Chapter 4: Introduction to the Pill of All Wonders

Scallop meat is easy enough to deal with; it has a unique texture, and people often buy it to boil into soup.

However, the fire-dog penis has a rather singular purpose.

To think a young man like him would already need to use this sort of thing.

Heh heh.

"No need to call me Senior, just call me Shopkeeper Liu. How should I address you, young friend?" the chubby shopkeeper asked with a smile.

"Greetings, Shopkeeper Liu. My surname is Luo; you can just call me Little Luo."

Luo Chen couldn't help but be humble; the amiable-looking chubby shopkeeper before him exuded an aura that made him feel quite uneasy.

He had felt this kind of aura before—it was the natural presence emitted by high-level experts at the Foundation Establishment stage.

In front of such an expert, he naturally had to be as respectful as possible.

Shopkeeper Liu smiled slightly. "So it is Fellow Daoist Luo. I do indeed have the two medicinal ingredients you mentioned, though the quantity is not very large."

Luo Chen had anticipated this.

Dahe Market was located on the border near the Eastern Wilderness, a vast inland region stretching for thousands of miles.

One of the two ingredients he asked for, scallop meat, was a marine spiritual herb that usually had to be transported from very far away.

It was expected that the quantity would be small, but as long as he could get some, it was fine!

"Can you scrape together one hundred portions of scallop meat? And I need ten fire-dog penises."

"I do have that much, but the price won't be cheap," Shopkeeper Liu said with a chuckle.

The "not cheap" he spoke of was, of course, not objectively expensive, but rather expensive relative to Luo Chen’s third-level Qi Refining cultivation.

Especially given the other party's attire, it was clear he wasn't exactly wealthy.

"What is the price?"

"Ten low-grade spirit stones for one hundred portions of scallop meat, and ten low-grade spirit stones for the ten fire-dog penises."

Luo Chen’s eyelids twitched.

He even suspected that this chubby shopkeeper had X-ray vision and could see that he had exactly twenty spirit stones left in his pocket.

"Is it that expensive?"

"Do you want them or not?"

"I will be making long-term purchases in the future; can you give me a discount?"

"Baicao Hall, a five-hundred-year-old shop with chains across four regions. Our prices are fair and we never cheat the young or the old—no bargaining!"

"Fine, wrap them up for me. Here are twenty spirit stones."

Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen reluctantly took the twenty spirit stones from his pocket.

With speed invisible to the naked eye, the chubby shopkeeper snatched the bag of spirit stones from his hand.

"Xiao Ling, grab one hundred portions of scallop meat and ten fire-dog penises!"

Once he had the goods, Luo Chen shouldered the large bag of herbs at the door and left Baicao Hall amidst the shopkeeper’s knowing smile.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't dark yet and there were no rogue cultivators robbing people on the road, Luo Chen returned home, dusty and tired.

Looking at the pile of items on the floor, Luo Chen sighed.

Years of savings, gone in an instant.

Calculating carefully, he had only saved fifty spirit stones over these years, and he had spent them all today.

Especially those last two main ingredients, which had cost him twenty spirit stones alone.

"Five-hundred-year-old shop, my foot. It’s a black-hearted shop! I hope you go out of business soon!"

After cursing the profiteer, Luo Chen forced himself to cheer up.

"It will come back, it will all come back!"

"The spirit stones I earn in the future will only be more!"

After saying this, he took off his low-grade dharma robe, folded it carefully, and jumped into the nearby stream in his underwear.

This place was relatively remote. Although it was close to the million mountains of the Eastern Wilderness, most people returning from the mountains walked along the east side, so it was sparsely populated.

He didn't worry about being seen by others; he wasn't going to have to marry anyone over it.

After a refreshing wash, he scrubbed away all the various scents he had picked up during the day.

Although he knew the Cleansing Spell, that thing was more like using spiritual power to explode on his body to blast away dust; it wasn't as refreshing as taking a bath.

He only used the spell when cleaning his dharma robe.

Returning to the wooden hut, Luo Chen changed into a fresh pair of underwear and threw on a gray hemp robe.

With his long, wet hair hanging behind him, he took out a cowhide-wrapped bundle from under the floorboards in the corner of the room.

Opening the bundle, it contained a yellowed bamboo slip, a thin booklet, and a piece of parchment.

The content on the bamboo slip was simple; it was called the *Everlasting Spring Technique*, which was the primary cultivation method Luo Chen practiced, only reaching up to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

He had heard that this technique was the introductory method of the Medicine King Sect, and above it was the *Yi Wood Medicine King Scripture*.

This technique came from a chance encounter in his youth, found on the remains in a desolate mountain cave.

Luo Chen had never stopped practicing this technique. Apart from practicing every night, he spent most of his time on it on days when he wasn't refining pills.

However, the effect was truly minimal.

Even now, he was still at the third level of Qi Refining, and the breakthrough to the fourth level seemed infinitely far away.

However, the proficiency of this technique had increased quite quickly, reaching the "Proficient" level.

He estimated that it wouldn't be long before he could break through to the "Perfect" level; the "Grandmaster" level was within reach!

He really wanted to know if the *Everlasting Spring Technique* at the Grandmaster level could significantly improve his cultivation realm.

The parchment recorded the incomplete pill formula his predecessor had scavenged—the Jade Dew Pill.

Luo Chen didn't have much interest in it. Not to mention that the formula was incomplete, even if it were complete, he didn't intend to study it.

After all, this was a second-tier pill used by Foundation Establishment cultivators; he couldn't afford the various medicinal ingredients required for it right now.

Back then, the original owner had exhausted his savings to barely scrape together one set of materials, even searching for many substitutes, hoping to get rich quick.

He must have been blinded by poverty.

His attention was entirely on the thin booklet.

Opening the booklet, the first two pages contained the pill formula for Inedia Powder.

Unlike general pill formulas that only listed the required ingredients, this booklet was filled with the weight ratios of various materials and the processing methods for each herb.

It even mentioned heat control.

It was precisely because of this that the original owner was able to get started easily.

After only a few failures, he successfully refined his first batch of Inedia Powder.

From then on, he had the capital to stay in Dahe Market.

Luo Chen had long since worn out the pages of this formula.

What he was going to tackle next were the following five pages.

"Myriad Wonders Pill: Harmonizes water and fire, regulates yin and yang, stimulates yang energy without damaging the kidney essence, and has the effect of enhancing pleasure and delaying climax."

"Sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone; the union of yin and yang is truly wonderful!"

Hence, this pill was named 'Myriad Wonders'.

To put it bluntly, this was the blue pill of the cultivation world.

Of course, according to the description of the finished product, it should be red.

If he could refine this, there would definitely be a market for it.

As long as people were human, they had those kinds of needs, even cultivators.

Even in this Dahe Market, one of the six top shops was the Tianxiang Pavilion.

There were few female cultivators here, and a group of men who were always going into the mountains to hunt monsters and pick herbs had an even greater need for this.

As for why the original owner never tried to refine this kind of pill, Luo Chen couldn't guess his psychology.

Afraid of losing face by selling this kind of pill?

Heh, this is cultivation; there's nothing shameful about it!

Calming his mind, he carefully read through the five pages of the Myriad Wonders Pill formula again.

The processing of each material, the order of addition, the timing, the weight of each portion, the control of the heat...

When everything was memorized, Luo Chen opened the panel in his mind.

【Name: Luo Chen】

【Lifespan: 27/75】

【Spirit Root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth】

【Realm: Qi Refining Level 3: 75/100】

【Technique: Everlasting Spring Technique (Proficient: 235/300)】

【Spells: Cleansing Spell (Introductory: 49/100), Entanglement Spell (Proficient: 176/200), Fireball Spell (Proficient: 268/300)】

【Skills: First-tier Alchemist: Inedia Powder (Grandmaster: 501/1000)】

【Achievement Points: 10 (Can be used to initiate any technique/spell/skill corresponding to the current realm)】

His gaze paused on his lifespan for a moment, then fell on the last column.

Achievement Points!

Every technique, every skill, and every spell would provide one achievement point upon breaking through a proficiency level.

Once ten achievement points were collected, they could be used to initiate any technique, spell, or skill corresponding to his current realm.

He had only recently acquired the Cleansing Spell, so it was just at the introductory level, and he hadn't had time to grind its proficiency.

Moreover, all spells were quite taxing on spiritual power.

Coupled with the pressure of survival, he had devoted most of his energy to alchemy.

In the end, it lived up to his expectations: his proficiency in refining Inedia Powder had reached the Grandmaster level, bringing him a full five achievement points.

Added to the two points from the *Everlasting Spring Technique*, one from the Entanglement Spell, and two from the Fireball Spell, he had exactly ten points!

And all his savings were just enough to gather the materials for ten attempts at refining the Myriad Wonders Pill.

Success or failure would be decided tomorrow!

And now, "Deep Blue, add points!"

Oh, wait, Myriad Wonders Pill refining technique, initiate!

With a thought, the ten achievement points vanished.

In their place, an extra tag appeared on his attribute panel.

【First-tier Alchemist: Inedia Powder (Grandmaster: 501/1000), Myriad Wonders Pill (Introductory: 1/100)】

(End of chapter)