Chapter 117

"Here, breakfast."

Handing a green-leaf-wrapped rice cake to Luo Chen, Gu Caiyi sat down beside him.

Luo Chen took the steaming rice cake and took a beautiful bite.

"Authentic!"

"I never knew that rice cakes made from spirit rice could be made so delicious."

Looking at Luo Chen, who was eating heartily, Gu Caiyi smiled lightly, "Isn't this still inspired by your popcorn? Those who followed the trend started to put their minds on the most ordinary spirit rice."

Luo Chen laughed, enjoying the breakfast containing spiritual energy.

Once humans reach Qi Refining, their bodies are in a process of passive transformation.

In this process, besides cultivation, the replenishment of food is also a major key.

The so-called "grain Grain Bigu" of cultivators is often something high-grade cultivators will actively do when in seclusion.

But in fact, low-grade cultivators should try their best not to Grain Bigu, because in the Qi Refining stage, besides refining external spiritual energy, it also comes with refining one's own physical essence and energy.

If essence and energy are insufficient, it will damage the origin.

It is also common for those who refine Qi to the point of physical exhaustion and injury.

But there is also a saying about eating; ordinary grains are not the first choice for cultivators.

If you eat too much of those things, it will instead make the body full of impurities, affecting the process of refining essence into energy.

Spirit rice, spirit vegetables, demon beast meat, spirit wine, spirit tea—these things naturally became popular.

Even when Luo Chen was at his most down-and-out, he would grit his teeth and buy the lowest-grade spirit rice, just so his body wouldn't drag down his cultivation.

Now in the Great River Market, the development of spirit food can be described as in full swing.

Originally, there were normal places like the Spirit Source Studio and the Zhongding family.

Later, Luo Chen also tinkered with a group of snacks containing trace amounts of spiritual energy, which were very popular.

Stimulated, those rogue cultivators also racked their brains and innovated many small foods containing spiritual energy.

I have to say, it actually had a market; cultivators who were tired of eating spirit rice were still very willing to spend a few spirit stones to improve their taste.

For example, Luo Chen liked several snacks sold on White Stone Square very much and often asked Gu Caiyi and the others to bring them over in the morning.

Of course, he would also give spirit stones; he couldn't freeload on others.

He was even relatively generous, and those who brought him breakfast could also enjoy it together.

Gu Caiyi, like ordinary cultivators before, generally only ate one meal of spirit rice a day.

But now, following Luo Chen, she also started to get used to eating breakfast.

She lay there, thinking about some things about cultivation.

Suddenly, she smelled a fragrance.

"Eh, Luo Chen, did you apply any rouge? Why is there a fragrance on your body?"

"I'm not a woman, why would I apply rouge!"

Gu Caiyi sniffed her nose and smelled carefully; the fragrance emanating from Luo Chen was faint.

Like fire, it was intense, yet like jade, it was gentle.

Very contradictory, but between her nostrils, it made her quite comfortable.

Luo Chen paused, and suddenly said: "It should be the pill energy left over from my years of alchemy; is this smell strong?"

"Not strong, you have to be very close and smell carefully to smell it."

Gu Caiyi sniffed, actually feeling a bit refreshed.

Why didn't she notice the pill energy on Luo Chen before?

Hearing her say this, Luo Chen felt relieved.

It is very normal for an alchemist to have some pill energy on them; as long as it is not excessively strong and leaves a deep impression on people, it's fine.

However, in the future, if he wants to do some shady things, it is better to cover it up or clear it directly.

After breakfast, those inner-duty cultivators also gradually arrived at the Pill Hall.

A new day of alchemy work was about to begin.

However, under Gu Caiyi's leadership, these people didn't have any complaints.

Starting this month, the improved treatment promised by Hall Master Luo Chen had already been approved by the gang.

Each of them, according to their respective positions, had more or less gains.

And after working in the Po Shan Gang for a long time, they would also increase their merit points.

Accumulating enough merit points, they could go to the Merit Hall to exchange for some low-grade magic techniques.

Although they were just common goods, buying them outside would also cost high-priced spirit stones.

Internal exchange was very cheap.

It was precisely because of the improvement in treatment that these people's work passion was higher than before, and when assisting Luo Chen in alchemy, they were also more attentive than before.

After all, Luo Chen once said casually that he wanted to promote two stewards like Qu Hancheng from the medicine apprentices and pill-nurturers.

After a day, the alchemy ended.

Today's pill success rate was not high, only about forty percent.

Of course, that was only what the inner-duty cultivators saw.

The real pill success rate was actually fifty percent.

The extra ten percent was quietly embezzled by Luo Chen.

Those were twenty high-grade Jade Marrow Pills he had specially refined, with efficacy comparable to Nourishing Qi Pills.

Although they were not as good as the Dust-Transforming Pills he mainly took now, they had no drug resistance!

Luo Chen was not in a hurry to refine them; he just ate them, letting the medicinal power fill his meridians and absorb automatically.

In this way, whether he was refining pills or releasing magic techniques, his spiritual power could always remain in a full state.

And the automatic energy recovery characteristic of the Changchun Gong was always playing a role.

Luo Chen also wanted to try whether his spiritual power would undergo passive refinement if it remained in a full state.

In fact, sometimes, Luo Chen also thought.

What would happen if his embezzlement behavior was discovered?

After thinking about it many times, Luo Chen reached a result.

What could happen?

As long as it wasn't too excessive, Uncle Mi would just pretend not to see it if he knew.

Could he really throw him into the dungeon?

At most, he would warn him, and then he would restrain himself a little, and after a while, he would repeat his old ways.

Therefore, Luo Chen now had no psychological burden when embezzling.

After getting off work, Luo Chen greeted Gu Caiyi and headed to the inner city.

As he left, several bodyguards like Zhou Yuanli also tacitly followed.

Until entering the safe inner city, these bodyguards dispersed.

After they left, Luo Chen said goodbye to Gu Caiyi and started strolling around the inner city alone.

First, he went to the Hundred Herbs Hall.

Accompanied by Bai Meiling, Luo Chen met the new shopkeeper of the Hundred Herbs Hall.

Unexpected!

The other party was not an old cultivator like Liu Hecai, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator who looked very young.

Shouldn't such talent stay in the sect to study hard, become a Foundation Establishment true disciple, and then strive to form a Core?

Or is the Medicine King Sect so full of talent that young Foundation Establishment cultivators are sent out to handle business at will?

The reason the other party was willing to meet Luo Chen was because the previous Shopkeeper Liu had greeted him, saying that there was such a rogue alchemist as Luo Chen in the Great River Market.

Alchemists are already very rare.

Rogue alchemists are even more curious.

However, after learning that Luo Chen was already serving the gang, the other party had no interest.

They exchanged names, and he waved his hand to let Luo Chen go see for himself.

He bought some medicinal materials for the Nourishing Spirit Liquid, and incidentally bought dozens of Heavenly Sun Fruits, then Luo Chen bid farewell to Bai Meiling and went straight to the Immortal Building Residence.

Immortal Building Residence, a shop under Mount Ailao, specializes in selling various building materials, ores, etc., and also does the business of collecting resources.

After entering the Immortal Building Residence, Luo Chen started strolling inside.

Seeing him in this look of wanting to stroll around, the Mount Ailao disciples of the Immortal Building Residence didn't have the mind to come up and greet him.

There were many such rogue cultivators.

Strolling for half a day, they might not necessarily buy anything valuable.

"What else is there to quibble about? It must be the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect that did it!"

"Who is so stupid to commit murder on their own territory."

"Cut, there are many such things. Otherwise, where did the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect get so many magic treasures to auction at the auction?"

Listening to the idle talk of two late-stage Qi Refining Mount Ailao disciples beside him, Luo Chen had a gossip mind.

He thought that at the auction, the local Sword Pavilion representing the Sword Sect did indeed take out many magic treasures for auction.

Like the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel that Uncle Mi bought at a high price, it was one of them.

In the subsequent auctions, at least four magic treasures were sold!

He used to be curious, the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect is not a major sect for casting weapons, where did they get so many magic treasures.

Unexpectedly, he could hear such an explanation from other sect disciples.

Think carefully, it makes sense; Sword Sect cultivators, as long as they reach Foundation Establishment, will abandon most external objects and focus on the Sword Pill.

Magic tools and magic treasures that rogue cultivators regard as treasures, for sword cultivators who revere "one sword breaks ten thousand laws," are really not indispensable.

If you accidentally get some magic treasures and they are useless in your hands, it is very reasonable to auction them off.

Maybe there is some trouble with the auction in the hinterland of the Jade Cauldron Domain, but in a remote place like the Great River Market, there is no such thing as a tail.

In such a place, the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion is a proper hegemon, and no one can provoke them.

In his ears, there was another conversation, quite indignant.

"The injuries on Uncle Fei Bowu's body were clearly caused by a magic-treasure-level Sword Pill; there are many Sword Pills in the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, but only the Sword Sect Core Formation can nurture a magic-treasure-level Sword Pill!"

"But why would the Sword Sect Core Formation attack a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"Who knows, maybe they just took a fancy to Uncle's Fan Cage magic treasure. It is said that defensive magic treasures like the Fan Cage can also be used by sword cultivators."

"Maybe!"

"Anyway, the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect is too bullying; our sect's Supreme Elder went to ask for an explanation, but they were very arrogant. After the Supreme Elder returned to the sect, he was so angry that he scolded the Sword Sect and even stopped the renovation plans for several large Sword Sect markets."

"Hiss, our Mount Ailao can't afford to provoke a major Nascent Soul sect; the Supreme Elder did this, isn't he afraid of bringing disaster?"

"Heh, you don't know about this. When the Jade Cauldron Domain was opened... that kid, are you buying things or not!"

Luo Chen was stunned, then smiled.

"Buying, isn't it because I'm afraid of disturbing the two fellow Daoists' chat!"

"What are you buying, say it quickly, we are closing."

Luo Chen pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Earth Fire Evil, it is said that you have it here. But I have been looking for it on the shelf for a long time and haven't seen it."

The Immortal Building Residence cultivator looked at him with disdain.

"Ignorant, how can Earth Fire Evil be placed on the shelf, how much do you want?"

……

……

Evil is the same as kill, extremely fierce and evil, and foreign objects do not exist.

If there is an extremely fierce place, evil energy will often be born.

If there is corresponding evil energy, besides the things that produce evil, no other foreign objects will exist in this place.

Like the Yellow Spring Yin Evil, it is the evil energy condensed over the years in the place where second-tier Yellow Spring water gathers.

In that place, besides Yellow Spring water, Yellow Spring Yin Evil will actively destroy any foreign objects.

And this Earth Fire Evil is the same.

It is a kind of evil energy born only in places where a large amount of Earth Fire exists.

Therefore, Earth Fire Evil often does not tolerate foreign objects, has strong destructiveness, and belongs to yang-rigid evil energy.

But cultivators are very smart people; if that kind of strong destructiveness is added to a magic tool, the power will soar several times.

Therefore, after years of research, generations of talented people have thought of many methods to take evil, contain evil, and use evil.

After all, no matter how awesome you say you are, there is always something that is higher in grade than you and restrains your attributes.

Like Earth Fire Evil, although it is fire-attributed, it lives in mountains and earth veins all year round, so it will naturally be restrained by earth-attributed things.

Under the guidance of that Mount Ailao disciple, Luo Chen saw the thing that stores Earth Fire Evil.

A stone that looks full of many small holes, like a honeycomb.

"This is the Rock Floating Stone, a companion of Earth Fire, one can contain ten wisps of Earth Fire Evil."

"If you want to buy Earth Fire Evil, you have to buy a Rock Floating Stone by the way. So, this price..."

Fifty spirit stones!

Luo Chen was startled.

Earth Fire Evil is just the lowest level, the most common evil energy, and its grade is only first-tier.

Only ten wisps, actually want to sell him fifty spirit stones!

Seeing Luo Chen's heartache, the cultivator laughed: "Of course, we will also teach you how to guide the evil energy, you definitely won't lose in this deal."

Hearing him say this, Luo Chen could barely accept it.

However, after spending fifty spirit stones to buy the Earth Fire Evil, Luo Chen was still indignant.

This Immortal Building Residence of Mount Ailao is also a big profiteer.

Selling things is fine, but also doing bundled sales.

Ten wisps of Earth Fire Evil are actually sold bundled with Rock Floating Stone and Evil Control Incantation.

……

After coming out of the Immortal Building Residence, Luo Chen calculated the account.

Ten wisps of Earth Fire Evil need fifty spirit stones.

Heavenly Sun Fruit is relatively cheap; buying the corresponding amount of Earth Fire Evil is about ten spirit stones.

As for medicinal herbs, Feng Xia could also get high-quality and inexpensive materials from her former colleagues.

Overall, materials costing one spirit stone could fully produce five cups of Fuzhu milk tea.

After deducting rent, custom floral porcelain cups, and other miscellaneous expenses, the profit was still quite considerable.

"How many spirit stones can be earned in a month is not easy to calculate at the moment, but if managed carefully, it won't lose money."

Luo Chen had a count in his heart, so he no longer put his mind on this.

Feng Xia was also a female cultivator with rich experience, and with Yuan Xiaoyue not far away, the two could look after each other, so the shop would always be able to hold on.

Moreover, the enthusiasm for work of a laid-off female cultivator returning to employment was not something that just any employee could compare to.

He returned to the Sihe Academy leisurely, only to find that someone had been waiting for him for a long time.

Mi Junping sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, her face looking foul.

Opposite her was Duan Feng, dragging his sick body and brewing medicine, his face pale.

"How can you be so heartless; can't you see that it's inconvenient for a patient?"

Luo Chen trotted over and helped Duan Feng take down the heated medicine soup.

Duan Feng nodded at him and whispered, "This woman has been waiting for you for a long time."

Luo Chen gave a grunt of acknowledgment, helped him back to the room, and then clapped his hands before walking out.

Seeing him come out, Mi Junping stood up abruptly.

"You're done with your business, right!"

"We loose cultivators, for the sake of the Dao, are always busy; when is there ever a day when we are done?"

"You!"

Mi Junping took a deep breath and didn't talk nonsense; she slapped her storage bag.

Five array flags of different colors appeared in her hand.

She slapped them onto the stone table, sent a voice transmission, and then turned and left.

"This is the Small Spirit Gathering Array my father lent you; you’d better take care of yourself!"

Luo Chen's eyes lit up—a Spirit Gathering Array!

He had long admired this name.

He picked up the array flags, unable to put them down, his mouth unable to close from smiling.

"I will definitely take care of myself, definitely!"

In the room filled with the smell of medicine, Duan Feng put down the porcelain bowl.

He felt a warm current flowing through his body, gradually spreading to his limbs and bones.

The cold air that had filled his whole body was also becoming less and less.

"Come out!"

He opened a bag and saw a colorful pheasant walk out.

The pheasant was quite large, almost half a person's height.

As soon as it came out, it lay listlessly beside Duan Feng, without its usual spirit.

Seeing this scene, Duan Feng sighed.

He had been recuperating recently, to the point where he couldn't feed this first-order Yangwu Chicken; if it went hungry for a while longer, he was afraid it would be starved to death.

He took out a handful of spirit rice from his storage bag to feed the Yangwu Chicken.

Duan Feng spat out a few syllables; hearing this sound, the Yangwu Chicken gave two coos in response.

Seeing this, Duan Feng didn't hesitate anymore; he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate his cultivation technique.

That Yangwu Chicken pecked at the spirit rice while keeping a vigilant watch on the side.

Thanks to the small bottle of Pulse-Moistening Liquid that Luo Chen gave him, his meridian injuries were almost healed.

Now there was still some cold air left in his body, but it couldn't be expelled just by relying on medicine soup.

He had to use spiritual power to expel the cold air early, so that he could recover from the injuries to his bones and internal organs.

But after circulating his cultivation technique for a while, Duan Feng noticed something wrong.

"Why is the external spiritual power so thin?"

"Is this the Spirit Gathering Array?"

Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.

His gaze fell on the array flags surrounding him in five directions, and Luo Chen fell into deep thought.

The activation method for this Small Spirit Gathering Array was very simple.

One only needed to insert five spirit stones into the ends of the array flags, and then it could be used a dozen times or so.

Once activated, the array flags would actively swallow the free spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby, confining it within a small range.

Cultivators practicing in this area would achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"But the spiritual energy in the inner city is mostly swallowed by those sect forces; even if I use the Small Spirit Gathering Array, I can't snatch it from them."

The sect's Spirit Gathering Array would only be better than the set Mi Shuhua gave him.

Even though he had just tested it, Luo Chen only felt that the concentration of spiritual power around him was three or four parts more than usual.

However, another effect of the Spirit Gathering Array made Luo Chen feel a bit tempted.

"Spiritual energy has yin and yang, but it also has five elements. As long as you perform the manipulation technique for this Spirit Gathering Array, using one of the array flags as the main one, you can actively absorb the corresponding single five-element spiritual energy."

"My natal cultivation technique is the Changchun Technique, which belongs to the wood element."

"If I were in a place rich in spiritual energy and used the Small Spirit Gathering Array to convert a large amount of wood-attribute spiritual energy, then the effect when I practice would probably be better than anything else!"

And Luo Chen did have a place rich in spiritual energy.

That was the spiritual vein cave beneath the Xieyue Valley.

That was a branch of the first-order spiritual vein of Mount Luofeng, which was enough to support his solo practice on weekdays.

What if he used the Small Spirit Gathering Array again?

That evening, Feng Xia returned to the courtyard excitedly and found Luo Chen.

"This is today's profit!"

"A total of two hundred spirit stones!"

"Luo Chen, the milk tea shop is actually so profitable!"

However, Luo Chen soon poured a bucket of cold water on her.

He said that a portion of the customers were brought by him, and those were shills.

After Mixue Bingcheng had a stable source of customers in the future, these shills would be withdrawn.

"Deduct these one hundred spirit stones, and the rest is today's profit."

"And it's not every day that there will be popular matches like today, so the profit won't be as much as today."

After hearing these words, Feng Xia's excited mood stabilized.

But even so, she was very happy.

Luo Chen took away one hundred spirit stones, and the rest remained with Feng Xia.

"The profits in the shop will be settled once a month from now on."

"I will arrange for people to deliver various raw materials to the shop."

"From now on, I'll have to trouble you, Sister Xia."

Feng Xia hurriedly shook her head, "No trouble, after all, I have spirit stones to earn too."

Not only that, but the look she gave Luo Chen was also full of gratitude.

Luo Chen didn't put too much heart into this "Mixue Bingcheng" version of the cultivation world.

Just like the Chenyue snack stall, it was just a small business he set up casually.

His main business still had to be placed on pill refining.

Compared to the several-fold or dozens-fold profits of pill refining, both snacks and milk tea were too insignificant.

Therefore, just like the Chenyue snack stall, Luo Chen gave Feng Xia a share of the milk tea shop's profits in addition to her fixed salary.

Not much, just five percent, just to motivate her enthusiasm for work.

"Then what about these magic tools?"

Feng Xia took out three magic tools: a pot, a ball, and a sword.

Wave-Swallowing Sea-Containing Pot, Heavenly Sound Orb, and a high-grade ice-type flying sword.

"Keep them all; after all, they are needed for opening the shop. In the future, I will try to find a magic tool that can heat up, so you don't have to constantly activate the Fireball Technique."

Using the Fireball Technique to mix milk tea also consumed spiritual power.

Activating a flying sword for cooling was the same.

This was also the reason why Luo Chen wanted to give Feng Xia a share; earning too little, compared to the consumption of spiritual power, would result in expenses exceeding income.

"If the milk tea shop takes off, we might recruit more people in the future, and then you will be the real shopkeeper."

Luo Chen smiled slightly.

Next, he discussed some precautions for the shop with Feng Xia.

He specifically instructed her to regularly send some milk tea to the cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.

Regardless of whether they liked it or not, the attitude had to be there.

Usually, you can't tell the good from the bad, but at critical moments, if others find you pleasing to the eye, they will always help out.

The next day!

At the city gate, Luo Chen, who had changed into a high-grade cyan magic robe and covered it with a white fox coat, stepped onto the road to Xieyue Valley under the escort of two bodyguards.

Flying slowly in the sky, Luo Chen comforted Liu Qiang, who had returned after recovering from his injuries, and then looked forward and backward.

Sensing his gaze, Zhou Yuanli explained in a low voice: