Chapter 42: Heart Tribulation (Bonus Chapter, please keep reading!)

“He is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from Mount Ailao!”

“His visit to Dahe坊 this time is to be responsible for inspecting and repairing the status of the various spiritual residences in Dahe坊. After all, Dahe坊 was originally designed and constructed for the Jade Tripod Sword Sect by Mount Ailao.”

“Not only that, but the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion even intends to invest a massive amount of money to hire him to redesign and build new landmark buildings.”

Hearing Gu Caiyi speak of this, Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.

Damn it, he's a contractor!

No wonder he was so wealthy, tossing around low-level pills and magical tools like they were nothing.

But no matter how rich one is, that is not how one should spend spirit stones!

Facing Luo Chen's confusion, Gu Caiyi thought for a moment and said tentatively, “Does he have designs on me?”

As soon as these words came out, Gu Caiyi's small mouth parted slightly, and she grabbed Luo Chen's arm.

“My Great Dao is within reach!”

Luo Chen rolled his eyes. “Clinging to a rich man is shameful, okay!”

Clinging to a rich man?

Being a cultivator, Gu Caiyi understood the term instantly.

She gave Luo Chen a hard punch. After thinking seriously, she muttered to herself, “It is said that Fei Baiwen is a matrilocal husband and already has a Dao companion. Moreover, his companion is the granddaughter of a Golden Core cultivator from Mount Ailao; he likely wouldn't dare take a concubine.”

So, he's a 'phoenix man' who married into a wealthy family?

She huffed, thought carefully, and sighed.

“Forget it, such a person cannot be provoked. Even if he had the intention, I couldn't afford to offend his Dao companion.”

“Besides, it is not what I desire.”

Having said that, she prepared to head out.

Luo Chen shouted from behind, “Remember to help me buy five hundred jade bottles at Jixiang坊 when you come back tomorrow. I want this exact style. I'll give you the spirit stones later.”

Gu Caiyi didn't look back, merely waving her hand.

Seeing her walk away, Luo Chen sighed and stepped back into the pill chamber.

“Failed again. Why is the success rate in the afternoon so low?”

“Two batches a day... is it still too much to ask?”

Looking at the pile of medicinal dregs he had scooped out, a disheveled Luo Chen felt dejected.

One failure meant five spirit stones had gone down the drain.

But he was certain he had done well enough!

Cleaning the furnace, tidying the chamber.

After practicing several spells in the room and a quick wash, Luo Chen climbed into bed.

He swallowed his few remaining Qi-Nourishing Pills and circulated the Eternal Spring Technique.

He felt it might be because his cultivation realm was too low, causing the afternoon success rate to be far inferior to the morning.

To the point where he felt a sense of urgency even while practicing.

With his eyes tightly shut, his breathing followed a specific rhythm, though it seemed slightly heavier than usual.

“When will these days ever end!”

“Gu Caiyi is truly lucky; people give her pills and tools, while I have to earn everything myself.”

“Does a Foundation Establishment cultivator really have eyes for her? Actually, she is quite beautiful. Although her face isn't as delicate as Miss Xiangxiang's, her figure is truly excellent.”

“Why can't a woman like that be mine, Luo Chen?”

“Heh, is a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator even worthy of such a beauty? Unless I go to the mortal world and just rot away.”

“But with a five-element root aptitude, can I really reach Foundation Establishment?”

“If I work myself to death only for it to end in nothing, wouldn't that be a waste of my prime years?”

“Perhaps I should relax a bit and not be so hard on myself.”

“Maybe there will be another transmigration. In that life, I'll be born as a Heaven-Spiritual Root cultivator with powerful parents as my folks, hee hee...”

Faint wisps of fragrance, almost imperceptible, drifted into his nostrils and deep into his soul.

“Wait, what on earth am I thinking about!”

Suddenly!

Luo Chen snapped his eyes open, a feeling of stifling congestion rushing straight to his chest.

*Pfft!*

A mouthful of bright red blood sprayed onto the floor tiles.

Staring blankly at the glaring pool of blood, a word popped into Luo Chen's mind out of nowhere.

“Heart Tribulation.”

A term that was somewhat unfamiliar, yet incredibly fitting.

During his cultivation just now, he had experienced a sudden surge of negative emotions.

As he circulated the Eternal Spring Technique, those thoughts had caused the spiritual energy in his dantian to nearly boil.

But shouldn't a high-level term like "Heart Tribulation" only appear among Golden Core Masters or Nascent Soul Grandmasters?

How could a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator like him be touched by such a thing?

In his confusion, Luo Chen began to actively gather his emotions and reflect on what had just happened.

Slowly, he gained a sliver of insight.

“Perhaps it's because I changed my alchemy environment recently, causing my body to be overly fatigued.”

“It could also be that the success rate hasn't met the standard for a while, and the heavy cost of losses has made me too anxious.”

“Caiyi's stimulation of me lately might also be a minor trigger.”

Luo Chen thought deeply, even considering the massive shift in his values and lifestyle habits before and after his transmigration, which had caused a buildup of negative emotions.

They had simply been suppressed by his previous busyness.

Having relaxed a little recently, they were gradually being released.

“If I hadn't woken up in time just now, I might have succumbed to cultivation deviation and lost my life.”

Recalling that sensation of boiling, violent spiritual energy coursing through his meridians, Luo Chen felt a wave of terror.

“Fortunately, the Moonlight Grass saved my life.”

His gaze fell upon the small, pure white crescent-shaped grass at his bedside, and Luo Chen felt immense relief.

Moonlight Grass had the effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the soul; the older it was, the better the effect.

Rumor had it that a thousand-year-old Moonlight Grass could even assist Nascent Soul Grandmasters in their cultivation.

Luo Chen didn't have a thousand-year-old plant, but he was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.

Just now, it was precisely the fragrance emitted by this Moonlight Grass that had jolted him awake, saving his life.

Shaking his head with a smile, he realized he had unintentionally received a favor from Fu Xiuxiu.

However, if he told anyone he had encountered a Heart Tribulation during the Qi Refinement stage, they probably wouldn't believe him!

After getting up and washing himself, Luo Chen walked out of the house.

The night was deep and silent; all was still.

Sitting on that tiny, child-sized swing, Luo Chen gazed up at the vast starry sky.

“It is merely a few bumps on the road to immortality.”

“So what if I have five-element roots? As long as there are enough resources, even a pig can become an immortal. Why should I belittle myself?”

“Work hard, strive, until death do us part!”

Under the starry sky, the man was as humble as dust, yet his heart was as bright as the stars.

***

The next day brought the same tedious routine.

Luo Chen had grown used to it, and especially after last night's Heart Tribulation, his mindset was even more peaceful.

Even though he failed again in the morning, he did not rush the refinement of the second batch of Zhongmiao Pills in the afternoon.

"Rise!"

With his hands forming a spiritual seal, he used his now-proficient Attraction Technique to grasp the still-warm furnace lid from a distance, slowly lifting it.

A familiar, strange fragrance wafted into his nose.

Luo Chen smiled knowingly.

Success!

Unlike the spiritual iron pot, the pills produced inside an alchemy furnace could be condensed into shape under the control of a formation.

Therefore, Luo Chen used jade bottles to collect the ten Zhongmiao Pills inside.

During the collection process, he rubbed his temples.

Previously, when refining pills every afternoon, he would often feel a lack of energy toward the end.

But today, he didn't seem to have that feeling?

Moreover, he felt as if his mental strength had increased slightly.

By about double.

“Is this the harvest from breaking through my inner demons last night?”

Luo Chen pondered.

It was rumored that when high-level cultivators faced tribulations, they faced not only external lightning tribulations but also internal heart tribulations.

Whether it was obsession, inner demons, or even external heavenly demons stirring the heart.

As long as a high-level cultivator endured the internal heart tribulation, they would receive unexpected benefits.

Luo Chen knew he wasn't at that level yet, but others wouldn't encounter a Heart Tribulation during the Qi Refinement stage either.

So, by deduction, it really might be the case.

This was naturally a good thing; at the very least, Luo Chen felt much more confident about refining two batches of Zhongmiao Pills a day.

Furthermore, he had a feeling that this experience might bring unexpected benefits to his future cultivation.