Predatory Cultivator? Shut-In Cultivator!

"Predatory cultivator" sounded like an exalted, high-minded title. In truth, what they engaged in was the foulest, most despicable work. It was nothing more than a label for cultivators who ambushed travelers, committed murder, and seized treasures. Luo Chen did not like predatory cultivators in the least. Although he had pulled off a score or two himself, those had been purely for self-preservation. He far preferred staying at home and developing in peace as a "shut-in cultivator." The changes sweeping through Dahe Market seemed to have little impact on the shut-in cultivator Luo Chen. Day after day, he still stayed cooped up at home, concocting pills, ingesting qi, practicing spells, and studying arts. Instead, the return of his neighbors, Qin Liangchen and his wife, brought a massive change to his life. A change for the better. Perhaps because of his upcoming participation in the death match, Qin Liangchen frequently went to the Mountain Breaker Gang's headquarters during this period to train with magical artifacts and sharpen his strength. Whenever he returned each day, he was usually exhausted. Yet when he saw Luo Chen practicing the Attraction Art and the Wind Riding Technique in the courtyard, he never hesitated to offer a few pointers. All along, Luo Chen's spell practice had been pure, brute-force grinding of proficiency. He was in a state where he knew how something worked, but not why. The secret manuals he had bought from Wang Yuan bore no annotations from master cultivators either; they were mere transcriptions with characters so crooked and slanted that one wondered if the transcriber had ever received a proper education. This state of affairs would only change once his proficiency advanced to a higher tier. Under the guidance of Qin Liangchen, a ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator, however, he frequently gained sudden insights. When he cast the spells again, it was as if key bottlenecks had unlocked, elevating his execution to a whole new level. Under these circumstances, Luo Chen's spell proficiencies climbed at an exceptional pace. In just a few short days, his Wind Riding Technique, which had only been at the entry level, advanced to the proficient level. Qin Liangchen praised him for being sharp and talented, but Luo Chen felt that having an instructor's guidance versus cultivating alone was a world of difference. It turned out proficiency wasn't something that could only be built through painstaking, slow-grinding effort. The pointers of an expert could yield far greater returns. Now that over half a month had passed, he already possessed a grandmaster-level Carefree Wandering movement technique and a proficient-level Wind Riding Technique. The two complemented each other, like wings on a tiger. Luo Chen's short-range, straight-line flight speed was no longer inferior in the slightest to that of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. If someone were riding a flying artifact like the lotus leaf flying disc, they wouldn't even catch the wind of his wake. And when it came to darting and dodging midair, he was even better! Qin Liangchen had taken time out to spar with him. Using only magical artifacts, if he failed to land a decisive, thunderous first strike, his follow-up attacks couldn't hit Luo Chen at all. He was simply too slippery! Like a swimming fish in the water, a wily hare on the ground, or a soaring eagle in the sky, he was impossible to pin down. After they finished sparring, Qin Liangchen even chuckled and remarked, "If your cultivation wasn't so low and you lacked potent offensive means, I'd have pressed Old Man Mi to recruit you into the fight no matter what." Potent offensive means? Luo Chen had them! The Soul Breaking Nail, the Jasper Saber, plus the lethal killer move derived from his grandmaster-level Fireball Art: Dancing Fireflies. Luo Chen was confident that if he unleashed this full combo, cultivators of the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refinement would be no match for him whatsoever. Even against a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator lacking a solid defensive artifact, he would dare take the fight. Naturally, he wouldn't boast about any of this to Qin Liangchen. What a joke—every participant in the eighteen-man death match was at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement. Who among them hadn't had their own fortuitous encounters or trump cards tucked away? When the time came, the artifacts dancing across the arena would likely be high-grade at the very least. Going up there himself—wouldn't that be asking for a beating? Wasn't it better to honestly concoct pills, earn spirit stones, and buy medicinal pills for cultivation? For shut-in cultivators, the core principle was living in peace with the world and enjoying quiet, tranquil days! Early in the morning! Luo Chen swept a large pile of jade bottles into his storage bag, ready to head out. Today was the start-of-the-month grand market. Even though he had not used up all his raw materials yet, he couldn't afford to miss such a prime business opportunity. When he reached the doorway, he happened to see his neighbor Murong Qinglian lighting a stove in the courtyard. What she was burning was azure steel wood! The wood was rich in resin, and an ordinary earthen stove genuinely couldn't withstand burning it. Luo Chen only burned azure steel wood in a fire pit fitted with heat-insulating bricks, reserving it exclusively for pill concoction. Seeing this, he asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law, what kind of good food are you making?" Murong Qinglian brushed the dust from her hands, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and smiled. "Your Brother Qin is about to join the battle, isn't he? I bought two jin of blood fiend tiger bone that can bolster qi and blood, and I'm getting ready to stew a pot to nourish him." The blood fiend tiger—a Tier 2 demon beast! Bones from that creature could indeed substantially boost a cultivator's qi and blood. For body refiners in particular, it was practically a miracle medicine! With her explanation, Luo Chen also understood why she wasn't brewing the soup inside the kitchen. A Tier 2 spiritual material truly couldn't be refined in short order by an earthen stove and mundane fire. Seeing Murong Qinglian's gentle, tender smile, Luo Chen hesitated before asking, "Sister-in-law, haven't you tried to persuade Brother Qin not to enter that death match?" "He can't be dissuaded." "Uh..." "Leader Mi was not only kind to him in the past, but has always treated him well. Now that Leader Mi has run into trouble and he happens to be in a position to help, he could never turn a blind eye." "Then... aren't you worried?" Murong Qinglian's face took on a gloomy, bitter sorrow she had not shown once over the past few days. "Worried? How could I not be worried? But that's just his temperament. Once he makes up his mind, nine oxen couldn't drag him back. "All I can do is support him in silence and believe with all my heart that he will win." Hearing these words, Luo Chen fell silent. Even after leaving the courtyard, threading through the intricate, gloomy alleys, and emerging onto the bustling thoroughfare, he remained somewhat lost in thought. In a cultivation world filled with deceit, treachery, and life-or-death struggles, did such heart-stirring love truly exist? In this lifetime, would he, Luo Chen, ever meet a woman who supported him like that? There was no answer. And Luo Chen had no wish to dwell on it. When he finally snapped back to his senses and saw the throngs of people flowing through the street, he felt a bit bewildered. "Did I wake up late?" "No, I didn't!" "How are there already so many people when dawn hasn't even broken?" When he arrived at the Rogue Cultivator Market in the south of the city, an old man and a young girl were bustling about frantically at a bluestone stall. Catching sight of the girl, Luo Chen couldn't resist speaking up. "Fellow Daoist Chen, is this your granddaughter?" Luo Chen had always known that Old Daoist Chen was not alone in the world. In his early years, he had married back in the mortal realm; only after his wife passed away did he bring his son to make a living in Dahe Market. Later, his son took a wife and had a daughter. Yet during a hunt for demon beasts in the mountains, husband and wife met tragic deaths together. From then on, Old Daoist Chen had eked out a living alongside his granddaughter. Over the years, Old Daoist Chen had pinched every penny, treating even half a spirit stone with utmost gravity. All to save a substantial sum of money so he could send his granddaughter into a sect. Because of her, he had reservations in everything he did. During the previous gang war in the outer city, he had gritted his teeth and moved into the inner city, terrified that some misfortune might befall her in the outer quarter. Hearing Luo Chen's question, before Old Daoist Chen could speak, the bright-eyed, sweet-faced girl chuckled. "You must be Brother Luo Chen! "I'm Shuyi. Grandfather talks about you all the time, saying you owe him fifty spirit stones and haven't paid him back." Luo Chen had been quite delighted upon hearing that sweet "Brother Luo Chen." The second sentence, however, left him somewhat embarrassed. "Once I earn the spirit stones, I'll definitely pay him back, definitely!" Beside them, Old Daoist Chen flared his beard and glared in exasperation. "As if I'd believe you!" Luo Chen chuckled sheepishly and didn't argue. The fifty spirit stones he owed Old Daoist Chen were actually something he could produce at any moment now. He hadn't repaid it before merely because he still maintained his old habit of expanding production, striving each time to purchase enough raw materials to grind his proficiency. Having the man's granddaughter bring it up today was a bit much to stomach, thick-skinned though he was. He intended to pay off this spirit stone loan once he sold off the pills in his hands. Looking at the bluestone stall packed to the brim, Luo Chen felt at a loss—where was he supposed to set out his own medicinal pills?