The Sick Tiger, Zeng Wen!
An anomaly within the Mountain Breaker Gang.
Though he held the high position of a hall master, he had not bothered to manage any gang affairs for years.
Due to an injury suffered in his early years, his path of cultivation was hopeless, which led him to spend his days dallying among courtesans and loitering in brothels.
Whenever he ran low on spirit stones, he would head into the mountains to hunt alone.
He rarely formed cliques with anyone, making him practically a lone wolf.
Had he not shone brilliantly on the Dao Discussion Platform, coupled with the deaths of three hall masters in battle, he never would have returned to the Mountain Breaker Gang to serve as master of one of the three war halls.
At this moment, facing the Foundation Establishment cultivator's inquiry, he gave a flippant shrug. "Do you want to hear the lie, or the truth?"
Mi Shuhua's expression soured slightly.
"What if it's a lie? What if it's the truth?"
"The lie is that I had a wonderful time. My lips are numb, my legs are like jelly, and I barely managed to crawl out of the pavilion today."
"And the truth?"
"The truth is that Tianxiang Pavilion has had a turnover in personnel. The little beauties I fancied either returned to the Hehuan Sect or went straight and quit. The newly arrived female cultivators have no sense of restraint at all; they hurled Hehuan Sect charm techniques at me as if spiritual power cost them nothing. How could an old bag of bones like mine withstand such abuse? Today, I truly barely managed to crawl out."
*So lie or truth, either way he barely crawled out!*
Mi Shuhua took a deep breath. "The gang is establishing a Pill Hall now, which concerns an extra share of profits for everyone. You are a hall master too—give us your opinion."
Zeng Wen was slouched in his chair. Hearing this, he spread his hands.
"Ask for my opinion? Then of course I, Zeng Wen, say it's great!"
"Eh?"
"Little Friend Luo is my dearest, most beloved brother! If he's going to refine pills for us, we definitely have to add more spirit stones!"
Having said that, he winked at Luo Chen. "When will you refine superior-grade Myriad Wonders Pills? I have suffered under those Tianxiang Pavilion enchantresses for too long!"
Luo Chen cupped his hands with utter righteousness.
"How could your junior brother not give his all? I will surely help you shatter the charm techniques of the Hehuan Sect, Daoist Friend!"
Watching the two bounce off each other, Mi Shuhua was so exasperated that he chuckled.
"Fine, twenty percent it is. It's only a few dozen or a hundred-odd spirit stones anyway. Haggling so meticulously makes us cultivators look far too worldly."
*Heh, as if you weren't the one pinching every penny just now!*
That thought flashed through everyone's minds.
Then, amid everyone's expectant gazes, Luo Chen took his seat once more.
From this day forward, the Mountain Breaker Gang had its ninth hall—the Pill Hall!
With the broader direction agreed upon, what followed were the specifics.
The location for the Pill Hall had already been selected, and the construction of the buildings was nearing completion. For this, Mi Shuhua had even provided a Tier 1 medium-scale array to shield the Pill Hall from attacks by demon beasts and enemies.
In addition, Sikong Shoujia briefed Luo Chen on all the personnel that would be reassigned to the Pill Hall.
As for why an elder who usually stayed out of gang affairs was explaining this to Luo Chen, the reason was that he would also be moving into the Pill Hall to serve concurrently as its deacon.
To this, Luo Chen could only offer a hollow laugh.
*An elder and a deacon at the same time—what exactly are you trying to pull, old man?*
Without delaying, Luo Chen proposed on the spot that Gu Caiyi join the gang.
Qin Liangchen and his wife acted as guarantors, confirming they knew her background intimately and that she was completely clean.
This condition passed without any resistance.
However, when it came to assigning Caiyi to the Pill Hall, Mi Junping frowned and refused.
Once again, Zeng Wen spoke up for justice and lent Luo Chen a hand.
"That's Gu Caiyi, Great Mistress Gu! She's a renowned dancer famed throughout Dahe Market.
"If she enters the Mountain Breaker Gang and joins the Pill Hall, she'll be a prime attraction! Little Ping'er, are you a fool? Why push something like that away?"
Mi Junping was furious and began to settle scores with Zeng Wen.
She brought up how many men from his hall had been killed or injured this past month because he neglected his duties, and how many spirit stones the gang had lost as a result.
Zeng Wen brushed it all aside with a chuckling grin, insisting that he would finish playing through this month first before worrying about anything else.
After all, this had been the reward Old Man Mi promised when Zeng Wen agreed to participate in the deathmatch. As his daughter, she could hardly dispute it!
As the gathering drew to a close, Luo Chen, who had been quiet for some time, spoke up once more.
"Gang Leader, are you truly going to gift me two magic artifacts?"
Mi Shuhua looked startled. "Wasn't it just one?"
"We agreed on one or two. Can that be discounted?"
Luo Chen wore an innocent, harmless expression, his clear eyes brimmed with anticipation.
***
"A mid-grade robe. It comes with a Cleansing Art array to repel dust and grime, and it's also inscribed with a Water Shield Art that can withstand a single attack from a late Qi Refining cultivator.
"Top-grade magic artifact, Cloud Treading Boots. It has three arrays inscribed in total, though they are all the same: the Wind Riding Technique. You know of it, right?"
Qin Liangchen inspected them thoroughly before handing them back to Luo Chen.
Beaming, Luo Chen accepted them and changed into them on the spot.
He did not care in the slightest about second-hand goods.
With this, he had truly upgraded his arsenal. Everything he wore and used was now mid-grade at the very least.
Add to that his mid-grade Jasper Saber and top-grade Soul Breaking Nail...
*Tsk, tsk!*
Such personal wealth was definitely one of a kind among mid Qi Refining cultivators!
Watching this scene, Qin Liangchen could not help but let out a sigh.
As expected, Mi Shuhua was not short on magic artifacts at all.
Yet after Qin Liangchen won the deathmatch on the Dao Discussion Platform, Mi Shuhua had only compensated him with a set of golden needles, which felt awkward to wield.
It could not be that Mi Shuhua was unwilling to give him artifacts just because he had ruined that supreme-grade defensive Daoist robe, could it?
Or was it because he had replaced a severed hand and had no future prospects left, so Mi Shuhua was unwilling to invest in him?
Just like how Mi Shuhua had cast Zeng Wen aside after he was injured years ago.
Speak of the tiger, and the tiger appeared.
With unsteady steps and a pale face, Zeng Wen shambled over.
Seeing his state, Murong Qinglian said, "Little Zeng, you need to take better care of your health!"
Zeng Wen was deeply moved. "Murong, as expected, you're the only one who cares about me. Seeing as your man has lost a hand and has no future left in this life, why don't you come with me instead? I will definitely..."
"Fuck off! Get as far away from here as you can!"
Qin Liangchen flew into a rage and kicked at him.
Zeng Wen grabbed Luo Chen and bolted, leaving the husband and wife behind—one cursing, the other soothing.
"Why get angry with him? Weren't you two on good terms in the past?"
"Good terms, my ass! He ogles you every single day! I'll beat him every time I see him!"
"Oh, you. Our son is already so big, yet you still squabble with him like this."
***
"Little Friend Luo, I have a confidential matter to discuss. Do you have any stock left?"
"I do. Myriad Wonders Pills, large bottles, mid-grade!"
"Then I'll take a medium bottle."
"Master Zeng, not a medium bottle—large bottles, mid-grade."
"Uh, whatever! Give me ten bottles first. I have to go back and turn the tables!"
Payment on one side, goods on the other.
Zeng Wen strutted off proudly with his chest puffed high, no longer looking pale and feeble.
Looking at the fifty spirit stones in his hand, Luo Chen could not help but sigh with feeling.
He truly was his best customer. Even though Luo Chen had offered him a discount, Zeng Wen had insisted on paying full price, claiming that the Myriad Wonders Pills worked far better than before and that there was no reason to shortchange a brother.
Just as Luo Chen was marveling over this, Wang Yuan appeared ahead, looking as though he had been waiting for a while.
He glanced at Luo Chen, turned around, and walked off.
Luo Chen quickly scurried after him.
Moments later, inside a quiet secret chamber.
"I had no idea you could already refine mid-grade pills," Wang Yuan said with a mocking sneer.
Luo Chen scratched his head. "Well, seeing as you're devoted to your cultivation path, Big Brother, you don't need this kind of stuff. Of course, if you ever do, I have plenty to go around!"
"Nonsense!"
Wang Yuan barked at him, then suddenly sighed.
"If I had known you could refine mid-grade pills, I wouldn't have let you follow me back to the Mountain Breaker Gang in the first place."
Luo Chen tucked away his flippant grin.
He shook his head and said, "You can't blame yourself for this, Brother Wang. As long as I want to earn spirit stones to cultivate, someone was bound to notice me sooner or later. If it wasn't the Mountain Breaker Gang, it would have been the Great River Gang, the Li clan, the Nangong clan, the Duan clan, or even Core Formation sects and the six superior sects."
Wang Yuan had felt rather touched listening to the first part.
Toward the end, however, it started sounding off.
*A kid like you, catching the eye of Core Formation sects or the six superior sects?*
Even so, he still offered an encouraging nod.
"What do you plan to do now?"
"Make the best of it since I'm here. If you could reach the eighth level of Qi Refining in the Mountain Breaker Gang, and Brother Qin and the others could cultivate step-by-step to the ninth level, who's to say I can't do the same?"
His words carried an unyielding aura that seemed ready to swallow mountains and rivers.
Seeing this, Wang Yuan offered no further comfort.
Having displayed the firmness of his Dao heart, Luo Chen looked at Wang Yuan quizzically.
"Did you call me here just to express your apologies? We're brothers—why be so polite?"
Wang Yuan remained silent.
Luo Chen perked up. "There really is something! Brother Wang, you're usually the one helping me. If you need anything, just say it straight."
No emotion showed on Wang Yuan's weathered face. It was impossible to tell whether he was simply hiding his feelings or if his body refinement had made his skin too thick for expressions to show.
In silence, Wang Yuan pulled out a piece of animal hide.
Curious, Luo Chen took it and looked closely.
"Eh? A pill formula?"
As he read, Luo Chen remarked casually, "Are you giving me a formula? You truly are my good brother. Wait, why does this feel off? Why are all the ingredients of the exact same nature? Does this not consider balancing medicinal properties?"
Talking to himself, Luo Chen scanned through it swiftly, practically taking in ten lines at a glance.
By the time he finished reading most of the formula, his brows were knitted tightly together. When he turned to the very end, he blurted out:
"A Tier 2 pill formula?"
Chapter 78