Brother Wang, Are You Crazy?

"Luo Wudi is actually dead? Was the battle really that brutal?" Inside the Pill Hall. Luo Chen sat opposite Zeng Wen. Looking at the man's exhausted expression, he could not help but ask. Sighing, Zeng Wen said in a somewhat dazed tone, "I've never experienced anything like it. I didn't even dare sleep deeply, constantly having to stay ready for a fight. This whole period was like living in hell." Seeing Luo Chen's curiosity, Zeng Wen rallied his spirits a little to explain what had happened. The Golden Core ruins were actually not very vast, merely covered by the Heavenly Craft Spirit Snatching Array. Precisely because the area was relatively small, thousands of cultivators were crammed inside. It took only the discovery of a single spirit herb to spark a fierce clash. Their three combat halls were mainly responsible for fighting while protecting the weaker cultivators from groups like the Medicine Hall and Mining Hall. Though Luo Erduo's cultivation realm was low, he was quite knowledgeable about herbs. He had spotted a seemingly ordinary herb that was, in fact, an over five-hundred-year-old Tier 2 spirit herb—one that was of immense help for Foundation Establishment. However, that herb was located on the Xuanyi Society's turf at the time. He had therefore contacted his uncle, Luo Wudi, and under the cover of night, the two sneaked over to harvest it. Yet they were discovered by the Xuanyi Society cultivators stationed in that area. A battle was inevitable. Luo Erduo died on the spot, while Luo Wudi fled with the Tier 2 spirit herb. Unfortunately, before he could make it back to the Mountain Breaker Gang's camp, he was flanked head-on by a pack of rogue cultivators and Xuanyi Society members. A Tier 2 spirit herb useful for Foundation Establishment! Who wouldn't covet it? Luo Wudi was besieged on the spot and blasted into oblivion right then and there. Hearing how it all unfolded, Luo Chen found it somewhat surreal. Luo Erduo was quite knowledgeable about herbs? Some of the credit for that probably went to him! Under his direction this past year, the logistics cultivators in the Pill Hall hadn't learned much pill refinement, but every single one of them had become thoroughly versed in certain specialized skills. The medicine apprentices in particular not only had to be adept at processing individual materials, but also had to memorize the *Illustrated Guide to a Hundred Herbs*. Luo Erduo had always been cynical and glib, but who would have thought he had actually learned a thing or two. "The Heavenly Craft Spirit Snatching Array hadn't contracted yet back then, right? Gang Leader Mi had nothing to say about it?" Zeng Wen sneered. "What could he say? When you get down to it, Luo Wudi and his nephew wanted to keep that Tier 2 spirit herb for themselves, which was why they went to pick it in secret." Mi Shuhua had laid down the rules for the ruins expedition long before. The Mountain Breaker Gang was to act as a unit. Anyone could keep thirty percent of their harvest, but the remaining seventy percent had to be handed over to the gang. Once they returned, it would be distributed and rewarded based on circumstances. Needless to say, once a Tier 2 spirit herb was turned in, there was a very good chance Luo Wudi would never see it again. "Old Man Mi didn't have his heart set on those spirit herbs at the time anyway. He just issued a few brief reprimands, killed one or two insignificant rogue cultivators, and let the matter drop." "Forget it. Why talk about this? If I repeat it a few more times, I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life." Luo Chen curled his lip. "Come on, Brother Zeng, it can't be that bad!" "Hah, you've never been in a situation where magic tools were blasting each other every time you opened or closed your eyes, so of course you can't understand how I feel." Zeng Wen smacked his lips and held out a hand. "Say no more. Hurry up and give me a few Myriad Wonders Pills. I need to go to Tianxiang Pavilion to unwind." It was only a few Myriad Wonders Pills, so Luo Chen didn't mind. Taking out three superior Myriad Wonders Pills, Luo Chen chuckled casually. "Didn't you turn over a new leaf and plan to settle down? Why are you still heading to Tianxiang Pavilion?" "Wild flowers always smell sweeter than the ones at home!" Zeng Wen happily stowed away the pills and turned to leave. As he took a step, he paused, looking back to say, "Stay sharp lately. Our gang took heavy losses in the mountains, and there's no telling if other factions might get ideas. Either way, be careful whenever you go out." With that, he slipped away like a wisp of smoke. Leaving Luo Chen sitting in place, stroking his chin in thought. *** The Mountain Breaker Gang had suffered heavy losses. At first, Luo Chen didn't have a clear grasp of the scale. But over the next few days, as the gang's cultivators trickled back, he finally realized just how severe the damage was. Out of the six hall masters who went, two had died. Luo Wudi and the Mining Hall's newly appointed Zhang Shicong. Neither of their corpses had been recovered. Among the three combat halls, aside from Zeng Wen, who brought back most of his subordinates, Luo Wudi's hall was almost completely wiped out. Another hall master, Yang Wei, returned gravely wounded, having lost more than half of his men as well. In contrast, Ke Yuelin, the lone-wolf master of the Beast Hall, returned entirely unscathed, reportedly with a handsome harvest. In addition, the Medicine Hall and Mining Hall cultivators who ventured into the mountains suffered over fifty percent casualties. The Mining Hall suffered worst. After the formation contracted and sealed off, they were left without a hall master to lead them, and the rare ores they had mined ended up drawing the greed of many rogue cultivators. By all rights, the Mountain Breaker Gang was a major organization with many members; banded together, ordinary people wouldn't dare provoke them. Yet the rogue cultivators who dared gamble their lives in the mountains were mostly formidable figures—local experts, regulars of the Dao Discussion Platform, and fierce outsiders. Led by these powerhouses, all it took was for someone to shout "Foundation Establishment treasure!" for a hundred voices to respond, sending swarms of cultivators charging in unison. The populous Mining Hall had instead become a prime target. In truth, it wasn't just the Mountain Breaker Gang. Even the Xuanyi Society suffered catastrophic losses. They were merely a fledgling faction to begin with. Even with five Foundation Establishment clans backing them, at the end of the day, their foundation was too shallow. Their clan disciples might have been quite capable, but their numbers fell short. After clashing head-on with the Mountain Breaker Gang a few times, they began to shrink back. Later, when the beast tide erupted, they were robbed mercilessly by reckless rogue cultivators during their flight. Imagining walking along peacefully only to have a barrage of flying swords streak over, talismans rain down like a tempest, and traps and formations littering every path, Luo Chen could not help feeling relieved that he hadn't waded into those muddy waters. How wonderful it was to stay home and craft pills! When free, he could browse the shops in the city, pick up fashionable specialties at the black market, and chat with a pretty woman while munching on immortal beans. At night, he could cultivate, explore the deep mountains and wilderness, and breathe the fresh air. Now that was what a proper cultivation life ought to be! Unlike those cultivators who spent their days fighting and killing with zero technical finesse. Hmph, entirely beneath him! "By the way, where is Brother Wang?" The subordinate reporting the news spread his hands. "I have no idea!" *** Wang Yuan had vanished. As the Mountain Breaker Gang's cultivators returned to the market one after another—some dejected, sorrowful, or terrified, others excited, overjoyed, or thrilled—Luo Chen was startled to find that Wang Yuan still hadn't returned. He knew very well that the Flood Dragon Hall had also taken part in the struggle for the ruins. Yet while the Flood Dragon Hall cultivators had drifted back in twos and threes, there was still no sign of Wang Yuan. An inexplicable trace of worry arose in Luo Chen's heart. Wang Yuan was one of his few true friends, the kind of companion to whom he could entrust his back. If anything happened to the man, not only would it weigh heavily on him emotionally, but his own upward momentum in the Mountain Breaker Gang would inevitably suffer a major blow. However, Luo Chen's worry vanished three days later. In the dead of night, Luo Chen emerged alone from the pill chamber, his face alight with joy. After several failures, he had successfully refined another cauldron of Blood Burning Pills. His proficiency had also reached [20/100]. With so many cultivators suddenly returning to Dahe Market, everyone who survived had returned with some harvest or another. All at once, rather than declining, Dahe Market took on an air of morbid prosperity. Beneath that prosperity, chaos was escalating constantly. Luo Chen disliked this state of affairs, but the Blood Burning Pills he crafted were exceptionally suited to it. *Once I hoard another batch, I can sell them on the black market.* *This time, though, I could try those four smaller black markets.* As Luo Chen calculated these plans in his mind, his body suddenly went rigid. The early summer moon cast its light slanting into the Pill Hall along the valley cliffside. A figure sat in the shadow against the wall. Had his eyesight not been sharp, Luo Chen might not have noticed the person at all. Seeing Luo Chen, the figure raised the wine gourd in his hand. "Care for a drink?" *** Bloody! Just sitting across from him, Luo Chen caught a potent stench of blood, as if the person before him were not a human, but a bloodthirsty beast. Meeting those weathered eyes, Luo Chen examined him closely. He saw no visible wounds; instead, the exposed skin looked remarkably fair and translucent. So pale that Luo Chen almost doubted whether he was truly Wang Yuan. "Drink. Why aren't you drinking?" "This is monkey wine I plundered straight from the lair of a Jinming spirit monkey. It does wonders for Qi Refinement cultivation." Looking at the crystal-clear spirit wine in his cup, which gleamed like melted gold, Luo Chen could not help gulping. The dense spiritual energy was indeed astonishing. Draining it in a single gulp, Luo Chen felt a fiery heat spread throughout his body, his internal spiritual power surging as though on the verge of boiling. "Brother Wang, you've reached the ninth layer of Qi Refinement?" Wang Yuan chuckled softly. "Heh, you've got good eyes!" Luo Chen noticed that Wang Yuan was in an exceptionally good mood today. He had never smiled this much during their past conversations. "Did you reap a huge harvest?" Wang Yuan sighed with emotion. "Not bad. At least I won't lack the resources to cultivate all the way to Qi Refinement perfection." Hearing this, Luo Chen was internally shocked. On this trip into the mountains, Wang Yuan had not only advanced from the eighth layer to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, but had even secured the resources to reach perfection. Just how much had he harvested? "I came here tonight because I have a few things to give you." Luo Chen's heart skipped a beat. *What? He remembered his brother when he got good stuff?* A storage bag was pushed straight in front of Luo Chen. Luo Chen took it dubiously. There was no spiritual power imprint on it; Wang Yuan must have already erased it. Compared to a Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense imprint, a Qi Refinement cultivator's spiritual power imprint was the easiest to clear. Those of higher cultivation could wipe it away with a wave of the hand, while those of lower cultivation could wear it down given enough time. "Whoa, this storage bag has plenty of space. It must be at least three cubic meters!" Luo Chen possessed quite a few storage bags, whether his very first one or those seized from bandits later on. Yet practically all of them were baseline storage bags with one cubic meter of capacity. Such items were priced exorbitantly at Wanbao Pavilion, easily costing ten thousand spirit stones. On the black market, however, as long as one didn't mind the trouble, one could pick one up for eight hundred to a thousand spirit stones. The truly expensive storage bags were the ones with large capacities. "If you like it, you can keep the storage bag as well," Wang Yuan said with a smile. "So generous!" Luo Chen happily turned the storage bag over in his hands before taking out the items inside. There wasn't much—just a gourd and a low-grade Tier 1 magic tool, the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot. Twisting open the gourd's stopper, a rich aroma of wine wafted out. Having just tasted a sip, Luo Chen already knew this was monkey wine brewed by Jinming spirit monkeys, possessing extraordinary effects. A whole pot like this would easily fetch at least a thousand spirit stones if sold. Truly worthy of Brother Wang—magnanimous to a fault. Delighted, Luo Chen went to open the other magic tool. Yet the moment he cracked it open, his expression changed drastically, and he snapped it shut immediately. Even so, an intoxicating, heavenly fragrance had already drifted into the Pill Hall—a scent potent enough to make one's very soul tremble. Luo Chen swallowed hard and gasped in a low voice, "Brother Wang, are you crazy?!"