Chapter 113: What Do You Think of Mi Junping?

Chapter 113: What Do You Think of Mi Junping?



The doors to the alchemy room were wide open, with alchemists carrying wooden trays in and out.

Gu Caiyi, who had arrived early, was sending people to count the elixirs refined today, preparing them for storage.

"Eighty-seven Lower-Grade Jade Marrow Pills, thirty-five Middle-Grade Jade Marrow Pills."

"Store them in the alchemy chamber."

After the inventory was complete, Luo Chen washed his hands in a small pond formed by a mountain spring.

Gu Caiyi walked over, "Going home today?"

Luo Chen shook his head, "No, I've been idle for a few days, and my hands are itching. I'll stay here tonight, read some alchemy books, and experiment with some new ideas."

Hearing this, Gu Caiyi didn't say much more. She was planning to go home today, as she had been overseeing things here recently and was feeling a bit tired.

Walking to the cliff edge near the alchemy hall, Luo Chen gazed into the distance.

His mind, however, was still on the attribute panel.

"Due to the large number of Lower- and Middle-Grade Jade Marrow Pills I've been refining, my proficiency is advancing more slowly."

Luo Chen had already figured out the characteristics of the attribute panel.

At each stage, he must refine elixirs of the corresponding grade to increase his proficiency.

For the Beginner and Proficient stages, Lower-Grade elixirs were the focus.

For the Expert and Perfect stages, he needed a large number of Middle-Grade elixirs.

To reach the Master stage, he would need to refine five hundred Upper-Grade elixirs to advance to the Great Perfection stage.

This was a reasonable system.

In the world of cultivation, being able to consistently refine hundreds of Upper-Grade elixirs of a single type was enough to be considered a master alchemist.

Refining Supreme-Grade elixirs was a matter of rare skill and luck!

In fact, Luo Chen had also experimented with refining Great Perfection level Fasting Powder.

The success rate for refining Supreme-Grade Fasting Powder was only ten percent.

And this was already quite high.

Sighing, Luo Chen let go of his frustration.

For now, the Middle-Grade Jade Marrow Pills were enough to satisfy Uncle Mi.

The Upper-Grade Jade Marrow Pills he had secretly kept for himself were also more than sufficient.

It was just that the Wondrous Pills had been stuck at the Master level for a long time. He wondered what the effects of a Supreme-Grade Wondrous Pill would be after reaching Great Perfection.

Zeng Wen, his fellow cultivator, was probably more eager than he was!

Smiling lightly, Luo Chen put away his thoughts and looked at the scene in Slanting Moon Valley.

The cultivators, finishing their shifts, were leaving in groups while the sky was still bright, either using the Wind Riding Technique or riding magical artifacts.

Under his gaze, Gu Caiyi joined up with the busy Murong Qinglian and went home together.

Before long, the bustling Slanting Moon Valley became quiet, with only a few cultivators remaining to guard the place.

These guards were not all out in the open.

Some were hidden in the shadows, some were patrolling, and others were resting, ready to relieve their comrades at any time.

"Uncle Mi is taking Slanting Moon Valley more seriously these days!"

Noticing the increased security, Luo Chen felt much more at ease.

Returning to his stone house, he activated a First Rank Water Ripple Array to cover the room.

Then, he opened the floor and dropped into the well-developed mine tunnels.

Following his memory, he descended until he reached the entrance of the spirit vein cavern.

He didn't rush in but took out a few formation flags from his storage bag.

Placing the flags around the area and leaving enough spirit stones, Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

This set of First Rank formation flags, a spoil from Lu Huiben's storage bag, had only one function: to conceal spiritual energy fluctuations.

While it couldn't prevent the leakage of spiritual energy from the cavern, it could at least mask this particular spot.

He believed that even if Uncle Mi came to the alchemy hall and used his spiritual sense, he wouldn't detect the spirit vein cavern.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense wasn't all-powerful and could be blocked by mountains, earth, and water.

With the added concealment formation, this spot was now truly safe.

"Even if he does discover it, he might not care about this small branch vein."

After all, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even a First Rank main spirit vein was only barely sufficient for cultivation; a small branch vein wouldn't be of much interest.

Luo Chen chuckled to himself and descended into the cavern.

He set up the Purple Cloud Copper Cauldron and began to simmer the Cultivation Essence Liquid.

Once the liquid was ready, he extinguished the fire.

Luo Chen took a deep breath, took out the flags for the Small Spirit Gathering Array, and focused on the green flag.

He cast a spell, and the flag hummed, then the green flag landed in the center.

This way, the Small Spirit Gathering Array would focus on absorbing Wood-attribute spiritual energy, which was more suitable for the operation of his Longevity Technique.

He burned incense, bathed in the medicinal liquid, and took the elixir.

With a clear mind, he began his intense cultivation.

...

After a night of cultivation, Luo Chen put away the cauldron and the formation flags, floating out of the cavern.

No wonder it's called the Small Spirit Gathering Array!

The improvement was significant!

Without considering the elixirs, the pure efficiency of his Longevity Technique in absorbing and converting spiritual energy had increased by a large margin.

His original Master-level Longevity Technique already had an efficiency comparable to a cultivator with three spirit roots, roughly four times that of a five-spirit-root cultivator.

With the spirit vein cavern's enhancement, it had increased by about one-fold, reaching five times the efficiency.

After using the Small Spirit Gathering Array last night, the efficiency increased by another threefold, bringing it to eight times the efficiency.

What does eight times mean?

Luo Chen speculated that this cultivation efficiency was nearly equal to, or even on par with, a cultivator with two spirit roots!

The world of cultivation had many legends, some true, some false.

But many were based on experience.

For example, a cultivator with a Heavenly Spirit Root could reach the Foundation Establishment stage in ten years, without even taking elixirs.

And a cultivator with two spirit roots was said to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in about twenty to thirty years.

An eightfold increase in cultivation efficiency fit this timeline perfectly.

With this realization, Luo Chen's tense mindset, which had been strained by his cultivation, finally relaxed a bit.

Previously, even with a fivefold increase in cultivation efficiency, it would still take him about fifty to sixty years to reach the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

And his lifespan was strangely capped at seventy-five years, just like in his previous life.

By the time he reached his sixties, he would be too old and frail to have the energy to break through to Foundation Establishment.

But now, with the help of the Small Spirit Gathering Array, this time frame has been shortened to within thirty years.

By then, he would only be in his fifties, in the prime of his life, with ample vigor and strength to make a strong push for Foundation Establishment.

And that's not all!

All these calculations are based on not using any elixirs or cultivation resources!

If he were to use those, the time frame would shorten even more drastically.

After all, actively refining and absorbing spiritual energy is much slower and less efficient compared to taking concentrated spiritual energy in the form of elixirs.

"Uncle Mi really is a good guy to me!"

Luo Chen sighed as he boarded the mine cart.

Just as he was about to leave, he paused and looked around at the extensive network of mine tunnels.

The idea that had popped into his head before resurfaced.

Perhaps he could indeed dig another exit leading in a different direction?

With a thought, Luo Chen released his puppet beast, Little Pangolin, and, guided by his excellent memory, headed toward a tunnel facing the Howling Moon Mountains.

...

"Hall Master, you seem to be in a good mood today?"

Tang Quan sidled up, trying to ingratiate himself.

"Oh, do I?"

Luo Chen's lips curved into a slight smile.

He was indeed in a good mood. The increase in cultivation efficiency had given him a real sense of hope for reaching Foundation Establishment.

And his morning exploration of the mine tunnels had finally revealed a small tunnel that had been dug far into the mountain.

The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

But after comparing it, Luo Chen realized this tunnel was the closest to the Howling Moon Mountains.

If he could spare some time each day to dig, he might create a direct exit to the outside world.

Then, if the Slanting Moon Valley ever faced an unstoppable cultivator or beast, he would have a safe retreat.

With both his cultivation and a potential escape route looking promising, his mood naturally improved.

He glanced at Tang Quan and suddenly said, "Your uncle has been asking me when I'll start refining the Wondrous Pill. But as you know, the leader has assigned me to focus on refining Jade Marrow Pills. Where do I find the time to refine the Wondrous Pill for him?"

Tang Quan nodded, wondering why Luo Chen was bringing this up.

Then, Luo Chen's next words left him with a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Mi Li and Rolando have gotten quite good at refining Fasting Powder. Hanging around the herbs all day isn't a good use of your time."

"Why don't you take over refining the Wondrous Pill for me?"

"Ah!" Tang Quan was stunned.

"What 'ah'?" Luo Chen pulled him into the alchemy room and pointed to the Xuan Yun Cauldron. "Since you have some free time, I'll teach you a few things."

He then turned to look at Mi Li and the others.

"You can watch too. If you have any ideas, you can give it a try."

...

...

Teaching the process of refining the Wondrous Pill to his subordinates was something Luo Chen had been considering for a few months.

Initially, he had been reluctant to share any of his knowledge, believing in the adage that knowledge is power.

But as alchemy work took up more and more of his cultivation time, he realized he couldn't continue like that.

So, he gradually started teaching them the techniques for handling herbs, controlling the fire, and storing the elixirs.

Three months ago, he had even shared some of his insights on refining Fasting Powder with Mi Li and the others.

Fasting Powder was relatively simple, and the formula was common knowledge. When he first started, there were many wandering cultivators selling Fasting Powder, not just him.

Compared to Fasting Powder, the formula for the Wondrous Pill was much more valuable, a closely guarded trade secret.

Logically, Luo Chen shouldn't have shared it.

But his mindset had changed.

Cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator, and all other skills were merely tools to support it.

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Luo Chen decided it would be better to teach his subordinates.

First, it would help maintain the variety of elixirs produced by the Breaking Mountain Sect's Alchemy Hall.

Second, it would save him a lot of time, allowing him to focus on his cultivation.

Third, the market for the Wondrous Pill was actually quite limited.

Even though they were now consistently producing mid-grade Wondrous Pills, the market was confined to the Great River Market.

Mi Shuhua had tried to expand it to other markets like Mount Tai Market and Flowing Light Market, but the price always remained low.

So, Mi Shuhua had decided to have Luo Chen focus on refining Jade Marrow Pills.

The profit margins for the Wondrous Pill were simply too small.

While it had been sufficient to support Luo Chen's cultivation, it wasn't enough to be the main product of a sect.

Finally, there was another important reason.

Just having the formula doesn't guarantee one can refine good elixirs.

Given Tang Quan and Mi Li's aptitude, even with an abundance of materials and time, they would never be able to refine high-grade Wondrous Pills.

In other words, the core competitive advantage still rested with Luo Chen.

He wasn't about to teach his subordinates everything and put himself out of business.

He would always keep a few tricks up his sleeve.

Sniff, sniff.

In the alchemy room, Tang Quan's nose twitched, catching a whiff of something burnt.

He turned to look at Luo Chen, who simply shrugged.

"What are you looking at? Failed alchemy attempts are common."

"Clean up the cauldron. We have more Jade Marrow Pills to refine this afternoon."

With that, he turned and left.

In the alchemy room, Tang Quan, Mi Li, and the others grumbled as they cleaned up the cauldron.

After leaving the alchemy room, Luo Chen didn't return to his stone house or wander around the Slanting Moon Valley.

Luo Chen waved goodbye to Zhou Yuanli and flew toward the forest behind the Crescent Moon Valley.

"I was able to master the Elixir of Wonders mainly thanks to the system. Even then, I failed many times."

"Tang Quan and the others would likely fail countless times before they could achieve their first success."

"It's fine for them to fail, after all, they're just using the Broken Mountain Gang's raw materials."

Luo Chen chuckled and descended from the sky, landing in the forest. He glanced back briefly before retracting his gaze. As expected, Zhou Yuanli and the others were probably watching over him from the shadows.

Well, it didn't matter since he was just here to test out his magical artifacts. There was nothing to hide.

Luo Chen's true strength didn't lie in these magical artifacts.

It came from the various spells he had diligently practiced: the Perfect Fireball, his incredibly swift teleportation, and his Master-level Binding Spell.

Even his novice-level Celestial Flower Spell, when combined with the Great Completion Mixed Essence Technique and the hundreds of discarded jade marrow beads he had collected, had an extraordinary power.

In comparison, these magical artifacts merely added variety to his combat repertoire.

"Being able to cast multiple spells with ease and speed at the Qi Condensation stage, I might be the only one who can do that!"

After the last battle, Luo Chen was very satisfied with the thickness of his spiritual energy.

The power of spells has never been inferior to that of magical artifacts!

What is weak is the person who wields them.

Whoosh!

A simple, gray spear appeared in Luo Chen's hand. As he infused it with spiritual energy, the gray spear gradually turned crimson, and Luo Chen could feel the intense heat radiating from it.

"A high-grade Fire Spear, renowned for its powerful offensive capabilities."

"When I used my Four Symbols Cauldron to its full defensive potential, it barely held up. If an enemy is unprepared, a single strike from this spear could easily pierce through a high-grade magical robe."

The defensive power of a magical robe is far inferior to that of a dedicated defensive artifact.

With a wave of his hand, the spear shot out like a meteor.

Its target was a centuries-old tree a hundred meters away.

With a loud boom, the tree shook violently. Dust and debris flew into the air, and when Luo Chen looked, the tree had been reduced to dust.

Reaching out, Luo Chen summoned the Fire Spear back. It flew toward him with a majestic presence, stopping gracefully just before him.

His Master-level Attraction Spell allowed him to wield the artifact with remarkable speed.

"Indeed, its power is impressive!"

After the test, Luo Chen concluded his assessment.

While it lacked the penetration of the Soul-Shattering Nail, the Fire Spear excelled in instantaneous bursts and area damage, far surpassing the nail in these aspects.

With this spear, Luo Chen now had a formidable tool for direct combat.

From now on, the Jade Blade would be his second choice.

Unfortunately for the high-grade flying sword! The sword was ice-attribute, and to wield such a sword, one needed either an ice spiritual root or an exceptional water spiritual root.

Luo Chen didn't have an ice spiritual root.

Although he had a water spiritual root, it was one of the five elements and not particularly outstanding.

Moreover, the Longevity Technique he practiced was wood-attribute.

With a wood-attribute technique as his main practice, his spiritual energy was primarily aligned with wood.

According to the principles of the Five Elements, wood generates fire, and with an abundance of wood, fire becomes more intense. Therefore, Luo Chen was well-suited for fire spells and fire artifacts.

In contrast, water generates wood, making it difficult to reverse the flow.

Thus, Luo Chen had a poorer affinity for water spells and artifacts.

However, he couldn't bear to sell the high-grade artifact, so he decided to keep it in the milk tea shop, using it as an "ice maker."

If he needed it in the future, he could always retrieve it.

"What is this bell for?"

Luo Chen took out a pair of emerald green bells, puzzled.

Infusing them with spiritual energy, the bells glowed brightly green, but nothing else happened.

He thought for a moment and gently shook them.

"Jingle!"

A soft sound rang out, and Luo Chen, caught off guard, felt a slight dizziness in his head.

"Hmm, it's a sound wave artifact!"

"Quite rare!"

Excited, Luo Chen quickly blocked his ears with spiritual energy and rapidly shook the bells.

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

Thud!

A large snake collapsed in the forest ahead.

Luo Chen glanced at it without much interest.

It was just a common pit viper, one of the weakest among first-stage beasts. Its spiritual energy was so thin that its meat wouldn't even fetch a decent price in the market.

"Although it's only a mid-grade artifact with limited power, sound wave attacks are rare."

"Used unexpectedly, it might have a decisive effect."

In an instant, Luo Chen figured out the best way to use the bells in combat.

Not in conjunction with the Fire Spear, but with the Soul-Shattering Nail, which also excels in ambushes.

"Since that's the case, I'll name you the Soul-Losing Bells."

Luo Chen smiled and stored the Soul-Losing Bells in his storage bag.

Then, he proceeded to test the other few artifacts.

Unfortunately, they were all rather ordinary low-grade artifacts, far from impressive.

As for the white board, Luo Chen had already learned its specific effects from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

It was essentially a product of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, but specifically designed for environments like the Snow Lotus Workshop.

The Snow Treading Board!

A flying artifact.

However, its flying speed was quite average, equivalent to what a mid-stage cultivator could achieve with the Wind Control Spell.

But if used in snowy or icy areas, or over large rivers and seas, the Snow Treading Board could leverage the terrain to increase its speed several times, reaching the flying speed of a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator.

Luo Chen had no intention of selling it.

Such an artifact could still be useful at times.

Next, Luo Chen ventured several kilometers deeper into the outer forest.

By the time he reached that area, the traces of beasts became more frequent.

Using these first-stage beasts, Luo Chen began to familiarize himself with the Firetip Spear and the Soul-Bane Bell.

Indeed, some of the subtleties of magical artifacts could only be truly understood through practical combat.

The Firetip Spear, besides being wielded in battle, could also be used to unleash a powerful rain of fire when infused with spiritual energy.

A massive spray of sparks would fly out, raining down like a fiery deluge.

While the attack strength was relatively low, it excelled in its wide range.

Each drop of fire rain had the power of a low-grade magical artifact.

The Firetip Spear's most suitable combat technique, besides direct confrontation, was the backstab, which was the best move.

"No wonder Lu Huiben didn't use this magical artifact right away but waited until I was chasing him."

"First, he was probably terrified by my quick kills of the two enemies, and second, he wanted to achieve a decisive victory by catching me off guard and delivering a fatal blow."

"Unfortunately, I always maintained the Four Symbols Cauldron's defense."

Riding on his white Snowstep Board, Luo Chen leisurely flew back to Crescent Moon Valley.

Behind him, Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang exchanged glances.

The hall master seems to have a natural talent for combat!

Just in that forest, he easily defeated three first-stage beasts one after another.

It was important to note that those magical artifacts were clearly new to him.

There was always a sense of unfamiliarity when using them.

But as time went on, he became more adept, even uncovering some of their special uses.

"Perhaps, the three enemies who pursued the hall master back then might have really been killed by him?" Zhou Yuanli couldn't help but say.

Liu Qiang was skeptical, after all, those were three enemies of the same realm as Luo Chen!

Back in Crescent Moon Valley, Luo Chen sought out Sikong Shoujia.

"Commission the guild to sell these low-grade magical artifacts?"

Sikong Shoujia examined the low-grade magical artifacts and shook his head, "I doubt they'll fetch many spirit stones."

Luo Chen was puzzled, "Really? These are in good condition, with no damage. Besides, the Great River Market always has a high demand for magical artifacts, right?"

"The Great River Market does have a high demand for magical artifacts, but not other places!"

Sikong Shoujia rolled his eyes and explained to Luo Chen.

It turned out that since the Sword Sect established its dominance in the Jade Cauldron Domain, after the initial hundred years of turmoil, the next three hundred years saw a gradual peace.

With fewer conflicts, the demand for elixirs increased, while the demand for magical artifacts steadily declined.

Moreover, magical artifacts were durable and could be passed down as legacies, leading to an increasing number of magical artifacts in the cultivation world.

If it were magical treasures, they would be even more powerful.

Cultivators could enhance them with their spiritual energy, potentially increasing their power and grade.

Over the years, the price of magical artifacts in the Jade Cauldron Domain has been on a downward trend.

Only the Great River Market, close to the Eastern Wasteland's Million Mountains, where hunting beasts was popular, maintained high prices for magical artifacts.

But over the years, the low prices in other regions have also influenced the Great River Market.

Luo Chen had already encountered this issue before.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower always offered a maximum of half the original price for magical artifacts, and for severely damaged ones, even half the price was a stretch.

Wang Yuan's stall mainly sold mid-grade magical artifacts.

Low-grade magical artifacts were few and far between.

"These ordinary items of yours, if you set up a stall, few would be interested. Those who might be interested are early or mid-stage cultivators, and they can't afford a high price."

"I reckon you'd be lucky to get a few hundred spirit stones at most."

Luo Chen was furious!

"These are magical artifacts I earned at the cost of my life, and you're telling me they're only worth a few hundred spirit stones? Are you trying to treat me like a beggar?"

"Who says they're worth anything? They're probably several hands down and the lowest grade of low-grade magical artifacts!"

Sikong Shoujia shrugged and then gave Luo Chen three suggestions.

"Either give them to a friend at a friend's price."

"Or take them to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, where they'll treat them as scrap and give you a cost price."

"Or, you could hand them over to the guild and convert them into merit points."

The first option, Luo Chen immediately ruled out.

He had no friends in need of low-grade magical artifacts.

Even Yuan Xiaoyue, at the third level of the Qi Condensation stage, didn't lack for magical artifacts.

Her grandfather and deceased father had left her a complete set of mid-grade magical artifacts.

The second option, Luo Chen was a bit hesitant about.

As for the third?

"Merit points? What use are they?"

"You can exchange them for cultivation techniques collected by the Merit Hall, or buy elixirs directly from the Merit Hall... oh, right, all the elixirs in the guild are made by you."

Sikong Shoujia paused, momentarily unable to think of anything valuable in the guild that Luo Chen might need.

Mainly, Luo Chen, being shameless, used his position as the Elixir Hall Master to freeload on the guild's resources.

Merit points?

He didn't care about them at all.

"Never mind, I'll keep them for now!"

It was just a few magical artifacts, taking up little space.

What if the prices went up in the future?

Deciding on this, Luo Chen no longer rushed to sell the magical artifacts. He didn't lack a few spirit stones at the moment.

Just as he was about to leave, Sikong Shoujia held him back.

Seeing the old man's hesitant and hesitant demeanor, Luo Chen was puzzled, "What's wrong, constipated? I recommend you go to White Stone Square and get a cup of Fuzhu Milk Tea from Mishi Bingcheng, undiluted, it's great for lubricating the intestines and promoting bowel movements!"

"Get lost!"

Sikong Shoujia cursed, then carefully said:

"What do you think of Mi Junping, the Merit Hall Master?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end