Chapter 28: A Tiny Courtyard, A Haven for Hidden Masters

For some reason, Luo Chen felt that Wang Yuan had become colder than before.

He still didn't speak much, but the occasional words he uttered were somewhat chilling.

Naturally, Luo Chen was unaware of Wang Yuan's recent illustrious combat achievements or the fearsome reputation he had earned as the "Mad Blade."

Matters involving killing for treasure had nothing to do with him.

Even if they did, it was always out of necessity.

Luo Chen, his heart set solely on the Dao!

After flipping through a pile of books time and again, Luo Chen finally found his target.

"Brother Wang, I consider myself your little brother now, right?"

"Mhm, barely."

"Then are there any perks to being your little brother? For example..."

"This book won't do. A ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator from the Broken Mountain Gang asked me to sell it. If you want to read it, you'll have to buy it."

What Luo Chen was holding was none other than *Five Essential Spells for the Qi Refinement Stage*, a book Wang Yuan had been peddling for a long time without a single sale.

But Luo Chen remembered Wang Yuan saying before that he had snatched this book!

So much for the rule that rogue cultivators don't scam other rogue cultivators!

Muttering curses, Luo Chen pulled out two hundred low-grade spirit stones and carefully tucked the book into his storage bag.

Wang Yuan watched him and suddenly let out a light chuckle.

"That fellow Chen Xiao was truly unlucky. He worked hard for half a year, only to end up making a wedding dress for you."

What do you mean, "making a wedding dress for me"!

I'm a guy.

"The unlucky bastard you killed before was named Chen Xiao?"

"Yes. He discovered an elder's cave dwelling and spent half a year breaking through the formations. He had quite a harvest, but it all became yours."

Luo Chen patted his storage bag, suddenly realizing the truth.

No wonder a mere fifth-level Qi Refinement rogue had both a storage bag and a high-grade spiritual tool like the Soul-Breaking Nail; it turned out he had stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter!

"His brothers had quite a harvest, which is why they had the audacity to surround and kill me. Unfortunately, they had treasures but didn't know how to use them."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Take this Soul-Breaking Nail, for instance. It easily bypassed my defenses back then, but it could only inflict light injuries. It wasn't as much of a threat to me as his other weapon, the Thunderbolt Bomb."

Perhaps feeling inclined to give Luo Chen some guidance, Wang Yuan spoke casually.

"But if he had applied some poison to the Soul-Breaking Nail, I would have been in real danger back then."

Luo Chen froze for a moment, then gave a thumbs up.

"You really are sinister, Brother!"

"No, no—you just have rich combat experience!"

Seeing Wang Yuan's expression darken, Luo Chen immediately corrected himself.

Wang Yuan shook his head. "Whether it's a cultivator or a mortal martial artist, the logic of combat is actually the same: simply putting the opponent in a position where they cannot survive. Many rogue cultivators in the Great River Market are too conventional; they only know how to trade spiritual tools in a rigid, head-on fashion."

"Of course, it's also possible he couldn't get his hands on poison effective against cultivators."

Luo Chen nodded heavily.

Cultivators inhale and exhale spiritual energy; even if they don't deliberately practice body tempering, their physical constitutions are gradually evolving.

Otherwise, high-level cultivators, who frequently expend massive amounts of spiritual energy, would not be able to withstand such devastation with weak bodies.

A jade bottle was handed to Luo Chen.

"This is the Spirit-Disrupting Powder I confiscated. Apply it to the Soul-Breaking Nail. Once it touches an enemy's flesh, their spiritual energy will become chaotic and impossible to mobilize."

Is this the perk of being a little brother?

Luo Chen accepted it with great excitement, intending to apply it as soon as he got back.

He wanted to become a man of rich combat experience too!

"Remember, the duration of the Spirit-Disrupting Powder is very short, and those with sufficient spiritual energy can easily suppress it. Therefore, once you strike with the Soul-Breaking Nail, you must be prepared to end the fight quickly."

Wang Yuan warned him earnestly.

He still had a few bottles left for his own use, but there was no need to tell Luo Chen that.

He wasn't a talkative person by nature, and he had already said quite a lot today.

Seeing this, Luo Chen left a bag of snacks to pass the time and tactfully took his leave.

Before leaving the market, he looked back and noticed that Wang Yuan seemed to be practicing his cultivation?

"Is he using the time while peddling to leech off the first-grade spiritual vein of the Inner City?"

This discovery brought Luo Chen a moment of pleasant surprise.

But he quickly dismissed the idea of imitating him.

The market was crowded and noisy, hardly a good place for quiet meditation.

If someone were to disturb him recklessly, he might even suffer a cultivation deviation.

The fact that Wang Yuan dared to do this meant he must have some other form of protection.

If Luo Chen tried to copy him, it would be suicide.

***

"You really are an alchemist!"

Caiyi woke up in the afternoon, and after washing up, she popped over to the front room.

She saw Luo Chen holding a stone pestle, vigorously grinding a type of ore she didn't recognize.

The spacious front room was filled with medicinal herbs.

The mixed scents were somewhat unpleasant to smell.

Luo Chen, however, was enjoying himself and had long since grown used to the smells.

Seeing Caiyi leaning against the doorway, Luo Chen grinned and poured the gilded powder from the mortar into a wooden bucket.

Another type of herb had already been soaking inside; once the gilded powder was added, a strange reaction occurred instantly.

Bubbles continuously rose to the surface, making a gurgling sound.

After washing his hands, Luo Chen walked to the door and stretched.

"Want some hawthorns? I asked the shopkeeper for them as a little extra when I was buying herbs today. They don't have much spiritual energy, but they're sweet and sour."

Caiyi took a handful of hawthorns from Luo Chen, but her gaze fell upon his storage bag.

"You alchemists really are wealthy. You already have a storage bag at the middle stage of Qi Refinement."

Her tone was filled with intense envy.

Envious? Woman.

I traded my life for this!

Luo Chen naturally wouldn't flaunt his wealth. Avoiding the sensitive topic, he began asking Caiyi about the surrounding neighbors.

Since he was living in this place, it was better to get to know the people around him.

Otherwise, if any conflicts arose, it would seriously affect his work.

However, the information he gathered left him somewhat stunned.

"One main house, two east and west wing rooms, plus two side rooms and this large front room of yours—a total of six families live here."

"The east wing is occupied by Fu Xiuxiu. She's at the ninth level of Qi Refinement and usually works at the Divine Talisman Pavilion; she's already been promoted to manager."

"The west wing belongs to the Qin family. There are three of them; both Qin Liangchen and his wife are at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. You won't see them for a while because they personally escorted their son to the Falling Cloud Sect for the entrance trials."

"The two side rooms are occupied by Bai Meiling and Feng Xia, both female cultivators at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, working at the Hundred Herb Hall."

After hearing this introduction to his neighbors, Luo Chen couldn't help but be shocked.

This place was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!

In this tiny courtyard, there were three ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivators and two seventh-level ones.

Luo Chen was the only fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator—poor guy, he needed a hug.

Caiyi, of course, would not hug him. She puffed out her chest and smiled. "As for me, Gu Caiyi, I'm at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, making a living dancing at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion."

"How's the income?"

"It's alright. Can't you see I live in the main house?"

*Sigh.* He shook his head and sighed.

He thought that having advanced to the middle stage of Qi Refinement made him a great cultivator in some sense, but he hadn't expected that in this tiny courtyard, everyone could bully him with their cultivation realms.

In reality, while Luo Chen was surprised, he wasn't entirely unexpected.

Among the tens of thousands of rogue cultivators in the Great River Market, there were hundreds at the late stage of Qi Refinement.

While these hundreds were rare to see in the Outer City, they were everywhere in the Inner City.

Or rather, low-level cultivators simply couldn't afford to live in the Inner City; only late-stage cultivators with a specialized skill could settle down there stably.

Take Old Taoist Chen, for example; he was at the sixth level of Qi Refinement and specialized in talisman making and leather tanning, which gave him the confidence to say, "If the Outer City gets any more chaotic, I plan to move into the Inner City."

One could see the pattern from that.

If Luo Chen weren't seeking refuge, and hadn't even licked the blood off his blade twice, he wouldn't have the capital to rent a house in the Inner City.

"It's a bit strange, actually."

"What's strange?"

Luo Chen asked curiously, "If we don't count me, are all five of you in this courtyard female cultivators? And it seems like most of the residents in the alleys on the way home are also women."

"You're so silly!"

Gu Caiyi laughed teasingly. "Heaven and Earth have Yin and Yang, and spiritual energy naturally has Yin and Yang divisions as well. A Ghost King was suppressed north of the city, so over time, the spiritual energy here has leaned toward the Yin attribute. Men are Yang, women are Yin. Naturally, most of those renting rooms here are female cultivators!"

Luo Chen realized the truth, then asked worriedly, "Will staying here for a long time affect my cultivation?"

"It shouldn't, right?" The tall Gu Caiyi crossed her arms and said uncertainly, "We female cultivators do indeed benefit from Yin-attribute lands, but for you male cultivators, at most there's no benefit; it won't do much harm."

"Is that so?"

"Hasn't Fellow Daoist Qin lived here for many years without any mention of it?"

Gu Caiyi thought for a moment. "How about this: when I'm free tonight, I'll ask Miss Yu Xiang at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. She knows more about this than I do."

"Mhm, then I'll trouble you."

"By the way, I haven't asked you yet—what kind of pills do you refine?"

Gu Caiyi looked excitedly at the dim room and the medicinal herbs inside, most of which she didn't recognize.

It would be great if the pills Luo Chen refined were suitable for her.

Since they were neighbors, a "friendship discount" should be possible.

She waited for a while, but heard no answer from Luo Chen.

Was it inconvenient to say?

Gu Caiyi glanced at Luo Chen and noticed a faint, almost imperceptible blush on his face.

"Inedia Pills."

"Right, Inedia Pills!"

Luo Chen repeated, his tone quite firm.

***

As Gu Caiyi went to work in the evening, her mind was still on their afternoon chat.

By the time she arrived at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, most of the girls had woken up and were preparing to eat something to tide them over.

The spiritual meals provided once a day at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion were excellent, and Gu Caiyi would never miss them.

While eating the delicious and spirit-filled meal, Gu Caiyi saw Yu Xiang eating in small bites.

"Xiangxiang, you know about alchemy. Let me ask you something."

"Mhm..."

"Do middle-stage Qi Refinement cultivators make much money refining Inedia Pills?"

Yu Xiang blinked, and then pursed her lips and began to laugh.