Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Buy One Get One Free, Fair Deal for All Ages! (Five Updates)
Zen Heart Temple was considered one of the top martial arts temples in Jianghu. Unlike Little Sage Manor, which boasted a scholar like Kong Qingquan, ranked Third in the World for his learning, Zen Heart Temple had a genuine Second in the World. This individual was truly a peer of predecessors like Zhao Qixian. Living Up to the Tathagata—that name was like a mountain, lifting the Buddhist Sect to a height that was not originally theirs. The top three powers in the world were once represented by the Daoist Sect, the Buddhist Sect, and Confucianism.
However, years ago, during the Struggle between Buddhism and Daoism, Zhao Qixian fought for the Daoist Sect. He clashed with Living Up to the Tathagata for three days and nights, emerging slightly ahead with a narrow victory. From then on, the morale of the Daoist Sect soared. But in these circumstances, Zhao Qixian was poisoned and forced to go to the Sword Tomb to detoxify and heal. At that time, some suspected this was the work of the Buddhist Sect, who couldn’t accept defeat. To clear the suspicions, Living Up to the Tathagata announced that anyone with evidence could come to Zen Heart Temple to confront him. If the accusations were proven beyond doubt, he, Living Up to the Tathagata, would take his own life before the Sword Tomb. For many years, the Daoist Sect found no evidence, and Zhao Qixian eventually asked people to stop searching.
Since then, the fight between the Buddhist and Daoist Sects continued endlessly, with victories and defeats going back and forth. But as the Buddhist Sect began to walk the path of Alchemy, the Daoist Sect completely lost its footing. At this time, with Zhao Qixian choosing to stay in the Sword Tomb, the Buddhist Sect saw a chance to turn the tides. The Struggle between Buddhism and Daoism finally came to a decisive end. The Buddhist Sect was now even recognized by the Imperial Court as the state religion. The people of Jianghu gradually got used to this; after all, some of the Buddhist Sect’s Elixirs were indeed very useful.
Living Up to the Tathagata, surrounded by his followers, stood in the center and silently chanted a Buddha’s name. "Amitabha, this old monk didn’t bring many Detoxification Pills, so I’m afraid I can’t satisfy the Celestial Wanderer," he said. The Celestial Wanderer was the honorific title for Zhao Qixian within the Daoist Sect, and people in Jianghu commonly referred to him by this name as well.
Not bringing many? This excuse might fool others, but to Zhao Qixian and Kong Qingquan, it simply meant Living Up to the Tathagata didn’t want to give them any. It was clear he intended for only his own Buddhist followers to enter. Let the others, who had no Detoxification Pills, just watch from there.
On the Zen Heart Temple’s side, the prepared Detoxification Pills were distributed among the Buddhist followers, with each person receiving at least one. The surrounding Jianghu people were filled with envy. Several even shamelessly begged Zen Heart Temple for a pill as an act of charity. Seeing this, Living Up to the Tathagata didn’t refuse, muttering phrases about the Buddha’s compassion. However, only those from smaller powers received any; the more powerful factions were completely ignored.
At this moment, players from the Profound Yellow Sect began to shout, "Buy one Detoxification Pill, get one free! Don’t miss this chance as you pass by!"
Farmer’s Three Punches, along with some Life Players and Little Boss, set up a stall right there on the mountain. The players had plenty of Detoxification Pills and weren’t worried about running out. Even if they were poisoned to death, they could use Reincarnation and buy better Detoxification Pills from the Contribution Hall. Most of the Detoxification Pills sold by the Life Players were made by themselves. As long as they had enough Materials, there was nothing they couldn’t make.
Ordinary Alchemy was done using a Bronze Cauldron, with very precise Fire Control. Of course, there were none of the furnace explosions that you find in novels. However, the Elixirs produced this way were mostly toxic; some could even kill instantly upon consumption. Therefore, those wandering Jianghu rarely carried such Elixirs. At most, they would carry some medicine for knife wounds. But players didn’t concoct Elixirs like that. They simply crushed the Herbal Medicine, mixed it together into a mud-like consistency, and rolled it into pill form. Then, after coating it with a bit of oil, they began to fry it in a pan! That’s right! Their pills were literally fried up, much like how sugar beans are made.
All medicines have their toxicities; no one could escape this fact. However, the Detoxification Pills made by the players were still effective. After all, saving Contribution Points whenever possible was the best approach.
Upon hearing that the Profound Yellow Sect was selling Detoxification Pills, many people rushed over to inquire about the prices. Normally, players also used Contribution Points for transactions, but now they had switched to silver, so pricing was tricky. Silver could buy many things, and the Materials for the Detoxification Pills were all purchased from Liang City.
"One tael each, buy one get one free, honest dealing for all, limited quantity, first come, first served!" Total Shock also joined in, shouting his sales pitch. This unscrupulous merchant thought the price he set wasn’t exactly low. After all, the cost of producing their Detoxification Pills was pitifully low.
However, the people of Jianghu didn’t care about that. Hearing that it was one tael per pill, and buy one get one free, the price seemed very cheap—a bargain no matter how you looked at it.
"I’ll take five, so you’ll give me five more for free, right?"
"Give me a hundred! I’ll give you a five-hundred-tael banknote!"
"I want fifty pills. You don’t have to give me the extra; leave some for others."
"Sect Leader Xu, save some for our Single Sword Sect, too."
"..."
In an instant, Jianghu people started frantically grabbing them up. They earned so much silver it made their hands sore.
Kong Qingquan and the others also came directly to Xu Nian to ask him to sell them some. Seeing this situation, Xu Nian decided not to hide or hoard them anymore. He directly instructed his disciples to bring out all the Detoxification Pills.
Life Players were never simple; you never knew what they might carry with them. Take Little Boss, the leader of the Life Players, for example. He came out with a huge wok on his back and tools like shovels and spoons hanging from his waist. The others also brought out lots of pots, pans, and ladles. The most outrageous one was a player who used his Contribution Points to exchange for a backpack, which was filled entirely with Detoxification Pills. No one knew what they intended to do with all these items. But Little Boss claimed that these were their ’weapons of trade’ and had to be carried at all times.
Now with Detoxification Pills on hand, many people consumed them and began to venture tentatively toward the Poisonous Miasma.
"Hey, these Detoxification Pills really work! The Poisonous Miasma can’t stop us."
"Damn it, the pills Zen Heart Temple gave us have issues; they can’t cure the poison at all!"
"Help, my hand is being corroded! Zen Heart Temple scammed us!"
"Thank goodness I held back and bought Detoxification Pills from the Profound Yellow Sect. They really know their Alchemy!"
"..."
The first batch of Jianghu people successfully entered the Stone Gate.
And those who took Detoxification Pills from Zen Heart Temple were forced to retreat, each stealthily cursing to themselves. So much for the Buddha’s compassion. It was clear they were being used as guinea pigs. These thieving monks were utterly devious!
Living Up to the Tathagata saw this scene, and his expression turned grave. If there was a problem with his Elixirs, did that mean they couldn’t enter the Stone Gate? Could it be...
Suddenly, Living Up to the Tathagata looked toward the Profound Yellow Sect, where a crowd still gathered buying Detoxification Pills. After a moment’s hesitation, he sent a few disciples with money to buy some.
This scene truly gave Zhao Qixian a good laugh. The Detoxification Pills from the Majestic Zen Heart Temple turned out to be inferior to those made by the smaller Profound Yellow Sect—what a joke.