For the sake of the Great Dao, Luo Chen decided to indulge in a bit of luxury!
Inside the Spirit Herb Pavilion, amid the counter maid's beaming smile, Luo Chen painfully produced five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
"Five bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills. We look forward to your next visit!"
The 1,100 spirit stones he had just gotten his hands on shrank by nearly half in an instant.
Anyone would feel the pinch.
Yet Luo Chen knew very well that, at this stage, he had to spend this sum.
Reasonably speaking, he should have invested the spirit stones into expanding the production of Myriad Wonders Pills, rapidly leveling up his proficiency to generate massive net profits.
Only then could he pull himself out of his dire straits and set foot on a path of sustainable cultivation.
However, the external circumstances had changed!
He had killed two cultivators in quick succession and looted the legacies of three corpses.
Especially that cultivator surnamed Gao—with wealth that staggering, who knew what formidable backing he had?
If someone came hunting for him and disregarded the regulations decreed by the Jade Cauldron Sect in Dahe Market to slaughter him by force, how could he withstand it with his mere fourth-layer Qi Refining strength?
The Soul Breaking Nails were indeed formidable, but they were hardly invincible.
Wang Yuan, after all, had calmly fled after taking a nail to the body and then turned around to kill two men.
Even if Luo Chen hadn't finished off the third short-lived wretch back then, Wang Yuan certainly would have cut him down under his blade.
Wang Yuan was only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, and there were plenty of people stronger than him.
Thus, Luo Chen could not afford to rely on luck.
Moving into the inner city was one solution.
Rapidly raising his realm was another.
After experiencing the effects of the Qi-Nourishing Pill last time, Luo Chen knew he was probably tethered to popping pills for cultivation for the rest of his life.
He had tested it last night; the boost from the perfect-level Eternal Spring Art paired with a tier-one spirit vein hadn't brought about a qualitative leap.
To achieve a qualitative leap, one had to accumulate progress slowly over time.
Time?
With a lifespan of only seventy-five years, time was the one thing Luo Chen lacked!
Therefore, popping pills was an absolute necessity—he couldn't do without it!
Carefully tucking the five bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills into his storage bag, Luo Chen hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and headed toward Spirit Source Studio.
Luckily, he was an immortal cultivator; had a mortal gritted their teeth like this every day while shelling out spirit stones, their teeth would have shattered to bits by now.
Spirit Source Studio was a shop opened in Dahe Market by the Five Elements Divine Sect, one of the Six Great Sects of the Far East.
The Five Elements Divine Sect was renowned across the world for its five elements arts, and most of the sect's experts commanded exquisite elemental spells.
Among cultivators whose combat relied primarily on magic treasures and talismans, this made them quite distinct.
Compared to combat, the Five Elements Divine Sect preferred applying their elemental arts to production.
In the cultivation of various spiritual plants, they could be hailed as the preeminent power in the Six Domains.
Even the Medicine King Sect, equally adept at cultivating spiritual flora, could only hold a slight edge over the Five Elements Divine Sect in the specific realm of medicinal herbs.
Beyond that, the Five Elements Divine Sect was virtually without peer.
To say the least, the spirit rice most commonly consumed throughout the cultivation world of the Six Domains was largely produced by the Five Elements Divine Sect.
Although other sects more or less kept private fields to grow spiritual grain, for reasons unknown, the spirit rice they produced lagged far behind that of the Five Elements Divine Sect in both texture and spiritual energy content.
Suffice to say, in the domain of spiritual plant cultivation, the Five Elements Divine Sect's competitiveness reigned supreme over the Six Domains.
Stepping into Spirit Source Studio, Luo Chen first spent one spirit stone on ten jin of spirit rice, then walked up to the counter.
"May I see your catalog of spells?"
The pretty shop assistant's eyes lit up, and she deftly produced a book.
"What kind of spell are you looking for, honored customer?"
"In the mid-stage of Qi Refining? Have you mastered all the essential spells? If not, I wholeheartedly recommend this set here—it's only five mid-grade spirit stones."
Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.
Five pieces meant five hundred!
"These all come with personal annotations from experts of our Five Elements Divine Sect, guaranteed to help you achieve basic mastery in no time."
"If you've already learned them, you might also consider the modified elemental spells from our Five Elements Sect. For instance, this Fire Bird Art, adapted from the Fireball Art! It consumes the same amount of spiritual energy, but is vastly more versatile. When you're short on spirit stones, you can even put on firebird fireworks for people to earn some pocket money."
"This one is great too—the water-attribute Lesser Cloud and Rain Art, perfect for watering flowers!"
"The price? Top quality at a bargain, of course—only three mid-grade spirit stones!"
Luo Chen walked out of Spirit Source Studio dazed and light-headed.
Spells?
He hadn't bought a single one!
They were simply outrageously expensive. A Fire Bird Art derived from the Fireball Art dared to cost three mid-grade spirit stones—that was three hundred low-grade spirit stones!
He'd have to be insane to throw money at that.
As for the spells he truly desired, their prices starved his brain of oxygen just looking at them.
It all came down to being poor!
The Five Elements Divine Sect was renowned across the world for their mastery of elemental arts, but their expertise in other types of magic ran deep as well.
As such, every Spirit Source Studio sold a selection of spells.
They might be common low-grade spells, but with annotations by Five Elements Divine Sect experts, it was easy for cultivators to gain basic mastery.
Modified spells were even more impressive.
That was why Luo Chen had wanted to check it out.
Yet the price tags had sent him running.
"Looks like I can only head to the Rogue Cultivator Market and dig through those 'three-no' spells."
No sect backing, no expert annotations, and no after-sale guarantees.
Arriving at the southern Rogue Cultivator Market, he found foot traffic sparse and the atmosphere rather quiet.
The grand fair had concluded not long ago, and the minor fair wouldn't take place for another three days.
Adopting an "any fish is better than none" mindset, Luo Chen strolled around the market.
Yet after circling the grounds once, he was left slightly disappointed.
Since it was neither a grand fair nor a minor one, those tending stalls were permanent vendors selling goods with steady supplies.
Items like cultivation methods and spells certainly did not enjoy a steady supply.
They relied entirely on the harvest of those living on the blade's edge.
"Licking blood off a blade every day—aren't they worried about poison on the steel? Haven't seen a single one today; did they all drop dead from poison?"
Luo Chen grumbled with irritation and turned to leave.
Yet on his way out of the market, he ran into a familiar face.
At the sight of him, Luo Chen bloomed with joy, his heart fluttering.
"Brother Wang, my dear brother!"
Sure enough, my Brother Wang never licks a poisoned blade!
Wang Yuan glanced at him and walked toward his own stall.
Luo Chen trotted eagerly behind him, every bit the little follower.
What did "like a follower" mean? He, Luo Chen, was under Brother Wang's wing—he really was!
A gray cloth was spread over the ground. With a wave of Wang Yuan's hand, a dense pile of items appeared on it.
Assorted blood-stained magical artifacts, various books and bamboo slips, and even a yellowed jade slip.
Gazing at the massive pile of loot and smelling the thick reek of blood rising from it, Luo Chen's eyelids twitched with a start.
"Brother Wang, quite a haul lately!"
The corner of Wang Yuan's mouth twitched. "Not all of it's mine."
Luo Chen had asked around beforehand; Wang Yuan really didn't just spend his days murdering for loot or brawling in gang turf wars.
He had a legitimate job.
Namely, fencing ill-gotten loot of dubious origin for the Mountain Breaker Gang, earning a hefty cut in the process.
That was why Luo Chen saw Wang Yuan every time, regardless of whether it was a grand fair or a minor one.
It was a line of work with great prospects.
"No more fighting out there lately?"
How could battles between cultivators be called a mere street brawl!
Wang Yuan's eyelids drooped. "Paused. They'll fight again in a few days."
Gang turf wars had such orderly rules?
Luo Chen was a bit dumbfounded.
Still, that was a good thing; otherwise, how would Wang Yuan have the free time to set up a stall?
Chapter 27