Chapter 2: You Still Want to Get Busy!?

The crescent moon hung high, and darkness shrouded the entire Qingyun Street.

Outside the house, the wind howled, carrying strange, sharp sounds, making one feel depressed, heavy, and fearful.

Usually, this time was also the most dangerous time on Qingyun Street.

At this moment, Lou Qinghe, sitting in front of the pill furnace, was so excited that he couldn't sleep.

Lou Qinghe kept studying the panel in front of him, especially the lifespan column.

"I have forty years of lifespan left, but this is assuming no accidents happen. What if an accident happens? It could be tomorrow." Thinking of this, Lou Qinghe couldn't help but shiver.

"But as long as I stay honestly, I can live for forty years no matter what."

Lou Qinghe comforted himself, then continued to look down.

The final alienation degree made his heart sink. Cultivating and absorbing the spirit Qi of heaven and earth naturally means absorbing the evil spirits mixed within it. Over time, these evil spirits will accumulate in the body.

The only way is to swallow a pill called the Quhua Pill. This type of pill even surpassed the Juqi Pill at one point, becoming the scarcest pill today.

"It seems I need to prepare some Quhua Pills in the future. There will be danger even if I don't go out. Let me first test whether this panel is real or fake."

Being cautious, he immediately began to run the Taiqing Yuxu Technique.

After one cycle.

Lou Qinghe opened his eyes and found that the panel in front of him had indeed changed. His cultivation and the proficiency of the Shangqing Yuxu Technique had both increased by one point.

Qi Refining Second Layer (3457/3600).

Shangqing Taixu Art (First Layer 27/100).

"Next, I want to try alchemy to see if it really can be guaranteed to succeed."

Subsequently, Lou Qinghe took out the remaining herbs, which were two Dilong Grasses, two White Headed Crows, and one Qiye Flower.

The Qiye Flower was the medicinal guide for refining the Huiqi Pill, and its price was also the most expensive.

According to the current amount, he still had two chances to refine the Huiqi Pill. If he failed, he would be penniless and have no possibility of turning things around.

Lou Qinghe did not rush to refine the pills but calmed down and recalled the scene of refining the Huiqi Pill before.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, a flame rose in his hand.

Dilong Grass is Yin, White Headed Crow is Yang, and the Qiye Flower is gentle. He knew these most basic medicinal properties.

Due to one of the six major characteristics of spirit Qi, fusion and transformation, a small part of the medicinal components of spirit herbs will fuse with the spirit Qi they absorb and store during their long-term growth, forming their unique medicinal spirit Qi.

The efficacy of medicinal spirit Qi is far greater than the herb itself.

Extracting medicinal spirit Qi and then fusing the medicinal spirit Qi from different types of herbs to form higher-value medicinal spirit Qi is the purpose of alchemy.

And when to refine which herb, how much heat to use, and the extraction and fusion involved, this is the alchemy Dao.

According to his memory, Lou Qinghe first refined the White Headed Crow. He saw the White Headed Crow suspended in the air, fusing with the flame in his hand.

"The temperature is a bit low!"

The refining speed of the White Headed Crow was very slow. It took the time of a stick of incense to refine a wisp of medicinal spirit Qi. Seeing this, Lou Qinghe felt a tightness in his heart. In the past, signs of failure appeared at this time. Was he going to repeat the same mistakes?

"Calm down, must calm down."

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath, his heart calmed down, and time passed second by second. The White Headed Crow turned into strands of medicinal spirit Qi.

About half an hour later, the White Headed Crow had completely turned into medicinal spirit Qi. Lou Qinghe continued to refine the Dilong Grass.

With previous experience, the Dilong Grass also quickly turned into medicinal spirit Qi, and the final step was to fuse the medicinal spirit Qi of the Dilong Grass and the White Headed Crow with the help of the Qiye Flower, the medicinal guide, to form pills.

This step was also the most difficult and the most critical.

"It's the last step. I absolutely cannot make any mistakes."

Lou Qinghe did not dare to be the slightest bit careless and devoted himself entirely to it. The two groups of medicinal spirit Qi gradually fused with the help of the Qiye Flower.

"Must hold on!"

Another hour passed. With the Qiye Flower mostly melted, Lou Qinghe's two groups of medicinal spirit Qi fused together. He saw several thumb-sized pills emerge, and a faint fragrance wafted through the air.

"It's done!"

Lou Qinghe's excitement was beyond words. Ignoring his fatigue, he grabbed the several pills in the air and counted them carefully; there were six in total.

Then he hurriedly glanced at the panel and found that Huiqi Pill (3/10) had become Huiqi Pill (4/10).

"Great, it's actually true."

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath and soon calmed down. "With this thing, according to the 100% refining success rate, won't spirit stones be easy to get in the future? But I must also be careful; this hidden value must be maintained at 100%."

"Remember not to be too high-profile and arouse others' suspicions."

Lou Qinghe took a deep breath and then continued to refine the remaining herbs in his hand.

Although he had the help of the panel's 100% success rate, he was still worried and refined them carefully, not daring to be the slightest bit slack.

Time passed second by second. Most of the spirit Qi in Lou Qinghe's body was consumed, and cold sweat flowed from his forehead. Finally, there were no accidents, and the medicinal spirit Qi fused to form several Huiqi Pills.

Lou Qinghe grabbed them in his hand and excitedly calculated his harvest tonight. "There are thirteen Huiqi Pills in total, which is equal to thirteen low-grade spirit stones. The cost is six low-grade spirit stones, so I have made a net profit of seven low-grade spirit stones."

"Tomorrow I will go to the market to sell these Huiqi Pills, and by the way, buy some new herbs. When I have enough money, I will buy some pill recipes..."

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just as Lou Qinghe was dreaming about a beautiful future, a violent knock sounded outside the door.

Lou Qinghe hurriedly put away all the Huiqi Pills, his heart tightening. "Who!?"

At this time, the night was deep, and the evil spirits were rampant. This was the most dangerous time. Who would knock on the door!?

"It's me, Huang Gensheng." A low voice came from outside the door.

Lou Qinghe did not open the door but said, "Three thousand beauties in the harem."

The person outside hesitated for a moment before saying, "An iron rod can also be ground into a needle."

That's right, it was him!

Hearing this, Lou Qinghe felt relieved, then hurriedly opened the door and urged, "Why did you come so late? Come in quickly."

It was a young man of average height and ordinary appearance. Except for his pale face and sparse hair, he looked very haggard.

This person's name was Huang Gensheng, thirty-five years old, also a rogue cultivator, with a cultivation slightly higher than Lou Qinghe's, at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Both of them were the lowest-level cultivators on Qingyun Street.

Huang Gensheng squeezed into the room and hurriedly grabbed Lou Qinghe's arm. "Fellow Daoist Lou, I have good news to tell you."

Seeing Huang Gensheng's posture, Lou Qinghe asked curiously, "What good news?"

Huang Gensheng asked, "Do you know the person who came to collect the hygiene fee today?"

"Xu Ying, Xu Yuan's younger sister."

"I know."

"Do you know why she came to collect the hygiene fee?"

"Why?"

"Xu Yuan is dead."

"Dead?"

Hearing Huang Gensheng's words, Lou Qinghe was a little surprised. "Xu Yuan is the young master of the Xu Family, with a cultivation of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and he has never left the safety zone. Who would dare to kill him?"

Huang Gensheng lowered his voice and said, "It is said that it was because of the recent secret struggle between the Xu Family and the Zhou Family. You also know that this is a common occurrence. Now the Xu Family has suffered heavy losses, many young talents have died, and the family descendants are also failing to connect, so the foundation is almost unable to be kept..."

Hearing this, Lou Qinghe asked, "Is this good news?"

The Xu Family was responsible for the security of Qingyun Street, which was considered standard and did not have malicious exploitation. If another family came, it might not be as stable as it is now.

For Lou Qinghe, who was determined to seek stability, this was not good news.

"Of course it's good news."

Huang Gensheng took a deep breath and said tremblingly, "In order to continue the family's rule, the Xu Family is preparing to recruit a son-in-law, and the rules are very clear: he must be a rogue cultivator with no background."

Hearing this, Lou Qinghe suddenly realized, "I understand."

This Xu Family needs bloodlines to fill the family population. After all, without fresh blood, no matter how big the family is, it will eventually be eliminated by time.

Huang Gensheng licked his lips and said, "The Xu Family is bleeding heavily this time. As long as you are recruited as a son-in-law of the Xu Family, not only will you not have to pay the hygiene fee every month, but you will also get a low-grade spirit stone, and you will be rewarded with spirit stones for giving birth to offspring."

"Fellow Daoist Lou, think about it. Others are giving you a wife and raising children for you, and in the end, they will give you spirit stones. Tell me, is this a great thing?"

Lou Qinghe pondered for a moment. "If you become a son-in-law of the Xu Family and cannot give birth to offspring, then you can only fight for the Xu Family..."

Huang Gensheng was silent for a long time, then said with a serious face, "I have thought about it for a long time. The Xu Family is my only chance for survival and my destination."

Lou Qinghe asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

Huang Gensheng said faintly, "I was born in the year of the horse."

Lou Qinghe: "..."

Since Huang Gensheng had made up his mind, Lou Qinghe would no longer persuade him.

Everyone has their own choices, and perhaps no matter how you choose, there will be regrets.

Huang Gensheng hugged Lou Qinghe's shoulder and said, "Fellow Daoist Lou, if you are willing, let's go together tomorrow. Maybe we can become a good story in the future."

Lou Qinghe touched his chin and said, "I'll wait and see."

Not to mention whether he could become a son-in-law of the Xu Family, even if he really became one, it would be equivalent to being completely tied to the Xu Family.

If Huang Gensheng had come this morning, Lou Qinghe might have agreed, but now that he had a golden finger, everything was different.

He wanted to hide himself and not let outsiders discover any clues.

"Fellow Daoist Lou, you are still too young."

Huang Gensheng sighed, "In this chaotic world, it's more important to marry a wife."

Lou Qinghe said, "It's good enough to be able to marry a wife. You still want to get busy!?"

"..." ===== CHAPTER 3 =====