Luo Chen wasn't sure if it was because Fu Xiuxiu had been home for the past two days, but Bai Meiling seemed to return from work a little earlier each day.
Upon returning, she would drag Fu Xiuxiu out to go shopping, or they would chat in the courtyard, their crisp, melodious laughter ringing out from time to time.
Naturally, she also dropped by Luo Chen's room whenever she felt like it, whether she had business or not.
Watching Luo Chen build his pill room brick by brick, a trace of admiration crept into her eyes.
"With your craftsmanship, even if you can't make a living refining pills in the future, you could still land a job at Mount Ailao."
"Mount Ailao? What do they do?"
"They're a Golden Core sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain. They specialize in all kinds of mineral ores, and they're also famous for building houses. Aren't those bricks of yours from Xianzhu Residence, their direct shop?"
Xianzhu Residence was a Mount Ailao property?
Luo Chen genuinely hadn't known that.
Or rather, he knew very little about Mount Ailao as a sect altogether.
Bai Meiling gave him an offhand explanation, and only then did he learn how flourishing Mount Ailao's business was in the Jade Cauldron Domain.
Rogue cultivators weren't particularly picky about where they lived; give them a wooden shack or a mountain cave, and they would live contentedly.
Wealthy sect cultivators, however, refused to settle for that.
Their residences and cave abodes were almost always meticulously designed.
From daylight and lighting to medicine gardens and pill rooms, every space had to be chosen carefully and built with premium materials.
Large-scale constructions involved even more specialized knowledge.
From mountain gates and grotto-heavens down to market towns, it wasn't just a matter of putting up walls, laying floorboards, and throwing down a grand formation.
How to pair wood of different spiritual attributes, how ores gathered and allowed the percolation of spiritual energy, and the long-term feng shui influence of an orientation on a cultivator's dwelling all had to be factored in.
They even had to consider whether the flooring could withstand the takeoff and landing of massive flying ships.
Certain renowned grand formations were deliberately arranged not only to integrate with the terrain and waterways, but also to fuse seamlessly with the architecture, allowing each to borrow strength from the other.
Over the past three hundred years, ever since the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect established its supremacy over the domain, a grand era of vigorous expansion and construction had unfolded.
During this massive wave of development, Mount Ailao had contracted countless projects, raking in immense profits.
"The initial buildings of our Dahe Market, from layout and design down to the actual construction, were entirely handled by Mount Ailao."
"Rumor has it that in Mount Ailao's Divine Craft City, any random cave abode starts at a price of a hundred thousand spirit stones, and they only sell you a seventy-year lease."
Listening to Bai Meiling's explanation left Luo Chen utterly dumbfounded.
Real estate in the cultivation world was quite a racket too!
No, once I have enough spirit stones, I definitely need to hire a master from Mount Ailao to redesign this place.
"By the way, is there bad blood between Sister Xiuxiu and Sister Caiyi?" Luo Chen asked out of gossipy curiosity.
Affairs between women were troublesome, and he had no desire to get involved.
However, gossip between women was always entertaining to hear.
Bai Meiling tilted her head. "No bad blood at all!"
"Sister Xiuxiu is very gentle. She's normally affable and rarely clashes with anyone."
Luo Chen paused. "Then why did Sister Xiuxiu seem uncomfortable whenever I brought up Sister Caiyi?"
"Oh, that!" Bai Meiling smacked her lips and waved her little hand. "It's all because of what happened with Sister Xiuxiu's Dao companion."
Fu Xiuxiu used to have a Dao companion?
Luo Chen's interest was piqued instantly.
"Sister Xiuxiu's Dao companion was an inner disciple of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. But after failing his attempt at Foundation Establishment, he was transferred to the outer sect as a deacon."
"Outer deacons can't focus on secluded cultivation. They have to be dispatched to various places to manage sect properties."
"When he came to Dahe Market, he met Sister Xiuxiu, who was still a rogue cultivator back then, and the two became Dao companions."
As Bai Meiling spoke, she shook her head.
"However, failing Foundation Establishment damaged his Dao heart, and he fell into self-indulgence afterward. Even with Sister Xiuxiu, he still spent nights at Tianxiang Pavilion regularly."
"One morning, he died right inside an embroidered chamber at Tianxiang Pavilion."
"Senior Sun Shou went in person to retrieve the corpse."
Dying beneath the peony, becoming a merry ghost? Luo Chen couldn't help giving him a mental thumbs-up—truly a role model for the ages.
"Ever since, Sister Xiuxiu hasn't been fond of people or matters tied to Tianxiang Pavilion. Since Sister Caiyi works there, she probably feels an ache from the reminder, so she doesn't care much for Sister Caiyi!"
As Bai Meiling laid out the history, realization dawned on Luo Chen.
Animosity extending to anything associated with the source—that was roughly what it was.
Having satisfied Luo Chen's curiosity, Bai Meiling remembered her own question.
"Can fire hound whip really be used to refine superior-grade Fasting Pills?"
Luo Chen hurried to push her outside. "I need to get to work. It's going to smell awful in a minute!"
"Ew! Make sure you turn on the Pale Smoke and Sparse Rain Pavilion, or I'll complain to the landlord!"
Pinching her nose, Bai Meiling ran off in disgust.
Shooting out a thread of spiritual energy to activate the smoke extractor, Luo Chen took the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace out from his storage bag.
Clang!
"A capacity of one cubic meter really is on the small side. If only I had a storage bag of three, five, or even a hundred cubic meters."
It was, after all, only a low-grade Tier 1 artifact, unable to shrink and expand at will.
This Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace alone occupied nearly eighty percent of his storage bag's space.
Earlier, he had possessed no alternative and stuffed his medicinal ingredients inside the furnace itself.
If he didn't take them out now, the aromas of the main ingredients would start contaminating one another.
He carefully set the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace over the fire pit and added water.
Taking a bundle of yellowed azure steel wood, he shoved it underneath, cast a Fireball Art, and watched the firewood begin to burn steadily.
Having switched alchemy vessels, the peach wood and redwood he previously used were no longer suitable.
Those two woods produced too little heat; warming the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace with them would take an eternity.
Therefore, Luo Chen had specifically purchased costly azure steel wood.
This Tier 1 spiritual wood was rich in resin and produced impressive high temperatures once ignited.
"Rumor has it that high-level cultivators refine pills using either internal true fire or earthly and heavenly flames borrowed from nature. I wonder when I'll ever be able to command methods like that?"
After muttering to himself and confirming that the fire pit's thermal insulation was sound, Luo Chen turned and left the pill room.
He needed to burn the furnace empty first, heating it up and driving out any lingering medicinal odors trapped inside.
Such procedures came from accumulated experience.
When Mistress Xiangxiang sold him the furnace, she had also noted this reminder in the handbook she left behind.
Warming the furnace was merely the first step; next came seasoning and testing it. Only once he was thoroughly familiar with its properties could he refine pills with peace of mind.
For the next two days, he would focus on processing the ingredients!
......
Crack! Snap!
Pop, rattle, clatter!
"What's that sound?"
A lazy, curious voice drifted in from outside. Luo Chen pushed open the stone door of the pill room and walked out covered in soot and grime.
Seeing his disheveled state, Gu Caiyi burst into laughter.
"What on earth are you doing? And why is there a partitioned room in here?"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Luo Chen waved the air and cast a Cleansing Art upon himself.
With a soft pop, the dust and soot clinging to his body scattered outward, sending Gu Caiyi scrambling back to avoid the cloud.
He walked over to the water vat, scooped up a large ladle of cold water, and drank it down before catching his breath.
"Damn it. No wonder renowned alchemists always keep fire-tending boys around. That pill room isn't a place meant for living people to linger in."
After cursing under his breath, he finally had time to answer Gu Caiyi.
"This is my newly built pill room. Well? Not bad, right?"
Gu Caiyi waved her hand, swatting away the drifting dust around her.
"It's fine. I suggest you stay in there every single day."
Luo Chen's expression soured, though he took no offense. "I was testing the furnace and roasted some immortal beans. Want some?"
"Immortal beans?"
Luo Chen ducked into the pill room and soon reemerged carrying a plate of golden-yellow beans.
The beans had shells, but during the high-heat roasting process, they had split open.
With a gentle pinch, the pure white kernels within were revealed.
"These are just bitter hazelnuts!" Gu Caiyi picked one up skeptically. "These things are dreadfully bitter. Are they even edible?"
"Try one and you'll see."
Luo Chen was already peeling shells and popping several into his mouth.
Gu Caiyi peeled away the golden-yellow shell and placed the tender white kernel into her mouth.
Her rosy lips moved slightly, and her eyes gradually brightened.
"Oh, not bad! How did you roast them? They're fragrant and crunchy, and there's even a faint trace of spiritual energy inside."
Luo Chen said smugly, "Secret family recipe. Strictly confidential!"
Gu Caiyi rolled her eyes and snatched the entire plate of immortal beans away.
Luo Chen didn't mind. He poured a bucket of water into the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace, then went outside carrying a small watering can.
In the courtyard, Gu Caiyi sat on the child-sized swing where Xiaohu usually played. Holding the plate of immortal beans in her hands, she peeled one now and then.
Across from her, Luo Chen carried the small watering can, watering a row of potted plants one by one.
"Those are Fu Xiuxiu's plants, aren't they?"
Luo Chen hummed in confirmation, inspecting the two spiritual plants Xiuxiu had specifically asked him to watch over to ensure nothing was amiss.
Four days had passed since their last communal dinner.
Fu Xiuxiu's leave had ended, and she had returned to work at the Divine Talisman Pavilion. She only had one day off per month.
Her recent promotion to manager had kept her busy at the pavilion for a long time, allowing her to accumulate three days of leave.
Before departing, she had entrusted these plants and flowers to Luo Chen's care.
"You certainly make yourself at home quickly. You just met her, and you've already coaxed these plants right into your hands."
"Don't talk nonsense! How can mutual help between neighbors be called coaxing?"
"Hmph, I saw it just now. You placed that pot of moonlight grass right at the head of your bed. You must be sneaking in extra cultivation every night!"
Luo Chen's face flushed slightly. How were this woman's eyes so sharp?
Then again, the effects of the moonlight grass were truly remarkable. While it couldn't match Spirit Calming Incense, it possessed about a tenth of its potency.
Over the past two nights, the upper limit of cycles he could circulate the Eternal Spring Art each night had increased by one.
Every morning after cultivating, he felt exceptionally refreshed and energetic!
Consequently, the daily proficiency gains on his spells surged ahead, and several spells had even broken through to new tiers.
Luo Chen hastily changed the subject. "Why haven't I seen you around the past few days?"
"Wait, your cultivation?"
Gu Caiyi pursed her lips into a smile. The narrow swing squeezed against her plump hips, creating a striking contrast with her slender waist.
"You noticed? I'm at the ninth layer of Qi Refining now!"
Chapter 40