Chapter 1: Luo Chen the Rogue Cultivator

Rumble...

Thunder rolled, the might of heaven and earth making the entire Dahe Market fall silent.

The bustling scene of flying lights that usually filled the sky was much diminished at this moment.

After all, no one dared to guarantee that if they flew in the sky, they wouldn't be unlucky enough to be struck down by lightning.

It was hard to say if that would count as undergoing the tribulation early.

Dahe Market covered a vast area and had an inner city protected by a Tier 3 grand array, sufficient to defend against attacks from beasts below Tier 3.

Even if a Tier 3 beast launched a sudden attack, it could usually hold out for a while, enough for those in the city to react.

Of course, the daily operation and maintenance of such a grand array required immense resources, so it only encompassed the inner city.

By comparison, the rogue cultivator gathering place that spread out from the inner city as its core was not nearly as safe.

In the four directions of southeast, northwest, over ten thousand wooden and stone huts stood scattered about.

Beside a stream in the southwest corner, a wooden hut with one room, one hall, and one kitchen sat quietly, nearly two miles away from the nearest rogue cultivator's residence.

It was quiet outside, but inside the kitchen, things were bustling.

"One jin of yam, sliced; two liang of white poria; three liang of one-year-old ginseng..."

"One jin of Tier 1 beast yellow beef, minced, without a single bit of bone shard."

"Add scallions, ginger, non-glutinous rice, small fennel..."

The muttering voice came from a shirtless young man. He stared intently at the pot, skillfully taking materials from the wooden shelf beside him from time to time to add to the pot.

The spatula in his hand was flying.

As a large pot of snow-white beef bone broth was poured in, Luo Chen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

He poked at the firewood in the stove, pulling out a few logs from time to time, and then waited quietly for the finished product!

An hour later, the young man lifted the lid, looked at the thick concoction inside, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"Look at this color, moist, white, and bright—top grade!"

"Smell this aroma, thick but not dry—top grade!"

Luo Chen extended a finger, poked a bit from the spoon, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He smacked his lips!

"The essence is fully manifested. Under the stimulation of the angelica and ginseng, the spiritual energy of those five jin of Tier 1 beast yellow beef has been evenly distributed into this Grain-Bigu Powder."

"Not bad, the flavor is also perfectly grasped—top grade!"

Licking his finger, Luo Chen couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

According to the experience of these past days, just this pot of Grain-Bigu Powder could at least be molded into five bottles of Grain-Bigu Pills.

It sounded a bit funny, but in fact, Luo Chen was refining pills!

And it was the Grain-Bigu Pill most commonly used by cultivators, although it was only a low-spec version, at most deserving the name Grain-Bigu Powder.

Without waiting for the temperature to drop, he took it off the heat and poured it onto the cutting board.

Luo Chen picked up a yellowed bamboo slip, poured the thick paste onto it, added a few drops of hundred-flower honey, and began to roll the bamboo slip.

Under the rolling of the bamboo slip, the steaming Grain-Bigu Powder gradually turned into a cylindrical shape, and the color also became slightly yellow due to the integration of the hundred-flower honey.

His hand movements were extremely fast, pinching the cylindrical ointment into round pills, each the size of a thumb.

One, two, three...

When Luo Chen stopped working, the cutting board was already neatly filled with fifty Grain-Bigu Pills.

Looking at these results, Luo Chen didn't have time to be happy before his attention shifted to the panel before him that no one else could see.

【Name: Luo Chen】

【Lifespan: 27/75】

【Spirit Root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth】

【Realm: Qi Refining Tier 3: 75/100】

【Cultivation Method: Everlasting Spring Art Proficient: 235/300】

【Spells: Cleaning Spell Entry 49/100, Entanglement Spell Skilled 176/200, Fireball Spell Proficient 268/300】

【Skills: Tier 1 Alchemist: Grain-Bigu Powder Grandmaster 501/1000】

【Achievement Points: 10 points (Can be used for corresponding realm cultivation methods, spells, and skill entry)】

"Ten achievement points in hand, I can use them to enter the Myriad Wonders Pill!"

Looking at this proficiency panel, Luo Chen was actually a bit moved for a moment.

He had been here for a year!

In his past life, he was just a corporate slave who left early and returned late, and in his rare spare time, he could only play little Xianxia leveling games on his phone.

Because he had no money, such games could only be played by grinding, grinding the progress bars of cultivation methods whenever he had nothing to do.

Who knew that one night, unable to sleep, he was grinding a game dungeon, and as he ground, he transmigrated.

The original owner of this body was also named Luo Chen, and even his age was the same as his.

In his early years, he entered the deep mountains and had a fortuitous encounter in a cave, meeting the remains of a cultivator, thus embarking on a ten-year path of cultivation.

Following the map guidance in the remains, he came to this Dahe Market, wanting to participate in the disciple recruitment of a nearby sect.

However, ten years ago he was already seventeen, past the sect's age limit of sixteen.

Coupled with his balanced Five Spirit Root constitution, comparable to a mortal without spirit roots, no sect wanted him.

Logically, he should have returned to where he came from.

But the original owner's heart for seeking the Dao was very firm, and relying on a bottle of pills, a scroll of Everlasting Spring Art, and a few spirit stones from the fortuitous encounter, he settled down in this Dahe Market.

Even early on, because his pockets were shy, he couldn't afford a wooden hut near the inner city and could only rent a house by the small stream on the outermost periphery.

Living in the market was not easy.

Even the outermost house required half a spirit stone in rent per month.

Although he built the house himself, half a spirit stone still had to be handed over every month.

After spending all his spirit stones, the original owner did not sit and wait for death.

Sometimes he helped others watch stalls, sometimes he went into the mountains to hunt with others, and in any case, he struggled to stay.

Later, he also felt this wasn't a way to go, so he simply pondered the two pill formulas in the remains.

The Myriad Wonders Pill was a bit difficult, so he could only start researching from the lowest-level Grain-Bigu Powder.

One could only say that people with fortuitous encounters all have more or less some good fortune.

After experiencing several failures in the beginning, he successfully refined Grain-Bigu Powder.

Although the quality was average, for some rogue cultivators who often went into the mountains to hunt and stayed for ten days or half a month, there were always people who bought it.

With this, the original owner barely settled down in this Dahe Market.

But heaven has unpredictable winds and clouds, and people have misfortunes and blessings.

Feeling that Grain-Bigu Powder was not enough to support his own cultivation, the original owner set his sights on an incomplete pill formula he had collected.

And then, during his first attempt at pill refining, the pot exploded!

The violent explosion even blew down this wooden hut at the time.

It was at that moment that Luo Chen transmigrated and occupied this body.

Thinking of the situation at the beginning of his transmigration, Luo Chen felt like crying without tears.

It was also raining heavily then, and in the ruins, he faced this world with a face full of blood, bewildered and helpless.

But fortunately, everything had already passed.

"A year has passed, and Grain-Bigu Powder has finally reached the Grandmaster level of proficiency from the perfect level, just enough to satisfy daily life."

"The biggest harvest is that the achievement points have accumulated to ten, which can be used to enter the Myriad Wonders Pill!"

Luo Chen now had three pill formulas in his hands.

A Tier 1 Grain-Bigu Powder formula, a Tier 1 Myriad Wonders Pill formula, and an incomplete Tier 2 pill formula that the original owner had luckily obtained.

That pill formula was called Jade Yu Yu Ludan, and if successfully refined, one could obtain Tier 2 Jade Yu Yu Ludan, which was of great use to cultivators practicing water-attribute cultivation methods.

A single bottle usually sold for as high as one middle-grade spirit stone!

With such huge profits, it was no wonder the original owner had lost his head back then.

Perhaps he believed in his own luck, perhaps the easy entry of Grain-Bigu Powder gave him confidence, or perhaps the reality of poverty made him take a risk.

In any case, he bravely rushed into it.

The final result was that the pot exploded, the house collapsed, and the person was gone.

Now Luo Chen had also arrived at this moment of choice.

Relying only on Grain-Bigu Powder could only keep him alive; wanting to cultivate was definitely not enough.

If he wanted resources to cultivate, he had to open up another path of wealth besides Grain-Bigu Powder.

His goal was not at all on the Jade Yu Yu Ludan, and ten achievement points were not enough to allow the refining of Tier 2 pills to be entered.

Therefore, after discovering the achievement point function on the proficiency panel, he had already made up his mind.

"The Myriad Wonders Pill must be refined!"

"It must be refined!"

"Even if I don't want a reputation!" ===== CHAPTER 2 =====