Chapter 20: Tapping into the Great Mountain
Chapter 20: Tapping into the Great Mountain
Fifty-five bottles of Spirit-Refining Pills, and thirty bottles of Marvelous Elixir.
This was Luo Chen's achievement over the past month.
He had only refined fifty bottles of Spirit-Refining Pills; the extra five bottles were a legacy left by that short-lived fellow.
As for the thirty bottles of Marvelous Elixir, it was a pleasant surprise.
This time, he managed to successfully refine three batches, all of which were of lower quality.
Laying the pills out on the green stone slab, Luo Chen placed his hands on his hips, eagerly anticipating today's grand market.
As usual, Old Daoist Chen arrived a bit later.
Seeing Luo Chen, his old eyes were filled with a mix of resentment.
Fifty spirit stones!
He had just reclaimed them last time, only to have this young man borrow them again.
He had already made up his mind; no matter how much Luo Chen pleaded, he would definitely reclaim that loan today!
Definitely!
"Little Luo, your alchemy skills have improved even further!"
In the past, the corner he had allocated to Luo Chen had never been fully occupied.
But today, it was densely packed with jade bottles, at least fifty to sixty of them, almost filling the entire space.
This clearly indicated that Luo Chen's alchemy skills had indeed advanced.
Luo Chen chuckled, "This is all thanks to your generous assistance, Old Daoist Chen. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the capital to refine so many pills."
"Hmph, you know it well," Old Daoist Chen snorted, then sternly said, "I lent you those spirit stones out of kindness, but today you must return them."
"Of course, of course!"
Luo Chen appeared to be a man of his word.
Old Daoist Chen's expression improved, as the debt had been weighing heavily on his mind, making him lose his appetite and sleep.
Suddenly, he let out a light exclamation.
"Huh!"
"Little Luo, you've reached the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement?"
Luo Chen was curious, "How did you know?"
"I've practiced the Spirit Eye Technique; discerning one's aura is a minor trick," Old Daoist Chen said proudly, but then added with a hint of confusion, "You have a moderate aptitude, yet you've managed to break through to the Mid-Qi Refinement stage at your age."
The Spirit Eye Technique is a low-level spell that uses spirit energy to enhance one's vision, allowing the user to discern auras and spirits.
Among low-level spells, it is considered one of the five essential spells for the Qi Refinement stage, alongside Fireball, Wind Control, Tethering, and Healing.
Unfortunately, Luo Chen only knew Fireball; the other four were beyond him.
Tethering and Fireball were techniques he had acquired through a stroke of luck.
Cleaning was one of the most basic spells, which he had obtained in the market in exchange for a bottle of Spirit-Refining Pills.
Old Daoist Chen looked at Luo Chen with a strange expression.
He never thought there would come a day when Luo Chen would be at the same Mid-Qi Refinement stage as himself.
While there wasn't a significant difference between the Early and Mid-Qi Refinement stages, the maximum spirit energy capacity in the body doubled at Mid-Qi Refinement.
This allowed for a wider range of combat techniques to be used with ease.
Early Qi Refinement cultivators in the Great River Market were at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Without a special skill, they could only do menial jobs, taking orders from others.
However, Mid-Qi Refinement cultivators could join various factions and take on lucrative missions.
In essence, a Mid-Qi Refinement cultivator had the means to truly thrive in the Great River Market.
In response to the old man's confusion, Luo Chen simply smiled and said it was good luck.
In reality, it was a matter of course.
A single bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills provided him with a large amount of spirit energy, pushing his progress to 96/100.
The remaining spirit energy he had gathered over the past twenty days through the Perfect Longevity Technique and the use of Tranquility Incense, practicing day and night.
Breaking through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement was a natural progression.
After helping Old Daoist Chen set up the talisman paper, Luo Chen pointed to Wang Yuan's usual stall location with a hint of confusion.
"Has Brother Wang not been coming to set up his stall recently?"
"Didn't you know about the recent major event in the outer city?" Old Daoist Chen looked at him strangely.
Luo Chen was utterly puzzled.
"Right, you live too far out. If you don't pay attention, you might not know."
Old Daoist Chen explained to himself, then said meaningfully, "Recently, the Great River Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance have formed an alliance."
"Isn't that normal?"
The Lianyun Merchant Alliance is a well-known independent cultivator force in the Jade Peak Domain, with businesses spread across large and small markets throughout the domain.
The main business revolves around transporting and selling rare treasures from various regions, making a profit from the price differences.
Naturally, this involves transportation services.
As previously mentioned, storage bags are not something ordinary cultivators can easily obtain, and for such large-scale business, a few storage bags wouldn't make much of a difference.
Therefore, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance has always maintained a good cooperative relationship with the Da Jiang Gang, a local gang.
The Big River Gang thrives in the Lan Cang River area around the Dahuang Market.
Throughout history, transportation via waterways has been one of the most profitable businesses, involving countless related industries.
It's only natural that the Lianyun Merchant Alliance chose to ally with the Da Jiang Gang for in-depth cooperation.
But Old Daoist Chen shrugged, "It's not normal for the Da Jiang Gang to have designs on the mountain business."
"Mountain business?" Luo Chen asked in surprise, "Isn't that the territory of the Po Shan Gang?"
"Hmph!"
Old Daoist Chen snorted, "What Po Shan Gang? The Eastern Wasteland's vast mountains are the domain of beast monsters. Even the six great sects of the far east wouldn't dare claim it as their business."
"Uh..."
"Let me put it this way, the Da Jiang Gang is eyeing the few safe routes that the Po Shan Gang has explored over the past century."
Old Daoist Chen enjoyed gossiping and was also good at gathering information, as these things often weren't valuable.
Sometimes, when encountering high-ranking cultivators from outside, he could even trade this information for a few spirit stones.
He had gathered very clear information: the Da Jiang Gang was genuinely serious.
At first, they sent people to explore safe routes into the mountains, but suffered heavy losses.
Later, they started eyeing the paths that the Po Shan Gang had already established.
Naturally, the Po Shan Gang was unwilling, leading to various conflicts.
A month ago, the magical artifacts Wang Yuan sold were war trophies taken from Da Jiang Gang members killed by Po Shan Gang cultivators in the mountains.
Now, the conflicts are intensifying, and the battles between the two gangs are no longer limited to the mountains.
Fights between the two gangs often break out in the outer city at night.
Luo Chen listened to this gossip and his mind started working.
"You specifically mentioned the alliance between the Lianyun Merchant Alliance and the Da Jiang Gang. Could it be that the Da Jiang Gang's actions are being instigated by the Lianyun Merchant Alliance?"
After voicing this question, Luo Chen's mind worked even faster.
"Right, the various rare treasures and beast monster flesh hunted by the Po Shan Gang are sold at high prices to major factions. The Lianyun Merchant Alliance, not being a sect, naturally wouldn't be satisfied with those prices."
"By allying with the Da Jiang Gang, they are trying to cultivate a rival to compete with the Po Shan Gang."
"If they succeed, the cost of acquiring resources will be much lower for them in the future."
Old Daoist Chen nodded.
"You're not stupid, that's exactly what I think. Otherwise, why would the Da Jiang Gang suddenly start eyeing the mountains just before and after the alliance?"
After agreeing, he sighed deeply.
With the two gangs causing trouble, the already unsafe outer city has become even more chaotic.
Some scattered cultivators are taking advantage of the situation, making life even harder for the honest and hardworking cultivators.
"Wang Yuan has become quite famous recently. He guarded the mountain path and killed five or six mid-stage cultivators, even slaying an eighth-stage Qi Condensation cultivator from the Da Jiang Gang."
"It's normal that he didn't come today."
Old Daoist Chen shook his head, "If things continue like this, I plan to move into the inner city."
"What about you, Luo?"
Luo Chen fell silent.
His residence was in the far southwest corner, bordering the Howling Moon Mountains, quite far from the Ancient Plains and the Great Snow Mountains, where the Po Shan Gang mainly operates.
If there were conflicts, they likely wouldn't affect his area.
But one can never be too careful!
"I'll think about it. The rent and deposit for living in the inner city are not small amounts."
Living in the market district is already challenging.
Living in the inner city is even more out of reach for ordinary cultivators.
Sighing, Luo Chen gathered his thoughts and forced a smile to greet today's customers.
"Daoist Zeng, good morning. Ready to buy?"
"Ready to buy!"
(End of Chapter)
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