When Bai Li Hongzhuang and her group arrived at the Medicine Sect, the Sect Master, Gu Weixiong, appeared quite surprised. However, after careful consideration, he understood the purpose of Bai Li Hongzhuang's visit.
"Sect Master Situ, what a rare guest!" Gu Weixiong greeted them with a smile.
Although there had been some conflicts between him and Situ Yan in the past due to the Alchemist Grand Competition, those tensions had eased considerably after he attended Bai Li Hongzhuang's wedding. After all, minor frictions like these often occurred between different sects.
Now that the status of the Heavenly Star Sect had changed, Gu Weixiong had no intention of playing such petty tricks anymore.
Seeing Gu Weixiong's warm reception, Situ Yan also smiled faintly, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. It wasn't because he held any grudges against Gu Weixiong for what happened before, but because his mind was preoccupied with concern for Emperor Beichen. At the moment, he couldn't find it in himself to be happy.
"Lord Blue, Miss Bai Li, Lord Wen, Lady Wen, your arrival at the Medicine Sect has truly brought luster to our humble abode!" Gu Weixiong exclaimed inwardly. Although there were only five of them, those five represented four influential forces. If they weren't properly received, it could cause quite a bit of trouble.
"Sect Master Gu, you must already have an idea of our purpose for coming today," Situ Yan didn't waste any time with pleasantries and went straight to the point.
Hearing Situ Yan's words, Gu Weixiong glanced at the solemn expressions on Bai Li Hongzhuang and the others, feeling a sense of puzzlement. What had happened? What could make them show such expressions? Were those two medicinal ingredients really that important to them?
Seeing this, Gu Weixiong no longer pretended to be ignorant and said, "Are the few of you here for those two medicinal ingredients?"
Situ Yan nodded, his face serious. "Yes, if Sect Master Gu has those two ingredients, I hope you can provide them. No matter what the conditions for exchange are, we are willing to negotiate."
As soon as Situ Yan spoke, Gu Weixiong was even more astonished. It was as if he was letting him make a lion's opening bid!
Given Situ Yan's level of experience, he wouldn't usually make such a statement. This only indicated how crucial those two medicinal ingredients were to them.
"Sect Master Situ, it's not that I don't want to help you. If the Medicine Sect possessed those two ingredients, I would have already given them to you. But the truth is, we really don't have them!" Gu Weixiong sighed. With the current status and influence of the Heavenly Star Sect, he would have been glad to owe them a favor, but he truly didn't have what they needed.
"Sect Master Gu, I heard that your sect had made special acquisitions of these two medicinal ingredients in the past," Bai Li Hongzhuang spoke slowly, her pitch-black eyes flickering with astute wisdom. "Based on my knowledge, the likelihood of these two ingredients being necessary for alchemy is quite low. Could Sect Master Gu enlighten me on the reasons why your sect acquired them?"
Bai Li Hongzhuang exuded confidence. While she didn't claim to know all the alchemical recipes in the world, she was well-versed in the majority of them.
Hearing Bai Li Hongzhuang's words, Gu Weixiong was taken aback. He had forgotten that Bai Li Hongzhuang's expertise in alchemy was astonishing. This meant that deceiving her wouldn't be an easy task.