Chapter 23: The Faint Alliance

  Still tenth, and the ones behind are catching up tight, I don't want to be exploded again, please help! There's still one more chapter today, it's too hot, my brain is all dizzy, give me some motivation!

  Xu Ziyuan arrived on the main street, seeing that it was filled with people celebrating their victory. She didn't have the mood for this, and ran into a pharmacy. Xu Ziyuan wasn't a poor person who had just arrived in Zhongdu City anymore; she now had a lot of money. Moreover, there was also a storage bag given by her clan leader, which was usually hidden under her collar. At this time, she couldn't care less about it, knowing that it wouldn't take long - at the latest after dawn - an order to go out and eliminate the demonic beasts would come down, and by then, medicinal materials and symbol-making materials would be snatched up in a rush.

  The pharmacy didn't close its doors, and the shopkeepers and apprentices were all cheering and celebrating at the entrance. When they saw Xu Ziyuan rush over in a hurry, they smiled and said:

  "Miss, we're already closed, what do you need? Come back tomorrow!"

  Xu Ziyuan didn't waste any words, and in a few strides, she rushed into the pharmacy, pulled out her storage bag, and with a "clatter", poured out the gold and silver onto the counter. She then turned to face the shopkeeper who had followed her in, saying:

  "Cut the nonsense, I want to buy a large quantity of medicinal herbs. Will you sell or not? If not, I'll go to the next store."

  The shopkeeper looked at the pile of gold and silver on the counter and immediately smiled like a chrysanthemum, saying repeatedly:

  "Sell! Sell! Of course sell!"

  He then turned his head towards the door and shouted loudly at the companions who were still cheering outside:

  "Little dog, why don't you hurry up and get in here, what's wrong with you?"

  The fellow who was called Little Dog heard the boss's scolding and hastily ran in, bowing and scraping as he said:

  "Shopkeeper, you're calling me?"

  "Nonsense! I'm not calling you, I'm calling the soul! Hurry up and prepare goods for these ladies."

  Xu Ziyuan didn't wait for the fellow to ask, stretched out his hand and took up the pen and paper on the counter, dipped it in ink, and began writing "swish swish". Before long, he handed over three full pages of paper to the fellow and said:

  "Stock up according to this list."

  "Hey, miss, just wait a moment, I'll get it ready for you right away."

  After finishing, the little dog summoned two companions and started preparing goods for Xu Ziyuan. Two minutes later, a pile of packaged medicinal materials had been stacked on the counter. After paying the money, Xu Ziyuan put away the remaining money, then put the medicinal materials into her storage bag, without even saying goodbye to the shopkeeper, and hastily walked out of the store door, running towards a nearby talisman shop. The shopkeeper behind her was still standing at the door, loudly shouting at Xu Ziyuan's back:

  "Miss, see you next time!"

  Xu Ziyanyan rushed into the symbol shop without looking back, and piled up all the remaining gold and silver on the counter. She picked up a pen, wrote down an order, handed it to the shopkeeper who had followed her in and was staring at the gold and silver on the counter, saying:

  "Prepare goods according to this list."

  The owner of the symbol shop, who had been eyeing the gold and silver on the counter, was itching to get his hands on them. When he heard Xu Ziyuan's words, he took over the order and personally went into the counter to prepare the goods for her. A moment later, he had prepared everything Xu Ziyuan needed. After Xu Ziyuan paid, she looked at the counter and saw that only one gold ingot was left, and she smiled wryly on her face. She put away the gold ingot and also put the symbol materials into a storage bag. Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief, putting down the hanging heart, and hurriedly ran towards her residence.

  She knew time was tight now and didn't know when she would be sent out, so she had to seize the night to refine the elixir and make talismans.

  The streets were still bustling with people coming and going, crowded and noisy. Everyone was very excited, Xu Ziyuan struggled to squeeze forward in the crowd, and when she returned home, she had actually sweated all over her body.

  Back at her residence, Xu Ziyuan locked the door and entered the inner room. After a brief rest, she began to refine the elixir. She refined it until dawn before finally completing the medicine. Now that Xu Ziyuan was already a second-grade alchemist, her level of refining had also increased. She separately refined several types of second-grade medicines: Explosive Spirit Elixir for cultivation, Replenishing Spirit Elixir to supplement her vital energy, Warm Nourishment Elixir to repair her meridians and internal organs, Muscle Regeneration Elixir to treat external injuries, and Detoxification Elixir that she had to bring with her whenever she went out. Next, Xu Ziyuan hastily created many talismans.

  At this time, Xu Ziyuan had already reached the second layer of the Refining Qi stage, but she could only make twenty talismans a day. After finishing, Xu Ziyuan was extremely exhausted, and after putting everything away, she perked up her ears to listen for any noise outside, but hearing none, immediately pounced onto the bed and fell fast asleep with a "huff huff".

  She slept until nightfall, got up in a daze, and saw that no one had come to call her. She thought to herself that the higher-ups of the family must not have made a decision yet. After randomly finding something to eat, Xu Ziyuan felt that the true energy inside her body had recovered, so she made another twenty talismans.

  After finishing, another wave of fatigue hit her mind. She put things away and sat down to meditate immediately. By noon, Xu Ziyuan slowly opened her eyes, a hint of joy flashing in them. She felt that her third layer of wall had loosened and would soon break through, reaching the realm of the third layer of Qi Refining. In her heart, she couldn't help but sigh:

  "Awesome! Medicine is great!"

  Xu Ziyuan was overjoyed there, but she didn't know that the city of Zhongdu had already been thrown into chaos. The lord of Zhongdu City had received news from Fang Tiancheng, and at this time, the beast tide was indeed not small, reaching the scale of a medium-sized beast tide. At this time, Fang Tiancheng was suffering from the ravages of the beast tide and seeking help from Zhongdu City.

  But how could Li Wanpeng, the lord of Zhongdu City, be willing to go and assist? If he assisted Fang Tiancheng and ended up bringing the beast tide to his own side, wouldn't that be like a dung beetle falling into a cesspit, looking for death?

  Li Wanpeng not only refused to help Fang Tiancheng, but also urgently summoned the three major families in Zhongdu City to hold a meeting. At the meeting, Li Wanpeng asked the three major families to send their disciples out of the city to guard the strategic passes leading from Fang Tiancheng to Zhongdu City, blocking the demonic beasts that were heading this way. Moreover, he clearly informed them that if the demonic beasts broke through from a certain route, the family responsible for guarding it would be punished.

  Between Fang Tian Cheng and Zhong Du Cheng, there are a total of four main roads. One official road, three mountain passes. Li Tian Peng unhesitatingly chose the relatively safe official road as the garrison road for the City Master's Mansion, while assigning the relatively dangerous three mountain passes to the three major families.

  The three big families couldn't compete with the city master, and they didn't want to let each other down. The Xu family was already in a coma, originally weak, and with the addition of the Xiao and Wu families joining forces, they finally handed over the most dangerous Tongyao Valley passage to the Xu family to guard, while the Xiao and Wu families divided the relatively safer Changri Valley passage and Luofeng Ridge passage.

  New and old friends, if you feel that this book is still short of words, then just keep it for now. You can go take a look at my previous book "Phoenix Chirps in Song", the link is below.