Chapter 356: The Conspiracy of the Four Evils

356. Chapter 356: The Conspiracy of the Four Evils

"It seems you have already guessed it; yes, this is precisely the power of the God of Gamblers Gu, and only the God of Gamblers Gu can gamble with the ethereal and elusive Clan Luck."

Cao Shuang clicked his tongue and said, "A Gu Worm capable of gambling on everything is truly miraculous."

"I won't say more; I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

"I will give you ten Communication Talismans; let us stay in touch. Once I find a good Tomb, I will take you along."

Saying this, Cao Shuang left ten Communication Talismans on the shelf, finally ceased the idle chatter, walked out of Master Wei's Pill Shop, and departed.

Long Xuan looked at the ten Communication Talismans placed on the shelf, thought for a moment, and ultimately decided to accept them.

A person capable of producing a Six-Grade Blood Lotus could absolutely not be a simple character; this individual might truly prove useful in the future, as the Tomb Robbing Families possess no shortage of fine treasures.

Seeing that the Town Shop Treasure on this shelf was now empty, Long Xuan thought for a moment, then took out a Third-Grade Soul-Reviving Pill and placed it on the shelf to fill the vacancy of the Town Shop Treasure.

Just at this moment, a cold and sharp voice came from the entrance: "I want this Town Shop Treasure; name your price!"

Hearing this familiar female voice, Long Xuan's heart trembled; it was actually the Jade-Faced Rakshasa—how had she come here?

This Gu King Peak expert would absolutely not easily visit the shop of a mere Third Grade Alchemist, and a Third-Grade Soul-Reviving Pill would have a negligible effect on a Gu King.

Her sudden appearance here could absolutely not be specifically to purchase pills; she likely had some matter to instruct him to handle.

Long Xuan grew alert in his heart, turned to look at the Jade-Faced Rakshasa, and displayed a professional smile: "This junior only desires the Essence Blood of a Divine Beast; I wonder if Senior has any."

This was precisely the item he intended to exchange for the Soul Restoring Pill; the Divine Ability of the Purgatory True Demon Art is the Dharma Idol, and for every layer cultivated, the practitioner of the Cultivation Method gains one additional Dharma Idol.

However, a Dharma Idol requires the Essence Blood of a Divine Beast as a medium, yet Divine Beasts are beings that went extinct long ago, making their Essence Blood extremely difficult to find.

It is estimated that, like the Blood Lotus, it can only be found within an Ancient Tomb.

Now that he prepared to cultivate the Third Layer of the Purgatory True Demon Art, the materials needed for cultivating the Dharma Idol naturally required his prompt preparation.

"Things like Divine Beasts have long gone extinct in this world; where am I supposed to find Spirit Beast Essence Blood for you?"

"Very well; it seems I am not destined to have this treasure."

The Jade-Faced Rakshasa withdrew her gaze from the Soul Restoring Pill; as a Gu King, most Third Grade Pills were ineffective against her, and although she faintly sensed this pill was extraordinary, it was far from being something she absolutely must have.

"The reason I sought you out this time is for another important matter; as a Third Grade Alchemist, you should be aware that the Heavenly Phoenix Empire is holding an Alchemy Competition, correct?"

The Jade-Faced Rakshasa looked at him and finally spoke of the main business.

Long Xuan nodded and smiled: "I just heard about it."

At this moment, his heart was guessing the Jade-Faced Rakshasa's intentions.

This layperson, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa, was actually bringing up the Alchemy Competition; could it be that this Old Demon intended to cause trouble during this Alchemy Competition?

Just as Long Xuan was thinking this, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa said: "I will not conceal my purpose; we, the Four Great Evils, are preparing to join forces to steal the Heavenly Phoenix Empire's Nation-Protecting Treasure, the Dao-Understanding Tea Tree."

"Forcible seizure is definitely not feasible; even if the four of us possess combat power that reaches the heavens, it would be very difficult to snatch a treasure in a nation's Imperial City; this Alchemy Competition happens to be a good opportunity."

"One segment of the Alchemy Competition requires those who enter the Finals to enter a space and search for Spirit Medicine themselves, and the Dao-Understanding Tea Tree is located within this space; this is our opportunity."

"You must absolutely break into the Finals of this Alchemy Competition; I will notify you on what to do afterwards."

"Once the matter is accomplished, you will certainly receive your share of benefits."

The Jade-Faced Rakshasa's tone was not one of negotiation but rather of notification, allowing no refusal.

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan was greatly shocked in his heart; the Four Evils of the Sinful Land were actually preparing to join forces to steal the Heavenly Phoenix Empire's Dao-Understanding Tea Tree.

Each of these Four Evils possesses combat power invincible within their same stage; once they join forces, that is sufficient to shake any faction.

If these Four Evils intend to cause trouble at the Alchemy Competition, then this Alchemy Competition will indeed stir up quite a significant disturbance; there will be a lively spectacle to watch next.

At this moment, Long Xuan showed a look of difficulty and hesitated: "Without Senior saying so, this junior would also strive with all strength to enter the Finals."

"But Senior also knows that this Alchemy Competition will gather most of the Heavenly Pride Alchemists from the entire Western Regions, with Monsters gathering like clouds; although Wei's Alchemy Technique is not bad, how would I dare to be arrogant enough to stand out among a crowd of Alchemy geniuses?"

"This junior wishes to serve Senior, but alas, my strength is insufficient, and I fear I might ruin Senior's great undertaking."

Although Long Xuan had full confidence in handling such matters, the identity of Master Wei did not; naturally, for such a dangerous task as being a spy, one should refuse if possible.

How could the Jade-Faced Rakshasa not know the level of Master Wei's Alchemy skills? She said: "I naturally know your standard; with your Alchemy level, entering the Finals is indeed a stretch."

"But the people we are seeking are far more than just you; as long as we send enough people, one will surely succeed; you are merely the one with the lowest success rate among our selected targets."

"Whether or not you can enter the Finals does not matter; just do your best."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa threw a stack of Communication Talismans onto the counter, then turned and left; just as she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped, turned her head sideways, and said:

"You need to use a Disguise to participate in this Alchemy Competition; once our actions are exposed, all Alchemists from the City of Sin will be investigated, so you had best not use the identity of Master Wei."

After saying this, the Jade-Faced Rakshasa finally departed.

Watching her retreating figure, Long Xuan showed a look of contemplation; barring the unexpected, the upcoming Alchemy Competition would definitely see a major incident occur, though ultimately no one knows how large of a disturbance it will cause.

He collected the Communication Talismans left by the Jade-Faced Rakshasa on the counter; he also intended to scheme to seize the Dao-Understanding Tea Tree, and the power of these Four Evils might be utilized.

After returning upstairs, he once again entered seclusion; since the start time of that Alchemy Competition was still far away, he still had a year to prepare, so there was no need for him to go there so early.

Half a month later, after the two shops had collected all the materials for the Straw Gu Exclusive Lifespan Pill for him, he immediately began Alchemy.

The Straw Gu Hut being unusable made doing anything too inconvenient; he had long been eager to upgrade the Straw Gu.

After refining the pill in less than a day's time, he immediately threw the Lifespan Pill into the Straw Gu's mouth, allowing it to undergo Transformation.

Another half month later, the Straw Gu finally awakened, successfully completing its Transformation into a Strange Gu, filling Long Xuan with immense joy.

At this time, a month had already passed since the sale of the Ice-Fire Polar Pill, and the new Town Shop Treasure had been displayed in the shop for a month as well.

Barring the unexpected, the Soul Restoring Pill's ability to repair the souls of Gu Cultivators below the Spirit Sea Stage had aroused the interest of many Gu Cultivators, with countless individuals wishing to trade.

But alas, the trading Rule for this Town Shop Treasure required only Divine Beast Essence Blood, and how could ordinary Gu Cultivators easily obtain Divine Beast Essence Blood?

Therefore, although this Soul Restoring Pill had attracted the gaze of countless Gu Cultivators, after being displayed here for a month, it ultimately was not traded away.

Seeing that a month's time had passed without finding any Divine Beast Essence Blood, Long Xuan finally prepared to give up.

He stripped Master Wei's Pill Shop of all its treasures, finally changed his appearance, and departed from the City of Sin.

Master Song's Insect Armor Shop was also stripped by him of everything, and then closed down for good.

Pills capable of summoning a Heavenly Phenomenon naturally cannot be refined within the city; next, he would go to the Thunder Swamp to refine the Blood Lotus Pill capable of summoning a Heavenly Phenomenon, after which he would set out for the Heavenly Phoenix Empire to participate in the unprecedented Alchemy Grand Meeting.

For a very long time, he would be unable to return to the City of Sin, so these two shops naturally had to be closed.

After the Straw Gu successfully completed its Transformation, leaving was quite convenient.

He placed a Straw Gu Hut in an extremely hidden spot within Master Song's Insect Armor Shop, stepped inside, and instantly appeared in the Thunder Swamp.

Having not returned to this place for a long time, Long Xuan still felt a sense of kinship; gazing at the sky filled with thunderbolts, a faint smile crossed his lips.

Suddenly thinking of something else, he looked toward the center of the Thunder Swamp.

Hidden there was a mysterious soul, a soul carrying the Water Seed of Heavenly Water.

He remained obsessed with Heavenly Water to this day, still pondering how to seize it.

Although water counters fire, ordinary water could never extinguish Heavenly Fire; only Heavenly Water could extinguish Heavenly Fire.

Therefore, if he possessed a type of Heavenly Water capable of countering Heavenly Fire, devouring the Heavenly Fire would naturally be much easier, and the success rate would increase significantly.

However, the moment this thought arose, he quickly abandoned it.

The logic was sound, but was devouring Heavenly Water not equally dangerous?

To reduce the danger of devouring Heavenly Fire by instead devouring the equally dangerous Heavenly Water meant one reduction and one increase in safety, yielding no net improvement.

Moreover, before he could devour Heavenly Water, he would likely need to create a Pill capable of increasing the success rate of devouring Heavenly Water, which would waste a great deal more of his time.

Ultimately, Long Xuan decided to set aside the matter of devouring Heavenly Water for now; things must be done one by one. Heavenly Water was fixed in place; it could not run away.

Taking a deep breath, he finally took out that Six-Grade Blood Lotus and brought out all the Spirit Medicine required to refine the Blood Lotus Pill.

He formally prepared to begin refining the Blood Lotus Pill...

Seven days later, vast dark clouds condensed in the sky, making the already lightless Thunder Swamp even darker.

Of course, the Thunder Swamp was naturally shrouded in dark clouds; the newly appeared clouds merely overlapped with the original ones, so on the surface, the Thunder Swamp remained unchanged, showing no visible difference.

Those active near the Thunder Swamp naturally would not notice the commotion here.

Thus, although the Pill Long Xuan refined clearly summoned a Heavenly Phenomenon, no one detected it.

After the Heavenly Phenomenon persisted for a while, the Blood Lotus Pill finally formed; the phenomenon vanished, and the dark clouds slowly dispersed.

Yet the Thunder Swamp showed no major changes; it remained filled with rolling thunder and dense clouds. Who could have guessed that someone had just refined a Pill capable of summoning a Heavenly Phenomenon here?

The Alchemy Furnace was suddenly shaken loose, and five round Red Pills flew out from within; Long Xuan, quick-eyed and fast-handed, completely ignoring the scalding heat of the Pills, grabbed all five into his hand.

Gazing at the five Pills in his hand emitting a red halo, Long Xuan's heart was overwhelmed with excitement.

The Blood Lotus Pill was now complete; next, he would devour the Heavenly Fire, and thereafter he would be a person possessing Heavenly Fire.

"Fire Clone, I'm counting on you now; don't disappoint me!"

Speaking thus, Long Xuan tossed one of the Blood Lotus Pills to the Fire Clone beside him, causing the Fire Clone to involuntarily shiver. (End of Chapter)