"..."
Chatter erupted from every direction the moment they heard Bai Fanxian's demand. Everyone gathered here was, in one way or another, under the city's authority, and that alone was enough to leave them stunned.
"Why would the Alchemy Palace want to break away?"
"I honestly don't see anything wrong with being under the city's authority?"
None of them could understand it. Aside from having to follow the city's orders, there was nothing to complain about — the benefits and the status of citizenship only made their lives more comfortable.
But that was exactly the problem.
Bai Fanxian was someone who had once stood above the entire world. Even the royal families of ten thousand years ago had acknowledged it. The Goddess Alchemy Palace had never once needed to bow its head to anyone.
King Jongliean studied Bai Fanxian's expression. There was not the slightest hint of a joke in it. But what surprised him most was her connection to the Alchemy Palace — it seemed to run far deeper than he had imagined.
What could have driven the Heroine to set such conditions?
It was not just the outsiders who were confused. Even the disciples of the Goddess Alchemy Palace could hardly believe it. Su Lin stole a glance at Luo Qingyan, who remained as composed as ever, as though none of this had anything to do with her at all.
She seemed content to leave every decision entirely in Bai Fanxian's hands.
"Well?"
An uncomfortable silence settled over the crowd. Every eye turned to King Jongliean, waiting on his decision. The townspeople, having now learned the truth about the Crown Prince, stood by quietly, accepting whatever he chose.
"..."
"...Very well... I accept that condition... And even though they'll no longer be citizens under Moondrift City's authority, I'll still grant them every right equal to full citizenship, just as before."
Though he still had his doubts, King Jongliean had no real reason to refuse. He gave a firm nod, one that was enough to satisfy even Bai Fanxian. And having seen just how close she truly was to the Alchemy Palace, he went a step further, offering the disciples special privileges of his own accord, without her even having to ask.
What did that actually mean?
It meant that the Palace's disciples would still receive every benefit as before, but the city could no longer issue them any orders at all — no forced conscription into the war, no annual taxes owed. As long as they did not cross any legal lines, they could do as they pleased!
"...Does that satisfy you?"
Bai Fanxian did not answer. Instead, she raised another finger and went on.
"The second condition..."
"..."
"Lend me your strength. Your military authority, your armies, every connection you have. I want your full support, both in the open and behind the scenes."
"...!?"
Bai Fanxian's second request stunned everyone listening. King Jongliean even asked her to repeat herself, unable to believe his own ears.
"...Y-you're planning to start a war with someone?"
He had already told her she could have anything she wanted, but if it meant putting his people's lives on the line, he could not afford to decide rashly, not as a king.
"Yes. You could say that."
There was not a trace of hesitation in Bai Fanxian's voice, and it drained the color from King Jongliean's face.
"The Seventy-Two Ancient Demons. I want every piece of information and news you have on them."
"As for whether it turns into a war... that depends on how they choose to respond."
Her mind was made up.
In both the human world and the Myriad Demon World, the Ancient Demons seemed like a threat too dangerous to ignore.
The Goddess Alchemy Palace being relocated here, along with the recent appearances of demonic beasts in the human world — she was certain both were connected to the Ancient Demons in one way or another.
If she wanted to uncover the truth and live in peace, she needed to find whoever was behind it all. And digging into something like that required capable people on the ground.
And no one could possibly be better suited for that than the very king standing right in front of her.
"..."
Bai Fanxian's answer left everyone stunned. The Ancient Demon race had existed alongside the Myriad Demon World since its earliest age. People of this era had, in a sense, grown up with stories of them.
Of course — as an "unbeatable enemy."
Most of them had already witnessed Bai Fanxian's power firsthand. The image of her felling the demon general Marsosius with a single move was still burned into their minds. And now that the very same woman was asking for their help against these demons, how could they possibly stay silent?
So this request did not even need King Jongliean's answer. The townspeople gathered there were ready to shout their reply themselves, without waiting to hear anyone else's.
"If that's what you want... then I and all of Moondrift City stand ready to support you."
"Even if this had nothing to do with my son, if it's to ensure our people survive, I'd have given you the same answer."
King Jongliean's reply was firm. Even in his weakened, drained state, he had carried the title of one of the Three Kings since his youth — one of the very pillars standing against the Ancient Demons and the demonic beasts. If anything, Bai Fanxian's request was one he was more than willing to grant.
"Good."
"So, about that last condition..."
"There's no need to rush."
Bai Fanxian cut him off with a flick of her right hand. The unconscious, robed men she had brought along from the very beginning rose into the air. No one had paid them any mind until she moved again.
"You mentioned earlier that Wild Bloom was the one who helped your son..."
Bai Fanxian brought it up out of nowhere, confusing everyone. But since he really had said as much, King Jongliean nodded in bewildered agreement. He added on top of it,
"That's right... Even I've been under Wild Bloom Sect's care myself, lately. The Sect Head's skill is truly something else..."
He seemed to have been won over more than a little.
"Even compared to Luo Qingyan?"
Bai Fanxian's question caught King Jongliean off guard. He sensed something dangerous lurking beneath it and could not help glancing toward the young woman known as the current Alchemy Empress.
Luo Qingyan's expression remained as unreadable as ever. She had no idea what Bai Fanxian was planning, but the look in her eyes as she watched Bai Fanxian's back was full of unwavering trust.
Whatever Lady Bai chose to do, she was fully behind it.
"..."
"Ancient Sage Luo has her own skill too... and her cultivation's advanced another level since then. I don't think she's any less capable than the Sect Head of Wild Bloom."
"Not less capable... but not more capable either, I suppose?"
Bai Fanxian's conclusion left King Jongliean speechless. Seeing him falter, she understood exactly how Wild Bloom had managed to claw its way into power within Moondrift City.
Slowly working their way through people of influence, they had eventually reached the king himself. Then they offered treatment he could not refuse, and once familiarity set in, they used that closeness to nudge anyone in their way aside.
Luo Qingyan had likely been one of them.
King Jongliean might not even have realized it himself, but his judgment had been leaning toward Wild Bloom for quite some time. The first sign Bai Fanxian had witnessed with her own eyes was the incident in the throne room with the girl named Li Jiyao, back then.
The incident with Luo Qingyan's medicine going wrong was no different. The King Jongliean of before would never have ordered a punishment like that. Wild Bloom's standing in his heart had clearly climbed quite high.
In that case—
"Do you know why so many people have gathered at the Goddess Palace today?"
...it needed to be dragged back down a little.
"...?"
King Jongliean looked around as though only just realizing it. He himself had been forcibly brought here, bed and all, with no way to resist. But why had all these townspeople come here?
It could not be that they had come to buy medicine.
"Forgive me... I honestly don't know."
"Yesterday, a rumor spread through the entire city..."
Bai Fanxian began, her tone so flat that several people flinched.
"They say Luo Qingyan hoarded a large stockpile of high-grade medicine and refused to hand it over to the authorities during the war... and that it cost far more lives than it should have."
"..."
"...Do you think that's true?"
King Jongliean might not have known, but Sage White-Beard, who watched over the city, had certainly heard the rumor.
"I already know of it. If it troubles you, I'll have my forces disperse this gathering and hunt down whoever started such a baseless rumor to give them a warning. What do you say?"
The old man was trying to find the most peaceful way out for everyone. But Bai Fanxian simply ignored him and flicked her hand off to the side.
"No need to waste the effort. I've already caught them all."
The moment she finished speaking, the robed men suspended by her qi dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. They all regained consciousness at once, looking left and right in confusion at what was happening around them.
"...These people?"
Suddenly finding themselves the center of attention left the robed men bewildered. Before they could gather their wits, Bai Fanxian swept her hand out in a wide arc, and the robes meant to conceal their identities tore apart into scraps of cloth, utterly unable to resist.
"...Huh, I know that man, don't I?"
"He was sitting right next to me yesterday..."
"I've seen that man before! But isn't he—"
"..."
"...a disciple of Wild Bloom?"
An uproar broke out the instant their identities were exposed. The Wild Bloom disciples all went pale, each one hopelessly scrambling to raise their hands and cover their faces.
"Are you saying Wild Bloom was behind spreading that rumor...?"
Sage White-Beard stepped forward to inspect them himself. He recognized several of their faces — because these were not just ordinary disciples, but senior disciples of Wild Bloom!
"N-no, that's not it!"
"We don't know anything — we were just walking through the city when that woman kidnapped us!"
"..."
The excuse actually sounded plausible enough. Without solid proof that they were truly responsible, jumping to conclusions would hardly have been fair.
Sage White-Beard looked rather troubled. But Bai Fanxian raised her hand again. Powerful qi surged out, pinning the Wild Bloom disciples in place, and with a single flick of her finger, something floated out from the hem of every one of their clothes.
It was a glossy brown medicine vial.
The Greybeard Alchemist stepped forward and opened the cap carefully. The moment he caught the faint scent, he frowned and abruptly circulated his qi, startling several onlookers.
"Elder, what's wrong!?"
"...You know what this is, don't you?"
Bai Fanxian's voice was flat as she turned her gaze toward the crowd that had gathered over the rumor.
"Dunce's Powder... quite a fitting name, don't you think?"
"Ho-ho... never thought I'd see this again... though should we really even be calling it medicine?"
The Greybeard Alchemist muttered this to himself, and Sage White-Beard, unable to hold back his curiosity, spoke up.
"What kind of medicine is it?"
"...It's barely medicine at all, honestly."
The old man shielded himself with qi and poured out the vial's contents. It was a fistful of suspicious, ash-black powder.
"Dunce's Powder. It's a mild sedative — anyone who breathes it in becomes easily swayed by their surroundings. It's normally used in war, to stir up soldiers' courage on the battlefield. But there are those who put it to far worse uses as well."
The Greybeard Alchemist kept careful watch, making sure none of the powder scattered.
"Under normal circumstances, it barely affects a cultivator. But if it's used when someone's guard is already down — half-asleep, or drunk—"
"...as long as it sounds even remotely reasonable, they'll believe whatever they're told. And it takes a good few days for the effects to wear off."
"...!?"
By the time he finished explaining, everyone listening had their eyes wide open. The crowd that had gathered over the rumor about Luo Qingyan hoarding medicine, in particular, flushed a deep red.
"But no one should still be able to refine this kind of medicine anymore, should they...?"
The Greybeard Alchemist frowned in confusion before using his qi to sweep the black powder back into the vial.
"Because these days, most of the ingredients used to refine it only grow in the Ancient Demons' territory. Ever since we lost that land, I haven't laid eyes on this powder in decades..."
Bai Fanxian felt she needed to reconsider this old man. He may have seemed a little irritating at first, but his knowledge of this world's alchemy had proven no small use to her.
"Carrying this kind of medicine around the streets... and you still want to say you don't know anything?"
Her words lodged like a stone in the throats of the Wild Bloom disciples, leaving them speechless.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Bai Fanxian turned back to meet King Jongliean's distracted gaze.
"The final condition..."
"G-go ahead, say it."
King Jongliean, still turning something over in his mind, stammered out a hasty reply. Bai Fanxian allowed the faintest smile to touch the corner of her mouth after catching the flicker of confusion and unease in his eyes.
It seemed Wild Bloom's once-lofty standing in this man's heart—
—had finally been successfully "dragged" back down!
"If you accept this condition, I'll refine the Celestial Path Elixir for you, just as I promised."
"I... understand."
"It's really nothing too difficult..."
"..."
"But this whole Wild Bloom Sect thing..."
"...?"
"...I really don't want to see their faces in your city anymore, understand?"