"So you don't really know either?"
"I joined Tianxiang Pavilion as soon as I reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining, dancing there every day and never fighting with anyone. How would I know any of this?"
"Heh, weakling!"
Luo Chen gave Gu Caiyi a look of disdain, earning an angry glare in return.
Gradually, though, Gu Caiyi let out a sigh.
"I really do need to get better at combat. The Mountain Breaker Gang isn't like Tianxiang Pavilion; it doesn't have a powerful backer. Who's to say something like last time won't happen again?"
By "something like last time," she meant the war between the two gangs.
Quite a few people had died back then, and even Broken Blade Xu Renke, who possessed a Magic Treasure fragment, had fallen on the Dao Discussion Platform.
Something like that would certainly not happen only once.
Historically, quite a few gangs had emerged in Dahe Market.
The Mountain Breaker Gang and the Great River Gang had only risen over the past century.
Still... no backer?
Luo Chen rubbed his chin. Did the Mountain Breaker Gang truly have no backing?
That wasn't necessarily true!
Walking along the road leading out of the city, the two chatted about recent happenings around town.
"Speaking of which, Fu Xiuxiu moved out, leaving the east wing room empty. Do you want to move over?"
"Forget it. Aside from being a bit cold, the newly renovated reverse-facing room has nothing wrong with it."
"Winter is almost here, so it's only going to get colder!"
Was winter approaching already?
Only then did Luo Chen notice that along the streets of the Outer City, some tree leaves had begun to yellow.
Cultivators possessed sturdy physiques, rarely noticing differences in temperature unless the climate reached extremes.
Without realizing it, he had moved from the height of summer into autumn.
Behind him, his two bodyguards caught up.
They gradually realized the route was off; Luo Chen didn't seem to be heading toward Crescent Moon Valley.
Zhou Yuanli asked, puzzled, "Hall Master, where are we going?"
Luo Chen smiled amiably. "Let's head over to the headquarters and see if the gang leader is in. I have something to ask him."
Unfortunately, Mi Shuhua wasn't there.
In truth, Mi Shuhua didn't spend every day holed up in the Mountain Breaker Gang either.
He had his own social circle, backed by a small cultivation clan: the Mi family.
Old Man Mi had started as a rogue cultivator, but after reaching Foundation Establishment, he branched out and founded the Mi family.
Today, the Mi family was reasonably well-known around Dahe Market, on par with Foundation Establishment clans that had migrated from other regions.
In fact, because they controlled the Mountain Breaker Gang, they were even slightly more influential.
For that very reason, many migrating Foundation Establishment clans took the initiative to pay visits to Mi Shuhua.
Not finding him was a slight pity for Luo Chen.
However, he had other ways to verify his doubts.
Upon arriving at Crescent Moon Valley, he refined four cauldrons of Myriad Wonders Pills during the morning.
Afterward, instead of rushing to refine Jade Marrow Pills, he sought out an elderly cultivator among the fire-tenders.
As previously mentioned, most of the Pill Hall's internal personnel were the elderly, the weak, women, and children.
This old cultivator, named Qu Hancheng, had the highest cultivation among them, standing at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
He had established a family in Dahe Market, fathering a son and a daughter.
Regrettably, neither of his children possessed spiritual roots.
His only hope was to have another child, or that one of his grandchildren might be born with spiritual roots to continue the Qu family's dream of cultivation.
"Hall Master, did you need me for something?"
Qu Hancheng looked at Luo Chen in confusion.
Luo Chen gave a slight smile. "Yes, and it's good news! Starting today, you are a team leader. You'll oversee all the fire-tenders, handling scheduling and shift rotations. Oh, and your monthly stipend will increase by one spirit stone. However..."
Hearing such good news, the old man grew excited.
Tending the fire was exhausting!
He had to watch the flame at all times, adding and removing firewood, and whenever the fire wasn't hot enough, he had to cast Fireball Art himself.
Doing it once or twice was fine, but after more than a month of it, he felt as if he were about to catch fire himself.
If he became a team leader, he wouldn't have to tend the fires personally; he could direct others instead.
Of course, he knew that becoming team leader had to come with conditions.
The condition lay in that "however"!
Seeing Luo Chen staring at him as if he were a rare treasure made him feel slightly uneasy.
"Please speak plainly, Hall Master. If you have need of me, I will do my utmost."
"It's simple. Come, take a walk with me!"
Without allowing anyone to follow, Luo Chen led Qu Hancheng out of Crescent Moon Valley and around to the back of the valley.
As far as the eye could see, a vast primeval forest quietly stretched outward.
Qu Hancheng swallowed hard. "Hall Master, past this point is the Howling Moon Mountain Range. Demon wolves are especially numerous over there. We shouldn't get too close."
"It's fine, right here will do!"
Luo Chen cheerfully picked a spot and said, "You know Fireball Art, right?"
"I do!"
"Good. Now cast Fireball Art with everything you have. Cast as many as you can until your spiritual power runs dry."
"Every single fireball must be infused with maximum spiritual energy!"
It was that simple?
Qu Hancheng was stunned for a moment, then did as instructed and cast Fireball Art.
Luo Chen watched closely from the side, using the opportunity to compare the difference between an ordinary cultivator's Fireball Art and his own Great Perfection version.
Generally speaking, cultivators invested the least effort into spells.
Spells were indeed powerful, but their casting speed was slow, requiring hand seals, incantations, and the mobilization of spiritual energy before taking shape.
Even after forming, many spells had slow flight speeds.
Fireball Art, along with Golden Spear Art and Water Arrow Art, was renowned as a low-grade offensive spell.
Yet speed had always been its flaw.
By contrast, magical artifacts and talismans were vastly superior.
One merely required manipulation with spiritual energy, while the other triggered instantaneously.
Furthermore, spells consumed a great deal of energy, which interfered with a cultivator accumulating spiritual energy to break through to the next realm.
Consequently, only cultivators who had no hope of advancing and lacked handy artifacts would turn their attention to spells.
Qu Hancheng was an elderly cultivator who fit that description perfectly.
In Luo Chen's assessment, the old man's Fireball Art was around his own Proficient level.
That was already very impressive!
His hand seals were practiced, and the spells formed and launched quickly, though he couldn't control the trajectory of the fireballs very well.
Nor could he achieve Luo Chen's feat of casually conjuring dozens of fireballs while steering their paths at will.
Yet that was not Luo Chen's goal.
"One, two... sixteen, seventeen. Keep going?"
Qu Hancheng turned pale and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I can't. The spiritual power in my body was only enough for those seventeen fireballs."
Only seventeen?
Luo Chen frowned, his gaze falling onto the blackened craters in the ground.
"How many spiritual roots do you have? How long has it been since you advanced to the sixth layer of Qi Refining?"
"I have three spiritual roots. I reached the sixth layer at seventy-five, and eighteen years have passed since then."
Ninety-three years old!
"To still be out working at such an advanced age, it must be hard on you, elder." Luo Chen's tone grew noticeably more polite.
Catching his breath, Qu Hancheng gave a strained smile. "It's not hard. I must thank the Hall Master for promoting me. This old man will have an easier time from now on."
Luo Chen gave an acknowledging hum and fell into deep thought.
Eighteen years after advancing, even without any pills to support him, a cultivator with three spiritual roots should have reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining by now.
No, taking into account that early- and mid-stage cultivators were usually short on funds and couldn't afford to live in the Inner City's Tier 1 spirit vein areas, his advancement would naturally be slower.
The old man was roughly at the mid-stage of the sixth layer.
Even so, his progress was still well ahead of Luo Chen's current level.
Yet his total spiritual power wasn't even half of Luo Chen's?
Luo Chen's brow twitched as he realized his spiritual power capacity might vastly exceed that of ordinary cultivators.
Fireball Art was the spell he was most adept at.
At the fifth layer of Qi Refining, he could cast nearly a hundred fireballs.
It sounded like a lot, but if every single one had to carry maximum power and hold the highest amount of spiritual energy, it amounted to roughly twenty.
That was also why his customary Dancing Fireflies had always hovered around ten.
After breaking through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he could cast about thirty at full strength—ten more than at the fifth layer.
Moreover, it was foreseeable that as he continued cultivating, that number would keep climbing.
If he reached Qu Hancheng's current level of cultivation progress, he could probably unleash about forty at full power.
Didn't that mean his spiritual power was more than double that of cultivators in the same realm—perhaps even more?
Reaching that conclusion gave Luo Chen a start.
*When did this change happen?*
Suddenly, Luo Chen thought of the Master level Eternal Spring Art.
*That has to be it. Reaching Master level in Eternal Spring Art opened all my meridians, doubling the limit of the spiritual power I can store.*
*And because of this, I need to accumulate more spiritual energy than cultivators of the same realm just to break through each stage.*
Having figured this out, Luo Chen's furrowed brow relaxed considerably.
This was definitely a good thing.
In terms of combat and foundation, it was a major enhancement.
However, for Luo Chen, who didn't have much lifespan to spare, it was a terrible drawback.
It meant he would have to expend more time and resources than his peers just to advance his cultivation realm.
*Could the situation be even worse?*
Luo Chen recalled a piece of common knowledge!
As a cultivator continually circulated spiritual energy, their dantian expanded and their meridians broadened, all to accumulate enough spiritual power to break through to Foundation Establishment.
If he already started with double the foundation of his peers, wouldn't that mean his dantian would grow even wider than that of ordinary cultivators as he continued cultivating?
And require even more spiritual energy?
Double? Triple! Quadruple!
Luo Chen felt a massive headache coming on!
"Hall Master, is there anything else?"
The old man's voice sounded beside him. Luo Chen shook his head, signaling for him to head back first.
After Qu Hancheng left, Luo Chen let out a long breath.
"Truly, every coin has two sides."
"Master level Eternal Spring Art brought me many benefits: an increased cap on refining pills, automatic spiritual recovery, faster cultivation, and more."
"Now it seems opening all my meridians and deepening my foundation were hidden benefits all along."
"Yet this very benefit is holding back my rapid breakthroughs."
After pondering for a long time, Luo Chen suddenly chuckled.
"In the end, it just means I need more cultivation resources."
"What am I fretting about? With my alchemy skills, won't I have as many spirit stones as I want?"
Having thought it through, Luo Chen leisurely strolled back to Crescent Moon Valley.
"Pass the word: from now on, we won't refine Myriad Wonders Pills in the afternoon. We'll dedicate all that time to Jade Marrow Pills!"
***
That afternoon, the Pill Hall went all out to refine Jade Marrow Pills.
The results were delightful!
Every single batch failed!
Luo Chen happily walked away with dozens of ruined pills resembling stone beads.
On the way home, in his frustration, he flicked the stone beads out one by one using the Hunyuan Bead technique from Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers.
Everywhere they flew, the flowers, grass, little bugs, and moths all suffered.
Seeing him like this, Gu Caiyi and the two bodyguards didn't dare cross him.
After returning home, Luo Chen brewed the Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid just as he had yesterday.
The ingredients he had bought for three hundred spirit stones were enough to brew thirty batches.
As he sat inside the Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace, a strange thought crossed Luo Chen's mind.
*The cultivators who take the Myriad Wonders Pills refined in this cauldron down the line might end up carrying a trace of my aura.*
*So when they do that sort of thing, does that count as me being involved too?*
*Pah, pah, pah!*
His stray thoughts vanished as he circulated the Eternal Spring Art.
Such a thing would never actually happen.
Every day after his medicated bath, he thoroughly washed the cauldron.
Besides, with the scorching heat involved during alchemy, what aura wouldn't be incinerated?
With the aid of the Spirit Calming Incense, the Eternal Spring Art circulated again and again, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy and gradually converting it into Luo Chen's own spiritual power.
After blending together, the immense fleshly essence of the Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid also seeped into Luo Chen's body, transforming into surges of vitality and blood.
Time slipped quietly by.
Early the next morning.
A rooster's crow brought in the dawn!
"Hm? Where did a rooster crow come from?"
Luo Chen's gaze shifted, quickly landing on the east wing room.
Gu Caiyi had also gotten up and looked over curiously.
The main door opened.
A man in white robes, possessing sharp brows and bright eyes, stepped out with a face as cold as frost.
He glanced at Luo Chen and Gu Caiyi, said nothing, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.
Luo Chen opened his mouth wide and pointed at his retreating back.
"How rude!"
"Is that a new neighbor?" Gu Caiyi frowned.
Only yesterday had they discussed how the east wing room was vacant after Fu Xiuxiu moved out.
Yet today, a newcomer had moved in without them even noticing.
And by the looks of him, the fellow wasn't easy to get along with.
He didn't even have the courtesy to exchange names or offer a greeting.
"He's a tenant Senior Sun brought over. Supposedly, he comes from the nearby Duan cultivation family. His name is Duan Feng."
The speaker was Qin Liangchen, who had just stepped out the door.
He stretched lazily, a thoroughly relaxed look on his face.
Among the people in the courtyard, he was the most idle.
Holding the title of elder, he had nothing to manage and simply collected his monthly stipend for free.
Naturally, he was more informed about such trivial matters than anyone else.
"The Duan family?"
Luo Chen asked curiously, "Doesn't the Duan family have an Ice-Fire Spiritual Spring? Though it isn't as large as a full spirit vein, within a small area it rivals a Tier 1 spirit vein. Why would a member of their family come to live in the Inner City?"
"Cultivation families aren't always harmonious. This Duan Feng had a falling-out with the clan head's son, and he's the only one left in his branch of the family."
"So he moved to the Inner City to live?" Luo Chen shook his head. "That still doesn't make sense!"
Qin Liangchen shrugged. "Why does it need to make sense? He came for the Dao Discussion Platform. His name is currently on Dahe Market's Prodigy Roll, ranked nineteenth."
Put that way, Luo Chen understood immediately.
These days in Dahe Market, there was indeed a group of cultivators like that.
They had no particular trade skills, nor did they rely on the great river like the Mountain Breaker Gang and Great River Gang to cultivate.
Their method of cultivation was participating in fights on the Dao Discussion Platform to earn rewards.
If their ranking stabilized in the top three by the end of the month, they could even claim massive prizes.
This Duan family outcast, Duan Feng, was clearly walking that path.
"So that means he's quite the fighter?"
Qin Liangchen pondered for a moment. "You could say that. A bit weaker than me in my prime, but a bit stronger than I am right now."
After so much time, Qin Liangchen had gradually grown accustomed to his newly attached arm.
His combat capability was steadily recovering to the level of the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Luo Chen curled his lip. "What's the use of being able to fight? When you're out in the world, you need influence and backing. Hmph, just an ill-mannered little punk!"
With that, he beckoned Gu Caiyi, and they headed out.
Upon leaving, however, they headed in the direction of the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.
Perhaps because they had left so early, there weren't many people around the Sword Pavilion or at White Stone Square across from it.
*Oh, Xiaoyue set up her stall so early!*
Just as Luo Chen was about to call out a greeting, he saw their new neighbor, Duan Feng, walk up to the small stall.
He bought a bottle of ten-year-old yellow pear wine.
Luo Chen's eyes lit up. That was no little punk—that was his beloved, dearest customer!
"Fellow Daoist, allow me to introduce myself. I'm your neighbor, Luo Chen. This beauty here is Gu Caiyi from the main room."
The young man in white uttered two cold words.
"Duan Feng."
"What a great name! A precious sword's sharpness is born from grinding. Your vigor is soaring today, fellow Daoist—you will surely vanquish your opponent!"
Duan Feng glanced at Luo Chen and slowly shook his head.
"Nangong Qin is no weakling."
A vein popped on Luo Chen's forehead.
*Hey, what kind of look is that!*
*Are you saying I'm the weakling?!*
*Hmph, if it weren't for the fact that you're my customer, I'd smash you with eight or ten fireballs right now.*
Though he thought this internally, a blossom-like smile spread across his face.
"No matter, no matter. Drinking our wine will surely boost your combat power!"
With that, he called out to the obedient Yuan Xiaoyue beside them.
"Xiaoyue, this is my neighbor. Give him a discount when he buys from now on. If he buys ten bottles of yellow pear wine, throw in a serving of immortal beans!"
"Got it, Brother Luo." Yuan Xiaoyue obediently nodded, committing Duan Feng's appearance to memory.
Only then did Duan Feng realize this snack stall was Luo Chen's business.
He gave Luo Chen a nod. "Many thanks!"
With that, he strode directly toward the passage leading to the Dao Discussion Platform on Fallen Phoenix Mountain.
The cultivator selling tickets merely yawned without questioning him.
Evidently, he was very familiar with this young man, knowing he wasn't a spectator, but a competitor.
Gu Caiyi stood smiling to the side. "For someone usually so stingy, why are you being so generous today?"
"Heh, I've always been very generous to neighbors!" Luo Chen replied.
He certainly wouldn't mention anything about cultivating consumer habits.
Once the kid got used to enjoying immortal beans with his wine, he would naturally pay extra spirit stones to buy them.
Making spirit stones required skill!
He didn't bother explaining such things.
"Let's go to Crescent Moon Valley. We definitely won't fail today!"
With a broad wave of his sleeve, Luo Chen departed in high spirits.
***
With the foundation laid by three failed batches the day before, his luck turned out to be quite good today.
In the afternoon, Luo Chen succeeded once.
He succeeded using his familiar Purple Cloud Bronze Furnace.
Perhaps it was thanks to his familiarity with the cauldron, but watching twenty Jade Marrow Pills gathered into the pill storage chamber, Luo Chen let out a long sigh of relief.
At the Entry level of proficiency, the failure rate was truly too high.
Only one out of ten batches succeeded.
The waste of raw ingredients was simply too steep.
Still, as long as his proficiency improved, everything would become manageable.
Though the profit margin of Myriad Wonders Pills was high, the market was too small and could never support his future cultivation.
Jade Marrow Pills, on the other hand, held that market potential!
*I wonder how Old Man Mi Shuhua is doing with the sales channels he's negotiating?*
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a sudden pain struck Luo Chen's eyes.
A thread of blood eerily trickled down from both of his eye sockets.
"Luo Chen, what's wrong?"
Eyes closed, he heard Gu Caiyi's worried voice at his side.
He raised a hand and waved it.
"It's fine. Keep working, I'm going inside to rest a bit. It's probably because I've refined too many pills lately; using Spiritual Eye Art constantly has strained my eyes."
Gu Caiyi watched with concern as he stumbled into the room.
Shortly after, an azure light barrier rose.
Luo Chen had activated the Tier 1 formation inside the stone chamber.
Inside, Luo Chen had already opened his eyes.
After wiping away the bloodstains, they appeared no different than before.
Yet the entire world had changed!
In his eyes, the world had suddenly come alive.
A faint spiritual energy permeated the room, rising from deep underground.
Crescent Moon Valley had once been Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion's star silver ore mining site, and below it lay an offshoot of the Tier 1 spirit vein of Fallen Phoenix Mountain.
That was precisely why Mi Shuhua had specifically leased the usage rights to this place to process harvested herbs.
Beyond that, Luo Chen could see many other things.
The azure light barrier originated from several formation flags, powered by several low-grade spirit stones.
Outside the barrier were the gathered cultivators of the Pill Hall.
Each of them emanated a cluster of colorful light, corresponding to the spiritual energies of the five elements.
Fixing his eyes on this brand-new world, Luo Chen felt momentarily dazed.
Spiritual Eye Art had advanced to the Master level!
This spell, which he had acquired later on, had seen frequent use due to his relentless alchemy.
Now, it had finally upgraded.
Yet its manifestation upon upgrading was entirely different from Fireball Art, Carefree Wandering, or the Wind Riding Technique.
The Master level Fireball Art allowed him to release ten fireballs at once.
The Wind Riding Technique reduced spiritual energy consumption.
Carefree Wandering gave no additional perks; he had simply become more proficient with it.
Perhaps that was because Carefree Wandering wasn't a spell in the first place, but merely a secular movement technique.
Spiritual Eye Art, however, felt as if it had performed surgery on his eyes.
With the surgery complete, Luo Chen realized he no longer needed to actively form hand seals and draw spiritual energy into his eyes every time.
The spell was now rooted directly into his eyes.
Whenever he wished, he could activate Spiritual Eye Art without anyone noticing.
Even if he maintained it constantly, cultivators of the same realm wouldn't detect it, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators a realm above might struggle to notice.
Not only that, but his sensitivity to spiritual energy fluctuations was more than tenfold sharper.
His gaze drifted up and down, left and right, near and far.
Suddenly, Luo Chen's gaze froze on the ground.
He felt as though he were looking through countless thick layers of rock and stone, straight into the depths of the earth vein.
"Such a dense accumulation of spiritual energy?"
Chapter 95