"Right, just restore it according to the original blueprint."
"It's simple enough—replace the main roof beam, and find a few stones outside the city to patch and fill."
"Need Azure Fire Bricks? Hold on, Xianzhu Residence sells them. They'll send someone over with a delivery when the time comes."
He hired three Mountain Breaker Gang underlings, paying each one spirit stone to help repair the house.
Luo Chen then deposited some of his belongings at Qin Liangchen's home for safekeeping.
For now, that settled things.
Before long, dusk fell.
After washing up, Luo Chen accompanied Qin Liangchen to Zhongding House for the banquet.
On the way, Qin Liangchen casually remarked, "Among fire-element spells, there's a second-order art called the Blazing Sun Art. When cast, it erupts like a miniature sun with immense power. Not a blade of grass survives for twenty zhang around."
*Twenty zhang around!*
*That's more than half the size of a football field!*
"Brother Qin, what are you talking about?"
"I'm only in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. How could I possibly know any second-order Blazing Sun Art!"
Luo Chen waved his hands frantically.
Yet inside, he had formed a clearer picture.
The power of fusing twenty fireballs clearly did not match a second-order Blazing Sun Art.
However, what had happened earlier was undoubtedly the rudimentary form of one.
What if he fused ten more, twenty more, or even thirty or fifty fireballs?
Though doing so would certainly demand an immense amount of spiritual power.
*I'll keep it as a trump card for now. When I have time later, I'll need to practice it properly.*
Although he was pained by the loss of nearly ten spirit stones today, Luo Chen was still very pleased.
Beyond his standard repertoire, he now had another ace up his sleeve.
When they arrived at the third floor of Zhongding House, few people had arrived yet—just a few low-level lackeys.
Qin Liangchen went off to chat with them, and with nobody bothering Luo Chen, he was happy to enjoy the peace.
Finding a quiet private room, Luo Chen kept half his mind alert to his surroundings while directing the other half to his attribute panel.
He hadn't finished browsing it earlier.
In terms of cultivation, his progress was neither fast nor slow.
His Grandmaster-level Eternal Spring Art not only drastically enhanced his cultivation efficiency, but it had also cleared his twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels, enabling him to refine two Qi-Nourishing Pills a day.
However, because he had advanced to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, the calculation of his cultivation progress bar had shifted once again.
At the third layer of Qi Refinement, one Qi-Nourishing Pill had granted two points of progress.
At the fourth layer, one pill granted one point.
Now at the fifth layer, it required two pills to yield just one point of progress.
Thus, in half a month of taking two pills a day, his progress bar had barely climbed to 16 points.
Luo Chen had anticipated this.
After all, each breakthrough to a higher sub-realm meant an expansion of his internal spiritual power capacity.
This was only natural.
Why did it take cultivators progressively longer to break through as their realms advanced?
This was the core reason.
The total amount of spiritual power required to fill a realm only increased, and not merely by simple multiples.
Originally, Dahe Market had hundreds of late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.
Yet those at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement could be counted on one hand.
The deceased Heart-Devouring Tiger Han Dang had been one; Fu Xiuxiu, who had failed her Foundation Establishment attempt, was another.
Beyond them, there were very few.
Even people Luo Chen knew well, like Qin Liangchen and Murong Qinglian, were not at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement.
Others like Luo Wudi and Ke Yuelin were even farther away.
The only thing that worried Luo Chen was whether Qi-Nourishing Pills would still remain effective for him once he reached the late stage of Qi Refinement.
After all, pills carried the risk of medicinal tolerance.
*For now, I won't worry about that.*
Rather than borrow trouble, Luo Chen shifted his gaze to the spells section.
His eyes settled straight onto the final entry: [Achievement Points: 21].
He hadn't expected that reaching Great Perfection in the Fireball Art would award him another Achievement Point.
Calculated this way, bringing a skill to Great Perfection could yield five Achievement Points in total.
Namely at Practiced, Proficient, Perfect, Grandmaster, and Great Perfection.
Over the past half-month, his gains had been enormous.
Wind Riding Technique had reached Grandmaster, Attraction Art Grandmaster, while Entangling Art, Spiritual Eye Art, and even the rarely used Cleansing Art had all advanced in succession.
Altogether, this had brought him seven Achievement Points.
*What should I do with 21 Achievement Points?*
*Learn the basics of the Healing Art? Forget it, with two more days of practice, I can reach Beginner on my own.*
*I don't have any other cultivation manuals on hand either.*
*Besides, compared to cultivation manuals, using Achievement Points to unlock a pill recipe is by far the most cost-effective choice. That way, I can bypass countless failures before mastering the entry level.*
And what did countless failures represent?
Countless spirit stones!
The only pill recipe Luo Chen currently had left was an incomplete second-order recipe for the Jade Dew Pill.
Obviously, he was in no position to concoct Jade Dew Pills right now.
He lacked both the financial resources and the requisite skill; even if he managed to refine them, he wouldn't dare sell them.
*So, I need to find a way to get my hands on a first-order pill recipe. Furthermore, it has to offer broad market appeal with relatively few competitors.*
*I wonder if the Mountain Breaker Gang has any? Does the Medicine Hall?*
As Luo Chen pondered, he looked up and noticed that outside, night had fallen completely.
From beyond the private room, waves of clamor drifted in.
Calming his thoughts, he quietly stepped outside.
One glance—just a single glance!
He caught his breath.
One, two, three, four, five, six...
A full thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators!
*Good heavens, when did tiny Dahe Market come to have so many Foundation Establishment cultivators!*
Yet aside from a small minority, he recognized most of them to some degree.
Chatting with Shopkeeper Liu of Hundred Herbs Hall was Shopkeeper Wang of Spirit Herb Pavilion.
Daoist Mu, master of Spirit Source Studio, was encircled by three unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators, apparently exchanging insights on spellcraft.
Mi Shuhua of the Mountain Breaker Gang was chuckling and chatting with Wang Haichao of the Great River Gang and another man.
There was not the slightest hint that not long ago, they had been fighting each other tooth and nail.
That sinister-faced man, barring any surprises, had to be Zhou Chaoxian, head of the Lianyun Merchant Alliance in this area!
Rumor had it that within the merchant alliance, he held the high rank of elder.
Then there was Old Chu, that profiteer from Wanbao Pavilion, pulling aside an expensively dressed man and whispering in low tones.
The man was clearly impatient, his eyes continually darting toward a cluster of female cultivators.
Yet not daring to offend Wanbao Pavilion, he could only carefully keep up the conversation.
Luo Chen glanced over at the gathering of female cultivators. By coincidence, he spotted a group of familiar faces:
The bright and captivating Gu Caiyi, the breathtakingly gorgeous Mistress Xiangxiang, and the gentle, lovely Fu Xiuxiu.
Yet no matter how beautiful they were, the center around which they gathered was still a mature beauty dressed in palace robes.
*That must be the madam of Tianxiang Pavilion—no, spit, Gong Huiqin of the Hehuan Sect. Looking this ravishing, who knows how old she really is? I suppose she counts as a high-tier wealthy cougar!*
Seemingly exceptionally sensitive to men's gazes, the beautiful woman spotted Luo Chen almost instantly.
Luo Chen hastily lowered his head and scurried over to Qin Liangchen, who was standing in a corner.
"Brother, everyone here is a big shot. What are we even doing here?"
His voice transmission was cautious and timid; Luo Chen felt like an errand boy walking on eggshells.
Qin Liangchen chuckled softly. "Doing what? To play the lackeys, of course!"
Luo Chen froze. *So we really are just here to play lackeys!*
"When big bosses go out, they have to bring a couple of underlings," Qin Liangchen said, patting his shoulder. "Don't lose heart. Who knows, maybe someday we'll get to be the big bosses."
*Talk about "are kings and nobles born to their station"!*
Luo Chen rolled his eyes. Saying such things without worrying about Foundation Establishment cultivators overhearing—he had heard voice transmission wasn't entirely foolproof either.
As luck would have it, standing right in front of them were three Foundation Establishment cultivators: Mi Shuhua, Wang Haichao, and Zhou Chaoxian.
The last of the three abruptly turned around, his piercing gaze fixing upon Qin Liangchen.
"You're that little fellow who killed Bai Qi on the Dao Discussion Platform, aren't you?"
Qin Liangchen's expression tightened instantly, his eyes darting toward Mi Shuhua in an appeal for help.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you..." Mi Shuhua began to speak, only to be cut off by a wave of Zhou Chaoxian's hand.
Zhou Chaoxian smiled faintly. "No matter, I just wanted to make his acquaintance. Little Friend Qin has a son who is an esteemed disciple of the Luoyun Sect; what could I possibly do to him? On the other hand, Fellow Daoist Mi, I hear you're holding onto that Foundation Establishment Pill for him. Be careful not to quietly pocket it down the road!"
Mi Shuhua's expression froze, then gradually darkened.
Just as the atmosphere here grew somewhat oppressive, a sharp, piercing aura radiated from the entrance.
In the next moment, seven Foundation Establishment cultivators ascended the stairs together.
Jade Cauldron sword cultivators.
Having ascended, the seven showed no hesitation, bowing toward the outside and shouting in unison:
"We respectfully welcome Elder Pang!"
The crowd started, then quickly bent low, chanting with utmost deference, "We respectfully welcome Elder Pang!"
Beneath the night sky, a streak of golden light, stripped of all flourish, darted onto the third floor of Zhongding House.
It was none other than Golden Core Master Pang Renxiong.
Luo Chen bowed his head deeply, not daring to cast even a stray glance from the corner of his eye.
Beneath that completely unshielded Golden Core pressure, his teeth, his bones, and even his soul seemed to tremble.
*Is this the might of a Golden Core?*
Deep within his heart, a surging tempest of emotion swelled.
*A true man should be like this!*
Chapter 71