Buying Dongjia State

Good news can never be hidden for long.

Thus, Heaven Pill Gate quickly became the talk of the town, with cultivators lining up outside its doors. Not everyone came to buy pills, but everyone wanted to pay fifty spirit stones to register as a VIP, waiting for the fourth day of each month to purchase pills at half price.

Chen Xia didn’t care much about money; his philosophy was all about generosity and willingness to spend. However, things were starting to feel a bit off.

The reason? The money was pouring in. Every cultivator in East Jia State seemed eager to pay the fifty spirit stones to become a VIP, even Golden Core cultivators joined in, claiming they were securing a spot for their future selves.

Fifty spirit stones weren’t much, especially for Golden Core cultivators, who could easily afford it.

One cultivator paid fifty spirit stones, and ten thousand cultivators meant five hundred thousand spirit stones.

With over a hundred million cultivators in East Jia State, Chen Xia was raking in hundreds of thousands of spirit stones daily just from VIP registrations, making a fortune.

But Chen Xia wasn’t just about hoarding wealth. He quickly launched a promotion: all registered VIPs could purchase pills at a 10% discount once.

Heaven Pill Gate’s reputation soared to unprecedented heights in East Jia State. However, fame isn’t always a good thing. By slashing prices, Chen Xia angered the entire alchemy community in East Jia State, who accused him of disrupting the pill market.

Despite the criticism, the alchemists didn’t take action immediately. They were waiting for Chen Xia to self-destruct.

The reason for this self-destruction, they believed, was his promise of 10% and 50% discounts on pills.

As the number of VIPs at Heaven Pill Gate grew, Chen Xia introduced a new rule: pills would only be sold on the fourth day of each month, which he dubbed "Crazy Fourth Day." At all other times, the shop would remain closed.

By now, Heaven Pill Gate had over a hundred thousand VIPs. Even if only 10% of them showed up to buy pills, that would still mean over ten thousand pills needed to be produced. Heaven Pill Gate’s furnaces would be smoking nonstop, and even then, it would be impossible to meet the demand.

Ignoring the facts, even if he could produce that many pills, selling them at a 10% discount would be a surefire way to go bankrupt. Could he really sustain such losses?

The alchemists were convinced this was a scam, a scheme to amass wealth and then disappear.

“This guy is clever. He’s not scamming large sums or targeting the wealthy. Fifty spirit stones is something everyone can afford, so even if they’re scammed, they won’t feel too bad,” one alchemist commented.

“It’s a masterful deception. This scheme might go down in history in the Immortal Realm. This person is no ordinary man.”

The alchemists analyzed the situation from a professional perspective, calculating the costs of materials and labor to assess the feasibility of Heaven Pill Gate’s operations.

But the problem was, Chen Xia wasn’t a professional. He wasn’t even an alchemist, so the alchemists’ analysis didn’t apply to him.

Chen Xia had set up several large furnaces in Heaven Pill Gate, working tirelessly to produce pills every day. The materials were sourced by his inner demon from the Ten Thousand Mountains, ensuring a self-sufficient operation.

As a result, Chen Xia had stockpiled over ten thousand pills, with 60% being Dao Pills, 35% high-grade spirit pills, and only 5% Great Pills.

This was the fruit of Chen Xia’s month-long labor, a testament to his hard work. The furnaces were practically on fire. If it were any ordinary alchemist, they would have gone mad from the strain.

Fortunately, Chen Xia relied on his unique methods, forging his own path.

As Crazy Fourth Day approached, he tidied up, arranged the pills neatly, labeled their prices, and waited for the cultivators to arrive.

The cultivators, meanwhile, were beyond excited. They started lining up outside Heaven Pill Gate the day before, turning the once-desolate area into a bustling crowd of over ten thousand people.

Crazy Fourth Day lived up to its name.

Heaven Pill Gate opened on time, and Chen Xia stood at the entrance, opening the doors to reveal a dazzling array of pills. He then tossed out a storage artifact and announced,

“Pick what you want based on the prices. Once you’re done, just toss the spirit stones into the storage artifact.”

With that, Chen Xia stepped aside and lounged on a reclining chair.

At first, the cultivators entered in an orderly fashion, but as soon as one cultivator rushed in, chaos ensued. Everyone scrambled to get inside, but fortunately, Heaven Pill Gate was spacious enough to accommodate them all.

“Holy crap! A high-grade Dao Pill, and not just any high-grade—this is the pinnacle of high-grade! I’ve only read about such pills in ancient texts. I never thought I’d see one in person!”

“Great Pills! There are hundreds of Great Pills here! Are they insane? And we can buy them at a 10% discount? Damn it, I’m definitely getting one today!”

The deeper the cultivators ventured, the more astonished they became by the sheer volume of pills. By the time they reached the innermost section, they were speechless, utterly stunned.

Before them stood a high-grade Great Pill priced at two million spirit stones—no, more accurately, half an Emperor Pill.

And there were five of them.

Two million at a 10% discount meant two hundred thousand spirit stones. Two hundred thousand for… half an Emperor Pill?

The cultivators went wild, scrambling to grab the half Emperor Pills. The situation quickly devolved into a brawl, with shouts echoing through the hall.

“Daoist Friend Bai, why don’t you let me have this half Emperor Pill? Your sect is too small to handle such a great opportunity!”

“Ha! If the opportunity is here, it’s for everyone. Why should you get it? Because you have a big face?!”

The cultivators were relentless. When words failed, they resorted to violence, determined to settle the matter with force.

Thus, the inner hall of Heaven Pill Gate became a battlefield, with divine techniques and magical artifacts flying everywhere, shaking the entire establishment.

“What the hell is going on?!” Chen Xia stood at the entrance, frowning as he surveyed the chaos. “Are you guys having a martial arts tournament in here or what?”

The brawling cultivators quickly stopped, looking sheepishly at Chen Xia as they tried to explain.

“Senior, this guy tried to snatch the pill I picked, so I had no choice but to fight. It’s not my fault.”

“Pills are for everyone. How can you call it snatching? I’ll pay more. The 10% discount is two hundred thousand spirit stones, so I’ll pay four hundred thousand.”

Half an Emperor Pill was priceless. Buying it at any price was a steal, and Chen Xia’s two-million-spirit-stone price tag was already a bargain.

“Six hundred thousand spirit stones!” another cultivator shouted.

“...”

“A million!”

Chen Xia watched the scene, a sudden idea forming in his mind. What if, instead of conquering East Jia State, he could just buy it outright?

As the old saying goes, money isn’t everything, but maybe it’s just that you don’t have enough of it.

Chen Xia decided to take a different approach, testing whether he could purchase all of East Jia State with spirit stones. The bidding for the pill finally ended at two million two hundred thousand spirit stones.

After deducting material and labor costs, Chen Xia pocketed a cool two million two hundred thousand spirit stones.

On this Crazy Fourth Day, twenty thousand cultivators visited Heaven Pill Gate, living up to the “crazy” in its name. The buying frenzy was insane, with cultivators even bidding higher than the listed prices.

Chen Xia’s stock of pills was completely sold out. He couldn’t even calculate the total profit, only knowing that the storage artifact’s pocket dimension was now overflowing with spirit stones.

To call it a windfall would be an understatement. This was beyond mere wealth.

With so many spirit stones in hand, Chen Xia decided to buy a couple of sects for fun. He shared this idea with his inner demon, who, after a moment of silence, replied,

“Worth a try.”

Chen Xia chuckled. “I’ve got another idea. Healing pills yield three times the profit of their material cost, while breakthrough pills yield six times.”

“Among healing pills, the most profitable are the ones that can revive the dead as long as the soul remains intact. Among breakthrough pills, the most profitable are the ones that help cultivators reach the Heaven Mending Realm.”

“I’m thinking of combining the two—reviving the dead and helping them break through. That would multiply the profit by eighteen times. In less than a century, I’ll have enough to buy all of East Jia State!”

The inner demon was silent for a long time before finally muttering,

“You’ve truly mastered the art of pill-making.”

Mwah.