You Can Make Pills with This Thing?

The outer city, southwest corner. As the area closest to the Howling Moon Mountain Range, this quarter had always had the fewest residents. The reason was simple: the dominant demon beasts of the Howling Moon Mountain Range were wolves, creatures that moved like the wind, bloodthirsty and ruthless. Even if high-tier demon wolves feared the Dahe Market spell formation and dared not approach, one or two unintelligent demon wolves still occasionally broke through. This was also why Luo Chen never dared to expend spiritual power recklessly while living here, always making sure he kept enough strength in reserve to flee. Cultivators rarely visited this part of the city. Today, however, a large group of people suddenly arrived. Leading them was a short, stocky cultivator. His weathered face was etched with harsh experience, and every glance was laced with ruthlessness. "Are you certain it's here?" "Second Brother Gao, according to the qi-tracing compass, this is where the most residual aura remains. Ting'e must have stayed here for quite a while." Five or six days had passed since the Great River Gang launched its surprise raid on the Mountain Breaker Gang's seven branch halls. In that battle, the Mountain Breaker Gang had suffered heavy casualties. However, compared to the manpower the Great River Gang had lost in the mountains, the losses on both sides were roughly equal. If this dragged on, the rogue cultivators who had joined merely to make a living would no longer be able to bear it. And those people made up the majority of both gangs. Thus, Mi Shuhua, the leader of the Mountain Breaker Gang, stepped forward to seek a truce. The final outcome of their negotiations remained unknown, but at least in the short term, neither side would wage full-scale war again. As the Great River Gang's second-in-command, Gao Tingyuan finally had the free time to look into his reckless younger brother, Gao Ting'e. He had been missing for several days! Everyone knew what it meant for a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator to vanish without a word for several days in Dahe Market's outer city. Gao Tingyuan grew anxious. He enlisted an expert in river transport to trace his brother's whereabouts. In the end, their search led them here. Gao Tingyuan looked at the scorched ground, then at the nearby ruins that had been burned almost completely to ash. A fierce battle had clearly taken place here. Moreover, the devastation was undoubtedly caused by the Blazing Sun Talisman Gao Ting'e had bought from the black market. The Earth element aura was thick as well; he must have activated his Xutu Shield talisman. Gao Tingyuan's face darkened further. "He used both a Blazing Sun Talisman and a Xutu Shield. If he was just dealing with Zhou San, that would be utterly impossible." He glanced at the neighboring ruins. "Who lived here?" "A rogue cultivator named Luo Chen. Early on, he ran errands and did odd jobs, and later he managed to whip up some Fasting Pills to sell." "His cultivation?" "Third layer of Qi Refining, probably. A broke wretch who only lived out here for the cheap rent of half a spirit stone a month." "Where is he now?" "We haven't found him yet. They say he was very solitary and never mingled with his neighbors." A rogue cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining couldn't pose any threat to someone at the fifth layer. Especially not against Gao Ting'e, who possessed an arsenal of treasures. "Can you track where my brother's aura finally stopped?" The cultivator beside him channeled more spiritual power. The qi-tracing compass in his hand trembled, and its needle eventually pointed straight ahead. "In the mountains!" "Let's go. Follow me in to take a look." "But we aren't familiar with the mountains at all!" "Hmm?" Under Gao Tingyuan's chilling stare, the cultivators had no choice but to follow him inside. Crossing the weed-choked wasteland, they ventured deeper into the dense forest. Within the woods, faint traces of demonic qi began to surface, setting the cultivators on edge. Even Gao Tingyuan wavered. The Million Mountains of the Eastern Wilderness held boundless resources beyond measure. Yet over thousands of years, human cultivators had reclaimed less than one percent of it. Rumor had it that countless Tier 3 demon kings and Tier 4 demon emperors lurked deep within, and ancient demons were even said to dwell there. What rogue cultivators referred to as hunting in the mountains was, in truth, merely skimming the outermost fringes. The moment they ran into a Tier 2 demon beast, their only option was to flee for their lives—and more often than not, they wouldn't make it. The Mountain Breaker Gang maintained an iron grip on mountain business precisely because they had sacrificed countless lives in the early days to map out the territories of various Tier 2 demon beasts. Even so, every expedition into the mountains demanded extreme caution. "Wait, something's wrong, Second Brother Gao." "What is it?" "The qi-tracing compass is going haywire." "What do you mean?" Gao Tingyuan looked down. The needle on the compass spun erratically, darting east one moment and west the next. In just a few breaths, it pointed in four or five different directions. "This happened once before. A brother in the gang was murdered, chopped into several pieces, and fed to a few big fish..." The cultivator holding the compass spoke in an increasingly muted voice. Beside him, Gao Tingyuan's expression had turned terrifyingly grim. A suffocating tension blended seamlessly into the gloomy forest. Only after a long silence did he grit his teeth and hiss, "Good! Fine! Not only did you kill my brother, but you desecrated his remains! Just you wait until I find you!" "Second Brother, what do we do now?" "We go back!" The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, their steps noticeably lighter as they retreated. Passing the ruins again, Gao Tingyuan halted his stocky frame. "Tell Fifth Brother to find out if any late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Mountain Breaker Gang headed this way that night. Check on fifth-layer cultivators as well." "Also, look into that rogue cultivator who lived here. If he's still alive, bring him to me." "I'll find you, you bastard, and make you wish you were dead!" With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a streak of spiritual light. An artifact flickered within the glow, transforming into an azure water flood dragon that violently struck the ruins. The last remaining half-collapsed wall was driven three feet into the ground, leaving only a jagged corner peeking out. *** Luo Chen knew nothing about his old house taking an extra hit from a water flood dragon. In fact, even if he had known, he would have applauded the effort. Back then, after salvaging some of his belongings from the house, he had tossed in several more fireballs to burn it down more thoroughly, making sure not to leave many traces behind. As for Zhou San and Gao Ting'e—two paupers whose names he never even knew—his method of dealing with them had been quite simple. He chopped them into several chunks, rubbed on some special Chinese medicinal herbs, lightly roasted the pieces over the fire burning down his house, and tossed them into the forest. That specially prepared "barbecue" was irresistible to wolf and canine demon beasts. Luo Chen had discovered the recipe purely by accident once when roasting beef: he had added herbal powder that vigorously replenished qi and blood, which ended up attracting a wolf pup. Ever since, he had never used that recipe again, terrified of drawing in more powerful demon beasts. After disposing of the bodies, he had found a hiding spot, and headed straight for the inner city the next morning. As for whether anyone would find out later... he would cross that bridge when he came to it! Luo Chen had no time to dwell on such things right now; all he wanted was to concoct pills. The ingredients, which had cost a staggering two hundred spirit stones, were already processed. His concoction of the Myriad Wonders Pills was back on track. Based on past experience, his success rate had hovered around ten percent. This time, however, across the first five days of concoction, he succeeded twice in a row. A forty percent success rate! How could he not be ecstatic? Yet as subsequent batches proceeded, his ecstasy gradually subsided. Five consecutive failures made him realize that his early luck had merely been a rare treat. To raise his success rate and drive down costs, he still needed to grind up his proficiency in the Myriad Wonders Pill. "Almost there, almost there!" Luo Chen glanced at his attribute panel: [Myriad Wonders Pill (Beginner 91/100)] He only needed one more success to level up. This feeling—knowing that effort brought guaranteed rewards—was thoroughly exhilarating. Even his daily chore of blasting the Fireball Art into the corner of the courtyard and filling it with fresh dirt felt much more invigorating. A few more days of failure followed. "This time, I'll definitely succeed." Wearing a brand-new apron, Luo Chen lit a stick of incense before a newly sculpted statuette of Lord Guan, placing two pingpo fruits beside it as offerings. He figured his recent streak of failures was because he had forgotten to burn incense for Lord Guan. The Pale Smoke and Sparse Rain Pavilion was still at work. Truth be told, this artifact invented by Tianfan City was genuinely ingenious. Even though Luo Chen was used to all kinds of odors during pill concoction, the stench before the Myriad Wonders Pills solidified was still nauseating to him. With this artifact, though, he no longer had to endure the torment of that biochemical toxic gas. In the afternoon, Luo Chen cautiously lifted the lid of the pot. A crimson, jelly-like substance greeted his eyes, and his expression softened at once. "It worked, Lord Guan!" "We are the champions!" Right away, he checked his attribute panel. [Myriad Wonders Pill (Beginner 91/100)] → [Myriad Wonders Pill (Proficient 101/200)] The moment the proficiency leveled up, Luo Chen felt as though a layer of window paper had been pierced. Insights he had never possessed before flowed into him like trickling streams under the system's influence, waiting for him to absorb and digest. Subtleties he had previously overlooked now stood out clearly one by one. Luo Chen had a feeling that if he started another pot of Myriad Wonders Pills, he would handle the finer details much better, and his success rate would surely improve significantly. *Creak!* The wooden door was suddenly pushed open. A radiant, striking face poked inside. Gu Caiyi's eyes lit up. "You really are home! I bought some spirit fruits from Spirit Source Studio. Want a taste?" Spirit fruits from Spirit Source Studio! He definitely had to try them—Luo Chen had never been one to be shy about free food. Gu Caiyi pushed the door wide, only to find Luo Chen standing in front of the stove wearing an apron. Handing him a large, emerald-green fruit, she peered into the pot. "Making something delicious again?" "Aspic?" "Why does it smell so medicinal?" Luo Chen took the fruit and took a bite. It was bursting with juice. The spiritual energy wasn't particularly abundant, but it was very sweet. The taste was leagues better than the wild hawthorns he had been eating lately. He replied casually, "It's not food. It's a pill I'm concocting. Hey, don't touch it, it's scorching hot." Gu Caiyi was completely dumbfounded. Pointing at the iron pot, she questioned her very life: "You can make pills with *this* thing?"