Against Heaven's Will

Miara's sudden affectionate change in demeanor caught Emi off guard. "I don't think it's appropriate…" Emi stammered in an appreciative tone, but Miara only glared at her, forcing her to comply. "Thank you, Miara…"

"Good, good. We are friends now, so you can drop any formalities," Miara brightened again while patting Emi on her shoulder before waving her hand, and collecting all vials into her pocket space. She only left one vial of each kind and personally tested the pills.

"Found— Miara, I checked the pills with the Appraisal Tablet, and they are all of perfect quality. There are three types: a Healing Pill, a Body Tempering Pill, and a Soul Tempering Pill," Emi explained as Miara licked the white pill and popped it into her mouth as if it was candy. "This… I would be careful with them. They can be quite explosive in power."

"Do you think it matters to me? I have already reached the pinnacle of cultivation and can only grow by consuming Realms. Tier 5 pills are nothing to me," Miara commented just before the effects kicked in, and her eyebrows raised. "Wait, this Healing Pill seems quite potent. Even Tier 6 pills used to have no effect on me, but this one had no problem assimilating with my body."

"Lisa is aiming to become the best Alchemist in all Realms Beyond the Heaven. With her perfect skills, Tier 5 pills should have the effects of Tier 6 or even Tier 7," Emi said proudly. "The best part is she completely changed the way I saw Alchemy. Turns out all the Alchemists are scammers who aren't skilled at all. Lisa made those pills using only Tier 2 and Tier 3 Herbs, which shows we didn't need to waste so much money on herbs."

"This…" Miara was left speechless. She found it hard to believe, but the proof was right in front of her. She didn't provide enough Tier 5 herbs to produce this many pills, and Emi didn't have a reason to lie to her.

"To shame other Alchemists further, Lisa didn't even use a cauldron and instead relied entirely on her Earth Flame. She was capable of refining thousands of herbs and turning them into pills all at the same time, at the estimated rate of three hundred pills per minute. She didn't even slow down after a whole night of work," Emi informed excitedly. "We really cannot let go of such talent. I suggest we bring her to the Succubus Realm for protection and provide for her until Xuefeng becomes a Constellation."

"Where is she right now? I'm tempted to personally invite her over just to make sure she is well taken care of," Miara spoke with shared excitement. "With how fast she can make Tier 5 pills, I'm sure she wouldn't find it hard to produce pills of Legendary Tiers. With how expensive the Alchemy Guild is, we could easily put a dent in their wallets with cheaper and better quality pills."

"The Alchemy Guild is basically owned by the top Constellations, so they would be extremely annoyed if someone stole their monopoly," Emi reminded with an evil grin. "We should advertise the pills as the only Tier 5 pills that work on Constellations and then refuse to sell them to anyone from the top hundred. Not only can we annoy them further, but we could also repair your reputation and acquire favors from lower-ranked Constellations. They might not be powerful individually, but all together, they could easily overpower the top Constellations."

Miara's eyes widened as she embraced Emi with genuine happiness. "Now I remember why I made you my disciple in the first place. We both think alike, hahaha! Let's make those individuals pay!"

As she laughed, Miara popped the blue Soul Tempering Pill into her mouth and almost moaned as the Soul Power exploded in her mouth. She savored the taste, and her eyes shone with light as she gazed at the vial full of them. "So powerful! My True Avatar would only need a few of them to reach her peak. With a couple of thousand of them, I could complete a few hundred refinings and almost double in power."

Her eyes fell on the red pill, and she didn't hesitate to pop it into her mouth before Emi could warn her. "Wait, that pill has strong side effects. Even you might be affected by them."

"What are you talking about? There are no side effects I cannot handle," Miara replied confidently, only for her cheeks to flush the very next second. "Isn't it hot in here?"

Emi held back her laughter as she watched Miara struggle. "It's not hot; those are the side effects, which are similar to an aphrodisiac. When Xuefeng and his wives took it, they were enjoying themselves all night. This pill works best if you Dual Cultivate with a partner."

"Isn't that too much? It should be too potent even for Constellations like me," Miara complained as her body began to itch all over.

"It's probably more powerful than the previous Body Strengthening Pill, which was a few tiers lower. Judging by how you're reacting, I wouldn't take one unless I had a partner to connect with," Emi commented with a chuckle. "I don't think it's easy to expel the effects from your body, so it might be best to find a partner. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Do you really think I had any time to fool around with men with my busy schedule? Forget it, I can handle this much without an issue," Miara assured and focused on her breathing, trying to calm her body. "Is that all? I will handle the Dimensional Market, so go back and bring Lisa over. I want to meet with her and propose a plan for further production. If we make only higher Tiers, we might be able to satisfy the demand."

"Well, besides the pills, I also have a Dragon Stone that contains enough Pure Bloodline Essence to acquire a pure Dragon Bloodline," Emi explained as she withdrew a red stone. "Xuefeng wants you to either sell it or trade it for a strong Elvish Bloodline that specializes in Soul Arts. He also wants the Dragon Stone back once you are done."

"Ah, right. I forgot we agreed to an equal exchange, so all those pills are technically theirs," Miara muttered as she struggled to focus. "I might be able to take some as a fee for providing all the herbs, but we need to give them something in return. Do you know what else they want?"

"I have a full list with me," Emi nodded as she passed on the note with all the items.

Miara momentarily frowned as she saw the list, not expecting such a detailed answer. "We might be able to get those Artifacts if I give them a nice price, but all those pills won't be enough to cover them. They are literally one of the best non-set Legendary Artifacts you can ask for, not to mention all the weapons, arts, and armor."

"Xuefeng said you can either take off his Artifacts and prioritize his wives, or just use your own Dimensional Coins, and they will pay you back with more pills," Emi passed on the message. "One of his wives has a request to be on the lookout for anything that can help improve her potential. She possesses a special ability that turns her body and Soul into Stardust. It's actually quite powerful, but it prevents her from further refining."

"There is no need to take anything off; just tell Lisa to come and make more pills here. We will provide her with any herbs she needs, and the majority of the profits will go to them," Miara decided as she took another look at the list. "Honestly, how many outfits does one need?"

"Well, judging by how many wives Xuefeng has, it's not that many items per person," Emi replied with a shrug. "He has fourteen wives without counting his female Spirits, and one more if you were to count me. I still don't know how he did it, but I somehow became his slave after he touched me."

"Wait, what?" Miara questioned in surprise. "What about your curse? How did he manage to survive after touching you?"

"That's still a mystery for me. Not only was he able to counter the curse, but he also imprinted a powerful slave contract on me," Emi explained as she showed the Golden Drop tattoo on her chest. "I was able to resist his influence at the beginning, but I gave up trying to remove it. I actually find it quite appealing to be owned by this man, especially after what he did to my body. I can still remember the pleasure from that day and can't wait for more."

"Pleasure you say…? No man was able to satisfy me yet, and I don't think that will change," Miara replied with her imagination going wild.

"There is a reason why all his wives love him so much. Besides being kind and loving, he knows how to please a woman in bed. I have also fallen for his tricks, so you should stay away from him. Once he touches you, it's over," Emi warned with a teasing smile. "I will take my leave and bring Lisa over. Hopefully, I catch them before they depart."

Miara's eyes narrowed as she watched Emi leave; her thoughts imagining a scene that shouldn't exist. She shook her head despite her body burning and sat down cross-legged to fight her state with meditation.

"Get out of my mind, you brute..."