Rising Dragon Pill, Cultivation Speed Doubled!

Twenty days later. Sitting alone in his quiet meditation room, Luo Chen looked at his attribute panel with a thoughtful expression. [Foundation Establishment Layer Two: 26/100] His progress had jumped by two full points. This was not solely the work of the Qi Harmonizing Pill; for the latter nine days, he had switched to the Rising Dragon Pill. "Previously, without taking any pills and relying entirely on my own cultivation, aided by a Rank 2 low-grade immortal's cave, I gained twenty-two progress points in a year." "That roughly equals two points every forty days." "Now, with the boost of Rank 2 pills, my cultivation speed has exactly doubled." "If nothing goes wrong at all, at this rate, I'll need about a thousand years to reach the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment." Arriving at this conclusion left Luo Chen feeling both delighted and disappointed. He was delighted because he truly had found a way to accelerate his cultivation. He was disappointed because the extent of the increase was simply too small. Doubled? To prodigies blessed with exceptional aptitudes, doubling one's speed would already count as a tremendous boost. Yet for him, it remained far from enough. Sighing, Luo Chen brushed aside his disappointment and rallied his spirits. "At least I can see hope!" Doubling one's cultivation speed was genuinely nothing to scoff at. Besides, he still had plenty of room for improvement. Right now, he was more focused on the effects of the two pills. "The Qi Harmonizing Pill truly lives up to its name as a specialty of the Medicine King Sect. Its medicinal properties are balanced and gentle, and it contains very little pill toxin. Its only drawback is that the medicinal power it provides after refinement is slightly inferior to that of the Rising Dragon Pill." This assessment was not born of intuition. It was derived from his careful twenty-day comparative trial. Advancing the first progress point had taken him eleven full days using the Qi Harmonizing Pill. After eleven days, Luo Chen proactively switched to the Rising Dragon Pill. This time, it had taken only about nine days. It was evident that when it came to converting medicinal potency into spiritual energy, the Qi Harmonizing Pill lagged behind the Rising Dragon Pill. "As the flagship Rank 2 pill of Azure Pill Valley, the Rising Dragon Pill's strength lies in its immense medicinal power." "However, its shortcomings are just as obvious!" "Because the power is so overwhelming, circulating it causes considerable strain to the meridians, demands high control from the cultivator, and seemingly introduces more pill toxins." Comparing the two, Luo Chen was frankly not surprised by the result. The Medicine King Sect had stood tall in the cultivation world for nearly a millennium precisely because of its prudent approach. The orthodox cultivation pills they concocted focused above all on ensuring no harm came to the cultivator's body while maintaining basic efficacy. Azure Pill Valley, on the other hand, possessed only a few centuries of heritage. For them to carve out a foothold in the Jade Cauldron Domain, they had relied on bold, fierce progress and striking out on unique paths. Consequently, while the Rising Dragon Pill offered remarkable potency, its side effects were equally pronounced. Any conventional cultivator would naturally pick the Qi Harmonizing Pill. Yet in truth, those in the cultivation world who hungered for swift breakthroughs, or those pressed by dwindling lifespans and eager for immediate results, would never look down on the Rising Dragon Pill. Luo Chen belonged to the latter camp! He had no intention of continuing with the Qi Harmonizing Pill. Instead, he resolved to adopt the Rising Dragon Pill as his primary cultivation pill for the Foundation Establishment stage. For nothing else but that extra sliver of spiritual energy. One could never belittle such small gains; accumulated day by day, month by month, they would eventually amount to several, or even dozens, of progress points! As for the Rising Dragon Pill's numerous side effects? Luo Chen harbored no fear. His soul foundation was exceptionally profound, and his control over spiritual energy ranked among the very best of his peers. Directing and dividing the medicinal power was hardly an issue. As for having slightly more pill toxins? He already had so many fleas that he no longer felt the itch! Any pill he consumed would leave behind toxins anyway, which would ultimately be resolved by the Clear Source Wondrous Elixir Method. Since that was the case, what did one or two extra points matter? Finally, the Rising Dragon Pill's strain on meridians concerned him even less. Over the past year, he had never ceased using the Golden Quality Jade Liquid. His physique was rapidly approaching the completion of its transition into golden flesh and jade bones. Once that happened, he would become what Wang Yuan called a second-realm body refiner in name only. What was merely for show were body-refining combat techniques, not his physical body itself! A physique at the second realm of body refinement would grant him meridians wide and resilient enough to endure anything. A mere surge of medicinal power would hardly cause any real harm. Even if subtle injuries occurred, he could spend spirit stones on Mending and Nourishing Meridian Liquid to heal them. In short: Any problem that spirit stones could solve was no problem at all! "Azure Pill Valley's Rising Dragon Pills... it seems I need to stock up on more of them." He did not have many left in his storage pouch, most of which were spoils from Duan Qiankun's pouch. Luo Chen had already divided the legacy from that storage pouch earlier. Duan Feng had received the breakthrough resources he needed most, along with a top-grade rattle-drum artifact. Wang Yuan had been allocated two high-grade artifacts, a variety of Rank 2 resources, and one hundred and fifty mid-grade spirit stones—equivalent to fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones. As for Luo Chen, he had kept fifty mid-grade spirit stones, one high-grade spirit stone, and that low-grade artifact scabbard. On the surface, it seemed Luo Chen had taken quite a loss. In reality, a large batch of resources remained unallocated; with the consent of the other two, he had placed them into the Luotian Association. In exchange, he had credited them both with a massive amount of contribution merit. Among the items, the two iron spheres wrapped in mithril had been handed over to the Artifact Hall, awaiting further distribution once Duan Feng deciphered their nature. At present, contribution merit in the Luotian Association was far from meaningless. On the contrary, it was exceedingly precious! Beyond standard cultivation methods, materials, and spells available for exchange, Luo Chen had also added several personal Foundation Establishment insights, guides on utilizing spiritual sense, and detailed spell manuals. Furthermore, his improved Essence Cultivating Spirit Liquid and meticulously concocted Nether-Passage Pills had also been put on the shelves. To Qi Refinement cultivators, every single one of these items was an invaluable resource. None of them could be purchased with spirit stones. They had to be exchanged for with merit! Setting things up this way was intended to ignite the motivation of lower-tier cultivators. The more motivated they were, the better the Luotian Association would develop, and the more wealth it would generate. Naturally, the wealth Luo Chen would ultimately reap far exceeded what direct sales of those resources could fetch. Selling them directly yielded only a single payout of spirit stones. Listing them for everyone to gaze upon and strive to redeem, however, harnessed the collective value created by everyone working together from top to bottom! *** "Master, you've come out of seclusion!" Inside the quiet immortal's cave, the moment Luo Chen stepped out of the meditation room, a graceful silhouette flickered over to his side. Luo Chen looked helplessly at the lovely woman clinging to his arm. "How many times have I told you not to call me Master?" "But you are my master!" Bai Meiling said earnestly, her dark, limpid eyes wide. Luo Chen shook his head, choosing not to argue the point. Walking over to the living room, he reached out and drew three voice transmission talismans into his hand. Bai Meiling released his arm and drifted leisurely about the cave. Her ethereal form passed through solid structures one after another, only to bounce back whenever she reached the boundary of the formations. As she floated along, the faint, soul-stirring chime of a bell echoed. That was an artifact Luo Chen had obtained in his early days. He had named it the Soul-Lost Bell. Its rank was not high; he had only ever used it once back when he slew Shan Xiu. Now that Luo Chen had reached Foundation Establishment, a mere mid-grade artifact held little value for him. Selling it would only fetch a few hundred spirit stones at best. So he had gifted it to Bai Meiling. Having replenished herself with the essence of numerous yin souls and vicious ghosts, Bai Meiling's body had long since stabilized. Combined with her persistent cultivation of the True Soul Refining Art, she had now firmly embarked on the path of a ghost cultivator. Luo Chen knew little about this path and could offer scant advice, leaving her to explore it on her own. Over the long span of time, though she had not yet fully recovered her memories, Bai Meiling had gradually begun recalling certain people and events from the past. Luo Chen had also found time to bring her to meet Feng Xia, Gu Caiyi, and Murong Qinglian. Their initial shock, delight, and bittersweet emotion went without saying. Feng Xia, who was closest to her, had even broken into tears. Bai Meiling, however, felt little emotional resonance, simply thinking those elder sisters were very nice. By comparison, she still preferred clinging to Luo Chen's side. Ever since regaining consciousness, she had felt a natural affinity toward him. It was Luo Chen who had brought her out of the sunless ghost domain. It was Luo Chen who had captured countless yin souls for her, enabling her to condense a true yin soul body and establish a foundation for cultivation. And it was Luo Chen who provided the True Soul Refining Art, setting her upon an alternative path of cultivation. To her, Luo Chen was the master who had bestowed upon her a new life. "Has anyone looked for me recently?" Clutching the three voice transmission talismans, Luo Chen asked offhandedly. With the passage of time, he no longer minded her instinctive form of address. Crouched in a corner, Bai Meiling was fiddling with the soul-nourishing wood and moonlight grass. She looked up and answered earnestly, "Senior Li Yixian came by, Director-General Sima came by, and a very fierce Foundation Establishment True Cultivator came by as well." The visits from the first two were hardly surprising. But... a very fierce Foundation Establishment True Cultivator? Who could that be? Sitting on a stone chair, Luo Chen activated the three voice transmission talismans one by one. "Fellow Daoist Luo, it has been long since we last met, and I miss you dearly. Recently, many matters have arisen, bringing endless worries with no one to confide in. Should you emerge from seclusion, I hope we might meet; with your worldly wisdom, perhaps you can dispel the confusion in my heart." — Li Yixian. Luo Chen frowned slightly. Had Li Yixian run into trouble? To reveal such vulnerability in her words was quite unlike the bearing of a True Cultivator who had cultivated bitterly for decades. Pondering this, Luo Chen opened the second voice transmission talisman. "Is this Fellow Daoist Luo? I am Chu Kui. If you have the time, let's share some wine and make friends!" — Chu Kui. Listening to this message, Luo Chen could not help but blink in surprise. Chu Kui? What did he want with him? Luo Chen was no stranger to that name. On his very first day entering Tianlan City, Xu Xiaoliu had mentioned the man's renowned reputation. A frequent guest of the Dao Discussion Platform. A top-ten powerhouse on the Tianlan Immortal City Prodigy Roll! Crucially, he was the sole rogue cultivator among the top ten. He was neither an elite disciple of a major sect nor the founder of an organization like Luo Chen; he was a bona fide lone wolf. Rumor had it that his cultivation had genuinely reached late Foundation Establishment! For such an individual to take the initiative to befriend him was unexpected. "This must be the fierce fellow Xiao Ling mentioned." "When I have time, I should go meet him and see what he wants." Luo Chen did not know many local Foundation Establishment cultivators in Tianlan Immortal City. Aside from characters like Lu Rong, who sought to butcher him the moment they met, he generally maintained an attitude of friendly association. His strike at Danxia Peak back then had not truly been meant to kill. Cao Wanchun simply had modest skill but an oversized temper. Having lost, he still attempted a counterattack. As Wang Yuan had put it, he was practically courting death! Now that a formidable expert wished to make his acquaintance, Luo Chen certainly had no reason to refuse. Only by expanding one's network could one avoid the trap of burying one's head in cultivation, only to emerge and find the world turned upside down. Finally, Luo Chen opened Sima Huiniang's voice transmission talisman. After listening to it, his expression remained impassive, as though he had anticipated the contents all along. "Xiao Ling, I need to make a trip to Danxia Peak. Do you want to come along to see Feng Xia, Caiyi, and the others?" Squatting on the ground, Bai Meiling used her spiritual energy to manipulate a watering can, sprinkling water over the soul-nourishing wood. Without looking up, she replied, "Not going, not going." Luo Chen sighed. He could not tell whether it was due to shifting to the ghost path or losing parts of her memory, but while Bai Meiling retained her old demeanor, she felt no attachment toward old acquaintances other than him. During their previous encounters, she had seemed aloof and distant. It was as if they were merely familiar faces and past events, nothing more. "Very well. You've learned how to operate the cave's three formations anyway." "Tend to things while I'm away." "No wandering outside, understand?" Still keeping her head down, Bai Meiling continued gently nudging the fresh shoots of the soul-nourishing wood. "Understood." Shaking his head, Luo Chen turned and left the immortal's cave. The three layers of formations opened and closed in sequence. Immediately after came the thundering roar of the waterfall. Luo Chen instinctively glanced at the neighboring cave, where faint silhouettes bustled. Yet within his spiritual sense, Li Yixian was nowhere to be found. Those figures were likely members of the Li family. Half a year ago, Li Yixian had brought a group of clansmen at the eighth and ninth layers of Qi Refinement to reside with her in the cave. The intention was obvious: to maximize the utility of this Rank 2 low-grade immortal's cave. "Doing that, however, drags down one's own cultivation speed!" Luo Chen merely lamented in silence without interfering. Every family had its own difficulties. Leasing a Rank 2 low-grade immortal's cave for ten years required a substantial sum of spirit stones. Who else had the wealth and resources to indulge themselves like him, enjoying an entire Rank 2 low-grade cave alone? From what he knew, after Nangong Jin recovered from his injuries, he had followed Li Yixian's example by bringing Nangong Qin and two younger clan members into his cave. In fact, across Tianlan Peak, the vast majority of immortal's caves were not occupied by solitary cultivators. They housed Dao companions, entire families, or even friends co-renting together. Toward such arrangements, Ice Billow Palace turned a blind eye, feigning ignorance. After all, the lease agreements never stipulated that a cave could only be used by one person. Most of the rules simply forbade damaging the cave's core facilities and prohibited any attempt to mine the raw spirit stone veins beneath Tianlan Peak. Any violation, especially of the latter, was met with summary execution! Because of this, many people skirted the edges, banding together to share the burden of the exorbitant rent. Releasing his Langqi flying boat, Luo Chen drifted upward and soared away from Tianlan Peak. Before long, he passed through the Tianyi Shengshui Defensive Formation and entered the immortal city proper. At this point, the flying boat switched to land-cruising mode, gliding close to the ground without rising into the air. His gaze swept over the crisscrossing streets, taking in the shops that ranged from ancient and grand to opulent and dazzling. Luo Chen squeezed his storage pouch. "It seems I can hardly consider myself wealthy anymore, can I?" Excluding the operational funds of the Luotian Association, his personal savings were sparse. After renting the Rank 2 low-grade cave, he had only eighty thousand spirit stones left. To a rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator, this sum might seem immense. Yet to Luo Chen, who aspired toward longevity, it was thoroughly meager. Setting everything else aside, he had already reserved a Rank 2 high-grade immortal's cave with Ice Billow Palace. The moment one became available, he would undoubtedly lease it. A high-grade cave cost four thousand a month, which totaled forty-eight thousand a year! Luo Chen's current wealth could barely cover a single year. For a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator whose seclusions routinely lasted months or even years, how could one year of occupancy ever suffice? A subtle sense of urgency pressed down upon Luo Chen's chest. "Earn spirit stones, earn spirit stones... it's all about earning fucking spirit stones!"