Chapter 2188: Beitang Xue

The largest plaza in Ghost Spirit Royal City was already packed with people, even though the appointed time had not yet arrived. Zhang Xuan had previously thought 100,000 would be the maximum, but the crowd before him far exceeded that number.

Besides the platform that had been set up earlier, the plaza was overflowing with people, and many were even hovering in the air on flying divine beasts.

"The number of attendees... must have surpassed 500,000!" remarked an old man in gray robes, seated on the back of a flying divine beast, as he frowned at the dense crowd before him.

"It just goes to show how immense the influence of the Beauty Pill is!" an old man in black robes next to him chimed in.

"Indeed," the old man in gray said, shaking his head. "I specifically bought this pill to study it. From its appearance, it's just an ordinary low-grade Divine Essence Pill. The medicinal ingredients, refining methods, and heat control are all identical. Yet, for some unknown reason, it possesses astonishing effects!"

The Beauty Pill had become immensely popular throughout the Royal City. He had arranged for it to be purchased and had studied it extensively for three full days. The astonishing conclusion he reached was that it was merely a common low-grade Divine Essence Pill.

At the time, he felt utterly bewildered. A low-grade Divine Essence Pill could be bought for a single divine coin, yet this one was 1,500 times more expensive. To call it a scam wasn't accurate, as he had taken it himself and clearly felt its effects!

Old hidden injuries he'd sustained from an accident were easily removed, and his skin had indeed improved significantly, making him look much younger. Yet, when he took an ordinary Divine Essence Pill, it had no effect whatsoever.

He had researched it for days but couldn't understand what was going on. That's why he had specifically rushed here, hoping to see for himself who could possibly refine such a pill.

"I've researched it too, and my conclusion is the same as yours..." The old man in black gave a wry smile. "Moreover, to my knowledge, it's not just us; the entire Alchemist Guild in the Royal City is researching it, and their conclusions are similar to ours. It seems their guild master is nearly driven mad by it."

"Are you talking about Alchemist Zhou Feng?" the old man in gray asked, looking over.

"Yes!" The old man in black nodded.

"Zhou Feng is Fu Jiangchen's direct disciple. His alchemy skills are even superior to ours. He couldn't figure it out either?" The old man in gray seemed somewhat disbelieving. Fu Jiangchen was the most renowned Grandmaster Alchemist in the Divine World, rumored to have once refined pills for the Divine Sovereign. His disciples were spread throughout the Divine World, each of them famous, and Zhou Feng was considered one of his top apprentices.

"An alchemist I once taught, who is with their guild, told me personally," the old man in black explained, "that when the Beauty Pill first appeared, they acquired three through special channels. They specifically reverse-engineered the medicinal ingredients and refining heat and found them to be exactly the same as the refining method for a low-grade Divine Essence Pill, with no difference at all!"

Reverse-engineering medicinal ingredients involves using special methods to deduce the pill's components and refining heat. To reverse-engineer a finished product requires extremely advanced alchemy knowledge; even attempting it would take a lot of time.

"Indeed. Unfortunately, this Beauty Pill is truly not just a Divine Essence Pill. There must be something we can't detect within it..." Hearing that even the Alchemist Guild master was as perplexed as they were, the old man in black breathed a sigh of relief. If even that master couldn't figure it out, it didn't mean his own alchemy was lacking, but rather that the alchemist who created this pill was simply too powerful.

As he was sighing and about to finish speaking, he heard the anxious voice of the old man in gray: "Look quickly, isn't that... Grandmaster Alchemist Fu Jiangchen?"

The old man in black hurriedly looked up and immediately saw a flying divine beast appearing nearby. At the front of the beast's back, an old man with a grizzled beard sat upright, while several figures stood behind him, not daring to sit. Among them, the one closest to the front was none other than Alchemist Zhou Feng, whom they had just discussed.

"It's him!" The old man in black was full of disbelief. "When I traveled through the various heavens, I was fortunate enough to meet him once and attend one of his lectures. His masterly demeanor was truly captivating... But why would he come here in person?"

"Indeed. He's a Divine King expert... and he actually came in person!" the old man in gray said with a hint of hesitation. "Could it be that he also researched the Beauty Pill and couldn't figure out what was going on?"

This was the only reason he could think of. "It's possible..." The old man in black looked at the platform again, filled with disbelief. "If even the most famous alchemist in the Divine World couldn't figure it out... just how formidable is the person who refined this Beauty Pill?"

This was Fu Jiangchen... a Divine King expert, someone who had even refined pills for the Divine Sovereign! If even he couldn't comprehend it, who exactly was the creator of the Beauty Pill?

"Since this Beauty Pill is so incredible, why doesn't someone just sneak over, seize the alchemist, and get the refining method?" In the crowd, a middle-aged man asked his companion with some confusion. "Don't tell me you're worried about the rules of Ghost Spirit Heaven, or that this is Ghost Spirit Royal City, and you're afraid to act!"

As the imperial capital of Ghost Spirit Heaven, while rules were plentiful, theft and robbery still occurred. The Beauty Pill was clearly a highly profitable business, and its emergence had snatched away countless people's livelihoods. How could the many experts in the Royal City allow this person to remain safe and sound, even making a public appearance here?

"When faced with profit, who can care about so much..." His companion gave a wry smile. "I sent out several of my most powerful experts, three high-grade Heavenly God practitioners, and none of them returned. They were easily slain!"

"Three high-grade Heavenly Gods were killed? Is this alchemist that powerful?" The middle-aged man's pupils contracted.

High-grade Heavenly Gods were considered powerful experts in the Divine World. For three of them to go together and all be killed, could it be that the alchemist was a Divine King expert?

"It's not that he's powerful, but rather... the Qi Clan!" his companion said.

"The Qi Clan?"

"Yes," his companion said, "the Qi Clan's Divine King expert openly declared that harming this person means harming the Qi Clan itself. Once, a Divine King who refused to comply was severely injured and driven away before even reaching them. It's said their Old Ancestor was the one who acted!"

"The Qi Clan's Old Ancestor... you mean the Conferred Divine King Qi Meng..." The middle-aged man's face turned pale.

Earlier, he had been thinking that if the pill was truly as miraculous as rumored, he could find an opportunity to seize the person and extract the formula... He hadn't expected that the Qi Clan's Old Ancestor would interfere!

Qi Meng was an unparalleled figure who had once fought alongside the Divine Sovereign to conquer the world. In Ghost Spirit Heaven, he was among the top few; if the Divine Sovereign didn't act, no one could stop him. To dare cause trouble when such a person offered protection... that would truly be courting death!

"Yes, I advise you to put away any such thoughts, or you might not even know how you died!" his companion warned. The Divine World... even Ghost Spirit Royal City, was not as peaceful as one might imagine.

Anyone daring to sell such a powerful pill, if they didn't have a means of self-protection, would have likely been killed long before others could even try anything.

"Old Ancestor, I've clarified the previous matter. It was indeed someone from the Qi Clan who acted!" Inside a massive floating mansion in Ghost Spirit Heaven, a middle-aged man stood before a room, cupping his fists.

"Qi Meng is like me; he was injured in the past, his lifespan is nearing its end, and he has always ignored worldly affairs," a puzzled voice echoed from inside the room. "Why would he suddenly protect a mere pill seller? Even if his pill is incredibly miraculous, it shouldn't have much effect on a Conferred Divine King, should it?"

The speaker was Bei Tangxue, another Conferred Divine King expert in Ghost Spirit Heaven. Cultivators at their level were rarely swayed by worldly matters. Normally, they would seclude themselves for cultivation, ignoring the world, seeking only to prolong their lives. So why would he suddenly protect a pill seller?

Not only that, he personally acted against a Divine King expert, severely injuring him. Such an action would offend the forces behind that expert, potentially leading to a greater conflict.

"I don't know the exact details, but I do know that the Qi Clan purchased a thousand Beauty Pills," the middle-aged man outside the door respectfully reported. "Among their younger generation who took the pill, both their talent and strength increased significantly! Especially Qi Yue, who is said to have glimpsed the mysteries of the Divine King realm and is on the verge of a breakthrough!"

"On the verge of a breakthrough?" Bei Tangxue paused, surprised. "Is this pill truly so miraculous?"

"Yes!" The middle-aged man flipped his wrist, and a jade box appeared in his palm. "I purchased this specifically. Please take a look, Old Ancestor!" The jade box flew across. Inside the room, Bei Tangxue took the pill between her fingers, examined it for a moment with confusion, and then swallowed it.

"This..." Bei Tangxue's pupils contracted. "There's the aura of a Divine Sovereign within it!"

"Divine Sovereign?" The middle-aged man was startled.

"Yes, if my guess is correct, this pill is just an ordinary low-grade Divine Essence Pill," Bei Tangxue said with a grave expression, "but it contains true Divine Sovereign Qi that only a Divine Sovereign can cultivate, which gives it its unique effects... Of course, this is just a guess. True Divine Sovereign Qi is even purer than this, but... it doesn't have the effect of healing hidden injuries! To understand the specifics, I might need to meet Qi Meng."

He had fought alongside Divine Sovereigns and witnessed their power. Their power was pure, imbued with a suppressive aura of heaven and earth. The pill he held also gave off a similar sensation, but its potency was clearly many times weaker.

"Old Ancestor, are you going to meet the Qi Clan's Old Ancestor?" The middle-aged man was stunned.

"Yes. I always thought that old fellow never concerned himself with anything, but it seems I've fallen behind!" Bei Tangxue stood up. "Whoever refined this pill, even if not a Divine Sovereign, must be intimately connected to one... A single step behind leads to being perpetually behind. It might be one thing if we didn't know, but now that we do, if we do nothing, our Bei Tang Clan will be completely surpassed by the Qi Clan, never able to catch up!"

Although he didn't know how this pill was refined, its proven efficacy meant it was real. If something real was beyond his comprehension, it inevitably involved a Divine Sovereign. When it involved this level, even he, a Conferred Divine King, dared not speak lightly. It was best if he could find a way to get involved; otherwise, if he missed this opportunity, it would truly be too late.