Chapter 36: This Should Be My Home

“Did you kill Gao Ting'e?”

In Luo Chen's home, Wang Yuan sat sipping crystal-clear wine and suddenly asked.

“Big brother, you can eat any food and drink any wine, but you really shouldn't speak recklessly.” Luo Chen poured him a cup of wine and said seriously, “It could get someone killed.”

Wang Yuan's mouth twitched.

He picked up a piece of the braised meat Luo Chen had made, his eyes casually scanning the surroundings.

“No wonder you have enough spirit stones to move into the Inner City. It looks like you've struck it rich!”

Luo Chen was speechless.

Some things cannot be hidden from those who are looking.

He had bought a set of spell manuals worth two hundred spirit stones from Wang Yuan and then moved into a rented house in the Inner City; no matter how one looked at it, it seemed suspicious.

That wasn't the kind of property a short-lived person like Chen Xiao could have left behind.

Add to that the fact that the people from the Great River Gang had come knocking on his door today.

Connecting the two, the answer was self-evident.

Luo Chen knew he couldn't hide it from Wang Yuan, so after Wang Yuan had blocked those two Great River Gang cultivators for him this afternoon, he had specifically invited him over to cook him a meal.

Firstly, it was to thank him for his care during this period.

Secondly, it was a way of laying his cards on the table.

After all, he was technically a junior under Wang Yuan's protection.

Of course, if Wang Yuan wanted him to personally admit to killing Gao Ting'e, he would absolutely never do it.

“Gao Tingyuan is not a man of great tolerance, and he is very suspicious. Since you are still alive and refuse to see him, he will eventually suspect you.”

Wang Yuan put down his chopsticks. “If you have spirit stones, buy more medicinal pills to increase your cultivation and improve your ability to protect yourself!”

Medicinal pills?

Luo Chen had already been buying them; in fact, of the five bottles of Qi-Nurturing Pills he bought last month, he had already consumed three.

Currently, his cultivation progress stood at [37/100]. Thirty points had been provided by the Qi-Nurturing Pills, while the extra seven points were gained from his daily circulation of the Eternal Spring Technique.

However, in front of Wang Yuan, Luo Chen habitually played the victim.

“Brother Wang, you are the only kin I have in this cultivation world. If Gao Tingyuan bullies me, you must help me!”

“Heh.”

Wang Yuan stood up and walked toward the door.

“I've recognized the door, so I'm leaving now.”

“By the way, be more careful when entering and exiting from now on. Don't let someone sneak in under the cover of darkness and slit your throat.”

Luo Chen asked uncertainly, “Surely not? This is the Inner City.”

“You don't actually think a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Jade Tripod Sword Sect would make a huge fuss over the death of a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, do you?”

Wang Yuan gave a mocking laugh. “As long as you don't cause too much of a commotion, the big shots won't care whether you live or die. And killing you silently is not a difficult task for Gao Tingyuan of the Great River Gang.”

Cold sweat unconsciously seeped down Luo Chen's back.

“I'm off. If you run into trouble in the future, go to the main headquarters of the Broken Mountain Gang in the Outer City to find me.”

Wang Yuan waved his hand, placed his hands behind his back, and walked out of the courtyard with a commanding stride.

At the wooden table, Luo Chen ate the braised meat he had made with a lack of appetite, his mind in a state of confusion.

But before long, he calmed down.

“Tch, how could I be so easily intimidated?”

“Haven't I already thought of these things? It was just Wang Yuan saying it again to make sure I was certain.”

“The countermeasures are nothing more than working hard to earn spirit stones, buying pills to increase my cultivation, practicing more spells, and mastering more magical tools to increase my self-defense capabilities.”

As for himself, Luo Chen, that was the extent of his current ability.

Asking him to sneak into the Great River Gang headquarters in the middle of the night to kill Gao Tingyuan—he couldn't do something so far-reaching and preemptive.

Rather than worrying needlessly, it was better to focus steadily on the tasks at hand.

Having thought this through, Luo Chen ate the spiritual food, braised meat, and strong wine on the table with a sudden ferocity, cleaning everything.

After eating and drinking his fill, he let out a drunken hiccup.

He took out a set of black gauze veils and a bamboo hat he had prepared long ago from his storage bag, covered his face thoroughly, and walked out of the house quite openly.

This outfit of black clothes, black trousers, and a black gauze hat was actually quite conspicuous.

However, it was not out of place in the Inner City of the Great River Ward.

Among rogue cultivators, one could see dozens of people dressed similarly in a single day.

The so-called concealment spells to hide one's aura or change one's appearance were not something everyone possessed.

For rogue cultivators who were in trouble, they were not stingy about using a set of clothes to solve the problem.

Luo Chen was not panicking in his heart, but he began to enter and exit with the caution Wang Yuan had advised!

“Today I earned four hundred from the Multitude Pills and twenty from the Inedia Pills. Adding the four hundred and twenty-five I already had saved, my total net worth is a full eight hundred and forty-five spirit stones.”

Walking down the street, Luo Chen calculated his savings and began to make corresponding plans for his upcoming purchases.

He would set aside at least three hundred spirit stones for that Purple Cloud Bronze Tripod.

He also needed to purchase raw materials for the Multitude Pills, so he set a tentative budget of four hundred spirit stones.

Compared to before, this was undoubtedly a doubling of the cost.

But as long as they were refined, the profits were predictable.

That left one hundred and forty-five spirit stones. He would keep one hundred as revolving funds to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

He was no longer the impoverished cultivator with a net worth of only fifty spirit stones.

While he possessed the courage to rise again after a failure, there was no need to actually push himself to that extreme.

Keeping a reserve of revolving funds was very necessary.

As for the remaining forty-five spirit stones, five would be used for food. The remaining forty, Luo Chen planned to use entirely for refining Inedia Pills.

Yes, Inedia Pills.

Although they didn't earn much and competition was high, he still intended to refine more of them.

Whether to diversify his product range or to use them as a freebie when selling Multitude Pills, it was highly necessary.

With the plan quickly made, Luo Chen did not intend to dawdle.

With the Wind-Riding Technique boosting him and combined with the Carefree Wanderer movement, Luo Chen turned into a blur as he ran in a certain direction.

A figure zipped past him, drawing curses from pedestrians.

The Inner City only strictly prohibited fighting; it did not forbid the use of spells.

Besides, Luo Chen was merely running a little bit fast.

After spending the entire afternoon, Luo Chen finally finished his shopping.

Even for the firewood, he had made arrangements with the people from the Spirit Source Pavilion to have it delivered directly to his courtyard.

After finishing these tasks, Luo Chen arrived before a cluster of buildings filled with an enticing fragrance.

Looking up through his black gauze veil, Luo Chen saw the three large characters above.

"Tianxiang Pavilion"

Having to admit, Luo Chen felt a bit excited entering such a place for the first time.

It felt somewhat like a young virgin sneaking off to an improper venue by himself to avoid his friends.

“Bah, bah, bah! Even if I'm entering an improper place, I am doing something proper!”

Luo Chen sternly looked down upon the dark thoughts in his mind, then walked into the Tianxiang Pavilion quite openly.

The moment he entered, he felt as if he were a fish in water.

“This place truly feels like home!”

*Ahem*, he was referring to the concentration of spiritual energy.

After standing there for just a moment, Luo Chen noticed the difference between being inside and outside the building.

The feeling of being refreshed throughout his body just by taking a few extra breaths—to the point where his Eternal Spring Technique almost wanted to circulate on its own—made him deeply realize how incredible the "Spirit Gathering Array" Gu Caiyi had mentioned truly was.

How wonderful it would be if he could live here every day!

“Guest, we will be taking customers in a little while.”

“I am here to see Fellow Daoist Gu Caiyi. I am her neighbor.”

“Oh, I see. Then please go in. Walk straight along the lakeside; there is a Feathered Clothing Pavilion, and Lady Gu is usually there.”

Lady Gu?

I'm more of a "Little House" Gu.

Luo Chen hadn't expected Gu Caiyi to have such status in the Tianxiang Pavilion; the servant's words were laced with respect.

But thinking about it carefully, Gu Caiyi was at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, possessed a bright and elegant beauty, and had a figure with long legs, a slender waist, and a bountiful chest.

With such grace, if paired with exceptional dancing skills, she could be called a "Great Lady" in any era.

With these stray thoughts in his mind, Luo Chen arrived outside the Feathered Clothing Pavilion.