Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 41

Chapter 41: Red, Eyes Red (Request for Follow-Up Reads)

Cultivators, due to the manipulation of spiritual energy and the consumption of elixirs, often have appearances and ages that are disproportionate. Therefore, in the Cultivation World, judging a person based on appearance is the worst thing you can do.

Luo Chen didn’t know what Gu Caiyi’s Spirit Root attributes were. But when he was chatting with Bai Meiling, he asked about other people’s ages. He remembered that Gu Caiyi was thirty-seven years old. A thirty-seven-year-old at the Refining Qi eighth layer wasn’t good or bad; her aptitude wasn’t bad, but not exceptionally good either. Otherwise, she would have been recruited into a sect long ago. But in just a few days, she had actually broken through to the Refining Qi ninth layer. This surprised Luo Chen greatly.

“How did you do it? Did you eat some miraculous elixirs?”

“Hehe, you actually guessed right.” Gu Caiyi smirked. “Lately, for some reason, Great River City has many new faces, including quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

“Zhongding Family and our Heavenly Fragrance Tower are the places they frequent most.”

“Elixirs precious to us Qi Refining cultivators are insignificant in the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators. We performed a new dance recently and pleased a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and he casually rewarded us with a bottle of Dust Transformation Pills.”

Luo Chen’s eyes widened. “Dust Transformation Pills!”

“It seems you’re not completely ignorant!”

Luo Chen wouldn’t be so foolish as to not know about Dust Transformation Pills. These are top-grade pills for the Qi Refining period, possessing the effect of transforming the mundane into the ethereal. A single pill’s potency surpasses several times that of a Qi Nurturing Pill of the same level! The price is ten times higher! Even when low-level cultivators can’t find Build Foundation Pills, they sometimes use Dust Transformation Pills to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment period. Although the effect is far inferior to Build Foundation Pills, it still has some effect.

“We got a bottle of Dust Transformation Pills, each person got one, and I, as the lead dancer, got two.” Gu Caiyi said proudly, “These past two days I stayed at the Feather Robe Tower, and with these two pills, I broke through to the Refining Qi ninth layer.”

“Does your Heavenly Fragrance Tower still need people?!” Luo Chen’s tone was sour, his eyes red with envy.

“What would you do there, be a male prostitute?”

“Nonsense! I’ve been multi-talented and excellent in both song and dance since I was young!”

“Alright, no more joking.” Gu Caiyi’s expression turned serious. “I wanted to tell you that something might happen in Great River City lately, with so many unfamiliar cultivators coming. Be careful when you go in and out, don’t offend anyone you shouldn’t.”

Luo Chen nodded heavily. Outsiders were the most intimidating. They didn’t have roots here and didn’t care much about the rules of Great River City. Sometimes they would kill someone in a fit of anger and then flee thousands of miles away, and even the Jade Tripod Sword Sect’s stationed cultivators couldn’t do anything about it.

Late at night, Luo Chen thought about what happened during the day, feeling complicated. Others easily broke through to the Refining Qi ninth layer, only one step away from Foundation Establishment. While he was still struggling in the Refining Qi fourth layer. The huge gap made him feel quite uncomfortable despite trying to appear cheerful.

However, aside from the sourness, Luo Chen was still happy for Gu Caiyi. Since he moved here, this woman had taken good care of him. She always greeted him when he came and went, giving this little nobody in the cultivation world a sense of presence. When she learned of his predicament with alchemy equipment, she used her connections to help him find an affordable and good-quality alchemy furnace. Now that Gu Caiyi had made a breakthrough, he should be happy for her.

“But, I can’t be slack.”

“These easy days seem to have dulled my sharpness.”

“Gu Caiyi’s aptitude is definitely better than mine, yet she still works hard to earn cultivation resources. I am a five-spirit-root cultivator with only a few decades of lifespan, and I only have one bottle of Qi Nurturing Pill left.”

“What right do I have to live a leisurely life?”

From tomorrow, I must work harder!

A brand new alchemy room. A Purple Cloud Copper Furnace, a specialized alchemy artifact. The Myriad Wonders Pill Alchemy technique, having reached the second level of proficiency. Never has the start been so wonderful! Everything is ready, only the fire is missing!

Luo Chen’s expression was serious. He skillfully cast a Fireball spell, igniting the firewood in the fire pit. The flames rose up, burning the small alchemy room hot in no time. Luo Chen felt nothing inside, instead, he put the processed herbs into the furnace one by one. Not only that, but he also made hand seals, activating the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace. The simple patterns engraved on it emitted a faint glow, as if breathing. Even though the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace was only a first-grade lower-grade artifact, it had stepped into the threshold of artifacts. It was far superior to the inferior spiritual iron pot he had used before.

Luo Chen focused intently on the changes in the herbs in the furnace; the Spirit Eye Technique had already been applied to his eyes. Even if there was obstruction, he could perceive the changes in the flow of spiritual energy inside. Moreover, he occasionally opened the furnace lid and stirred the materials with a wooden stick to prevent burning.

Soon, it was noon. And it was time to open the furnace. The fire had been extinguished for half an hour, and the temperature of the furnace had gradually dropped.

“Open!”

Making hand seals, using the already proficient Attraction Technique, he grabbed the still-warm furnace lid in mid-air and slowly lifted it. A strange fragrance spread, mixed with a hint of burnt smell.

With the Spirit Eye Technique, Luo Chen looked down, his brows furrowed. The first batch of Myriad Wonders Pills had failed. This was expected. Everything was new; even with the most preparation, a 100% success rate couldn’t be guaranteed.

Luo Chen showed no frustration. He took a shovel and scooped out the remaining residue. After a simple cleaning, he left the alchemy room. As soon as he came out, even though it was noon, he still felt a refreshing coolness.

The temperature difference between the alchemy room and the outside was too great. At this point, Luo Chen actually missed Sun Shou. To say nothing else, in the absence of cooling conditions, this back room, located in the center of the suppressed ghost king, at least provided him with a bit of coolness.

“Cook, shower, continue in the afternoon!” He steamed the rice and went to the corner of the yard, learning from Gu Caiyi, to draw a bucket of water from the well using the Attraction Technique.

Splash! He poured it directly over his naked body.

“Comfortable!” Luo Chen couldn’t help but moan. He hadn’t felt it while concentrating inside, but after coming out, he realized that the alchemy room was like a huge furnace.

“It must be a problem with my design and materials, otherwise it wouldn’t be so hot.”

“If only an Ailao Mountain disciple could design an alchemy room for me, that would be great.” After fantasizing, Luo Chen shook his head with a smile. Where could he get the Spiritual Stones to pay a disciple of a famous sect to design an alchemy room for him? The fee would probably start at a thousand or eight hundred!

After a simple lunch, Luo Chen gritted his teeth and entered the alchemy room again. Second batch, start refining!

“Little Luo, are you home?”

“Busy, Caiyi jie, is there something?”

“Nothing, you keep busy!”

“Alchemy again!”

“No way, life’s pressures!”

“Look at you, all pitiful. Jie brought you a box of Green Essence Cakes, eat them while they’re hot.”

“Put it outside, I really can’t leave, I’m about to change the main ingredients.”

“I’ll go then, come chat when you’re finished.”

In the afternoon, Luo Chen sat blankly by the well, his expression haggard. Gu Caiyi came out and saw this scene. She frowned and walked over, “Luo Chen, what’s wrong with you lately?”

“Nothing, just the usual alchemy.” Luo Chen came to his senses, rubbed his eyes, and quickly stood up.

“Still saying nothing, look at yourself.” She circulated her spiritual energy, and the remaining water stains on the ground gathered into a water mirror. Luo Chen looked down and saw that his eyes were swollen, his eye bags heavy, and his lips were dry and cracked. His messy hair had come loose from its restraint and stuck to his face. At first glance, he looked like someone who had been working overtime in front of a computer for a month in his past life.

Was it due to the high temperature in the alchemy furnace? Luo Chen wasn’t sure. In the past ten days of alchemy, he had tried his best to make two batches a day. The success rate was barely acceptable; he hadn’t reached his expected 20% success rate, but it was much better than during his initial stages. However, artifact alchemy required constant monitoring with the Spirit Eye Technique. It not only consumed spiritual energy but also hurt his eyes, and long-term concentration was very tiring for his mind.

Not wanting to show weakness in front of a woman, Luo Chen casually changed the subject. His gaze subconsciously fell on Gu Caiyi’s arm, where a clean, transparent gauze garment was draped.

“Is that a newly bought artifact?”

“Good eye!” Gu Caiyi lifted the gauze, her eyes shining. “A Foundation Establishment cultivator named Fei Bowen gave it to me, a top-grade defensive artifact.”

Luo Chen was stunned. A top-grade artifact, and a defensive one at that? Someone actually gave this away?

He couldn’t help but ask, “Are Foundation Establishment cultivators so rich? This artifact must be worth four or five thousand spiritual stones, right?”

Gu Caiyi smiled, “Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators aren’t rich, and they might even be stingier than us loose cultivators. But Fei Bowen is different.”

“Oh? How so?”

(Chapter End)

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