Chapter 133: Over a hundred lives melted into one pot; do you want Foundation Establishment Pills?

Inside the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Gathering Pot, nearly a small basin of blood was stored!

It was human blood!

And it was the essence blood of cultivators at that!

Every drop contained incomparably rich Qi and blood, spiritual power, and even the innate Qi brought about by the shedding of one's mortal body and changing one's bones after a cultivator continuously broke through realms.

Every drop was scarlet and translucent, resembling blood bodhi.

Under normal circumstances, a Qi Refining loose cultivator could extract at most ten drops of essence blood.

Any more, and it would damage their origin, leaving them unable to advance a single step for the rest of their lives.

If one disregarded everything and forcibly extracted it, this quantity would only increase to twenty or thirty drops at most.

But inside the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Gathering Pot, there was a full small basin.

Luo Chen found it hard to imagine exactly how many cultivators Wang Yuan had killed to gather this small basin of cultivator essence blood.

Facing Luo Chen's shock, Wang Yuan only smiled faintly.

"If Heaven gives but one does not take, one will surely suffer the blame."

"When the time comes and one does not act, one will instead suffer the disaster."

"Happening upon this opportunity, some things must be done; otherwise, perhaps I would regret it for the rest of my life."

The logic was indeed that kind of logic.

But to truly do this, one would need to have a heart of stone.

Killing people and seizing treasures was nothing; these things happened every day in the Eastern Wasteland cultivation world.

But involving the extraction of cultivator essence blood, this was already a Demonic path method.

Once discovered, one would face the wanted notices and pursuit of Righteous sects.

Moreover, to collect so much essence blood, how many battles would one have to experience, and how much risk would that entail?

"I know you have always wanted to improve that Tier 2 pill formula."

Wang Yuan stood up, his hands clasped behind his back.

"But you are currently only a Tier 1 alchemist; being able to deduce the Tier 1 Blood-Burning Pill is already the work of a heaven-sent genius. To want to improve a Tier 2 pill formula, how difficult that is!"

"In this pot, there is the essence blood of over a hundred cultivators; some were killed by my own hands, and some I extracted from various corpses."

"I have calculated that each drop can serve as one portion of raw material, and added together, it is enough to support you in opening the furnace thousands of times."

"I will also do my best to gather the other two main ingredients. When the time comes, you can just focus on alchemy."

Speaking to the end, Wang Yuan paused.

Turning around, he looked at Luo Chen with burning eyes.

"That 'Spirit-Clearing Demon-Breaking' technique, you should be close to entering the door, right!"

Luo Chen was startled; he was indeed close to entering the door.

After several months of effort, of the thirty-six acupoints involved, only the most critical and dangerous ones in the head remained.

However, why was Wang Yuan saying this?

Facing Luo Chen's puzzled gaze, Wang Yuan laughed softly: "The Blood-Sha Pill belongs to the Blood path of pills, but in fact, cultivators who do not cultivate the Blood path can also use it; they will just have to endure immense pain."

"If you truly enter the door of Spirit-Clearing Demon-Breaking, then your willpower should be enough to endure that kind of pain."

"Luo Chen, do you not want to possess a body capable of carrying the Dao?"

In the early stages, cultivators focus on Qi Refining, with Spirit Refining as an auxiliary.

They do not place much importance on the physical shell.

But in reality, as long as one does not ascend to the Nascent Soul realm, a cultivator cannot abandon their physical shell.

If the shell suffers heavy damage, it can easily affect one's Dao path.

Figures like Zeng Wen and Gao Tingyuan were all victims of this.

Qin Liangchen once lost an arm, and in order not to affect his Dao path, he even gave up the inheritance of that Bai Qi, insisting that the Yuding Sword Sect reattach a new limb for him.

Luo Chen was not a fool; he certainly realized that a sufficiently powerful body would be of great benefit to pursuing the Dao.

Under Wang Yuan's words, Luo Chen felt a stirring of desire.

But looking at the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Gathering Pot in his hand, which contained the lives of over a hundred cultivators, his stirring heart instantly calmed down.

A simple sentence directly stumped Wang Yuan.

"Even if I can refine the Blood-Sha Pill, how many pills can this bit of material produce? How far can it support the two of us in our cultivation? What will we do when the essence blood is not enough?"

Amidst Wang Yuan's hesitation, Luo Chen said coldly:

"Are we to continue this slaughter until we attract the attention of the Great Sects?"

……

……

Wang Yuan left, taking the Wave-Swallowing Sea-Gathering Pot containing the cultivator essence blood with him.

It was not safe to keep this item with Luo Chen; it was better for him to keep it for now.

Regarding what Luo Chen said, he had not failed to consider it before.

It was just that in the environment of the Jin Dan ruins in the Guyuan Mountains, he couldn't hold back for a moment, so he collected a lot of cultivator essence blood.

Just as he said, if Heaven gives but one does not take, one will surely suffer the blame. When the time comes and one does not act, one will instead suffer the disaster.

But he had gotten one thing wrong.

He thought the essence blood of over a hundred cultivators was enough to support Luo Chen in refining many Blood-Sha Pills.

But he did not understand alchemy, nor did he know what a heaven-defying thing it was for a Tier 1 alchemist to refine Tier 2 pills.

Even someone as strong as Qing Yuanzi, when refining Tier 3 pills across tiers, used Pill-Nurturing techniques to cultivate them.

Under Luo Chen's explanation, he deeply realized that for an alchemist to refine pills of a corresponding tier, they had to go through countless failures before it was even possible to barely succeed once.

And even if they succeeded, if they wanted to replicate or improve, they had to be prepared for a large number of failures.

Not to mention, this was refining across tiers.

The essence blood of over a hundred cultivators seemed like it could refine many Blood-Sha Pills, but in reality, the final number of successful pills would be few and far between!

It was fundamentally impossible to support Wang Yuan's long-term cultivation, let alone let Luo Chen enjoy it as well.

It was precisely after this explanation that Wang Yuan completely calmed down.

He stated directly that he would carefully consider this matter.

Either wait until he possessed sufficiently high combat power to protect Luo Chen.

Or, wait until Luo Chen ascended to a Tier 2 alchemist, and then look at the specific situation.

In the end, he still did not give up on this matter.

However, before leaving, Wang Yuan told Luo Chen a very important piece of news.

"Hearing Mi Shuhua has already returned early!"

This news made Luo Chen shudder in shock.

When did Hearing Mi Shuhua return?

And why did the other cultivators of the Poshan Gang not know anything about it?

Now was the time when the Poshan Gang was suffering huge losses and was in a precarious situation; shouldn't he announce it to others to stabilize the morale of the troops upon his return?

Wang Yuan did not know the specific situation either.

He only told Luo Chen this news and also mentioned that the formation of the Jin Dan ruins had dissipated, which had attracted many Tier 2 demonic beasts at the time.

After a great battle, the human Foundation Establishment cultivators all used their own methods to flee like birds and beasts.

Luo Chen kept this news in his heart and did not tell anyone.

In the following days, he continued to refine pills and cultivate every day, pretending to be a person with nothing to do.

Until three days later, Zhou Yuanli quietly found him with a sound-transmission jade slip.

"The Gang Leader invites you!"

……

This was Luo Chen's first time coming to the Mi family territory.

Accompanied by Mi Junping and a man at the ninth level of Qi Refining, he stepped step by step toward the forbidden area within the Mi family territory.

Calling it a forbidden area, it was actually Hearing Mi Shuhua's personal place for closed-door cultivation.

Walking along, Luo Chen also observed the mental state of the Mi family members.

He didn't see anything; they all seemed to be in quite good spirits.

It seemed that with the Poshan Gang, a loose cultivator gang, supplying the Mi family with blood to suck, they had developed quite well over the years.

Just along this stretch of road, Luo Chen discovered many young clansmen at the middle and early stages of Qi Refining.

"We're here. Zifan, you go busy yourself first; I'll take him in," Mi Junping said.

The man at the ninth level of Qi Refining who had accompanied them nodded.

However, before leaving, the look he gave Luo Chen held a trace of resentment.

Luo Chen's observation skills were keen; with the Spirit Eye technique rooted in his eyes, he quickly detected that trace of resentment.

"Is this person Mi Zifan? The one who once ranked in the top ten of the Great River Heaven's Pride List?" Luo Chen asked curiously, pretending not to know.

Mi Junping gave a 'hmm' and said with a tone of regret: "It's just a pity that after losing once to that person named Duan Feng, his ranking dropped. Now that the Dao-Discussion Platform is closed, he has even less chance to fight his way up, and he has lost the face of my Mi family for nothing."

Speaking of Duan Feng, Mi Junping looked at Luo Chen with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"I remember it was you and Qin Liangchen who recommended Duan Feng to join the Poshan Gang, right?"

Luo Chen smiled slightly, "That's right. He's currently registered in the Alchemy Hall, but the gang hasn't issued him a fixed salary, so he's doing a little business of his own right now."

"Then you'd better be careful; Mi Zifan might just go looking for Duan Feng to settle a score."

As she spoke, Mi Junping's lips suddenly curled upward.

"I almost forgot, you and Mi Zifan already have a grudge. Now it's new grudges added to old ones; he probably hates you even more!"

I have a grudge with Mi Zifan?

Luo Chen was stunned.

For no reason at all, when did he ever develop a grudge with a Qi Refining ninth-level cultivator?

Seeing Luo Chen looking dazed, Mi Junping whispered three words.

"Spirit-Gathering Array."

In an instant, Luo Chen knew where the grudge came from.

Back when he was waylaid and robbed by cultivators from the Snow Lotus Workshop, he used that as leverage to hole up in the Inner City and not go out.

To give him an explanation, Hearing Mi Shuhua had specially sent someone to deliver a small Spirit-Gathering Array.

It was precisely by relying on that small Spirit-Gathering Array that he had been able to raise his cultivation efficiency to the standard of a dual-spirit-root cultivator.

But one could imagine that a good thing like a small Spirit-Gathering Array must also be a highly esteemed item within the Mi family.

How could it have been an idle, useless object?

Now it seemed that the original owner of this small Spirit-Gathering Array was none other than Mi Zifan, that Qi Refining ninth-level expert.

This grudge, it really wasn't an injustice!

Luo Chen gave a bitter laugh.

Catching a glimpse of Mi Junping's upturned lips from the corner of his eye, his heart suddenly stirred.

Why is she, for no good reason, reminding me of these things?

Could it be that she doesn't get along with that Mi Zifan either?

But she is of the Mi family's second generation, while Mi Zifan is merely her nephew!

There is no threat, and there is a blood relationship.

No matter what, she should be helping her kin rather than being reasonable.

Not to mention that his own relationship with Mi Junping hadn't reached that point either.

While Luo Chen was deep in thought, Mi Junping kept leading him forward, and the direction they were walking was getting lower and lower.

It was as if they were heading deep underground.

Suddenly, the two of them stopped in front of a stone door.

"Go in, my father is waiting for you inside."

Luo Chen took a careful look at Mi Junping, and seeing her expression was calm, he took a deep breath and pushed open the stone door by himself.

Just as he stepped inside, before he had time to check the specific situation, he heard the stone door slam shut.

Luo Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously took a step back.

Only then did he notice that this small stone room, which was less than ten square meters, was actually exceptionally extraordinary.

Spiritual energy!

Spiritual energy so abundant it was unimaginable, like a vast ocean.

Even just standing in it, Luo Chen felt his Changchun Art wanting to operate automatically, unable to wait to absorb this dense spiritual energy.

"Second-tier spirit vein!"

Luo Chen blurted out.

"Unfortunately, it is not."

From the center of the stone room came Hearing Mi Shuhua's aged voice.

It was old and weary, lacking its usual vigor.

Luo Chen was stunned, his spiritual eyes scanning repeatedly, only then discovering that Hearing Mi Shuhua's face presented a sickly pale color.

He was sitting cross-legged on a cushion woven from gold and silver threads, and beside him were placed many bottles and jars.

Luo Chen could clearly perceive that beneath that cushion, there was an extremely dense source of spiritual energy.

It was very much like the spirit vein branch cave he had discovered beneath Xieyue Valley, only a bit denser.

"Is there also a large piece of raw spirit stone ore down there?"

"But even if it's a branch of a first-tier spirit vein, it shouldn't be able to create such a vast and surging spiritual energy environment!"

Just as Luo Chen was puzzled, a crisp cracking sound reached his ears.

Luo Chen followed the sound and looked over, only to see a pile of transparent, whitish rhombic crystals in the southeast corner of the stone room collapse, turning into a heap of stone powder.

"Spirit stones, mid-grade spirit stones!"

Luo Chen only had to take one look to count that there were at least ten spirit stones in that pile.

Moreover, this was just one corner.

The other eight corners of the stone room were all placed with the same quantity of mid-grade spirit stones.

This meant that there were eighty mid-grade spirit stones placed on the ground, equivalent to over eight thousand low-grade spirit stones!

"This place was originally a branch of a spirit vein, belonging to the first tier. Under my arrangement, no spiritual energy can leak out."

"Not only that, I used a second-tier Spirit-Gathering Array to draw in a large amount of spiritual energy from mid-grade spirit stones, mixed it with the spiritual energy here, and finally formed a second-tier spirit vein environment that can support the cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"Luo Chen, do you think it would be better to cultivate here?"

Hearing Mi Shuhua stared at Luo Chen, his gaze burning.

Luo Chen immediately revealed a smile of irrepressible joy, "That would undoubtedly be better. Gang Leader, you wouldn't be thinking of lending this place to me for cultivation, would you!"

"Hmm, that's not impossible. From now on, I will allow you to cultivate here once a month."

Hearing Mi Shuhua smiled slightly, "Moreover, besides accelerating cultivation, this place also has no small benefit for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm."

Temptation!

This old fellow is clearly tempting me!

From the moment Hearing Mi Shuhua introduced the cultivation environment of this place, Luo Chen had already realized this point.

Especially when he mentioned that this place helped in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, he was even more certain.

However, why is he using this to tempt me?

"Luo Chen, regarding Foundation Establishment, what are your thoughts?"

Luo Chen did not hesitate and immediately said: "I yearn for it in my heart, and I hate that I cannot become a true cultivator of the Dao!"

"Such ambition is commendable!" Hearing Mi Shuhua praised.

Luo Chen shook his head and sighed, revealing a bitter expression, "It's just a pity that the Dao is difficult to walk, and my aptitude is inferior. I fear that in my entire life, it will be difficult for me to even touch the door to Foundation Establishment."

"Oh, you are being too self-deprecating there."

In Luo Chen's astonished gaze, Hearing Mi Shuhua said with a chuckle: "The eighth level of Qi Refining is only one small realm away from Foundation Establishment; you have great prospects!"

He knows I'm at the eighth level of Qi Refining!

Can a master-level Qi-concealing technique not block a Foundation Establishment cultivator's probing?

Or is it that Deacon Miao from the Yuding Sword Sect told him?

Suddenly, Luo Chen thought of that trace of spiritual power on his shoulder that was pure to the extreme.

Damn it, a leaf blocking the eyes!

Others had left methods on him; no matter how well he concealed himself, it was just putting on makeup under someone else's nose.

No matter how strange or peculiar the makeup was, the other party could naturally recognize his original appearance at a glance.

Luo Chen squeezed out a smile with great difficulty and praised insincerely: "Gang Leader, you truly have eyes like torches."

He did not mention his motive for concealing his realm.

Hearing Mi Shuhua did not pursue it either.

Some things, everyone just needs to know them in their hearts.

Exposing them would only make it look bad for everyone.

Not only that, Hearing Mi Shuhua instead brought out an even greater temptation that made Luo Chen's heart race.

"At your current progress, I fear you could have half a foot inside the threshold of Foundation Establishment within ten years. By then, what are your plans?"

Luo Chen was puzzled; what plans could he have?

It was nothing more than plotting for a Foundation Establishment Pill!

And then, a Foundation Establishment Pill was placed right in front of Luo Chen.