How Can a Real Man Born Between Heaven and Earth Remain Subservient for Long?

What did he think of Mi Junping? Luo Chen was caught off guard for a moment. Why bring that woman up out of nowhere? Sikong Shoujia stared tensely at Luo Chen. He had arrived with a mission and needed to know Luo Chen's true thoughts. Then, he noticed Luo Chen looking back at him with an increasingly peculiar expression. There seemed to be a sense of... finding a kindred spirit? Suddenly, Luo Chen spoke. "Elder Sikong, I understand you!" *Understand me?* "How can a real man, born between heaven and earth, remain subservient to others for long?!" "You possess high prestige, profound cultivation, vast knowledge, and an approachable temperament. Over all these years, you’ve rendered countless meritorious services to the gang." "Yet in your old age, you're relegated to serving as a mere deacon in my Pill Hall. It's an outright insult!" "To be frank, even as hall master, I can hardly bear to watch it." "Don't worry. If you want to take out Mi Junping, I will throw all my support behind you becoming the master of the Merit Hall!" *Wait! No! What on earth are you talking about?!* To be fair, those first few sentences had made Sikong Shoujia's blood surge and brought tears to his old eyes. But that last sentence made him completely lose his composure. Luo Chen pressed on. "Mi Junping is nothing but a petty woman—long on hair and short on wit! Narrow-minded and harsh toward others, the brothers in the gang have long grown resentful of her." "If not for her father being a Foundation Establishment cultivator... So what if he’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator?! The Mountain Breaker Gang belongs to everyone; it's an alliance of us rogue cultivators!" "She lacks both talent and virtue and has no right to occupy the seat of hall master." "Elder Sikong, I will definitely support your rise to power!" "Stop talking, stop talking! I beg of you, say no more!" Sikong Shoujia hastily clamped a hand over Luo Chen's mouth, his withered face pale as snow. What kind of nonsense was this?! Luo Chen felt a bit unsatisfied; it wasn't often he got the chance to stir up trouble. Unfortunately, the old man wasn't biting. "No, that's not it. I came to ask what you think of Mi Junping personally." Sikong Shoujia gritted his teeth and cut straight to the chase. "In other words, what if you and her were to become Dao companions..." This time, it was Luo Chen's turn to slap a hand over the old man's mouth. "Hold it right there!" "I'm not interested in women older than me!" Sikong Shoujia blanked out for a moment. *Age?* *We're immortal cultivators! Our lifespans range from a hundred-odd years at least to nearly a thousand at most, and you're talking about age?!* "Age isn't an issue, Xiao Luo. I'm someone with experience, you—" "Then why don't you propose to her yourself, old man?!" That single retort left Sikong Shoujia thoroughly choked. Seeing his reaction, Luo Chen understood everything. Mi Shuhua had almost certainly sent him to test the waters. Thinking deeper, the root of the matter still lay with the Jade Marrow Pills. Back when he could only concoct low-grade Jade Marrow Pills, Mi Shuhua had not valued him so highly. Once, Luo Chen had jokingly said that if the gang leader didn't mind, he would gladly recognize him as an adoptive father, yet Mi Shuhua hadn't taken it to heart at all. The reason was simple: concocting low-grade Jade Marrow Pills was not exceptionally difficult. Given a few decades and steady growth in the Pill Hall, Mi Shuhua could always foster a few talents capable of producing low-grade Jade Marrow Pills. Mid-grade pills, however, were an entirely different matter. Mi Shuhua had no confidence in nurturing someone capable of concocting mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator facing the immense pressure of forming a Golden Core, he certainly couldn't spend his own time at the cauldron either. Under such circumstances, Luo Chen's significance stood out unmistakably. He was indispensable! Thus, Mi Shuhua had grown tempted. He wanted to use the simplest and most direct method—marriage—to bind Luo Chen firmly to the Mi family's ship. Luo Chen, however, had no interest in that. He preferred exchanging benefits and mutual cooperation, where everyone got what they needed and stayed on good terms. Marriage? What could Mi Junping bring him? Nothing at all! After a marriage alliance, he would gain nothing more than access to some Mi family resources, but Luo Chen could already acquire those things on his own. Take the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation, for instance—a truly precious item he already had in hand. Weighing the pros and cons, the cost-performance ratio of marriage was far too poor. It would benefit only Mi Shuhua and the Mi family, while serving as little more than a hollow gesture to Luo Chen. In the end, Sikong Shoujia returned empty-handed. When he reported back, Mi Shuhua merely waved a hand dismissively, signaling him to drop the matter. It had only been an exploratory move anyway. Luo Chen's refusal would not hinder the relationship between the two parties. As long as the Jade Marrow Pills could still be refined reliably, there was effectively no difference between them and family. Could Luo Chen stably produce Jade Marrow Pills? That went without saying! A month later, inside the Pill Hall's pill-curing chamber. The "Big Three" accompanied Mi Shuhua as they took inventory of the pills. "Three hundred bottles of low-grade Jade Marrow Pills." "One hundred bottles of mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills." Hearing that tally, Sikong Shoujia let out a visible breath of relief, and Gu Caiyi looked equally pleased. Compared to the previous month, there were twenty fewer bottles of mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills, but it wasn't a steep drop. It was primarily because Luo Chen had spent a period hiding out in the inner city rather than coming to the Pill Hall to refine pills. Upon hearing the count, Mi Shuhua nodded in satisfaction. "You have all done exceptionally well!" "Especially Luo Chen—your pill-concocting craft has completely stabilized." Off to the side, Luo Chen was happily counting spirit stones. Mi Shuhua had brought them along just now—his dividend for the past month. A total of one thousand three hundred spirit stones was indeed a tidy sum. Adding in his existing savings, Luo Chen's reserves had climbed back to two thousand five hundred. Furthermore, the past month's profits from the Chenyue Snack Stall and Mixue Bingcheng had yet to be settled. Though not yet finalized, Luo Chen had a clear idea of what he had earned based on his control of the raw materials and sales figures. Once those were tallied, his savings would cross three thousand for the first time! Perhaps it fell a bit short compared to veteran ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators. Yet Luo Chen's expenditures had never paused over the past month. Whether purchasing extra Dust-Cleansing Pills or Spirit Calming Incense, he had spent a substantial sum. He had also poured six to seven hundred spirit stones into the milk tea shop. All in all, every single spirit stone had been put to good use. Hearing Mi Shuhua's praise, Luo Chen smiled naively. After stowing the spirit stones, four bottles of Dust-Cleansing Pills, and a box of Spirit Calming Incense into his storage bag, Luo Chen rubbed his hands together. Taking advantage of Mi Shuhua's good mood, he inquired about a cultivation matter. "Purifying spiritual power, you say?" Mi Shuhua stroked his beard and swept his spiritual sense over Luo Chen. He was still at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. He smiled and said, "Purifying spiritual power in late-stage Qi Refining isn't something achieved overnight. There are no shortcuts; it relies purely on steady, grinding effort." "Is there truly no trick to it?" Luo Chen asked, unwilling to give up. His cultivation progressed noticeably by the day. Yet when it came to the purity of his spiritual power, he had made very little headway. He had noticed this problem while practicing spells in the back hills. For the exact same ordinary spell, Zhou Yuanli needed only a tiny amount of pure spiritual power to cast it. Luo Chen, by contrast, had to continuously inject large amounts of spiritual power. Though his casting speed was fast, the resulting might was virtually identical. The difference lay in the purity of their spiritual power. His spiritual power was too hollow and unrefined. Perhaps because he had constantly relied on pills to cultivate, his total spiritual power far exceeded those of the same realm, but his consumption when casting spells was significantly greater as well. Hearing Luo Chen press the matter, Mi Shuhua pondered for a moment. "Actually, it isn't entirely without a shortcut, but it's likely one you cannot use right now." "Oh? Please elaborate!" "Cultivation arts!" Mi Shuhua looked at Luo Chen and uttered those two words softly. "All Qi Refining cultivation arts that touch upon the late stages possess more or less an active function for purifying spiritual power." "However, this effect depends on the grade of the art." "You currently practice the Eternal Spring Art, which originates from the Medicine King Sect." He shook his head. "Rumor has it that the Eternal Spring Art was derived from the Medicine King Sect's Ageless Evergreen Scripture. It only preserved the unending, continuous nature of the original scripture. Yet the Ageless Evergreen Scripture's most renowned evergreen trait was not included in the Eternal Spring Art." "At the Qi Refining stage, that evergreen trait is precisely the purification of spiritual power. Once mastered, the spiritual power resembles vibrant green essence, brimming with vitality. Even when one's lifespan nears its end, the spiritual power remains remarkably pure, and it can even maintain youthful looks." Listening to this explanation, Luo Chen developed an immense headache. When it involved one's foundational cultivation art, his hands were tied. He couldn't very well switch to a new art specializing in purifying spiritual power right now, could he? Yet Mi Shuhua's next words shattered even that faint glimmer of hope. "In truth, the cultivation arts accessible to rogue cultivators or circulating on the market are mostly heavily simplified versions released by the major sects." "Their core characteristics have almost entirely been stripped from those simplified manuals." Luo Chen was stunned. "Then if a rogue cultivator manages to break through to Foundation Establishment, how do they resolve the issue of their foundational art for the Foundation Establishment stage?" Mi Shuhua let out a bitter laugh. "How else? Scour the black markets, buy at auctions, or try their luck in secret realms." Luo Chen frowned. "In that case, the art they acquire might not even align well with their spiritual roots, right?" Mi Shuhua sighed, affirming Luo Chen's guess. Seeing Luo Chen still frowning, he offered some comfort: "You need not distress yourself too much. Purifying spiritual power is a task that spans the entire late Qi Refining stage. Only disciples of great sects begin purifying it the moment they step into late Qi Refining." "Rogue cultivators like us usually only start fretting over this after reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining." "Even without those superior arts, if you grind away day after day, you will eventually temper a reservoir of pure spiritual power." Whether spiritual power was pure had little bearing on battles between peers of the same realm. After all, most cultivators relied on artifacts in combat. As long as one possessed enough spiritual power to manipulate their artifacts, there was practically no difference between pure and hollow power. For Luo Chen, however, it posed an issue. He was far more adept at fighting with spells. Moreover, from the copy of *Insights on Qi Refining* Mi Shuhua had given him, he knew that besides a Foundation Establishment Pill, the purity of a cultivator's spiritual power was the single most crucial factor in breaking through to Foundation Establishment. That was why he had grown anxious about it while only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. Yet even Mi Shuhua could not offer much help. "If all else fails, wait until next year's auction opens and check the lots from the Spirit Herb Pavilion!" "Hm?" Luo Chen snapped his head up. *** "The Medicine King Sect is a premier alchemy sect across the Thirty-Six Domains of the Eastern Wasteland. While they may fall behind the Mingyuan Sect—which boasts an Alchemy Saint—in high-grade pills, they surpass them when it comes to low-grade pills." "Narrowing the scope to the Far East Six Domains, virtually anything related to pills cannot bypass the Medicine King Sect." "Nearly any pill tied to cultivation is something they dabble in." Meeting Luo Chen's expectant gaze, Mi Shuhua spoke with ease. "As for purifying spiritual power, they produce a specialized pill—the Spirit Purifying Pill." The moment he heard the name, Luo Chen understood its purpose. A Spirit Purifying Pill—a pill to purify spiritual qi. "This pill comes in grades ranging from tier one to tier three, sufficient for cultivators across the Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core realms." "However, because the arts of sect cultivators mostly possess built-in purification effects, sales of the Spirit Purifying Pill aren't particularly strong. The Medicine King Sect mostly exports them for sale outside the Eastern Wasteland." "They didn't auction any Spirit Purifying Pills at the last auction." "I do recall an earlier occasion, however, when the Spirit Herb Pavilion brought out five bottles of tier-two Spirit Purifying Pills. Perhaps they will bring out a few bottles for auction next year as well." Luo Chen asked curiously, "Could I use a tier-two Spirit Purifying Pill?" "I wouldn't advise it. You'd best hope they bring out tier-one Spirit Purifying Pills meant for Qi Refining!" Mi Shuhua chuckled. Seeing Luo Chen perk up with hope and no longer look so dejected, he felt relieved. He couldn't afford to let this prized asset remain in low spirits! "By the way, I have some news regarding Shan Xiu, the man who ambushed you back then." "When the time comes, I'll give you a proper resolution." Before departing, Mi Shuhua shared this piece of good news. Facing an enemy who had directly attempted to rob and kill him, Luo Chen had felt a thorn in his side as long as the man remained hidden. Unless a rogue cultivator truly vanished into the deep mountains, however, they were bound to show their face in public eventually. Especially low-tier cultivators! Deep mountains and perilous marshes were off-limits, infested with high-tier demonic beasts. Major sects had no regard for them and wouldn't even accept them as vassals. As for slacking off in the mortal realm, that was completely out of the question. In truth, having spent a long time in the market and seeing many elderly, frail cultivators struggling bitterly rather than retiring to enjoy life in the mortal realm, Luo Chen had once felt perplexed. Later, it was Wang Yuan who personally explained it to him. Cultivators could not linger in the mortal world for extended periods. This was an ironclad rule, as well as an unspoken law. As for the true reason, Wang Yuan hadn't explained clearly; he simply reiterated that cultivators could not reside among mortals for long. Thus, it was entirely expected that Shan Xiu would reveal himself after a month or so. He had actually remained in hiding a bit longer than Luo Chen had anticipated. If Mi Shuhua could bring the man's head to him, that would be ideal. Even if he didn't deliver it right away, simply knowing Shan Xiu was active in the Snow Lotus Market gave Luo Chen some peace of mind. Mi Shuhua departed, and the day's work drew to a close. All that remained were minor chores like restocking herbs and cleaning the cauldrons. Luo Chen had no need to manage these himself; Gu Caiyi arranged them on his behalf. After bidding farewell, Luo Chen returned to the inner city under the escort of his bodyguards. Since it was still early, he took a detour to White Stone Square. Yuan Xiaoyue greeted him and agreed to come by the courtyard later to settle the previous month's accounts. As for the milk tea shop, Luo Chen was surprised by what he found. "Duan Feng, what are you doing here?" *Cough, cough.* Duan Feng let out a brief cough. After recuperating for over a month, his injuries had mostly healed. However, because his internal organs had suffered damage and the frost qi had lingered too long, it had left behind lingering complications in his lungs. From time to time, he would cough. "I felt mostly recovered, so I came out for a walk and to help Sister Xia with some chores." "That's great, but I don't have any spirit stones to pay you a wage." Duan Feng tugged at the corner of his mouth, completely unconcerned. Feng Xia emerged from the side door and said, "There are just a few loose ends to wrap up; it'll take a moment." "Take your time. You guys keep busy, I'll take a stroll around." With time to kill, Luo Chen wandered across White Stone Square. Near the jade wall, rows of buildings had already sprung up. Registration points, gambling dens, restaurants—establishments catering to the Fallen Phoenix Mountain Dao Discussion Platform had begun to take shape. He looked up at the jade wall. Beside tomorrow's match schedule, there was a separate column displaying rankings. At the very top was the Foundation Establishment leaderboard. However, the names listed were sparse. The only person Luo Chen recognized was a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Nangong Jin. The only reason he knew the name was that while selecting a milk source, he had learned the Nangong family raised a herd of fuzhu deer, prompting him to read up on their clan. *Ranked third. Who did he lose to?* Shaking his head, Luo Chen turned his attention to the Qi Refining leaderboard with great interest. First place, coincidentally, also shared the surname Nangong. Nangong Qin, ninth layer of Qi Refining! Channeling his Spiritual Eye Art, a string of combat records appeared behind the name. Victories against so-and-so, defeats against so-and-so... To his surprise, Duan Feng's name was among the records. He and Nangong Qin had faced off twice, each claiming one victory and one defeat. Below Nangong Qin were Li Ao, Yan Mingyao, and others. Only down at ninth place did Duan Feng's name finally appear. *He fought desperately to keep a top-three spot last month, but after resting for just a single month, his rank slid down to ninth.* *Tsk, the competition on this Dao Discussion Platform is fierce!* *I wonder what rank I could achieve if I stepped up to fight.* Lately, Luo Chen had familiarized himself with his artifacts to an unparalleled degree. For offense, he had the high-grade artifacts Fire-Tipped Spear, Soul Breaking Nail, and Jasper Saber. For defense, he had the Four Symbols Cauldron and a high-grade robe. For flight, the Snow Treading Board was serviceable. Yet for movement, he relied more on the high-grade Cloud Treading Boots, combined with his Carefree Wandering and Wind Riding Technique. Beyond that, he possessed the Soul-Lost Bell and over a thousand discarded jade marrow beads. And those were merely external aids. His greatest strength lay in his spells. *Still, my combat experience against other cultivators is far too lacking. On a platform with restricted space, enemies will likely guard against my tricks after seeing them once or twice.* *Perhaps I could consider challenging some of the weaker ranked cultivators in the future to hone my combat experience?* For a moment, he felt an eager itch to try. As for the requirement that late-stage Qi Refining cultivators wager an artifact to participate, he wasn't worried in the slightest. He still held several low-grade artifacts he had no use for, which were perfect to put up as wagers. Luo Chen understood well that blindly secluding oneself in bitter cultivation was not enough. No matter how vast a fortune one amassed, if an enemy defeated them one day and plundered their wealth, all their efforts would vanish like a dream, even if they managed to keep their life. Suitably honing one's Dao-protecting methods was also quite necessary. Though he frequently sparred with demonic beasts to train himself, tier-one beasts possessed very little intellect. Even the stronger ones acted purely on instinct. When it came to Dao-protecting arts, fighting human cultivators was by far the quickest way to improve. Furthermore, Mi Shuhua had mentioned earlier that cultivators who engaged in frequent combat often possessed far purer spiritual power than those who engaged solely in bitter cultivation. Evidently, combat played a role in purifying spiritual power as well. There was no rush, however; he could look into it whenever time permitted. After watching for a while, Luo Chen walked home alongside Yuan Xiaoyue and Feng Xia, who had finished their shifts. In the courtyard, he settled the past month's accounts with both of them. The Chenyue Snack Stall's revenue remained steady, hovering around six hundred spirit stones. He handed Yuan Xiaoyue sixty spirit stones, and she went home with a beam on her face. The milk tea shop brought Luo Chen a pleasant surprise. In its very first month, the gross revenue reached over five hundred spirit stones. Deducting over a hundred in costs—which included raw materials and rent—four hundred remained. Luo Chen took three hundred and thirty and pushed seventy spirit stones across the table to Feng Xia. "This much?" Feng Xia was somewhat startled. Luo Chen smiled faintly. "It's not that much. Your fixed wage matches the fifty you used to make at the Hundred Herbs Hall, and the extra twenty is your dividend." Feng Xia was a late-stage cultivator at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, after all; hiring her for only seventy spirit stones a month left Luo Chen thoroughly satisfied. "The shop's business will only improve from here, Sister Xia, and you'll receive even more spirit stones in the future." Feng Xia happily collected the stones. Fingering the spirit stones, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, when there are too many customers, I can barely keep up on my own. Otherwise, we might have earned even more last month." "I know. That's why I mentioned early on that once you got used to the routine, we could hire another person." Luo Chen nodded. "What do you think of Xiao Duan?" Hearing Duan Feng's name, Luo Chen took a moment to register her suggestion. Feng Xia sighed. "Rather than waiting for him to heal and go risk his life on the Dao Discussion Platform, he'd be better off settling down and selling milk tea in the shop. Neighbors in this courtyard have come and gone over the years, changing constantly. Xiao Duan looks cold, but he's truly a good person at heart. I don't want to see him die on the platform." Luo Chen blinked. *Sister Xia, is that really all it is?* He didn't poke fun at her, however, and smiled. "If Xiao Duan is willing, I don't mind. But he won't get a dividend—only a fixed wage of fifty spirit stones a month." "Fifty isn't small! Save for a few years, and he could open a shop repairing artifacts. Yes, he's very knowledgeable about artifact maintenance." As she spoke, Feng Xia convinced herself entirely. Yet the next morning before Luo Chen left, Duan Feng declined the offer. "Until I heal, I will help Sister Xia sell milk tea." "I don't need spirit stones." "Once I heal, I'm still going to the Dao Discussion Platform to temper myself." That was his reply. Feng Xia couldn't force him, and Luo Chen certainly wouldn't refuse. Free labor was free labor! As he left the city, a thought suddenly struck Luo Chen. Duan Feng's spiritual power fluctuations seemed barely different from before, yet as his injuries steadily recovered, why did he feel considerably stronger than in the past? *Could he be using the battles on the Dao Discussion Platform to carry out the final purification of his spiritual power in late Qi Refining?* Inexplicably, the realization dawned on Luo Chen. If that was truly the case, perhaps he really ought to find some spare time to get onto the platform and fight a few matches.