Rise of the Alchemy God

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The bidding war for the pill was fiercer than Ethan had anticipated.

Initially, he thought that aside from the three grandmaster alchemists and perhaps a few other prominent figures, there wouldn't be many competitors. But he was gravely mistaken.

The number of affluent individuals who appeared one after another shocked even Ethan, and all of them had statuses rivaling those of grandmasters. Naturally, they didn't hold back, competing ferociously.

The pill, which had initially started at a price of 1 billion high-grade spiritual stones, ended up selling for 30 billion, a sum that could tempt an entire kingdom.

This amount alone was enough to build dozens of mid-to-high-level cities equipped with state of the art infrastructure.

Ethan wasn't sure what to do with this wealth, which far exceeded what he currently possessed. In the end, he decided to set it aside and consider later how best to use it.

He had long wanted to construct a residence in his minor dimension, but there were several issues to address, such as ensuring that news of his possession of such a place didn't leak out, and ensuring that the builders wouldn't return visibly aged after entering in the dimension.

However, even that issue was resolved thanks to his soul puppets, which, as they evolved further, had already begun constructing a small city for themselves.

What had started as a small village had, by the time Ethan entered again, begun transforming into a small city.

Ethan wondered what the city would look like in a few more days after all, in just a few short years within the dimension, much could be achieved.

For now, the number of residences was quite low, as were the current residents themselves.

Ethan, after having twenty or so houses built, halted construction as there was no need for more. The existing ones were more than sufficient.

If not for this, with his current abilities, he could have manipulated the workers' memories or even given them a few more years of life.

So, if he had wanted to, he could have done it.

He set aside the wealth he had earned, thinking he would discuss with Da Shu how best to use it. For now, it was time for his group to return.

With his pill already heavily publicized, he was confident that the effects of such promotion would soon be felt, and he was right.

Contrary to what Ethan had expected, the effects were already being felt in the Sun City market.

All the major families and organizations that had been pressuring the Peng family to hinder their growth quickly withdrew.

To the surprise of many who had not participated in the auction, these powerful entities now sought to collaborate in further expanding the Peng family's business.

This was a huge surprise for all members of the Peng family, especially those who held a share in the current business.

Ethan's portion of the pills was entirely managed by Da Shu, but the family's businesses were not, so any increase in those profits directly boosted their own earnings.

The only reason no one in the family tried to pull any tricks on Da Shu was that he could simply sell his pills elsewhere and not through the family's stores.

They were already earning substantial profits from selling Da Shu's products, which were in ever growing demand. It made no sense for them to try to gain even more.

Though greedy, they knew when to stop.

So, despite some internal friction, the family's business never faltered.

This sudden change in the market startled many of them. And while it seemed like a good thing on the surface, they were cautious.

Why would the various large organizations that did not need to give themselves a face suddenly ask to collaborate?

Would this ultimately be more harmful than beneficial to them?

While everyone was lost in such dilemmas, Ethan, the cause of it all, finally arrived at Sun City.

His group used a teleportation formation to get as close as possible to the city.

From there, they traveled aboard a flying treasure belonging to the pavilion elder.

Ethan, with his current cultivation level, could have arrived sooner by traveling alone.

But there was no rush or reason to do so, so he enjoyed the journey, sometimes lazing around, sometimes conversing with the pavilion elder, who felt her alchemical knowledge deepen with every interaction with Ethan.

Upon returning, Ethan planned to visit Da Shu to greet him and get an update on how the business was going.

But to his great shock, what he discovered upon arrival nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets.

***

In the Imperial Palace

After a few days, Prince Jian finally managed to return.

If not for his poor condition, his travel time would have been much shorter. But unfortunately for him, there was no other option, so he could only blame the crazy woman he had encountered.

He didn't know who that woman was or why she had attacked him, but he had a nagging feeling that she hadn't even gone all out against him, a thought that terrified him greatly.

If it were true, it meant another powerful fifth-stage expert was roaming the empire, unknown to anyone.

First there was the portal monster, and now there was the woman, no less strong than the demon, he had met a few days ago.

He wondered why fifth-stage experts seemed to be appearing suddenly from all directions.

Was it somehow connected to what his father had told him?

"At least it doesn't seem like she's aligned with the demons," he sighed in relief.

He had already confirmed that the demons had found a way to breach the barrier. But from what little he had learned, they could only do so in small quantities.

There was still time to prepare for their eventual invasion in the future.

That said, as soon as he returned, he tried to sense his father's aura with his dense spiritual sense. In the end, he managed to locate it.

"Hm? There's something wrong," he thought, somewhat agitated.

He already knew something had happened at the palace. When he left on his father's orders, he had known that something like this could occur.

Thus, he expected to see anything upon his return.

And with the words of that woman, he was even more certain that something had happened at the palace.

Yet, when he returned, things seemed normal.

For a moment, this gave him some relief.

But then, sensing his father's aura, he immediately noticed that it was weak. Moreover...

It seemed like something was missing.

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