Gang Leader, Get Us an Earth Fire!

Luo Chen was in no hurry to seek out Wang Yuan. If he went to find him alone, he would definitely have bodyguards with him. Without a good pretext, doing so would arouse too much suspicion. Although many people in the Mountain Breaker Gang knew Luo Chen had once been Wang Yuan’s lackey, Wang Yuan had an aloof temperament and rarely associated with anyone. Even with Luo Chen, their interactions within the gang were few and far between. If nothing warranted it, the two would never meet. Seeking him out privately would make it obvious that something was up. And Mi Shuhua would certainly stop at nothing to find out what. Luo Chen set the meeting for the gang assembly at the beginning of next month. Meeting at the headquarters then would appear entirely natural. …… Time slipped by in the blink of an eye. Or rather, the process from gathering the ingredients for the Blood Burning Pill to concocting them and conducting the first trial had already spanned an entire month. Barely two days later, Luo Chen stirred from his meditation. Out of habit, he called up his attribute panel. [Lifespan: 28/75] [Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth] [Realm: Qi Refining Seventh Layer: 67/100] [Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Art Master: 927/1000] [Spells: Great Perfection Fireball Art, Wind Riding Technique Master 870/1000, Attraction Art Master 900/1000, Entangling Art Master 610/1000, Spiritual Eye Art Master 780/1000, Cleansing Art Master 512/100, Breath Concealment Spiritual Art Master 570/1000, Healing Art Adept 230/300] [Alchemy Arts: Jade Breaking Hand Adept 275/300, Pure Heart Hand Proficient 180/200] [Martial Arts: Carefree Wandering Great Perfection, Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm Master 580/1000, Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers Proficient 125/200] [Skills: Tier 1 Alchemist: Fasting Powder Great Perfection, Myriad Wonders Pill Master 700/1000, Jade Marrow Pill Master 600/1000, Blood Burning Pill Entry 6/100] [Achievement Points: 23] He skimmed through it at a glance. He did not pay much attention to his spells, alchemy arts, martial arts, or skills. Under ordinary circumstances, he had looked at them more than enough. The last time he had paid attention was when his Cleansing Art reached Master tier and his Blood Burning Pill reached Entry. His gaze halted at the first few rows. He was another year older, yet the upper limit of his lifespan remained unchanged. Presumably, it was still because of his status as a transmigrator that no matter how he cultivated, his maximum lifespan refused to budge. However, Luo Chen was no longer anxious about it. As long as his external environment did not drastically change, he would eventually reach the Qi Refining Great Perfection. Only when that time came would it be time to worry. In comparison, the progress in his cultivation realm brought him a touch of joy. In about another month, he would be able to advance to the eighth layer of Qi Refining. Though he knew cultivation grew slower the further one progressed, reaching higher stages sooner was always a good thing. And then there was the Eternal Spring Art! With the aid of the Spirit Calming Incense and the moonlight grass, he could circulate it at full capacity seven times a day. A few months had passed, and his proficiency had reached 927. He was only a dozen or so days away from the Great Perfection. He did not know what special changes a cultivation method reaching the Great Perfection would bring. However, the Great Perfection of the Fireball Art and Carefree Wandering had both brought qualitative transformations to the techniques themselves. This filled him with immense anticipation for the Great Perfection of the Eternal Spring Art. After skimming through his attribute panel, Luo Chen left the spirit vein cavern. Upon arriving at the Pill Hall, he watched the logistics cultivators arrive one by one without moving an inch. Lying there, he leisurely read through the *Qingyuan Alchemy Exposition*. A book on alchemy always felt fresh each time one read it. Today was the start of the month, a rare day off. The work of the Pill Hall mainly consisted of replenishing large quantities of raw ingredients and taking stock of the previous month's consumption and output. Usually around this time, Mi Junping’s side would send someone to deliver Luo Chen's dividend from the previous month along with his monthly salary and pills. Today, however, Luo Chen had no need for her to send them. Once Gu Caiyi and Sikong Shoujia arrived, Luo Chen put away his book, gave a wave of his broad sleeve, and headed straight for the headquarters with the two in tow. As the success rate of the Jade Marrow Pills rose and profits climbed, Luo Chen’s status in the gang grew higher and higher. Even though his seat was still arranged in the back row, every eye was fixed on him the moment he sat down. For no other reason than that the revenue from the Jade Marrow Pills had once again broken through the threshold of eight thousand spirit stones last month. Even after deducting the costs of raw materials and labor, each hall master present received a share of one or two hundred spirit stones. It was not a huge sum, and might even seem somewhat meager. After all, the lion's share was taken by Mi Shuhua, and Luo Chen held a twenty percent dividend. Yet frankly speaking, these hall masters had not expended the slightest effort. Who wouldn't be delighted to pick up a couple hundred spirit stones a month for free? Moreover, the Pill Hall’s profits were visibly growing. From operating at a loss at the very beginning to slowly breaking even, it was now yielding a steady profit. In the future, the tide would only rise higher. Consequently, everyone maintained a very friendly attitude toward Luo Chen. After taking his seat, Luo Chen casually listened to them chat about the gang's affairs. It was nothing more than miscellaneous matters concerning territory, conflicts, cultivators, demonic beasts, and businesses. In the end, it all boiled down to cultivation resources. This time, no one caused trouble for him. Instead, they took turns asking if the Pill Hall needed any support, claiming they were all willing to lend a hand. Luo Chen smiled and politely declined, of course. The Pill Hall had enough hands for now. Letting more people in would simply mean carving up the pie. What a joke—there wasn't even enough pie for himself! When the meeting adjourned, Luo Chen collected his goods from Mi Junping. Four bottles of Dust-Cleansing Pills, a box of Spirit Calming Incense, and a dividend of one thousand two hundred spirit stones. With the spirit stones tucked into his pouch, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief. His expenses had been rather hefty last month. Purchasing additional Dust-Cleansing Pills, Spirit Calming Incense, and Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid had cost him over eight hundred spirit stones. Later, buying the raw ingredients for the Blood Burning Pills and a Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot had eaten up another three hundred-plus. If the Chenyue Snack Stall and the milk tea shop hadn't recouped nearly a thousand for him, his savings would have dipped straight below three thousand. Now, with another dividend added, his savings leaped up to four thousand spirit stones! It was an unprecedented sum of wealth for him. Yet Luo Chen was still not satisfied! He had attended auctions and witnessed many grand occasions. High-quality treasures easily went for hundreds or thousands, and if it involved magic treasures or Core Formation spiritual medicines, the prices would soar past ten thousand. In comparison, a mere four thousand spirit stones was truly nothing. If nothing else, were someone to put a Foundation Establishment Pill up for auction right now, Luo Chen would definitely bid on it. Yet would he have any chance of winning it? The answer was obviously no. After all, among the five Foundation Establishment Pills auctioned last time, the single pill allocated to loose cultivators had fetched an astronomical price of six thousand spirit stones. Furthermore, with Luo Chen’s aptitudes, a single pill was far from guaranteed to succeed. Therefore, the more spirit stones, the better! Once the items were in hand, Luo Chen prepared to leave, paying no heed to Mi Junping’s somewhat awkward expression. However, Mi Shuhua called out to stop him. "How did you find that Insights on Qi Refining?" Luo Chen’s expression stiffened slightly, and knowing what was expected of him, he tactfully produced the jade slip. "I’ve committed it all to memory." "Many thanks, Gang Leader. It truly answered many of my doubts regarding cultivation." If nothing else, the *Insights on Qi Refining* recorded common knowledge across each layer of the Qi Refining stage, and even vaguely touched upon matters concerning Foundation Establishment after Qi Refining Great Perfection. Taking back the jade slip, Mi Shuhua smiled. "Good to hear it was useful. Still, I only inscribed this single copy, and there are people in the clan waiting to use it." In the clan? Luo Chen now had a rough understanding of the Mi family's situation. Mi Shuhua had two daughters and one son: Mi Junping, Mi Junwang, and his youngest daughter, Mi Junpei. Among the three, Mi Junping had the finest talent, but due to events in her earlier years, she was likely doomed to remain at the ninth layer of Qi Refining for the rest of her life. As for the other son and daughter, they were even less remarkable. Mi Junwang possessed five-element spiritual roots, which had caused Mi Shuhua to give up on him early on. His youngest daughter was currently only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, with no hope for her path of cultivation. It was precisely because of this that rumors circulated within the gang that the Mi family's second generation was utterly useless. Yet although their aptitudes were subpar, Mi Shuhua had still arranged futures for all three of his children. Mi Junping presided over the Mountain Breaker Gang, managing various trivial matters on his behalf. Mi Junwang was in charge of enjoying life! Yes, enjoying life! Marrying wives and siring children, marrying wives and siring children, marrying wives and siring children... It could be said that the dozens of members in the Mi family's third generation, as well as the newly born fourth generation, were virtually all Mi Junwang's direct descendants. The third generation had produced a few talents, such as Mi Zifan, who had just stepped into the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and Mi Zihao, who was fairly well-known outside. Still, those individuals ought to have read the *Insights on Qi Refining* long ago! Suddenly, Luo Chen recalled a rumor. Word had it that Sikong Shoujia’s only son was soon to marry into the Mi family as a matrilocal son-in-law, tying the knot with Mi Shuhua’s youngest daughter, Mi Junpei. Could it be that the two parties had already settled the matter? Then this copy of *Insights on Qi Refining* was probably being reclaimed for Sikong Shoujia’s son, Sikong Yuanhong. Thinking about how Mi Shuhua had to fret over so many clansmen made Luo Chen’s head ache. Descendants and the like were truly too much trouble. Unless he met a woman he was particularly fond of in the future, it was far better to be carefree on his own. "I heard you bought some Earth Fire Fiend?" The voice sounded by his ear. Luo Chen paused for a moment before naturally nodding. "I did buy ten wisps." "What did you buy that for?" Mi Shuhua asked with a beam. Luo Chen shrugged. "What else? The *Qingyuan Alchemy Exposition* mentions pill concoction using earth fire, including the utilization of Earth Fire Fiend, so I thought I'd buy some to give it a try." Mi Shuhua nodded. Having read the book from cover to cover himself, he knew of that passage. Even so, a hint of suspicion lingered. Luo Chen clicked his tongue. "I suspect the reason I can't refine upper-grade Jade Marrow Pills might not be my fault, but the pill fire's." Mi Shuhua was taken aback. "I couldn't find an earth fire, but if Earth Fire Fiend is utilized properly and added to the pill fire, it can produce a similar effect. So I gave it a shot." Hearing that it concerned the Jade Marrow Pill—and upper-grade ones at that—Mi Shuhua's interest was instantly piqued. "And how did the experiment turn out?" "What results could there be? Once the fiend energy entered the flames, the pill fire fueled by ordinary firewood spiraled completely out of control." Luo Chen put on a wry smile, laced with a touch of reluctance. Mi Shuhua sighed as well. "The quality of Earth Fire Fiend is even higher than ordinary earth fire, but it is exceptionally violent. It truly isn't easy to integrate into mortal fire." Seeing his reaction, the weight in Luo Chen's chest lifted. He seemed to have successfully bluffed his way through! He knew Mi Shuhua's surveillance over him was likely very tight; whenever he bought things himself, it would inevitably attract some notice. Items like Heavenly Sun Fruits were fine—ordinary cultivators bought them to eat. Earth Fire Fiend, on the other hand, was certainly not something a regular loose cultivator would purchase. Luo Chen suddenly grinned. "Gang Leader, you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Can't you secure a territory that has an earth fire? Let me tell you, if I had an earth fire, my pill concoction..."