Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 38

Chapter 38: The Damn Monopolizing Dogs (Seeking More Reads)

July 15, 2024

Chapter 38: The Damn Monopolizing Dogs (Seeking More Reads)

Clad in black from head to toe, a black veil concealing his face, Luo Chen stepped into his courtyard, cautiously glancing behind him.

The dimly lit, quiet alley was silent.

Luo Chen reached his door and stood silently for a moment.

“No one is following me.”

Luo Chen confirmed that he hadn’t been followed home, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Low-level cultivators have few concealment techniques, and even fewer tracking methods, often relying on talismans and artifacts. Therefore, with a little care, it’s easy to detect if someone is tailing you.

Since he had already attracted the attention of the Great River Gang, Luo Chen decided that he must be extra, extra careful when going out in the future.

Just as he turned around, Luo Chen suddenly stiffened, his hair standing on end.

In the corner, the back of a woman with waist-length hair and dressed in white was standing quietly.

Luo Chen swallowed, “Could it be a ghost?!”

But soon, he relaxed.

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 herbalist gave me fake Purple Sun Flower seeds?”

“Cough cough”

A cough came from the doorway, and the woman turned around.

“Daoist Luo Chen?”

“Daoist Fu Xiuxiu?”

“Mm”

So it was his neighbor from the east wing!

Luo Chen walked over to her, curiously asking, “What are you doing?”

Fu Xiuxiu said with distress, “I bought a Purple Sun Flower seed for a spiritual stone, and I planted it two months ago. I thought I’d see seedlings when I came home this time, but there’s nothing.”

Luo Chen followed her gaze, looking suspiciously at that corner.

Wasn’t this where he usually practiced Fireball and Entangling techniques?

Seeds?

He had changed the soil and stones dozens of times!

Chuckling dryly, Luo Chen said, “Maybe it’s not acclimated to the soil and water!”

Fu Xiuxiu sighed and could only nod helplessly.

“The Yin energy here is a bit heavy, and several of my plants aren’t doing well. Plus, I’m often away from home, and they’re almost dead.”

Luo Chen blinked, “Is that so?”

“That must be the reason; you should bring them out to get some sun,” Fu Xiuxiu said helplessly.

After skipping this topic, she curiously looked at Luo Chen’s attire.

“Daoist Luo, where have you been?”

“Just call me Xiao Luo! There’s nothing special about wearing these clothes; I just prefer black.”

Being addressed as “Daoist” by a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator made Luo Chen a little uncomfortable.

Seeing that Luo Chen was unwilling to say, Fu Xiuxiu didn’t ask further.

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

“I’m rarely home, I plan to have dinner with the neighbors. Xiao Luo, will you join us?”

Someone is inviting him to dinner? Such a good thing?

Then Luo Chen would naturally accept!

Sitting on a child-sized swing in the courtyard, Luo Chen, having changed his clothes, waited for Fu Xiuxiu to prepare dinner, while calculating his next plan.

Four hundred spiritual stones worth of raw materials was his biggest investment ever!

This time, failure was not an option.

So before refining the elixirs, he had to consider every aspect.

First, the new alchemy equipment—the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace.

The difference between refining elixirs in an iron pot and a magical artifact furnace would be significant.

He first had to familiarize himself with the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace to avoid errors during the refining process that couldn’t be corrected in time.

Second, the processing of the raw materials.

He couldn’t use the old methods.

The iron pot was small and couldn’t withstand high temperatures, so he could only use a relatively low heat for alchemy. Low heat meant longer time.

In prolonged refining, the processing of herbs was conservative.

But the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace didn’t have this concern. Its grade as a magical artifact was enough to withstand intense heat.

Therefore, he could be much bolder in processing those materials.

Finally, building an alchemy room.

Yes, Luo Chen planned to partition off an alchemy room in his rented room.

The Purple Cloud Copper Furnace was huge; burning firewood required a special fire pit, and he needed to lay heat-insulating bricks underneath to prevent heat loss.

The surrounding walls should also be made of cloud sand bricks with good air permeability.

Otherwise, if there was a leak of medicinal fumes, he might be knocked unconscious by the fumes.

Thinking of all these things, Luo Chen had a headache.

He had a lot of work to do!

“Hey!”

A petite figure suddenly jumped in front of him.

Luo Chen greeted helplessly, “Miss Bai Meiling, you’re off work?”

That’s obvious, she’s standing right here!

But in reality, greetings are often like this.

If someone is eating, you say, “Having dinner?”

If someone is getting off work, you say, “Off work?”

What I hate is running into a friend in the public restroom, and the friend says, “Taking a crap?”

Duh, what else would I be doing squatting here?!

Bai Meiling certainly couldn’t guess the many thoughts racing through Luo Chen’s mind. She extended her white and tender hand.

“What?” Luo Chen asked strangely.

“Where’s the elixir you refined? Let me see, it’s not a demonic elixir, is it?”

“None of your business!”

Bai Meiling crossed her arms, “As a Qi Refining Seventh Layer neighbor, can’t I keep an eye on you?”

Damn it, what I hate most is being pressured by someone of a higher cultivation level!

Luo Chen took a deep breath and shamelessly took out a pill.

Bai Meiling curiously took it, “Valley-Clearing Pill? No, it’s Valley-Clearing Powder. The grade is good; it’s top-grade.”

She looked Luo Chen over and nodded.

“You’re a quiet one, but you’re pretty capable. It’s a pity; if you have the formula for Valley-Clearing Pills, you could easily make it a business.”

Luo Chen had originally planned to just fool this woman.

But hearing her say that, he became instantly interested.

He had always known that the Valley-Clearing Pill he refined was actually just Valley-Clearing Powder.

Otherwise, why could 5 bottles of Valley-Clearing Powder, a total of 50 pills, only sell for a single low-grade spiritual stone.

Authentic Valley-Clearing Pills, however, are first-rank elixirs, no less valuable than Qi Nourishing Pills.

Ten pills per bottle, sold for one hundred spiritual stones each, that’s a truly profitable business!

If he could refine real Valley-Clearing Pills, wouldn’t he become rich?

“Do you have the formula for Valley-Clearing Pills?”

Facing Luo Chen’s eager gaze, Bai Meiling shrugged.

“Of course, I don’t! Such formulas are controlled by the large sects; how could I have them?”

Luo Chen rolled his eyes, “Then why did you even say that?”

He wasn’t very disappointed.

Or rather, he hadn’t had high hopes for the formulas of mainstream elixirs.

Not only in Great River City, but in the entire Jade Tripod Domain, and even the six eastern regions, the formulas for mainstream elixirs are strictly controlled.

Any leakage would result in sect cultivators using various methods to retrieve them.

Buying them, forcefully taking them, or recruiting alchemists who can refine mainstream elixirs.

Luo Chen’s assessment: “Monopolizing dogs, may they die a bad death!”

He actually understood the actions of these sects.

Resources in this world are extremely abundant, whether in human territories or in the wild mountains and rivers where demonic beasts live, there are countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

With the raw materials not being a limiting factor, controlling the formulas becomes the best means of control.

In this way, mainstream elixirs can only be refined, distributed, and sold by the sects.

Thus, major sects can ensure that their profits are far higher than those of cultivation families and independent cultivators.

Otherwise, where would the major sects get such good benefits, casually giving disciples free artifacts, robes, and even precious storage pouches?

“Xiao Ling, Xiao Luo, dinner’s ready.”

A gentle voice came, and Luo Chen quickly entered the east wing, Fu Xiuxiu’s home.

Bai Meiling followed, but after walking a few steps, she found something amiss.

“Fire Dog Whip can also be used to refine Valley-Clearing Powder?”

(End of Chapter)

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