Chapter 1193: External Forces
"What? The Pinecrane Pill?” In a secret chamber somewhere in Veluriyam Capital, Emperor Pillzenith was completely astounded by the news. He’d been involved in Veluriyam Capital’s internal strife from the very beginning. Before this, he’d never have thought that Emperor Shura would voluntarily invite him to join forces against Emperor Peafowl. He simply couldn’t believe that Emperor Shura could be this dumb.
In fact, he’d even suspected at first that this was a ruse by Emperor Peafowl to lure him out of Pillfire City. But after a long and thorough observation, he realized that this wasn’t a setup after all. Emperor Shura really had been dropped on the head when he was a child. It was risky cavorting with the enemy, but he didn’t mind taking advantage of the situation.
And so, they began to collaborate with each other. Not only that, Emperor Shura had also reached out to Eternal Celestial Capital. The three factions had joined forces against Emperor Peafowl.
Of course, the one who contributed the most was still Emperor Pillzenith. He’d taken the most powerful poison available in Pillfire City and resorted to all kinds of underhanded methods to defeat Emperor Peafowl. Even though there was no corpse, Emperor Pillzenith was absolutely certain that Emperor Peafowl was dead. Pill dao giants like him had complete faith in their poisons.
He firmly believed that Emperor Peafowl was dead. With that, his next target was Pill King Zhen. In Emperor Pillzenith’s opinion, Pill King Zhen was much more annoying to deal with than Emperor Peafowl. The emperor was incredibly strong and Veluriyam Capital had flourished under his rule, but the capital was still only at the same level as Pillfire City.
Veluriyam Capital’s pill dao foundation was only a fifth of Pillfire City’s. They posed as no threat in that particular field. Unfortunately, that was ancient history now. Things were completely different with young lord Zhen’s appearance in Veluriyam Capital.
The young lord had completely slaughtered Pill King Ji Lang in the duel over the Longevity Pill. Moreover, he’d even pretended to be a pill king from Myriad Abyss Island and slipped into the city to join the Bounty Arena, completely dominating every pill king in the city.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it. When Pill King Ji Lang was driven to his wit’s end over the Moon God Precious Tree, the young lord had swooped in and solved the issue with a few words. The pill king had indisputably lost to the young lord yet again. It was an enormous blow to the proud and lofty city.
Emperor Pillzenith was concealing himself within Veluriyam Capital to help push Emperor Shura to the throne while looking for a chance to get rid of Pill King Zhen. Swallowing Veluriyam Capital whole wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Emperor Pillzenith had an enormous appetite, but not even his gluttony would induce him to do such a thing. After all, both territories were on opposite ends of the region. To swallow the capital whole, he’d have to traverse through the entire Upper Eight Regions.
Even if his appetite was really that voracious, it was unlikely that he’d be daring enough to do such a thing as the masses would be completely livid over his actions. If any of the other factions grew furious over his ambitions, they might suddenly see him as a threat and join forces to obliterate his faction. If he wanted to meddle in Veluriyam Capital’s matters, he’d have to do so from the shadows.
Besides, so long as the capital was in Emperor Shura’s hands, it would sooner or later decline into a second rate faction even without any meddling from Emperor Pillzenith. They'd no longer be on the same level as Pillfire City then. But of course, the prerequisite was that Pill King Zhen had to die and Sacred Peafowl Mountain destroyed. It was hard to predict what could happen as long as Pill King Zhen was alive.
For some reason, Emperor Pillzenith was deathly afraid of the young pill king. The mysterious youth seemed to be capable of making the impossible, possible. Thus, his great reaction couldn’t be faulted when he heard about the Pinecrane Pill. It was yet another thorn in his side.
“How on earth does he have so much knowledge? Is there no end to what he knows!?” Emperor Pillzenith exclaimed with frustration. It went without saying that Pill King Zhen had something to do the Pinecrane Pill.
“Your Majesty, we're in deep trouble if the pill is truly as miraculous as the rumors. With the pill, Veluriyam Capital could definitely deal a lethal blow to our city!”
This was no exaggeration.
The Longevity Pill’s impact was negligible as it was only meant for the lowly sage ream cultivators. Their numbers were aplenty, but not a single one of them could dictate the human domain’s future. However, the Pinecrane Pill worked on emperors and for some extent, great emperors! This was earth shattering news!
Equipped with unparalleled strength, this level of cultivators was the demographic that could steer the human domain’s future. If everyone in this demographic flocked towards the Sacred Peafowl Mountain and formed a long term relationship to get their hands on the pill, the faction would surely expand and grow at an astounding speed!
Ten years... one hundred years… five hundred years… With the passage of time, the mountain would surely catch up to Pillfire City in pill dao.
The thought of that happening sent a cold chill down Emperor Pillzenith’s spine. He’d only felt some embarrassment and rage from loss of face after Pill King Ji Lang had lost to Pill King Zhen twice. But after learning about the Pinecrane Pill, he felt threatened as he foresaw complete and utter peril.
“The art of refining the Pinecrane Pill was said to have been passed down to Pill King Zhen from a master of unknown origins. When he was in our city, he claimed that he was from the Myriad Abyss Island. Perhaps his master is truly an empyrean pill saint from that island?”
One couldn’t blame Emperor Pillzenith for running to such conclusions. Even though he was one of the titans of the pill dao world, he couldn’t help but feel a little worthless in the face of Jiang Chen’s seemingly boundless pill dao knowledge. In fact, he’d even begun to feel ashamed of himself.
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This cannot do. I must get my hands on Pill King Zhen. He’s practically an inexhaustible source of pill dao knowledge. Emperor Pillzenith was determined. If I can’t get my hands on him, then I must make sure that he dies. Sooner or later, he’ll definitely become a mortal enemy of my Pillfire City.
Emperor Pillzenith was scared. He never imagined that someone would one day threaten the very foundations of Pillfire City. He realized that city wasn’t as indestructible as he first thought. He only had that misconception because no one with the skills to challenge it had ever appeared, until now. Pill King Zhen obviously possessed that level of skill and potential.
……
The Holy Emperor of the Eternal Celestial Capital was also in the capital. A few of its holy kings met up with their emperor.
“Saint Holy King Mu, did you hear about the Pinecrane Pill during your stay in the capital?”
“No, Your Majesty. I’ve only heard about the Longevity Pill. Could this be a hoax from Sacred Peafowl Mountain?”
“This subordinate believes that it’s a hoax too. The Longevity Pill is already beyond imagination. No matter how I look at it, the Pinecrane Pill just doesn’t seem realistic.”
The holy emperor snorted. “The world is huge and full of wonders. Just a few years ago, no one thought that the Longevity Pill could possibly be real, but now everyone has accepted it as the norm. While it may be true that we haven’t seen the Pinecrane Pill in person yet, the Coiling Dragon clan lord’s story does seem plausible if you actually think about it.”
Saint Holy King Mu was caught by surprise. “Your Majesty, do you truly believe that the Pinecrane Pill is real?”
“It’s impossible to know whether it’s real or a hoax, but the Coiling Dragon clan lord’s sudden transcendance from cultivation dissipation to great emperor realm is worth a look.”
“Your Majesty speaks wisely. Perhaps the Pinecrane Pill is actually real as Pill King Zhen does seem capable of everything.”
“Pill King Zhen…” The Holy Emperor furrowed his brows. “Are you still unable to tell if that brat has anything to do with Jiang Chen yet?”
“But Your Majesty, he’s the young lord of Sacred Peafowl Mountain… we did have an opportunity to find out the truth, but Emperor Peafowl interrupted us. Our hands are tied in the capital...”
A look of fear surfaced briefly on the Holy Emperor’s face when he heard Emperor Peafowl’s name. Even though he was the lord of a first rank sect, he was nowhere near Emperor Peafowl in terms of strength and fame. The latter was the ruler of Veluriyam Capital. Everyone knew that the capital held enough heritage to rival at least two or three first rank sects!
It was the reason why he feared Emperor Peafowl so much. Fortunately, the ruler of Veluriyam Capital was long gone and would never come back. The Holy Emperor’s ambitions began to run wild. The Eternal Celestial Capital’s territory was rather near to Veluriyam Capital. Without Emperor Peafowl, Veluriyam’s terrority would soon be nibbled away by nearby factions.
Perhaps the Eternal Celestial Capital could also have a piece of the pie!
It was why they agreed to help Emperor Shura kill Emperor Peafowl in the first place. Everything had been done in the name of profit. After hearing about the Pinecrane Pill, the Holy Emperor’s heart began to fill with greed again.
Last time, the Eternal Celestial Capital was able to get their hands on the Longevity Pill, but the Sacred Peafowl Mountain had taken it right from their hands. The faction’s hate for Veluriyam Capital had grown exponentially ever since that incident. How could the Holy Emperor let this chance slip by?
The Longevity Pill was already incredibly enticing. The Pinecrane Pill however, was at least a hundred times more appealing! It’d be impossible for the Holy Emperor to not be moved by it.
“Your Majesty, if the Pinecrane Pill is real, we must get our hands on part of that pie. Pillfire City will not sit idly by. We need to make our move as soon as possible. Even if we can’t have it for ourselves, we must talk to Pillfire City and make sure that we get a cut of the profits too.”
These men had set their eyes on the Pinecrane Pill.