Chapter 28: A Small Courtyard, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I don't know why, but Luo Chen felt that Wang Yuan was colder than before.

His words were still not many, but occasionally a sentence was a bit creepy.

Luo Chen naturally didn't know about Wang Yuan’s recent resounding combat achievements, and he had even made a name for himself as the Mad Blade.

Killing for treasure had nothing to do with him.

Even if it did, it was all forced.

He, Luo Chen, was devoted to the Dao!

Flipping through a pile of books, Luo Chen finally found his target.

"Brother Wang, I’m your little brother now, right!"

"Mm, barely."

"Then does being your little brother have any benefits, for example..."

"This book won't work; it was entrusted to me for sale by a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator of the Poshan Gang. If you want to read it, you have to buy it."

What Luo Chen was holding was the "Five Must-Learn Spells for Qi Refining Stage" that Wang Yuan had been selling at his stall for a long time without selling.

But Luo Chen remembered that Wang Yuan used to say that this book was robbed by him?

Didn't they say loose cultivators don't lie to loose cultivators!

Luo Chen cursed and took out 200 low-grade spirit stones, then carefully put the book into the storage bag.

Wang Yuan

"That guy Chen Xiao is truly unlucky; he worked hard for half a year, only to end up making a wedding dress for you."

What do you mean by making a wedding dress for me!

I'm a man.

"The unlucky ghost I killed earlier was named Chen Xiao?"

"Yes, he discovered a predecessor's cave dwelling and spent half a year breaking the formation. He had a bountiful harvest, but it all became yours."

Luo Chen touched his storage bag, suddenly enlightened.

No wonder a mere Qi Refining Level 5 loose cultivator had both a storage bag and a high-grade magic treasure like the Soul-Piercing Nail; it turns out he had a fortuitous encounter!

"Those brothers had a bountiful harvest, which is why they had the guts to surround and kill me. It's a pity they didn't know how to use their treasures."

"How so?"

"Take this Soul-Piercing Nail for example. It easily broke through my defense initially, but it could only lightly injure me. It was less of a threat to me than his other thunderbolt bomb."

Perhaps Wang Yuan felt like giving Luo Chen some pointers, so he spoke casually.

"But if he had coated the Soul-Piercing Nail with some poison, I would have been in danger back then."

Luo Chen was stunned, then gave a thumbs up.

"You're still the one who's insidious enough, brother!"

"Oh no, I mean you have rich combat experience, brother!"

Seeing Wang Yuan's expression change, Luo Chen immediately corrected himself.

Wang Yuan shook his head, "Whether it's a cultivator or a mortal martial artist, the logic of combat is actually the same: it's just about putting the other person to death. Many loose cultivators in Dahe Market are too rigid and conventional, only knowing how to trade blows with magic treasures in a formulaic way."

"Of course, it's also possible he couldn't get his hands on poison that works on cultivators."

Luo Chen nodded heavily.

Cultivators inhale and exhale spiritual energy; even if they don't deliberately refine their bodies, their constitution is gradually evolving.

Otherwise, high-level cultivators, who frequently squander massive amounts of spiritual energy, would not be able to withstand such devastation with a frail physique.

A jade bottle was handed to Luo Chen.

"This is the Spirit-Disrupting Powder I seized. Coat it on the Soul-Piercing Nail; once it touches the enemy's flesh and blood, their spiritual energy will become chaotic and impossible to mobilize."

Is this the benefit of being a little brother?

Luo Chen took it excitedly, planning to coat it as soon as he got back.

He also wanted to become someone with rich combat experience!

"Remember, the duration of the Spirit-Disrupting Powder is very short, and those with enough spiritual energy can easily suppress it. Therefore, once you fire the Soul-Piercing Nail, you must be prepared for a quick battle."

Wang Yuan warned him solemnly.

He still had a few bottles left for his own use, but there was no need to tell Luo Chen that.

He wasn't a talkative person by nature, and he had already said a lot today.

Seeing this, Luo Chen left behind a bag of snacks to pass the time and took his leave tactfully.

Before leaving the market, he looked back and found that Wang Yuan seemed to be practicing?

"Taking advantage of the time spent setting up a stall to siphon the inner city's first-tier spiritual vein?"

This discovery gave Luo Chen a moment of surprise.

But he quickly dismissed any similar attempts at imitation.

The market was crowded and noisy, not a good place for quiet cultivation at all.

If someone were to disturb him recklessly, he might suffer from qi deviation.

Wang Yuan dared to do this because he must have had some other reliance.

If he were to copy him, it would be courting death.

"You really are an alchemist!"

After Caiyi woke up in the afternoon and freshened up, she popped over to the back room.

She saw Luo Chen holding a stone pestle, forcefully grinding a type of ore she didn't recognize.

The spacious back room was filled with medicinal herbs.

The mixed smell made one feel a bit uncomfortable upon smelling it.

Luo Chen, however, enjoyed it, having long since grown accustomed to these smells.

Seeing Caiyi leaning against the doorway, Luo Chen chuckled and poured the gilded powder from the stone mortar into a wooden bucket.

Another type of medicinal herb was already soaking inside, and as the gilded powder was added, it instantly produced a strange reaction.

Bubbles kept emerging, making a gurgling sound.

After washing his hands, Luo Chen walked to the door and stretched.

"Want some hawthorn? I got it as a freebie from the boss when I bought herbs today. It doesn't have much spiritual energy, but it's sweet and sour."

Caiyi took a handful of hawthorn from Luo Chen, but her gaze fell on his storage bag.

"You alchemists are indeed very wealthy; you have a storage bag even at the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

Her tone was filled with deep envy.

Envious, woman?

I traded my life for this!

Luo Chen naturally wouldn't show off his wealth; he avoided this sensitive topic and asked Caiyi about the situation of the neighbors.

When moving to a new place, it's better to get familiar with the people around.

Otherwise, if any conflict really broke out later, it would greatly affect his work.

However, this inquiry made him feel a bit stiff.

"One main room, east and west wing rooms, plus two side rooms and this largest back room of yours—a total of six families live here."

"The east wing room is occupied by Fu Xiuxiu, Qi Refining Level 9; she usually works at the Divine Talisman Pavilion and has already been promoted to a manager."

"The west wing room is occupied by the Qin family, a total of three people; Qin Liangchen and his wife are both Qi Refining Level 9. You won't see them for a while because they personally escorted their son to the Luoyun Sect to participate in the entrance trial."

"The two side rooms are occupied by Bai Meiling and Feng Xia, both female cultivators at Qi Refining Level 7, who both work at the Hundred Herbs Hall."

After hearing this introduction to his neighbors, Luo Chen couldn't help but be shocked.

Hidden dragons and crouching tigers!

In such a small courtyard, there were actually three Qi Refining Level 9s and two Qi Refining Level 7s.

Only Luo Chen was at Qi Refining Level 4; pitiful, I want a hug.

Caiyi naturally wouldn't hug him; she puffed out her chest and laughed: "As for me, Gu Caiyi, Qi Refining Level 8, I make a living by dancing at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower."

"How's the income?"

"It's alright, haven't you seen me living in the main room?"

Sigh, shaking his head, sighing.

He had thought that after advancing to the mid-stage of Qi Refining, he would count as a great cultivator, but he didn't expect that in this small courtyard, everyone could bully him with their cultivation base.

In reality, although Luo Chen was surprised, he didn't feel unexpected.

There were tens of thousands of loose cultivators in Dahe Market, and hundreds of them were in the late stage of Qi Refining.

While these hundreds were indeed rare to see in the outer city, they were everywhere in the inner city.

Or rather, low-level cultivators couldn't afford to live in the inner city at all; only late-stage cultivators with a specialized skill could live there stably.

Like Old Daoist Chen, Qi Refining Level 6, who was skilled in making talismans and tanning talisman skins, which gave him the confidence to say, "If the outer city gets any more chaotic, I plan to move into the inner city."

From this, one can see a glimpse of the situation.

If Luo Chen hadn't been avoiding trouble and had licked the blood off his blade twice, he wouldn't have had the capital to rent a room in the inner city either.

"It feels a bit strange."

"What's strange?"

Luo Chen asked curiously, "In our courtyard, not counting me, aren't all five of your families female cultivators? And the residents in the alleys on the way home seem to be mostly women too."

"You're really stupid!"

Gu Caiyi giggled, "Heaven and earth have yin and yang, and spiritual energy naturally has a distinction between yin and yang. A ghost king is suppressed on the north side of the city, so the spiritual energy has leaned towards the yin attribute over time. Men belong to yang, women belong to yin, so of course, most of the people who come here to rent rooms are female cultivators!"

Luo Chen was suddenly enlightened, then worriedly asked: "Then if I stay here for a long time, will it affect my cultivation?"

"It shouldn't have any effect, right?" The tall Gu Caiyi hugged her chest and said uncertainly: "We female cultivators do benefit from yin-attribute places, but for you male cultivators, at most there's no gain, and it won't get any worse."

"Is that so."

"Doesn't Fellow Daoist Qin also live here for many years? I haven't heard him mention it."

Gu Caiyi thought for a moment, "How about this, I'll ask Miss Yuxiang from the Heavenly Fragrance Tower when I have time tonight; she knows more about this than I do."

"Hmm, then I'll trouble you."

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet, what kind of elixirs do you refine?"

Gu Caiyi looked at the dark room with great interest; she didn't recognize most of the medicinal herbs inside.

If the elixirs Luo Chen refined were suitable for her, that would be great.

Since they were neighbors, a friendly price was always possible.

After waiting for a long time, she didn't hear Luo Chen's answer.

Is it inconvenient to say?

Gu Caiyi glanced at Luo Chen and noticed a faint, imperceptible flush on his face.

"Grain-Grain Bigu Elixirs."

"Yes, it's Grain-Grain Bigu Elixirs!"

Luo Chen repeated, his tone quite firm.

Gu Caiyi, who went to work in the evening, was still thinking about the afternoon chat in her mind.

When she arrived at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower, most of the girls were up and preparing to eat something to pad their stomachs.

The spiritual food provided once a day at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower was good stuff, and Gu Caiyi would absolutely not miss it.

While eating the delicious and spiritual-energy-filled meal, Gu Caiyi saw Yuxiang, who was eating in small bites.

"Xiangxiang, you know alchemy, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm."

"Do mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators make a lot of money refining Grain-Grain Bigu Elixirs?"

Yuxiang blinked, then pursed her lips and smiled.