Chapter 170: Soul Soaring, Cultivating the Soul-Deterring Art (Ten thousand words requested for monthly tickets)

"Where are you from, what level is your realm?"

"Baixiu person from Yuanzhao Country, third level of Qi Refining."

"The realm is so low?"

The cultivator of the Xun Hall looked at Luo Chen with disgust, and then recorded his name in a thick book.

Afterward, he shouted outside.

A young cultivator with a pale face ran in.

"Newcomer, take him to the Mine Hall!"

"Okay, Deacon Mi."

The young cultivator responded respectfully and pulled Luo Chen out of the room.

Walking outside, he introduced himself with a smile, "How should I address you?"

"Luo Chen."

Luo Chen replied, his voice very low.

Seeing his low-spirited appearance, the young cultivator put his arm around his shoulder.

"Encountered something unhappy? Say it out, let me be happy!"

Luo Chen's face stiffened, he shook his head, and said nothing.

Soon, the young cultivator took him to the headquarters of the Mine Hall.

Some Mine Hall cultivators distributed a basket and a shovel to him.

"You must complete the task of six hundred catties of iron ore every month."

Luo Chen took the things and asked in a low voice, "What happens if I can't finish it?"

The man rolled his eyes, "If you can't finish it, there is no salary. Only after completing it can you have ten spirit stones. On the basis of six hundred catties, for every one hundred catties more, you can get an extra spirit stone."

Luo Chen opened his mouth and finally said nothing.

For a third-level Qi Refining cultivator, if you want to make big money, you have to do hard labor like mining.

When he went out, the cultivator who brought him over was still squatting on the side playing with ants.

Seeing Luo Chen, he jumped up.

"You've received everything, right? I'll take you to the mountains!"

"I tell you, that iron mine is located in Hualuo Mountain of the Guyuan Mountain Range; there are not many monsters inside, so it's quite safe."

"Anyway, I brought you here, so if you encounter anything in the future, you can come to me."

"Remember my name, my name is Tang Quan!"

My name is Tang Quan...

Luo Chen was in a trance for a moment.

But under the pressure of life, he still went to Hualuo Mountain in the Guyuan Mountain Range with expectation.

At dawn, hundreds of people, with numb expressions, carried baskets and held mining shovels, entering the well-developed underground mine vein.

Luo Chen was also one of them.

On the first day, he experienced the hardship of mining.

His hands were worn bloody, and finally, he barely dug out a small lump of iron ore.

When weighing the ore, it was less than ten catties.

He remained silent and went back to rest.

On the second day, it was even worse; he didn't even dig out a single piece of iron ore.

He received a lot of white eyes from the cultivator who collected the ore.

However, this situation improved on the fifth day.

"Twenty-two catties, Luo Chen, right!"

"Hmm."

"Okay, it's recorded, you can go."

Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief and barely showed a smile.

He received a portion of spirit rice rice ball, which was something only qualified miners could enjoy every day.

Holding the rice ball, he stood in the corner and devoured it.

Looking at the loose cultivators with numb expressions nearby, he swore that he must never be like this.

He came to the Poshan Gang not to mine.

It was to earn enough spirit stones to continue refining pills!

When a month ended.

Luo Chen barely passed the test, digging six hundred catties of iron ore.

This made Tang Quan, who brought the newcomer over, look at him with admiration.

He thought Luo Chen had achieved nothing in the first few months.

Unexpectedly, he passed in the first month.

"You are a qualified miner!"

"No, I am not a miner!"

"Hmm?"

Luo Chen didn't explain; he continued to gnaw on the rice ball in silence.

In this way, five months later, Luo Chen accumulated fifty spirit stones again, and even a few more.

He found Tang Quan, who was getting more and more familiar, and asked him to take a leave for himself.

Then he stayed in the house and began to refine pills.

Tang Quan squatted on the side, watching him operate.

And then witnessed failure after failure.

"Are you crazy?"

"What pills do loose cultivators refine!"

"Are you worthy?"

"In my opinion, it's better to take the spirit stones earned to buy pills for cultivation; when you reach the fourth level of Qi Refining, I can transfer you to the Battle Hall."

"Although the Battle Hall is dangerous, the income is high!"

Luo Chen barely smiled, and then fell into silence.

He had spent all his savings, and the remaining few spirit stones couldn't support the continued refining of the Myriad Wonder Pill.

Therefore, he returned to the Poshan Gang Mine Hall again to continue mining.

This time, he only spent four months to accumulate fifty spirit stones.

Seeing that he was going to buy medicinal herbs again, Tang Quan was anxious.

"You kid really doesn't know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is!"

"Without the guidance of a famous teacher and the supply of a major force, how can you refine a first-tier pill?"

Luo Chen pushed him away and walked into the Hundred Herb Hall on his own.

"Shopkeeper Liu, ten portions of Fire Dog Whip, Jade Yao Pillar..."

Tang Quan stood behind, shaking his head and sighing.

This was a stubborn guy.

It's just that, how can a loose cultivator become a noble alchemist?

Never mind, after failing a few more times, he will give up!

This thought was guessed by him, but not completely guessed.

Luo Chen was still failing, and the number of times accumulated over a year, he didn't know how many times he had failed.

But he still didn't give up.

Ten years had passed.

Tang Quan had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining and was no longer a miscellaneous cultivator running errands, but had become a glorious member of the Battle Hall.

And Luo Chen was still at the third level of Qi Refining.

Even because of mining all year round, he had become hunched and silent.

Only his expression was not like those miners, numb and indifferent to everything.

When he accumulated fifty spirit stones again and intended to ask for leave to go back and focus on refining pills, the Mine Hall deacon stopped him.

"Not allowed to ask for leave."

"Do you think the Poshan Gang is a small force without organization and discipline?"

Luo Chen looked up blankly; isn't it?

"Hmph, if you step out of this door, don't come back. Even other halls won't accept you!"

Luo Chen pursed his lips and nodded at him.

Then, he left the Mine Hall resolutely.

Returning home, cleaning up, looking at those rough fingers.

Luo Chen smiled slightly, "Perhaps I am really not suitable for pill refining!"

"And what alchemist has such rough hands?"

"But, the Myriad Wonder Pill must be refined; it won't do if it's not refined!"

He gritted his teeth and lit the firewood.

After failing again, he leaned against the door in a daze.

"Failed again?"

Tang Quan carried a rabbit and looked down at Luo Chen.

The other party didn't speak, and Tang Quan found himself bored.

"Forget it, I don't care about you. I'll cook today, and let you see my craftsmanship!"

His craftsmanship was naturally not good.

Facing the burnt rabbit meat at dinner, he couldn't eat it.

But Luo Chen, as if he had come back to his senses, gnawed on the rabbit meat in big mouthfuls.

Tang Quan frowned, "Why go to this extent, why go to this extent!"

"No, you don't understand."

Luo Chen swallowed a mouthful of rabbit meat, his eyes fierce.

"Yes, I don't understand, you understand!"

"If you understood, you wouldn't have achieved nothing in your life and been a small loose cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining."

"You've been like you've been possessed for these ten years, and eight horses couldn't pull you back."

"I'm too lazy to care about you."

Tang Quan scolded, threw away the rabbit leg, and walked away.

Luo Chen looked at his back without any sound of retention.

He just went back to the room silently and lay on the bed.

Early the next morning, he climbed up and prepared to refine pills.

Looking at the raging fire in the stove, Luo Chen's will was as firm as iron.

"Am I possessed?"

"No, I'm not!"

"No matter how many failures I experience, I will not give up; the Myriad Wonder Pill is the opportunity to change my future, I must grasp it!"

Holding this obsession, he started refining pills again.

When a completely different fragrance came out of the iron pot.

Two lines of tears fell uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes.

He choked and said:

"I, Luo Chen, really have talent for pill refining; my persistence is not wrong!"

Pushing open the door, dusk came into view.

In the distance, a familiar figure came carrying a rabbit.

And a phantom white figure flashed by.

"Why am I crying?"

In the spiritual vein cave, Luo Chen wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Trance-like, he looked around; the wood-attribute spiritual energy attracted by the Spirit-Gathering Formation was so rich.

This was a cultivation environment that he had never enjoyed in his dreams.

He lowered his head and looked at the clean, white, top-grade magic robe, which was so luxurious.

These were all earned by him refining pill after pill.

Luo Chen smiled.

"Persisting in pill refining, how could it be wrong?"

He stood up freely and left the spiritual vein cave.

Moving forward all the way, he came to Changyin Mountain.

In the winter, frost and snow fell, and ice hung high on the treetops.

This crystal-clear scene of ice and snow was like his current mood, so open-minded and happy.

A feeling of fullness and expansion filled the depths of his brain.

Luo Chen only felt

"Ten years in a dream, a decade in an instant!"

Amidst his reflections, Luo Chen took advantage of the icy temperature to begin summarizing the effects of the Soul-Piercing Pill.

【It has the simple effect of inducing dreams, derived from the Phantom Ghost Grass and Snow Fox demon blood. This effect has both pros and cons; it is likely because the pill formula was incomplete and lacked medicinal ingredients to suppress the Snow Fox demon blood.】

【The pill formula is not yet perfect and requires subsequent improvements.】

【Piercing the soul to enter a dream, there will be simple trials within the dream. If one upholds their original intent and passes, they will gain something.】

【This pill must not be given to those with wavering willpower. Otherwise, the best case is damage to their Dao heart, and the worst case is falling into obsession and sinking into inner demons.】

When he summarized the third point, a flash of relief crossed Luo Chen's face.

Fortunately, he had been persisting in the practice of the Bright Spirit Breaking Evil.

His willpower was firm and no longer what it used to be.

Otherwise, he feared that the soul-piercing dream would have lasted even longer.

【The duration of the pill's power varies from person to person. The longer the time, the better the effect. The shorter the time, the worse the effect.】

Although Luo Chen had just called the dream-entering process "a decade in an instant."

In reality, a full stick of incense worth of time had passed in the outside world.

Yet within that stick of incense, it felt as if he had truly lived through ten years.

And in ten years, the many things experienced were enough for a toddler to grow into a youth who gradually understands the ways of the world.

The growth of the primordial spirit therein goes without saying.

Luo Chen could feel that the speed of his thoughts turning was becoming increasingly rapid.

Some of the confusion in his past cultivation had also become like a thin layer of window paper, seemingly ready to break with a single poke.

This feeling was the manifestation of an increased primordial spirit foundation.

It is rumored that there are those great beings who reincarnate with naturally powerful primordial spirits, capable of quickly understanding and mastering any new thing.

He now faintly had this illusion.

"However, this Soul-Piercing Pill cannot be taken frequently!"

Luo Chen rubbed his throbbing brow; that was the aftereffect brought about by the surge in his primordial spirit foundation.

This aftereffect required time to be slowly smoothed out.

It was not something that could be eliminated by external objects like Soul-Calming Incense or Moonlight Grass.

Looking at the Changyin Mountain, where everything was silent and covered in ice and snow.

A thought suddenly occurred to Luo Chen.

"Perhaps, I can continue practicing the Soul-Suppressing Art!"

He had already mastered this technique, which he obtained from Gao Tingyuan and which actually originated from the "True Soul Refining Art" by the loose practitioner Gu Yue.

But mastering it was one thing, and continuing to practice it was another.

Every time he practiced, he had to drive the Soul-Suppressing Art.

Yet the Soul-Suppressing Art, unlike other techniques like the Fireball Art or Earth Mountain Art, could not be cast out of thin air.

It required a specific target.

And it must be something with a soul and spirit!

However, the backlash effect of a failed Soul-Suppressing Art had always worried Luo Chen quite a bit.

Therefore, after mastering the basics, he had shelved it.

Until now, he only had a few points of proficiency, barely having entered the door.

Now that his primordial spirit had surged by a significant margin, although he did not yet know the specific strength.

But Luo Chen's primordial spirit foundation was already stronger than cultivators of the same rank, and after the surge, he feared it would be even more formidable.

In this way, there was no fear of a backlash occurring.

"The Soul-Suppressing Art must still be practiced; if nothing else, the many ghosts inside the Ghost City of Dahe Square are a major hidden danger."

No one could be certain how much longer that Ghost City would last.

If one day the ghosts and spirits inside were to run rampant, the situation would be completely unmanageable.

Most of the current low-level loose cultivators had no means to deal with ghosts and spirits.

And the Soul-Suppressing Art, according to its description, was undoubtedly a technique that naturally countered ghosts and spirits.

After making up his mind, Luo Chen no longer hesitated.

Early the next morning.

After refining the Jade Marrow Pill, Luo Chen called for Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang.

When leaving Xieyue Valley, he stopped Qu Lingjun, who was passing by.

"Whoa, not bad, you've reached the second level of Qi Refining."

Qu Lingjun scratched his head, revealing the clear smile unique to a youth.

Luo Chen pinched his cheek.

"Go bring me that pot of Soul-Nurturing Tree."

Qu Lingjun looked up with his small face, "Didn't you say to let me raise it until it grows up for you?"

"If I tell you to go, then go; why ask so much?"

Luo Chen acted fierce, and Qu Lingjun pouted and ran back home.

Before long, he came running back holding the small flowerpot.

"Cultivate well, and if you have nothing to do, go help out at the Pill Hall; your Sister Mi Li has been especially busy lately."

"Oh..."

The youth was sullen, looking at the Soul-Nurturing Tree he had raised himself, quite reluctant to part with it.

It was supposed to be for him to raise.

Luo Chen shook his head, patted the child on the back of the head, and left with Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang.

Before long.

The three of them arrived at the wasteland behind Xieyue Valley.

"President, are we practicing techniques again today?"

"Yes."

"Should Old Liu be your sparring partner?"

Liu Qiang volunteered.

Luo Chen looked at him and nodded slightly.

"That works!"

Liu Qiang was quite excited; the President's techniques were extremely extraordinary, and sparring with him was always very beneficial.

However, Luo Chen's next instruction caught him off guard.

"Go into Huiye Mountain, catch some wild beasts, and if you encounter any weak demon beasts, catch some of those too."

"Remember, try to catch them alive!"

Liu Qiang was completely baffled, but he still had to obey Luo Chen's orders.

After he left, Luo Chen immediately sat cross-legged on the ground.

Closing his eyes to rest, he silently recited the operating method of the Soul-Suppressing Art over and over.

Zhou Yuanli stood to one side, his gaze scanning the surroundings, maintaining a state of full vigilance.

With him guarding nearby, Luo Chen felt very at ease.

Times were different now; two months ago, Zhou Yuanli had successfully advanced to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

He became the twelfth cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining in the Luotian Society.

Considering he was already fifty years old and had little hope of Foundation Establishment, Luo Chen arranged a nominal position for him in addition to his security work.

Law Enforcement Elder!

Although he didn't have a single person under him yet.

But with this title, it was easier to add a little more to his salary.

During the season when heavy snow blocked the mountains, the frequency of wild beast activity was not high.

It wasn't until an hour later that Liu Qiang finally returned.

He carried a large cloth bag, looking quite embarrassed.

"I only caught a few pheasants and one hyena."

"That's enough!"

Luo Chen still had his eyes closed, directing Liu Qiang to take out a pheasant and place it in front of him.

The next moment!

He suddenly opened his eyes!

Two beams of greenish light emitted from his eyes, staring straight at the pheasant.

The pheasant, which had been jumping around and struggling, instantly froze like a wooden chicken.

Seeing this scene, Liu Qiang subconsciously took three steps back, his expression filled with horror.

(End of chapter)