Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

Ye Xuan smiled and said, "Xu Ping, just think for a moment and you’ll understand. Lately, you’ve been visiting the brothels about once every half a month, haven’t you? And it’s either the same woman you see every time, or the same person taking you there."

The moment Ye Xuan spoke, Xu Ping’s body trembled violently. A frightening glint flashed in his eyes as he snarled, "It was him..."

"Heh, I imagine you’ve guessed the reason by now," Ye Xuan said with a small smile.

"That damn bastard! He dared to use me! Grandpa, it was Xu—" Xu Ping whipped his head around to face Xu Zhen, his voice choked with rage.

"Ahem." Xu Zhen coughed twice, cutting Xu Ping off. He shot his grandson a stern glare before cupping his hands toward Ye Xuan. "Master Xuan Ye, I am deeply indebted to you. Without you, I wouldn’t have even known how I was going to die. But since you were able to identify the cause of my poisoning, I wonder... is there a cure?"

Ye Xuan smiled. "It’s quite simple."

With that, he quickly wrote out a list and handed it over. "Elder Xu Zhen, you just need to fill this prescription and take a few doses of the medicine. Fortunately, it seems your poisoner was hesitant about something, so they didn’t dare use a dose that was too potent. As a result, the poison is only in its middle stages, and you should recover quickly. The one thing you must be mindful of is to avoid any further contact with the source of the poison. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe."

"Then I must thank you, Master Xuan Ye," Xu Zhen said, his expression full of gratitude as he accepted the list.

"Young Master Xu, I trust you heard what I said?" Ye Xuan added, turning to Xu Ping with a smile.

"Mas... Master Xuan Ye... I understand."

Xu Ping lowered his head. Of course he knew what Ye Xuan meant: he was to stay away from the brothels.

In fact, the thought that he had nearly caused his grandfather’s death filled Xu Ping with immense shame and regret. His initial resentment toward Ye Xuan had vanished, replaced by a profound sense of gratitude.

"By the way, Master Xuan Ye," Xu Zhen began again, his tone cautious, "about my old affliction..."

Ye Xuan shook his head. "On that matter, I’m afraid I’m powerless. If I’m not mistaken, Elder Xu Zhen, your Profound Sea was pierced by the power of a soul weapon over a decade ago. Your Profound Sea has since stabilized around the wound, making the damaged area incredibly difficult to repair. You could hire a Soul Refiner to nourish it daily with the power of a Soul Crystal, which might bring some slight improvement, but a full recovery is highly unlikely."

A flicker of disappointment showed in Xu Zhen’s eyes, but he cupped his hands again. "Well, thank you all the same, Master Xuan Ye."

As he spoke, he took out five types of Tier Eight materials. "Master Xuan Ye, this is the fee for the top-tier appointment. Is this enough?"

"It’s enough."

Ye Xuan glanced at the items, and his eyes lit up. ’These are all excellent things Xu Zhen brought out, no worse than what Qiu Wushuang offered. As expected of one of the top families in Celestial Capital Prefecture. Their wealth is truly impressive.’

"Then I will take my leave. If the Profound Light Pavilion has any needs in the future, please feel free to come find me at the Xu family residence. As long as it is within my power to help, I will not refuse."

Xu Zhen cupped his hands, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and quickly departed with Xu Ping.

Ye Xuan knew they were in a hurry to investigate the truth behind the poisoning.

That’s why, before they left, Ye Xuan had specifically asked Xu Zhen not to reveal the details of their appointment. Xu Zhen had nodded in understanding.

Xu Zhen understood that the Profound Light Pavilion was afraid of attracting trouble. If the culprit discovered the Profound Light Pavilion had cured his poison, they might not be able to retaliate against him, so they would target the pavilion instead.

"It seems things are never quiet within the great families," Elder Yao and the others couldn’t help but remark, watching Xu Zhen’s departing figure.

"Xu Zhen was actually quite a figure in his day," Su Xiuyi sighed. "His reputation in Celestial Capital Prefecture was immense, his fame once unparalleled. It’s a shame his Profound Sea was shattered, ending any hope of further progress in this lifetime."

Su Xiuyi had arrived in Celestial Capital Prefecture before Xu Zhen’s incident, so he was naturally aware of many of the details.

"Actually, Xu Zhen’s Profound Sea might not be impossible to repair," Ye Xuan said suddenly.

Elder Yao and the others froze, staring at Ye Xuan in astonishment. "Young Master Ye, are you saying Xu Zhen’s Profound Sea can be restored?"

Ye Xuan nodded.

"Then why did you...?" they all blurted out, their faces a mask of shock and confusion.

Ye Xuan’s expression turned serious. "I took a look. The one who pierced Xu Zhen’s Profound Sea back then was likely a Martial Emperor at the Tier Eight Third Layer."

HISS!

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp. A Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperor! Even in Celestial Capital Prefecture, a figure of that caliber would be ranked among the absolute strongest experts.

What was even more startling was that the number of Tier Eight Third Layer Martial Emperors in Celestial Capital Prefecture could be counted on one’s fingers, and they were almost all members of the top families.

Seeing that they seemed to be catching on, Ye Xuan explained, "That’s why I didn’t offer to treat Xu Zhen’s Profound Sea. First, restoring it would be extremely difficult and would consume a vast amount of my energy. Second, there’s no reason for us to get involved in the struggles between these great families. The Profound Light Pavilion is still small. It’s not worth taking such a risk for a minor benefit."

Ye Xuan was proud and ambitious, but he was also keenly aware that to survive in a place like Celestial Capital Prefecture, teeming with major powers, the most important rule was to never get entangled in their conflicts. One wrong move and you could be utterly destroyed.

Disputes and conflicts from other quarters, however, were of little concern.

After Xu Zhen’s departure, Ye Xuan and his team kept a close watch on the public chatter. They eventually heard that when Xu Zhen’s friends asked about his visit, he had told them he was seeking a cure for his Profound Sea, but the Profound Light Pavilion was unable to help. Hearing this, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

At least when it came to keeping his word, Elder Xu Zhen was a man of honor.

Although rumors of Elder Xu Zhen’s "failed" appointment spread, it did little to diminish the impact of the top-tier service. After all, Hawkeye Emperor Qiu Wushuang’s reputation in Celestial Capital Prefecture was considerable, and the Profound Light Pavilion had solved a problem for him that many other Alchemists could not.

Over the next few days, people continued to book the top-tier service, and almost every client left with a perfect solution to their problem.

This caused the Profound Light Pavilion’s reputation to soar once more.

If, in the beginning, the Profound Light Pavilion’s influence was limited to the lower echelons, the launch of its top-tier service had now earned it a reputation among the highest powers in Celestial Capital Prefecture.

Some powers that had been displeased by the Profound Light Pavilion’s rising fame now reined in their discontent. After all, they couldn’t guarantee that they themselves wouldn’t one day need to seek the pavilion’s help.

The only party that wasn’t pleased was the Ancient Pill Tower.

Because of the Profound Light Pavilion’s opening, business at the Ancient Pill Tower had gotten worse by the day. Their daily sales volume had plummeted to less than a third of what it once was—a devastating blow to their vitality.

Now, the Ancient Pill Tower couldn’t even think about opening a branch; even its main store was struggling to stay afloat. If it weren’t for the powers backing them, they would likely be on the verge of collapse.

Moreover, after failing to outbid Ye Xuan’s group for Suxin Tower, they had settled for renting the nearby Treasure Hall Pavilion, paying several years of rent upfront. They had planned to open a branch there, but now the building just sat empty—a near-complete loss on their investment.

"So, what do you all think we should do now?"

Inside the Ancient Pill Tower, Tower Master Qi Liming’s face was ashen as he spoke in a rage.

Seated below him, Deputy Tower Master Xi Yichun, Master Hongde, and Master Zhen Li remained silent.

Their original proposal had been to buy out all of the Profound Light Pavilion’s Seventh-Grade Pills, forcing them to raise their prices.

But who would have thought that after all this time, the Profound Light Pavilion’s prices would remain just as low, with demand exceeding supply every single day? Meanwhile, the Ancient Pill Tower’s own inventory had been nearly exhausted, leaving them with nothing but a mountain of pills from their rival.

To make matters worse, the Profound Light Pavilion was still selling those very same pills. The Ancient Pill Tower couldn’t possibly put them up for sale, could they?

Leaving aside the fact that the Profound Light Pavilion would find out, even if they didn’t care, would any customers even buy them? Anyone could tell at a glance that the Ancient Pill Tower’s pills were from the Profound Light Pavilion—second-hand goods.

It was safe to say the Ancient Pill Tower was now caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Tower Master, we never imagined the Profound Light Pavilion’s skill in Alchemy would be this profound," Master Zhen Li said with a wry smile, trying to break the heavy atmosphere in the hall.

"I don’t care what you did or didn’t imagine! I just want to know what the Ancient Pill Tower is supposed to do now!" Qi Liming snapped, his temper flaring.

"We have plenty of their Seventh-Grade Pills, don’t we? What if we set a trap for them, just like we did with Xiuyi Pavilion?" Xi Yichun suggested.

When pill pavilions competed, the most straightforward overt methods were price wars and quality wars. But right now, the Ancient Pill Tower lacked the courage to even consider a price war with the Profound Light Pavilion.

Never mind the Ancient Pill Tower; not a single Alchemy Dao power in all of Celestial Capital Prefecture dared to start a price war with the Profound Light Pavilion at this point.

The Profound Light Pavilion’s opening had effectively reshuffled the entire pill market in Celestial Capital Prefecture. Other powers were scrambling to get out of the way; none would dare declare war.

As for covert methods, the most common was to set a trap.

It was just as they had done against Xiuyi Pavilion: all they had to do was spread a rumor that the Profound Light Pavilion’s pills were defective, that they could poison people, and the pavilion would quickly be ruined.

No one would dare buy from a pavilion with questionable pills. After all, every pill was taken for a crucial purpose, be it for combat or healing, and there was absolutely no room for error.

At Xi Yichun’s suggestion, Master Zhen Li began to ponder the idea. But Hongde immediately shot to his feet, his face grave. "No. That is absolutely not an option."

He looked as if he was still suffering from lingering trauma. The memory of what had happened at Xiuyi Pavilion still made his heart pound with fear.

"The Profound Light Pavilion’s Alchemy skill is far too advanced. If we try to pull any tricks in that area, we will definitely be exposed."

Hongde said without hesitation, feeling the gazes of Qi Liming and the others fixed on him.

Beside him, Zhen Tong also sighed.

If Hongde had said this just half a month ago, Zhen Tong might have disagreed. But after witnessing the results of the Profound Light Pavilion’s top-tier service, he had to admit Hongde’s words were no mere alarmist talk.

At the very least, many of the problems the Profound Light Pavilion had solved were ones he himself had no hope of resolving.