A middle-aged man was sitting on the luxurious throne, his brown eyes staring at the 3 kneeling people in front of him with a murderous look inside them.
The man seemed to be around 1.70m(5.6ft) tall, with short black hair and a high nose bridge.
He was dressed in dark red robes that failed to completely cover his broad chest.
The murderous aura that was coming from his body however, made the 3 people who were kneeling in front of him shiver in horror.
It was the aura of a furious Nascent Soul stage expert who was barely restraining himself from killing the 3 of them with a single slap.
His right hand that was touching the armrest of his throne was suddenly clenched tightly, crumbling the armrest into countless pieces that turned into dust before they fell on the wooden floor.
The middle-aged man's eyes then swept over the 3 people kneeling in front of him as if he was looking at 3 corpses, before they finally stopped on the old man in the middle, as he then asked in an infuriated tone
''Xue Qiu, give me one reason to spare your pathetic life!
Not only did you allow someone to infiltrate the pavilion while I was away, but he also took all of the spirit stones inside the treasury under all of your noses! What do I need you for if you can't even protect the treasury when I am not present? ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STOLEN SPIRIT STONES?''
The old man named Xue Qiu shivered when he heard these words, before he turned his eyes towards his left and right, to look at Zhou Ning and the middle-aged woman who were also responsible for this.
The 3 of them were the ones who were in charge of the 'Blood Pill pavilion' when the pavilion master was away, so there was no way for either of them to escape the blame.
Xue Qiu could see the fear in Zhou Ning's and the fat woman's eyes, their emotions almost identical to his own.
After all, all of them knew the pavilion master's temper, and how he rose to power in the 'City of Sin'. This was a place where one could kill without rhyme or reason, and if they didn't have a good excuse this time, they would certainly have to shoulder the blame for this matter.
After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Xue Qiu's eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at Zhou Ning, and raising his head slightly to look at the middle-aged man in front of him, he then spoke in a regretful tone
''I have no excuses. It indeed happened under our noses. If the pavilion master intends to punish us because we were unable to stop a Nascent Soul stage expert, there is nothing we can do. I just hope that the pavilion master will also punish those responsible as well.''
The fat woman's eyes held hints of confusion inside them, but Zhou Ning quickly understood the underlying meaning of the old man's words, and hurriedly raised his head as he nodded without any hesitation, clearly agreeing with Xue Qiu's words.
The middle-aged man who was sitting on the throne, stared at the 2 men below him with a placid look in his eyes, as a petrifying silence instantly descended in the hall.
Xue Qiu and Zhou Ning could feel their foreheads dripping with cold sweat, while the stifling silence around them only made the situation even worse. The 'Blood Pill pavilion's' pavilion master had a cold look in his eyes as he stared at them, before he finally spoke in an imposing tone
''Which Nascent Soul stage expert did you offend?''
Feeling the terrifying aura that was coming from the 'Blood Pill pavilion's' pavilion master's body, Xue Qiu, Zhou Ning, and the fat middle-aged woman trembled, before Xue Qiu took the initiative to speak
''It is all because of a new pill shop that appeared in the Silver cross street 2 weeks ago! They are certainly the cause of all this!''
Seeing that he had captured the pavilion master's attention by mentioning that a new pill shop had appeared in their own area, Xue Qiu gloated inwardly as he continued explaining with an aggrieved tone
''It is a very weird pill shop, that sells only high-grade and top-grade rank 4 pills, some of which even I have never even seen before. However, although the prices of the shop are sky-high, they have made millions of spirit stones in the past 10 days!
Some of their pills actually sell for as much as 500.000 low-grade spirit stones as well!
I estimate that by the end of the month, that shop will have made more than 65 million low-grade spirit stones!''
As soon as he finished his words, Xue Qiu saw the dignified pavilion master standing up from his throne with a serious look in his eyes.
65 million low-grade spirit stones!
Even his 'Blood Pill pavilion' only had 40 million low-grade spirit stones inside its treasury, and that was the accumulation of many years in the 'City of Sin'!
Seeing that the pavilion master was waiting for him to continue speaking, Xue Qiu gulped down dryly before he continued
''The most surprising thing is, that a brat whose cultivation is only at the early fourth stage in body refinement is actually responsible for running the shop, so it is impossible for him to create these pills!''
The pavilion master nodded his head as he heard Xue Qiu's report, inwardly agreeing that someone who hasn't reached the peak of the Spirit realm was obviously unable to create top-grade rank 4 pills.
After all, even he, the pavilion master of the 'Blood Pill pavilion' and a Nascent Soul stage expert who was also an accomplished alchemist could only concoct middle-grade rank 5 pills at most.
Almost as if he hadn't noticed the pavilion master's nod, the old man Xue Qiu didn't stop, as he then continued explaining what had transpired in the past week
''As soon as we heard that this shop opened, Zhou Ning personally went there and ordered them to close it down, but the brat responsible for that shop gave him a mocking look.
Although Zhou Ning was angry, since he was unable to ascertain that person's cultivation, he didn't make a move right away. Instead, he came back to the 'Blood Pill pavilion' in order to discuss this with the rest of us before we decide what to do.''
Xue Qiu continued explaining everything without missing a detail, from Zhou Ning sending the early rank 6 Spirit realm He Zhenkang to take care of the shop and suddenly disappearing instead, to the members of the 'Violent Guardian gang' threatening Shun Long and being sent flying without being given any face.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Qiu immediately fell silent when he saw that the pavilion master was actually pondering this issue with a serious look on his face.
Indeed, based on what Xue Qiu had said, it was very likely that a Nascent Soul stage expert was also responsible for the shop.
This not only explained the arrogance of the kid who was responsible for it, but also the sudden disappearance of He Zhenkang, as well as the theft of the spirit stones from their pavilion.
After all, not many people in the 'City of Sin' would dare to mess with their 'Blood Pill pavilion'.
Of course, even if Shun Long wasn't responsible for the theft of his treasury, after hearing of the 65 million low-grade spirit stones he still wouldn't allow them to keep operating the shop in his own territory.
After taking a few moments to think, the 'Blood Pill pavilion's' pavilion master's brown eyes were suddenly focused on the 3 people in front of him, as he said with a smile on his face
''I will go and have a talk with Shi Ru and Shi Hui in the 'Violent Guardian gang's' place. I am sure that they have also set their eyes on that shop, and the only reason that they haven't made a move just yet, is because they aren't certain of the enemy's strength!''
As soon as he finished speaking, an evil smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face as he saw a relieved expression appearing on Xue Qiu's, Zhou Ning's, and the fat woman's faces, before he then continued
''However... no matter what you are responsible for having the treasury robbed, and you will have to pay the price for this!
I don't care how you do it, but you will personally confirm the cultivation level of the Nascent Soul stage expert inside that shop!''
The 3 peak rank 9 Spirit realm expert's instantly paled when they heard the last sentence!
Wasn't this equivalent to order them to die?
Indeed, the 'Blood Pill pavilion's' pavilion master was an old fox who wouldn't personally risk his life until he knew of the underlying dangers. He was planning to first learn of Shun Long's real strength before he personally made a move to kill the Nascent Soul stage expert behind the shop.
..
At the same time, back inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', Shun Long finally stood up.
Although he hadn't managed to completely condense the 31st ball of qi, he knew that he wasn't too far away from it. After spending a few more days cultivating inside the foggy space, he was certain that he would be able to breakthrough to the middle of rank 4 of the Spirit realm.
Closing his eyes, Shun Long once again simulated himself leaving the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', as he once again returned inside the room at the second floor of the shop!
Although he knew that he hadn't left any clues behind when he and Liu Mei had robbed the 'Blood Pill pavilion's' treasury, the pavilion would still set them as the first suspects.
Besides, without any spirit stones left inside their treasury, it was only a matter of time until they were unable to continue their business, so they would definitely set their sights on his own shop this time.
Shun Long was certain that sooner rather than later, the 'Blood Pill pavilion' would be desperate enough to send even late-stage Spirit realm experts knocking on his door.