Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 142

Chapter 125: Golden Elixir Ruins, Ghost God Valley’s Supreme Elder (10,000 words update, please subscribe!)

“I’m older than you.”

“Uh.”

“And my cultivation level is higher than yours.”

Seeing Luo Chen’s stunned expression, Duan Feng chuckled lightly, “So don’t call me Little Duan.”

“Okay!”

Luo Chen helplessly waved his hand, “Now that the Debate Platform is closed, what are your plans, Little Duan?”

Duan Feng’s face stiffened. Seeing this, Feng Xia, who had been worried, couldn’t help but laugh.

Helpless, Duan Feng gave up correcting Luo Chen’s address.

He sighed, “What plans can I have? Whether there’s a Debate Platform or not, I still need to live and cultivate. I can only seek another path.”

Seek another path?

Duan Feng actually possessed exceptional artifact repair skills, something Luo Chen knew. He had repaired Luo Chen’s damaged jade-green blade for free. Later, for Luo Chen’s birthday, Duan Feng even gifted him a small booklet of artifact maintenance techniques.

If Duan Feng opened a small artifact repair shop in Great River City, survival wouldn’t be a problem. But opening a shop requires start-up capital, connections, and time to build a reputation and customer base. Duan Feng lacked all of these.

It was conceivable that his future path would likely involve combat. He might even become a bandit cultivator, relying on robbing and killing to survive.

Since they were neighbors, Luo Chen didn’t want to see him go down that precarious road.

“How about joining the Broken Mountain Sect? Come to my Pill Hall, and I’ll ensure you have everything you need.”

Hearing this invitation, Duan Feng was quite surprised.

He hesitated, “That wouldn’t be right, would it?”

“What’s wrong with it? I’m the Broken Mountain Sect’s number one alchemist. With me covering you, no one can say anything.”

“I need to think about it.”

“Alright, let me know when you’ve decided. Then Qin Gege, Sister-in-law Murong, and I will vouch for you.”

Luo Chen didn’t push. Inviting Duan Feng to the Pill Hall was a spontaneous suggestion. But upon reflection, it was a very worthwhile decision.

Over the past three months, thanks to his efforts, the Pill Hall’s income had skyrocketed, and Luo Chen’s share had increased significantly. However, the lion’s share of the profits still went to Uncle Mi Shuhua and the Broken Mountain Sect.

Compared to such a powerful organization, Luo Chen’s individual influence was insignificant. But if he could continuously increase his influence within the sect, he might be able to renegotiate the profit-sharing ratio in the future.

Similar situations were common in the Broken Mountain Sect’s daily affairs. When Murong Qinglian and Qin Liangchen fully supported him, it wasn’t just about helping him; it also increased the couple’s allies. Luo Wudi’s desire to open up a route to the Snow Lotus Pavilion was also about supporting his friend at the Nine Layers of Qi Refining.

What Luo Chen was doing was the same as when he invited Gu Caiyi to the Pill Hall.

However, Duan Feng was different from Gu Caiyi. He was simple-minded, focused solely on improving his strength, whether in cultivation level or combat skills. He was also very strong, easily ranking among the top ten Qi Refining cultivators in Great River City. Such a person was relatively easy to manage.

Moreover, Luo Chen wasn’t trying to control him; he just wanted to cultivate a good relationship. Even if Duan Feng found a better place in the future, he would remember Luo Chen’s kindness and might offer help someday.

Finally, even if Duan Feng joined the Pill Hall, it wasn’t Luo Chen who paid his salary! It was the Broken Mountain Sect! Perhaps some of the profits from Luo Chen’s created elixirs were included, but that money didn’t go to him anyway. It was better to do a favor and cultivate this friendship with Duan Feng.

The sudden closure of the Debate Platform caused a huge uproar in Great River City. The ripple effects were enormous!

Firstly, as Luo Chen had anticipated, a large number of small businesses suffered near-catastrophic losses. Without the huge crowds drawn by the Debate Platform, those overpriced small goods were instantly ignored.

Luo Chen was prepared, quickly instructing Feng Xia and Yuan Xiaoyue to lower their prices. What had previously cost one spiritual stone per cup of milk tea was now two cups for one spiritual stone. They also introduced summer drinks: iced spirit-infused fruit tea, both delicious and affordable. Yuan Xiaoyue did the same, increasing the portions of her snacks without raising prices to increase competitiveness.

But those who hadn’t prepared in advance suffered terribly.

Luo Chen had no time to care about their fate. He knew another significant impact had begun to affect his daily life.

“How many is this?”

Luo Chen looked down at the mutilated bodies of cultivators, their bones shattered, his expression grim.

Hearing the implicit anger in his voice, Zhou Yuanli cautiously replied, “The third group, and the strongest one yet. They were already at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.”

“These miscellaneous cultivators dare to rob me?” Luo Chen found it unbelievable. Were they blind? He had two Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivators as bodyguards!

Zhou Yuanli smiled wryly. These weren’t just any miscellaneous cultivators. They were extremely experienced fighters, and one of them had a top-grade flying sword artifact as a hidden weapon. If the two brothers scouting ahead hadn’t discovered the ambush, alerting Luo Chen would have been inevitable in the chaos.

Luo Chen took a deep breath, his gaze drifting towards the Inner City’s Luofeng Mountain.

“These audacious groups must have all been regulars at the Debate Platform?”

“That’s right. Today’s man, Feng Yijian, once ranked 97th on the Great River Heavenly Pride Rankings. He was quite formidable in one-on-one combat.”

One-on-one?

Unfortunately, today it was one versus six. Luo Chen and Dongfang Liang, who appeared to be only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, didn’t even need to make a move. Zhou Yuanli and the other three bodyguards instantly turned Feng Yijian into dust before his top-grade flying sword could even reach Luo Chen.

Luo Chen rubbed his temples. Recently, these robberies had become increasingly frequent.

With the Debate Platform closed, the many Qi Refining experts who had gathered there suddenly had nowhere to go. Those from families were fine; they could return to their families. But those from out of town, or local independent cultivators, suddenly lost their livelihoods. And they were accustomed to fighting. With no outlet for their aggression, no stable source of cultivation resources, and weapons in hand, their killing intent naturally rose.

The Outer City was almost in complete chaos. Many low-level cultivators were suffering, seeking protection from the Broken Mountain Sect, the Great River Sect, and the Mystical One Clan.

As the Broken Mountain Sect’s number one alchemist, the wealthy Dan Chenzi—Luo Chen—naturally caught the attention of those cultivators who lived by combat.

Those at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer might hesitate. But those at the Qi Refining Seventh or Eighth Layer, less experienced but audacious, had no qualms.

Several times while Luo Chen was commuting, they attacked him. Sometimes in groups of three or five, sometimes alone. If this continued, there was a danger of Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators attacking him.

“They really treat me like a fat sheep!”

After cursing, Luo Chen ordered his men to clean the battlefield. A mid-grade robe was damaged, and the storage bag had broken during the fight, only a mid-grade artifact and the flying sword in mid-air remained intact.

“Liu Qiang!”

Liu Qiang looked up.

Luo Chen waved his hand, and the flying sword hovered before Liu Qiang.

“You were instrumental in protecting me last time, and you were seriously injured. I’ll reward you with this top-grade flying sword.”

Reward me?

Liu Qiang was stunned, then happily accepted it. A top-grade flying sword was usually worth over two thousand spiritual stones. Due to the recent turmoil, artifact prices had risen, and it would cost at least three thousand in the Myriad Treasures Pavilion!

“Tang Zhu is generous, Liu Qiang is grateful for the reward.”

Luo Chen didn’t mind, giving the other mid-grade artifact to Dongfang Liang, the lowest-level cultivator. He received another round of thanks.

The other three bodyguards didn’t complain; in the previous two ambushes, Luo Chen had given them most of the spoils apart from the spiritual stones and elixirs. This time, it was Liu Qiang and Dongfang Liang’s turn.

Luo Chen’s actions were very generous. But it was also a necessity.

There were more and more bandit cultivators robbing and killing, making his security increasingly important. Of his five bodyguards, besides Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang, the other three were previously less valued members of the sect, lacking good artifacts. To enhance their strength, Luo Chen simply borrowed flowers to present to the Buddha (gave them the spoils of war).

“But how long will this continue?!”

Luo Chen sighed, secretly blaming the Golden Elixir cultivator. It was all that fellow’s fault.

Unfortunately, the disturbances Luo Chen hoped would end soon didn’t cease. Even greater chaos was coming.

“An ancient ruin has been discovered in the Gu Yuan Mountain Range, confirmed to be a Golden Elixir cultivator’s relic.”

As soon as he arrived at Slanted Moon Valley, he heard this news from Murong Qinglian and the others.

“Confirmed?”

“How was it confirmed?”

Luo Chen curiously asked.

This time, it was Si Kong Shou Jia who answered him.

“The formation surrounding the relic is the famous Heavenly Work Spirit-Seizing Formation.”

“Only the Golden Elixir cultivator of Ghost God Valley back then could have laid this formation; ordinary Golden Elixir cultivators couldn’t.”

Luo Chen became even more curious, “Ghost God Valley? There’s no such sect in the Jade Tripod Domain!”

Si Kong Shou Jia stroked his beard, calmly saying, “It’s normal for you young people not to know this name.”

Luo Chen and the others’ faces stiffened. Why are you acting like a senior?!

They were all the same generation; even though he was a few decades older, he was still only at the Qi Refining stage.

Yes, in the Cultivation World, seniority is determined by cultivation level!

“During the Sixteen Sects’ Opening War, led by the Jade Tripod Sword Sect with five other major sects assisting, you should know their names.”

“Of the Sixteen Sects, the remaining ten were also famous. Luoyun Sect and Ailao Mountain were among them, and Ghost God Valley was a major sect specializing in formations.”

“In the Opening War, Ghost God Valley contributed greatly, setting up formations on mountains and eliminating demons from waters.”

“Sadly, during a confrontation with a fourth-rank demonic beast emperor leading a beast tide, Ghost God Valley’s camp was heavily attacked. Jade Tripod Real Person couldn’t arrive in time, leading to the near total annihilation of Ghost God Valley.”

“Later, an old Golden Elixir cultivator from Ghost God Valley rushed to gather the remaining soldiers and sadly withdrew from the Opening War.”

“Four hundred years later, the old Golden Elixir cultivator had long since passed away. Ghost God Valley had no successors and gradually declined, now only a branch remains, existing as a cultivation family under the Jade Tripod Sword Sect.”

Listening to Si Kong Shou Jia’s tale, everyone felt a sense of longing.

The Opening War! What a grand event. Sixteen Sects attacked the Lianxia Mountain Range, slaughtering millions of demonic beasts, finally establishing the Jade Tripod Domain and creating a new cultivation land for humanity.

In this vast war, there were rising stars like Yunhe Real Person, but also tragic events like Ghost God Valley’s destruction.

“There were other sects that suffered heavy losses like Ghost God Valley, such as Minghuang Sect, Haoran…”

“Stop, stop, stop! You’re going off-topic!”

Luo Chen interrupted Si Kong Shou Jia’s long speech, getting to the point.

“Ghost God Valley’s camp was annihilated four hundred years ago; shouldn’t everyone have died? How could someone go to the Gu Yuan Mountain Range, thousands of miles away, to set up a formation?”

Si Kong Shou Jia spread his hands, “How should I know? The Supreme Elder’s body wasn’t found, and everyone assumed he hadn’t died. Only after the fall of Ghost God Valley and the Supreme Elder’s continued absence did people think that he might have been eaten by demonic beasts.”

“But now it seems that the Supreme Elder was quite capable, managing to escape to the Gu Yuan Mountain Range.”

Through his explanation, everyone understood. The Heavenly Work Spirit-Seizing Formation was a top-tier third-rank large formation, requiring a Golden Elixir master of Alchemy to set up. Given enough time, its power could rival a fourth-rank formation, able to withstand a fourth-rank beast emperor. And this formation had a unique feature! It didn’t strictly require spiritual stones for activation; it could utilize the mountain’s energy to form the formation, absorbing ambient spiritual energy. Even after many years, the formation could remain intact.

Therefore, people deduced that the relic discovered in the Gu Yuan Mountain Range was a Golden Elixir cultivator’s resting place—that of Ghost God Valley’s Supreme Elder.

“It’s said that some people from our sect managed to enter the outer perimeter of the formation and discovered several spiritual grasses over five hundred years old. If they go inside, there might even be thousand-year-old spiritual grasses!”

Si Kong Shou Jia clicked his tongue in amazement, eager to explore.

Someone beside him questioned, “Wasn’t it four hundred years ago? How are there five-hundred or thousand-year-old spiritual herbs?”

As soon as he spoke, others looked at him as if he were an idiot. He froze, then realized his mistake, his face turning red.

The Ghost God Valley Supreme Elder had passed away four hundred years ago, but the resources in the Gu Yuan Mountain Range hadn’t existed for only four hundred years. Protected by the formation, the resources could safely grow to a much older age. Thousands of years? Even ten-thousand-year-old treasures weren’t impossible.

“Wait, you mean that relic was discovered by our Broken Mountain Sect?” Luo Chen understood the implication from the old man’s words.

Si Kong Shou Jia nodded, “Of course! The Gu Yuan Mountain Range is our primary activity area. It’s normal for our sect’s cultivators to discover such a large relic first.”

With his words, the cultivators of the Pill Hall and Medicine Hall became excited. If the relic was discovered by the Broken Mountain Sect, wouldn’t the rewards belong to the sect? They, as members of the sect, should receive a share! Even if they didn’t share the profits, they should be prioritized for exploration. For a moment, both halls’ cultivators were tempted.

Seeing this, Luo Chen, who was also somewhat excited, gradually calmed down. Walls have ears; the Broken Mountain Sect wasn’t a sect with extremely strong cohesion.

Now that even they knew, how long before the whole of Great River City found out? Perhaps those slightly more well-informed already knew!

The involvement of a Golden Elixir relic, a sect’s Supreme Elder’s resting place, meant an unimaginable amount of potential treasures.

This feast was unlikely to be for ordinary cultivators like them.

Luo Chen’s calmness didn’t mean others could remain calm. Over the next two days, the news coming from the Gu Yuan Mountain Range became increasingly outrageous, stirring everyone up.

Li Shan Seeds, seeds of a second-rank spirit fruit, could aid Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially those specializing in earth-elemental cultivation.

Eight-hundred-year-old Heavenly Root, one of the main ingredients for Build Foundation Pill, its age is extremely high, its medicinal power almost equals an ordinary low-grade Build Foundation Pill. Cultivators who take it can increase their chances of Foundation Establishment by 20%. If a master alchemist refines it into Build Foundation Pill, it would at least be a mid-grade Build Foundation Pill, increasing the Foundation Establishment success rate from 30% to 40%!

Apart from these two spiritual grasses, there were many other precious herbs, such as Purple Blue Flower and Yin Lin Grass.

These alone were enough to stir everyone’s hearts. But these were just wild spiritual herbs. Legend said the Supreme Elder had brought most of Ghost God Valley’s assets to participate in the Opening War. Among them were Build Foundation Pills and even Golden Elixir resources.

Under such great temptation, the entire Great River City boiled. Every day, hundreds of cultivators poured into the Gu Yuan Mountain Range, ignoring the threat of demonic beasts.

Luo Chen watched the development of events, but he didn’t expect the impact of the Golden Elixir relic to reach his Slanted Moon Valley.

Standing on the cliff platform, Luo Chen looked down at the valley. Luo Wudi was negotiating with Murong Qinglian. Their conversation wasn’t hidden and could be heard by anyone paying attention.

“The Medicine Hall will send fifty people with me into the mountains, responsible for identifying and excavating spiritual herbs and grasses.”

“That’s too many. Taking so many people will disrupt the Medicine Hall’s normal operations.”

“It’s not too many, and cultivators can keep 30% of the found herbs.”

“But many people are already going to the relic; it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

Luo Wudi looked at the cultivators around them watching them, chuckling.

“Then ask them if they’re willing to go.”

Murong Qinglian looked at the Medicine Hall cultivators eager to participate, sighing.

“Fine, do as you wish!”

Luo Wudi clapped his hands, “Anyone who wants to go, come to me to sign up. Those with higher cultivation levels will be prioritized!”

Immediately, 80% of the Medicine Hall cultivators rushed towards him, all hoping to be chosen.

Luo Chen watched silently. When he turned his head, he saw a group of Pill Hall cultivators staring intensely at those below.

“What are you looking at?!”

Suddenly, a loud roar erupted. Luo Chen’s gaze was cold, “A bunch of old, weak, women, and children, you want to go and die?”

Most people fell silent. But someone still mumbled something about obstructing someone’s path being like killing their parents.

It was Luo Erduo! Luo Wudi’s nephew.

“Anyone who wants to go, get lost! I won’t stop you!”

“But once you leave this door, don’t come back!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Erduo eagerly flew down into the valley. Several other cultivators hesitated and left the Pill Hall.

“You…sigh!”

It was Qu Hancheng sighing. Those who had left were mostly fire workers, and the ones with higher cultivation levels. Seeing Luo Chen’s unresolved anger, Qu Hancheng could only smile wryly. Morale was low; it was hard to lead.

“Tang Zhu…”

“What? You want to go too?” Luo Chen turned his head impatiently.

Qu Hancheng was frightened, “This old man is quite old, with several children to take care of. How can I go? It’s just that with those people leaving, will the afternoon’s alchemy work still proceed?”

Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief, patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“Proceed! Why wouldn’t it proceed!”

“Not only will we refine elixirs, but we will refine a lot! Specifically refine! Refine more!”

“Let them fight to the death while we refine pills peacefully. Mili, Tangquan, don’t study the Myriad Wonders Pill recently; I have a task for you: refine more Valley-Clearing Powder.”

“Later, Elder Si Kong will send people to set up stalls at the entrances of the Gu Yuan Mountain Range. While they feast on meat, we still get to drink soup!”

As soon as these words came out, the Pill Hall cultivators were stunned. The smarter ones, like Gu Caiyi and Si Kong Shou Jia, had their eyes lit up.

(End of chapter)

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