An Alchemist's Path to Eternity-Chapter 38: Damn Monopolists

Dressed in black clothes and a black veil covering his face, Luo Chen stepped into the courtyard gate, cautiously glancing behind him.

The dim, quiet alley remained completely silent.

Luo Chen walked to the door and silently stood there for a moment. "No one is following me."

Upon confirming that no one had tailed him home, Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.

Low-tier cultivators didn't have many ways to conceal themselves, and tracking methods were even rarer, often relying on talismans or enchanted artifacts. Thus, as long as he remained cautious, it was fairly easy to determine whether he was being followed.

Since the Dajiang Gang had already taken notice of him, Luo Chen must be extra cautious every time he went in or out from now on. As he turned around, Luo Chen's body suddenly stiffened, and every hair on his body stood on end.

In the corner of the courtyard, the long-haired figure of a woman in white stood silently, her back facing him.

Luo Chen gulped and thought, Could it be a ghost?

But he quickly let his guard down.

It was a person!

"Why hasn't it sprouted after two months?"

The woman in white seemed to be talking to herself.

"Could it be that the herb gatherer gave me fake Hydrangea seeds?"

"Ahem."

The sound of a cough came from the entrance, and the woman turned around.

"Fellow Daoist Luo Chen?"

"Fellow Daoist Fu Xiuxiu?"

Mm. Ah, so it was the neighbor from the east wing room!

Luo Chen walked up to her, curiously asking, "What are you doing?"

Fu Xiuxiu replied with frustration, "I bought hydrangea seeds for a spirit stone and planted them two months ago. This time I came home, expecting to see some sprouts, but there's nothing."

Following her gaze, Luo Chen suspiciously examined the corner of the courtyard.

Wasn't this where he usually practiced his Fireball and Entangle?

Seeds? He had replaced the soil and rocks dozens of times!

Luo Chen let out a dry laugh and awkwardly said, "Maybe it's just not suited to the soil here!"

Fu Xiuxiu sighed and nodded helplessly.

"The yin energy here is a bit heavy. The flowers and plants I've planted don't grow well. Plus, I'm away from home so often that they're nearly dead."

Luo Chen blinked. "Is that so?"

"That's probably the reason. I should have taken them out to get more sunlight," Fu Xiuxiu said helplessly.

Skipping past the topic, she looked curiously at Luo Chen's outfit and asked, "Fellow Daoist Luo, where have you been dressed like this?"

"Just call me Little Luo! I didn't go anywhere special, just got used to wearing black."

Being addressed as "Fellow Daoist" by a ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivator still made Luo Chen feel a bit uneasy.

Seeing that Luo Chen didn't want to elaborate, Fu Xiuxiu didn't press further.

She glanced at the night sky and extended an invitation to Luo Chen.

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"I don't come back often, so I plan to invite the neighbors over for a meal. Little Luo, would you like to join?"

Someone's inviting me to a meal? What a pleasant surprise!

Of course, Luo Chen wouldn't refuse!

Sitting on a child-sized swing in the courtyard, Luo Chen, now in a fresh set of clothes, waited for Fu Xiuxiu to prepare dinner while planning his next steps.

The four hundred spirit stones investment in raw materials was the biggest expense he'd ever made! This time, failure was not an option. Thus, he needed to consider every detail before starting the pill refinement.

First was the new alchemy tool—the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace. Switching from using an ordinary spirit iron pot to an graded enchanted artifact furnace for alchemy was bound to be a big change. He needed to familiarize himself with the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace to avoid making mistakes during the refinement process that couldn't be corrected in time.

Next was the handling of certain raw materials. He couldn't use the old methods anymore. The spirit iron pot was small and couldn't withstand high temperatures, so he could only use lower heat, which inevitably made the process longer. Because of the longer refinement time, the handling of the materials had to be more conservative.

However, the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace had no such limitations; it's a graded enchanted artifact that could withstand intense heat. This meant he could afford to be bolder in handling certain materials.

Finally, there was the construction of the alchemy room. Yes, Luo Chen planned to partition a section of his rented house into an alchemy room.

The Purple Cloud Copper Furnace occupied a large space and required a dedicated fire pit to burn wood, with heat-resistant bricks laid underneath to prevent heat loss.

The surrounding walls should ideally be made of breathable cloud-sand bricks. Otherwise, if there was a gas leak during the process, he could end up being poisoned unconscious.

Thinking about all these details gave Luo Chen a bit of a headache.

He was going to be very busy!

A petite figure suddenly jumped in front of him. "Hey!"

Luo Chen greeted helplessly, "Miss Little Ling, you're off work already?"

Isn't it obvious? She is already standing right in front of me. But greetings in reality are just often done that way.

People eating would say, "Having a meal?" People finishing work would say, "You're off work, huh?"

The worst is meeting a friend in a public restroom and hearing, "Are you pooping?" Obviously, what else would I be doing here?

Bai Meiling couldn't possibly know where Luo Chen's thoughts had wandered, she simply extended her fair hand.

"What for?" Luo Chen asked curiously.

"The pills you refined—let me see if they're devil pills!"

"You're really nosy!"

Bai Meiling placed her hands on her hips. "As your seventh stage Qi-Refining neighbor, can't I keep an eye on you?"

Damn it. He hated being oppressed by rank the most in this life!

Luo Chen took a deep breath, forced a smile, and took out a pill.

Bai Meiling examined it curiously. "A fasting pill? No, it's fasting concoction. Its grade is quite decent—top-grade."

She sized up Luo Chen for a moment and nodded.

"You're a quiet one, but it seems you're quite capable. It's a pity, though—if you had the recipe for fasting pills and got the hang of it, you could make a living out of it."

Luo Chen originally planned to dismiss her casually. But upon hearing her remark, his interest was piqued.

He had always known that the fasting pills he refined were actually just fasting concoctions. Otherwise, why would five bottles of fasting concoction, fifty pills in total, only sell for one low-grade spirit stone?

Proper fasting pills were first-tier pills, no less valuable than qi-nourishing pills. A bottle of ten pills sold for one hundred spirit stones, that was true profit! If he could refine authentic fasting pills, wouldn't that mean hitting the jackpot?

"Do you have the recipe for fasting pills?"

Faced with Luo Chen's eager gaze, Bai Meiling shrugged and said, "Of course not! These recipes are all controlled by the major sects—how could I possibly have one?"

Luo Chen rolled his eyes. Then why even bring it up?

He wasn't too disappointed. Or rather, he had never held much hope for obtaining the recipe for such mainstream pills.

Not just in Dahe Market, but across the entire Jade Cauldron Domain and the Far East Six Domains, the recipes for mainstream pills were tightly controlled. Any leaks would see sect cultivators using every means to retrieve them. Whether through purchase, force, or recruitment of alchemists capable of refining mainstream pills.

To this, Luo Chen's verdict was, Monopoly dogs—may they die miserable deaths!

He could understand the sects' methods. This world was rich in resources, from human territories to the desolate mountains and marshes inhabited by demonic beasts, all teeming with rare treasures. With no way to limit raw materials, controlling the recipes became the best strategy.

This ensured that mainstream pills could only be refined, distributed, and sold by the sects. This allowed major sects to guarantee profits far exceeding those of cultivation clans and rogue cultivators. Without this, how could the major sects afford such generous benefits, freely handing out enchanted artifacts, daoist robes, and even rare storage bags to their disciples?

"Little Ling, Little Luo, dinner is ready."

A gentle voice called out, and Luo Chen quickly walked into the east wing, Fu Xiuxiu's home.

Bai Meiling followed behind but paused after a couple of steps, sensing something was off.

"Fire Hound Whip can be used to refine fasting concoctions?"