The Underworld Drug Trade

"Senior Sister, my loan hasn't been approved yet, so as for the spirit coins..." Chen Zhuo had no intention of settling the balance in spirit stones. Spirit stones were far too expensive! He still needed those ninety-plus spirit stones to purchase stock in the ancient cultivation world. How could he possibly squander them here on purchasing drugs and injections? Chen Zhuo had already made up his mind: from now on, he would exclusively use spirit coins in the Immortal Mansion. Barring an emergency, he would not touch his spirit stones lightly. Before, he had only done so because he was strapped for cash and had no choice. Now that his spirit coin loan was about to come through, his life was clearly getting back on track, and there was no need to waste spirit stones anymore. At most, he might sell a few in small quantities to close acquaintances to foster some goodwill. Hearing his words, Dong Xuejiao raised an eyebrow. *There's risk in that.* *Here in our Immortal Mansion, there's never been any concept of buying on credit!* However... Dong Xuejiao glanced at the other members of the Yixin Society standing around, all staring at her with eager anticipation, and nodded immediately. "Junior Brother Chen is short on funds at the moment, which I can personally understand. The moment I laid eyes on Junior Brother Chen, I felt an immediate kinship, so I'll make an exception this time." She had no choice. In a public setting, Dong Xuejiao had to maintain her facade as an "esteemed undergraduate." This was critical! After all, she had gone to the trouble of borrowing a massive array of magical artifacts specifically to crack open the market at her alma mater... No, rather, to crack open the market in the place where she had once fallen on hard times. Alma mater? She had long forgotten it. A person couldn't forget their roots, but they could certainly forget their junior college. Indeed, cracking the market was what mattered. Taiqing Vocational and Technical College of Alchemy had tens of thousands of students. Moreover, Taiqing Vocational and Technical College of Talisman Crafting, Taiqing Vocational and Technical College of Formation Array Crafting, Taiqing Vocational and Technical College of Artifact Refining, and Taiqing Vocational and Technical College of Alchemy were all cut from the same cloth and maintained close ties, constantly sharing resources. Opening up the market here was equivalent to opening up the market across the "Four Great Colleges." On top of that, within the Taiqing City University Town area, there were plenty of second-tier universities! Nearby, there were at least seven to eight hundred thousand cultivating students. Even if she couldn't capture the entire market, capturing just one percent would mean seven to eight thousand customers! Factor in the ripple effect reaching their families... Good heavens, look at that market size! Wouldn't business take off instantly? Therefore, she could treat this as buying horse bones for a thousand pieces of gold—a small loss to win over the crowd. With that in mind, Dong Xuejiao immediately took Chen Zhuo's arm and introduced him loudly to the cultivators present: "Everyone, this is Junior Brother Chen Zhuo, the pride of our junior college! In the future, if you refine too much medicine and can't offload it all, you can look for Chen Zhuo. He has the connections!" The moment Dong Xuejiao said this, the entire crowd stirred in excitement! "Even Daoist Scholar Dong addresses him like a brother! It's practically confirmed that he's the descendant of some fallen senior cultivator who got in trouble!" "What an honor it is for us to study at the same school as a descendant of a senior cultivator!" "Jot down the name 'Chen Zhuo.' Make sure to keep in close touch with him later..." "..." The members of the Yixin Society whispered among themselves. Seeing this, Dong Xuejiao was thoroughly satisfied. She turned and added, "Si Jing, remember to add Junior Brother Chen to our official Yixin Society group chat soon so everyone can get to know him." "Will do." Si Jing was remarkably obedient. Seeing her compliance, Dong Xuejiao was even more pleased. Then, Si Jing promptly led Chen Zhuo away, stepping back from Dong Xuejiao's side. Chen Zhuo asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister Si Jing, when will I get my medicine?" "Right after the meeting breaks up," Si Jing replied. "Senior Sister Dong is about to give a speech. Once you've listened to the speech, it will be handed to you. Our Yixin Society is a massive operation; we don't sweat petty change like this." With that, Si Jing began operating her spiritual communication jade slip and pulled Chen Zhuo into a group chat named "Junior College United in One Mind Mutual Aid Society (Group 3)." Chen Zhuo: ? *So that's what "Yixin" meant.* *My mistake.* Chen Zhuo felt relieved. As long as he got his medicine, nothing else mattered. The main reason Chen Zhuo had opted for the injectable version of Azure Dragon was that in three months, Qiwu Sword Sect in the ancient cultivation world would be opening its gates to recruit disciples. Regarding that so-called trial, Chen Zhuo was still somewhat apprehensive, unsure if he could pass. Since that was the case, he naturally needed to raise his cultivation realm as quickly as possible to enhance his core competitiveness. From a long-term perspective, the oral sustained-release tablet was naturally better. However, while taking sustained-release tablets, one could not administer other drugs. That would severely drag out Chen Zhuo's cultivation timeline, so he certainly wouldn't slow down his progress just to save two hundred spirit coins. If he missed this chance, he would have to wait another ten years! Ten years from now, Chen Zhuo estimated he would already be approaching the Foundation Establishment stage, and there was no way he could blend into the sect then! As Chen Zhuo let his thoughts wander, Dong Xuejiao began her speech. The sound was a chaotic din, and Chen Zhuo couldn't make out much of it, only catching a few snippets here and there. "This is your only chance as junior college students to turn the tables! You must seize the opportunity for wealth and boost your immortal path potential! Choice is greater than effort! Only by aligning with the right platform can you achieve spirit coin freedom!" "Some junior college students who betrayed our Yixin Society failed to upgrade to undergraduates, but our club is magnanimous—we gave every one of them a dose of Little White Dragon! Even those who betrayed us got Little White Dragon, so what about those who support us?! If you understand, let me hear your applause!" Dong Xuejiao shouted at the top of her lungs, "Our Yixin Society's former president has an enormous business empire in Qingwu City, twenty-five Nascent Soul cultivators, the number one club in the Taiqing Domain! Let us all celebrate our remarkable former president, Senior Sister Yang Yang!" Hearing this, the corner of Si Jing's mouth twitched. And the more Chen Zhuo listened, the stranger it felt. Why did this feel... a bit like an MLM scheme? Twenty-five Nascent Soul True Monarchs? Why the hell didn't you just claim twenty-five Divine Monarchs? A clueless fellow nearby clearly hadn't caught on to the grift, asking in a daze, "Twenty-five Nascent Soul True Monarchs?! Right now, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs stationed in our entire Taiqing City only number eleven!" Hearing this, Dong Xuejiao frowned and immediately replied in a cool voice, "I've already confirmed it with Sister Yang Yang. There really are twenty-five Nascent Soul cultivators, no doubt about it." OK. Confirmed. This Yixin Society was an MLM crew, and creating group chats was purely for peddling drugs. The corner of Chen Zhuo's mouth twitched. Of course, that wasn't to say MLM was inherently bad. Not everything sold through such channels was fake, though the risk of counterfeit and uncertified goods was undeniably high. The crucial factor was whether the source was reliable; one couldn't paint them all with the same brush. However... At this stage, if Chen Zhuo went to official flagship stores to buy medicine, the prices were outrageously steep. For the exact same basic model of Azure Dragon, they sold it for seven hundred spirit coins over there, whereas here it was six hundred. Their efficacy was about the same, but there was a full hundred-spirit-coin difference! Even a blind person would know which one to choose. In the world of the Immortal Mansion, getting involved in the underworld drug trade wasn't something shameful! Everyone was doing it. Rumor had it that Nascent Soul True Monarchs backed this industry from above. Without Nascent Soul True Monarchs covering for them, a routine crackdown on grey industries by the Immortal Mansion would have wiped out the underworld drug trade in an instant! It was much the same as the underworld lending scene. If there was no backing from above, who would dare falsify documents to take out loans ahead of time? As Dong Xuejiao wrapped up her speech, orders poured in non-stop. Dong Xuejiao's smile grew even more radiant. Before long, amid the flurry of orders, Si Jing returned carrying a vial of potion glowing with a teal sheen and solemnly handed it to Chen Zhuo. "I snagged it for you. Once you get back, search up some instructional videos on injecting it yourself—don't go plunging it in recklessly!" Senior Sister Si Jing said, "Azure Dragon isn't like the drugs you injected before; its potency is on a completely different level. If anything goes wrong, send me a message and I'll take you next door to Taiqing Medical College. I have an acquaintance who upgraded to an undergraduate there, so they can treat you at a discount." "Don't call the emergency first-responder cultivators—their fees are highway robbery!" Having said that, Senior Sister Si Jing seemed to think of something and added, "Of course, if it really gets that severe, call them anyway. Your life matters more!"