The world beyond Wei Wuyin's secluded cultivation had not ceased moving, still ongoing with all sorts of developments. Since Wei Wuyin decided to seclude himself to focus on cultivating, the True Element Sect had been undergoing some subtle changes.
The instigator of these changes was two women. The first was a blind beauty that carried herself with a high-degree of respect. She was merely a Timelord, but even the Sect Master had afforded her free access to any area and location she desired. She had gathered herself various humans that had been somewhat low, all of which were those from various temples of the Four Extreme Continent.
A small faction was forming, but no one felt threatened by their development, merely interested in who they were. These were all members of the Four Extreme Continent, the immigrants of the Everlore Starfield. However, without warning, this small faction began to slowly network and make connection with various smaller factions and independent individuals within the sect.
Most notably was the wealth they were using, and the land they sought after. They started to buy small pieces of territory on planet Origin, opening up various shops that sold a variety of alchemical products. All of these products were unique because there wasn't a single impure or low-quality product sold, only high and peak-tier fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade products.
They initially started their business sell at a relatively low-price, sold using the premise of their celebration as new business. Those who bought at these reduced prices would receive memberships that would give them eventual discounts when these products became appropriately priced. Who could refuse such an opportunity?
Of course, there were investigations into the faction, but many came to find out that various channels of information leading to them were restricted or overly vague. This could only mean that those in this faction were merely tools for a greater force, a force capable of controlling the flow of information, and even the Ascended beings' curiosity was shut down by powers beyond them.
The Earthly Saints!
The curiosity bred further interest which generated greater awareness and want. These products were incredibly varied and of absurdly high quality, so they began to be bought by the inhabitants of Origin with eager swiftness. The products stock seemed endless, generating further traffic by all types of cultivators.
It was only after two weeks that the prices became normal, becoming quite pricey. But the market equivalent sold by other shops didn't come close to its effectiveness. Endless reports regarding the swiftness of refinement of these products, no matter pill, elixir, or paste, spread like wildfire, saving cultivators crucial time, not forced to waste months refining products. With the fierce and merciless competition of the sect eternally ongoing, this brought huge growth to the shops' popularity alongside their stellar alchemical products.
A week later, the prices of these products were marked up by an additional 5%, and there was a waiting list established for certain reserved products after they were 'sold out'. Only customers with official memberships could be placed on this list, creating a frenzy for those to obtain one.
After a month, there were already twenty stores in twenty different cities. They competed with the general emporiums, pavilions, and alchemist organizations out there. Yet these individuals couldn't compete on quantity or quality, only having some advantage in price. But in comparison, the effects were far worth the up-marked price in these shops—the Four Extreme Pavilions.
Whether it was building design, product volume or variability, and especially garnered interest, they all grew explosively. In two months, the Four Extreme Pavilions had 48 shops throughout Origin.
Then…
They announced and held a massive sale that introduced high and peak-quality eighth and ninth-grade alchemical products out of nowhere. This caused the entire Origin to rush forward and participate, fighting heavily for the opportunity to buy, and even those outside of Origin entered. There was no auction, and the prices were fixed with no negotiation. But there was a limit of how much a member could buy on a multi-leveled membership program based on their previous business, while those non-members had to pay to rival them or wait for leftovers. If there were any.
This baffled everyone.
They all wanted a taste! But alas, only those who had expended vast wealth or shown goodwill during the growth of the Four Extreme Pavilion could purchase these rare ninth-grade products, the others were only allowed to purchase eighth-grade or lower products. While enraged, this was still good due to their reduced price and high quality, and enough to suppress their grievance and regret.
Some of the alchemical businesses were on the brink of going out of business while others fell. No one wanted their products. There were ceaseless incoming complaints from all over the Elementus Domain, the most notable was that the customers felt they had been scammed! The same grade of product took longer to refine and had less of an effect, clearly they felt this was deliberately done to prevent cultivators' growth! Those malicious, greedy businesses!
Of course, this was solely due to their process of refinement exhausting a portion of its effective use, the thick and rich Utmost Purity Mist effecting each product greatly easing this process, but they didn't know this! Some of the businesses went bankrupt due to their scandals of peddling trash as gold, tricking cultivators into wasting years, decades, even centuries! To these average Joe's, these businesses had malicious intent!
Then, without warning, the Four Extreme Pavilions vanished! They made their big sale, earned a tidy profit, gave the Elementus Domain a taste, and then vanished as all their former shops became other things, repurposed into restaurants, free clinics, or shelters. The members of the Four Extreme Pavilion were still there managing these businesses, cultivating as members of the True Element Sect, but they only replied when asked what had happened with: "I don't know."
And they continued on, cultivating normally as if nothing was out of the ordinary. No one knew why!
The populace wasn't just absolutely baffled, they were enraged and at a complete loss! Every one of these cultivators had made purchases and enjoyed great advancements in their cultivation base, satisfying any and all their cultivation needs, and even gained hard to acquire and rare products that solved their weaknesses such as bodily refinement or Spiritual Strength.
While the Elementus Domain was focused on the Four Extreme Pavilion's success and mysterious disappearance, seeking answers and praying for them to return, a young woman would visit various silver-tier, gold-tier, and unrated factions throughout the Elementus Domain, coming out with a faint smile.
This was none other than the second female, the young Heavenly Seer, Wen Mingna!
In the third month, she and Si De was talking in the courtyard that Wei Wuyin lived in.
She had returned to the courtyard with Si De after completing her tasks. The two were discussing.
"Did it work?" Si De asked, a little giddy with excitement. Her cultivation base was emitting a strong, sturdy aura. She had grown considerably in these three months, only focusing on cultivating and managing the Four Extreme Pavilions. And there wasn't much to manage besides a few timed plans that needed to be overseen and delivery of products.
Wen Mingna nodded, "Yes. They've all signed agreements and swore oaths."
Si De brightly smiled, "The Holy Son is brilliant."
Wen Mingna held back an urge to chuckle. Wei Wuyin was quite insidious and ingenious, and he was far-sighted. The silver and gold-tier forces of the Elementus Domain had been converted without much effort. They were working on his behalf, tasting the delectable flavors of alchemy, and unable to escape its promising and alluring clutches.
According to rumors, the majority of Myriad Monarch Sect was under his thumb in a few years. There was even an incident where the Enforcement Knights served him more than the sect, interfering with an execution. And there were also rumors that the Grand Imperial Sages were a little biased, speculation of their…relationships was quite suspect. Some even believed they were in his pocket.
Of course, when he became the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn, this wasn't looked down upon. In fact, it was a point of pride to be seen by Wei Wuyin and used.
"I wonder why he wanted to do all this," Si De asked, looking at Wen Mingna with her sightless eyes.
Wen Mingna looked towards the door that led inside the building that Wei Wuyin cultivated in. She quietly said, "There's been movement that the Earthly Saints haven't noticed, but those who are smaller, less noticeable, seen as unimportant, have."
"Movement?" Si De was shocked.
Wen Mingna's eyes narrowed, "The External Clans have been visited by masked figures, bearing somewhat similar markings to Trueborn."
"Trueborn? They're…"
Wen Mingna shook her head, "Similar. Not the same." She withdrew a portrait that revealed a specific symbol. It was of three circular spirals with one at the top, one at the bottom left, and one at the bottom right. At the center where the three spirals loosely connected, there was a strange star-like object. The vertical rays were longer, sharper than the horizontal rays, roughly double in length.
Si De frowned.
"It's not the only one," when Wen Mingna said this, her narrowed eyes grew relaxed as she kept the portrait. The two looked at the door in silence.
Wei Wuyin was performing several hand-seals as he stood over his cauldron, pouring alchemical eden force within. As he continued, a burst of pure cyan-colored radiance erupted! Then light then spewed out into the world, followed by a dense alchemical aura as the walls of saber light halted and obliterated it all.
There was no manifestation!
But there was a smile and great, relieved laughter!
"I did it! We did it!" Wei Wuyin said, looking at the cauldron as there was a vat of liquid within. The liquid was cyan-colored on the surface, but there were eel-like rays of condensed light slithering within. These eel-like rays of light were white in color and would sometimes change shape, becoming a solid, or flames, or a twister.
Wei Wuyin placed his hand on the cauldron, his eyes brighter than ever before. "My first truly original Specialized Product with Infinite Variations: the Neo-Dawn Soul-Sea Elixir!" Once again, the world shook!
He added, "Shifting Elemental Variant!"
He brought out a vial and scooped up the elixir. This was a ninth-grade product, and while it was merely low-quality, it was perfect! It took him a few tries to succeed, creating a few inferior graded products. In fact, he had created a sixth-grade version, startling him, but it wasn't the same as he intended. He unhesitatingly threw it aside.
This was the perfect, ideal product! The only concoction method that should exist! At least, by him. If others sought to make lesser variants, then they were free to do so.
Kree!
Bai Lin released a cry of genuine elation. The effort in concocting a new alchemical product was quite tough. She saw all of Wei Wuyin's frustrations, even on the brink of insanity as failures kept piling up, and his unyielding will to not settle for a lesser product. While these 'failures' weren't really failures, they still felt like it to Wei Wuyin and her.
Of course, if any alchemists heard Bai Lin's inner thoughts, that two months was 'quite tough' for creating a ninth-grade product, they might spew out blood, organs, brain fluid and die on the spot.
In truth, Wei Wuyin took this long due to experimenting with an entirely new material that interacted with alchemical force and various energies in sporadic and unknown ways. He had to take it incredibly slow.
But now, "Let's make a lot!" Wei Wuyin immediately decided to use the Thirty-Three Heavenly Concoction Method. He had already gauged the effect of this product, and it could rapidly replenish Soul Light of all Elemental-attributed Souls and repair the Primary Light Source of an Elemental Astral Soul.
If Wei Wuyin decided to use Soul Ash of Divine Jade or introduced specific colored light energy, these effects would change to suit this. For example, if he used White Primary Light, then it'll work for Primary White Light Sources and replenish Primary White Light Energies. It just depended on the materials introduced, truly defining it as a Specialized Product of Infinite Variations.
Of course, retroactively, the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill was similar, but he never designed it explicitly for that purpose. It was merely the benefit of his newly created Infinite Dao Soul Ash. All products that used it would gain that characteristic.
The more he thought about the Infinite Dao Soul Ash, the more excited he felt and a little saddened. His Ascendants had taken non-variants of it, so their Worldly Domains will be Purity-grade. Eventually, this would change if they hadn't reached the Realmlord level yet, but for those who did, they missed out.
Wei Wuyin placed this thought aside, understanding that as he advanced as an Alchemist, he would always develop newer products that were sometimes better versions of things given to his allies, lovers, or subordinates. It was the price of progression in the Alchemic Dao.
"Maybe the King of Everlore couldn't accept this perceived flawed state of others, which is why he left…" Wei Wuyin considered briefly, proceeding to bring out more materials as he confidently concocted more products.
