At the top of the tall building, three bold characters gleamed in gold—Dragon Phoenix Hall—engraved above an emblem of a dragon and a phoenix.
The emblem was designed by Gu Yuena: a blazing fire phoenix and a silver dragon, facing one another in flight, carrying the meaning of soaring freely across the nine heavens, unrestrained and boundless.
On the day the building was completed, everyone moved in. Yun Ze, Gu Yuena, Di Tian, and the other top leaders took residence on the ninth floor.The others were arranged according to strength and race, settling between the fourth and eighth floors, each with their own private rooms.
Floors four through nine were all equipped with large meeting halls. The ninth floor's meeting hall, though the smallest, was without doubt the most important.
At night, in the ninth-floor meeting room of barely a hundred square meters, a crystal chandelier illuminated the chamber as bright as day.
The furnishings were simple: a long square table, specially made metal chairs, and a few potted plants.
Yun Ze and Gu Yuena sat at the head, while Di Tian, Bi Ji, Zi Ji, and Xiong Jun took their seats along the sides.
The Ten Thousand Demon King and Yao Ling had taken some soul beasts deep into the wilderness to seek spiritual materials; they would only return once a month.
Although there were still other soul beasts over a hundred thousand years old, none of them yet had the qualifications to attend this level of council.
"Bi Ji, how much money do we have left?" Yun Ze asked, turning toward her.
"Buying this building, renovations, and the recent purchase of herbs cost about 1.75 billion. In our account, only around 60 million Federation coins remain."
Bi Ji explained. Originally they could have had close to 200 million left, but Yun Ze had requested a transfer of 130 million, leaving their funds drastically reduced.
"I still have about 40 million on hand," Yun Ze continued calmly. "I'll transfer it all to you later. Once we have exactly 100 million Federation coins, you'll send it to this account."
He pulled a white card from his storage ring, numbers inscribed across it, and slid it across the table to Bi Ji.
She picked up the card, hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help asking:"Young master, if we send all this money away… what will we do afterward?"
"Don't worry," Yun Ze said with a faint smile. "What we invest now will return a hundredfold, a thousandfold. We won't go bankrupt."
Bi Ji's eyes lit with anticipation. "Young master, can I ask what your next plan is?"
For years she had managed their finances, and she knew well how hard it was to make money in the human world. But now Yun Ze spoke of earning hundreds or even thousands of times their investment—that kind of bold claim stirred her curiosity to the extreme.
"This," Yun Ze said with a calm smile, "is exactly what I was about to explain."
"That account belongs to the largest auction house in the Federation—Sun Moon Auction House. The 100 million I'm asking you to transfer is their promotion fee."
"Promotion fee?" Everyone except Gu Yuena frowned in confusion. Wouldn't founding a power rely on strength and reputation, not advertisements?
Yun Ze anticipated their thoughts and clarified:"What they're going to promote is not Dragon Phoenix Hall, nor the Medicine King Pavilion. What they will promote is the Longevity Pill I am about to refine."
"If we want Dragon Phoenix Hall to rise swiftly, we need both funding and visibility. Both of those will come from the Longevity Pill."
Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others immediately sat straighter, listening carefully.
"As the name suggests, the Longevity Pill extends a human's lifespan. Tomorrow, I will begin refining and aim to produce five Century Longevity Pills, to be auctioned."
"Refining them will take three to four days. During that time, the auction house will be spreading word of it across the entire continent. By the time the pills are finished, the news will already have reached every corner."
"The official auction will be held ten days from now—that day will also mark the grand opening of the Medicine King Pavilion and the Forging Workshop."
To publicize a pill before even refining it—no one else would dare attempt such a gamble. After all, if he failed to produce it or its effects fell short, the humiliation and backlash would be unbearable.
But Yun Ze dared—because he had absolute confidence he could succeed.
Of course, the Sun Moon Auction House wasn't foolish either. Normally, they would never promote something unseen. But this time, they agreed to risk it—for the sake of Gu Ming's guarantee.
Why would Gu Ming stand as guarantor? Because Yun Ze had promised him a Longevity Pill.
If the pill proved ineffective, Yun Ze and Gu Yuena would be bound to serve Sun Moon Royal Academy for life. Only such terms convinced Gu Ming to lend his name.
In Gu Ming's eyes, both Yun Ze and Gu Yuena were destined to become peerless beings. To secure their loyalty—even at the cost of some reputation—was worth it.
And should the pill prove real, he would gain another hundred years of life. Such temptation was irresistible.
In truth, whether the Longevity Pill was real or not, Gu Ming could not lose. Thus he had agreed without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Yun Ze needed Gu Ming's influence to spread word of the pill across the entire continent. Both sides got exactly what they wanted.
Compared to the wealth that would flood in once news spread, giving away a single pill was nothing at all.
"These next few days, prepare well. The pills and the forged metals must be ready for auction." Yun Ze instructed.
Bi Ji and Xiong Jun both nodded.
"Bi Ji," Yun Ze continued, "here is the formula for the One-Year Longevity Pill. You must learn to refine it quickly."
He placed two sheets of paper covered in intricate script on the table.
Bi Ji lifted them with her soul power, scanning through—and instantly felt the pressure.
The difficulty of this Longevity Pill was far greater than Foundation-Building Pills or Breakthrough Pills. The steps were complex; mastering it would be no easy task.
"Just the one-year formula is already this difficult… Then the hundred-year one must be terrifying!" she gasped.
Yun Ze chuckled lightly. "When your alchemy skills improve, you won't find it so hard."
"This is the pill you must master. Whether the Medicine King Pavilion earns ten billion a day—or more—will depend on it."
"Ten… billion a day?" Bi Ji's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the pill formula in her hands. "Young master, is this pill really that valuable? Extending life by just one year… doesn't seem like much."
"For us soul beasts, one year means nothing. But for humans, whose lives are fleeting, an extra year is worth more than gold."
"For wealthy men at death's door—tell them one year of life costs ten billion, and they would pay without blinking."
"Once we begin refining these every day, we'll be swimming in profits." Gu Yuena added softly.
She had been present when Yun Ze negotiated with Gu Ming, and had already realized how terrifying the Longevity Pill's ability to amass wealth truly was.
The Spirit Transmission Tower's spirit souls were already immensely profitable—but the Longevity Pill? It was destined to surpass even that.
After all—who wouldn't want to live a little longer?
(End of Chapter)