Little Luo, Have Some Soup

Chizhu was a prison crafted by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion by adapting to the local terrain. The reason this prison bore the name Chizhu stemmed from Fallen Phoenix Mountain. Rumor had it that the Jade Cauldron Domain once belonged to the Lianxia Mountain Range within the Million Mountains. Dozens of great peaks rolled one after another, not only abundant in natural resources but also breathtakingly scenic. It was praised as "emerald jade reaching the heavens, rosy clouds spanning ten thousand li!" Yet an immortal phoenix from the upper realm had shattered the spatial barrier and descended here, its gargantuan body enshrouded in boundless true phoenix flames. In just the single moment of its descent, a thousand li of the Lianxia range suffered a devastating blow, and countless mountaintops were incinerated. The most famous of them, Zixia Mountain, barely survived, reduced to a mere knoll less than a hundred zhang high. Later, Zixia Mountain was renamed Fallen Phoenix Mountain. When the immortal phoenix plunged into the mortal realm, one of its plumes fell, crashing against the earth. Although it was only a single, seemingly insignificant plume, it was no ordinary feather—it was the plume of a mythical phoenix from legends. A single feather alone had gouged out a chasm hundreds of meters long across the earth. Viewed from high above, this chasm looked as though a fiery pillar burned red-hot had crashed down and collapsed the ground. Ever since the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect designated the area bordering the Lancang River and the Guyuan Mountain Range as Dahe Market, modifications to the land had never ceased. Fallen Phoenix Mountain served not only as the core terrain of the grand formation, but also became the main body of the Dao Discussion Platform. And that massive chasm had been converted into a long, narrow prison. Namely, the Chizhu Prison known to all tens of thousands of rogue cultivators in Dahe Market today. Why was it known to everyone? Because over the past month, the cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion had publicly proclaimed that this prison was officially open for business! Any bandit cultivators who dared openly commit crimes in Dahe Market's inner or outer city would be thrown straight into Chizhu if caught by the patrol squads. To leave Chizhu Prison, one had to either get someone to pay a hefty sum of spirit stones in ransom, or serve out their full sentence inside. There was one more way: enter the battles on the Dao Discussion Platform and win ten matches in a row, which earned immediate release. Precisely because of this, security in Dahe Market had reached an all-time high. Even early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators dared walk the streets late at night now. The atmosphere had truly transformed, completely refreshed. At the crossroads, the crowd surged. Many crowded along the roadsides, watching with curiosity as the patrol squad escorted a cultivator into Chizhu Prison. "Is this the thirty-second bandit cultivator caught this month?" "Wrong, it's the thirty-fifth!" "Don't you think tossing them straight inside would be enough? Why parade them through the streets and even make a stop here at the central crossroads?" "Isn't that to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!" "Fair point. The more people know, the better. That's what keeps Dahe Market safe." "Safer is better. Even though this market is remote, the cultivation resources are genuinely bountiful. I'm already thinking about settling down here." "Why not move over? It's all ice and snow over at Snow Lotus Market. At my age, I really can't handle it anymore." Amid the buzz of discussion, the patrol squad neared the end of its route. The lead cultivator had eyes like knives, sweeping across the surroundings from time to time. Whenever he spotted a cultivator wearing a bamboo hat and afraid to show their face, he glared sharply in their direction. Cultivators like that were all potential bandit cultivators! Luo Chen naturally didn't care about the glare. Seeing that foolish lackey hauled into Chizhu, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he slowly backed behind the crowd and melted into the sea of people. ... "The nail watching me has been pulled out by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion's hands." "But this is only temporary!" "Once Gao Tingyuan frees up his hands, I'm afraid my troubles will never cease." Wearing his bamboo hat, Luo Chen walked unhurriedly, gradually drifting into more remote areas and weaving through alleys. The path he took earlier hadn't been in the direction of home at all; he had intentionally gone in the exact opposite direction. This was thanks to when he had first rented a place and Sun Shou showed him numerous houses, especially the large ones. Luo Chen had a fairly good memory, and out of envy, he had memorized those spacious properties with particularly good environments. He had planned to move to one once his spirit stones were plentiful. This time, that good memory came in handy. His home was in the northern city, a single-entry courtyard house. The place he intentionally visited earlier was an area near the southern Rogue Cultivator Market, and the compound he entered was a remarkably spacious three-entry courtyard house. A courtyard house of such vast size, fine surroundings, and serene security wasn't something he could afford even after years of hard work. Yet using it to mislead stalkers was perfect. Slipping away was easy too; he simply found a courtyard wall, hopped over it, and made his exit. "Still, this merely treats the symptoms, not the root cause." "I'll definitely still have to set up stalls to sell pills in the future. No matter how careful I am, my rental address will eventually be exposed." "Unless I recruit a few lackeys to sell pills for me and stop showing my face altogether." There were solutions, but unfortunately Luo Chen was merely at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. How could he recruit subordinates? In the end, it all boiled down to his lack of strength! If he possessed Wang Yuan's power, he could sneak up silently, slit Gao Tingyuan's throat with a single blade strike, and be done with the aggrieved party once and for all. Returning home, a rich aroma still lingered in the courtyard. That was the pot of blood fiend tiger bone soup Murong Qinglian had put on to simmer before leaving that morning. Right now, however, no one was in the courtyard, and the doors to the Qin family's western wing were shut tight. Returning to his quarters and looking at the reverse-facing room—now refreshed and brimming with the cozy atmosphere of daily life—Luo Chen fell slightly silent. Perhaps when trouble arrived in the future, he would have to move again like a stray dog. He truly felt a bit reluctant to leave this large room, even if it was rather cold. He also felt reluctant to part with the neighbors in the courtyard: warm and straightforward Gu Caiyi, gentle and quiet Fu Xiuxiu, lively and cute Bai Meiling, and bold and frank Qin Liangchen. Oh, and Eldest Sister Feng Xia, whose voice was ruined and who didn't care much for talking. She was actually a good person too; once, when he couldn't step away from alchemy, she had bought a bundle of firewood for him. With many thoughts swirling, Luo Chen entered his partitioned bedroom and retrieved a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills from his storage bag. He had made quite a few spirit stones today, but after repaying the debt and treating others, only seven hundred remained. On his way home, he had spent fifty spirit stones on Fasting Pill raw materials, and another five hundred on five bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills. As for raw materials for the Myriad Wonders Pills, a hundred spirit stones' worth remained at home, so he held off buying more for now. His savings had once again dropped back to one hundred and fifty. This time, Luo Chen felt no heartache. The spirit stones hadn't vanished; they had merely taken another form to keep accompanying Luo Chen. Cultivation base! Taking out a Qi-Nourishing Pill, he swallowed it, and the Eternal Spring Art slowly began to circulate. The surging medicinal potency dispersed instantly. Driven by the cultivation art, gentle spiritual energy steadily expanded his meridians before converging like a hundred rivers into the sea, returning to his dantian. His spiritual power grew stronger by several notches! Luo Chen opened his status panel at the opportune moment. [Lifespan: 27/75] [Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth] [Realm: Qi Refinement Layer 4: 96/100] [Cultivation Art: Eternal Spring Art (Perfection): 499/500] [Spells: Fireball Art (Grandmaster 700/1,000), Carefree Wandering (Grandmaster 512/1,000), Entangling Art (Adept 291/300), Cleansing Art (Skilled 170/200), Attraction Art (Perfection 427/500), Spiritual Eye Art (Adept 287/300), Wind Riding Technique (Adept 230/300)] [Skills: Tier 1 Alchemist: Fasting Powder (Grandmaster 840/1,000), Myriad Wonders Pill (Perfection 301/500)] [Achievement Points: 13] Another half month had passed. These past two weeks had been uneventful. Yet the fruits of cultivation were remarkable. Perhaps owing to Qin Liangchen's guidance during his spare time, his proficiency in spells like the Attraction Art, Entangling Art, and Fireball Art had all grown considerably. In particular, under the immense pressure of actual combat, his movement techniques had made tremendous progress. Carefree Wandering had broken through to the Grandmaster tier, while the Wind Riding Technique had soared straight from the Entry tier to Adept. It was precisely this advancement that repeatedly drew gasps of admiration from Qin Liangchen, a ninth-layer Qi Refinement expert. The rank promotions in those two spells' proficiencies had granted him two more achievement points. Compared to those, Luo Chen's attention remained firmly on his realm and cultivation art. [Realm: Qi Refinement Layer 4: 96/100] He only needed four more points on the progress bar to advance to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement. Four points meant four Qi-Nourishing Pills. Right now, he could only refine one a day, so he still needed four days of effort. This brief span of time was something Luo Chen could easily wait out. In comparison, the reason that had prompted him to abruptly begin cultivating this afternoon lay in his cultivation art. [Cultivation Art: Eternal Spring Art (Perfection): 499/500] "Just one more session away!" Luo Chen was eager to find out what changes an advancement to Grandmaster tier in the Eternal Spring Art would bring. Last time, when advancing from Adept to Perfection, the cultivation time required for the Eternal Spring Art shrank from an hour to half an hour. The volume of spiritual energy refined also doubled. It had even grown subtly more attuned to his body. After that advancement, Luo Chen's efficiency in cultivating on pure meditation alone, without taking any pills, was virtually comparable to a cultivator with four spiritual roots. What would happen if it rose from Perfection to Grandmaster tier? Luo Chen hesitated, wondering whether he should strike while the iron was hot and cultivate for another half hour this afternoon. Ever since passing through the heart tribulation, the foundation of his spiritual sense had doubled, and ordinary cultivation and alchemy no longer exhausted him as they used to. His vitality was still decent right now; if he gritted his teeth, he could easily manage another session. Just as he was considering it, a soft knock came at the door. Surprised, Luo Chen stood up, walked into the living room, and opened the door. Outside, Murong Qinglian held a small bowl. "Little Luo, have some soup."