Immortal Mansion: With mediocre qualifications, I have no choice but to live forever

The middle-aged man sitting at the counter was the clever servant that Zhou Yiqiao had entrusted to his care when he left.

Zhou Yiqiao looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.

The clever servant back then became a Jindan cultivator because of the cultivation of the elixir that Zhou Yiqiao specially left behind.

But he still couldn't escape the ravages of time, and his face was marked with heavy traces of time.

"Thank you for your hard work over the years, Leo."

Zhou Yiqiao smiled slightly, his tone gentle.

The middle-aged man shook his head, a hint of relief showing on his face.

"As for the boss, I have been guarding Qingdan Pavilion for these years, watching it grow day by day, and I am happy in my heart."

"It's just that you, the boss, have been gone for fifty years. Many of the shops that did business with Qingdan Pavilion back then are now deserted. Many of the businesses we are cooperating with now are newly found by us on our own initiative."

"At the same time, in order to maintain the supply of third-level elixirs for Qingdan Pavilion, I have signed a long-term supply agreement with the nearby Qibaozhai. Although the profit is a little small, it is stable and ensures that the reputation and customer base of Qingdan Pavilion will not be affected."

"Also, I have passed on the secret method of alchemy that you left behind to several reliable disciples. They are now able to work on their own, which means that Qingdan Pavilion will not be controlled by others in terms of low-level elixirs."

The middle-aged man called Little Leo by Zhou Yiqiao seemed to be anxious to prove himself to Zhou Yiqiao, and told him all about the development of Qingdan Pavilion over the years.

Zhou Yiqiao nodded, understanding that the middle-aged man had put in a lot of effort over the years.

In order to conceal his identity, Zhou Yiqiao had been doing business in Qingdan Pavilion selling third-grade elixirs. He could not make much spirit stones from it, so he did not care about the details.

"Has there been any changes in Qingdan Pavilion in recent years?"

His voice was faint and his eyes moved around the store, as if looking for traces of the past.

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and said slowly.

"I dare not deceive the boss. Qingdan Pavilion has been generally peaceful in recent years, but there have indeed been some twists and turns in recent days."

"Oh? Tell me."

Zhou Yiqiao raised his eyebrows slightly and became interested.

After leaving Qingdan Pavilion, he practiced under high pressure for fifty years. Today, being able to hear the so-called troubles from the mouth of a low-level cultivator like Xiao Lizi can be considered a rare way to relax.

The middle-aged man, also known as Little Leo, looked embarrassed and said in a deep voice.

"Boss, a new alchemy force has emerged in the border market in recent months, called the 'Yan Yang Sect'."

"Yan Yang Sect?"

Zhou Yiqiao was slightly stunned. He didn't remember that there was such a force in the border market.

"Yes, there is a genius in alchemy among the younger generation of Yanyang Sect, named Huo Yan. It is said that he was able to refine third-level elixirs at the age of 18, which caused quite a stir in the entire border market."

Leo explained.

Zhou Yiqiao nodded, indicating that he accepted Leo's explanation.

The border market is the most prosperous place for trading low-level spiritual medicines in the Tianchen Realm. In order to earn resources for cultivation, many weak alchemy sects will choose to open branches here or even directly relocate their clans here.

Over time, it was not uncommon for new alchemy geniuses to emerge within a thousand miles around this border town.

But Leo's next words made him raise his eyebrows.

"Although Huo Yan has a good talent for alchemy, he is arrogant and looks down on others. He declared that no one in the entire border market can match him in alchemy skills, and even threatened to challenge all the old alchemy sects, including our Qingdan Pavilion."

"You do have the capital to be arrogant, but what does this have to do with Qingdan Pavilion?"

Zhou Yiqiao's eyes were full of amusement, his fingers gently stroking the edge of the counter, as if he was thinking about something.

Little Leo didn't see Zhou Yiqiao's expression and continued to explain with a bitter face.

"Boss is right. This has nothing to do with Qingdan Pavilion."

"But last month, a female cultivator whom Huo Yan admired came to Qingdan Pavilion to buy elixirs, and Huo Yan followed her."

Leo continued his narration with an embarrassed look on his face.

"That female cultivator has no good feelings towards Huo Yan and has been trying to get rid of him."

Leo sighed.

"It just so happened that on that day, Qibaozhai had just delivered a batch of third-level elixirs. In order to completely stop Huo Yan from having any thoughts, the female cultivator picked up a bottle of Ninghua Dan and belittled Huo Yan in front of him, saying that the elixirs Huo Yan made were far inferior to those sold by Qingdan Pavilion."

"She spoke sharply, saying that Huo Yan boasted all day that he was the best alchemist of the younger generation in Border Market, but in fact, the quality of the pills sold casually by Qingdan Pavilion was not even as good as it could be."

When Zhou Yiqiao heard this, he raised his eyebrows slightly and asked.

"Since that bottle of Ninghua Pill was provided by Qibaozhai, what does it have to do with my Qingdan Pavilion?"

Little Leo smiled bitterly and explained.

"Boss, every jade bottle in Qibaozhai has the signature of Qibaozhai on the bottom. How could Huo Yan and Yan Yang not know this?"

"But they are new to the Yanyang Sect and are in urgent need of establishing their authority, so they deliberately treated this bottle of elixir as belonging to the Qingdan Pavilion, and used this as an excuse to openly speak nonsense in front of the Qingdan Pavilion, belittling our Qingdan Pavilion's alchemy skills."

"Huo Yan became even more angry and declared that he would challenge all the younger alchemists in Qingdan Pavilion. If Qingdan Pavilion lost, he would ask us to compensate for the reputation of Yanyang Sect and Huo Yan."

There was a hint of helplessness in Leo's voice.

When Zhou Yiqiao heard this, the smile in his eyes became even brighter.

"Interesting, they are plotting against my Qingdan Pavilion."

"Have they ever really challenged the alchemists of my Qingdan Pavilion?"

Little Leo shook his head and replied.

"There has been no official challenge yet, but Huo Yan's words have spread widely in the border market, and almost all the well-known alchemy forces in the surrounding area have already known about this matter."

"Even if we turn a blind eye, the provocations from Yanyang Sect and Huo Yan are intensifying like oil on a raging fire."

"Many people are waiting to see Qingdan Pavilion's joke, and some forces are ready to take this opportunity to suppress us in order to get a piece of the pie."

"Heh, the alchemy circle near the border market has a low ceiling, but they are all very cunning."

Zhou Yiqiao laughed, as if he had already come up with a solution.

“Little Li, don’t worry, I will handle the matter between Huo Yan and Yan Yang Sect.”

"Boss, you...you want to take action?"

Little Li was shocked. He knew that Zhou Yiqiao's strength was unfathomable, but if the boss could take action personally, even if there were ten Yanyang Sects or a hundred Huo Yans, they would not be able to cause any impact on the reputation of Qingdan Pavilion.

Zhou Yiqiao's eyes were full of amusement as he walked towards the backyard.

"There's no need for me to personally take action against a small Yanyang Sect."

"Go and call all the alchemists that Qingdan Pavilion has trained over the years to the backyard, and don't worry about the rest."