Chapter 15: Killing for Treasure—Is It Finally My Turn?

Repeat customers have always been clients that Luo Chen values highly!

He has also been doing his best to cultivate his own base of repeat customers, rather than constantly sponging off of Old Daoist Chen’s clientele.

However, common goods like Bigu Pills—even though he had previously managed to refine mid-grade ones—couldn't really foster many repeat customers, and he was also limited by his production capacity.

The Zhongmiao Pills, however, had given him an opportunity.

After chatting casually for a few moments, Luo Chen laid out all his pills.

Old Daoist Chen took another look this time. The quantity was clear at a glance, and he secretly thought that Luo Chen’s alchemy skills must have truly made a breakthrough.

The amount of goods brought out over these past few market days had been increasing steadily.

Of course, his own "spirit stone loan" certainly played a part in that.

As the sun rose, more and more cultivators arrived at the market, and Luo Chen and Old Daoist Chen began making sales one after another.

"Little Friend Luo, what a coincidence!"

"Indeed, what a coincidence!"

Luo Chen greeted Zeng Wen enthusiastically, gesturing to the bottles and jars in front of him. "Getting some?"

"Getting some!"

Zeng Wen picked up five bottles of Bigu Pills, turning them over in his hands as he said, "Your skills are truly excellent. I tried the Bigu Pills last time, and they were actually of superior grade—far better than anyone else's."

"As long as they keep you full, that's all that matters. Many thanks for the praise, friend."

"Throw in two bottles of Zhongmiao Pills while you're at it!"

"Mm."

Luo Chen tacitly slipped the two bottles of Zhongmiao Pills from the stall into Zeng Wen’s hand. The two shared a smile, everything understood without a word.

A cultivator nearby, who was picking out talismans, seemed to be an acquaintance of Zeng Wen.

"Brother Zeng, that spotted tiger the butcher Li slaughtered yesterday was your trophy, right? You really had a bountiful harvest on this trip into the mountains!"

"Ah, the demon tiger was a scourge upon the world; I was merely acting on behalf of heaven. It’s not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."

"You’re being too modest. What are you buying here?"

Zeng Wen quietly tucked the Zhongmiao Pills into his storage bag and held up the Bigu Pill bottles.

"Buying some Bigu Pills to stock up; it makes things easier when I head into the mountains next time. Brother Duan, I can't chat anymore, I have some urgent business to attend to. I’ll be off."

Zeng Wen hurried away.

The cultivator he called Brother Duan looked a bit puzzled.

Then, he saw Luo Chen take two more exquisite jade bottles from a bag underneath and place them on top.

Didn't Zeng Wen just buy those things?

"What kind of pills are these?"

Luo Chen’s eyes lit up. "Zhongmiao Pills. Is the friend interested in learning more?"

Customers came and went, but the content of the conversations was always the same.

Asking for an exorbitant price, then haggling on the spot.

I boast about how good my goods are, he nitpicks and finds a pile of flaws.

Then, they reach a price acceptable to both, and the deal is done.

Unlike those aloof rogue cultivators who just sat in meditation at their stalls, the bluestone stall was much livelier. Both the old man and the young man were thick-skinned and had sharp tongues.

Occasionally, when Luo Chen had a moment, he would help Old Daoist Chen boast a bit to sell a few talismans.

Perhaps because it was a big market day, Luo Chen’s own pill business was very easy to conduct.

By the end of the morning, he had basically sold everything.

All thirty bottles of Bigu Pills were sold, bringing in six low-grade spirit stones.

All twenty bottles of Zhongmiao Pills were sold, bringing in one hundred low-grade spirit stones.

The gap between the two was immense.

But if one looked at profit, the Zhongmiao Pills were currently at zero gain, barely breaking even.

On the contrary, for the Bigu Pills, after deducting costs, the net profit was a full three spirit stones.

In reality, with his proficiency as a Bigu Pill master, if Luo Chen increased production, he might be able to earn more.

But the market for Bigu Pills was what it was, and the consumption capacity was limited; earning more would only amount to a few extra spirit stones.

Taking this opportunity to grind up his proficiency in Zhongmiao Pills would allow him to start reaping large-scale profits later.

Industrial transformation, opening up new channels.

The brief growing pains were acceptable!

Old Daoist Chen kept urging him to pay back the debt, so Luo Chen, feeling helpless, paid him fifty on the spot.

Then, after paying, he pestered him for a long time until he borrowed it back.

"Don't worry, I’ll definitely be able to pay it back. You’ve seen the recent earnings. Just consider it as you, an elder, subsidizing a poor cultivator’s training. Once I make it big, I will surely repay you tenfold!"

"How about this? My pills are sold out, so I’ll work for you this afternoon and help you sell your talismans!"

"Trust me, if we sell them off earlier, you can go back and draw a few more talismans, and you’ll earn back everything and more."

After much persuasion, Luo Chen managed to keep the one hundred and six spirit stones in his pocket.

The price was having to work as a temp for the afternoon.

"Eh, did something happen over at Brother Wang’s side?"

Luo Chen, who was busy selling talismans, looked up and discovered that Wang Yuan’s stall not far away was surrounded by people.

He had a mind to go watch the commotion, but was held back by Old Daoist Chen.

"Don't go!"

"Why?"

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time a situation like this occurred?"

Luo Chen stopped in his tracks, recalling a scene from two years ago in the original owner’s memories.

Then and there, and here and now—it was so similar.

"Did a vengeful enemy show up?"

Old Daoist Chen looked over with a complex expression. "Although most rogue cultivators are loners, there are still some who have friends and family."

"If they’re dead, that’s that, but when their magical artifacts or robes are taken out and sold, if you happen to run into it, there’s always a sense of injustice in one’s heart."

Luo Chen suddenly realized, noticing that the crowd there was indeed on the verge of a confrontation.

There were signs that if one word went wrong, a fight would break out immediately.

Wang Yuan was at the seventh level of Qi Refining; the people who dared to surround him likely weren't low in cultivation either.

If a fight really broke out, it would be easy to get caught in the crossfire while watching the show.

"They won't fight, don't worry. Fighting is strictly forbidden in the inner city."

Old Daoist Chen shook his head; he had seen too many of these things.

One could only say that for someone like Wang Yuan, who lived by the blade, if you walk the night path often enough, you’re bound to run into a ghost.

Sure enough.

After throwing out a few harsh words, the three cultivators left the rogue cultivator market, looking indignant.

Wang Yuan still wore that same indifferent expression, sitting cross-legged in front of his stall with his eyelids drooping, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"Selling magical artifacts stained with blood like that carries a lot of risk!" Luo Chen muttered. "Why not just sell them to the Wanbao Pavilion?"

Old Daoist Chen sneered. "The Wanbao Pavilion buys them back at half price, does a little repair work, and then sells them for a higher price than the original. How could that compare to the profit of selling them at your own stall?"

So that was it!

Luo Chen understood. The quality of magical artifacts at the rogue cultivator market was inconsistent, and it all depended on the cultivator’s own eye for quality.

Moreover, without being re-forged, they were too conspicuous and easily recognized by the original owner’s friends.

The only advantage was probably that they were much cheaper than the official ones.

"I only have one low-grade magic sword on me right now, and it’s the rusty kind."

"In the future, when I have money, should I hunt for deals at the market or buy from the Wanbao Pavilion?"

Luo Chen rubbed his chin, thinking about the choice between buying a BMW or a Mercedes, just like in his past life.

Fantasy is fleeting.

Working is for the whole afternoon.

After helping Old Daoist Chen finish with the talismans, he hurried off to purchase the raw materials he needed.

After several large purchases in a row, he had already negotiated with the sellers to keep the goods for him as much as possible.

So, even though the time was short, he had managed to spend all one hundred-plus spirit stones.

That was truly it—not a single cent left!

All-in is a form of wisdom.

Luo Chen never lacked the courage to go all-in, especially in the early stages; if he lost it all, he would just have to start over.

By the time he carried his large snake-skin bag home, the sky had turned dark once again.

Luo Chen strode along the dirt road in the outer district, humming a tune or two from time to time.

"I cannot drift with the tide, for the sake of the immortality I love."

Suddenly, Luo Chen’s footsteps came to a halt.

Under the moonlight, four figures blocked his path.

Dark night, high wind, murder and robbery—has it finally come to me?

Luo Chen’s heart sank, plummeting to the bottom of the Lancang River.