Chapter 4990 — Tearing Off the Seal

For ordinary fourth- or fifth-grade pills, top-tier quality was difficult to achieve but by no means especially rare. But these were seventh-grade pills! Even he had never refined anything of top-tier quality. Did that not mean the alchemist behind this was far more capable than Zheng Dongsheng himself?

Could this be the work of a Mystic-rank alchemist? Zheng Dongsheng muttered to himself, yet when he extended his senses, he was startled to find the pills utterly clean, without the faintest trace of a divine-sense imprint.

"Well?" Wu Miao asked.

"There is not a single divine-sense imprint on them," Zheng Dongsheng said, shaking his head. This was not something that could be faked—after all, these seventh-grade Great Restoration Pills were seized evidence, and if the Heavenly Pill Pavilion kicked up a fuss, someone would eventually be called in to re-examine them.

"No divine-sense imprint?" Wu Miao's expression changed. He had already made his pronouncement in public—was this not slapping him in the face before everyone?

"In that case, there should be no grounds left to shut down our Heavenly Pill Pavilion, surely?" Tian Chan and the others felt their hearts ease. The Heavenly Pill Pavilion was in excellent shape right now; if it truly were sealed off today, the loss would be beyond measure.

"On the contrary. High-grade pills sold through proper channels would never have their divine-sense imprints deliberately erased—only smuggled goods that cannot stand the light of day would do such a thing. So you have outsmarted yourselves." Zheng Dongsheng gave a cold laugh.

"You are slandering us!" Tian Chan and the others flushed crimson with fury.

"The facts are plain before you—what is there to argue? Step aside at once, or you will be killed without mercy!" Wu Miao gave the order on the spot.

At his command, the elite guards surged forward. If Tian Chan and Xue Li did not have the sense to step aside, they truly would strike to kill.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Wei Shenjin hurriedly pulled the two women aside and murmured his consolation: "They clearly came prepared. Reasoning with them is useless—we can only wait for Leader Wei Zhao to return and then think of something. While there is life, there is hope."

Though Tian Chan and Xue Li were unwilling to accept it, they had not yet let rage cloud their judgment. They could only stand sullenly to one side, watching helplessly as the other side plastered the seal across the gates of the Heavenly Pill Pavilion.

"Fall back!" Wu Miao and Zheng Dongsheng exchanged a smile, then led their people off in grand style. The Heavenly Pill Pavilion had already been sealed—what point was there in squabbling further with the Famous Medicine Sect?

"Tsk, tsk. The Heavenly Pill Pavilion is in a sorry state now. It finally built up a roaring trade, and before half a day passed it got sealed shut. Truly pitiful." The onlookers nearby had not dispersed; they were still whispering and pointing.

"Indeed. Who told them to cross the Famous Medicine Sect? The sect can even call in Wu Miao, the Standing Vice Island Lord, to do its bidding—who could the Heavenly Pill Pavilion possibly summon? In the end, they were simply too weak, too shallow in foundation! The strong prey on the weak—that is fate. This day was bound to come sooner or later." Someone in the crowd sighed and remarked.

"What a waste. Setting everything else aside, their pills are reliably high quality and the prices are fair enough. At a big shop like the Famous Medicine Sect, you would pay at least double—and even then you could never buy top-tier pills. Alas..." Another shook his head with a sigh.

The crowd buzzed with discussion. Just then, Wei Zhao finally arrived, belatedly. Behind him followed two assistants borrowed from the Five Elements Merchant Guild to help with the emergency, and at first glance they caught sight of the conspicuous seal on the Heavenly Pill Pavilion's gates. They could not help but pause.

"What is going on here?" Wei Zhao found Tian Chan and the other two, their faces full of indignation, and asked.

"The Island Lord's Pavilion people said our seventh-grade pills are all smuggled goods from the Eastern Continent, so they brought men to seal the place—they even took away those five seventh-grade Great Restoration Pills," Tian Chan said, she and Xue Li both wearing looks of grievance.

"The one who just came was Wu Miao, the Standing Vice Island Lord. But the Famous Medicine Sect must be pulling strings behind the scenes—otherwise he would never have come all this way to target our Heavenly Pill Pavilion for no reason," Wei Shenjin added from the side.

Wei Zhao nodded, said nothing further, and strode straight to the main gate. Before the gathered crowd, he tore the seal off without the slightest hesitation, turned, and announced in a ringing voice: "The Heavenly Pill Pavilion will conduct business as usual. Any of you who have need of us, think nothing of it—come and shop as normal. Whatever consequences arise, the Heavenly Pill Pavilion will bear them all."

With that, Wei Zhao turned and called to Tian Chan and the others, an indifferent smile on his face: "What are you standing there for? I even brought reinforcements—hurry up and get the doors open for business."

"Huh?" Tian Chan and Xue Li were stunned. They had assumed Wei Zhao's solution would surely be to seek help—even with the Heavenly Dao Walker gone, people like Cai Zhongyang and Hou Guanqi still had considerable connections on the Central Island, and a little effort to have a few personages speak on their behalf would not be difficult. Yet they had never expected Wei Zhao to have no such intention at all; he had simply chosen to ignore the seal.

"Uh, Leader, this is a seal from the Island Lord's Pavilion. If we reopen regardless, that is compounding offense upon offense—Wu Miao will never let us off..." Wei Shenjin hurriedly warned.

Though matters had already reached a sorry pass, the Heavenly Pill Pavilion had merely been sealed—they themselves were in no real danger. But to openly defy an order of the Island Lord's Pavilion was truly to invite death.

After all, from the Famous Medicine Sect's standpoint, sealing the Heavenly Pill Pavilion alone might not satisfy them. This time Wei Zhao had publicly defied the Island Lord's Pavilion's order before a crowd—precisely the excuse they needed to root them out completely. On that ground alone, Wu Miao could slaughter them all without a qualm.

Wei Zhao clapped him on the shoulder and said mildly: "You have it backwards. This is not a question of whether they will let us off, but whether I will let them off. Wait and see."

"Ha?" Wei Shenjin was utterly dumbfounded. Wu Miao was the Standing Vice Island Lord—by official reckoning, the number two figure on the Central Island. Could Wei Zhao truly handle even a man like that?

Though the strength Wei Zhao had displayed before was indeed absurdly formidable—he had sent a mid-stage Mystic Ascension expert flying with a casual kick—Wu Miao was different. The man was not only far stronger than Zhao Youque, but what made him more troublesome still was his position.

Beating up someone like Zhao Youque was one thing; no grave consequences would follow. But the moment Wei Zhao laid a hand on Wu Miao, it would be tantamount to challenging the entire Central Island Lord's Pavilion, and the consequences were truly unthinkable.

Wei Shenjin wanted to offer a few more warnings, but Wei Zhao gave him no chance at all, already bustling off with Tian Chan, Xue Li, and the two borrowed assistants.

The Heavenly Pill Pavilion soon grew clamorous again, the scene even livelier than before. They all knew the pavilion was defying the wind, and that before long Wu Miao would surely return with his men—but what did that have to do with them? (To be continued...)

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