Two beast hides!
Wang Yuan stared in dumbfounded astonishment.
He truly had not expected this piece of beast hide, which recorded a Tier 3 body refinement cultivation method, to conceal another mystery within.
It had been such a thin piece of hide!
No!
It wasn't just him!
Even that Foundation Establishment True Cultivator likely hadn't noticed it either!
"I don't know what kind of demonic beast this hide came from, but it possesses an innate concealment effect and can be sliced into multiple layers. I even suspect another layer could be peeled from it."
"No, if one's technique were superb enough, even more layers wouldn't be impossible."
Luo Chen stroked the beast hide with considerable wonder.
If not for his Great Perfection Spirit Eye Art, which could distinguish truth from falsehood, see through illusions, and discern subtle details far more clearly than an ordinary person ever could, he would have almost missed it back then.
Even after acquiring it, he had only caught a slight clue while nitpicking repeatedly to bargain over the price.
Compared to him, Wang Yuan cared much more about what was recorded on the inner layer of beast hide.
"What's written on it?"
To be concealed beneath a Tier 3 body refinement method, it had to be extraordinarily precious, even if *Heavenly Roc Transformation* was merely an incomplete art.
Without hiding anything, Luo Chen spread it open right before Wang Yuan.
"White peony root, bamboo fungus, blood scorpion powder, purple-backed gynura, sky star grass..."
Having merely read the opening lines, Wang Yuan had a sudden realization.
"It's a pill recipe!"
Luo Chen withdrew the beast hide and smiled faintly. "Indeed, and by the looks of it, a complete Tier 2 pill recipe. That was why I bought it with extra spirit stones without hesitation."
Lowering his gaze, he scanned the dense names of medicinal ingredients.
His brow furrowed slightly. "However, this recipe is remarkably archaic, and its description of effects is incomplete. Even though it is whole, I will still need to grope my way through to discern its true use."
Listening to Luo Chen's mutterings, Wang Yuan shook his head.
He had no interest in pill recipes.
He had previously obtained a complete recipe for the Blood Fiend Pill, which was also Tier 2.
Yet to this day, he still could not enjoy its benefits.
Only alchemists like Luo Chen found a pill recipe uniquely irresistible.
"Paying thirty-five hundred for a pill recipe means you still took a loss."
Luo Chen paid it no mind. "There's no such thing as taking a loss. What if I concoct it and it sells like wildfire?"
"True!" Wang Yuan laughed. "I almost forgot that besides concocting pills, you're also an old hand at doing business."
He waved the beast hide in his hand. "Regardless, you have a share in this body refinement method. Once I decipher something from it, I'll lend it to you to read!"
"Mm."
Luo Chen nodded, not particularly invested.
At present, qi refining alone left him pressed for time; how could he attend to body refinement as well?
If not to ensure his physique was sufficiently sturdy when breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he wouldn't even have purchased Golden Quality Jade Liquid in large quantities.
In fact, very few cultivators in the contemporary cultivation world chose dual cultivation of technique and body.
The boost that body refinement gave to combat strength was probably only useful at lower tiers.
At higher tiers, dharma artifacts and magical treasures operated across dozens of li with a mere thought; body cultivators could hardly even close the distance.
Yet during the lower tiers, where it was most useful, one was constrained by the requirement to reach Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty.
Everyone was pressed for time, so naturally no one was willing to increase their own burden.
Never mind anyone else.
Take Wang Yuan right before him, who had achieved success in body refinement: in the early stages, he truly had enjoyed the benefits of cultivating the body.
His combat prowess had been formidable.
Now, however, the drawbacks of dual cultivation had become entirely apparent.
The path ahead was obscure, and cultivation methods were difficult to find.
He possessed the cultivation base of Tier 2 body refinement in vain, lacking combat techniques that matched the Foundation Establishment stage.
Moreover, dual cultivation placed a heavy financial burden upon him.
For Luo Chen, it was better to properly focus on qi refining first.
And alchemy was the craft that could provide him with immense support.
"This pill recipe is so bizarre. It doesn't look like it's meant for humans. Strange, why would..."
"Sigh!"
Wang Yuan shook his head. He had seen this look on Luo Chen once before—back when he gave him the Blood Fiend Pill recipe.
He couldn't fathom why a single pill recipe held such an immense attraction for an alchemist.
Without disturbing Luo Chen, Wang Yuan quietly departed.
...
In the dead of night.
Muttered words continuously sounded, mingled now and then with an exasperated tone.
"A hundred supplementary ingredients, far exceeding the Blood Fiend Pill. To think it's this intricate."
"The main ingredient is sparse—only one is needed. Yet this single main ingredient must come from the same demonic beast: bone, blood, and flesh, with not a single one missing."
"Oddly enough, it doesn't specify which demonic beast. Could it be that any Tier 2 demonic beast can be used?"
"Emperor's Flowing Syrup... According to certain alchemy tomes, this is supposed to be a miraculous substance of heaven and earth rumored to offer tremendous benefit to demonic beasts. Why is this pill given the same name?"
"'Sinking into the sea with the syrup, the jade fields forever mulberry'... It even requires concoction through the water method?"
...
After a long time, Luo Chen looked away from the pill recipe with an exhausted face.
The complexity of this pill recipe far exceeded that of the Blood Fiend Pill!
Its supplementary ingredients were so numerous, its refining method so peculiar, and even its effects and taboos were vaguely defined.
A whole night of pondering had yielded him almost nothing.
This was exceedingly rare.
When he had obtained the Blood Fiend Pill recipe back then, Luo Chen had only felt the difficulty was slightly high, not that it was impossible to refine.
The only real obstacle preventing him from concocting the Blood Fiend Pill had been the three main ingredients!
If given enough main ingredients, with his current progress in exploring the recipe, he already possessed a degree of confidence in reaching the entry level within a thousand failures.
A thousand failures!
It sounded like a lot, but only Luo Chen currently had the confidence to make such a claim.
If an ordinary Tier 1 alchemist were given ten thousand attempts, they still couldn't guarantee a single success.
The threshold for an alchemist was no small matter!
Luo Chen had nearly completed the foundation of his alchemical path, had subsequently handled the concoction of three or four types of pills, and had produced quite a few superior-grade batches.
One could say that even among Tier 1 alchemists, he stood at the very pinnacle!
Yet this pill recipe named *Emperor's Flowing Syrup* truly gave him the feeling that there was nowhere to begin.
The main ingredient was indeed simple, requiring only the bone, blood, and flesh of a single Tier 2 demonic beast.
This was not actually difficult to procure.
When he attended the black market auction last night, corpses of Tier 2 demonic beasts had appeared mid-way through and at the end.
After all, this place was adjacent to the Million Mountains, where demonic beasts were the least scarce resource.
Certain unattached Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators, wishing to be bound by neither rules nor social obligations, often made their living hunting demonic beasts and seeking treasures on expeditions.
For them, so long as they were cautious and properly prepared, hunting a solitary Tier 2 demonic beast was no difficult task.
The problem was that this simple main ingredient did not specify a species!
This meant Luo Chen could not conduct targeted research.
There was another point: water-method alchemy.
All along, Luo Chen had employed the fire method for alchemy, producing pills that were mostly paste or solid.
The water method was actually somewhat simpler than the fire method, but he had zero experience with it. Although the *Qingyuan Alchemy Exposition* contained one or two corresponding water-method concoction techniques, he had never tested them.
Moreover, their grades were rather low, and they might not necessarily serve for concocting Tier 2 pills.
This, too, was a problem.
"Since this pill recipe was sewn together with the *Heavenly Roc Transformation*, it must be a complementary medicinal pill, right?"
Luo Chen made this guess.
In the end, he shook his head, deciding against delving deeper into the matter for now.
He would keep it for now, studying it whenever he had free time. Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he might gain greater understanding.
If he truly felt it was of tremendous use to him, he could also consider using the system to get started on it.
However, in that case, the number of Tier 2 pill recipes accumulated in his hands would suddenly reach three:
The complete Blood Fiend Pill, the complete Emperor's Flowing Syrup, and the incomplete Jade Dew Pill.
"For a mere Tier 1 alchemist like me, what virtue do I possess to hold three Tier 2 pill recipes while still in the Qi Refining stage?"
With a self-deprecating chuckle, Luo Chen put away the beast hide and retrieved an object from his storage bag.
A sword pill!
Though called a "pill," it was not small at all, measuring the size of an infant's fist.
He wondered whether those cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect felt any discomfort in their throats whenever they swallowed and spat it out.
Examining it carefully, Luo Chen only then discovered how peculiar the sword pill's construction truly was.
The exterior was not smooth.
Instead, it was filled with all sorts of thread-like striations, appearing as though it were wound together thread by thread from golden silk.
"Perhaps it is precisely because of such a structure that it can undergo myriad transformations in the hands of a sword cultivator!"
Lamenting thus, Luo Chen bit into his fingertip.
He then channeled robust spiritual energy toward his finger.
*Drip!*
A drop of crystal-clear blood, exuding the fragrant aroma of vegetation, was squeezed from his fingertip.
Luo Chen grunted softly. His face paled a fraction before returning to normal.
This was a cultivator's essence blood!
It contained the origin of a cultivator's physique and spiritual energy.
Theoretically speaking, no matter a cultivator's realm, they could only extract ten drops of essence blood without harming themselves.
After extraction, through cultivation and nourishment over time, it could slowly be restored.
If it exceeded ten drops, however, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Generally, cultivators would not deploy their essence blood unless resorting to certain specialized techniques.
It damaged one's origin too severely.
Yet Luo Chen had no choice at the moment.
To use this sword pill, one either had to continuously nurture it with spiritual energy and spiritual sense over a long period until it obeyed like an extension of one's arm,
or adopt another special measure.
"Blood refining!"
Back on the Dao Discussion Platform, Bai Qi, who fought Qin Liangchen, had been able to wield a sword pill during the Qi Refining stage precisely by relying on blood refining techniques.
Most cultivators actually knew how to perform such methods.
What Luo Chen was using now was the blood refining technique Wang Yuan had obtained from the blood cultivator Xiao Wuyan.
Compared to ordinary, crude blood refining, Xiao Wuyan's method was even more violent.
As long as the blood refining succeeded, it could be used immediately.
"The situation in Dahe Market is volatile. I must increase my strength. As a treasure embryo, even if its grade can never be raised again, this sword pill is comparable to a supreme-grade dharma artifact."
"I must master it as quickly as possible!"
Without hesitation, that crystal-clear drop of blood fell upon the golden sword pill.
Then, Luo Chen continuously sent out streams of spiritual energy.
Originally, the sword pill and essence blood did not blend, but under the urging of Luo Chen's spiritual energy, the essence blood slowly seeped into the depths of the sword pill.
He carried on until dawn before stopping in exhaustion.
Reaching out with a beckoning hand, the sword pill, now tinted with an eerie crimson hue, landed in his palm.
"With this, it can be considered accomplished!"
He could sense a faint, heart-and-mind connection linking him to the sword pill.
It was not the spiritual energy link between an ordinary dharma artifact and a cultivator,
but a marvelous bond where a single thought could swiftly direct the sword pill into motion.
"Open!"
As his palm unfolded, the sword pill radiated brilliant spiritual light, sending forth blooms of sword light.
In the blink of an eye, golden radiance filled the space before Luo Chen.
Looking closely, it resembled a flower in full bloom.
Only, this blossom was brimming with chilling killing intent.
"Go!"
The sword light converged and plunged straight toward the ground.
*Chi!*
Like a knife through tofu, the sword pill sank into the subterranean depths.
When he summoned it back once more, Luo Chen couldn't help revealing a satisfied smile.
"No wonder sword cultivators are so formidable!"
"I have merely grasped the surface, yet it already possesses such speed and power."
"It is hard to imagine how powerful this sword pill would be in the hands of Luo Tianhong or Pang Renxiong."
Actually, it wasn't hard to imagine at all.
Those two battles at the Lancang River and Mount Luofeng remained vivid in his memory to this day.
A colossal sword-qi dragon tens of zhang long was something no ordinary mortal could achieve!
He did not cultivate the sword dao, so naturally he could not reach that level.
Yet with this sword pill, complemented by the Azure Musk Flood Dragon Gathering Banner and his other measures, he could already run rampant without restraint in the Qi Refining stage.
...
"President, the Duan family has come to press for their delivery."
"Hmm?"
Luo Chen had just concluded today's refining of Jade Marrow Pills. Beyond the usual medium grade, he had also produced quite a few superior-grade Jade Marrow Pills.
Superior-grade Jade Marrow Pills were comparable in potency to ordinary Qi-Nourishing Pills.
Now, however, they were of little use to him.
The reason he specifically refined them was, firstly, to supply internal use for cultivators in the Luotian Association, and secondly, to quickly grind his proficiency with the Jade Marrow Pill to maximum level.
He wanted to know whether a peerless-grade Jade Marrow Pill would still be useful to him.
To this day, he had yet to develop any drug resistance toward the Jade Marrow Pill.
Clapping his hands, he shook off the water droplets.
Luo Chen turned around and looked at Qiu Ying, the Pill Hall's pill-curing deacon, frowning as he spoke. "The Duan family agreed upon fifty bottles a month, did they not?"
It was not a question, but an affirmation.
Qiu Ying nodded. "That is correct."
"Then why do I recall that only half a month has passed since the last delivery?"
Qiu Ying was also perplexed and could offer no answer.
Luo Chen curled his lip. "Forget it, I don't care why they need pills so urgently; in any case, they are sending us spirit stones."
"It's still fifty bottles, right? We've hoarded quite a few over the past few days. Just send someone to deliver them."
Having received confirmation, Qiu Ying prepared to enter the pill-curing chamber to retrieve the pills.
Before leaving, however, she remembered something and immediately turned back.
"Whom should I send?"
Luo Chen paused. "Sima Xian, of course!"
"Elder Sima Xian took people to deliver goods to the newly opened shop in the outer city, and he hasn't returned yet."
"Hall Master Wang has entered seclusion again."
Hearing these two pieces of news, Luo Chen frowned.
The pills produced by the Pill Hall currently had two destinations.
One was Gu Caiyi's Gold Hall, responsible for selling to rogue cultivators, which was the lion's share.
The other was direct, point-to-point supply to the four great clans and the Great River Gang.
Although demand in that area was smaller, it had the advantage of stability.
All along, it had been entrusted to elders of the War Hall to lead people and deliver the goods to their doorsteps.
Each month, the major factions procured fixed quantities at fixed times; the Duan family's action today was an anomaly.
As a result, an unexpected shortage of manpower had arisen within the Luotian Association.
After a moment's hesitation, he still said, "Have Elder Duan deliver them; he is familiar with the Duan family."
"Mm-hmm, understood."
Qiu Ying trotted off, the high black ponytail behind her head swaying with lively bounce.
Yet she did not know why Luo Chen had hesitated for that brief moment.
Duan Feng, the Duan family.
Hopefully nothing untoward would happen!
Fortunately, toward dusk, Duan Feng returned unharmed with his people, bringing back a payment of two thousand spirit stones.
Standing before the cliff wall from far away, Luo Chen watched Duan Feng return to the Luotian Association.
Aside from his rather poor complexion, he showed no injuries.
"As long as nothing happened!"
Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief. He had been quite worried about Duan Feng clashing with the Duan family.
After all, in the past, Duan Feng's words had been saturated with hatred toward the Duan family.
He didn't know the inside story.
At present, however, the Luotian Association was in a phase of rapid development.
Its ties with several factions were growing closer and closer.
It was also gradually securing a firm foothold in Dahe Market.
Quite a few rogue cultivators were even inquiring with figures from the Merit Hall, such as Murong Qinglian and Sima Wenjie, asking whether they were still recruiting.
Yet under Luo Chen's instructions, Murong Qinglian had kept a tight lid on it, refusing to accept outsiders easily.
"The situation is unstable; guard against people with ulterior motives infiltrating the Luotian Association."
Those were Luo Chen's original words, with which Murong Qinglian profoundly agreed.
Under current circumstances, rashly starting a conflict with any faction was an unwise choice.
That Duan Feng could suppress the hatred in his heart and dutifully accomplish this task for the Luotian Association showed he had matured considerably compared to before.
Perhaps it was also because his cultivation realm was growing deeper!
All along, Duan Feng had been keen on refining himself through combat.
Among peers at the ninth level of Qi Refining, his cultivation speed was faster than any other ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator in the Luotian Association.
Only Qin Liangchen, who was affiliated with the Pill Hall without specific administrative duties, could barely match his cultivation pace.
Lately, however, Qin Liangchen's cultivation speed seemed to have stalled as well.
He was far from advancing with the fierce valor of Duan Feng.
Duan Feng likely wanted to charge into Foundation Establishment first before seeking vengeance against the Duan family.
Looking up, Luo Chen checked the hour.
A thought stirred in his heart.
"Some time has passed; Tianxingzi must be growing anxious."
"Face must still be given to a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator."
"Very well, I shall go talk with him today!"
Chapter 164