Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 1057: Killing Someone with a Borrowed Knife

Chapter 1057: Chapter 1057: Killing Someone with a Borrowed Knife

The three men and one woman were two low-grade Alchemists and two low-grade Artifact Refiners from the Martial Artists Trading Market.

Before Fang Bai opened his stall, their business had been booming. But before long, as Fang Bai’s reputation spread throughout the entire Martial Artists Trading Market, the Martial Artists who had previously gathered at their stalls left one after another, flocking towards Fang Bai’s stall.

"So, someone is actually stealing our business!"

When the four of them learned that a "colleague" named "Bai Fang" had settled in the Martial Artists Trading Market and caused their business to slump, they couldn’t help but feel secretly annoyed.

The four had been operating in the Martial Artists Trading Market for decades; their roots were deep, their connections broad, and with the support of the Purple Flame Sect behind them, they were firmly established as the local bosses.

Although there was competition among the four, when faced with outside rivals, they became united by a common hatred, banding together against outsiders.

Previously, other Alchemists and Artifact Refiners who had tried to establish themselves in Purple Flame City ended up being driven out by various means at the hands of the four.

But now, learning that the so-called "Bai Fang" was actually a mid-grade Alchemist and Artifact Refiner, the four of them felt it was a big problem.

If "Bai Fang" were a low-grade Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, the four of them would not have hesitated to join forces and provoke him, doing everything they could to make him look foolish and force him to leave Purple Flame City for lack of a place to stay.

The trouble now was that "Bai Fang" turned out to be a mid-grade Alchemist and Artifact Refiner, truly not someone they could contend with. If they dared to provoke him, it would surely backfire.

Moreover, it was foreseeable that once the Purple Flame Sect learned of such a mid-grade Alchemist and Artifact Refiner in the Martial Artists Trading Market, they would definitely do everything in their power to recruit him and treat him as a distinguished guest.

What the four now hoped most was that "Bai Fang" would agree to join the Purple Flame Sect and become an Elder of Tribute, exclusively creating Elixirs and refining Artifacts for the disciples of the Purple Flame Sect.

In that case, their business would not be affected too much and would continue to thrive.

However, if Bai Fang refused the Purple Flame Sect’s overtures and insisted on staying in the Martial Artists Trading Market to make Elixirs and refine Artifacts for others, then their business would certainly fall drastically and become thoroughly depressed.

With mixed emotions, the four followed a group of Martial Artists to Fang Bai’s stall and quietly observed from a corner. Seeing Fang Bai’s astonishing efficiency and success rate in Alchemy and Artifact Refining, all four were utterly shocked.

"If Bai Fang continues to make Elixirs and refine Artifacts here, then we likely won’t have a place in Purple Flame City anymore! What should we do?"

One of the female Alchemists in the group looked towards Fang Bai’s hut with a grim expression as she spoke.

"What can we do? We can only hope the Purple Flame Sect takes him away! Hey, it’s really hard to understand. With his skills as a mid-grade Alchemist and Artifact Refiner, why would he stay in a small place like Purple Flame City? He belongs in a second-tier or even a first-tier grand sect!"

The man with the dark face who spoke was her brother. The siblings, Wu Biao and Wu Mei, both possessed Dual Attribute Innate Spiritual Roots and the strength of Desolate Level Martial Artists, each a low-grade Alchemist.

"Yu Dajiang, you always have ideas; think of something quickly to drive that guy out of the Martial Artists Trading Market!"

Standing to the left of siblings Wu Biao and Wu Mei was a short and plump middle-aged Artifact Refiner, about fifty years old, who turned his head to look at the gray-haired sixties Artifact Refiner beside him and said expectantly,

The short and plump Artifact Refiner was named Ma Bao, while the elder with half-gray hair was named Yu Dajiang. Both were low-grade Artifact Refiners and were also Desolate Level Martial Artists.

"There is indeed an approach I can think of that would certainly drive that Bai fellow out of Purple Flame City!"

Yu Dajiang twirled his beard, the corners of his mouth revealing a mysteriously confident smile.

"Brother Yu, please do tell!"

Wu Biao, Wu Mei, and Ma Bao’s eyes lit up as they asked in unison.

Driving away "Bai Fang," securing their own interests, had become the shared immediate goal of the four of them.

He-he-he," Yu Dajiang chuckled softly, "As far as I know, the current Elder of Tribute of the Purple Flame Sect, Hong Qitian, is a man with a narrow heart and petty mind. If we find Hong Qitian and tell him there’s an Alchemist who has come to Purple Flame City whose skills in Alchemy are superior to his, and then insinuate that if this Bai Fang gets recruited by the Purple Flame Sect, it would threaten his position in the Sect, what do you think... Hong Qitian would do?"

"I get it..."

Wu Mei suddenly realized even before Yu Dajiang finished speaking, "So Brother Yu intends to use another’s hand to kill! Ha-ha, what a brilliant scheme!"

Wu Biao sneered sinisterly, "Knowing that he might have a strong new rival, Hong Qitian will be extremely nervous and will do everything in his power to prevent Bai Fang from joining the Purple Flame Sect!"

Ma Bao smiled wickedly and said, "The best way to prevent that is to make Bai Fang disappear from this world. Hong Qitian is a mid-tier Vast Level power, while that Bai Fang... I reckon at most he’s a Desolate Level strongman! As long as Hong Qitian is willing to make a move, Bai Fang’s death is certain!"

Wu Mei looked at Yu Dajiang with a smile, "Brother Yu has had dealings with that Hong Qitian, so we’ll entrust this matter to Brother Yu to visit the Purple Flame Sect this time."

"That’s easy to say, but..."

Yu Dajiang said somewhat hesitantly, "As you all know, Hong Qitian is greedy by nature and has a huge appetite. Meeting him is easy, but to actually persuade him to act against Bai Fang, we’ll need to present him with a sizeable gift. How about this: each of us will provide ten thousand medium-grade Essence Stones, and I will deliver them to Hong Qitian. Do any of you have objections?"

Ten thousand medium-grade Essence Stones were equivalent to a million low-grade Essence Stones, which wasn’t a small sum. Although Mai Bao and the others felt the pinch, they agreed for the sake of long-term considerations.

Though they mostly received low-grade Essence Stones and low-grade Spiritual Medicines as payment for refining Elixirs and tools for others at the Martial Artists Trading Market, they had deliberately exchanged for a good amount of medium-grade Essence Stones and medium-grade Elixirs from other regions for their own Cultivation, so each could afford to contribute the ten thousand stones.

The four temporarily left the scene, gathered the Essence Stones, and handed them over to Yu Dajiang, who quickly took the Essence Stones and departed for the Purple Flame Sect located in the core area of Purple Flame City.

Meanwhile, Fang Bai, engrossed in refining Elixirs and Spiritual Artifacts in his cabin, was not distracted and thus unaware of the plot being hatched against him by Yu Dajiang and the others.

Two hours later, as dusk approached, the number of Martial Artists in front of Fang Bai’s booth showed no sign of dwindling; on the contrary, there were even more.

Typically, an Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, after crafting a few batches of Elixirs or several Spiritual Artifacts, would take a break to recover the expended Essence Energy.

But Fang Bai had been refining non-stop for a whole day without rest, and when he had emerged just once, there was no hint of fatigue on his face, to the amazement of the Martial Artists present.