Chapter 123: Chaos Gradually Arises, A Big Move

Wang Yuan completed the second half of that sentence.

Yet just those four words shocked Luo Chen.

"Since body refiners in ancient times could be on par with Qi refiners, why would they not obtain longevity?"

"I don't know the specific reason."

Wang Yuan sighed, "Perhaps the true body refining methods have long disappeared in the long river of history, and today, Qi-refining true cultivators have occupied the mainstream of the immortal cultivation world. Even if there are some body refiners, most are dual cultivators."

"Or perhaps, body refiners who were once powerful for a time never had a longevity method, otherwise they wouldn't have vanished in the long river of history."

Next, in Wang Yuan’s explanation, Luo Chen finally knew why the current body refining path could not obtain longevity.

Cultivators who focus mainly on Qi Refining will gradually strengthen their spirit and soul during continuous breakthroughs.

Later on, the body is just a shell carrying the spirit and soul.

The shell is easy to rot, but the spirit and soul are immortal, naturally obtaining longevity of thousands of years.

But body refining goes somewhat against the grain.

It doesn't talk about refining essence into Qi, but instead uses a large amount of spiritual energy to nourish itself, making the body stronger and stronger.

This path is actually extremely similar to demon beasts.

But the human physique has innate limitations, unlike some powerful demon beast races that are born with hundreds or thousands of years of long lifespan.

Therefore, even if human body refiners cultivate their physique to an incredibly strong level, they still cannot escape the predetermined lifespan limit.

And in the process of body refining, various extreme methods cause great damage to the body’s origin.

The already limited lifespan will instead become shorter and shorter.

When the deadline arrives, the physique that has reached its peak might even collapse instantly.

"Perhaps, true body refiners have methods to increase lifespan, but I haven't found any in all the body refining methods I’ve come into contact with today."

Listening to Wang Yuan’s words, Luo Chen couldn't help but ask: "Since this is the case, why not focus wholeheartedly on Qi Refining?"

"Because the progress is fast!"

Wang Yuan seemed to see through this matter, he smiled: "As long as the will is strong enough, one possesses the corresponding method, and the resources can keep up, the cultivation speed of body refiners is unimaginable."

Indeed.

Wang Yuan’s current cultivation speed had already exceeded ordinary people’s cognition.

In a short time, he had come into contact with a physique strength close to Foundation Establishment combat power, and the speed was extremely fast.

If it were immortal cultivators like them, even with the correct cultivation method and a large amount of resources, cultivation was still a slow process.

"I am anxious because time is tight."

"And I am not a pure body refiner, but focus mainly on body refining, with Qi Refining as a supplement; after all, my Qi Refining Stage 8 realm is right there."

Luo Chen thought thoughtfully, tentatively: "Are you trying to upgrade your physique strength to the level of Foundation Establishment combat power first? Then, use this to seek the breakthrough of an immortal cultivator, so as to obtain the lifespan after breaking through?"

Wang Yuan nodded, "That is indeed the case. You and I have both attended auctions and naturally seen the ugly faces of large sects. Without Foundation Establishment or higher strength, it is impossible to participate in the normal competition for Foundation Establishment Pills."

The auction of Foundation Establishment Pills back then was still vivid in his mind.

There were five in total, but only one was provided for rogue cultivators to bid on.

And in ordinary small auctions, Foundation Establishment Pills might not appear every time.

Large auctions definitely had them, but they were once every ten years.

For Qi Refining cultivators, how many ten years can one have in a lifetime?

Luo Chen supported Wang Yuan’s decision very much.

If it were him, without a choice, he would probably do the same.

After all, ten birds in the forest are not as good as one in the hand.

Of course, Luo Chen was not in such a predicament yet.

He still longed for the immortal longevity of traveling the North Sea at dawn and dusk, sitting and watching the sun rise and the moon float.

The purpose of today’s meeting was mainly the Blood-Burning Elixir.

Since he now knew the approximate effect of this first-rank pill on cultivators, Luo Chen quickly adjusted the overall strategy for this kind of first-rank pill.

Pros: strong explosive power, can be used as a trump card.

Cons: high cost, obvious sequelae.

In that case, it was not suitable for mass refining and selling as a conventional pill.

But it was a first-rank pill that cost him ten achievement points to enter, so he was unwilling to give it up just like that.

Therefore, he planned to refine some secretly from time to time and find other channels to sell them.

Well, the channel he thought of was actually very simple.

Auctions, black markets!

In these two places, pills with unique effects could often sell for sky-high prices.

This strategy couldn't be said to be completely correct, and there were definitely many shortcomings in it.

However, Luo Chen still intended to do so.

The reason was very simple; others were doing the same.

The Spirit Pill of the Medicine King Sect also belonged to the kind of pill with unique effects and high costs.

Usually, it wasn't sold in the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and could only be encountered occasionally at auctions.

Luo Chen was just learning from them.

Leaving the main altar, Luo Chen suddenly thought of Deacon Miao, whom he had met briefly just now.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the backer of the Po Shan Gang, or rather the partner, is this Jade Cauldron sword cultivator."

Returning to the inner city, Luo Chen habitually went to see his two small shops.

In the White Stone Square, looking at the less-than-usual flow of people, Luo Chen frowned.

"Why does it feel like there are fewer people than before?"

Yuan Xiaoyue stood by, "In the last few days, there have indeed been fewer people."

"Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened; in fact, because of the arrival of that Golden Core great being, the combat rewards provided by the Dao Discussion Platform are even better."

More rewards?

Then shouldn't there be more participants, and the atmosphere should be better?

Luo Chen couldn't figure out this problem.

It wasn't until the next morning, when his bodyguard Dongfang Liang mentioned that someone had been killed in a large courtyard nearby, that he realized something.

"What about the Law Enforcement Team?"

"They sent people to take a look, and then there was no follow-up." Dongfang Liang said so.

Luo Chen doubted: "Is the Law Enforcement Team not managing things anymore?"

The inner city was not absolutely safe; this was something Luo Chen had known for a long time.

But with the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform and the establishment of the Sword Pavilion Law Enforcement Team, such incidents of killing and robbing in the inner city had become fewer and fewer.

Even if it happened occasionally, the culprit would be found quickly and punished according to the law.

Dongfang Liang couldn't give a specific answer; he was just a rogue cultivator at Qi Refining Stage 7 who wasn't very valued.

Even in Luo Chen’s bodyguard team, he was the weakest one.

The things he usually did were either guarding the rear or running errands for Luo Chen, transporting goods for the two small shops.

To Luo Chen’s questioning, he could only smile bitterly: "I don't know the situation, but the Law Enforcement Team hasn't been idle; they seem to have been very busy lately, just not very concerned about public security."

Very busy, but not concerned about public security?

Luo Chen thought thoughtfully.

By the time he arrived at the Alchemy Hall, the situation he heard from others was even more serious than in the inner city.

"Now the outer city area is getting more and more chaotic; there are rogue cultivators appearing in the alleys in the evening."

"You still dare to go out at night; I have always closed my doors and windows tightly, and I don't even dare to sleep soundly."

"When there were fewer people before, it wasn't this serious. If you ask me, it’s all the fault of the rogue cultivators who came from other places; a group of outsiders ruined the atmosphere."

"Not only ruined the atmosphere, but they also snatched jobs. My brother was doing things at the pier, and he was fired two days ago, saying they recruited cheaper rogue cultivators."

"In fact, the atmosphere issue was started by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion. But before, there was the Law Enforcement Team suppressing it, and rogue cultivators didn't dare to do it openly, but the Law Enforcement Team hasn't cared about the outer city area for a long time, so naturally, incidents of killing and robbing are endless."

"Humph, if this continues, sooner or later someone will run to a safer market."

When Luo Chen guided the topic to this during lunch, he heard many complaints.

Most of the cultivators in the Alchemy Hall were ordinary rogue cultivators who were not good at and didn't like fighting.

They were extra sensitive to the incidents of killing and robbing around them, because those things would affect their survival.

But because of their financial resources, they had to live in the outer city area.

The initial outer city area was actually only dangerous at night.

Later, with the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform, the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion set up various favorable policies for rogue cultivators, plus a safe cultivation environment, attracting tens of thousands of foreign rogue cultivators in just over half a year.

With more people, naturally there would be more things.

But with the Law Enforcement Team suppressing it, some lawless elements could only hold back.

But recently, the Law Enforcement Team stopped managing things.

The hidden dangers brought by the population explosion had begun to emerge bit by bit.

"The current Dahefang feels a bit like a powder keg, just waiting for a spark to ignite it."

Luo Chen felt more and more urgent.

But having just broken through to Qi Refining Stage 8, it was absolutely impossible to advance to Qi Refining Stage 9 in a short time.

"I must possess enough power to protect myself!"

"Since the realm cannot be improved quickly, I have to put more thought into combat methods."

Luo Chen looked at the transparent attribute panel, his gaze falling on several spells, and fell into deep thought.

In the dense forest, air waves rolled, and murderous intent was everywhere.

Two figures were constantly fighting, gold and cyan colors intertwined, and wherever they passed, one after another, hundreds-year-old big trees collapsed with a rumble.

One was as immovable as a mountain, and every move was like thunder.

One was like a ghost, and even if the opponent used the Spirit Eye Technique to the extreme, it was difficult to catch the tail of the other’s trace.

Suddenly, the ghost figure leaped into the air and paused.

Seven cyan-green streams of light dispersed in all directions, merged into one, turned into a blade storm, and covered down.

Qin Liangchen’s expression was solemn, and the golden giant sword hovering above his head slashed upward violently.

Boom!

The blade storm only resisted for two breaths before collapsing instantly.

But the momentum of collapse did not mean the momentum of the attack was disintegrated.

The seven flying knives were just knocked away, and under the manipulation of that ghost figure, they attacked Qin Liangchen from different angles again. Not only that, the figure virtualized, and wherever it passed, it left behind phantom images, and no one knew who was real and who was fake.

Seeing this scene, Qin Liangchen’s eyelids jumped wildly.

"Stop fighting, stop fighting!"

"Your method of manipulating magic tools is too outrageous; I have never seen anyone use a set of mid-grade magic tools like high-grade magic tools in my life."

In the sky, the ghost figure that was about to move continuously stopped suddenly.

Several phantom images gradually dissipated, leaving only the real body at the furthest point.

Luo Chen put away his serious and earnest expression and smiled.

"That’s still you showing mercy, Brother Qin!"

Qin Liangchen curled his lips and flew out of the dense forest.

He swore that he really hadn't shown mercy before.

Even without fighting for life and death, the methods used were at a normal level.

After all, he also needed to familiarize himself with the newly acquired high-grade flying sword.

It was really that Luo Chen’s manipulation of magic tools had reached a level that was unimaginable.

Qin Liangchen had never seen such a genius in his life.

Facing Qin Liangchen’s strange gaze, Luo Chen smiled without saying a word.

After half a month of hard training, he finally brushed the proficiency of the Traction Technique to the Grandmaster level.

It was precisely because of this that he dared to use the mid-grade Jade Blade to fight Qin Liangchen.

The Grandmaster-level Traction Technique had no special effect, just making the cultivator more handy in controlling magic tools.

This kind of handiness might not be so obvious on a single magic tool.

But for a set of magic tools like the Jade Blade, the effect was extremely prominent.

It could be said that the Grandmaster-level Traction Technique could fully exert the power of a set of mid-grade magic tools that was not inferior to high-grade ones.

And in this half month, his harvest was not just this.

The Wind Control Technique was also about to reach perfection.

The proficiency of the Entanglement Technique had also been brushed a lot, and it was not far from perfection.

As for others like Spirit Eye Technique, Healing Technique, and Cleaning Technique, he didn't let go of them at all.

The price he paid for this was that most of the high-grade Jade Marrow Pills he embezzled were used to replenish spiritual power consumption.

"I say, why are you so keen on fighting lately?"

Qin Liangchen said depressedly; this was already the tenth time Luo Chen had sought him out for a fight in half a month.

"It’s not that I want to! It’s just that the current Dahefang is getting more and more chaotic, so I have to have some self-protection means!"

Luo Chen sighed.

Without refuting his words, Qin Liangchen also sighed tacitly.

As an elder, he was actually the most idle one.

Unlike Wang Yuan and Luo Wudi who solely controlled a hall, and unlike Sikong Shoujia who was busy with the Alchemy Hall’s affairs.

He had always been cultivating in seclusion, and many things at home were left to Murong Qinglian to manage.

But recently, he had gradually become busy.

The three combat halls often encountered trouble recently, and he had to step in to help.

"The Xuan-Yi Society is getting more and more excessive; before, they just used the excuse of going into the mountains to fight demon beasts and temper themselves."

"But now, their manpower is expanding rapidly, and it seems they also intend to get involved in the business in the big mountains."

Luo Chen frowned, "History repeating itself?"

"No!" Qin Liangchen shook his head, "They are much more aggressive than the Dajiang Gang back then; after all, they have already paved their own way."

"Will they really fight in the future?"

"It’s hard to say."

The Xuan-Yi Society was much fiercer than the Dajiang Gang.

Behind them were five immortal cultivation families, among which the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the surface included the Duan family ancestor, Nangong Jin of the Nangong family, and the Li family ancestor.

Although these three were only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, they couldn't compare to Mi Shuhua, who was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

But there were many of them!

The other two immortal cultivation families also couldn't guarantee that they didn't have Foundation Establishment means left by their ancestors.

If they really fought, the Po Shan Gang would be in danger.

Regarding this kind of conflict involving Foundation Establishment, whether it was Luo Chen or Qin Liangchen, they were powerless.

What they could do was to protect themselves as much as possible.

If it really didn't work, they would either surrender or run away!

The world is so big, it can always accommodate them, these Qi Refining cultivators.

"By the way, Mi Shuhua has been very concerned about the output of Jade Marrow Pills recently; you dragging me to fight every day, don't make him angry."

"Angry?"

Luo Chen smiled lightly; Mi Shuhua naturally wouldn't be angry with him.

Recently, he hadn't relaxed in alchemy matters.

Or rather, he had revealed a bit more of his alchemy attainment.

The pill success rate was much higher than before, and the output of mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills had increased by ten percent compared to before.

In this case, Mi Shuhua would be too happy to be angry.

The two returned to Xieyue Valley, called Gu Caiyi and Murong Qinglian, and returned to the city together.

Zhou Yuanli and other bodyguards also followed far behind.

The more tense the atmosphere, the harder the bodyguard work was, and they had also spent a lot of effort recently.

Privately, Luo Chen also subsidized some mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills to them.

As for whether this would reach Mi Shuhua’s ears, he wasn't worried.

Small actions like embezzlement wouldn't be discovered if done occasionally.

But after such a long time, Mi Shuhua must know everything he should know.

It was just some mid-grade Jade Marrow Pills, which were beneficial to early and middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators; as long as it didn't affect the overall situation, Mi Shuhua wouldn't dwell on it.

On the way back to the city, the four chatted and laughed.

Suddenly, Luo Chen stopped his steps.

Seeing this, the other three also stopped.

Only to see two figures chasing crazily on the ground ahead, occasionally activating talismans and magic tools to bombard each other.

One of them was clearly not the opponent, and after struggling to resist for a few rounds, he flew toward Luo Chen and the others.

"Fellow Daoist, save me!"

"Get lost!"

Qin Liangchen roared in a low voice and stepped forward, blocking in front of Luo Chen and the others.

The golden giant sword slapped out horizontally!

That figure hadn't even approached before being slapped to another direction.

The enemy chasing behind was stunned, only then discovering that the four people in front of him, three at Qi Refining Stage 9 and one at Qi Refining Stage 7, were simply not people he could offend.

"Sorry to bother you!"

Arching his hands, he hurriedly chased after the prey.

"Hall Master, are you okay?"

Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang hurriedly chased up and asked with concern.

Luo Chen shook his head, his gaze looking far ahead.

The outer city area of Dahefang, which covered an area of over a hundred miles, had lost its peaceful atmosphere and became more and more restless.

Now, incidents of killing and robbing had even happened before his eyes.

"Great chaos is coming!"

Luo Chen sighed inwardly.

On the rest of the journey, the topics they chatted about also fell on the current chaos in the outer city.

The arrival of the Golden Core great being not only didn't bring a sense of security but instead aggravated the chaotic situation.

It just gave people a feeling that he was the one who actively provoked it.

Of course, discussing a Golden Core great being was a very dangerous thing, so everyone just mentioned it simply and implicitly.

After returning to the courtyard, Luo Chen felt more and more that something was wrong.

"No matter what happens next, it cannot affect my cultivation!"

And cultivation could not be separated from pills!

Early the next morning, Luo Chen hurried out.

In the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, Luo Chen saw an old acquaintance he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Senior Liu, long time no see."

The old man smiled slightly, "I still prefer you to call me Shopkeeper Liu."

Liu Hecai, the former shopkeeper of Baicaotang, was now the shopkeeper of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

Seeing Luo Chen, he was also very happy.

"Unexpectedly, I underestimated you before; you actually have such high alchemy attainment."

Luo Chen smiled awkwardly, "Shopkeeper Liu is flattering me."

"It’s not flattery!" Liu Hecai said seriously: "I have obtained the pills you refined later, and whether it is the high-grade Myriad Wonders Pill or the mid-grade Jade Marrow Pill, they all have unique features. Especially that high-grade Myriad Wonders Pill!"

Speaking of this, he paused.

"Do you still remember the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator I introduced you to before?"

Luo Chen hesitated: "You mean Senior Kang?"

Kang Dongyue, the Pavilion Master of the Golden Stone Pavilion in Taishanfang, was also the ancestor of an immortal cultivation family.

"Yes, he asked me a while ago, asking if you are interested in supplying a batch of high-grade Myriad Wonders Pills for him to sell in the Golden Stone Pavilion?"

Pills like Myriad Wonders Pills couldn't be brought to the table.

Although Liu Hecai admired them, the Spirit Medicine Pavilion he managed certainly wouldn't look down on such pills.

But a family industry like the Golden Stone Pavilion would look down on them.

If it were before, Luo Chen would be very happy.

But now, he could only shake his head and smile bitterly: "The pills refined by this junior can only be supplied to the Po Shan Gang for sale, so I have failed the good intentions of that senior."

Hearing him say this, Liu Hecai didn't force it.

Although he was a disciple of the Medicine King Sect, this place was the Jade Cauldron Domain, under the jurisdiction of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

Coming thousands of miles to this side, he only had a fellow disciple of Baicaotang to rely on.

Offending a local Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator was really unwise.

"Coming over so early, what do you want to buy?"

Luo Chen took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Twenty bottles of Dust-Transforming Pills, ten boxes of Calming Incense!"

"Wow, what a big move!"

Liu Hecai blurted out, looking at Luo Chen with even more admiration.