"What? The Pine Crane Pill?" In a hidden chamber somewhere within the Glazed Glass Royal City, Pill Sovereign was rendered speechless for a long while upon receiving this news.
Pill Sovereign had been involved in the internal upheaval of the Glazed Glass Royal City from start to finish. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that Asura Great Emperor would reach out to him, requesting his help to deal with the Peacock Great Emperor.
Pill Sovereign could not believe that Asura Great Emperor had sunk this low.
Of course, at the very beginning, Pill Sovereign had even suspected whether this was some elaborate trap laid by the Peacock Great Emperor — designed to lure him out into the open.
But after prolonged observation and deduction, he came to realize this was no ploy of the Peacock Great Emperor's. Asura Great Emperor truly was that foolish!
Collaborating with Asura Great Emperor was certainly dangerous, but as the "tiger" in this arrangement, Pill Sovereign had no reason to complain.
He and Asura Great Emperor struck a deal instantly.
Beyond Pill Fire City, Asura Great Emperor had also enlisted the help of the Immortal Celestial Capital.
Between the three parties — Asura Great Emperor, Pill Fire City, and the Immortal Celestial Capital — they joined forces to strike at the Peacock Great Emperor.
Of course, the most critical contribution came from Pill Sovereign himself. He had deployed Pill Fire City's most potent poison and employed various methods to ensure the Peacock Great Emperor fell victim.
Although he had not obtained the Peacock Great Emperor's intact corpse, Pill Sovereign had already passed his death sentence in his mind.
An alchemy powerhouse of his caliber was always supremely confident in his poisoning methods.
He was absolutely certain that the Peacock Great Emperor was doomed this time. Once the Peacock Great Emperor perished, the next target to deal with would be none other than Pill King Zhen.
In Pill Sovereign's eyes, this Pill King Zhen was far more annoying than the Peacock Great Emperor.
The Peacock Great Emperor was powerful, yes, but all he did was lead the Glazed Glass Royal City to glory and stand as Pill Fire City's equal on the grand stage.
When it came to alchemy, however, the Glazed Glass Royal City was only about one-fifth of Pill Fire City's caliber — not nearly enough to pose any real threat.
But all of that was ancient history. Ever since the Glazed Glass Royal City produced that Young Master Zhen, the balance had been completely upended.
First, Pill King Jilang had returned empty-handed from the contest over the Myriad Year Pill.
What stung even more was the fact that this Young Master Zhen had disguised himself as someone from Myriad Abyss Island and entered Pill Fire City's own territory to compete in the bounty arena, crushing Pill Fire City's entire lineup of Pill Kings into utter submission.
Yet the most infuriating episode of all had occurred at the Moon God Sect. Pill King Jilang had been utterly stumped by the Moon God Treasure Tree, while this Pill King Zhen had unraveled the mystery with just a few casual remarks.
Another head-to-head comparison, another undeniable loss for Pill King Jilang.
For the proud Pill Fire City, this was nothing short of a humiliating defeat.
That was why he had infiltrated the Glazed Glass Royal City on this occasion. His most important objective was to help Asura Great Emperor seize power, and if possible, eliminate Pill King Zhen along the way.
As for annexing the Glazed Glass Royal City entirely — that was obviously not so simple. Pill Sovereign had a voracious appetite, but even he wouldn't dare be that brazen.
After all, the Glazed Glass Royal City lay to the south while Pill Fire City occupied the north. Swallowing the Glazed Glass Royal City would mean spanning the entire Upper Eight Regions.
Setting aside whether Pill Fire City even had the stomach for such a feat — even if it did, he wouldn't necessarily dare attempt it. This was the kind of thing that would provoke universal outrage.
If his ambitions alarmed the other factions in the Upper Eight Regions, causing them to perceive him as a threat, the next step might well be a coordinated assault on Pill Fire City.
Therefore, even if he were to meddle in the Glazed Glass Royal City's affairs, it had to be done gradually and from the shadows.
In truth, as long as the Glazed Glass Royal City fell into Asura Great Emperor's hands, it would inevitably decline into a second-rate power even without Pill Sovereign lifting a finger — no longer able to contend with Pill Fire City.
The prerequisite, of course, was that Pill King Zhen had to die, and the Peacock Sacred Mountain's lineage had to be eradicated.
If Pill King Zhen survived, then everything would be up in the air.
For reasons he couldn't fully explain, Pill Sovereign felt a deep wariness toward this young Pill King Zhen. As long as that mysterious young man remained alive, no impossibility was truly impossible.
Which was why, upon hearing the words "Pine Crane Pill," Pill Sovereign's reaction was so extreme.
The mention had struck a nerve once again.
"Just how much knowledge is crammed into that Pill King Zhen's head? Does his expertise truly have no upper limit?" Pill Sovereign seethed with frustration.
He didn't even need to investigate — he knew at once that the Pine Crane Pill had to be connected to Pill King Zhen.
"Your Majesty, if this pill truly lives up to the rumors, then it's terrifying. With just this single pill, the Glazed Glass Royal City would be capable of dealing a fatal blow to our Pill Fire City."
This was no empty alarm.
The Myriad Year Pill was one thing — it was a pill meant for Saint-realm cultivators. While Saint-realm cultivators were numerous, they did not yet have the power to tip the scales of the human territories.
But the Pine Crane Pill was an entirely different matter. It belonged to the Emperor realm and even the Sovereign realm.
The ones who truly held the fate of the human territories in their hands were cultivators at precisely this level.
The Sovereign realm, the Emperor realm — these were the absolute pinnacle of human martial cultivators.
If every cultivator at this level forged ties with the Peacock Sacred Mountain through the Pine Crane Pill, then over time, the Peacock Sacred Mountain's network of connections would become staggeringly vast.
Ten years, a hundred years, five hundred years…