, and many people call you the miraculous Eastern Lu."

"Aodaili's azure eyes were full of little stars."

"Oh..."

"As she spoke,"

"Her voice softened, and her gaze grew hazy."

"Morning, Aodaili."

"Lu, it's already afternoon..."

"The next afternoon, Aodaili finally woke up."

"As soon as she saw Lu Xun, Aodaili felt a little scared."

"Heavens,"

"Last night, Lu Xun worked hard all night."

"The only man Aodaili has ever been with is Lu Xun."

"But she heard from some companions that some men may look tall and strong, yet in fact they're not very capable, and those who can last over an hour are rare."

"Aodaili could not imagine,"

"Why is Lu Xun so strong, able to go all night without stopping?"

"If it weren't for her body strengthening after tempering, she'd have been plowed under by Lu Xun, that ox."

"Right, over at Babala's side, there's something going on."

"After Aodaili finished dressing, Lu Xun brought up Babala's situation."

"No wonder."

"Aodaili realized."

"Huh?"

"A year ago, she suddenly flew into a rage; I thought something had happened, but it seems it was because of Princess Babala."

"A year ago... that was exactly when Lu Xun lifted Babala's curse while dealing with the Demon Emperor's avatar."

"Looking at it this way, Babala's current abnormality really has to do with a witch."

"Lu, she's been giving me an increasingly crazy vibe lately; you must absolutely avoid touching her curse, lest you provoke her."

"Aodaili warned."

"Hmm."

"Lu Xun nodded."

"That witch is indeed a bit troublesome."

"Lu Xun's strength still isn't enough; otherwise he'd go straight to the West and confront her head-on."

"Boss, boss~"

"Just then, Xie Yuyan came over."

"The room's soundproofing was naturally excellent, but Lu Xun could still notice the commotion outside."

"Boss, we've got trouble."

"In the office, Xie Yuyan frowned slightly."

"What's wrong?"

"Lu Xun asked."

"The Jia Group controls all the channels; now even some small and medium suppliers refuse to sell us alchemy materials."

"Moreover, our shop's medicine sales have recently sped up; I suspect the Jia Group is meddling, aiming to consume our stock so we have nothing left to sell."

"Xie Yuyan explained the situation."

"Recently, the Jia Group and the Lu Group have officially launched their commercial war."

"Both sides are selling their medicines at reduced prices, starting a price war."

"The price war isn't actually fatal; the Jia Group's true trump card is the supply chain."

"The supply chain of alchemy materials."

"In the East, the Jia Group dominates, being the biggest customer of numerous spirit medicine cultivators."

"Even the Juxin Group falls far short of them."

"The Jia Group's cooperation with alchemy material suppliers has been going on for years, not just a year or two."

"So they can have those suppliers cooperate with them to jointly cut off the Lu Group's material supply."

"Without alchemy materials, what can the Lu Group use to make medicine?"

"Even if the Lu Group obtains some through various means, like having people buy them piecemeal, for such a huge alchemy operation it's just a drop in the bucket."

"To deplete the Lu Group's inventory, the Jia Group has secretly sent people to buy their medicines."

"At every Lu Group shop, their medicines practically sell out each day."

"To outsiders, that business looks simply fantastic."

"But once the Lu Group's alchemy materials are completely used up, the problem becomes serious."

"Without medicine, what are those shops supposed to sell?"

"Over time, nobody comes anymore."

"Now the Lu Group has nearly two hundred alchemists."

"With two hundred alchemists going without materials for a long time, even if Lu Xun foots the bill to support them, how long could that last?"

"Thus, the Jia Group's move is truly a devastating strike, like draining the pot from under the fire."

"Lu Xun admits he still underestimated the Jia Group."

Others can dominate the east, almost monopolizing the medicinal pill market below sixth grade, and they still have a few tricks.

"How long can our current stock of materials last?"

Lu Xun asked.

Xie Yuyan's prior preparations were very thorough; she had purchased a huge stock of alchemy materials.

"Less than two months; if the number of branches further increases and the medicinal pills sell out every day, then we could only last less than a month."

Xie Yuyan said.

Less than a month.

Indeed, it's a bit troublesome.

"During this time, I visited those suppliers one by one, promising them many benefits, but they refused to budge; they likely have shares in the Jia Clan Group."

The more Xie Yuyan spoke, the more worried she became.

For the issue of alchemy materials, she could be said to be exhausted mentally and physically.

"Let me think of a solution."

Lu Xun decided to take action himself.

He came up with a method.

That is, the Martial Manor and War Manor, these official institutions.

The Jia Clan Group's medicinal pills are mainly aimed at cultivators in society.

If cultivators join the Martial Manor, they can receive medicinal pills each month.

The Martial Manor and War Manor, these official institutions, each have their own alchemists and also dedicated spiritual herb gardens.

For example, Fei Tai'a, after he brought Ahui back, Director Xu, considering his merits and Lu Xun's face, let Fei Tai'a and Ahui manage a spiritual herb garden of the War Manor.

Like the Northern Dipper Hall and Pure Void Palace, these factions also possess their own spiritual herb gardens.

In terms of scale, the spiritual herb gardens of these official organizations, the Martial Manor and War Manor, are the largest.

However, these spiritual herb gardens do not sell externally; they are used for self-sufficiency.

Of course, due to the large number of cultivators, some cultivators who have joined major factions occasionally also need to purchase medicinal pills from the outside.

If Lu Xun could obtain alchemy materials from the spiritual herb garden of the Martial Manor or War Manor, the problem would be readily solved.