The battle between the Golden Core cultivators in Dahe Market had turned what was once the most prosperous inner city into a ghost town.
Several thousand cultivators had perished within, marking a truly horrific catastrophe.
Yet for the surviving rogue cultivators, it was an immense opportunity!
Those who could afford to live in the inner city were mostly figures of profound cultivation and considerable wealth.
Aside from possessing exceptional skills, such individuals often operated businesses in the outer city or out in the Guyuan Mountain Range.
With their deaths, all those resources had been left vacant.
Countless people began scrambling for them.
And the most significant opportunity didn't even lie there!
It was the spiritual energy!
As time passed, the rogue cultivators discovered that the spiritual energy around Dahe Market was growing increasingly dense.
Its concentration was scarcely inferior to renting an ordinary residence in the inner city back in the day.
This uncanny transformation brought sheer delight to everyone.
According to a cultivator from a local clan, their clan elders deduced that the barrier formation set up by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to contain the spiritual energy had been destroyed. This had allowed the Tier 1 spiritual vein in Fallen Phoenix Mountain to pour out unchecked.
As a result, a radius of a thousand li had become a land of abundant spiritual energy.
Such a deduction carried great credibility.
Rumor had it that spiritual energy of such concentration existed in most sect holy lands.
Mighty figures of a sect would cordone off high-tier spiritual veins to create suitable environments for high-level cultivators to practice.
For a Tier 1 spiritual vein, however, they typically wouldn't restrict it, instead releasing it freely for low-tier disciples to cultivate with.
The Tier 1 spiritual vein beneath Dahe Market covered an exceptionally vast area, and its reserves of spiritual energy were remarkably robust.
Had it been within a sect, it likely would have been unleashed just as freely.
Unfortunately, this place was not sect territory, but a gathering ground for rogue cultivators.
Hence, the sword cultivators of Jade Cauldron had previously employed formations to cordon off and confine it strictly within the inner city.
Now that the barrier formation was obliterated by the fierce clash, the rich spiritual energy of this spiritual vein was finally shared by all the rogue cultivators who possessed neither power nor influence.
Thanks to this shift, several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who had initially planned to abandon Dahe Market decided to stay.
Where else could one find a land of abundant spiritual energy completely free of charge?
The Million Mountains of the Eastern Wasteland?
No one was a fool. Aside from their daily routines, everyone seized every precious moment to cultivate.
Everyone knew full well that once the sword cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect returned, they would inevitably cordon off the vast spiritual energy once more.
When that time came, they would have to spend spirit stones all over again to enjoy such a boon.
***
Luo Chen was also among those seizing every moment to cultivate.
He had spent several days finally finalizing the medicinal ingredient supply deal with Elder Zhou of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance.
With that settled, the Luotian Association could resume concocting Jade Marrow Pills.
Once these trivial matters were handled, Luo Chen's cultivation schedule settled into a regular routine.
Inside the cavern, Luo Chen stepped naked from the bronze cauldron.
As he swapped out the spirit stones in the Spirit Gathering Formation, he sighed with emotion.
"Fortunately, I bought up a large hoard of resources earlier. For now, I don't need to worry about my cultivation supply."
He had previously executed two large-scale resource purchasing sprees.
The first was when Pang Renxiong arrived and Dahe Market plunged into turmoil; fearing price hikes, he had spent five thousand spirit stones on a massive stash of supplies.
The second was when he planned his escape route.
Once he fled through the underground tunnels toward Mount Changyin and into the deep mountains and marshes, safety and cultivation would be of paramount importance.
So he had spent several thousand more spirit stones, stocking up on Dust-Cleansing Pills, Spirit Calming Incense, Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid, and various other essentials.
After later reaching a cooperation agreement with Miao Wen, he hadn't consumed much of that accumulated stockpile.
Now that sect businesses like the Spirit Herb Pavilion had withdrawn, others might worry over cultivation resources, but he had no need to fret at all.
"These resources should suffice to sustain my cultivation for nearly half a year."
"In half a year, order should be largely restored, and the people from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect ought to return."
Dahe Market was too important!
This was the deduction Luo Chen drew after gathering information from multiple sources.
Whether it was the establishment of the Dao Debate Platform, the wealth of resources from the Million Mountains, or the strategic advantage of being a fortified bridgehead—all were solid reasons why the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect placed great value on this location.
In particular, after learning from Sima Xian that Dahe Market was very likely being developed into an immortal city, he became even more convinced of his conclusion.
The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect would never abandon Dahe Market!
As for the six-month timeframe, Luo Chen estimated it based on the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's previous response time to Fei Baiwen's death.
Factoring in both the sect's decision-making process and the travel time required to arrive, half a year was a very reasonable figure.
"Still, none of that concerns me much for the moment."
With everything prepared, the surging vitality within his body was sufficient to support multiple cycles of the Eternal Spring Art.
"I reached beginner mastery in Spirit Clarification Evil Banishing long ago. Beyond tempering my will, it offers a slight enhancement to the soul as well."
"Coupled with my growing physique, I can now circulate the Eternal Spring Art at full power four times a day even without Spirit Calming Incense."
"If I add the five cycles aided by Spirit Calming Incense, that makes nine!"
Nine full-power cycles, each taking half an hour, meant committing at least four and a half hours, stretching past five when factoring in necessary pauses and rests between them.
Devoting so much time each day to cultivating his primary technique would once have left Luo Chen feeling hopelessly short on time.
Back then, he had numerous spells to train.
Now, however, most of his spells had reached the Great Circle.
The only ones requiring his focused attention were the optimized Fireball Art, as well as the Earth Mountain Technique and the Surging Waves Technique.
The former was currently his strongest trump card, while the latter two laid the groundwork for the Tier 2 spell, Landslide.
"Calculating it this way, even after refining pills, I barely have enough time."
Luo Chen smiled faintly, retrieved a jade bottle from his storage bag, and tipped out a pill.
It possessed a pale green hue and an elegant, delicate scent.
It was none other than the Spirit Purifying Pill from Miao Wen.
Looking at the pill reminded him of Miao Wen.
Luo Chen couldn't help but chuckle.
That man had truly suffered quite a raw deal!
He had personally stepped forward to protect Crescent Moon Valley, gifted him the top-tier Lesser Five Elements Formation, and even arranged for Luo Tianhong to treat Qin Liangchen.
Yet in the end, he hadn't received even a single month's dividends from the Luotian Association.
Add these five bottles of Spirit Purifying Pills into the bargain, and the man had made a staggering loss!
His crushing loss meant Luo Chen's massive gain!
"However, this is a Tier 2 medicinal pill. I'll still need to break it down using the Pure Heart Hand."
Focusing his mind, Luo Chen formed a one-handed seal with his right hand, releasing wisps of pale green spiritual power.
Spurred into motion, the green pill hovering in the air began to spin rapidly.
Suddenly, the outermost coating cracked, and a bead of medicinal liquid seeped out.
"Is this what Pang Renxiong referred to as a semi-finished spiritual fruit?"
"I wonder what exotic spiritual fruit served as the primary ingredient to allow the medicinal potency to integrate into the fruit like this."
With these thoughts flitting through his mind, Luo Chen tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and took a gentle breath.
The bead of medicinal liquid trickled down like celestial nectar, flowing smoothly into his mouth.
"One-tenth. That should do!"
Forming another hand seal, threads of pale green spiritual power wrapped the remaining Spirit Purifying Pill in layer upon layer of seals, preventing the excess medicinal strength from dissipating into thin air.
Such was the marvelous utility of the Pure Heart Hand.
It could disassemble all kinds of herbs and medicinal ingredients, while also sealing and preserving their potency.
It was immensely useful in alchemy.
He hadn't expected it to work just as effectively on a pill crafted from a semi-finished spiritual fruit.
After packaging this Spirit Purifying Pill separately, Luo Chen sank into deep cultivation with the aid of the Spirit Calming Incense and the moonlight grass.
He sat motionless, like an ancient tree rooted to the earth.
Roughly an hour later, Luo Chen opened his eyes, delight washing over his face.
"Mi Shuhua spoke no lie!"
Back then, Mi Shuhua had stated that the Spirit Purifying Pills refined by the Medicine King Sect held an extraordinary effect for purifying spiritual power.
Its wonder was supposedly no less than that of an unabridged sect cultivation method.
Judging by today's experience, Mi Shuhua had actually underestimated its efficacy.
During that single cycle of the Eternal Spring Art just now, Luo Chen had felt the absorbed spiritual energy, upon converting into spiritual power, swiftly purified to the utter limit by the pill's potency.
The speed was so fast that even Luo Chen was taken aback.
If the spiritual power purification speed of an ordinary rogue cultivator was considered one, the purification speed inherent to the Great Circle of the Eternal Spring Art was around five.
Yet, under the boost of the Spirit Purifying Pill, Luo Chen's purification speed had surged straight to ten!
Moreover, this improvement was far more significant than a mere twofold increase.
The purification effect of the Great Circle Eternal Spring Art only manifested while actively cycling the technique.
Each cycle lasted only half an hour.
That timeframe had to encompass capturing ambient spiritual energy, guiding it into the body, absorbing and refining it, and only then purifying it.
In other words, the window remaining for Luo Chen to purify was a mere seven or eight minutes.
In such a brief span, purifying all the captured spiritual energy was entirely impossible.
He had no choice but to leave the excess within his body for passive compression and conversion.
After repeated sessions, a large backlog of unpurified spiritual power would accumulate, and only after hitting a bottleneck would the Eternal Spring Art address it.
Now, however, the speed had doubled.
This meant that within that limited window, he could purify vastly more spiritual power.
"In that brief cycle just now, all the spiritual energy I absorbed was fully converted, and there was even room to spare!"
"And that was merely ordinary cultivation."
"If I ingest medicinal pills and refine them alongside the Eternal Spring Art, wouldn't I be able to purify even more?"
Action followed thought.
After a brief rest, Luo Chen took a Dust-Cleansing Pill and swallowed it.
Drawing upon the residual potency of the Spirit Purifying Pill, he resumed his cultivation once more.
***
Dawn broke across the sky, scattering the morning mist.
Luo Chen flew out of the spiritual vein cavern, his face brimming with joy.
With the aid of the Spirit Purifying Pill, his cultivation speed had nearly doubled!
If he had an ample supply of Spirit Purifying Pills, the five to six years he had originally estimated to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining could be shortened considerably.
The prerequisite was having enough!
Luo Chen's smile gradually faded.
Spirit Purifying Pills were unlike ordinary pills; obtaining them was by no means easy.
Even when the Spirit Herb Pavilion was still operating, such items were never placed on ordinary shelves.
Only at occasional auctions would a few ever surface.
"I currently have four bottles, forty pills in total. At one-tenth per session, that barely covers about four hundred days of cultivation."
"I still lack many, many more Spirit Purifying Pills!"
"Where can I find them?"
Wang Yuan held one bottle, but since Luo Chen had gifted it, he naturally couldn't ask for it back.
Besides, he wasn't short on them in the immediate term.
In the long run, an extra bottle or two wouldn't solve the problem either.
Therefore, he needed to find a relatively stable channel to procure them.
"Stable?"
"Even when order still prevailed in Dahe Market, there was no such thing as a stable supply of Spirit Purifying Pills."
"So my sights must be set on channels that actually possess these items."
Luo Chen's eyes flickered as several ideas took shape in his mind.
Now that he had resolved to contend rather than drift with the tide, certain matters demanded long-term planning.
Not just for Spirit Purifying Pills, but for other necessities as well.
***
Inside the Luotian Association.
A conversation proceeded steadily to the rhythmic clatter of an abacus.
"At present, there are very few early-stage Qi Refining cultivators in the association, costing only eighty low-grade spirit stones a month."
"Within the Pill Hall, there are thirty mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Based on their respective posts and contributions, their stipends hover around fifty spirit stones each, totaling an expenditure of fifteen hundred a month."
"As for the Battle Hall, it primarily consists of seventh- and eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivators, supplemented by a handful of mid-stage elites. Their stipend standard was set personally by you, Luo Chen, at one hundred each per month. Hence, the expenditure there is three thousand low-grade spirit stones."
"The Gold Hall and Merit Hall have fewer members and slightly lower cultivation realms. Last month's expenditure for them was one thousand spirit stones."
Hearing this, Luo Chen's brows twitched slightly.
He raised a hand, and Murong Qinglian paused her fingers over the abacus.
In truth, with a cultivator's sharp intellect, an abacus was completely unnecessary.
However, when managing a tangled web of revenue and expenditures, combining ledgers with an abacus made everything clear and intuitive.
"The compensation for the Gold Hall will need to be raised going forward."
"Hm?"
Murong Qinglian looked slightly surprised, but since it was Luo Chen's decision, she raised no objection.
In truth, she had initially disagreed with the stipend standards Luo Chen set for the members.
Not because they were too low, but because they were too high!
Late-stage cultivators received nearly a hundred spirit stones a month.
One had to realize that back when the major sect shops were operating, they paid only sixty to seventy spirit stones a month.
While a bump was understandable for the Battle Hall given that their duties involved life and death, one hundred spirit stones a month was still excessive.
Yet recently, after watching the talents of smaller factions get poached by various clans and the Great River Gang while barely anyone left the Luotian Association, she had come to fully appreciate how wise Luo Chen's generous pay truly was.
Without high stipends, the Luotian Association would have gradually fragmented and crumbled even without external enemies.
How could they ever enjoy such peaceful days, sitting comfortably, sipping tea, and balancing the books?
Harsh reality spared no one!
Early- and mid-stage cultivators had few choices, but late-stage cultivators had plenty of options.
Those veterans from the Mountain Breaker Gang weren't like Murong Qinglian and Zeng Wen, who shared profound friendships with Luo Chen beyond mere mutual benefit.
Take Li Wanchun, formerly of the Wanbao Pavilion, for example; plenty of people were eager to recruit him.
"Continue," Luo Chen said, pouring a cup of tea, blowing away the steam, and taking a sip.
"Right."
Currently, aside from Luo Chen and Wang Yuan, there were nine ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivators in the Luotian Association.
These nine basically held key positions across the various halls.
Consequently, their stipends reached three hundred spirit stones a month, creating another substantial expense.
"Additionally, the stipends for Caiyi and me are five hundred spirit stones a month."
"Lastly, the cost of raw materials requires an expenditure of twenty-five hundred each month."
Following a flurry of clicks and clatters, Murong Qinglian let out a long breath.
She presented Luo Chen with the final figure.
"Last month's total expenditure came to eleven thousand seven hundred spirit stones."
This staggering figure was enough to tempt, inflame, or even incite murderous intent in any rogue cultivator.
Yet Luo Chen could now face it with complete equanimity.
He asked, "How many spirit stones are currently on the association's books?"
"Twenty-six thousand spirit stones!"
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "How did we end up with so much extra?"
By his calculations, there shouldn't have been that much; it should have been roughly half that amount.
Murong Qinglian brushed back a stray lock of hair and smiled faintly. "Did you forget? There was a batch of mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills you refined back when you were still with the Mountain Breaker Gang. We didn't have to shoulder any costs for that batch—it was pure profit!"
"Haha, I actually forgot about that."
Luo Chen remembered now. During the battle at Crescent Moon Valley, he had intentionally stashed that batch of Jade Marrow Pills away.
Counting carefully, that batch of pills was worth at least fifteen thousand spirit stones!
If one deducted that windfall of fifteen thousand, the Luotian Association currently operated normally for a month with a surplus of around eleven thousand spirit stones after covering all expenses.
"What stipend do you plan to set for Hall Master Wang Yuan?"
Facing this question, Luo Chen had long prepared an answer.
Without hesitation, he said, "Three thousand!"
"That high?" Murong Qinglian looked shocked, her throat suddenly feeling dry. "That's virtually identical to the consecrated elder stipend of a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a minor sect, isn't it?"
"He is worth that compensation!"
His resolute tone gave Murong Qinglian pause.
She recalled what Old Qin had recounted about how Wang Yuan had single-handedly broken the formation during the battle to wipe out the Fu family.
Ultimately, she nodded.
"Then we'll record it under the three-thousand-stone Foundation Establishment consecrated standard!"
Lowering her head, she jotted the entry into the ledger.
Watching this, Luo Chen felt a surge of exhilaration. Everything was moving in a positive direction.
Running the Luotian Association yielded him, the association master, a net gain of eight thousand low-grade spirit stones a month.
Such a profit was truly immense!
If word got out, it would be enough to make all Qi Refining rogue cultivators, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators, green with envy.
In truth, however, this was a very reasonable return.
They were refining mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills, selling at fifty spirit stones a bottle, generating over twenty thousand in gross profit each month.
And now, he didn't need to split the share with anyone else.
Had they followed the terms of the partnership initially agreed upon with Miao Wen—splitting the profits fifty-fifty—he would have had to hand over four thousand.
While four thousand low-grade spirit stones a month was already double or triple what he made during the Mountain Breaker Gang era, it was still far too modest, falling short of what was due to his status as an alchemist.
Eight thousand was neither too much nor too little; it was entirely reasonable!
Luo Chen did not withdraw all the spirit stones recorded on the books.
He left behind the fifteen thousand spirit stones as liquid working capital for the Luotian Association, taking only his regular eight-thousand-stone share for the month.
After receiving the spirit stones from Murong Qinglian, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
He had already accumulated considerable wealth before, bolstered by the spoils from Gao Tingyuan's storage bag, and now supplemented by this sum.
His personal wealth had skyrocketed to twenty thousand spirit stones.
If placed in the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a sum like this was enough to consider acquiring a Dharma treasure.
In fact, some cultivators who had just stepped into Foundation Establishment might have exhausted all their family assets without retaining such savings.
Luo Chen understood intimately how arduous life was for a rogue cultivator.
Why had Mi Shuhua expended so much effort on him even after founding the Mountain Breaker Gang? Wasn't it all for a long-term future?
It was only because Luo Chen advanced too quickly, while Mi Shuhua happened to be gravely injured, that Mi Shuhua sought to reap the harvest prematurely.
Unfortunately, Mi Shuhua never lived to see the days of turning such staggering profits.
Things rarely went as one wished in this world, and that held true not just for Luo Chen.
Among the teeming multitudes of living beings, how many could ever see their desires fulfilled and sail through life smoothly?
Even someone as formidable as Pang Renxiong had...
"Thinking about it, Mi Shuhua, Miao Wen, and Pang Renxiong all met rather miserable ends."
"Could I be jinxing my masters?"
"No, I shouldn't have a master in the first place!"
Luo Chen gave a cold smirk, rose, and took his leave.
Left behind in the room, Murong Qinglian blinked in utter bewilderment. Why had Luo Chen sneered so coldly out of nowhere?
***
"Why did you drag me out here?"
"Aren't I in need of a bodyguard?"
"Where are the two fellows, Zhou and Liu?"
"Zhou Yuanli has accumulated enough recently, and with the spiritual energy in Dahe Market growing rich again, he plans to enter secluded cultivation to break through to the ninth layer of Qi Refining."
Luo Chen paused and spread his hands. "Besides, their strength really is a bit lacking."
"They're decent enough. Joining hands, taking on an ordinary ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator isn't a problem for them," Wang Yuan replied, stopping as well, a puzzled look on his face.
"Still, for the place I'm heading next, their strength truly won't cut it."
Luo Chen smiled faintly. Under Wang Yuan's watchful gaze, he reached up and vigorously rubbed his face.
A moment later, an altered, ambiguous countenance appeared before him.
*A disguise too?*
Resigned, Wang Yuan gave his body a shake, unleashing a succession of cracking sounds from his joints.
His entire frame shrank by several inches, bringing him to roughly the same height as Luo Chen standing shoulder to shoulder.
Wiping a hand across his face, he also assumed a disguise.
Once thoroughly prepared, Luo Chen led Wang Yuan into a familiar alleyway.
As they walked, he sent a voice transmission: "How far have you progressed with your methods for countering ghosts?"
"Not refined enough yet."
"For someone with robust vitality like mine, low-tier ghosts dare not draw near, but in the eyes of powerful specters, I would look like an irresistible delicacy."
"So that means venturing into the inner city will have to be postponed?"
"Are you in a hurry?"
Luo Chen shook his head. "I'm in no rush, but other factions are already rallying personnel, preparing to head into the inner city."
"Then let them serve as the vanguard!"
Wang Yuan's footsteps ground to a halt.
Looking at the familiar entrance, he hesitated. "The Zhenlong Black Market?"
Luo Chen nodded. "Times have changed. At the Zhenlong Black Market of today, both you and I must tread with caution."
With that, he lifted the curtain and strode inside.
Wang Yuan did not hesitate, following close behind.
After exchanging the secret signals and presenting the embroidered ball magical artifacts, the two once again stepped into that lavish, underground hall spanning a hundred fathoms across.
The moment he entered, Wang Yuan's entire body tensed.
He finally understood what Luo Chen meant by 'times have changed.'
For within the black market at this very moment, there were several individuals radiating the unmistakable aura of the Foundation Establishment realm.
Chapter 161