Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 491 - 480: Difficulties, Seeking Help from the Bureau
Above the sea, Evil Qi pervaded the air.
The layers of Evil Qi looked as thin as a cicada’s wings, but they could still be distinctly felt.
Everything in front of him had clearly informed Qin An that there was indeed a spirit present here, and even the fish were the work of this spirit.
However, Qin An’s brows furrowed deeper because, despite the Evil Qi, he still couldn’t find the spirit’s whereabouts.
All he knew was that the spirit was in the sea.
Zhao Tiezhu stood by his side, looking at Qin An with trepidation, not daring to speak.
At that moment, Qin An suddenly turned around and said, "You should go back first."
Zhao Tiezhu was stunned on the spot.
Qin An continued, "It’s easy for danger to arise here. It’s not convenient for an ordinary person like you to stay, return to the village first. Once the matter is resolved, I’ll naturally inform you."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Tiezhu snapped out of it, agreed hurriedly, and quickly left the place.
After Zhao Tiezhu left, Qin An turned to look at the surging sea surface, his brows furrowing even deeper.
"The spirit is hiding in the water, but I have no way to go underwater, and fighting in water would affect the exertion of my strength, which isn’t ideal."
If he encountered the spirit on land, Qin An might have just charged in to take the spirit down directly.
But now, the spirit was in the sea.
Qin An felt that if he wanted to kill the spirit, he would first have to enter the sea.
And if he truly entered the sea, the dangers within were beyond anyone’s guess.
Seeing the situation in front of him, Qin An felt that this task might be somewhat challenging.
"Might as well return to the Evil Extermination Bureau first and seek relevant information to see how to deal with the spirit in the water."
Qin An had indeed never encountered this because, during his time in Xunyang Prefecture and Lingzhou, he had never been in the water.
Of course, Qin An thought of someone.
Perhaps the Dragon Palace could help him.
"I already have dealings with the Dragon Palace. It’s only natural to ask them for a bit of assistance."
With that thought, Qin An didn’t linger and turned back towards the Evil Extermination Bureau.
On his way back to the Evil Extermination Bureau, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
Once he arrived, he first handed over his steed to a Daoist Official of the Internal Affairs Department to feed it for a bit before heading to the shop where the Dragon Palace was located.
When he arrived at the shop, Qin An thought everything would be normal, but unexpectedly, a dispute was erupting inside the shop.
Frowning, Qin An stepped into the shop only to find two men arguing with the dragon demon at the shop.
The content of their argument quickly reached Qin An’s ears.
"Your Dragon Palace really goes too far, not only cutting off trades with the Alchemy Master Alliance but even encouraging allied forces with the Dragon Palace to do the same."
"This matter has nothing to do with our Dragon Palace. It’s because your Alchemy Master Alliance charges too much. Everyone wants cost-effective options for a living."
"Fine, fine, you want to do it this way? Do you truly think relying on just Qin An alone can supply all these pills, right?"
"What do you think? Anyway, Mr. Qin supplies pills to the Dragon Palace with ease, and we casually distribute some of Qin’s pills to those spirit forces, and they are more than happy."
The argument grew more intense, and Qin An’s arrival immediately drew the attention of both parties.
The dragon demon at the counter showed a look of surprise and quickly distanced himself from the two men, walking up to Qin An to respectfully inquire, "Mr. Qin, what brings you to the shop?"
This dragon demon possessed a cultivation level of Great Success in the Void Shattering Realm, theoretically higher than Qin An’s, and was under no obligation to show such respect.
However, Qin An’s alchemy skills were so praised by even the Dragon King that, as a subordinate of the Dragon Palace, they naturally sought to curry favor.
Upon hearing ’Mr. Qin,’ the two men standing aside immediately regained their senses. The middle-aged man on the left gave a cold snort, sweeping a provocative gaze over Qin An.
"And here I was wondering who it was. It’s Mr. Qin from the Evil Extermination Bureau, meddling in alchemy’s mess instead of slaying spirits. Truly going too far!"
The man on the right seemed more composed, standing silently at the side but looking at Qin An with curiosity.
Qin An raised an eyebrow slightly.
His return was originally for seeking help from the Dragon Palace to deal with the sea spirit.
After all, the dragon demons from the Dragon Palace were sea creatures; dealing with spirits at sea would naturally be twice as effective with half the effort.
Unexpectedly, he ran into this situation.
The identity of those two men was self-evident; they were people from the Alchemy Master Alliance.
But Qin An was no pushover. Faced with the provocation, he swept a cold gaze over, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Unable to do business, so you cause a scene? It seems like you really don’t respect the Dragon Palace and Evil Extermination Bureau."
With that said, the middle-aged man was stunned, realizing that Qin An’s words were putting their backgrounds on the table.
The middle-aged man opened his mouth, racking his brain to retort.
However, when the cold gaze of Qin An swept by, he didn’t know what to say, only pointing at Qin An, repeatedly mumbling his previous statements.
Qin An waved his hand and said, "Get out."
He didn’t want to waste time.
People from the Alchemy Master Alliance already knew about his cooperation with the Dragon Palace and were bound to cause trouble, but that was for later.
For now, what Qin An needed was to complete the task ahead.
The middle-aged man’s face turned pale from anger at Qin An’s single command to leave.
At this moment, the middle-aged man on the right raised his hand and pressed on his shoulder, calming his emotions slightly.
"Mr. Qin, I am Wang Shufeng, the Great Elder of the Alchemy Master Alliance. It is a great pleasure to meet Mr. Qin today, truly refreshing like a breeze in spring."
Wang Shufeng’s words carried a hint of calmness, appearing much more composed than the previous person.
Yet, apart from this calmness, he seemed more detached from worldly affairs.
Qin An raised an eyebrow: "If you have something to say, say it; if not, then leave."
Wang Shufeng nodded and said: "The alchemical talent of Mr. Qin astonishes us all; however, as a member of the Evil Extermination Bureau, how can Mr. Qin participate in alchemy? If this were disclosed, I fear it would tarnish Mr. Qin’s reputation."
"Do I seem like a person who cares about reputation?" Qin An retorted.
Wang Shufeng’s eyes widened as he nodded, "I understand, then I shall take my leave."
He said nothing more.
Having reached their status, they can read a person’s character from mere words.
In front of them, Qin An’s words carried a sense of indifference, appearing as though he doesn’t care about anything.
This kind of personality makes it useless to say too much here.
Everything will be answered after returning to the Alchemy Master Alliance to negotiate with the Alliance Hierarch.
Soon, Wang Shufeng left the shop with the middle-aged man.
After they left, Qin An finally looked at the dragon demon standing respectfully to the side.
He was about to speak, but the dragon demon spoke first.
"Mr. Qin, you must be careful. This matter was somehow leaked to the Alchemy Master Alliance. The Alliance Hierarch is negotiable, but people under Pill King Zhang Tianyi have extensive connections that might pose a threat to Mr. Qin."
The words carried a hint of earnestness as if trying to curry favor with Qin An.
In fact, he was indeed trying to curry favor with Qin An.
Qin An shook his head slightly and said: "This matter is not urgent for now; I’ll deal with threats as they come. I promised to handle the Dragon Palace’s affairs, and I’ll do it. There is something I need your help with now."
The dragon demon immediately thumped his chest: "As long as the Dragon Palace can help Mr. Qin, we will exert our full effort."
It is best to make things clear from the start, regardless of the situation, at least promise first.
This way, they can at least gain some favor in Qin An’s eyes.
Qin An nodded before explaining the matters of the Wandering Sea.
"I need a dragon demon familiar with water to help me solve this matter. Can the Dragon Palace lend a hand?"
The dragon demon was initially stunned by Qin An’s words, then a complex expression appeared on his face: "Mr. Qin, if you mean the Wandering Sea, then it’s a bit complicated."
Qin An frowned: "How is it complicated?"
The dragon demon smiled bitterly: "There is indeed a demon creature in the Wandering Sea—a catfish spirit. The water pollution issue you mentioned must be the cultivation technique of this catfish spirit."
"It is said that this technique can pollute the ocean, erode the fish through the water, turning them into gourmet meals for the catfish spirit. Moreover, those who consume fish polluted by the catfish spirit can have their essence extracted to be devoured by it."
Upon hearing this, Qin An rubbed his chin and said: "If that is so, then solving it is straightforward. Why say it’s complicated?"
The dragon demon shook his head: "Mr. Qin may not know, though the Dragon Palace resides in the deep ocean, the Wandering Sea area is not within the Dragon Palace’s jurisdiction. The waters of the Heavenly Cloud Dao are vast, each area having its own ruler."
"The Wandering Sea isn’t just that; it belongs to a more extensive region dominated by the seven-colored carp and its upper echelon force, the Seven-Colored Fish Gate. Therefore, even the Dragon Palace might not interfere easily."
Qin An frowned: "If that’s the case, this task indeed seems difficult to complete."
If the Dragon Palace can’t intervene, Qin An must really venture into the waters himself to accomplish this task.
Seeing the difficulty reflected on Qin An’s face, the dragon demon cautiously approached and whispered: "Mr. Qin, though this matter seems hard to solve, it can be simple. You can call on Long Tianxing for help."
Qin An raised an eyebrow: "Why resort to Long Tianxing?"
The dragon demon smiled and said: "Long Tianxing’s lineage is actually 108,000 miles away from the Dragon Palace, so calling him a wild dragon wouldn’t be inappropriate. Hence, having him assist may swiftly resolve the matter and clear ties with the Dragon Palace."
Qin An nodded and said: "If that is so, please inform Long Tianxing. Yet, I didn’t realize how weak his lineage actually is."
The dragon demon sighed: "The Dragon Palace is very complex. If Long Tianxing hadn’t connected with Princess Long San and Mr. Qin, his return to the Dragon Palace might still be terribly miserable. As for this matter, rest assured, within three days Long Tianxing will arrive."
Qin An nodded, saying no more, then chatted briefly with the dragon demon before leaving the shop and returning to the Evil Extermination Bureau.
Given three days, he wasn’t in a hurry, wanting to use this period to cultivate blacksmith proficiency first.
Once Long Tianxing arrives, he’ll handle the Wandering Sea task.
Soon, only the dragon demon remained in the shop, who hastily left heading toward the Dragon Palace.
...
After Wang Shufeng left Qin An, his expression darkened as he returned to the Alchemy Master Alliance.
At this time, in the main hall of the Alchemy Master Alliance.
The Alliance Hierarch was comforting Zhang Tianyi’s mood.
Zhang Tianyi’s expression was extremely grim, and the tea bowl in his hand was crushed to pieces.
This was the third tea bowl he had crushed.
After hearing the Alliance Hierarch’s comfort, Zhang Tianyi said coldly.
"It’s outrageous; the Dragon Palace even allowed its creatures to sever ties with the Alchemy Master Alliance, resulting in significant loss for me!"
The Alliance Hierarch urgently comforted: "The matter is still under investigation, and I’ve sent people to intervene. Soon there will be results. Rest assured, the Alchemy Master Alliance will compensate the Pill King for these resources."
Zhang Tianyi nodded coldly and swapped for a new tea bowl.
He knew there was no rush now.
Awaiting the results from the Alchemy Master Alliance.
At this moment, hurried footsteps echoed.
Wang Shufeng stepped into the main hall.
