A Good Man? A Ruthless Man? One Soon to Depart!

To amass spirit stones, the fastest routes came down to just two. One was killing for treasure. After all, a horse does not fatten without night grass, and a man does not grow rich without windfall wealth! Yet that was the way of bandit cultivators; a single misstep could easily see one buried. Tianlan Immortal City was no tiny corner like Dahe Market or Liuguang Market. An arch-expert might leap out from any random cranny. When that happened, far from killing anyone, one would end up forfeiting one’s own life and fortune. Luo Chen would naturally not take that path. The second way was far more virtuous, peaceful, and wholesome. Alchemy! Why had Luo Chen gone to such great lengths, even pouring in a hundred thousand spirit stones to purchase Danxia Peak? Wasn't it precisely to settle the Luotian Association? Only with this organization at his back could he carry out alchemy on a massive scale. Otherwise, rely entirely on himself? He had once calculated the numbers. Taking superior Jade Marrow Pills as an example, without any outside assistance, he could refine at most two cauldrons of pills a day. Using his superior Four Symbols Cauldron, four portions of ingredients went into each cauldron, making eight portions across the two. Factoring in a fifty percent success rate, the daily profit hovered around seven hundred spirit stones. On the surface, twenty thousand a month and over two hundred thousand a year looked like an immense sum, did it not? In reality, the math did not work out that way. Before refining, one had to purchase raw materials and meticulously process them. That step alone devoured no less time than the actual concoction. The expenditure of time immediately doubled. And after the pills were refined? They had to be sold! Without helpers, he would have to handle every single sale in person, over and over again—just like back in his wandering cultivator days at Dahe Market, where he spent two to three days every month hawking wares at a stall. In that manner, the required time ballooned even further. What seemed like twenty thousand a month would realistically fail to yield even ten thousand spirit stones. Averaged out, it came to just a few thousand a month, barely better than serving as an enshrined elder for someone else—except an enshrined elder enjoyed far more free time. After all, a massive chunk of his hours would be squandered on alchemy, which was profoundly detrimental to his cultivation and the study of spells and alchemical arts. What happened if he had an organization supporting him? The answer was painfully clear. Along the path he had walked, whether in the Mountain Breaker Gang or the Luotian Association, a well-oiled model had already been forged. Dedicated individuals regularly procured raw ingredients. Another team processed the herbs. During the refining process, he could fire up two, three, or even four cauldrons simultaneously. When it came to sales, he did not need to spare a single thought. In the end, the earnings multiplied several times over what he could achieve on his own. Leaving everything else aside, during the three months after leaving Dahe Market, Luo Chen had devoted himself entirely to alchemy and produced superior Jade Marrow Pills worth a hundred and eighty thousand spirit stones. That was simply impossible for an ordinary rogue cultivator. Was it any wonder that almost all prominent alchemists emerged from great sects and prominent clans? Those organizations already possessed integrated networks running from top to bottom, handling everything from training to procurement, concoction, market expansion, and regional distribution. It spared the alchemist an immense amount of effort. "A year has passed, and the Luotian Association is gradually getting onto the right track." "I can just about restart my grand enterprise of pill refining!" "And with the aid of the Rank 1 earth fire cave, my efficiency might reach even greater heights!" Sitting aboard his flying boat, Luo Chen turned over these trivial matters in his mind. Usually, when cultivating, he poured his entire heart and soul into the task and never spared a thought for mundane affairs. Now that he was traveling outside, he naturally needed to plan every facet thoroughly. "Senior Luo, it's been a while! Are you heading out again?" Beneath the suspension bridge, Xu Jingnian, dressed impeccably without a speck of dust, waved his hand in greeting toward Luo Chen. Luo Chen smiled and nodded back at him, then engaged the flying boat's flight mode. The vessel shot into the sky in a flash, vanishing from the crowd's view. Among the cultivators entering the city were acquaintances of Xu Jingnian. Once Luo Chen had flown far off, one of them asked curiously, "Old Xu, you aren't usually this warm or courteous toward ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivators! Who is he, to earn such lavish respect from you?" Xu Jingnian rolled his eyes. "That one is no ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivator!" "Oh? How so? Do tell!" Xu Jingnian took a sip of hot tea. "You know Danxia Peak, right?" "Could he be...?" "Indeed. That senior is a fierce dragon crossing the river from the outside. When he forced his way into Danxia Peak back then, he defeated three peers of the same realm with a single move each. Facing someone like that, shouldn't one show absolute courtesy?" His friend was struck with sudden realization. Truly, toward an expert of that caliber, no amount of politeness was excessive. Once his cultivation climbed higher in the future, he might well become a pivotal figure in Tianlan Immortal City. While cultivation realm equated to combat power, the two were not entirely synonymous; there were always those of high realm but pathetic ability. Someone like Luo Chen, who had crushed three peers in the same realm, clearly possessed terrifying martial talent. So long as he continued to grow, he would never be an easy opponent among his peers. "Still, courtesy is one thing. Why be so eager? You're an Ice Fort cultivator, after all—there's no need to flatter someone just passing by!" Xu Jingnian chuckled slyly. "Naturally, it's because that senior is extraordinarily generous!" "Generous? How generous?" The friend was dubious. The Foundation Establishment True Cultivators of Tianlan Immortal City were hardly known for generosity; scrambling for cultivation resources, every last one was stingier than the next. An outsider cultivator couldn't possibly be any different, could he? "You know my nephew?" "Liuzi?" "Right! He served as that senior's guide for a short while, and the man rewarded him straight away with two thousand spirit stones." "Hiss! Such an open-handed spender!" "That's not all. Senior Luo found Liuzi sharp and capable, so he specially appointed him as an outer deacon of the Luotian Association, entitling him to an extra monthly stipend." Xu Jingnian smacked his lips and sighed with emotion. "I've toiled in the Ice Fort for so many years and never managed to secure Liuzi proper employment. Who would have thought that simply acting as an honest guide for once would sort out his livelihood? Senior Luo Chen is truly a good man!" Hearing this, the friend felt a surge of envy. A Foundation Establishment True Cultivator who was lavish with rewards and generous with jobs was rare indeed; why hadn't he encountered such good fortune himself? Yet... a "good man"? He had heard a thing or two about the events at Danxia Peak. Of those three rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators, one had been slaughtered on the spot, meeting a gruesome end. That master was definitely no softhearted, plump sheep to be sheared! He was a ruthless man! *** Luo Chen felt entirely indifferent toward Xu Jingnian's shift from aloofness to deference. He understood the world all too well. As a newcomer, nobody would regard him with true esteem. Even with a Foundation Establishment cultivation, others merely offered an empty, spoken title of "Senior." Only when one demonstrated strength and sufficiently alluring benefits would genuine respect follow as a matter of course. Bringing Xu Xiaoliu into the Luotian Association had not actually been Luo Chen's idea. It was Sima Huiniang's! She had been busy establishing the Luotian Association's roots in Tianlan Immortal City, coming and going to handle countless affairs. During that period, Xu Xiaoliu had provided a great deal of help beyond his duties as a guide. Over time, Sima Huiniang developed the thought. When she reported it to Luo Chen, he raised no objection. In truth, taking in a local rogue cultivator served as an outward signal that the Luotian Association intended to assimilate into Tianlan Immortal City. For now, the signal was exceedingly faint and ignored by most, but anyone paying close attention would take note of it. A streak of escape light cut across the heavens like a shooting star. Cultivators in Biyou Valley and the Zilan Bamboo Forest instinctively raised their heads. Seeing it head straight into Danxia Peak, they withdrew their gazes. That figure had to be the master of the Luotian Association—hardly someone they dared provoke. Once the Langqi flying boat entered Danxia Peak, its speed slackened. As he flew, Luo Chen used his sharp eyesight to scan the entire mountain from bottom to top. Spiritual fields dotted the landscape like pieces on a chessboard, spiraling up from the mountain's base to its peaks. Among them, quite a few cultivators bustled about the soil. Over a hundred Rank 1 spiritual fields had already been sown with superior spiritual rice, which yielded two harvests a year. When harvested, the crop would just about suffice for their internal needs. As for the other spiritual fields, they were still in the process of accumulating soil fertility. It would take two more years before they recovered to Rank 1 quality. In the meantime, they could only be planted with low-value crops like Celestial Silkworm Cloud Beans and Ten Fragrance Cardamom, primarily to absorb surrounding spiritual energy and elevate the soil's grade. Beyond the original fields, the cultivators of the Medicine Hall had opened up twenty additional plots in the flatter terrain, upgrading them through similar methods. One could well imagine that in three or four years, once these fields were brought into full production, whether planting superior spiritual rice, medicinal herbs, or rare spiritual flora, they would yield tremendous profits for the Luotian Association. Beyond satisfying internal requirements, they could even sell the surplus to the outside world. "This is no longer small-scale tinkering." "Granny Yuan truly intends to develop our spiritual plant cultivation to the scale of a small sect." "She has put her heart and soul into this, but alas..." Luo Chen let out a sigh. The flying boat came to a halt halfway up the mountain, outside a quiet little courtyard. Flowers and plants of every sort grew outside the yard, blooming in a riot of radiant colors under the midsummer sun. Yet inside the courtyard, it was equally "crowded"—or rather, one could hardly call it lively, for most of the people gathered there wore grief-stricken expressions. Stowing the flying boat, Luo Chen strode inside. "Guild Master." "Greetings, Guild Master." "Guild Master, you've come." When Yuan Dongsheng bowed respectfully to Luo Chen, Luo Chen paused his footsteps. "Wasn't it said she still had two or three years to live? Why did it happen so fast?" The scene from a year ago, when Granny Yuan had plainly told him how long she had left, was still vivid in his mind. He had not expected things to deteriorate so swiftly. "It was because of those twenty fields," Yuan Dongsheng said with a choking voice. "My grandmother felt that the Luotian Association had too few usable spiritual fields, so she wanted to clear a few more. Who could have known that a sleeping black-spined skink lay underground?" "Disturbed from its slumber, the enraged beast wounded several people. Grandmother was on the scene and stepped in personally to subdue it, but she drained her vital essence in the fight." "And so..." A skink was a common demonic beast, frequently captured by cultivators and processed into a Rank 1 medicinal ingredient. Under normal circumstances, it posed little danger. The black-spined skink, however, was an extreme creature: it either slept peacefully, heedless of the world, or turned ferocious and violent, lunging at anything that moved. Even if confronted by a Rank 2 or Rank 3 beast, it would stubbornly bare its fangs and bite. One could imagine the tremendous toll it had taken on Granny Yuan to suppress it. Already withered by age and with her vitality depleted to the extreme, such a violent exertion had only accelerated her toward the end of her days. In fact, a month ago, Granny Yuan had already become bedridden and slipped into delirium. Sima Huiniang had mentioned this in her voice transmission talisman. Letting out a soft acknowledgment, Luo Chen walked straight into the room. A thick medicinal odor rushed at him, sharp enough to irritate the throat. Acting as if he didn't smell a thing, Luo Chen fixed his eyes on the bed. As if feeling his presence, the elderly woman, who had been drifting in a stupor, slowly rolled her cloudy eyes and brought them to rest on Luo Chen. In that instant, Luo Chen knew she was lucid. Extending his spiritual sense to examine her condition, Luo Chen felt a jolt of astonishment. Her thread of spiritual soul was feeble in the extreme, like a candle guttering in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any second. Yet miraculously, every time it neared snuffed darkness, it clung tenaciously to life and kept burning. Through sheer, staggering willpower, she was forcing herself to stay alive! Her purpose in holding out until now was self-evident. There was no need for reminiscing. Opening his mouth, Luo Chen found his throat oddly dry. "Granny Yuan... Yuan Yuejiao! Master of the Luotian Association's Medicine Hall, serving for over seven years." "During her tenure, she has been diligent and conscientious, coordinating herbs for the Pill Hall, supplying spiritual rice to the association, and doing everything in her power to heal our cultivators during countless battles. The Luotian Association is eternally grateful." "Now, on Danxia Peak, she has reclaimed four hundred spiritual fields and established twenty new ones, performing foundational merit of the highest order." "Today, I, Luo Chen, Master of the Luotian Association, have verified these contributions and confirmed them without error." "She is specially awarded twenty bottles of superior Jade Marrow Pills, ten portions of Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid, and three Nether-Passage Pills. In addition, she is granted a complete Rank 2 water-attribute cultivation method to serve as an heirloom for the Yuan clan, along with dharma artifacts... and the Yuan clan shall hold a perpetual right to half the yields of the twenty newly cleared spiritual fields." His calm, measured words carried an indisputable weight. Through them, the final seven years of Yuan Yuejiao's life received the fairest possible judgment. Her reclamation and clearance of four hundred and twenty spiritual fields for the Luotian Association was an indisputable, monumental contribution! Even if she passed away this very moment, all these rewards would be conferred upon her descendant, Yuan Dongsheng. As Luo Chen spoke, the old woman's eyes grew brighter and brighter, their cloudiness melting away until they shone like stars. Finally, Luo Chen murmured softly, "Depart in peace. Danxia Peak's spiritual fields will be sown with plants year after year, and the incense of the Yuan family will carry on unbroken." With that, he pressed his lips together, turned, and quietly stepped outside. Behind him came Yuan Dongsheng's sudden, wailing sobs. *** Outside the courtyard, Murong Qinglian stood waiting. Luo Chen did not look at her. He cast his gaze into the distance, his eyes resting upon the flowers and plants in the yard. "Did you record everything?" "Yes, all recorded. After the burial, every reward will be handed over to Yuan Dongsheng." "Where is the cemetery?" "I previously discussed it with the director-general. We intend to set aside the area behind Danxia Peak as a cemetery. Cultivators who perform meritorious deeds for the Luotian Association can be laid to rest there in the future." "Good. I leave the funeral arrangements to you; I know you will handle them well." Luo Chen's wandering gaze drifted from the greenery to the people gathered in the courtyard. Xiugu stood outside the door, weeping as she held little Yilong's hand. She had belonged to the Medicine Hall from the beginning, both in the Mountain Breaker Gang and after the founding of the Luotian Association. It was Granny Yuan who had once urged her to discard her prejudices against Zeng Wen, bringing about their marriage. Now that Granny Yuan had passed, none grieved more deeply than Xiugu, save for Yuan Dongsheng. Zeng Yilong stood there in confusion, looking into the room and instinctively sucking on his thumb. Luo Chen beckoned. Breaking free from Xiugu's grip, Zeng Yilong trotted over. "Come, play with Uncle. Don't disturb your mother and the others." Zeng Yilong looked back. Xiugu squeezed out a tearful smile and waved him on. A beam spread across the boy's face as he grasped Luo Chen's large hand and left the courtyard. Walking along the mountain trail, the sounds of mourning gradually faded behind them. Ahead, the child skipped and leaped over boulders, scrambling up a tree one moment and bounding down the stone steps the next, full of restless energy. "He must be six years old now!" "Counting the years, he was born two years before my Foundation Establishment. Add three years of seclusion and one year in Tianlan Immortal City, and this tiny tot is suddenly running and jumping around." A chill settled over Luo Chen's heart. When a person died, what did they leave behind? Was it their bloodline, or their ancestral incense? Or perhaps these few spoken words assessing their lifetime of deeds? What if he himself died? Suddenly, he spoke up. "Xiaolong, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Zeng Yilong hung from a tree branch with both hands, his chubby body swaying back and forth like a swing. He yelled loudly, "Earn spirit stones and marry a wife!" "Uh..." Luo Chen's expression froze. "Who taught you that!" The boy nimbly flipped up onto the branch, found his footing, and declared as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Uncle Yuan taught me! He used to tell Granny Yuan every day that he'd marry a wife, have children, and keep the Yuan family's incense burning." Luo Chen frowned slightly, but for some reason, the furrow in his brow slowly smoothed away. Indeed! Everyone harbored their own dreams and ambitions. Influenced by Luo Chen from a tender age, Qu Lingjun dreamed solely of becoming a revered alchemist. Zeng Yilong, raised by women's hands and steeped in the family precepts left behind by Zeng Wen before his death, had his aspirations shaped accordingly. These were personal choices, beyond anyone's right to force. What about himself, then? Compared to ancestral incense, bloodlines, or eternal renown, Luo Chen cared for none of it. Longevity! Longevity alone! There was still too much splendor in this world waiting for him to witness. A fleeting century was simply far too brief. Drawing a deep breath, Luo Chen reached out and snagged Zeng Yilong by the collar. "You've grown a bit wild lately, haven't you! Have you learned your characters? Have you read your books?" Amid Zeng Yilong's crestfallen groans, Luo Chen led him toward the Luotian Great Hall on Danxia Peak. At the same moment, the ears of Sima Huiniang, who was busy with affairs elsewhere, twitched at a voice: "Come see me at once!"