Dantian Reconstructed, Seizing the Market?

Three days later. Gu Caiyi, exuding a faint and gentle fragrance, stirred from her slumber. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the dome inlaid with moonstones, completely dazed. In the next breath, she sat straight up and crossed her legs in the lotus position. First, she turned her perception inward to inspect her body. Within her once-ravaged meridians, now gradually smoothed and soothed, everything was empty. The stagnant, congested spiritual qi was completely gone. As for where that qi had gone… With a mere thought, the natal cultivation method she had not circulated in two years began to run, without the slightest hint of rustiness. "Mmph!" Gu Caiyi let out a muffled grunt as a distinct, piercing ache shot through her meridians. Yet beneath that pain, her heart surged with pure joy! "It really is cured!" "My dantian is reconstructed and gathering spiritual qi. I can cultivate again!" "Luo Chen didn't lie to me!" Recalling everything she had endured over the past few years, she could no longer hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. Yet the moment she pictured a bright future, she wiped her tears away and broke into a radiant smile. "Bitterness always gives way to sweetness. What am I crying for? He wouldn't want to see me weeping, either." Murmuring with a light laugh, Gu Caiyi stepped down from the bed and slipped into her outer robes. In the sitting room, Luo Chen had naturally noticed the moment Gu Caiyi woke, but he had chosen not to disturb her. Giving her some time to regain her composure was for the best. Besides, Luo Chen was never particularly comfortable with scenes of overwhelming emotional intensity. Before long, a revitalized Gu Caiyi walked over to his side. She had changed into fresh garments and combed out her hair. Her tresses, once brittle and withered like dry straw, had regained their glossy, obsidian sheen after six months of recuperation, cascading down to her waist like a dark waterfall. Her once-gaunt cheeks were now fair, rosy, and plump with youthful vitality. She stood before him with a delicate, graceful air, gazing at Luo Chen with a smile. Luo Chen shook his head with a chuckle. "Just as beautiful as before." He reached out a hand, and she naturally took a seat beside him. "Over the next six months, nurture your body and recover your peak condition to bring your cultivation back to the perfection of Qi Refinement. After that, I will personally arrange your Foundation Establishment." "Mm." "That doesn't mean you will have nothing to do during these six months. Keep in touch with Yuan Xiaoyue regarding the Gold Hall of the Luotian Association, and help her oversee matters there." "Mm." "It isn't that I don't care to let you rest, but times are perilous right now. Even I have to spend every day concocting pills for the Ice Fort. Everyone is doing their part." "Mm." Seeing how docile Gu Caiyi was being, Luo Chen smiled helplessly. "Don't be like this. Now that your illness is cured, why have you turned into a parrot?" Paying no mind to Bai Meiling, who was reading in the sitting room, Gu Caiyi burrowed straight into Luo Chen's embrace. Nuzzling her head against his chest, she muttered in a muffled voice, "From now on, I'll listen to whatever you say." "Truly?" "Truly!" "All right then. Huiniang will be coming by shortly. Don't act like a stranger; make sure to greet her." Gu Caiyi lifted her head from his chest, her hair slightly tousled, and stared at the man. Luo Chen said helplessly, "Hasn't she treated you quite well? Why act as though she were your enemy?" "You really know how to ruin the mood!" Gu Caiyi gave Luo Chen's shoulder a light thump, then slipped away to join Bai Meiling. Together, they began poring over a compendium of recipes. Over the years, Bai Meiling had been responsible for taking care of Luo Chen's daily needs and had become a fine cook. However, her cooking lacked systematic training. A while back, Sima Huiniang had sent over a comprehensive recipe collection for spirit chefs. If Bai Meiling could master a few standard spirit meals, she would effectively possess an immortal cultivation craft—that of a spirit chef! In the future, she would be able to prepare dishes that were not only more delicious and flavorful, but also richer in spiritual qi for Luo Chen. Luo Chen watched the two women. Gu Caiyi still turned her head from time to time to cast him a glare. He shook his head with a chuckle. "Women!" *** Sima Huiniang arrived toward dusk. She only came by after finishing an entire day's worth of Luotian Association affairs. Ordinarily, she did not make a habit of visiting, but over the past half year, ever since Wang Yuan and the others departed for the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield, her visits had grown frequent. For no other reason than to relay various intelligence reports. Having learned from the prior lesson when delayed information had left Luo Chen completely unprepared before Fairy Jueqing, the Luotian Association's intelligence was now compiled, processed, and periodically reported to both Luo Chen and Sima Huiniang. Whether an individual report proved useful was one matter, but knowing it was another entirely. Beneath the Warm Sun Tree, the man and woman stood side by side, watching the distant, dusky sunset. "Xu Huanzhen's message via flying eagle arrived today. The Jueqing lineage is indeed marginalized in the Ice Fort; their assigned jurisdiction is the outer perimeter of the Seventh Peak, which is relatively dangerous." "Tantai Jin kept his word. He assigned our Luotian Association a relatively safe mountain-guarding duty rather than scouting patrols or kill orders." "In the letter, Xu Huanzhen mentioned that the Luoyun Sect provides very few resources. If they are to hold their ground, they require corresponding formation support. I plan to send Min Longyu over. What do you think?" Luo Chen frowned slightly. As the core of the battlefield, even if every inch of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks was not contested to the death, it still represented a direct clash between two superior sects. Could the Luoyun Sect truly be failing to provide even formation resources to their allies? "What about the other subordinate forces?" Sima Huiniang shook her head. "They deployed in a hurry, and most of the formations they could erect were merely Tier 1. Moreover, the geography of Mount Thunder Accumulation is exceedingly unusual. Under the constant influence of various thunder ores and strikes of celestial lightning, ordinary formations retain barely ten to twenty percent of their effectiveness." Ten to twenty percent? Was that not practically useless? Luo Chen grasped Huiniang's meaning. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed only a rudimentary understanding of formations, limited to setting up arrays using formation plates and formation flags. Such setups were rigid and inflexible, commonly referred to as "dead formations." Only formation experts like Min Longyu, or grandmasters like the former Supreme Elder of Ghost Spirit Valley, could adapt to local conditions and erect the most fitting array to unleash its maximum power. Those were known as "living formations." Because of Mount Thunder Accumulation's peculiar geography, even if cultivators arrived well-prepared, the implements they brought along would be rendered nearly ineffective. To put it simply, everyone stood starkly exposed. Whether attacking the enemy or coming under assault, they were laid bare beneath the adversary's blades. Under such circumstances, if Min Longyu went in person, he could make a tremendous difference. After a moment of thought, Luo Chen said, "Min Longyu can go, but not right now." Sima Huiniang looked at him in confusion. Luo Chen took the time to explain: "The situation there is chaotic right now, and travel back and forth makes one an easy target for ambushes. If Min Longyu goes alone and meets with any mishap, it would be a colossal loss for our Luotian Association." "It would be best for him to wait until the situation stabilizes a bit, then accompany others during troop rotation." Sima Huiniang repeated the term: "Troop rotation?" "Yes. The Luotian Association cannot keep Wang Yuan and the other two on the battlefield indefinitely. Rotating in a different group of Foundation Establishment cultivators every so often is only fair to everyone." Once he put it that way, Sima Huiniang understood. Luo Chen said no more. He had already made up his mind that, if necessary, he might even have to make a trip there himself. Suddenly, Sima Huiniang spoke up. "Right, there is one matter I find difficult to decide on. I need your judgment." "Go ahead." Sima Huiniang said hesitantly, "According to intelligence from the Luo Net and the Gold Hall, many members of the Gunlong Ridge Zheng family have been conscripted to the battlefield, and their pill business has plummeted drastically. Do you think we should take the opportunity to..." "Don't touch it!" Luo Chen shook his head with a grave expression. "Leave it alone for now!" "Not just the Zheng family's pill business—any vacant market left behind by competitors of the Luotian Association should not be touched during this period." He did not explain in detail, but Sima Huiniang understood his thinking and faintly grasped what he feared. Thus, she nodded. "I understand. For now, maintaining our current scale will suffice." Luo Chen actually understood why Sima Huiniang had harbored such a sudden thought. It was not born of petty greed. Rather, cultivators from many forces within Tianlan Immortal City had been conscripted by their respective masters, resulting in a dwindling population. With fewer people, the consumer market naturally shrank. For the Luotian Association to maintain its current business volume had already become quite difficult. That was why Sima Huiniang had cast her eyes upon the vacant market left behind by those smaller forces. Yet in the short term, meddling with such affairs was truly ill-advised. One could never know whether it might provoke the great sects backing them. "In truth, the best places to do business in the Jade Cauldron Domain right now are not these immortal cities along major transit routes," Luo Chen remarked pointedly. Sima Huiniang blinked, quickly realizing where he meant. The Black Water Swamp battlefield! The Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks battlefield! What business could possibly yield more exorbitant profits than profiteering from war? However, pulling off that kind of venture would require thorough, long-term planning. As she pondered in silence, a crisp, melodious voice suddenly drifted from behind them. "Dinner is ready. Director-General Sima, why don't you stay and eat with us?" Huiniang turned around. Gu Caiyi stood poised and gracious before the entrance to the immortal cave, her expression composed. Luo Chen said nothing, but the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward. *** During dinner, the three ate without tasting much of the food. For one, the little yin soul cook, Bai Meiling, was only a novice with spirit meal recipes; while she preserved the spiritual qi remarkably well, the flavor left much to be desired. For another, the two women sat facing each other, chewing and swallowing with elegant grace, yet exchanging hardly a word. Seated between them, Luo Chen had initially felt quite pleased. Yet after a few attempts at conversation failed to spark any momentum, he felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles. Only after dinner concluded and Sima Huiniang took her leave did Luo Chen exhale a long breath of relief. As expected! The bliss of enjoying multiple beauties was not something an ordinary man could easily handle. The fact that he could get both women to sit together peacefully and share a meal was already testament enough to his charm. Expecting lively chatter and cheerful laughter, however, was pure wishful thinking. "Still, it's a good start!" Watching the figure of the woman bending over to wash the dishes in the kitchen, Luo Chen revealed a warm smile.