DEM Chapter 43: The Guiding Nether Lamp! Tai Bai Tianji!

"Done."

Su Yuan approached Chu Lanxi and Chen Nuoyi, who were waiting, and placed five red pills on the counter.

Chu Lanxi examined the red pills for a moment before calling out to a nearby busy employee, "Brother Wang, come check the goods."

"Got it, boss," the employee, referred to as Brother Wang, hurried over. He picked up one of the red pills, carefully scraped off a bit of powder, and ingested it.

"Hiss—"

The next second, Brother Wang took a deep breath, his muscles tensing and twitching uncontrollably.

After a long while, his face displayed deep intoxication as he slowly exhaled a turbid breath, seemingly entering a sage-like state of calm in an instant.

"Boss, the goods are fine," Brother Wang said, sniffing and nodding.

"Thanks for your effort," Chu Lanxi dismissed him and turned to Su Yuan with some surprise. "You’ve got some skills. Interested in a part-time gig as our shop’s alchemist after school? Salary’s negotiable. How about one hundred yuan per Calming Pill? The shop needs about a hundred pills a month."

Hearing this salary, Su Yuan’s interest was piqued.

After all, his pill refining wasn’t like that of a true alchemist, who had to tend the furnace with various techniques to produce a pill.

He only needed to expend spiritual energy, and Demonic Technique · Spirit Finger took care of the rest.

But the price Chu Lanxi offered seemed a bit low for a true alchemist.

A dangerous glint appeared in Su Yuan’s eyes. "Lanxi, that’s all an alchemist earns? You’re not ripping off a friend, are you?"

Chu Lanxi chuckled. "Yuanzi, alchemists are outdated. Every year, tons of alchemy graduates are churned out. Except for those with real talent, who isn’t just a worker on the alchemy assembly line? As intelligent alchemy furnaces become more common, the salary for average alchemists will only drop. This is truly a friend’s price."

Su Yuan was speechless.

How was it that in nearly every cultivation novel, alchemists were a noble profession, but here they were worthless?

Such was the downside of industrialized cultivation. Artisan spirit? Nonexistent.

"Fine, fine, one hundred it is," Su Yuan said, feigning reluctance, though inwardly he was delighted.

Unaware of his true thoughts, Chu Lanxi added, "How about this: besides refining pills, you can take a casual clerk position here. I’ll pay you seventy yuan an hour."

Su Yuan: "My righteous father."

Chu Lanxi then turned to Chen Nuoyi. "Class monitor, want to work the front desk? One hundred seventy yuan an hour."

At this, Su Yuan grabbed Chu Lanxi’s collar. "Son, what’s that supposed to mean? You brush me off with seventy, but offer the class monitor one hundred seventy?"

Chu Lanxi replied calmly, "Do you think my money grows on trees? With me here, we already attract plenty of female customers. Now I urgently need to expand our male customer base. And obviously, your appeal to men isn’t as strong as a pure, beautiful girl’s. Of course, if you’re willing to cross-dress, I could consider a raise."

Su Yuan: "…"

In the end, Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi took the jobs and started working that same day.

Though the shop was a 17-rated demonic sect, the customers were mostly ordinary city workers, and the job was fairly relaxed.

However, this was quite different from the edgy demonic path life Su Yuan had initially imagined.

And so, Su Yuan and Chen Nuoyi began a routine of attending school during the day, roasting goose at the cafeteria after school, and then working at the Peach Oolong Sect.

Time flew by, and soon it was Saturday.

Taihua High School operated on a single-day weekend, so classes were still held on Saturdays.

But this Saturday was special. The eight senior-year classes had no lessons. Instead, early in the morning, under the school leaders’ guidance, they assembled in formation on the sports field.

The powerhouse from one of the top ten immortal academies was arriving.

Finally, as a streak of light flashed across the sky, everyone’s hearts tightened.

He was here!

Standing in Class Two’s formation, Su Yuan looked enviously at the luxurious flying vessel approaching from the distance.

The sleek vessel slowly descended to the center of the sports field. Under everyone’s gaze, its doors opened, and a figure strode out.

The school leaders rushed to greet him, while Su Yuan curiously observed the newcomer.

He was a young man, appearing under thirty, with sharp brows and starry eyes. His demeanor was calm and steady, without a trace of arrogance.

But at that moment, a low exclamation rose from the crowd.

"The rumors were true! The powerhouse visiting our school is indeed the renowned sword cultivator from the Evil-Slaying Sword Sect, Tai Bai Tianji!"

"They say eleven years ago, he was already a Golden Core True Person and even endorsed Juque Company… though Juque went bankrupt not long after his endorsement."

"Tai Bai Tianji?!"

Hearing the students’ discussions, Su Yuan realized he actually recognized this big shot.

Of course, it was from advertisements.

This man was truly a legend. Not only did he graduate as the top of his cohort from the Evil-Slaying Sword Sect, but he also created an entirely new swordsmanship system, hailed as one of the most outstanding sword immortals of the younger generation, with the potential to drop the "one of" in the future.

But if that were all, his fame would likely be limited to sword cultivators, with moderate recognition.

What truly made him famous was his bizarre luck.

Any brand he endorsed would, within a year, face a major blow, if not outright collapse, at the very least seeing its market value halved.

Calling him the industry’s Guiding Nether Lamp was no exaggeration.

Su Yuan suspected part of the reason this man came to teach at Taihua High School was because the companies he’d jinxed had collectively driven him out.

He wondered if this man’s luck only affected companies and sects or if it would extend to the school as well.

Su Yuan couldn’t help but worry about Taihua High School’s future. Would it, too, be jinxed into closing down?

As Su Yuan’s thoughts wandered, a sudden "ding-dong" sounded in his ears.

[You are facing a demonic path titan!]

Here we go again with the demonic path titan nonsense. System, I’ve got you all figured out.

[Standing before you is the sword demon Tai Bai Tianji, who has successively destroyed Juque Sect, Imperial Sword Gate, Chaos Sword Hall, severely damaged Five Elements Sword Sect, and Greedy Wolf Sword Pavilion!]

[Now, the sword demon has descended upon Taihua Sect, his intent to destroy it clear as day!]

[Though you are unwilling to remain subservient, for now, you must bow to the sword demon, leveraging his power to topple Taihua Sect.]

[Taihua Collapse Plan series tasks updated!]

[Task: Borrow Momentum]

[In the upcoming Martial Arts Competition, gain the sword demon’s attention without exposing your identity!]

[Task Progress: Attention (0/100)]

[Task Reward: Demonic Technique · Weapon Finger]

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