Chapter 173: Falling Cloud Smoke-Generating Method, time waits for no one

"Hmm?"

"Fellow Daoist Murong, do you have any further advice?"

Wang Yuan stopped his footsteps and looked at Luo Chen with a strange expression.

Luo Chen smiled slightly, "I wouldn't dare offer advice, I just wanted to..."

He had originally wanted to probe into the origins of the Treasure Cage Black Market, but felt it would be too abrupt.

Thus, the words on the tip of his tongue naturally changed into something else.

"The current situation seems calm, but there are undercurrents surging!"

Wang Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth, merely watching, waiting quietly for Luo Chen to state his true intent.

Luo Chen did not delay, "Therefore, as a precaution, I would like to double the supply of all materials on the list next month."

"Can your side manage that?"

Double the medicinal materials?

Wang Yuan frowned, then shook his head, "I cannot make the decision on this matter; I need to seek instructions from Master Tian Xingzi before giving you an answer."

"No matter, I can wait a while."

"Hmm."

Wang Yuan nodded and walked straight into the main hall.

Outside the black market, Luo Chen shook his head imperceptibly.

His relationship with Tian Xingzi was decent, and the latter frequently showed goodwill.

But this was absolutely not a reason for him to push his luck.

Probing into the other party's intentions might be the correct approach, but it would only serve to satisfy his own curiosity.

Even if he knew, what use would it be?

It might even anger the other party and ruin their good cooperative relationship.

By comparison, behind that phrase "time waits for no one," what was revealed might be an even greater chaotic situation about to arrive.

In such a situation, what he should do is store up grain!

These raw materials were the "provisions" he needed most.

Without these things, his exquisite alchemy skills would have no place to be used.

Soon, Wang Yuan returned.

He brought back the answer Luo Chen wanted.

Doubling the material supply—it could be done!

Since that was the case, Luo Chen had no reason to continue bothering them.

After bidding farewell, he slipped into the night.

With his current strength at the ninth level of Qi Refining, plus the Great Perfection Breath-Concealing Technique, and being in the complex environment of the outer city at night,

as long as he was careful, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator might not necessarily be able to find him.

Of course, tracking methods like carpet-bombing with firepower or washing the ground with magic treasures were another matter!

He moved stealthily all the way.

When he reached a hundred miles from the Luo Tian Society, Luo Chen did not enter directly.

Having experienced Hearing Mi Shuhua secretly applying multiple methods on him, he had become much more cautious.

Every time he entered or exited, he would carefully check his body for anything unusual.

In his view, the methods of any cultivator, as long as their realm was not too much higher, could not truly be done without a trace.

The reason Hearing Mi Shuhua was able to deceive him with his ignorance back then was mainly because his realm was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

By the time he reached the late stage of Qi Refining, those methods had already been unknowingly coexisting with him for a long time.

Even if he had luckily discovered the spiritual power mark, he still hadn't discovered the spiritual sense mark.

Even after Hearing Mi Shuhua died, the masterless spiritual sense mark had coexisted with him for a long time.

If not for the fact that the Jade Cauldron true disciple Luo Tianhong discovered it and the Core Formation Master Pang Renxiong personally took action, who knows how long that soul seed would have remained hidden.

If it had suddenly caused trouble while he was breaking through to Foundation Establishment, that would have been a huge problem.

Now that Luo Chen's realm was high and his soul far surpassed those of the same rank, he could vaguely compare to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Plus the Great Perfection Spirit Eye Technique, upon careful inspection, I could find almost no problems.

But even so, he still felt it wasn't safe enough.

"Begone!"

He let out a low shout, and three consecutive Cleansing Techniques were cast upon himself.

To the outside world, it looked like Luo Chen was flicking his hands three times in a row.

After the third time, he checked again, and finally felt at ease.

Only then did he leisurely walk toward the Luo Tian Society's base.

"My Cleansing Technique has been at the Grandmaster level for a long time; it's still over two hundred proficiency points away from Great Perfection."

"I must find time to grind it to full; perhaps it will have unexpected effects."

Luo Chen held high hopes for the Great Perfection of every spell.

Although the Great Perfection of Carefree Travel and the Traction Technique had disappointed him,

the Fireball Technique, Wind-Riding Art, Breath-Concealing Technique, and even the Spirit Eye Technique had all given him great surprises upon reaching Great Perfection.

By comparison, the Cleansing Technique, a life-oriented spell that was extremely widespread, had shown great potential at the Grandmaster level.

It could cleanse many types of auras besides original filth, such as pill aura, medicinal aura, spiritual energy, and even demonic aura.

He was very much looking forward to what changes a Great Perfection level Cleansing Technique would bring.

If it granted a supernatural ability to clarify the universe and sweep away all filth, that would be wonderful.

Hmm, he was at his doorstep.

Fantasy time over!

Luo Chen unhurriedly began the preparatory work before cultivation.

Brewing the Pei Yuan Spirit Liquid, replacing the spirit stones for the Small Spirit-Gathering Array, inserting a complete Calming Incense into the incense burner...

After everything was ready, Luo Chen held a Hua Chen Pill in his mouth and began today's cultivation.

At dawn, Luo Chen leisurely ended yesterday's cultivation.

"After taking the Tong You Pill and having my soul grow, I didn't expect such benefits?"

Luo Chen felt that after a night of cultivation, he was still full of energy.

In the past, this would have been unimaginable.

The reason why cultivators at low realms had slow cultivation speeds without taking pills

was because their soul strength was insufficient, and the number of times they could circulate their cultivation technique each day was extremely limited.

Once in the morning and once in the evening was already considered the limit.

Regarding this situation, there were capable people in the cultivation world who had tried to solve it.

The method finally given was to use external objects.

Such as Calming Incense!

But this still could not be considered a fundamental solution to the problem.

To solve this problem, one had to wait until after Foundation Establishment, when the soul was strong enough to even release spiritual sense.

Only then could one circulate their life-bound cultivation technique multiple times.

It was rumored that high-level cultivators could go into seclusion for months or years at a time.

That was because they had solved this problem.

As for Luo Chen, he had actually always been troubled by it.

Even after he luckily survived a heart tribulation and his soul doubled, he was still stuck at circulating his technique twice.

But now, he saw hope for solving this problem during the Qi Refining stage!

"If I persist in taking the Tong You Pill, perhaps I will soon be able to circulate the Chang Chun Gong multiple times in a single day."

Muttering to himself, Luo Chen tidied up the spirit vein cave.

He went to the Pill Hall and put the Ziyun Copper Furnace back into its original pill room.

Then, he unhurriedly took out a jade slip from his storage bag.

"Do I need to make a Great Dao oath?"

Stroking the jade slip, Luo Chen took a deep breath and spoke in a clear voice.

"I, Luo Chen!"

"Hereby take an oath!"

"Whether I learn it or not, I will not pass this alchemy technique to a second person."

"Whether intentional or unintentional, if it is leaked, I will surely suffer the backlash of the Great Dao, and my realm will never be able to advance an inch for the rest of my life!"

After the resolute voice ended, the hazy spiritual light lingering on the jade slip slowly dissipated.

At the same time, Luo Chen vaguely sensed a trace of discomfort.

It was as if something in the netherworld had glanced at him for that instant.

"In this cultivation world, could there really be such a thing as the Heavenly Dao?"

Luo Chen muttered, carefully checking the jade slip in his hand.

After confirming there were no hidden tricks, he carefully pressed the jade slip against his forehead.

A torrent of information instantly surged into his mind.

"Hmph..."

A muffled groan sounded, and Luo Chen's face turned pale.

But he still persisted and did not put down the jade slip.

After a long time, he slowly took off the jade slip.

Rubbing his forehead, Luo Chen couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile.

"I didn't expect that this 'making a friend out of thin air' would almost trap myself!"

Just now, the massive amount of information in the jade slip had poured into his mind like a torrent.

That huge volume of information was something an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator could not resist at all.

Under normal circumstances, sect elders would set up corresponding restrictions, so one could only see information corresponding to their realm.

This was also why there were often cultivation techniques on the market that could be cultivated to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and techniques that could be cultivated to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

Long ago, people had started doing this.

If layered restrictions were not set, a low-realm cultivator would be suddenly impacted by a massive information flow.

At best, their soul would be damaged, leaving them listless for months.

At worst, they would become foolish and idiotic, turning into an imbecile.

Because Luo Chen had made up a friend who was an alchemist at the Foundation Establishment stage,

Tian Xingzi hadn't thought about this at all; this amount of information was nothing to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Naturally, he wouldn't set any layered restrictions.

If not for Luo Chen's deep soul foundation, he would have been turned into an idiot by the massive information of this alchemy technique just now.

Even though he had held on, he still felt his brain was dizzy.

"I was careless..."

Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen went to the spirit vein cave.

Under the fragrance emitted by the Moonlight Grass, he finally felt refreshed.

Glancing at the Moonlight Grass, he shook his head.

"Although there is a large amount of wood spiritual energy drawn by the Spirit-Gathering Array, the time is too short."

"If the age were longer, it would be better."

Rubbing his brow, Luo Chen closed his eyes, savoring the content of the jade slip just now.

After a while, he opened his eyes thoughtfully.

"Falling Cloud Smoke-Generating Method."

"This water technique is extremely profound, relying on external objects. Not only can it be used for alchemy, but it can also enhance the grade of pills."

According to the records of this water technique,

when refining first-grade spirit liquid, one can choose a place with steaming water vapor to assist in pill formation.

If it is second-grade spirit liquid, not to mention a place with steaming water vapor, one can also supplement it with spirit springs, doubling the effect.

By the time it reaches third-grade spirit liquid, the effect of water vapor places and spirit spring assistance decreases.

At this time, it is best to choose a place rich in water-attribute spiritual energy, and combine it with a secret recipe and additional techniques to refine third-grade spirit liquid.

"It is indeed a water alchemy technique from first to third grade, though it seems a bit strained for refining third-grade spirit liquid."

"However, Di Liu Jiang is only a second-grade spirit liquid, so it's more than enough."

"Not only that, this method also records two pill techniques, which is an unexpected joy."

One is the Huan Xi Hand, and the other is the Hua Yun Hand.

The former is the pill technique Luo Chen had been longing for, which can handle water and yin attributes.

After mastering the Huan Xi Hand, whether it is processing the Snow Fox demonic blood for the Tong You Pill, or the cultivator essence blood and Huang Quan yin evil for the Blood Evil Pill, it can achieve twice the result with half the effort!

As for the latter, at first glance, it doesn't seem very unusual.

Even in the cultivation world, it's not particularly special.

But the Hua Yun Hand is the essence of the Falling Cloud Smoke-Generating Method.

Deriving water vapor and spirit springs into the medicine all require this pill technique.

"Next, I'll have my hands full!"

Although he was complaining, the smile on Luo Chen's face was visible to the naked eye.

The longer he practiced alchemy, the more complex his emotions became.

Repeatedly refining a certain type of pill would make him feel exhausted.

But every time he came into contact with fresh alchemy knowledge, he was extremely happy.

However, regardless of everything,

he had gradually fallen in love with this craft, not just treating it as a means to make a living.

In the following time, besides daily cultivation and researching the Fireball Technique, Luo Chen also spent an extra thirty percent of his effort on alchemy.

Through the process of fire-based alchemy, he would also occasionally use water-based techniques to process some medicinal materials.

No alchemy technique can be mastered successfully in a rush.

Luo Chen chose to break it down and familiarize himself with it bit by bit.

When he truly started using it, it would inevitably be much easier.

This is what is called "sharpening the axe does not delay the woodcutter."

Ten days passed in a flash.

Luo Chen woke up slowly from his trance.

Looking at the empty bottle in his hand, he shook his head.

"The Tong You Pill is finished; I have to refine more."

After experiencing his first dream, he had gradually become familiar with the medicinal power of the Tong You Pill.

This was his third time taking it, and his soul foundation had grown by another notch.

That feeling of fullness and expansion still lingered in his mind.

Luo Chen did not hesitate and went to a room filled with a fishy smell.

Cages were covered with black cloth.

He casually cast a Sound-Isolation Technique and then lifted the black cloth.

"Woo!"

A wolf howl sounded, and a thin, baring-fanged Gray Leaf Wolf appeared before him.

Luo Chen smiled slightly and immediately activated the Soul-Intimidating Technique.

Green, ghostly light emerged in his eyes.

The Gray Leaf Wolf subconsciously took a step back, but its body suddenly stiffened.

A moment later, Luo Chen easily pulled out the soul of the Gray Leaf Wolf.

Compared to ordinary beasts, the soul of this Gray Leaf Wolf, which had just stepped into the first-grade demonic beast level, was much stronger.

But in front of Luo Chen's Soul-Intimidating Technique, which had already reached the proficient level, it still had no power to resist.

With a light laugh, Luo Chen shouted softly.

"Zha!"

With this shout, the transparent light cluster instantly developed cracks.

This was a sign of soul damage.

At this point, Luo Chen showed a trace of effort, but everything was still under control.

After shouting two more times, the soul of the Gray Leaf Wolf completely shattered.

Immediately, the soul fragments were absorbed and devoured by the Soul-Nurturing Tree.

The three tender buds, which were already tender green, became even more lush and dripping with vitality.

Su Yinyin, branches were about to emerge.

Hu...

Exhaling a long breath, Luo Chen stopped his practice of the Soul-Intimidating Technique.

"Sure enough, using demonic beast souls for cultivation is much faster than using beasts."

"After only a few dozen times, the proficiency of the Soul-Intimidating Technique has advanced to the proficient level."

Every tug-of-war, struggle, and pulling apart of the demonic beast soul was a practice of the Soul-Intimidating Technique.

The stronger the enemy's soul, the more the proficiency would increase.

To digest the three Tong You Pills, Luo Chen was using the Soul-Intimidating Technique almost every day.

Recently, the number of beasts that had died at his hands had reached several dozen.

Later on, Luo Chen even ordered Liu Qiang to capture or buy live low-grade demonic beasts to keep in the Luo Tian Society.

Using these demonic beasts for practice was what caused his Soul-Intimidating Technique's proficiency to skyrocket in a short time.

Not only that, the surging soul power also became more condensed, truly becoming a part of his foundation.

This mutual benefit achieved an effect of one plus one being greater than two.

The Soul-Intimidating Technique honed his surging soul, and the strengthened soul, in turn, affected the power of the Soul-Intimidating Technique.

It even had additional benefits.

Now, the number of times Luo Chen circulated the Chang Chun Gong every day had changed from the previous four times to five times.

One more time might not seem like much.

Its impact on cultivation was merely absorbing one more portion of spiritual energy.

However, accumulation over time would be a terrifying improvement!

Besides this, Luo Chen also discovered that his strengthened soul was also very beneficial for alchemy.

Previously, dividing the day into morning and afternoon, refining sixteen portions of raw materials for the Jade Marrow Pill was very strained.

Now, he could do it with ease.

He even occasionally had spare energy to squeeze out time to refine the Blood-Burning Pill needed by Tian Xingzi.

Leaving the beast room, Luo Chen nodded to Liu Qiang, who was guarding outside.

The other party understood the meaning and immediately went to deal with the demonic beast carcass himself.

Walking in the Luo Tian Society, Luo Chen estimated the inventory of pills.

"I've refined the Blood-Burning Pill eight times recently, all using the Four-Image Cauldron, four portions of raw materials each time. According to my proficiency, I've accumulated about forty pills."

"If I add the ten pills I've been keeping, I can gather fifty."

"But there are still a few days left, so there's no rush to deliver the goods."

"I can slow down on the Jade Marrow Pill and refine two more furnaces of Blood-Burning Pills!"

"I can't stop the Tong You Pill either; I have to refine a bottle in these few days."

Having made this decision, Luo Chen sighed softly.

Unknowingly, he found that time was not enough.

The Jade Marrow Pill was his main business; only by refining enough could he earn enough spirit stones to buy various cultivation resources.

The Blood-Burning Pill involved his cooperation with Tian Xingzi, which affected many things, so it couldn't be stopped either.

As for the Tong You Pill, although it was for his own use,

it involved his soul foundation and had a great relationship with Foundation Establishment, so it was best not to stop.

These were just related to alchemy.

He still had to cultivate, which was the top priority and absolutely could not be stopped!

Those spells, the research on the Fireball Technique, represented his biggest combat trump card at the moment.

The Soul-Intimidating Technique was used to hone his soul and deal with yin ghosts in the Ghost City.

There were also the Cleansing Technique, the two prerequisite spells for Mountain Collapse, and the Healing Technique nearing the Grandmaster level.

Oh, and the few pill techniques related to alchemy, and the Falling Cloud Smoke-Generating Method he had just obtained.

The research on the Di Liu Jiang pill formula and the Blood Evil Pill formula.

"Time is not enough!"

"Even an iron man can't stand being worked like this!"

"I finally understand why Wang Yuan was so unwilling to manage the trivial matters of the Luo Tian Society. These things also take up a lot of time."

"No, I can't keep doing things in such a scattered way."

Facing the cold mountain wind, Luo Chen's steps toward the Pill Hall were a bit heavy.

He felt that he must make some trade-offs.

Before, he had no choice, but now as the head of a society, he could choose what he wanted to do in a targeted manner.

As for how to do it, he still had to think carefully.

"Let's refine today's Blood-Burning Pills first, so I can leave enough time to do other things."

Luo Chen sighed.

He discovered another problem: the reason the Blood-Burning Pill and Tong You Pill wasted so much of his time

was mainly because his proficiency wasn't high enough to let the medicine apprentices and fire workers help.

And increasing proficiency required time.

"Time waits for no one!"

"Hmm? Why did I say that?"

Just as he entered the pill room, Luo Chen, who was preparing to refine pills, was inexplicably stunned.

(End of chapter)

. ===== CHAPTER 174 =====