Chapter 41: Red, eyes turning red (Please keep reading)

Because of the process of transporting spiritual qi and consuming medicinal pills, a cultivator's appearance and age are often disproportionate.

Therefore, in the cultivation world, the one thing you must never do is judge a person by their looks.

Luo Chen did not know what Gu Caiyi's spiritual root attributes were.

However, while chatting with Bai Meiling, he had asked about other people's ages.

He remembered that Gu Caiyi was as old as thirty-seven.

At thirty-seven, being at the eighth level of Qi Refinement was neither good nor bad; her aptitude should not be poor, but it wasn't exceptionally good either, otherwise, she would have been recruited into a sect long ago.

Yet, after only a few short days of not seeing her, she had actually broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

This left Luo Chen quite shocked.

"How did you do it? Did you eat some miraculous elixir?"

"Hehe, you actually hit the nail on the head."

Gu Caiyi pursed her lips. "For some reason lately, many new faces have appeared in Dahe Market, and among them are not a few Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."

"Zhong Ding's house and our Tianxiang Pavilion are the places they frequent most often."

"Medicinal pills that are precious to us Qi Refinement cultivators are worth nothing in the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators. We recently performed a new dance to please a great cultivator at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and he casually bestowed a bottle of Dust-Transforming Pills upon us."

Luo Chen's eyes widened. "Dust-Transforming Pills!"

"It seems you aren't as ignorant as I thought!"

Luo Chen was certainly not so foolish as to be unaware of Dust-Transforming Pills.

These were top-tier pills for the Qi Refinement stage, possessing the efficacy of shedding mortality and transforming dust.

The potency of a single pill was several times that of the Qi-Nurturing Pills of the same rank! Its selling price was even ten times higher!

In fact, when low-level cultivators could not find Foundation Establishment Pills, they would sometimes use Dust-Transforming Pills to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Although the effect was entirely inferior to a Foundation Establishment Pill, it provided at least some benefit.

"We obtained a bottle of Dust-Transforming Pills, and after dividing them, everyone got one. As the lead dancer, I received two."

Gu Caiyi smiled proudly. "I stayed at Yuyi Pavilion for the past two days, and with these two pills, I broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement."

"Does your Tianxiang Pavilion still hire people?" Luo Chen's tone was sour, his eyes red with envy.

"What would you go there for, to be a pimp?"

"Don't talk nonsense! I've been multi-talented since I was a child, excellent in both song and dance!"

"Forget it, I won't tease you." Gu Caiyi's expression turned serious. "I wanted to tell you that something might happen in Dahe Market recently, given the arrival of so many stranger cultivators. Be careful when you go in and out; don't offend people you shouldn't."

Luo Chen nodded heavily.

Outsider cultivators were the most daunting.

They had no roots here and cared little for the various rules of Dahe Market.

Sometimes, they might kill someone in a fit of rage and then flee thousands of miles away, and even the stationed cultivators of the Yuding Sword Sect would be unable to intervene.

In the dead of night, Luo Chen thought about the day's events, his heart filled with complex emotions.

Others broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement with ease, standing only one step away from Foundation Establishment.

Meanwhile, he was still struggling bitterly at the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

The massive gap truly made it difficult to maintain a forced smile; it was quite painful.

However, despite the bitterness, Luo Chen was still happy for Gu Caiyi.

Since he moved here, this woman had taken great care of him.

She would greet him whenever they passed each other, giving a "nobody" like him in the cultivation world a small sense of existence.

When she learned of his predicament regarding alchemy equipment, she had even used her connections to help him find high-quality, low-cost cauldrons.

Now that Gu Caiyi had achieved a breakthrough, he ought to be happy for her.

"But, I cannot slack off either."

"These recent easy days seem to have dulled my edge."

"Gu Caiyi's aptitude is certainly better than mine, yet she is still working hard to earn cultivation resources. And I am merely a five-element spiritual root cultivator with only a few decades of lifespan left; even my Qi-Nurturing Pills are down to my last bottle."

"What right do I have to live a leisurely life?"

From tomorrow onwards, he must work even harder!

***

A brand-new alchemy room.

A Purple Cloud Copper Cauldron, a specialized dharma tool for alchemy.

The "All-Mysteries Pill" alchemy technique, now at the second level of proficiency.

Never had a beginning been so wonderful!

Everything was ready; all that was left was to light the fire!

With a solemn expression, Luo Chen skillfully cast a Fireball Technique to ignite the firewood placed in the fire pit.

The flames roared and rose, soon filling the small alchemy room with rolling waves of heat.

Immersed in it, Luo Chen seemed unbothered; instead, he began tossing processed medicinal ingredients into the cauldron.

Not only that, but he also performed hand seals to guide the Purple Cloud Copper Cauldron.

The simple patterns engraved upon it emitted a faint glow, as if it were breathing.

Even though the Purple Cloud Copper Cauldron was only a low-grade first-tier dharma tool, it had, after all, crossed the threshold into being a dharma tool.

It was vastly superior to the inferior spiritual iron pot he had been using before.

Luo Chen stared intently at the changes of the ingredients within the copper cauldron, his Spiritual Eye Technique already active upon his eyes.

Even with obstructions, he could perceive the changes in the flow of spiritual qi within.

Furthermore, he would occasionally lift the lid and stir the materials with a wooden rod to prevent them from burning at the bottom.

Soon, it was noon.

And it was time to open the cauldron.

The fire had been extinguished for half an hour, and the temperature of the cauldron had gradually dropped.

"Rise!"

Using a hand seal, he employed the Attraction Technique—which had reached the proficiency level—to grasp the still-warm lid from a distance and slowly lift it.

A strange fragrance diffused into the air, mingled with a hint of a scorched smell.

With the assistance of the Spiritual Eye Technique, Luo Chen looked down from a distance, his brow furrowing slightly.

The first batch of All-Mysteries Pills had failed.

This was predictable; everything was new, and no matter how much preparation was made, one could not guarantee a hundred percent success.

Luo Chen felt no frustration. He took a shovel and scooped out the medicinal dregs.

After a simple cleaning, he exited the alchemy room.

As soon as he stepped out, even though it was midday, he felt a refreshing coolness.

The temperature difference between the alchemy room and the outside was simply too great.

At this moment, Luo Chen actually found himself appreciating Sun Shou's place.

Without saying much else, in the absence of cooling facilities, this single room located at the center of the Ghost King's suppression at least provided him with a hint of coolness.

"Cook, shower, and continue in the afternoon!"

After setting the rice to steam, he went to the corner of the courtyard and, mimicking Gu Caiyi, used the Attraction Technique to draw a bucket of water from the well.

*Splash!*

He poured it directly over his bare, heated body.

"Ah, that's the stuff!"

Luo Chen couldn't help but groan in relief.

He hadn't noticed while being fully focused inside, but once he came out, he realized the alchemy room was essentially a giant furnace.

"It must be a problem with my design and the materials used; otherwise, it wouldn't be so hot."

"It would be wonderful if a disciple from Mount Ailao could design an alchemy room for me."

After a brief fantasy, Luo Chen shook his head with a smile.

Where would he get the spirit stones to hire a disciple from a famous sect to design an alchemy room for him?

The appearance fee alone would likely start at at least a thousand or eight hundred!

After a simple lunch, Luo Chen gritted his teeth and entered the alchemy room again.

The second batch, begin!

***

"Is Little Luo home?"

"I'm busy. Is something wrong, Sister Caiyi?"

"Nothing, just keep busy!"

"Alchemizing again?"

"Can't be helped, life forces me to."

"You sound so pitiful. I brought you a box of Qingyuan Cakes; eat them while they're warm."

"Just leave them outside for now. I really can't step away; I'm about to switch the fire to the main ingredients."

"Then I'll head off. Come out to chat when you're done."

In the afternoon, Luo Chen sat dazed by the water well, looking quite haggard.

Gu Caiyi walked out of her door and happened to see this scene.

She frowned and walked over. "Luo Chen, what's wrong with you lately?"

"Nothing much, just the daily alchemy." Luo Chen snapped out of it, rubbed his eyes, and hurriedly stood up.

"You say nothing, but look at yourself."

With a flow of magic, the residual water on the ground coalesced into a water mirror.

Luo Chen looked down and saw his eyes were red and swollen, with heavy dark circles, and his lips were dry and cracked.

His long, disheveled hair had long since escaped its hairband, clinging messily to his face.

At first glance, he looked like someone who had worked overtime in front of a computer for a month in his previous life.

Was it caused by the high temperature of the alchemy process?

Luo Chen wasn't entirely sure. In the last ten days of alchemy, he had done his best to complete two batches a day.

The success rate was just mediocre; he hadn't quite reached his expected twenty percent success rate, but it was much better than the beginner stage.

However, alchemizing with dharma tools required him to use the Spiritual Eye Technique constantly.

Not only did it consume spiritual qi, but it was also very taxing on the eyes; especially under long-term observation, his mind and spirit were extremely fatigued.

Not wanting to show weakness in front of a woman, Luo Chen casually changed the subject.

His gaze subconsciously fell upon Gu Caiyi's arm, where a piece of pure white, transparent gauze was draped.

"Is that a newly bought dharma tool?"

"You have an eye for things!" Gu Caiyi lifted the gauze and said brightly, "A Foundation Establishment cultivator named Fei Baiwen gave it to me. It's a high-grade defensive dharma tool."

Luo Chen was stunned.

A high-grade dharma tool, and a defensive one at that?

Someone was actually willing to give such a thing away?

He couldn't help but ask, "Are all Foundation Establishment cultivators this wealthy? This dharma tool must be worth at least four or five thousand spirit stones, right?"

Gu Caiyi smiled slightly. "Most Foundation Establishment cultivators are indeed not wealthy; in fact, they might even be stingier than us rogue cultivators. But Fei Baiwen is different."

"Hmm? How so?"