Chapter 98

In the cramped cave, a young man was sitting cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed.

The moon-white Daoist robe rose and fell with the unique breathing rhythm of his chest.

His face was handsome, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, appearing somewhat cynical yet resilient, as if he would optimistically persist in walking forward no matter how many difficulties and hardships lay on the road ahead.

Suddenly, his eyelids blinked, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His clear eyes held a thoughtful gaze.

"The spiritual energy concentration here far exceeds that of the Sihe Academy, and it is slightly better than where the Tianxiang Tower is located."

"Perhaps it is not inferior to the main branch of the first-tier spirit vein where the Yuding Sword Pavilion is located."

"Cultivating under this spiritual energy concentration has an extremely extraordinary additive effect on me!"

He only made a slight estimation and knew that he had added another layer of cultivation efficiency on top of his four-fold five-element spiritual root qualification.

Five times the cultivation efficiency had completely surpassed the three-element spiritual root qualification; he didn't know what the gap was compared to dual-element spiritual root cultivators.

Luo Chen didn't know the cultivation efficiency of dual-element spiritual root cultivators because he had absolutely no reference object.

Dahe Market was mostly loose cultivators, and these loose cultivators were mostly three-element or four-element spiritual root cultivators.

So, he didn't have friends in this regard, not even people he knew...

"Actually, there is one, but I have never seen him."

Xiaohu—Qin Yuanjiang.

The son of Qin Liangchen and his wife, a gold-water dual-element spiritual root.

That child whose name he had heard but never seen.

Now, the other party was already a high disciple of the Luoyun Sect, and it was likely he would have hope for Foundation Establishment in the future.

He hadn't inquired about the child's specific cultivation realm.

And involving sect recruitment, qualification checks, and other issues, Qin Liangchen and his wife hadn't given him elixirs since he was young, mostly using medicinal baths and dietary supplements to improve his foundation.

However, these were all trivial matters that didn't matter.

Luo Chen only needed to know that cultivating in this place was of great benefit to him.

"It seems I need to find more reasons to stay in the Alchemy Hall in the future."

"There's no need to return the house in the Sihe Academy; after all, it's the inner city, and safety is guaranteed."

Nowadays, the monthly rent of ten spirit stones was no longer a burden for him.

It was just one Nourishing Qi Elixir, after all!

Thinking of the Nourishing Qi Elixir, Luo Chen smiled.

"Such a good place and a good opportunity, I can't let it go."

He took out a stalk of calming incense and a Nourishing Qi Elixir.

Burning the incense, taking the elixir, and refining Qi.

…….

The next morning, Luo Chen woke up from his meditative state.

Getting up and stretching, Luo Chen couldn't help but groan.

Comfortable!

This was the most comfortable cultivation he had experienced since he crossed over.

Outside, there was abundant spiritual energy; inside, the medicinal power of the Nourishing Qi Elixir was constantly converting into spiritual power, and the Grandmaster-level Changchun Gong was constantly circulating, perfectly fitting his body.

The aroma of the calming incense made his soul, which had passed the heart tribulation, become strong and resilient in a short time.

Coupled with the supplementation of Peiyuan Spirit Liquid during this period, the vital energy accumulated in his physique was also sufficiently massive.

Under the blessing of so many conditions, he was like a starving beggar who had finally enjoyed a full-course banquet.

He was eating until his mouth was full of oil!

"One night of cultivation, and the progress bar jumped from 6 directly to 8, a surge of two full progress bars!"

If calculated according to this progress, the previously estimated three months to break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining could now be shortened to at most two months.

Terrifying!

No wonder those large sects produced geniuses at a young age.

They stayed in first-tier spirit veins every day, or even second-tier or third-tier spirit vein places.

Even without taking any elixirs, the spiritual power in their bodies could soar.

Especially in the early and middle stages of Qi Refining, the faster they advanced, the more time they would have to prepare for Foundation Establishment after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining.

There was absolutely no need to worry about insufficient lifespan like loose cultivators.

"Sister Xiuxiu once said that the best age for a cultivator to break through to Foundation Establishment is before sixty; after sixty, a cultivator's blood energy begins to decline, and the probability of Foundation Establishment failure will greatly increase."

"Just this one point alone has blocked how many loose cultivators who spent their whole lives reaching the ninth layer of Qi Refining."

Luo Chen felt sad for those loose cultivators.

Having finally reached the perfection of Qi Refining, they had to face the unfavorable situation of insufficient lifespan and declining blood energy.

Even if they managed to get a Foundation Establishment Pill, it would likely end in failure.

"I must never fall into that situation!"

The joy of obtaining the spirit vein cave was washed away quite a bit.

Even if he could break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining in two months, the spiritual power needed for each realm afterward would only be more!

Especially the ninth layer of Qi Refining; many loose cultivators were trapped to death in this realm.

Just like his Brother Qin, isn't he the same now?

Clearly having a Foundation Establishment Pill, although it was kept by Mi Shuhua, he had no reason to ask for it back.

The reason was simple: Qin Liangchen had not yet reached the perfection of Qi Refining and was not qualified for Foundation Establishment.

"Moreover, my cultivation speed is not the norm!"

"Calming incense, the quantity is not enough!"

The calming incense Mi Shuhua promised him was one box per month.

And one box only had twelve stalks.

Without calming incense, he could only circulate the Changchun Gong two or three times a day at most; any more would lead to mental fatigue.

Besides the calming incense, the quantity of Nourishing Qi Elixirs was also slightly insufficient; four bottles of Nourishing Qi Elixirs were only enough for twenty days.

Luo Chen thought about these things while doing other things with his hands.

A complete large rock blocked the spirit vein cave to ensure that spiritual energy did not leak out too much.

On the way out, he kept using stones to block the narrow mine tunnel.

Even knowing that this method couldn't completely block the leakage of spiritual energy, blocking a little more was better than nothing.

"Elixirs, calming incense, I'm afraid it won't be very easy to fleece them from Mi Shuhua."

"Although those reasons and excuses are different every time, asking for the same things too much will also be annoying."

"But I have a little wealth now, so I can buy them myself."

"There is one more thing I need to consider!"

Luo Chen's eyes flashed, and a sense of crisis surfaced in his heart.

That was, after perfectly solving all the problems of cultivation resources, the five-element spiritual root cultivation speed, which was faster than ordinary people's cognition, could easily bring trouble.

Whether it was the system or this spirit vein cave, they must absolutely not be exposed!

"I need to spend more effort on the Qi-Restraining Spirit Technique!"

……

"Good morning!"

"Good morning, Hall Master Luo!"

"Good morning, Hall Master Luo!"

This was the first day Luo Chen had "gone to work" so early.

But clearly, there were many people earlier than him.

The medicine hall cultivators stationed here had already begun to get busy.

Just as the sky was turning bright, they were already driving magic tools, hovering at low altitudes.

"Cloud-making and rain-bringing" for the dozen or so medicine fields in the valley.

Saying cloud-making and rain-bringing was a bit of an exaggeration, but the scene was indeed very similar.

"Is this your Small Cloud-Rain Spell?"

Luo Chen squatted on the field ridge, curiously watching them pinch seals to cast rain.

A cultivator landed, wiped the sweat, and smiled slightly.

"Hall Master Luo has good discernment; this is indeed the Small Cloud-Rain Spell, a spell imparted by the Merit Hall, suitable for cultivating water-attribute medicinal herbs."

Under his explanation, Luo Chen knew why they had to release the spell early in the morning.

Xieyue Valley was a mineral vein place and far from the Lancang River, so the water vapor here was not thick.

Usually, these water-attribute medicinal herbs needed a large amount of water-attribute spiritual energy.

Therefore, they had to release the spell when the temperature was not high.

"It's a pity that the grade of the spirit fields here is too low to cultivate better medicinal herbs."

Luo Chen asked curiously, "Are there no spells to improve the grade of spirit fields?"

The cultivator smiled bitterly, "There are, but we don't know them, and the gang doesn't have them either."

"Oh?"

"It is rumored that the Five Elements God Sect has great insights into spirit plant cultivation, and they have researched a lot of spells related to spirit plants and spirit fields."

"For example?"

"Take improving the grade of spirit fields, for example! They have a second-tier spell called the Bing Fire Wasteland Burning Technique, which can burn many spirit woods and mineral materials into ash and then integrate them into the spirit field. By doing this once or twice a year, combined with the spirit vein place, the grade of the spirit field will constantly rise."

Luo Chen was stunned, Bing Fire Wasteland Burning Technique?

"It is said that the Five Elements God Sect has dozens of fourth-tier spirit fields, all of which were upgraded, and it seems there is also a huge fifth-tier spirit field."

The cultivator shook his head, his eyes showing a look of longing.

"And this Bing Fire Wasteland Burning Technique is just the tip of the iceberg; spells like the Taiyin Yimu Marsh Gas Technique, Guishui Composting Technique, Gengjin Grass-Cutting Sword Technique, etc., are all improved from high-level spells."

"If I could master a second-tier spirit plant spell, even a simplified version, I could become a second-tier spirit planter."

Spirit planter, one of the most common professions in the hundred arts of cultivation.

In any force, there would be more or less spirit planters.

Unless it was that kind of demonic sect that didn't engage in production, they wouldn't cultivate or hire spirit planters.

The cultivator named Yuan Dongsheng in front of Luo Chen was one of the three major spirit planters in the Medicine Hall, managing several spirit fields alone.

"Hall Master Luo, are you very interested in cultivating spirit plants? Do you want me to teach you a trick?"

Luo Chen got up quickly, what a joke!

Alchemy was already very tiring, and you want me to farm?

"No, let's discuss it next time we have a chance."

After saying that, he ran away in a hurry.

Yuan Dongsheng watched from behind, feeling quite a pity; it was rare to have a fellow Daoist willing to discuss spirit plant-related things with him.

However, the other party really didn't need to learn these things; what kind of noble status was an alchemist?

A hundred first-tier spirit planters were not as noble as one alchemist.

After all, that was one of the four most mainstream arts in the hundred arts of cultivation, and even among the four arts of alchemy, formation, weapon, and talisman, it could be called the first.

If I could become an alchemist... unfortunately, I have no choice!

And at this moment, the noble alchemist Lord Luo Chen was pondering around the Xuanyun Tripod in the largest elixir room.

"Let's use this mid-grade elixir tripod to refine Yusu Elixirs today; brushing proficiency will be faster."

……

……

Since he decided to spend some effort and make some achievements.

He couldn't just play around like before.

The Ziyun Copper Furnace was only a first-tier low-grade magic tool, and there was a limit to the firepower and raw materials it could withstand at one time.

In contrast, the quality of the first-tier mid-grade magic tool, the Xuanyun Tripod, was much better.

Usually, when refining Zhongmiao Pills, he could directly put in two batches of raw materials, and there would even be a slight surplus.

Regarding the refining of Yusu Elixirs, after two successes and more than a dozen failures, Luo Chen had barely managed to become proficient.

Now, it was time to use the Xuanyun Tripod.

As the medicine apprentices arrived one by one, Luo Chen directed them to send the corresponding medicinal materials into the large elixir room.

"Starting today, all morning time will be used to refine Yusu Elixirs."

"Considering that you are not yet proficient in refining Yusu Elixirs, I can only refine them by myself, so in the extra time, besides processing medicinal materials, you must also read the 'Hundred Herbs Illustrated Manual' carefully."

Luo Chen handed the 'Hundred Herbs Illustrated Manual' he had borrowed from Mi Junping with a thick skin to Gu Caiyi.

She was the Alchemy Hall's steward, in charge of the Alchemy Hall's internal affairs.

Now she was managing the medicine apprentices, fire-tenders, and elixir storage masters for him.

Usually, some things Luo Chen needed his subordinates to learn couldn't be taught by himself, and he often let the other party supervise on his behalf.

"Make twenty copies and let them study them carefully; they must understand the characteristics of various spirit herbs."

Gu Caiyi hesitated and took the 'Hundred Herbs Illustrated Manual', "This is a book from the Merit Hall; is it okay for us to let them learn it directly?"

"There's nothing good or bad about it; if there's a problem, I'll deal with Mi Junping."

Luo Chen's mentality had changed again.

This group of people under him, although he couldn't let them learn real things, he didn't need to hide everything either.

Some slightly popularized knowledge, if they could learn it, would be of better help to him in his future alchemy career.

"Besides this, Elder Sikong, you go to the Merit Hall and borrow that 'Flame-Controlling Technique' for my Alchemy Hall."

Sikong Shoujia, who was standing nearby, frowned, "That is a boutique among first-tier spells, not some popularized spell; what do you want it for?"

"What if it's a boutique? In the end, it's not an attack or defense spell, but just a technique for controlling magic power."

Luo Chen waved his hand, facing those fire-tenders.

"This group of fire-tenders' techniques for controlling fire is too rough. It's okay for refining Grain Bigu Pills and Zhongmiao Pills, but in refining Yusu Elixirs, they can't help me."

"Letting them learn the 'Flame-Controlling Technique' will be of great benefit to you, to me, and to the entire Poshan Gang."

Is that so?

Sikong Shoujia was half-believing.

However, he didn't refuse this request and left Xieyue Valley on the spot to go to the main altar where the Merit Hall was located.

As for the merit points needed to exchange for spells from the Merit Hall?

He didn't worry much about this point.

When the Alchemy Hall was first established, Mi Shuhua opened the door of convenience; as long as it was a spell considered helpful to the Alchemy Hall, it could be given.

Otherwise, Luo Chen would have had no reason to borrow the 'Hundred Herbs Illustrated Manual' in the first place.

It was just that for Mi Junping, he might have to spend some effort.

Watching his departing back, Luo Chen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The extra work issued to the medicine apprentices and fire-tenders was indeed as he said.

But in reality, the deeper reason was that his proficiency in refining Yusu Elixirs was still too low.

It was still at the introductory stage.

The proficiency at this stage could only support his own alchemy.

To be like Grain Bigu Pills and Zhongmiao Pills, letting others help him refine elixirs together, was far from enough.

"In fact, most alchemists in this world might have people helping them refine elixirs, but they probably can't reach my level, right?"

Luo Chen thought to himself.

He even had a feeling that if he were a little stronger, he could completely expand the stall even more.

Let more people do the chores for him and refine more elixirs at the same time.

The confidence of this feeling came from the abnormal efficiency of stable production and quality after the proficiency of each elixir was promoted to the Grandmaster level.

"Speaking of which, what kind of change will happen after an elixir's proficiency is promoted to the Great Perfection?"

"Top-grade elixirs?"

Luo Chen glanced at the attribute panel, and the one closest to the Great Perfection was the Grain Bigu Powder.

……

The morning alchemy only opened two batches of elixirs.

One batch was the Yusu Elixirs that Luo Chen refined himself, using the Xuanyun Tripod, putting in two batches of materials, and finally harvesting forty waste elixirs.

Hehe, forty more one-time consumables that could be used to practice the Hunyuan Bead.

The other batch of elixirs was refined together with Mili and several medicine apprentices and fire-tenders during his rest after refining the Yusu Elixirs.

"This Grain Bigu Pill is called a pill, but in reality, it is just an unranked Grain Bigu Powder."

"Compared to first-tier elixirs, refining is relatively simple, which is just right for your introduction."

"The key point is not in the technique and skill, but in the fusion of medicinal materials and the yellow beef of the demon beast."

"Remember, you must achieve the unity of medicine and meat, and gather it into a paste."

Under Luo Chen's guidance, those medicine apprentices who had been tortured to death by processing medicinal materials recently became energetic and vibrant.

Luo Chen glanced at them and pulled a kid aside.

"Tang Quan, right?"

"These are five top-grade Zhongmiao Pills; take them to your uncle when you go home."

Tang Quan accepted the five elixirs, his expression slightly unnatural.

His uncle was naturally the Sick Tiger Zeng Wen.

Recently, Fellow Daoist Zeng had asked several times, saying that the quantity of top-grade Zhongmiao Pills was too small, which made him really unsatisfied.

Luo Chen remembered this, and when collecting elixirs, he would deduct a few and give them to this old customer.

Anyway, it wasn't his cost, and he had to cover up his real Grandmaster-level alchemy, so he simply gave back the extra top-grade Zhongmiao Pills to the old customer.

"Alright, it's time to collect the elixirs."

"I'll collect the elixirs this time; in the future, I will slowly let you operate the refining of Grain Bigu Powder yourself."

Luo Chen said this and used the Traction Spell to open the furnace lid.

A faint, quiet fragrance slowly wafted out.

Mili, Tang Quan, and others smelled this fragrance, and their spirits were shaken, as if their stomachs had become full.

Luo Chen's expression moved, and the Grandmaster-level Traction Spell moved slightly.

Soon, a large ball of medicinal paste flew out.

"See, this is actually the true appearance of Grain Bigu Powder."

"The pill appearance you usually see is what I kneaded with spiritual power in the elixir furnace when the elixirs were released."

"When I first refined Grain Bigu Powder, I actually got the medicinal paste first and then kneaded it into pills by hand."

"This large ball of medicinal paste should be able to produce fifty Grain Bigu Pills."

"Take it, knead it into pills while it's hot, remember not to touch it directly with your hands, wrap it with bamboo slips!"

Under Luo Chen's traction, the large ball of medicinal paste flew toward Mili instantly.

Mili hurriedly took it with the prepared utensils and then led a group of people out of the elixir room.

Soon, shouts came from outside.

There was no lack of words like "so hot" and "so fun".

And in the elixir room where they didn't notice, Luo Chen reached out and beckoned.

The furnace lid flipped, and a golden-colored elixir was attached to it.

"Is this the result of the Great Perfection Grain Bigu Powder?"