Chapter 45: Taishan Workshop, Jinshi Pavilion

While selling pills, Luo Chen pondered this matter.

The admission fee would likely be quite expensive, and even if he went, he probably wouldn't find a good vantage point.

But if he could witness a battle between top-tier experts of the Qi Refinement stage, it would surely be of some help to him, more or less!

He thought about it until noon, but still had no answer.

On the other hand, the Wonders Pills and Inedia Pills were being sold one after another.

This kind of pill might not sell well elsewhere, but in a place like Dahe坊, which was close to the Million Mountains, they were very popular.

Many cultivators under high pressure wanted to enjoy themselves without sacrificing their combat effectiveness.

Since the Wonders Pills could help them fulfill their dreams, they were naturally in high demand.

A mere sixty pills were far too easy to move.

Three hundred and eighty spirit stones—he had sold three hundred Wonders Pills and eighty Inedia Pills; this was his income from half a month of hard work.

He still had raw materials left at home worth two hundred and fifty spirit stones. With his current proficiency-level alchemy, the yield rate should be even higher.

At that point, it would be pure profit.

After a simple calculation of his net worth, adding what he had left before, his savings had returned to a neat five hundred and fifty spirit stones.

If it were before, Luo Chen would have been overjoyed.

But now, Luo Chen could treat this "sum of great wealth" with a calm mind.

In reality, it wasn't much; it was only "much" relative to early and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

For late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, most could produce this amount in one breath.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, this amount of spirit stones would be a mere drop in the bucket—hardly more than a single visit to the Zhongding House or Tianxiang Pavilion.

One could see from Gu Caiyi's words that a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could casually bestow a bottle of Dust-Dissolving Pills.

That stuff retailed for a thousand spirit stones, enough to buy a mid-grade defensive magical tool or an entry-level high-grade one.

Moreover, Luo Chen knew very well that this sum of spirit stones would not remain his for long.

***

Inside the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

"Three bottles of Qi-Nurturing Pills!"

"Customer, here are the three bottles of Qi-Nurturing Pills. That will be three hundred spirit stones."

"Here."

Luo Chen didn't look at the crystal-clear spirit stones that hadn't even warmed up in his hands; he hurriedly tucked the three bottles of pills into his storage bag.

This was his cultivation resources for the next month!

After walking out of the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, Luo Chen headed straight for the nearby Baicao Hall.

He still had raw materials for the Wonders Pills, but the materials for the Inedia Pills had been exhausted; it was time to restock.

Since he had spent some time experiencing the processed medicinal herbs from Baicao Hall, he had begun to look down on the loose herbs sold at the rogue cultivator markets.

Processing them took too much time.

Although he hadn't reached the point of trading spirit stones for time, there was no need to skimp on spirit stones now.

Mainly, the raw materials for Inedia Pills were the cheap kind, where buying in bulk offered discounts.

The difference between buying from private individuals and buying from Baicao Hall was likely only a matter of one or two spirit stones.

Luo Chen truly had no need to save that money now.

When he entered Baicao Hall, the plump manager Liu Hechai was not in sight; instead, Bai Meiling was leaning over the counter.

"Miss Meiling, where is Manager Liu?"

Bai Meiling looked up at Luo Chen, pointed upstairs with her finger, and then leaned back onto the counter.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator came from Taishan坊; he's a friend of Manager Liu, and the two are catching up."

"Oh."

Luo Chen nodded and then took out a list.

"Give me fifty spirit stones' worth of herbs according to the ingredients and ratios on this list."

Bai Meiling took the list and looked at Luo Chen suspiciously.

It really was the formula for Inedia Powder.

In other words, Luo Chen hadn't lied to her before?

Fifty spirit stones' worth at once—with the high-grade quality he had refined, he could sell it for about a hundred.

After deducting the cost, he would make a net profit of fifty.

Was this how he managed to live in the inner city?

"Then life must be quite frugal; it would take months of saving just to afford one bottle of Qi-Nurturing Pills."

Muttering to herself, she quickly prepared the herbs for Luo Chen and carried them out in a large bag.

As she came out, her eyes suddenly widened.

Luo Chen was actually chatting with Manager Liu and the Foundation Establishment cultivator from Taishan坊.

"One truly cannot judge a person by their appearance; at such a young age, he can already make a living through alchemy."

"Senior, you jest. It is but a trivial skill, not worth mentioning." Luo Chen's expression was very respectful, even bowing his waist slightly.

There was no other reason; the two people before him were both Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Manager Liu was fine, as they had a business relationship.

But for this Senior Kang, he had to treat him with the etiquette due to a junior.

Kang Dongyue said with a chuckle, "Old Liu mentioned that you use Fire-Dog Whips for alchemy. I am quite curious; besides being used for dietary supplements and raising young beasts, what other pills can this spiritual material be used for? I wonder if little friend could enlighten this old man?"

Luo Chen felt a bit troubled, even feeling a slight sweat on his back.

This wasn't his first time facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but others like Manager Liu or Elder Chu were all business acquaintances.

But now, this Senior Kang, in his capacity as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was directly stating his desire to know about his pills.

He only wanted to know now, but what about afterward?

Would he ask for his recipes, or perhaps...

Seeing that Luo Chen remained silent for a long time, the two experienced Foundation Establishment cultivators realized something.

Manager Liu smiled and said, "Little Luo, don't worry. Old Kang is the Pavilion Master of the Jinshi Pavilion in Taishan坊, responsible for selling various pills. He is merely curious. Perhaps if the quality of your pills is up to standard, he might even source them from you."

Kang Dongyue also explained, "My Kang family is one of the subordinate families of the Yuding Sect, specializing in alchemy, which is why we opened the Jinshi Pavilion. However, the family only sells a few types of popular pills, so we also collect pills from fellow rogue cultivators to help sell them."

Hearing this, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

There were similar small pharmacies in Dahe坊.

They were opened by small sects or cultivation families.

The items sold inside were very diverse, ranging from pills and talismans to even magical tools.

Some rogue cultivators with limited spirit stones could not afford the large shops and did not want to scavenge at the rogue markets, so they would choose these small shops.

In a sense, his stall with Old Chen Taoist was similar—selling pills and talismans together, just lacking a proper signboard.

He respectfully handed over a jade bottle, which contained, quite clearly, a single Wonders Pill.

Kang Dongyue took it, scrutinized it carefully first, and then leaned in to smell it.

After confirming there were no issues, he pinched off a tiny bit of powder and put it in his mouth.

Closing his eyes to sense it, he nodded.

"A First-Tier pill. Its efficacy is for tonifying yang, with a small amount of spiritual replenishment effect. To be honest, it's quite unique, but unfortunately, it is only low-grade. If a cultivator takes too many, it can easily cause excessive internal heat, leading to a loosening of the 'Golden Lock' at the lower gate."

Hearing this evaluation, Luo Chen couldn't help but look up to the man.

With just a few simple actions, he had practically summarized all the pros and cons of the Wonders Pill.

This was not something an ordinary cultivator could do.

The man was at least an experienced First-Tier alchemist, or perhaps even a Second-Tier one.

"What is the price?"

"Around five spirit stones."

Kang Dongyue shook his head and handed Luo Chen five spirit stones, signifying he had purchased the pill.

Then, he said, "The price is far too inflated; it can only be sold in places like Dahe坊 or Xuelian坊 that are close to the Million Mountains. In my Taishan坊, the price would have to be halved."

"Mhm, if it were placed in the mortal regions, it would be very popular, but unfortunately, mortals find it difficult to provide the things we cultivators require."

After commenting further on the price and market, he asked curiously, "How many of these pills can you refine in a month, little friend?"

This time, Luo Chen did not answer directly.

He summoned his courage. "Senior, do you intend to source them from me?"