An Alchemist's Path to Eternity-Chapter 20: Reaching for the Mountains

Fifty five bottles of fasting pills and thirty bottles of Myriad Wonders pills.

This was Luo Chen's achievement after one month.

He had only refined fifty bottles of fasting pills; the extra five were part of the inheritance left by that short-lived fool.

The thirty bottles of Myriad Wonders pills were a pleasant surprise.

This time, he had successfully refined three batches, all of lower-grade quality.

Placing the pills on the bluestone slab, Luo Chen stood with his hands on his hips, eagerly anticipating today's market.

Old Man Chen still arrived a bit later than him.

Seeing Luo Chen, his aged eyes were filled with grievance.

Fifty spirit stones!

He had only just recovered them last time, and now this brat had borrowed them again.

He had already made up his mind, no matter how eloquently Luo Chen pleaded today, he would make sure to collect the loan!

Absolutely!

"Little Luo, your pill refinement skills have improved again!"

In the past, the small section he allocated to Luo Chen had never been fully occupied. But today, it was packed with jade bottles, at least fifty or sixty, almost overflowing. This clearly showed that Luo Chen's pill refinement skills had further advanced.

Luo Chen chuckled. "It's all thanks to your generosity, Fellow Daoist Chen. Without your help, I wouldn't have had the capital to refine more pills."

"Hmph, as long as you know that," Old Man Chen snorted lightly before sternly saying, "I lent it to you out of kindness, but today, you must return those spirit stones."

"Of course, of course!"

Luo Chen put on an earnest, obliging look.

Only then did Old Man Chen's expression soften a little. The fact that there were people still owing him money truly made his tea tasteless and his meals unappetizing!

Suddenly, he let out a surprised "huh."

Huh!

"Little Luo, you're at fourth stage Qi-Refining now?"

Luo Chen asked curiously, "How did you know?"

"I've practiced the Spirit Eyes, so observing auras and sensing spirit energy is a minor skill," Old Man Chen said smugly before adding in a somewhat puzzled manner , "Aren't you a five spirit foot cultivator? Yet, you have managed to break through to mid-stage Qi-Refining at this age?"

The Spirit Eyes was a low-tier spell that enhanced vision using spirit energy, granting the ability to observe auras and detect spirit fluctuations.

Among low-tier spells, it was considered one of the five must-learn techniques for Qi-Refining cultivators, alongside Fireball, Wind-Control Seal, Traction, and Heal.

Unfortunately, aside from Fireball, Luo Chen didn't know any of the others.

Entangle and Fireball had both been acquired by the original Luo Chen during a fateful encounter.

The Cleanse, one of the most useless spells, had been traded for a bottle of fasting pills at the market.

Old Man Chen looked at Luo Chen with a strange expression.

He probably never expected that one day Luo Chen would become a mid-stage Qi-Refining cultivator like himself.

Although the difference between mid-stage and early-stage cultivators wasn't enormous, the maximum spirit power capacity doubled!

This allowed for a much more seamless execution of various combat techniques.

Early-stage cultivators were the lowest rung of society in Dahe Market.

Without any special skills, they could only do menial jobs and be at the beck and call of others.

But mid-stage cultivators were different, they could join various factions and take on well-paid missions.

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It could be said that mid-stage Qi-Refining cultivators were the ones who truly had the means to survive in Dahe Market.

Faced with the old man's curiosity, Luo Chen simply smiled and said "I have been lucky."

In reality, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

A single qi-nourishing pill provided him with a large amount of spirit energy, pushing his progress bar to 96/100.

The remaining spirit energy was earned through more than twenty days of relentless cultivation, using the Perfection level Long Spring Art and the calming incense.

Breaking through to the fourth stage of Qi-Refining came as a natural progression.

As Luo Chen helped Old Man Chen set up the talisman papers, he pointed to the spot where Wang Yuan usually set up his stall with some curiosity.

"Has Brother Wang not been setting up his stall lately?"

"Don't you know about the big events happening in the outer district recently?" Old Man Chen asked, looking at him in surprise.

Luo Chen looked completely bewildered.

"Ah, that makes sense. You live so far out; if you're not paying attention, you might really not know."

Old Man Chen explained to himself, then said with some interest, "Recently, the Dajiang Gang and the Lianyun Trade Alliance formed an alliance."

"Isn't that perfectly normal?"

The Lianyun Trade Alliance was a well-known rogue cultivator faction in the Jade Cauldron Domain, with businesses spread across its various markets.

Their primary business involved transporting and selling rare resources from different regions, earning profits from the price differences.

Naturally, this involved a significant amount of logistics.

As mentioned before, storage bags weren't something an average rogue cultivator could own, and even a few of them weren't sufficient for large-scale trade.

Thus, the Lianyun Trade Alliance had always maintained a good cooperative relationship with the local Dajiang Gang.

The Dajiang Gang thrived off the Lancang River around Dahe Market.

Throughout history, both in ancient and modern times, water transport has always been one of the most profitable businesses, involving countless industries in its chain.

It was perfectly logical for the Lianyun Trade Alliance to ally with the Dajiang Gang for deeper collaboration.

Old Man Chen shrugged. "But the Dajiang Gang's interest in mountain trade is definitely out of the ordinary."

"Mountain trade?" Luo Chen asked in surprise. "Isn't that the Poshan Gang's territory?"

Ha! Old Man Chen snorted. "The Poshan Gang's territory? The Great Million Mountains in the Eastern Wilderness belong to the demonic beasts. Even the six major sects in the Far East wouldn't dare claim it as their own.

"Let me put it this way, the Dajiang Gang has set its sights on the safe paths the Poshan Gang has explored over the past century."

Old Man Chen was fond of gossip and digging up secrets, as such information was usually worthless.

Sometimes, when he encountered visiting high-level cultivators, he could even sell this information for a few spirit stones.

He had learned quite clearly that the Dajiang Gang was serious. Initially, they sent their own people to explore safe mountain routes, suffering heavy losses. Eventually, they set their sights on the paths of the Poshan Gang.

The Poshan Gang naturally resisted, leading to numerous conflicts.

A month ago, the enchanted artifacts Wang Yuan had been selling turned out to be spoils seized by the Poshan Gang's cultivators after killing members of the Dajiang Gang in the mountains.

Now the conflict had intensified, and their battles were no longer confined to the mountains.

In the outer district, fights between the two factions often broke out at night.

As Luo Chen listened to the gossip, his mind began to churn.

"You specifically mentioned an alliance between the Lianyun Trade Alliance and the Dajiang Gang. Could it be that the Dajiang Gang's actions are being instigated by the Lianyun Trade Alliance?"

After raising this question, Luo Chen's mind began racing even faster.

That's right. The heavenly materials, treasures, and demonic beast flesh hunted by the Poshan Gang are all sold at high prices to various factions. Since the Lianyun Trade Alliance isn't a sect, they naturally wouldn't be happy with those prices.

By allying with the Dajiang Gang, they're likely trying to raise a competitor to fight over resources with the Poshan Gang.

If they succeed, the cost of acquiring resources will be much lower for them in the future.

Old Man Chen grunted in agreement.

"You're not stupid, I thought the same. Otherwise, why would the Dajiang Gang suddenly focus on the mountains right around the time of their alliance?"

After agreeing, he let out a deep sigh.

These two factions stirring up trouble only made the already unsafe outer district even more chaotic.

Moreover, some rogue cultivators were taking advantage of the situation, looting amidst the chaos, leaving the honest and straightforward ones to suffer.

"Wang Yuan has been making a name for himself lately, guarding the mountain paths. He killed five or six mid-stage cultivators and even took down an eight stage Qi-Refining cultivator from the Dajiang Gang.

"It's perfectly normal that he didn't show up today."

Old Man Chen shook his head. "If this keeps up, I'm planning to move into the inner city. What about you, Little Luo?"

Luo Chen fell silent.

The place where he lived was in the most remote southwestern corner, near the Howling Moon Mountains. It was quite far from the Ancient Plains Range and the Great Snow Mountains, where the Poshan Gang mainly operated.

If there were conflicts, they likely wouldn't reach him there. But what if?

"I'll think about it. The rent and deposit for living in the inner city aren't a small amount."

Living in the market was already hard enough.

Living in the inner city was something most rogue cultivators couldn't afford.

Luo Chen sighed, adjusted his mood, and forced a smile to welcome his customers for the day.

"Fellow Daoist Zeng, good morning! The usual?"

"The usual!"