"Mm." Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow slightly at Mandala's words. He understood that the Ancient Sacred Abyss was indeed an extremely rare opportunity. Now that it had surfaced by coincidence, he naturally wouldn't miss it. Back at the Dragon God Ruins, he had already obtained a wealth of treasures. The scale of the Ancient Sacred Abyss was countless times greater than that of the Dragon God Ruins, so surely it would contain even more valuable things.
As for how to enter the Ancient Sacred Abyss, Xiao Yan wasn't overly concerned. Although he wasn't, as Mandala believed, the successor of some super faction with a Heaven Sovereign who could personally send him in, he did possess a puppet of Heaven Sovereign level strength—which was enough to fulfill the required role.
The only issue was that if he used the Heaven Sovereign puppet to send himself into the abyss, he wouldn't be able to bring it along inside. But Mandala had already mentioned earlier that only Earth Sovereigns could enter the Ancient Sacred Abyss. With his current strength, he could run rampant among Earth Sovereigns without fear—so this wasn't truly a concern.
"Right, there's something you must be cautious about. The repulsive force within the Ancient Sacred Abyss is extremely strong. After all, that place is considered a boundary between the Great Thousand World and the Extraterritorial Race. It's filled with chaotic temporal and spatial currents. If you accidentally get swept into one of them, you might be teleported straight into enemy territory—and then you'll really be in trouble." Mandala's expression grew serious.
Xiao Yan nodded gravely. He knew very well that the Extraterritorial Race was an archenemy of the Great Thousand World. If he were actually transported into their domain, even a Heaven Sovereign might find survival difficult. Though he had many trump cards, he wasn't stupid enough to go courting death.
"According to the intel I received, the Ancient Sacred Abyss should appear in a few months. Use this time to make your preparations so you're not caught off guard." Mandala advised. "Even Perfected Earth Sovereigns can perish in there if they're careless. Though your strength is impressive, caution is always best."
"I understand." Xiao Yan exhaled deeply. He knew Mandala was not only reminding him to prepare mentally and physically, but also implying something else—if he was planning to go to the Ancient Sacred Abyss, then he had to wrap up his current affairs first. Otherwise, being bogged down by unresolved issues here would be an unnecessary burden.
'Tch, I was hoping to toy with them a while longer. Looks like it's time to close the net.' Xiao Yan sighed softly, then his gaze sharpened. "Let's aim to crush them all within half a month."
Soon, under Xiao Yan's orders, the Endless Fire Domain restored the supply of pills to normal levels. This move caused a stir among the factions who had firmly believed that the Endless Fire Domain was already at its breaking point. This time, there was no need for anyone to call a meeting—they spontaneously gathered themselves for a heated discussion.
"Everyone, don't panic. From what I can tell, this is nothing more than a ploy by the Endless Fire Domain." The leader of Miting Gate suddenly spoke, seeing the hesitation on the others' faces. "I believe this is just their final struggle before collapse. Give it a few more days and they'll come crawling to us."
"Oh? And what makes you say that?" The other faction leaders looked around at each other in doubt. At this point, why was the Miting Gate leader still so confident?
"From what I understand, that so-called Demon Emperor of the Endless Fire Domain is a cunning trickster. Now that we've had him cornered for so long, he's surely concocted another scheme. If we follow his lead and panic, then all our earlier efforts will be in vain!" The Miting Gate leader swept his gaze across the crowd. "The closer we are to success, the more we must remain calm. Otherwise, we'll fall right into his trap."
"But the fact is, their pill sales have returned to normal. Doesn't that mean they've already solved the medicinal ingredient problem?" someone questioned. "You claim it's a ruse, but the evidence is right in front of us. How could that be fake?"
"Hmph. Think about it. We've blocked off every possible channel for them to purchase ingredients. Unless they can conjure them out of thin air, how else could they maintain production?" The Miting Gate leader sneered. "Once you realize that, the rest is simple."
"Just look at their current sales. It's all a bluff. He wants us to think our plan has failed, so we'll ease our grip on the supply. Then he'll swoop in to buy ingredients." The Qingyuan Palace leader chimed in. "Clever plan. But unfortunately, we've already seen through it."
"Exactly. According to our scouts, the Endless Fire Domain's people are still frequenting the major herbal shops—and more often than before. If they really had enough stock, why would they still be out shopping for herbs?" The Ziyin Sect leader added.
With the major faction heads all speaking up, the others finally relaxed. At the same time, many secretly felt lucky. 'Good thing these leaders spoke up, or I might've panicked and fallen for that Demon Emperor's trick. That would've been a huge mistake.'
"Which is why, from now on, not only must we remain on high alert—we have to tighten our control even further. Not a single medicinal herb must be allowed to slip through our fingers!" The Miting Gate leader's expression turned grim. "I want to see just how much longer that group can hold out!"
It had to be said, this leader of Miting Gate was indeed clever and resolute. It was no wonder he had made such a name for himself in the Southern Region. Unfortunately, all of his logical deductions were based on a completely false assumption. The further he speculated, the further he drifted from the truth. The result was the exact opposite of what he hoped to achieve...
When Xiao Yan learned that despite the Endless Fire Domain resuming normal pill sales, the enemy factions were still monopolizing the medicinal supply, he was briefly stunned. But after thinking carefully, he immediately understood their reasoning. Amused, he swiftly prepared the next stage of his plan.
Thus, after a few days of pretending to maintain regular sales, the Endless Fire Domain launched their next move: a new product line. When the spies stationed near the Endless Fire Domain reported that they had also begun selling medicinal herbs—and in massive quantities—Miting Gate's leader directly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
At this point, even a fool could see it clearly: the Endless Fire Domain was never short on medicinal ingredients.
Which meant, everything they had done these past few months—the investments, the blockades, the market control—had all been a grand performance for an audience of clowns.
(End of Chapter)
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