https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-40-The-Alchemy-Chamber-and-Immortal-Beans/12831511/
Chapter 39: We Lone Cultivators Must Stick Together
Chapter 39: We Lone Cultivators Must Stick Together
Stepping into the eastern chamber, Lucas Chen finally understood why his room in the rear wing only cost the cheapest price of ten spirit stones per month.
Despite its smaller size, the layout was very practical.
The windows were strategically placed for optimal lighting.
And at night, it wasn't as cold here.
Compared to the warm and cozy eastern chamber, his room in the rear wing felt more like a storage room and an icebox combined.
After a brief moment of self-pity, Lucas Chen happily sat down at the dinner table.
Phoenix Xia glanced at him and placed a bowl of spirit rice in front of him.
"Thanks, Sister Xia!"
Phoenix Xia replied, "No need to thank me, it's on Sister Lily."
Her voice, when she spoke, sounded like sandpaper rubbing together.
Lucas Chen frowned and asked cautiously, "Sister Xia, your voice?"
"It's always been like this. When I was younger, I was a test subject for the Hundred Herbs Hall and accidentally ingested a poisonous herb. Even after treatment, my voice could only recover to this extent."
Mei Ling sat down beside them, her tone somber.
Only then did Lucas Chen understand the reason.
It just goes to show that even big companies have their downsides!
The Hundred Herbs Hall was just one of the many enterprises under the Medicine King Sect, but the work there was fraught with danger.
Phoenix Xia's job as a test subject was highly paid, but it came with significant risks.
Common herbs, due to their unique growing environments and proximity to beast beasts, often underwent peculiar mutations.
When conventional methods failed to detect these differences, cultivators had to test them with their own bodies.
Phoenix Xia was one of those who did this work.
Things had improved in the past two years. The Hundred Herbs Hall in Da He Market had hired new test subjects, and she had started taking on more refined herbal processing tasks.
"What are you all talking about, the atmosphere is so heavy?"
Lily Xu walked over with a steaming platter of meat slices.
"Try this. It's the elbow meat from a Lo Scale Beast, which I brought back from the Divine Symbol Pavilion. I wanted you to taste it."
Mei Ling told her about their earlier conversation, and Lily Xu couldn't help but sigh.
"We lone cultivators are like this. We either struggle day by day in the outer city or are at the mercy of others in the inner city. High-paying jobs always come with a huge price."
Hearing this, Mei Ling and Phoenix Xia looked downcast.
Lucas Chen, however, seemed a bit indifferent.
At the mercy of others?
That would require the right qualifications.
For instance, places like the Spirit Medicine Pavilion and the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower always had young and beautiful female cultivators handling guest reception.
Male cultivators like him didn't even have a chance to be bossed around.
"So, we must help each other and stick together."
Lily Xu picked up the wine jug and poured a drink for everyone. Mei Ling tried to help but was gently stopped.
"Living here means we have a bond. If any of us face difficulties in life or cultivation, we should help each other as much as we can."
"Little Lucas, although you just moved in, with Senior Sun's approval, your character and integrity are beyond doubt."
"From now on, we are a family."
With that, she raised her glass.
Mei Ling and Phoenix Xia followed suit.
Lucas Chen, however, was quite surprised.
Since crossing over to this world, he had seen nothing but chaos and slaughter in the outer city and the cutthroat competition for cultivation resources in the market.
To be honest, it was quite brutal.
But it was exactly what he had expected from the world of cultivation.
Yet, in this small quadrangle courtyard, there was a warm and touching side.
What was this, a cultivation version of "A House Full of Love"?
He didn't do anything to ruin the atmosphere and raised his glass.
"To our future!"
"To our future!"
The clear, transparent wine was smooth and mild, with a faint fruity aroma.
Lily Xu smiled, "Eat, don't be so formal."
Mei Ling was the first to pick up her chopsticks. A bite of stir-fried beast meat made her eyes crinkle into crescent moons.
"Sister Lily's cooking is the best!"
"You, if you like it, eat more. Little Lucas, don't be shy, eat your fill. There's plenty of spirit rice in the pot."
"Sure thing!"
A soft spot in Lucas Chen's heart was touched.
His eyelids lowered, and he started eating faster.
Seeing this, Lily Xu placed a piece of meat on his plate.
"Too bad the Qin family has gone to the Falling Cloud Sect. When they return, it might be a long time before we see Little Henry again."
"That's true. Little Henry has dual gold and water spirit roots and is only twelve years old. He has a clean background, which makes him a favorite among major sects," Mei Ling said.
Living here for a few days, Lucas Chen had come to know the family in the western chamber.
Chen Liang and Duanmu Qinglian, both at the ninth level of the Qi Refinement stage.
Their son, Little Henry, whose real name was Chen Yuanjiang, was born clever and charming and had been carefully nurtured by his parents since childhood.
Various medicinal baths and spirit medicines were arranged monthly.
At the age of eight, Little Henry was found to have dual gold and water spirit roots.
They had initially planned to enroll him in the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, but the next recruitment period was ten years away.
To avoid delaying his optimal cultivation time, Chen Liang and his wife took him to the Falling Cloud Sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain.
It was a promising sect with an Elder Supreme, Han Zhan, who had the potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage.
To join in the conversation, Luo Chen interjected.
"Even Sister Caiyi isn't around. She usually enjoys good food quite a bit."
However, as soon as he said this, Fu Xiuxiu visibly frowned.
But she quickly composed herself and shook her head.
"Gu Caiyi has a different schedule from us, so we seldom run into each other."
Luo Chen blinked and nodded, not saying anything more.
Women's affairs were the most troublesome.
After dinner, Fu Xiuxiu brought out some fruits and pastries, setting up a tea party in the courtyard under the moonlight.
Everyone spoke freely, discussing many topics.
They talked about the recent business of the six major sects in the Inner City, and how the smaller sects in the Jade Tripod Domain were being suppressed in the market.
They mentioned the joint auction held last year, where a cultivator who had acquired a treasure was hunted for a year. He recently returned to the Great River Market and was now in a dispute with the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion.
He claimed that the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion had leaked his information, putting him in danger.
Of course, the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion denied it, using their reputation to pressure the cultivator into leaving in humiliation.
Fu Xiuxiu's potential to join the Divine Rune Sect as an outer disciple was also brought up.
If she succeeded, she would no longer be a solitary cultivator without roots.
Even if she didn't stay in the Great River Market, she would have a better foundation elsewhere.
This made everyone in the courtyard envious.
Everyone wanted to join a major sect. The benefits were simply too good.
For instance, outer disciples could return to the sect every ten years to enjoy a year of cultivation in a second-stage spirit vein, which was the most anticipated benefit.
The tea party didn't last long.
As the moon reached its zenith, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
After all, Bai Meiling and the others had to work the next day.
"Put it here, put it here."
"Everyone, have some water!"
"Manager Liu, here are the five spirit stones. Please check them."
Ha ha, the two men laughed.
Five spirit stones, no need to check, it was clear at a glance.
After putting away the spirit stones and chatting with Luo Chen for a bit, Manager Liu left the courtyard with a few early-stage Qi Condensation cultivators.
Luo Chen looked at the pile of bricks as high as a small mountain and nodded in satisfaction.
The cloud sand bricks for the wall, the high-quality stream white stones for insulation, and a pile of highly adhesive sulfur soil—his alchemy room could finally be built.
Without hesitation, Luo Chen rolled up his sleeves and started moving bricks to his room.
By noon, he was already laying the stream white stones on a patch of ground in the back room.
Fu Xiuxiu woke up early in the morning and arranged a bunch of potted plants outside to get some sunlight.
She occasionally trimmed the branches and added a few packets of spirit fertilizer.
Seeing Luo Chen's busy work, she greeted him but didn't disturb him.
By noon, Luo Chen looked at the initial structure of his alchemy room with a sense of accomplishment.
"I'm going to be an alchemist with my own independent workspace!"
Seeing Luo Chen's satisfied and proud expression, Fu Xiuxiu smiled. "Little Luo, you'll definitely become a renowned alchemy master in the six domains!"
Luo Chen chuckled. "Of course, I'm a genius in alchemy!"
"Want to have lunch together? There are a few dishes left from yesterday."
"That's very kind of you, I wouldn't want to refuse!"
Lunch was shared between the two.
Fu Xiuxiu was a gentle woman with a broad knowledge. She often easily answered Luo Chen's cultivation questions, something he had never experienced with Old Daoist Chen, Wang Yuan, or even Gu Caiyi.
As Fu Xiuxiu put it, she had once attempted to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
But without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, a solitary cultivator like her could only fail.
Since then, she had given up on reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, and her daily cultivation was merely a habit.
"Having two meals at your place, Sister Xiuxiu, I feel a bit embarrassed. Let me wash the dishes!"
Fu Xiuxiu pushed Luo Chen's hand away. "Men shouldn't do these things. I'll take care of it!"
Luo Chen stood at the kitchen door, watching Fu Xiuxiu in her apron washing the dishes by the sink.
He felt a surge of emotion.
In his past life, as a native Sichuan-Chongqing mixed-blood man, he had never enjoyed such treatment.
His only girlfriend's catchphrase was, "I'm from the Sichuan mountains, tough as nails."
"Sister Xiuxiu, do you usually live at the Divine Rune Pavilion?"
"Yes, they provide a room for the manager, equipped with a small spirit gathering array, which is suitable for our cultivation."
"I noticed that many of your plants prefer sunlight. Just applying spirit fertilizer and keeping them inside isn't good for them."
Luo Chen suggested, "Why don't you put them outside? I can help you take care of them when I have free time."
He wasn't just doing it for the moonlight grass, which had a wonderful effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the soul.
After placing the dishes on the rack, Fu Xiuxiu thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Thank you for your help."
---
Thank you to the following brothers for their generous support: Brando00 with 10,000 Qidian coins, Lady Meishu with 500 Qidian coins, Remember to Drink Hot Water with 100 Qidian coins, Only Love Morning Dawn with 1,000 Qidian coins, and Sword Swinging Fake Uncle with 500 Qidian coins.
A new week has begun. Good morning, everyone.
(End of Chapter)
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