Although Xiao Yan quickly came up with a countermeasure, the factions targeting the Endless Fire Domain weren't slow to respond either. When his procurement team first purchased herbs at double the price, they found on the next trip that others had already bought everything at even higher prices. After repeating this cycle for several days, herb prices in the Southern Region had soared to the point that even paying ten times the market rate couldn't secure a supply.
These past few days, Qing Tan had been visibly distressed. When she first heard Xiao Yan suggest paying tenfold for herbs, she had thought it was too wasteful. But now, even that wasn't enough to buy anything. However, Xiao Yan showed no sign of worry. His calm demeanor gave some reassurance to Qing Tan and the others, though clearly, some problems couldn't be solved by a relaxed attitude alone.
"We've found out who's behind this. It's Miting Gate, Ziyin Sect, and Qingyuan Palace leading the charge, with more than a dozen smaller forces joining them," Qing Tan said with a frown. "No wonder they can keep outbidding us no matter how high we go. It turns out there's a massive alliance behind it all..."
Miting Gate, Ziyin Sect, and Qingyuan Palace were all dominant forces in the Southern Region. In terms of scale, they were not much weaker than the Sacred Demon Palace at its peak. As for the smaller factions involved, they might be minor in the Southern Region, but in the Northern Realm, they'd be on par with a force like the Divine Pavilion.
Xiao Yan's original plan had been to overwhelm the market with high bids. However, the opposing forces adopted the same tactic. As a result, the Endless Fire Domain's procurement initiative failed. Though they had the foundation of the Sacred Demon Palace and a fortune of Sovereign Liquid from selling pills, they couldn't compete with a coalition that represented over half the Southern Region. After all, the Endless Fire Domain hadn't existed long enough to truly compete.
"These bastards are playing their cards well. They struck right at our lifeline," muttered Mandala with a serious expression. For most other pill-selling powers, this kind of tactic wouldn't have worked. They all had their own herb cultivation fields.
But the Endless Fire Domain had only just been founded. Not only had there been no time to set up large-scale cultivation fields, but even if some existed, the herbs they produced weren't usable yet. Herb farming took years of nurturing, and they couldn't yet support themselves. Without herbs, no matter how skilled Xiao Yan's alchemy was, he still couldn't cook without rice.
"We haven't been able to purchase herbs for several days now. If this continues, even our current stockpile will be depleted soon," Qing Tan sighed. "Xiao Yan, what should we do now?"
"Everything proceeds as usual. No need to worry," Xiao Yan waved his hand casually, signaling that things weren't as bad as they seemed. Since those factions wanted to play games, he would gladly play along. In all his years, he had yet to meet anyone who could outmaneuver him. But now that things had reached this point, it was time to act.
That very afternoon, Xiao Yan quietly visited several of the largest auction houses in the Southern Region. Though he tried to keep his movements discreet, word still got out. The moment he left, other faction members showed up and bought up all the herbs at over ten times the market price—everything Xiao Yan had been looking for.
Originally, the prices weren't even that high. But the auction house managers insisted that since the market price had been pushed so high by external demand, they had to follow suit. Of course, if the Endless Fire Domain didn't want to buy at that rate, they were welcome to buy at the original price—if no one else was interested. Faced with this blatant price gouging, the leaders of Miting Gate and the others were furious. But in order to crush the Endless Fire Domain, they had no choice but to swallow their frustration and pay up.
When Qing Tan and the others heard about this, they grew even more anxious. At first, they thought Xiao Yan's idea of turning to the auction houses was brilliant. After all, these places should've had large stores of herbs. But before they could even begin, their efforts were blocked again.
"These guys are moving too fast, aren't they?" Qing Tan asked in disbelief.
"You don't think we've got a mole, do you? Otherwise, how could they react so quickly?" Under such intense pressure, even Qing Tan was beginning to feel paranoid.
"We do have a mole. But not on our side—it's in the auction houses," Xiao Yan replied calmly. "No matter how discreet we are, the auction house staff are bound to know our movements. As long as they leak that information, hiding is meaningless."
"You're saying... the auction houses are the ones leaking the info to the other factions?" Mandala immediately grasped the implication. "But didn't they already agree to your terms?"
"You need to understand one thing. These people are merchants. And merchants always chase profit. If they see an opportunity to make more, they won't hesitate to abandon trust," Xiao Yan chuckled. "And clearly, that's what happened. Selling herbs to those factions at ten times the price? That's robbery with a smile."
"So what do we do now? They made a huge profit by selling to the others, but our problem still isn't solved," Qing Tan grumbled. Seeing Xiao Yan still smiling made her all the more exasperated. She couldn't understand how he could still look so calm when the situation was so dire.
"If things really don't work out, I'll head to the Northern Realm or elsewhere to buy herbs. Let's see if their influence stretches that far," Mandala proposed.
Qing Tan's eyes lit up at the suggestion, but before she could speak, Xiao Yan waved his hand again.
"No. First, the distance is too far. By the time the herbs arrive, we'll have missed our opportunity. Second, if I were them, I'd just plant men along the trade routes and intercept any shipments."
"Then what do we do? This doesn't work, that doesn't work. We can't just let them win, can we?"
"Actually, you don't need to panic. The ones who should be worried... are them," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile as he looked at the worried faces of Mandala and Qing Tan. "I bet it won't be long before they start panicking."
"Huh?" Both Qing Tan and Mandala were stunned. How could the people in control of the herbs be more anxious than them?
"They spent a fortune hoarding all those herbs, hoping to force us to back down and hand over part of our profit. Sure, they cut off our supply. But they also dug deep into their own pockets. If we simply hold firm, those herbs will rot in their hands. You tell me—won't that make them desperate?"
"But our reserves are nearly gone. The demand for pills has been enormous lately. Without herbs, we can't keep up production. If that happens, the other factions will take advantage of our shortfall and steal our market," Mandala said with a serious expression. "If it comes to that, we'll still end up losing."
"Heh..." Xiao Yan's lips curved slightly. "Who said our herbs were all gone?"
(End of Chapter)
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