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Although Li Zhirui was not the only Water Method Alchemist, if the Southern Edge Commerce Association suddenly brought out a large quantity of Essence-Enhancing Pills, then it would be too much of a coincidence, especially since the news of the Li family obtaining the Pill Recipe was known by all the major powers.
However, as long as no concrete evidence was captured, all of this would remain speculation, and the Li family would have an excuse to deny it.
But for the sake of safety, measures still had to be taken to cover it up.
"Discuss with the Southern Edge Commerce Association, if they agree to limit their sales or accept advanced reservations, and wait for headquarters to arrive before selling the Essence-Enhancing Pills to those who reserved, or if they transport the Essence-Enhancing Pills to other places to sell,"
These three methods were the ones that Li Zhirui had just thought of, and he added, "If they agree to one of these three conditions, then agree to cooperate with them."
In this way, whether it be a buffer in time or having cover, the possibility of the Li family being exposed would be reduced.
"Good idea!" The others realized the benefits of this method after a brief consideration. Although it couldn’t eliminate the risk of exposure completely, it was already quite good.
After all, if the Li family wanted to develop quickly now, relying solely on themselves was no longer possible!
At least, not until they had a strong, substantial foundation, they had to seek the help of other forces.
And right now, the Southern Edge Commerce Association was the best partner.
"Then I’ll trouble Uncle to make another trip!"
This matter was of great importance; only Li Zhirui, Li Shilian, and Li Shiqing—the three Golden Core cultivators—as well as Li Zhizhun, the Clan Leader, could attend this meeting.
It was Li Shiqing who had been in contact with the Southern Edge Commerce Association before, so naturally, he continued to represent them.
"No trouble at all." Li Shiqing shook his head. For the good of the family’s development, what was a bit of running around?
After the meeting was adjourned, Li Zhirui returned to his cave-abode and muttered to himself, "This cooperation with the Southern Edge Commerce Association will save the family tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones."
Of course, every advantage has its disadvantage; once discovered, the Li family might very well incur the wrath of the Xuanfa Pavilion! And it would be a kind that even Shen Leishan would not obstruct.
Li Zhirui shook his head. Having already made the decision, there was no need to waste more time and energy on it.
Clearing his mind of all distractions, he continued to simulate the Alchemy process in the Sea of Consciousness, striving to reach perfection in theory so that when he actually began the Alchemy, he could produce Spirit Pills more quickly.
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Meanwhile, Li Shiqing, after taking precautions, visited the Southern Edge Tower once again.
This time, he met the Store Manager of the Southern Edge Commerce Association in Green Mountain State, a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator named Liu Yongqing.
"Friend, your visit must mean that you have agreed to cooperate with our Southern Edge Commerce Association, right?" If there was no willingness to cooperate, there would be no reason to specifically seek him out.
Li Shiqing nodded with a smile, saying, "The Southern Edge Commerce Association is a cross-continental mega guild; my Li family is overjoyed to be able to cooperate with it, how could we refuse?"
Since he had decided to agree, why not start by saying more pleasant words?
Following that, he changed the subject and said, "However, as you know, my Li family is weak, and the Supreme Ancestor Shen Leishan has promised such conditions, we absolutely dare not offend the Supreme Ancestor or the Xuanfa Pavilion. Therefore, my Li family has specifically thought of a few methods, but I’m not sure if you can accept them."
Liu Yongqing’s brows furrowed slightly, but in an instant, they smoothed out, as if the concern had never been there at all.
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He could understand the Li family’s cautiousness, but as a businessman, profit was their primary pursuit. Not to mention, within the Southern Edge Commerce Association, it was not one’s cultivation that was the most important for advancing in status, but rather the ability to earn a substantial profit!
And the three demands proposed by the Li family were, to varying degrees, reducing their revenue, which in other words, was weakening his competitiveness.
Liu Yongqing pondered long and hard but eventually nodded in agreement, though he also had new conditions.
"The Li family must produce Essence-Enhancing Pills within six months, and thereafter must sell twenty bottles every month at a price lower than three thousand Spirit Stones per bottle!"
Upon hearing such demanding requirements, Li Shiqing’s face immediately turned grim.
It was known that the price of one bottle of Essence-Enhancing Pills was five thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones. Even if the purchase price had to be lower than the selling price, it should not be by that much.
The cost of one batch of Spiritual Medicine was roughly two thousand five to six hundred Spirit Stones. For the Southern Edge Commerce Association to buy at such a low price, the Li family would be working for nothing and might even incur a loss!
After all, one bottle of Essence-Enhancing Pills contained ten pills, but Li Zhirui couldn’t possibly use one batch of Spiritual Medicine to produce ten Spirit Pills.
As for the first demand, it was even more excessive, requiring the sale of twenty bottles of Essence-Enhancing Pills every month? This was not a rank-two Spirit Pill, but a rank-three Spirit Pill with an exponentially higher difficulty in refining!
Not to mention that Li Zhirui currently wasn’t capable of creating Essence-Enhancing Pills, even if he could, the success rate in the early stages wouldn’t be high.
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Moreover, each refining process, whether successful or not, required at least an hour or two, along with the consumption of a great deal of Mana and Divine Sense. To continue refining, one would need to spend another hour or two recovering.
In other words, refining a batch of Essence-Enhancing Pills would need at least three hours at the bare minimum!
The Southern Edge Commerce Association was demanding twenty bottles per month right off the bat. Even if Li Zhirui were to refine day and night without rest, he could not fulfill such a quota.
But was that even possible? Not to mention that Li Zhirui would not agree, the Li family would not consent to him wasting so much time on Alchemy! Enjoy more content from freewebnovel
Not to mention that the Southern Edge Commerce Association had not set a deadline and wanted to trap the Li family with several hundred thousand Spirit Stones, thereafter exploiting the Li family under the guise of legitimacy from that point forward.
"If my friend is so insincere," Li Shiqing then said as he stood up and walked toward the door, "then it can only mean that our families’ cooperation was never meant to be!"
Even if the Southern Edge Commerce Association was incredibly powerful, the Li family could not back down, or what future would they have?
Of course, Li Shiqing had also calculated that the other party wouldn’t dare to take action, which is why he could afford to reject them outright.
They could indeed easily annihilate the Li family, but it would not only open up the market in the East Continent to them, but rather it would shrink and regress.
After all, which family would be willing to trade with a commerce association that would destroy a Golden Core family on a whim?
"Fellow Daoist, please wait!" Liu Yongqing also realized that he might have asked too much and immediately spoke up, "If you have any concerns, just speak them. We can discuss this slowly."
"The purchase price for the Essence-Enhancing Pills is too low! If we were to sell at the price you mentioned, the Li family would not only fail to make any Spirit Stones but would also suffer a loss!" Li Shiqing said earnestly. "Furthermore, the Li family cannot possibly sell that many Spirit Pills every month, ten bottles is the maximum."
"If something that cannot be resisted occurs, the Li family can temporarily reduce or even delay the sales, making up for the corresponding quantity later."
"That quantity is too small," said Liu Yongqing, not very pleased with the proposal.
"You are aware of the difficulty of refining rank-three Spirit Pills," Li Shiqing continued. "The Li family cannot risk harming one of our clan member’s cultivation path just for profit! Moreover, the Li family will not sell Essence-Enhancing Pills to any other commerce associations."