To date, Penguin Medicine Pavilion had significantly disrupted the interests of the largest pill-selling guilds in Qingrao Domain.
Prior to this, Penguin Medicine Pavilion had remained under their watchful gaze, operating within a secluded black market in Qingrao Domain without any apparent intention of expansion. Coupled with an earlier probe by the Modo Merchant Guild, which they had observed though not participated in, they, as competitors, had been able to pick up on numerous subtle clues regarding their rivals' actions. What appeared secret to outsiders was often known in great detail by their competitors.
It was for this very reason that after Penguin Medicine Pavilion introduced one more potent modified pill after another, no other faction dared to test them further, save for the initial attempt by Modo Merchant Guild. This was because they were aware that Penguin Medicine Pavilion harbored at least one cultivator at the peak of Tribulation Transcension, whose strength was comparable to a half-step Mahayana stage cultivator. Moreover, at that time, Penguin Medicine Pavilion had shown no outward expansion. While they harbored apprehension towards the more potent modified pill formulas introduced by Penguin Medicine Pavilion, the loss of profit from such a small territory was negligible to their massive guilds.
However, this delicate balance had been shattered in recent days. Penguin Medicine Pavilion had begun establishing branches, a clear sign of outward expansion. Simultaneously, the spies diligently observing Penguin Medicine Pavilion for their respective guilds had immediately relayed this news. As a result, these guilds, which had begun to breathe a sigh of relief, were now once again gripped by anxiety.
If Penguin Medicine Pavilion had not actively expanded outwards, a few secluded black markets, or at most information exchanged among friendly cultivators, would have resulted in minimal losses for their guilds. But if Penguin Medicine Pavilion were to continuously open numerous branches in various secluded black markets, their current pill strengths would be no match for Penguin Medicine Pavilion's modified pills. Otherwise, they would not have gathered here for a discussion. If they were to simply sit back and do nothing, they feared that once Penguin Medicine Pavilion truly established a foothold in Qingrao Domain, they would be utterly helpless.
"Regarding Penguin Medicine Pavilion, what are your plans?" Mo Qiong's voice echoed once more, looking at the powerful guild masters with their ever-changing expressions. The atmosphere in the hall fell silent for a moment.
After a considerable pause, a middle-aged man with a bronze complexion, short hair, and wearing a black robe, his eyes slightly narrowed, spoke. He was Tian Zhishang, the guild master of Tianqin Merchant Guild. "To my knowledge, Penguin Medicine Pavilion possesses a peak Tribulation Transcension cultivator whose strength is at least comparable to a half-step Mahayana stage cultivator. With a powerhouse of that caliber, Penguin Medicine Pavilion will not be easy to deal with."
A half-step Mahayana stage cultivator was essentially invincible below the true Mahayana stage, unless a genuine Mahayana stage cultivator arrived. Even if a cultivator with comparable strength at the half-step Mahayana stage were to engage in combat, the victor would likely incur immense losses just to secure a win. It could be said that as long as a force possessed a peak Tribulation Transcension cultivator with strength comparable to a half-step Mahayana stage, and they did not offend the few Mahayana stage cultivators or provoke a siege from numerous powers of the same level in Qingrao Domain, they could essentially move with impunity.
But now, judging by the situation with Penguin Medicine Pavilion, the factions targeting them appeared to be powers that also possessed half-step Mahayana stage combat strength. As expected, another individual soon stepped forward. He was the guild master of Yanzhi Merchant Guild, and his chilling voice rang out, "What if there is a half-step Mahayana stage cultivator? We, the few guilds present, have established such deep roots in Qingrao Domain for nearly ten thousand years. Behind which of us is there no such level of combat strength?"
"Even if Penguin Medicine Pavilion has one cultivator with half-step Mahayana stage combat power, if we join forces, are we still afraid of them?" After all, this time, Penguin Medicine Pavilion's actions involved the interests of not just one or two guilds, but a total of eight merchant guilds. Setting aside the number of ordinary cultivators at the eighth or ninth heaven of Tribulation Transcension, or even those at the peak of Tribulation Transcension within these eight guilds, there were a total of eight individuals whose combat strength was comparable to a half-step Mahayana stage. Eight of them acting together would clearly be something that a single cultivator of the same tier within Penguin Medicine Pavilion could not withstand.
As these words were spoken, a flicker of interest appeared in the eyes of several of the eight guild masters present. Although, under normal circumstances, the strongest individual within their guilds would rarely take action, this time was different. This directly involved the core interests of their guilds.
Just as the other guild masters were about to agree to this simple and crude method, Mo Qiong's voice rang out again, dousing their enthusiasm with a splash of cold water. "Your method is indeed simple and crude, and effective in the short term. But... there is a most crucial problem..."
"Have you, to this day, thoroughly investigated the true depth of Penguin Medicine Pavilion's background?"
A single half-step Mahayana stage cultivator would not have instilled such apprehension in them. What truly made this group uneasy was the background of Penguin Medicine Pavilion, which had yet to surface. Let alone the fact that a half-step Mahayana stage cultivator had easily killed one peak Tribulation Transcension cultivator and three at the ninth heaven of Tribulation Transcension. Even the increasingly potent modified pill refining methods that had appeared one after another were something they did not believe an ordinary force could achieve. After all, a single modification to one of these pill formulas would require thousands of years of effort from the most skilled alchemists in their guilds, and even then, success might not be guaranteed. Yet, Penguin Medicine Pavilion produced a new one every ten to twenty years.
What did producing a new modified pill formula every ten to twenty years entail? The difficulty of this was no less than asking an ordinary person to reach the Tribulation Transcension stage within a hundred years. Even if that ordinary person had extraordinary talent, it would still be a fantasy. What's more, it was akin to Penguin Medicine Pavilion producing ordinary people who could break through from mortal to Tribulation Transcension stage in a hundred years, and then repeating this process every ten to twenty years.
It was precisely for this reason that these few guilds chose to ignore Penguin Medicine Pavilion when they learned it was not expanding its branches. After all, if it were a weaker force, they would have long ago eliminated this ticking time bomb in their hands.