It truly was a lavish purchase.
Twenty bottles of Dust-Cleansing Pills for four thousand spirit stones.
Ten boxes of Spirit Calming Incense for one thousand two hundred spirit stones.
Together, the total exceeded five thousand.
With that much, one could buy superior-grade dharma artifacts at will, and could even try acquiring a supreme-grade dharma artifact.
What Liu Hecai admired was that back then, Luo Chen had been a petty rogue cultivator who gritted his teeth over a few dozen spirit stones, yet now he could produce five thousand spirit stones without batting an eye.
This demonstrated how profound his alchemy attainments were, having amassed such a massive fortune in such a short time.
Little did Liu know, this was practically all of Luo Chen's current wealth.
After purchasing this batch of cultivation resources, he had only a little over a hundred loose spirit stones left on him.
"I had no other choice. It's all for the sake of cultivation, so please pardon me if Shopkeeper Liu finds it laughable," Luo Chen remarked with emotion.
Seeming to understand something, Liu Hecai waved over a maidservant and gave a few instructions.
Soon, she brought over the corresponding pills and incense.
The maidservant even shot several curious glances at Luo Chen, as if trying to etch his face into her memory.
After Luo Chen handed over the spirit stones, Liu Hecai chuckled and said, "You see that Dahe Market has grown somewhat chaotic lately, so you're planning ahead for the future, aren't you?"
"Sir, your vision is truly piercing—nothing escapes your eyes!"
Luo Chen ladled out flattery as if it cost nothing. He also wanted to pry some high-level news from this sect Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Basking in his flattery, Liu Hecai grew quite pleased.
"Actually, there's no need to worry so much."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
There really was inside information!
"It's very simple. The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect won't allow Dahe Market to stay chaotic forever."
Just that single sentence made Luo Chen pause.
Indeed. Dahe Market was no small market; it was a major market bordering the Million Mountains of the Eastern Wilderness.
It had abundant resources and broad prospects.
One could see how much the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect valued Dahe Market from the increasing number of properties and industries they established here.
Because he was caught up in the situation himself, he hadn't seen through it as clearly.
Seeing Luo Chen's realization, Liu Hecai laughed softly. "You cultivators at the bottom only see the surface-level disorder. But this time, the chaos is actually directed at Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even those Golden Core cultivators who enter and leave the Eastern Wilderness's mountains."
The Million Mountains of the Eastern Wilderness held inexhaustible resources.
Naturally, it wasn't just Qi Refining rogue cultivators making a living inside under normal circumstances.
Usually, Foundation Establishment cultivators also came and went.
From time to time, certain Golden Core Masters even made the trip personally for specific medicinal herbs, ores, or monster beasts.
This was evident from the fact that Dahe Market's auctions featured resources tailored for Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.
"That Golden Core Master from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect can't possibly reside in a place with a Rank 1 spirit vein forever, right?"
"Mm."
"Then he will definitely leave. And before he leaves, he'll naturally clean up this mess. So you really don't need to worry that much."
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the pile of boxes and jade bottles before Luo Chen.
His eyes carried a hint of playful mockery.
*Damn it!*
*Why didn't you say so earlier? I already paid the spirit stones!*
Luo Chen really wanted to curse him as a profiteer, but considering the man was willing to offer such guidance, the words caught in his throat.
Leaving the Spirit Herb Pavilion, Luo Chen briefly wondered if he resembled those crowds panic-buying salt back on Earth.
On his way to Crescent Moon Valley, Luo Chen combined Shopkeeper Liu's fleeting remarks and pieced together the recent turmoil in Dahe Market once more.
In the end, he arrived at a series of deductions.
The disorder had started after the arrival of Golden Core Master Pang Renxiong.
Among other factors, the law enforcement squad's deliberate inaction had fanned the flames.
In addition, the increased rewards at the Dao Discussion Platform were another point worth pondering.
Looking at it this way, the current state of affairs had been orchestrated by that Golden Core Master.
His purpose was actually quite easy to guess.
The death of Fei Baiwen!
That late Foundation Establishment cultivator from Mount Ailao had died in Dahe Market.
According to the disciples of Xianzhu Residence, the cause of Fei Baiwen's death was a dharma treasure sword pellet, pointing fingers directly at the Jade Cauldron sword cultivators—and even at the cultivator with the highest cultivation in the market at the time, Pang Renxiong.
Because only he possessed a dharma-treasure-grade sword pellet.
For this reason, Mount Ailao's Supreme Elder had traveled in person to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to demand an explanation.
Luo Chen didn't know what gave a Golden Core sect the courage to demand an explanation from a great Nascent Soul sect.
He could only interpret it as sects having mutual constraints between them; it was not merely about simple killing and fighting.
Particularly since Mount Ailao was considered formidable in the Jade Cauldron Domain, having had a hand in building most of the markets and immortal cities.
When even their Supreme Elder had stepped forth, the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect certainly had to provide a response.
This response came a bit late, arriving only after half a year.
Of course, a half-year interval was only significant to Qi Refining cultivators.
To Golden Core Masters who routinely spent decades or centuries in secluded meditation, it might have been nothing more than a single retreat.
Half a year later, Pang Renxiong returned to Dahe Market and stirred up chaos.
Perhaps he wanted to fish in troubled waters to ferret out the real culprit.
Or perhaps it was just a show put on for Mount Ailao.
In any case, he had come and done his part.
When the time came for him to dust off his robes and leave, whether the true culprit was found or not would no longer matter.
*If things are developing like this, then the turmoil in Dahe Market really won't last too long?*
Luo Chen was half-believing and half-doubtful of his own deduction.
However, another question immediately crossed his mind.
Did "not too long" refer to Qi Refining cultivators, or to Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators?
Their concepts of time were by no means measured by the same standard!
*In any case, buying these cultivation resources certainly won't be a loss.*
The pills and Spirit Calming Incense were things Luo Chen needed.
Whether there was major upheaval or not, he used them every day.
The Mountain Breaker Gang provided him only four bottles a month as salary, and he originally had to supplement two bottles out of pocket each month anyway.
Now, he had simply bought extra.
*Besides, spirit stones don't earn interest sitting there. They're just keeping me company in a different form.*
Thinking of interest, Luo Chen muttered to himself.
Why wasn't there a big bank in the cultivation world?
Even mortal kingdoms had pawnshops and money houses!
When such thoughts began drifting through his head, it showed that Luo Chen's tense nerves had relaxed somewhat.
Still, in the days that followed, his work ethic became considerably better than before.
...
"Has Hall Master seemed unusually diligent lately?"
"Hm? Hasn't he always been diligent?"
"No, no, no. In the past, he was diligent, but he didn't care this much when refining pills. Even if a cauldron of ingredients was ruined, he didn't take it to heart at all."
"Oh, now that you mention it, that seems true?"
As his realm deepened, Luo Chen's spiritual perception grew increasingly keen.
For conversations not conducted through voice transmission, he could catch fragments of them faintly.
Diligent?
Nonsense, how could he not be diligent!
His savings were completely wiped out; Luo Chen was more anxious than anyone.
That was the savings he had set aside to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill after reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
In this life, except for when he was at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, he had never been this strapped for cash.
Even knowing that those five thousand two hundred spirit stones were just keeping him company in another form, Luo Chen still felt a surge of mild anxiety.
Thus, in his recent pill refinement work, he worked harder than anyone else.
Not only that, he even began investing effort into nurturing Mi Li and Tang Quan.
If the two of them could reliably refine Fasting Powder and Myriad Wonders Pills, he would be able to earn a share of profits from them in the future.
Unfortunately, their alchemy talent was mediocre.
Under Luo Chen's personal guidance, Tang Quan had yet to independently refine a low-grade Myriad Wonders Pill.
Fasting Powder was simpler, but Mi Li could only refine low-grade batches.
Luo Chen didn't even bother selling them outside, simply distributing them as welfare benefits to the internal affairs cultivators in the Pill Hall.
"By the way, why haven't last month's dividend shares come through yet?"
Luo Chen caught hold of Sikong Shoujia and asked.
Sikong Shoujia looked utterly bewildered. "The beginning of the month hasn't even arrived yet!"
"I don't care about that. I'm short on spirit stones lately."
"There's nothing I can do either! You'll have to go find Mi Junping for this."
Luo Chen frowned. Requesting an advance on dividends had no precedent.
After thinking about it, his eyes lit up.
"Come on, don't rush to leave for the day just yet. Let's do an inventory of the pills produced this month."
Taking inventory didn't take much effort, so Sikong Shoujia had no reason to refuse.
Joined by Gu Caiyi, the three of them entered the pill-curing chamber together.
Before long, the tally of pills was laid out before them.
Sikong Shoujia hesitated, saying, "One thousand six hundred mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills, and over two thousand four hundred low-grade Jade Marrow Pills? Is that number right?"
"Yes, that's the count!" Gu Caiyi nodded firmly.
The two looked at each other, both seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes.
For no other reason than this: based on fifty spirit stones per bottle for mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills and ten spirit stones per bottle for low-grade, this month's gross profit had exceeded ten thousand spirit stones.
This was the first time it had broken past the ten-thousand mark!
No wonder they were so shocked.
"That's enough. Give me the ledger!"
Luo Chen snatched the ledger and marched outside.
Behind him, Gu Caiyi and Sikong Shoujia had still not quite recovered their senses.
Luo Chen had put in just a modest bit of extra effort for a month, and the yield of finished pills had increased by so much?
Gross profit had surpassed ten thousand. After deducting costs, just how much would Luo Chen's share be?
Thinking of the spirit stones Luo Chen would receive next month, Sikong Shoujia's eyes turned red with envy.
In his entire life of fighting and risking life and limb, he had never made that much.
Gu Caiyi could only marvel inwardly: as expected of an alchemist!
Meanwhile, for Luo Chen, next month?
No, this month!
...
"I can understand you wanting an advance on last month's dividend; after all, it's just a matter of a day or two."
"But this month's dividend?"
Mi Junping's eyes went wide. "The pills you refined this month haven't even been sold yet!"
"It's not like they won't sell."
"No!"
"I'm the gang's only alchemist. Don't I even have this little privilege?"
"Still no!"
*Thwack!*
The ledger slammed onto the desk. Luo Chen pointed to the page he had already turned to.
"Based on this month's results alone, tell me whether it works or not!"
Mi Junping looked down. When she saw the figures, she stared at Luo Chen with uncertainty.
"Are you sure this isn't falsified?"
"Hmph..."
Luo Chen didn't even deign to explain.
Mi Junping hesitated. Mi Shuhua had told her that offending Luo Chen too deeply was unwise.
Now that Luo Chen's output was so outstanding, she found it hard to turn him down again and again.
"Wait a day. I have to go ask my father."
Luo Chen said helplessly, "Your father is a Foundation Establishment cultivator after all. Couldn't he give you a few more transmission talismans? Running back and forth over such trivial matters."
Mi Junping rolled her eyes at him speechlessly. "How far can a transmission talisman even fly?!"
With that, she hurried out the door.
Luo Chen had no choice but to wait a day.
He truly hoped this would succeed—and become standard practice!
As an alchemist, there was no reason to withhold his pay for a whole month.
As for the cash flow pressure before sales returned capital?
That was the Mountain Breaker Gang's problem; what did it have to do with him?
Besides, Mi Shuhua was wealthy and overbearing; he hardly lacked this pittance.
...
At the beginning-of-the-month meeting in Bright Moon Hall, Luo Chen didn't attend, nor did Mi Junping.
The two met directly inside the Pill Hall's pill-curing chamber.
"See? Didn't lie to you, did I!"
Having counted the Jade Marrow Pills once more, Mi Junping still felt somewhat dazed.
One thousand six hundred mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills—compared to barely over a thousand each month previously, this was an increase of nearly fifty percent.
Luo Chen's alchemy attainments had actually advanced so rapidly.
Taking a deep breath, she retrieved spirit stones from her storage bag and placed them in Luo Chen's hands.
"Why are there only a few... ah!"
Looking at the thirty crystal-clear spirit stones that resembled gleaming gems, Luo Chen hesitated. "Mid-grade spirit stones?"
"Yes!"
Mi Junping said helplessly, "The gang doesn't have that many low-grade spirit stones on hand; they're mainly needed to pay the stipends of low-stage rogue cultivators. Since you wanted so much in one go, I could only give you mid-grade spirit stones."
"But adding up my two months of dividends, shouldn't it be over three thousand?"
Mi Junping looked at Luo Chen as if looking at an idiot. "Mid-grade spirit stones carry a premium! If you think it's unfair, you can take them to the black market and exchange them for low-grade spirit stones. I guarantee you won't get less than your two months of dividends."
*Smack!*
Luo Chen slapped his own forehead. He had forgotten about that.
Common knowledge in the cultivation world held that spirit stones operated on a base-100 system.
In practice, however, one mid-grade spirit stone was definitely worth more than one hundred low-grade spirit stones.
As for the underlying principle, Luo Chen wasn't entirely clear yet, but that was indeed the reality of the market.
On the black market, there were even people specializing in this currency exchange for rogue cultivators.
Rogue cultivators who occasionally obtained mid-grade spirit stones were more than willing to exchange them on the black market just to gain a few extra low-grade spirit stones.
With the dividend matter settled, Luo Chen felt elated.
"I hope that after this month's pill batch is produced, we can settle it in advance as well."
"Then I also hope your alchemy attainments grow ever more profound, or at least remain steady."
Leaving behind those words, Mi Junping hurried off.
Watching her departing figure, Luo Chen shrugged. He certainly wished to become more profound.
However, with Jade Marrow Pills having reached Grandmaster level, without being able to mass-produce superior-grade pills, reaching Great Perfection in the short term was impossible.
Couldn't she see that the Myriad Wonders Pill, which had reached Grandmaster level long ago, was still stuck at around seven hundred proficiency?
Sometimes, he still wondered what kind of effect a supreme-grade Myriad Wonders Pill would have.
After Mi Junping left, Luo Chen yawned in front of everyone and returned to his stone house.
Today, the start of the month, was the day for taking inventory of pill quantities, accounting for material loss, and restocking raw ingredients.
All things considered, it was a rare rest day for the Pill Hall, and more than half the people were off.
Luo Chen didn't need to refine pills, so he planned to use this time to raise the proficiency of several spells.
The Wind Riding Technique was on the verge of Great Perfection!
...
Half a month later, beneath a dark night sky in Mount Changyin.
High in the air, inside a cluster of clouds, Luo Chen was filled with wonder.
"Is this the Wind Riding Technique at Great Perfection?"
He hadn't expected that reaching Great Perfection wouldn't increase his speed by much, but it actually allowed him to ride a cloud, if barely.
One had to know that riding clouds was one of the hallmark abilities of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Under normal circumstances, one needed to project spiritual sense outward and supplement it with special incantations to fly atop clouds.
However, cloud riding was only faster than flying dharma artifacts and could not compare to dharma treasures, so many Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't bother using it.
Yet unexpectedly, once Luo Chen's Wind Riding Technique reached Great Perfection, he could already ride a cloud.
"It seems... there's even more to it?"
Luo Chen's gaze fell upon his attribute panel, and he was astonished to discover that the name of the Wind Riding Technique had changed, while Carefree Wandering in the martial arts column had vanished.
The two had merged into one, gaining a new name:
[Carefree Wind Riding]
"A new spell?"
With a thought, Luo Chen activated the incantation from the Wind Riding Technique, immediately experiencing a sensation distinct from anything before.
In the past, the flight granted by the Wind Riding Technique didn't truly command nature's wind; rather, it relied on circulating his internal spiritual energy to envelop his body for flight.
Whether in flight altitude, speed, or duration, it had been severely limited.
Only when Luo Chen had reached the Perfect level back then did his speed match normal dharma artifacts.
After reaching Grandmaster level, his speed surpassed most flying dharma artifacts, not falling behind even certain attack dharma artifacts renowned for their escape speed.
Now, however, he truly felt a gentle breeze bearing him aloft.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
This was true wind-riding!
In his excitement, Luo Chen ramped up his spiritual energy output, and a gust of wild wind surged forward.
His body shot forward abruptly like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
"Wrong direction. I have no desire to go deep into the Howling Moon Mountain Range."
Luo Chen adjusted his direction and began circling around Mount Changyin.
As he flew, monster beast roars echoed one after another from the mountain below.
"That's a bit too much commotion!"
Luo Chen chuckled softly and quietly landed on a familiar mountainside.
"Still, this speed is twice as fast as before! It probably fully matches the flying speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
If he hadn't been certain before, Luo Chen could now confirm that his speed had indeed reached the standard of the Foundation Establishment stage.
This transformation wasn't solely due to the Wind Riding Technique reaching Great Perfection; it was also because it had actively fused with the Great Perfection Carefree Wandering.
Only through the fusion of the two techniques could Luo Chen harness the wind of the natural world.
"But why isn't there any proficiency displayed for the new spell?"
On the panel, Carefree Wind Riding was already marked as Great Perfection, incapable of climbing any further in proficiency.
"Perhaps this is its upper limit."
After all, it was formed merely from fusing a Rank 1 spell with mundane lightness skills; its ceiling couldn't possibly be too high.
Luo Chen was already thoroughly satisfied. This meant he had gained yet another means of self-preservation.
From now on, so long as a Foundation Establishment cultivator didn't make a move against him, he could remain undefeated.
...
Having acquired a potent survival method, Luo Chen became much more composed.
Whether cultivating, concocting pills, or practicing spells, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
Luo Chen received further pill dividend payouts of seventeen hundred and eighteen hundred spirit stones respectively, along with eight bottles of Dust-Cleansing Pills and two boxes of Spirit Calming Incense.
However, business at the two snack shops was declining day by day.
Over the course of two months, they had collectively made less than a thousand spirit stones.
Sadly, the name Mixue Ice City that Feng Xia had only recently established was about to fizzle out.
Luo Chen had long been mentally prepared for this.
Amid turbulent times, cultivators no longer indulged in leisure.
They preferred spending spirit stones on purchasing cultivation resources, or even dharma artifacts and talismans.
Even a few spirit stones that would normally be brushed off had now become exceptionally precious.
Luo Chen had been waiting for the chaos in Dahe Market to subside, but unexpectedly, it intensified instead.
The disorder in the outer city had reached a point where even broad daylight was unsafe.
A few days ago, in the southeastern district, more than twenty residences were burned to the ground. The massive flames lit up practically the entire night sky.
Arson!
In the past, this was a severe crime punishable by imprisonment or having one's severed head hung from the city wall.
Yet this time, aside from dispatching people to douse the fire, the law enforcement squad made no response whatsoever.
The inner city was not as safe as imagined either.
Especially in the northern city district where Luo Chen and the others lived.
Qin Liangchen had personally stepped in to catch a thief.
The culprit had tried sneaking in during the day when the courtyard appeared empty to steal possessions.
However, wealthy cultivators mostly had storage bags where all their belongings were kept.
Poor cultivators had virtually no belongings to speak of—a couple of dharma artifacts, a single dharma robe, essentially having nothing to their names.
That thief had simply suffered bad luck, encountering Qin Liangchen meditating at home, and was slapped silly right on the spot.
Later, he was handed over to the law enforcement squad, who claimed he would be sent to Red Pillar to be thoroughly reformed.
As for what the actual outcome would be, who could say?
Only now did Luo Chen realize how accurate his judgment had been!
When Shopkeeper Liu said "not too long," he had viewed it entirely through the time scale of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.
For Qi Refining cultivators like them, three months of continuous turmoil was already an unbearable strain.
If this continued, Dahe Market would become unlivable and unfit for cultivation.
Rogue cultivators would begin thinking of fleeing.
Whether it was the safe Taishan Market, or the frigid yet opportunity-filled Snow Lotus Market, or even the barren Liuguang Market, any of them was better than the chaotic, dangerous Dahe Market.
Lately, the prices of pills and dharma artifacts throughout the city had risen to varying degrees.
Having purchased a large stash of Dust-Cleansing Pills in advance, he had actually come out ahead.
"The Dao Discussion Platform has closed!"
"What?"
Luo Chen, having returned home for a rare visit, heard this news from Feng Xia.
Feng Xia said worriedly, "Supposedly, that Golden Core Master is entering secluded cultivation and plans to gather the spiritual energy of Fallen Phoenix Mountain's main spirit vein for his practice. So it will be temporarily closed for the next half-year."
"Just like that? It's that whimsical?"
Luo Chen was astounded.
Back then, the grand opening of the Dao Discussion Platform had been on such a lavish scale; the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's investment could easily be imagined.
Now they were closing it just like that? What was this supposed to mean?
Just to give Mount Ailao an answer, was it worth making such an enormous fuss?
Could there be some inside story he wasn't aware of?
Luo Chen was thoroughly baffled.
The gap in cultivation realms, the scarcity of connections, and the shallowness of his knowledge all limited his clever mind from deducing the truth.
All he knew was that the closure of the Dao Discussion Platform would have immense consequences.
Leaving everything else aside, his two little shops primarily served the thousands of spectators at the Dao Discussion Platform each day.
Now that the platform was closed, what cultivator would head over to Fallen Phoenix Mountain for no good reason?
The commercial district at White Stone Square near the entrance to Fallen Phoenix Mountain would likely decline swiftly as well.
Looking at the worried Feng Xia, Luo Chen knew what she was fretting over.
He could only comfort her, "We've already paid rent for a year, so we still have to keep running it as usual. Besides, over these past few months, we should have cultivated some well-off regulars. Securing the bare minimum earnings should still be feasible."
Feasible it might be, but making substantial spirit stones was out of the question.
Feng Xia was helpless regarding this.
Luo Chen also keenly felt how a single word from a high-stage cultivator could trigger a massive, life-altering upheaval for low-stage cultivators.
Originally, Feng Xia, Yuan Xiaoyue, and the other rogue cultivators at White Stone Square could have relied on the Dao Discussion Platform to rake in substantial spirit stones.
Their days had been quite comfortable.
Yet now, they were likely to be knocked right back to square one overnight.
Moreover, the repercussions might not end there.
Luo Chen's gaze shifted to the corner, settling upon Duan Feng, who had remained silent all along.
"Xiao Duan, what do you plan to do from now on?"
Chapter 123