Thirty li outside Tianlan Immortal City stretched a steep, broad ridge that cut across seven mountain peaks of varying heights.
This place was known as Gunlong Ridge.
Endowed with a first-rank spirit vein, the ridge also saw occasional volcanic fire eruptions, which forged a unique natural environment.
Diverse resources were scattered across the seven peaks and along the ridge that looked as though an earth dragon had writhed through the land.
Such a spiritual sanctuary was naturally a coveted haven for low-tier cultivators.
Even without climbing the ridge, the surrounding mountains at its foot dispersed spiritual energy comparable in density to a first-rank spirit vein.
However, this territory had long since been claimed.
Ordinary itinerant cultivators dared not intrude.
The Gunlong Zheng family!
Within the domain of Tianlan Immortal City, they were a renowned Foundation Establishment immortal cultivation clan.
Boasting a formidable pedigree, rumors held that the ancestor who founded the family was a False Core realm figure from the Yan Alliance.
Though that ancestor had long passed away, he had nevertheless bequeathed an impressive foundation to his clan.
This legacy went beyond mere spirit stones and magical artifacts.
It encompassed network connections, insights into cultivation, and a craft capable of sustaining the entire family.
Alchemy!
The Zheng family was one of the few cultivation clans that made a living through alchemy.
They were famed for producing a first-rank elixir known as the Fire Ganoderma Pill. Packed with abundant spiritual energy, its medicinal potency was violent and prone to injuring the meridians during cultivation.
Yet it was an orthodox cultivation elixir all the same, and its price was substantially cheaper than the first-rank pills from Spirit Herb Pavilion and Azure Pill Valley.
As a result, it enjoyed great popularity among itinerant cultivators.
Over the course of several centuries, the Zheng family had thrived comfortably off this trade in Fire Ganoderma Pills.
Not only had they cemented their position as masters of Gunlong Ridge's seven peaks, their clan currently possessed three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators at the same time.
Their Supreme Elder was at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, just one step shy of the late Foundation Establishment stage.
The family head, Zheng Kejian, was likewise a mid-Foundation Establishment figure.
Among the younger generation, someone had also advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage twenty years ago.
Spanning three generations—elder, middle-aged, and youth—a single clan boasting three Foundation Establishment cultivators was illustrious indeed!
And yet, outsiders only saw their glory; none could glimpse their current plight.
The Fire Ganoderma Pill was indeed popular, yet its raw materials were costly and its refinement arduous.
Even after decades of crafting it, the clan's chief alchemist could only reliably produce mid-grade Fire Ganoderma Pills.
Under such constraints, the profits were nowhere near as immense as itinerant cultivators imagined.
Nowadays, earnings from the Fire Ganoderma Pill were barely enough to sustain the three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, let alone provide for the clansmen below them.
To conserve resources, Zheng Kejian, knowing he had no hope of forming a core, had even yielded his second-rank immortal cave on Tianlan Peak to his son.
And yet, misfortunes never come singly!
While he was still brooding over how to cut expenses and open up new streams of revenue for the clan, their cornerstone business—the Fire Ganoderma Pill—suddenly began to plummet.
"When did this start?"
Zheng Kejian suppressed the fury boiling in his chest.
Having slackened his cultivation efforts lately, he found himself with ample free time. And so, he had taken the trouble to audit the account ledgers for the past year.
If he had not checked, all would have seemed well! The moment he inspected them, he realized something was terribly amiss.
In past years, after covering the cultivation expenses of two Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, tens of thousands of spirit stones typically remained to nurture the younger generation.
Over the past year, however, this surplus had dwindled further and further.
Twenty thousand, ten thousand, five thousand...
In the last three months, even the resources allocated for the ancestor and his son had been impacted.
To say nothing of the junior clansmen, whose allocations had been cut off entirely.
For something so critical, no one had dared report it to him!
Gazing at his expression, which looked on the verge of erupting like a volcano, the Zheng family cultivator trembled so violently he could barely string words together.
"I—I don't know... It seems to be... the last two months? No, maybe a year ago? No, that's not right either..."
"Calm down! What are you shivering for?!"
Zheng Kejian glared at him, his divine sense pressure dousing the man like a bucket of icy water.
The man shuddered, his speech stumbling even worse.
He was petrified!
Zheng Kejian drew a deep breath and swept his gaze across the people in the hall.
These fools!
Sheltered under the clan's wing, their lives had been far too comfortable.
Strutting about arrogantly outside, yet lazy and complacent at home—they had even grown negligent regarding the clan's vital pill trade.
Had he not taken the time to audit the books, this gaping financial black hole would never have been discovered.
"Get out and investigate!"
"Find out exactly when, who, and what caused our pill business to decline!"
"Within three days—no, one day!"
"I'm giving you one day. Hand over all intelligence to me!"
With a wave of his broad sleeve, the people below scurried out of the hall and scrambled into action.
Watching their panicked retreat, Zheng Kejian's fury surged anew, and he smashed an expensive wooden table to splinters with a single palm strike.
"Counting on these good-for-nothings won't yield anything useful."
"I must go in person!"
***
After altering his appearance, concealing his aura, and donning a disguise, Zheng Kejian stepped into Tianlan Immortal City.
This was his first time setting foot in this colossal immortal city since relinquishing his second-rank immortal cave to his newly ascended son.
He had to admit that upon entering the city, seeing his Foundation Establishment peers drifting freely in and out of major shops and purchasing cultivation resources at will filled him with profound envy.
However, that was not his purpose today!
His goal was to uncover the cause behind the Zheng family's falling elixir sales.
In truth, the possible causes were not hard to guess: either the price of raw materials had risen, driving up production costs and cutting into profits, or a new competitor had emerged.
As for defects in their own pills?
He had never even entertained the thought.
For weeds like itinerant cultivators, being able to buy cheap medicine was already a tremendous blessing.
How could they dare be picky?
He intended to consult familiar Foundation Establishment peers to inquire about recent developments in Tianlan Immortal City first.
Yet before he could even set off, he was stopped at a crossroads by a Qi Refinement cultivator.
"Fellow Daoist, care to learn about Jade Marrow Pills?"
At the moment, Zheng Kejian's apparent cultivation was mid Qi Refinement.
A rather crude disguise.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator could see through it in a single glance, but in the eyes of ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators, he was merely an insignificant low-tier fellow.
He asked out of curiosity, "What kind of pill is that?"
The cultivator chuckled and shoved a sheet of paper covered in writing straight into his hands.
"What is this?"
Before his eyes lay a sheet about a palm wide and two palms long.
Though small, the page was densely covered in text of various colors.
[Jade Marrow Pill: An essential companion for home cultivation among Qi Refinement practitioners!]
[High-grade for only eighty-five! Grand opening special discount!]
[Myriad Wonders Pill: Restore masculine vigor! Cast away despair over the distant Great Dao! Savor supreme bliss alongside arduous cultivation!]
[Essence Cultivating Spirit Liquid...]
[Fasting Powder...]
A dazzling array of goods covered the entire front of the white paper.
On the reverse side was a detailed route map.
Starting from the city entrance, passing through Nanyang Street, Spirit Beast Street, and onward, it traversed nearly a quarter of Tianlan Immortal City before ending at the remote Yuelu Street.
The meticulous detail of the route was astonishing!
It even marked several notable shops along the way.
One could say that even if one disregarded the elixirs on the front, the map on the back held immense collectible value for itinerant cultivators.
Particularly for newcomers to Tianlan Immortal City.
Whether in Qi Refinement or Foundation Establishment, none would turn down such a map.
With it in hand, one at least gained a clear grasp of certain districts, sparing them from being fleeced by local guides.
Holding the paper, Zheng Kejian asked, "What is this?"
"A flier for Danxia Hall!" the flier-distributing cultivator chuckled.
Zheng Kejian curbed his impatience and asked seriously, "I mean, are the pills listed on here really sold this cheaply? They aren't inferior dregs, are they? And what power runs Danxia Hall?"
"Danxia Hall is naturally a business of our Luotian Association!" the Luotian Association cultivator replied proudly. "As for the pill prices, Fellow Daoist, feel free to visit our shop and see for yourself! You'll definitely return loaded with treasures!"
"Oh, right, our Danxia Hall is a bit far from here. The map on the back highlights a shortcut that gets you there the fastest..."
Seeing that he could pry no further details from this man, Zheng Kejian ceased questioning him.
Just then, a beast carriage drew near. He waved his hand and boarded directly.
The Luotian Association cultivator was mid-spiel when he saw the other man board the carriage, and blinked in surprise.
He muttered to himself, "Turns out to be a wealthy rogue cultivator, taking a beast carriage right after entering the city."
Inside the black python beast carriage.
Enduring the faint, lingering stench of beast carcass, Zheng Kejian carefully scrutinized the "flier."
An elixir priced at eighty spirit stones?
And high-grade, at that!
Instinct told him that this Jade Marrow Pill was likely the chief culprit eating into his family's Fire Ganoderma Pill market!
"Danxia Hall, Luotian Association..."
Muttering these two names, Zheng Kejian narrowed his eyes.
***
Yuelu Street!
An inconspicuous little street in Tianlan Immortal City.
It consisted mainly of talisman paper shops, talisman ink shops, medicinal herb shops, and an inn.
Because of these shops tied to talisman crafting, the street was perpetually thick with odd odors.
Consequently, even the inn's business was poor.
Only destitute itinerant cultivators, drawn by the low lodging fees, would seek out this place for temporary shelter.
A year ago, this street welcomed a new neighbor.
Upon arrival, they rented a vacant three-story building!
Situated right in the center of Yuelu Street, it was exceptionally prominent and eye-catching.
Virtually anyone entering the street would notice it right away.
At first, none of the locals paid much mind to this newcomer.
Later, they discovered it was staffed by many female cultivators!
Every one of them was young and lovely, speaking in delightful tones that made visitors feel as refreshed as a spring breeze, as though returning home.
Moreover, they frequently offered specialty fruits and snacks from the shop to neighboring shopkeepers.
Before long, friendly relations were established.
Not long after, the shop held its grand opening.
Danxia Hall!
Specializing in the elixir trade, it offered an extensive variety of goods.
Even though items like Fasting Powder and Essence Cultivating Spirit Liquid were common wares on the market, one simply couldn't resist their low prices!
The neighbors dropped by when free; indebted by gifts of food and favors, they began promoting Danxia Hall by word of mouth.
Whenever they ran into patrons wandering outside unable to find the way, they would gladly point them in the right direction.
Gradually, business at Danxia Hall picked up.
There were many reasons for its success.
For instance, the attendants here were all eloquent and pleasant to converse with.
Or that its goods, whether elixirs or magical artifacts, were both top quality and reasonably priced.
Even penniless rogue cultivators could afford them.
There were other factors as well, all plain for everyone to see.
At this moment, on the third floor of Danxia Hall.
Luo Chen, clad in a white Daoist robe, was leafing through the account ledgers.
Standing respectfully across from him were Gu Caiyi and Xu Xiaoliu.
Perhaps because Luo Chen's cultivation grew ever deeper, or perhaps because his presence carried increasing authority, the two remained utterly deferential, hardly daring to breathe.
Glancing at them from the corner of his eye, Luo Chen returned his focus to the ledger.
One year!
All the initial expenses had been recouped, with a substantial surplus to boot.
A year ago, he had taken the initiative to lease this three-story building from Binglan Palace.
The rent paid was remarkably cheap!
First, because Yuelu Street was exceedingly remote, focused mainly on raw material supply, and lacked any commercial atmosphere.
Second, it was related to his cooperation with Tantai Jin.
The annual rent for this shop was only five thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Within Tianlan Immortal City, this was extraordinarily inexpensive.
For a comparable area in a slightly more central location, the cost would be counted in the tens of thousands.
Securing this shop was a tremendous boon for the Luotian Association's business!
It established their brand.
More importantly, it provided a safe, legitimate storefront for the goods produced by the Luotian Association.
Biyou Valley was fine, but it was too remote after all.
After Wang Yuan slew Cao Wanchun, it had suffered a noticeable loss in foot traffic.
Reviving that foot traffic and commercial vitality would not happen overnight.
Thus, Luo Chen had opted for a two-pronged strategy: advancing inside and outside the city simultaneously.
Over the past year, aside from his daily cultivation, he had set aside all spell practice, devoting nearly all his time to concocting pills and nurturing talent.
In that span of a year, he spent seven months refining Jade Marrow Pills without pause, and four months on Jade Dew Pills.
Interspersed between them, he also refined large batches of Nether-Passage Pills.
Sustaining such a colossal refining workload relied not only on his profound soul foundation and superb alchemy attainments, but also on the seamless coordination of the Pill Hall cultivators.
The results obtained were immensely gratifying.
A staggering forty thousand Jade Marrow Pills had been produced!
Moreover, under his daily supervision and guidance, Qu Lingjun could finally reliably refine mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills.
Though the pill formation rate was not high and the yield per furnace was not as steady as Luo Chen's, at least he could maintain a consistent output.
The talent Luo Chen cultivated was not limited to him alone.
Mi Li!
She was another of his protégés.
This talent, initially overlooked by Mi Shuhua, possessed genuine aptitude for alchemy.
It was just that Mi Shuhua had tried to force growth prematurely, making her attempt the challenging Jade Marrow Pill right from the start, yielding zero progress.
Luo Chen's cultivation of Mi Li... or rather, it shouldn't be called cultivation, but free-range guidance.
At first, he merely had her assist with mundane chores.
Later, he assigned her to refine inconsequential Fasting Powder.
Fasting Powder was an unranked common preparation, and Mi Li had quickly picked it up.
Years had passed, and she had long built up a solid foundation in alchemy.
During this past year, Luo Chen finally had her begin refining first-rank pills.
However, not Jade Marrow Pills, but Myriad Wonders Pills!
For this pill, which had earned him his first pot of gold and launched his fortunes from scratch, Luo Chen's mastery was even deeper than that of the Jade Marrow Pill.
It had nothing to do with the number of batches, but rather that he had experienced the step-by-step progression on too intimate a level.
From refining in an iron pot at the very beginning, to a wood-fired cauldron, and finally to earth fire refinement.
One could say the crafting of the Myriad Wonders Pill held no secrets from Luo Chen.
Mi Li was also quite familiar with the Myriad Wonders Pill.
Back then, when Tang Quan constantly failed, he dared not bother Luo Chen, instead discussing it privately with Mi Li many times.
So even before trying her hand, Mi Li already knew the intricacies and pitfalls of refining Myriad Wonders Pills inside out.
Once Luo Chen had her start, guided by his insights to resolve every bottleneck, coupled with the alchemy foundation she had built over years, it took only a few months for her to naturally succeed in crafting low-grade Myriad Wonders Pills.
In this way, the variety of pills the Luotian Association could sell to the public grew increasingly diverse.
Luo Chen's high-grade Jade Marrow Pills formed the backbone, supplemented by Qu Lingjun's mid-grade pills.
Mi Li's Myriad Wonders Pills added flair, while Essence Cultivating Spirit Liquid was the simplest of all—requiring only pre-proportioned medicinal ingredients for itinerant cultivators to brew themselves at home, earning a processing fee.
Fasting Powder was not difficult either; back in Dahe Market, Luo Chen was far from the only one refining and selling it.
He picked several people in the Pill Hall to practice, eventually cultivating a specialist dedicated entirely to refining Fasting Powder.
One could say that aside from Nether-Passage Pills, Blood Burning Pills, and Jade Dew Pills, Luo Chen had refined nearly every elixir in his repertoire to the best of his ability, displaying them upon the shelves of Danxia Hall!
Not only that, Danxia Hall also sold magical artifacts from the Artifact Hall.
Those artifacts were not forged by the Artifact Hall, but were spoils accumulated by the Luotian Association after multiple battles.
The finest were retained for the association's own use, while the rest, patched up and repaired, could be put on display.
In addition, Feng Xia and Yuan Xiaoyue had picked up their old trade.
Immortal beans, beef jerky, milk tea, popcorn, and so on...
They had even developed new snacks based on original recipes, such as roasted Heavenly Silkworm Cloud Beans and Ten-Fragrance Cardamom.
This put the crops that lacked economic value during spirit field cultivation to good use.
Ultimately! It produced Danxia Hall as it stood today: an eclectic, seemingly mismatched shop packed with a vast variety of goods.
However, because of this, calculating costs and profits became a tedious affair.
Early on, errors were frequent.
To the point where Luo Chen had to come inspect the ledgers periodically.
Later, once Gu Caiyi—the Gold Hall Master and Danxia Hall shopkeeper—became accustomed to the work, she gradually brought order to the accounts.
Luo Chen had formed the habit back then, which was why he still dropped by from time to time.
Now, he was looking over the annual gross totals.
"Danxia Hall inside the city brought in a gross profit of around three hundred thousand spirit stones over the year. The elixirs I refined and the Artifact Hall's magical artifacts made up the bulk of it."
"Over at Biyou Valley, I checked earlier; gross profit was around one hundred thousand. The profit breakdown is also primarily from myself and the Artifact Hall."
"Qu Lingjun and Mi Li's alchemy skills still need to improve. Currently, their combined earnings over the year account for only about ten thousand of that."
If judged solely by the standards of individual itinerant cultivators, for two Qi Refinement cultivators to earn over ten thousand a year together was naturally a fortune.
Yet for today's Luotian Association, it was merely icing on the cake, falling far short of what Luo Chen had achieved back in his day.
Luo Chen did not mind, however.
He was very patient with the two of them.
With continued nurturing, their prospects were exceedingly bright.
"A gross profit of four hundred thousand a year already exceeds that of the vast majority of Foundation Establishment powers."
"It's only because I am an alchemist that we can reap such returns!"
Luo Chen once again reaffirmed the vital importance of his identity as an "honored alchemist."
Then, he began calculating the amount of spirit stones he could personally deploy.
Chapter 244