Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 31

Chapter 31: Ladybug Month’s Unusual Enthusiasm

“Wow, it smells so good!”

The main room’s door creaked open, and Gu Caiyi, clad in silk pajamas, let out an exclamation.

Opposite her, Luo Chen sat by the doorway, holding a large porcelain bowl, shoveling down spiritual rice with gusto.

Several bright red pieces of beef lay nestled at the side of the bowl. As the rice moved, the beef trembled slightly, looking incredibly tempting.

“Did you make this yourself?”

Seeing the woman standing before him, her gaze fixed intently on the beef, Luo Chen tentatively asked.

“Want a piece?”

“Sure!”

Gosh, you’re really not being polite at all!

Watching the largest piece of beef being drawn into that rosy little mouth by spiritual energy, Luo Chen felt like crying.

To reward himself for his hard work today, he’d specially cut two extra ounces of meat, and now it’s all gone into this woman’s mouth.

And the worst part is, she’s at Refining Qi Eighth Layer, so he can’t even argue.

It’s all my fault for being so glib!

“Mmm, tender and flavorful, spicy and delicious, a faint herbal scent not only locks in the juices but also contains rich spiritual energy,”

Gu Caiyi narrowed her eyes, savoring the beef.

“I never imagined you’d be so good at this. Your cooking skills are far superior to the chefs at our Heavenly Fragrance Tower, even better than the spiritual chefs of the Zhongding Family.”

After offering a few compliments, she noticed Luo Chen quickly shoveling down the rest of his food.

She playfully tapped Luo Chen’s head.

“You ate one piece of my beef, was it really necessary to react like that?”

Gulp!

“I was hungry, really hungry, Sister Caiyi, don’t misunderstand.”

Gu Caiyi licked her lips, still wanting more.

“I didn’t eat your meat for nothing. I’ve found out for you. The yin energy in Great River City is only seeping through an array, it’s harmless. As long as you don’t stay there too long, there’s almost no effect.”

“How long is too long?” Luo Chen quickly asked.

“At least a month, the kind of uninterrupted closed-door cultivation.”

Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Last night, while sleeping under his thick quilt, he’d felt somewhat uneasy.

Cultivation is already difficult enough; if his foundation were ruined by yin energy, that would be truly disastrous.

His mood relaxed, and his eating pace slowed involuntarily.

His gaze even had time to follow Gu Caiyi’s graceful movements.

Using spiritual energy, a wooden bucket of water was drawn from the corner of the yard. She bent down, splashing the clear water over her face.

When she looked up, the water droplets on her face, under the sunlight, had a gorgeous, iridescent quality.

“Do I look pretty?”

“Pretty!”

“Hee hee hee!”

Forgive Luo Chen for lacking the descriptive vocabulary; he could only use the sound of a hen laying an egg to describe her crisp and charming laughter.

Gu Caiyi sat on a swing set up under a tree in the west wing of the courtyard, suddenly speaking with some melancholy, “They all say I’m pretty, but they say I don’t meet the entry requirements of the Joyful Union Sect.”

What are the Joyful Union Sect’s entry requirements?

Could it be that the sect doesn’t only look at age and spirit root when recruiting disciples?

Gu Caiyi didn’t elaborate. Sitting on the swing, clearly designed for children, her waist and hips were tightly bunched, forming a peach-like silhouette.

As she swung gently, her makeup-free face gazing at the sky, she appeared somewhat forlorn.

Luo Chen realized that Gu Caiyi was different from Bai Meiling and Feng Xia; she was more like some of the cultivators he’d met who were chasing Foundation Establishment.

Among independent cultivators, there are many like her, but not that many.

Because most will gradually become mundane under their impoverished circumstances, toiling away for their daily bread.

Then, in their day-to-day toil, they forget the initial reason for their hardship—the pursuit of the Dao and Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen was also a mundane person, but he constantly reminded himself that the purpose of alchemy and earning spiritual stones wasn’t for the stones themselves, but to buy enough resources to pursue longevity.

“What time did you come back this morning? I didn’t hear you.”

“I returned at the Yin hour last night.”

The Yin hour is roughly between 3 and 5 AM.

Compared to his usual return at the Mao hour, he had arrived two hours earlier.

No wonder he hadn’t heard anything.

“It’s been like this for the past two months. Those ladybugs, I don’t know what’s gotten into them, but they’re exceptionally enthusiastic at the beginning of the month, flocking to the Heavenly Fragrance Tower.”

Ladybugs?

You mean, clients, right?

“Then, after two or three days, whether it’s because they’ve run out of spiritual stones or energy, they sneak back off.”

Wait, the beginning of the month?

Luo Chen seemed to realize something, subconsciously avoiding Gu Caiyi’s gaze.

“Actually, we dancers and musicians are fine, it’s just the sisters in the flesh trade who suffer. They told the madam that the beginning of the month is incredibly tiring; they all want to shift their holidays to the start of the month.”

A certain man chuckled awkwardly, remaining silent.

He stared at the few remaining grains of rice in his bowl, picking them up one by one and putting them into his mouth.

“Of course, the sisters also earn more. Some have already planned to persevere for a while, save up enough spiritual stones, move to another city, find a honest independent cultivator to marry, hopefully give birth to a child with a spirit root, and get admitted to a large sect in the future to achieve Foundation Establishment and Golden Elixir.”

Luo Chen lowered his head, his fingers tracing circles.

I really want to thank them on behalf of all honest independent cultivators.

“Why aren’t you talking? Don’t you like hearing about the Heavenly Fragrance Tower?” Gu Caiyi suddenly turned her head to look at him.

Luo Chen quickly waved his hands, “How could that be? It’s just that I’ve never eaten pork, so I don’t know how to respond.”

“Hey, you little rascal!” Gu Caiyi smirked, then cautioned, “If you still want to achieve Foundation Establishment, you’d better not lose your yang essence before then.”

Luo Chen hummed in agreement.

He was quite knowledgeable about this matter.

Most cultivation techniques in the Qi Refining stage set up a lock to ensure that low-level disciples don’t lose their yang essence.

The Longevity Skill also includes similar warnings.

“By the way, I have a question,” Luo Chen said, somewhat frustrated, “In the Inner City, how do cultivators practice spells?”

Gu Caiyi looked at him strangely, “They just cultivate them, how else?”

“No, I mean spells that need constant casting and practice, like Fireball Technique or Giant Sword Technique, those large-scale attacks.”

Luo Chen said with a troubled expression, “The place is too small, and it’s easy to disturb the neighbors.”

“Fighting is strictly prohibited in the Inner City. Why are you learning those spells? Shouldn’t you be focusing on maintaining your spiritual energy to break through to a higher level?” Gu Caiyi didn’t understand.

Luo Chen was even more puzzled, “Spells and artifacts are protective measures, shouldn’t they be mastered proficiently?”

“Besides, the Inner City isn’t necessarily safe, right?!”

“Alright, it’s true that every year a couple of fools in the Inner City will challenge the Jade Tripod Sword Sect’s rules. It’s not entirely safe.”

Gu Caiyi shrugged, giving Luo Chen the answer he wanted.

“As far as I know, Inner City cultivators who want to practice high-power spells either go out of the city to the wilderness or go to the Jade Tripod Sword Sect’s dueling platform.”

“Dueling platform?”

“Yes, it’s paid, one spiritual stone at a time, minimum. If you want a sparring partner, the price is a hundred times higher.”

Luo Chen’s eyelids twitched.

So the Jade Tripod Sword Sect makes money this way too, so underhanded!

Perhaps seeing Luo Chen’s lack of funds, Gu Caiyi offered another solution.

“The courtyard is empty during the day. You can practice in the corner, just replenish the soil frequently to avoid being discovered by Elder Sun.”

(End of Chapter)

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