However, the devas didn’t have the time to literally watch over Bai Xiaochun every hour of every day. And considering the three-point covenant which was in place, it didn’t matter how shockingly powerful Bai Xiaochun was. He wouldn’t be able to do much.
Another half a month went by. Every day, Bai Xiaochun would set up his vendor stall, and although he didn’t do much business, he worked as hard as he could to attract the northern disciples, providing loud descriptions of the various magical items and medicinal pills he was offering for sale.
On one particular day when he was sure that there was no deva divine sense watching him, he leaned forward to a burly fellow who was browsing through his medicinal pills.
“Hey man,” he said quietly, “I have some special medicinal pills right over here. Want to have a look?”
This was the burly man’s third visit, and Bai Xiaochun had been observing him carefully. It was only after confirming that he didn’t seem suspicious that he finally decided to make him an offer.
“What medicinal pills?” the man asked, instantly on guard.
With a flourish, Bai Xiaochun produced a Fantasy Pill.
The unique aura which emanated off of the pill caused the burly man’s eyes to widen. Eyes glittering, he grabbed it. Not even bothering to ask how much it cost, he tossed Bai Xiaochun a spirit stone, then walked off.
One spirit stone for one Fantasy Pill wasn’t even enough to cover the production costs. Clearly, the burly man felt that Bai Xiaochun was lucky just to be able to sell things in the north. Actually, that attitude was prevalent among almost all of the northerners.
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the one spirit stone. However, he didn’t mind. He simply sat there, occasionally hawking his wares to the passersby. As time went by, he would identify disciples he deemed trustworthy, and would offer them Aphrodisiac or Fantasy Pills.
“As hostile as these northerners are, I still treat them in very moral fashion. I only sell Aphrodisiac Pills to the female disciples, and not to the men. As for the Fantasy Pills, they only go to the male disciples, not the women.”
He sighed at the realization that his greatest weakness was how good and honest he was.
Even as he shook his head, a particularly burly and fierce female cultivator appeared in front of him.
“Is there a male cultivator you've taken a liking to?” he asked. “All you need is one Aphrodisiac Pill, and he’ll be yours forever….”
When the woman grabbed the Aphrodisiac Pill, her particularly meaty fingers nearly crushed it, scaring Bai Xiaochun half to death. Grabbing her hand to stop her from breaking it, he said, “You can't crush it here! Ai, maybe this pill isn’t for you….”
The female cultivator immediately threw him a bag of spirit stones, turned, and hurried off.
Bai Xiaochun stared in shock before putting the spirit stones away. Soon, he began to sell Uncaring Pills, which were a byproduct of his experimentation with the uncaring fruits back in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.
“Have you heard of my Aphrodisiac Pills? Don't worry, this is the antidote. If you take an Uncaring Pill, it will keep you safe from the effects of an Aphrodisiac Pill!”
“Listen… your Cloud Order has a lot of really tough female cultivators, and pretty much all of them have come to buy Aphrodisiac Pills from me. Just… be careful out there!”
He was very careful about who he sold the three different pills to, and would only pick from repeat customers that he had observed carefully. Because of that, the pills didn’t cause a big commotion in the sect. However, slowly but surely… they began to make their way out into the sect.
Virtually everyone who bought a Fantasy Pill would come back a few days later, enchanted and excited, hoping to buy more.
Of course, every time they came back, Bai Xiaochun charged more than the last time. He also made sure to explain the downsides of the pill. After all, as an apothecary, he had a duty to act morally, and thus, would not withhold his mercy, even from the northerners.
“I can’t control the strange, unexplainable things that always happen during the concocting process. However, when it comes to the completed pills, I absolutely have to tell my customers what to watch out for.” Bai Xiaochun was fully convinced that this was the right thing to do.
He did the same with the Aphrodisiac Pills and the Uncaring Pills, which were slowly becoming more popular. It was almost shocking how much cultivators wanted pills like that.
Aphrodisiac Pills stimulated instinctual behavior, whereas Fantasy Pills fulfilled one’s dreams. As for the Uncaring Pills, they counteracted Aphrodisiac Pills, and at the same time, also served to negate the effects of Fantasy Pills. Because of that, the Uncaring Pills actually sold a bit better than the other two.
Before long, the cultivators in the Cloud Order came to the realization that the Aphrodisiac Pills and Fantasy Pills were almost like poison in terms of how vicious they were. And yet, there were still quite a few people who weren’t convinced, and eventually reached a state in which they were nearly addicted, and would buy them by any means possible, even secretly.
There were a few grandmasters of the Dao of medicine in the Cloud Order who managed to get their hands on the pills to research them…. One of them was Ouyang De, who was considered to be the top apothecary grandmasters in the Cloud Order. As such, he came to understand the Fantasy Pills and Aphrodisiac Pills better than anyone else.
“Even before Bai Xiaochun came to the north, I wanted to have a chance to research some of his medicinal pills. Finally… my opportunity has arrived!” Chuckling coldly, he looked down at the Fantasy Pill resting on his palm.
“Let’s see if this lousy Fantasy Pill really works!” Considering his skills with medicinal pills, his research had led him to the conclusion that there wasn’t anything particularly special about the pill.
“The only way to know the truth is to try it personally!” Although he was confident in his own Dao of medicine, he had also acquired an Uncaring Pill, just in case something unexpected happened.
As soon as he popped the Fantasy Pill into his mouth, it melted, and a tremor passed through him. He closed his eyes, and suddenly felt like he was floating. As for the Uncaring Pill in his hand, his grip went slack, and it tumbled off to the side…. Three days later, his eyes opened. He was covered in sweat, and his expression was blank for a very long moment before he murmured, “I achieved my Dao and became an immortal….”
The same thing happened to many cultivators in the Cloud Order. Virtually everyone who consumed a Fantasy Pill would completely ignore the antidote, and would instead revel in the absurd and wonderful experiences that they experienced.
Soon, the Fantasy Pills outpaced the Aphrodisiac Pills in terms of sales. In fact, the Fantasy Pills became like a brewing storm that grew larger and larger in the Cloud Order.
More and more disciples were secretly buying them. Eventually, it reached the point where the whole thing was out in the open. Ouyang De even went and bought a huge stockpile of Fantasy Pills, all in one shot.
Bai Xiaochun’s profits increased rapidly. Much to his excitement, he soon reached the point where he could cultivate the Sun-Moon Vast-Sky Incantation.
However, he was also aware that the matter of selling pills couldn’t be kept a secret for very long. It wouldn’t be long before the devas caught wind of the matter.
And that was exactly what happened. Fantasy Pill sales had gone through the roof. Almost everyone who tried one got addicted. In a short half a month, almost all of the Cloud Order disciples fell in love with Fantasy Pills.
It reached the point where there were simply too many people involved, and soon, accidents started happening. Some disciples weren’t able to control themselves after consuming a pill, and would ignore Bai Xiaochun’s instructions to always stay in their immortal's caves when under the influence.
“Fly, fly, fly… I'm a mighty bird….”
“Hahaha! Hahaha! I finally became a demigod!!”
“Hit me! Come on, do it. Hit me!!”
The devas finally noticed what was going on. The crazed behavior of a few of the disciples led to an investigation, and the truth was revealed. In less than a month, almost all of the disciples in the Cloud Order had begun consuming Fantasy Pills on a regular basis!
It was a huge affair, and the northern devas were immediately enraged!
They quickly issued orders that Fantasy Pills were prohibited in the sect, and anyone who consumed one would be expelled. The disciples were initially alarmed, but as they awoke from their reveries and began to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they came looking for Bai Xiaochun.
“How shameless of you, Bai Xiaochun! You tricked us into taking Fantasy Pills!!”
“That’s right. This is all because of Bai Xiaochun. Dammit! Give me back my spirit stones!”
“He made me take the pills. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have even tried one. Damn those Fantasy Pills!”
Some people were afraid, and others regretted spending their spirit stones on the Fantasy Pills. For other reasons as well, everyone started blaming Bai Xiaochun.
Even as the angry mob formed, the twin Master Cloud Lightnings, Feng Chen, and the other devas came to the Cloud Order.
“You violated the covenant, Bai Xiaochun!” Feng Chen shrieked. “Do you have a death wish or something?!?!”
A boom rang out as a powerful divine ability slammed into Bai Xiaochun’s residence, sending him stumbling out into the open.
“I violated the covenant?” Bai Xiaochun yelled angrily, finally glad to be able to let off some steam. “Oh really? Tell me, Feng Chen, which part of the three-point covenant did I violate?! Did I leave the Cloud Order? Did I concoct pills? Did I absorb any of the energy of heaven and earth from the north? Which point in the covenant did I violate, huh? Come on. Tell me!”
“You….” Feng Chen said, pointing at Bai Xiaochun. However, after a long moment, he realized he had nothing to say. Just as Bai Xiaochun had said, he hadn’t violated any of the rules set forth in the three-point covenant….
The twin Master Cloud Lightnings were extremely angry, and yet, had no way to vent their anger.
Bai Xiaochun glanced at the devas, who were all standing there unable to say a single thing, then looked around at the Cloud Order disciples, his eyes sparkling.
“And what about all of you? Let me ask you… did I actually force any of you to buy my pills?
“Didn’t I tell you of all the possible consequences?
“Didn’t I offer to sell you an antidote?
“Didn’t I remind you to be careful where you consumed the pills?
“Are you just too used to bullying me or something? Did you forget that I'm Bai Xiaochun? I'm also a deva, remember? You northerners always push things too far!!” Bai Xiaochun finally released all of the frustration that had been building up over the past months. His voice echoed out like thunder as a huge version of his face appeared overhead, striking fear into the hearts of all the disciples.
In that moment of deadlock, the voice of the demigod patriarch suddenly echoed out from the crystal coffin high above!
“Henceforth, there is no three-point covenant. Instead, we will have a four-point covenant!
“Bai Xiaochun is not permitted to sell anything in the north. If he violates this rule, he will immediately be imprisoned in Lightning Penitentiary!”