Chapter 38: Damned Monopoly Dogs (Please keep reading)

Dressed in black clothes and black trousers, wearing a black veil mask, Luo Chen stepped through the gate of the residence, cautiously glancing behind him.

The dim, quiet alleyway was silent.

Luo Chen walked behind the door and stood there silently for a while longer.

"No one is following me."

Once Luo Chen was certain he hadn't been followed home, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Low-level cultivators actually didn't have many concealment methods, and tracking methods were even scarcer, often requiring the use of talismans or magical tools.

Therefore, as long as one was careful, it was quite easy to discover whether or not someone was following them.

Since he had already drawn the attention of the Great River Gang, Luo Chen made up his mind that he would have to be extremely, extremely careful whenever he went out or came in from now on.

Just as he turned around, Luo Chen's entire body suddenly stiffened, and the hair on his neck stood on end.

In the corner, a figure with waist-length hair, dressed in white, was standing there quietly.

Luo Chen swallowed hard. *It couldn't be a ghost, could it?*

But soon, he relaxed.

It was a person!

"Why hasn't it sprouted after two months?"

The woman in white seemed to be talking to herself.

"Could it be that the herb gatherer gave me fake Sun-Bright Flower seeds?"

"Ahem."

A coughing sound came from the doorway, and the woman turned around.

"Fellow Daoist Luo Chen?"

"Fellow Daoist Fu Xiuxiu?"

"Mm."

So it was his neighbor from the east wing!

Luo Chen walked up to her side and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Fu Xiuxiu said distressfully, "I spent one spirit stone to buy these Sun-Bright Flower seeds, and they've been planted for two months. I thought I'd see some seedlings when I came home this time, but there's nothing."

Following her gaze, Luo Chen looked suspiciously at the corner of the wall.

Wasn't this the very spot where he usually practiced his Fireball and Entanglement techniques?

Seeds?

He had replaced the soil and stones dozens of times!

With a dry laugh, Luo Chen said awkwardly, "Maybe they just aren't acclimated to the local environment!"

Fu Xiuxiu sighed and could only nod helplessly.

"The Yin energy here is a bit heavy; several plants I've grown haven't done well. Plus, I'm often away from home, so I've almost managed to kill them all off."

Luo Chen blinked. "Is that so?"

"That must be the reason. Usually, they should be brought out to bask in the sun more often," Fu Xiuxiu said helplessly.

After skipping past that topic, she looked curiously at Luo Chen's attire.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, where have you been?"

"Just call me Xiao Luo! I wasn't doing anything special in these clothes; I'm just used to wearing black."

Being addressed as "Fellow Daoist" by a ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator still made Luo Chen feel a bit uneasy.

Seeing that Luo Chen was unwilling to say, Fu Xiuxiu didn't press further.

She looked at the night sky and extended an invitation to him.

"It's rare for me to come back. I plan to invite the neighbors for a meal. Xiao Luo, would you like to come?"

Someone was treating to a meal? Was there such a good thing?

Then Luo Chen would certainly not refuse!

Sitting on a child-sized swing in the courtyard, having changed into a new set of clothes, Luo Chen waited for Fu Xiuxiu to prepare dinner while calculating his next moves.

Raw materials costing four hundred spirit stones—this was the largest investment he had ever made!

This time, failure was not an option.

Therefore, before refining the pills, he had to consider every single aspect.

First was the new alchemy equipment—the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace.

There would certainly be a massive difference between refining pills with a spiritual iron pot and using a magical tool furnace.

He first had to become familiar with this Purple Cloud Copper Furnace to avoid making any mistakes during the refining process that couldn't be corrected in time.

Second was the processing of the raw materials.

He could no longer use his old methods.

The spiritual iron pot was small and not resistant to high temperatures, so he could only use a relatively low flame, which inevitably meant a longer refining time.

During long refining sessions, his processing of medicinal ingredients tended to be conservative.

But the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace had no such concerns; its grade as a magical tool was sufficient to withstand intense heat.

With this, he could be much bolder in how he processed those few types of raw materials.

Finally, there was the construction of the alchemy room.

Yes, Luo Chen planned to partition off an alchemy room within his rented servant's quarters.

The Purple Cloud Copper Furnace occupied a huge area, and when burning wood, it would require a specialized fire pit lined with heat-insulating bricks to prevent heat loss.

The surrounding walls would ideally be made of cloud-sand bricks, which had good breathability.

Otherwise, if medicinal gas leaked, it was possible he might be poisoned unconscious inside.

Thinking about one task after another, Luo Chen felt a bit overwhelmed.

He was going to be very busy!

"Hey!"

A petite figure suddenly jumped in front of him.

Luo Chen greeted her helplessly, "Miss Xiao Ling, are you off work?"

Wasn't that stating the obvious? She was right in front of him.

But in reality, greetings were often like this.

People eating would hear, "Are you eating?"

People finishing work would hear, "Off work, are you?"

The only annoying thing was meeting a friend in a public restroom and having them ask, "Are you taking a crap?"

Duh, why else would you be squatting in the stall!

Bai Meiling naturally didn't realize the various trivial thoughts running through Luo Chen's head. She reached out a fair, delicate hand.

"What is it?" Luo Chen asked, puzzled.

"Where are the pills you refined? Let me see if they are demonic pills!"

"You're being far too nosy!"

Bai Meiling put her hands on her hips. "As a seventh-level Qi Refinement neighbor, can't you mind your own business?"

Damn it, he hated it most when people used their cultivation realm to pressure him!

Luo Chen took a deep breath and, with a thick skin, produced a pill.

Bai Meiling took it curiously. "Inedia Pill? No, it's Inedia Powder. The grade is decent, though—it's high-grade."

She studied Luo Chen for a moment and couldn't help but nod.

"You're quite the quiet one, but it seems you're actually pretty capable. A pity; if you had the recipe for Inedia Pills, you could actually make a living out of it with a little practice."

Luo Chen had originally intended to just fool this woman and be done with it.

But hearing her say that, he was instantly interested.

He had always known that the "Inedia Pills" he refined were actually just Inedia Powder.

Otherwise, why would fifty pills—five bottles' worth—only sell for a single low-grade spirit stone?

Authentic Inedia Pills were first-order pills no less valuable than Qi-Nourishing Pills.

Ten pills per bottle, selling for a hundred spirit stones—that would be true profit!

If he knew how to refine real Inedia Pills, wouldn't he strike it rich?

"Do you have the recipe for Inedia Pills?"

Facing Luo Chen's thirst for knowledge, Bai Meiling shrugged.

"Of course I don't! Recipes like that are controlled by the great sects; how could I possibly have one?"

Luo Chen rolled his eyes. *Then why even say anything?*

He wasn't particularly disappointed, though.

Or rather, he had never held much expectation regarding the recipes for such mainstream pills.

Not just in the Great River Market, but even in the entire Yuding Domain and the Six Eastern Domains, the recipes for mainstream pills were strictly controlled.

If a recipe leaked even slightly, sect cultivators would use all sorts of means to get it back.

They would buy it, seize it by force, or recruit alchemists who knew how to refine mainstream pills.

Luo Chen's evaluation of this was: "Monopoly dogs, may you die a horrible death!"

He could actually understand the sects' approach.

The resources in this world were extremely abundant. Whether in the territories inhabited by humans or the wild mountains and marshes where demon beasts lived, there were countless heavenly treasures.

Since raw materials could not be restricted, controlling the recipes became the best method.

This way, mainstream pills could only be refined, distributed, and sold by the sects.

Consequently, the great sects could ensure their profits were far higher than those of cultivation families or rogue cultivators.

If it weren't for this, how would the great sects afford such excellent benefits, frequently giving disciples free magical tools, Daoist robes, or even precious storage bags?

"Xiao Ling, Xiao Luo, dinner is ready."

A gentle voice drifted over, and Luo Chen hurriedly walked into the east wing—which was Fu Xiuxiu's home.

Bai Meiling followed behind, but after a few steps, she felt something was off.

"Fire Dog Whip can also be used to refine Inedia Powder?"

(End of Chapter)