Chapter 3138 — Kang Jingming Falls into the Trap

"Yes, Second Grandfather, I understand!" Ouyang Nong said solemnly.

After hanging up, Ouyang Legend immediately dialed Kang Jingming's number.

"Greetings, Grand Elder Ouyang. How may I be of service?" Kang Jingming asked nervously when he picked up.

"Nothing much. Just wanted to tell you that first-grade pills have been selling rather well lately. If you have any more on hand, send some over. I'm afraid we'll run short," Ouyang Legend said offhandedly.

"I don't have any in stock at the moment, but rest assured, Grand Elder Ouyang, we can refine more quickly on our end. I'll have my people start at once, and we'll deliver them shortly!" Kang Jingming said hastily.

"Oh, then make it quick. If we run out here, we'll have no choice but to source from other channels. After all, the Cultivator's Commerce Association can hardly turn its back on profit!" Ouyang Legend said, seemingly casual, yet his words gave Kang Jingming a fright.

If Ouyang Legend truly bought from other channels, then all the pains Kang Jingming and Patriarch Xuanchen had taken would be for nothing. Wei Zhao was, after all, only one man; no matter how many pills he held, it was a limited quantity, and the Cultivator's Commerce Association could swallow his entire stock in a single purchase. If that happened, Kang Jingming would be left weeping with no recourse.

"Rest assured, Grand Elder Ouyang, we'll work through the night and deliver a large batch of first-grade pills to you in no time!" Kang Jingming said in alarm.

"Good, then I'll wait on you," Ouyang Legend said. "I'll give you three days."

"Three days—that's plenty!" Kang Jingming breathed a sigh of relief.

After hanging up, a cold smile flickered at the corner of Ouyang Legend's mouth. He valued Ouyang Nong immensely. He himself now had one foot through the gate of the Heavenly Dao, and with no other ambitions left before the opportunity on Cloud Terrace Island arrived, all his hopes rested on this younger kinsman of his.

Ouyang Nong's injury had been an unhealing wound in his heart. Now that the boy was healed, Ouyang Legend was overjoyed, and he was endlessly grateful to Ouyang Nong's benefactor. Whatever Ouyang Nong asked of him, so long as it lay within his power, he would never refuse.

To quietly deal the Xuandan Sect a blow, so long as it did not harm the Cultivator's Commerce Association's overall interests—on that condition, Ouyang Legend had agreed.

As for Kang Jingming, after hanging up he set people to purchasing materials for first-grade pills, then mobilized the entire sect. Whether disciples of the Five Luminaries Sect or the Xuandan Sect, anyone with spare time began refining first-grade pills in vast quantities.

This time, Kang Jingming and Patriarch Xuanchen went all in, pouring out nearly every liquid asset the Five Luminaries Sect possessed to buy materials for first-grade pills. It was not that Patriarch Xuanchen was foolish or easily duped—mainly, in his view, once the first-grade pills were refined they could always be sold. Spirit-Gathering Pills were, after all, a highly popular pill, in constant short supply among the hidden families, ordinary sects, and even the ancient sects. Refining them could not possibly mean a loss.

Shrewd as Patriarch Xuanchen was, he could never have imagined that something as heaven-defying as a first-grade automatic pill cauldron existed. In his mind, such a thing simply did not exist.

So Patriarch Xuanchen did not overthink it. He simply ordered Kang Jingming to find people to refine a great quantity of first-grade pills. It did not matter if they could not be sold for now—so long as Wei Zhao's pills could be blocked. Wei Zhao's stock would rot in his hands, while the Xuandan Sect's first-grade pills could sell for three to five years if need be. In the end, such goods would always sell through.

To other ancient sects and hidden families, first-grade pills were difficult—even if they could refine them, the success rate was pitifully low. But to the disciples of the Five Luminaries Sect and the Xuandan Sect, it was familiar work, and they refined them swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Kang Jingming and his people had refined over ten thousand first-grade pills, exhausting every liquid asset of the Five Luminaries Sect.

"Haha, Father-in-law, now let's see whether that Wei Zhao lives or dies. With this many first-grade pills, we've got enough to sell for three to five years. No rush—let the Cultivator's Commerce Association sell them slowly and choke Wei Zhao to death!" Kang Jingming said, bursting with excitement as he looked at the mountain of pill boxes before him.

"Yes. Now take your people and deliver these pills to the Cultivator's Commerce Association," Patriarch Xuanchen said with a nod.

"Yes, Father-in-law, I'll go at once!" Kang Jingming nodded eagerly. This was a fine chance to show his face. The more dealings he had with the Cultivator's Commerce Association, the more firmly he would establish himself in both the Five Luminaries Sect and the Xuandan Sect, becoming the voice of the new generation.

Kang Jingming brought two disciples and hurried to the Cultivator's Commerce Association, where he met the Association's First Grand Elder and Honorary President, Shen Jiutian, and the Second Grand Elder and Honorary President, Ouyang Legend.

"Kang Jingming of the Xuandan Sect pays his respects to President Shen and President Ouyang!" Kang Jingming said respectfully.

"Mm. Elder Kang, thank you for your trouble," President Shen said with a nod, motioning for Kang Jingming to sit and talk. "Your Xuandan Sect's pills sell very well. But why so many this time?"

Naturally, Kang Jingming could hardly say it was to corner Wei Zhao's market. If he said so, President Shen might not even know who Wei Zhao was, and such private grudges were not fit for open discussion. So Kang Jingming merely smiled and said, "Haha, our disciples have had little to do lately, so I had them all practice pill refinement. That's why we've refined a bit more. But it's no matter—pills are consumables and won't spoil with long storage, so we can sell them slowly. We're in no hurry for the money!"

Though refining these pills had nearly drained the Five Luminaries Sect's liquid assets, Kang Jingming was not worried. After all, the Cultivator's Commerce Association sold pills every day, and within a month or so he would recoup a sum enough to keep things running.

"That's true enough." President Shen nodded, then turned to Ouyang Legend. "President Ouyang, you handle the inspection of pills. Have Elder Kang's people send them to the warehouse and check them over."

"Yes, President Shen!" Ouyang Legend nodded and was about to rise when a disciple of the Cultivator's Commerce Association walked in.

"Reporting to President Shen and President Ouyang, Vice President Ouyang Nong requests an audience!" The disciple was clearly one of President Shen's trusted men, for he spoke up without hesitation even on such an occasion. (To be continued.