Immortality Begins as an Alchemy Master 91

Chapter 91: He, Luo Chen, is the Biggest Rat in the Broken Mountain Sect (First Update)

After waking up this morning and completing his cultivation, Luo Chen pondered a question. Or rather, it wasn’t really a question, but something he had been considering for a while. It was about the alchemy in the Pill Hall – was he going to personally handle everything in the future? If he had to do it all himself, he would work himself to death!

His previous solution had been to delegate some tasks. Things like watching the fire, for example. So that’s how he had operated yesterday when he opened the furnace for alchemy. However, the actual situation was rather grim. Even after his crash course training, those cultivators still couldn’t handle their work very well. As a result, Luo Chen had to constantly rush between the three alchemy rooms, helping out whenever necessary. Valley-Clearing Pills were mediocre elixirs, but the Myriad Wonders Pills were first-rank elixirs, demanding much higher precision and attention to detail!

To prevent himself from being overworked, Luo Chen carefully thought it over that morning and decided to make some changes. The solution: Specialization of labor!

“Specialization?”

Upon hearing this, some unrest rippled through the thirty-person team. They didn’t understand. Shouldn’t alchemy be a continuous process? Could alchemy even be specialized?

Luo Chen glanced over. The speaker was a man named Luo Erduo, who seemed older than him. A family member! Unfortunately, he wasn’t very friendly towards Luo Chen. Behind him stood Luo Wu’di, the Downhill Tiger. During the Bright Moon Hall meeting, Luo Wu’di had clearly sided with Uncle Mi Shuhua. Just because Mi Shuhua now supported him didn’t mean that Mi Shuhua’s followers would do the same.

His expression cold, he said, “Yes, specialization is necessary. I know some of you are here to learn alchemy. Do you know the process of cultivating a legitimate alchemist within a sect?”

At this question, everyone looked bewildered.

Just as Luo Chen was about to start explaining, a soft voice spoke up.

“Identifying herbs, mastering the fire, thoroughly reading hundreds of scriptures, studying formulas, mastering techniques, and then starting with low-grade elixirs, slowly working your way up until you can refine mid-grade and above, before tackling other elixirs.”

Luo Chen frowned slightly, his gaze falling upon the speaker. The woman looked pale, her expression calm under his scrutiny.

It was Mi Li! Mi Junping’s daughter and Mi Shuhua’s granddaughter. Oh well, better not to provoke her! He didn’t know her exact standing within the family. But since she had been assigned to the Pill Hall, he should still give her the proper respect.

He cleared his throat, “Yes, Miss Mi is quite right.”

Hands clasped behind his back, Luo Chen paced slowly in front of the crowd.

“Major sects follow this process, let alone you who have zero alchemy experience.”

“Therefore, specialized alchemy cooperation, focusing on a single task, is your current necessity, and the only thing you can do.”

After this explanation, no one dared to object. After all, Luo Chen was the master of the Pill Hall!

Without further ado, Luo Chen divided the thirty-person team into five-person groups, forming six small teams. One team was responsible for processing several auxiliary materials, another for other auxiliary materials, and two more teams were each responsible for processing a type of main ingredient. The remaining two teams were entirely responsible for learning fire control; ten people would rotate shifts between the three alchemy rooms. Perhaps he could consider establishing a fire-control team leader position?

“Valley-Clearing Pill raw materials, Myriad Wonders Pill raw materials—you must familiarize yourselves with them as soon as possible. Then, follow the methods I teach you to process them specially.”

“Also, I don’t want you to rashly learn about other teams’ tasks before you master your own responsibilities. Doing so will slow your progress.”

“You might think I’m preventing you from advancing further, but if you do that, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Having said this, he gestured outward. Gu Caiyi led a group of people, bringing up all the herbs he needed.

“This is common ginseng, artificially cultivated, ten years old. It contains little spiritual energy, but it’s an important auxiliary material in many low-grade elixirs.”

“Therefore, there are many processing methods. I will teach you two methods first. A few of you, come with me to the herb room!”

Five people eagerly followed Luo Chen into the room. The others stood outside, whispering among themselves.

Within the crowd, Mi Li’s willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, her pale little face bearing a hint of confusion. The orthodox process was indeed as the hall master described. But was it necessary to divide the labor so finely?

…

Was it necessary? Luo Chen said, of course, it was necessary! If he didn’t specialize the tasks, everyone would learn everything, essentially learning all the pre-steps of alchemy. If they also learned the material ratios for each batch of elixirs and the corresponding alchemy techniques, they might succeed after dozens or even hundreds of failures. Then what would he, the number one alchemist of the Broken Mountain Sect, be needed for?

Luo Chen was deliberately creating knowledge barriers. Even if someone later gathered these people together and compiled all their knowledge, it would require considerable effort. Even if they understood it, Luo Chen planned to manipulate the subsequent alchemy details. In short, he didn’t want to teach his disciples only to starve himself!

…

It took Luo Chen five days to teach these people their respective skills individually. It didn’t seem like much time, but some people were already getting impatient. Mi Shuhua specifically asked Si Kong Shou Jia when they would start refining Myriad Wonders Pills. After all, the sect had to pay spiritual stones for all these cultivators stationed in the Pill Hall!

After thoroughly understanding the situation of the Broken Mountain Sect, Luo Chen realized that the logistics departments, unlike the combat departments, mostly paid fixed wages, with usually no bonuses. The combat departments were different; their income depended entirely on their harvest. In cases of heavy casualties or huge gains, there were often substantial rewards. Therefore, most skilled cultivators were in the three combat departments and Wang Yuan’s Jiao Hall.

To Si Kong Shou Jia’s inquiries, Luo Chen simply replied, “No rush, no rush!”

He certainly wasn’t in a hurry. Once he had trained these people to proficiency, his alchemy work would become much easier.

Five days later. Mi Shuhua personally came to the Pill Hall.

Luo Chen no longer delayed, immediately ordering his subordinates to begin alchemy. Steam rose from the three alchemy rooms again, and the Light Smoke Sparse Rain Building was once more bustling with activity. Watching Luo Chen moving between the three alchemy rooms, directing the cultivators, and adding herbs, the anxiety in Mi Shuhua’s heart finally eased somewhat.

“Grandfather.”

“Mm.” Mi Shuhua didn’t turn his head, asking faintly, “Have you learned anything under Hall Master Luo these past few days?”

Mi Li softly said, “His handling of the herbs for the two elixirs is extremely proficient, far surpassing the alchemists our family hired before.”

Mi Shuhua shook his head, “Those alchemists could only refine low-grade elixirs, naturally inferior to Luo Chen.”

Mi Li thought for a moment, “The hall master’s control of the heat is also very experienced.”

“That’s not what I asked!”

“He didn’t say anything else, and he didn’t allow us apprentice herbalists to observe.”

“Apprentice herbalists?” Mi Shuhua was curious about this term.

Mi Li immediately replied, “Currently, the Pill Hall is divided into apprentice herbalists and fire-control personnel. The specific tasks are self-explanatory.”

After hearing this, Mi Shuhua’s brows furrowed involuntarily. He pondered for a moment, then raised his eyebrows.

“You go in and observe!”

Mi Li looked up, hesitant. But under Mi Shuhua’s firm gaze, she eventually stepped into the alchemy room where Luo Chen was busy.

Inside the alchemy room. Luo Chen immediately noticed the newcomer. He looked over, his gaze cold, without saying a word. The woman froze in place. The fire-control personnel also held their breath. For a moment, the only sounds in the alchemy room were the crackling of the green steel wood burning and the bubbling in the alchemy furnace.

Outside the alchemy room, Mi Shuhua naturally kept a close watch. He first raised an eyebrow, then frowned, finally taking a deep breath. A voice transmission entered the room.

“Mi Li is the most talented alchemist in my family; let her observe for a while.”

“This is my livelihood!”

“She…”

“No, unless… an extra bottle of Qi Nourishing Pill every month!”

… …

Can observing someone refine elixirs teach you the technique?

The answer to this question is subjective. Exceptionally talented individuals might gain enlightenment from a single small technique or a single spiritual energy output. But for the vast majority without much alchemy talent, even watching ten or a hundred times would hardly yield any understanding, especially those with insufficient foundational alchemy knowledge.

Luo Chen’s proficiency in refining Myriad Wonders Pills had already reached perfection; the elixirs produced were at least mid-grade. In other words, his alchemy attainment in this elixir had already reached the initial master level. His techniques were already drastically different from the entry-level stage.

Mi Li was now attentively observing his techniques. Even if she could learn something, it would only be the techniques for refining mid-grade Myriad Wonders Pills.

So, the question arises: Could she directly refine mid-grade elixirs after learning these techniques?

The answer is no.

Because she still had to start with low-grade Myriad Wonders Pills. The techniques for refining low-grade Myriad Wonders Pills had been constantly simplified by Luo Chen as his proficiency level increased. Without those relatively basic techniques, Mi Li would never be able to refine mid-grade, or even low-grade, Myriad Wonders Pills in her lifetime.

This is why Luo Chen wasn’t worried about his livelihood being stolen. But he wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by. An extra bottle of Qi Nourishing Pill every month—he got that extra benefit again!

…

Being a ranked elixir, the Myriad Wonders Pill took far longer to refine than the Valley-Clearing Powder. The refining work in the three alchemy rooms lasted a whole morning before finishing. Under Mi Shuhua’s watch, Luo Chen dismissed everyone and began his personal elixir collection.

Inside the alchemy room, Luo Chen’s expression was solemn as he used his attracting technique to open the furnace lid. The low-grade purple cloud copper furnace contained ten elixirs: seven mid-grade and three low-grade.

Luo Chen was satisfied. This was a deliberate result. If he had done it himself, all of them would have been mid-grade.

“Although I dismissed everyone else, Mi Shuhua’s spiritual sense is probably secretly watching.”

“But I don’t need to put on a show.”

“Just do what I usually do!”

Going out, he opened the copper furnace of another alchemy room. A smell of burnt herbs instantly spread. Luo Chen shook his head, without any frustration. Even with his perfect proficiency, he couldn’t guarantee 100% success. Currently, his success rate was around 40%. This was already quite high. Based on his experience with the Valley-Clearing Powder, the success rate of each stage was roughly fixed. Entry-level was 10%, proficient was 20%, mastery was 30%, and perfection was around 40%. At the Grandmaster level, it would stabilize at around 50%. As for a 100% success rate? Luo Chen hadn’t considered it. There was a saying among alchemists: the higher the grade of the elixir, the lower the success rate. Even the legendary Central Plains Dan Saint, who could easily refine high-grade and top-grade low-level elixirs, would occasionally fail when it came to third and fourth-grade elixirs.

In Luo Chen’s view, as long as the success rate exceeded 50%, the high profit margin of the elixirs would make the returns incredibly terrifying!

Outside, Mi Shuhua noticed a failed batch, his brows furrowed unconsciously. That meant that five spiritual stones worth of raw materials were wasted. However, when Luo Chen opened the lid of the mid-grade alchemy furnace and the fragrance wafted out, his brows completely relaxed.

Holding a large wooden tray, Luo Chen walked out of the alchemy room.

“I had good luck this time. Thirty elixirs were produced, most of them mid-grade, a few low-grade.”

“Mission accomplished!”

He casually handed the tray to Mi Li beside him and clapped his hands, looking unconcerned.

The usually pale-faced woman now had a blush on her face. It was excitement!

Three alchemy rooms, four sets of raw materials, and three successful batches! The yield even ensured that more than half were mid-grade. What did this mean? It meant that Luo Chen was a genuine first-rank alchemist, and a top one at that, an elite! If Luo Chen could guarantee all mid-grade elixirs and produce a couple of high-grade ones, he could be called a master alchemist in this specific elixir!

Of course, the cultivation world didn’t have such a detailed classification. A master alchemist was at least someone capable of refining third-grade elixirs. No one would use achievements in a particular elixir to measure someone’s skill.

Seeing his granddaughter’s excited expression, Mi Shuhua knew that Luo Chen’s alchemy skills had impressed her. As for himself, he was calculating the profit. Thirty Myriad Wonders Pills – how many spiritual stones could they sell for!

“Luo Chen, you did well!”

Luo Chen shrugged and waved his hand, “Today was a great start, but it doesn’t mean my luck will be this good every time.”

“Hehe, I have the most faith in you.”

“By the way, I’m still short-handed. Send me a few more mid-stage cultivators,” Luo Chen said.

“Not enough?” Mi Shuhua was surprised.

Luo Chen pointed at the elixirs on the tray, “After refining, there’s a period of medicinal property sedimentation, which is very important. It might cause the elixir’s potency to diminish due to the external environment. We need people to keep watch.”

Mi Li also added, “That’s right, Grandfather. The Qingyuan Elixir manual mentions similar details.”

Mi Shuhua suddenly understood, “I remember now. Many elixirs, if not properly stored, may drop in grade over time.”

With that clarified, Mi Shuhua didn’t hesitate. He immediately instructed Gu Caiyi to send some more cultivators from the medicine hall.

“Alright, everyone, dismiss!”

Luo Chen yawned, “I’ve been busy all morning. I’m going to take a nap. Send my lunch to my door later.”

Seeing his lazy demeanor, Mi Shuhua couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to continue refining?”

Luo Chen stared back at him, “Sect Leader, I’m a human, not a puppet. I get tired. I don’t have the spiritual sense to monitor three alchemy rooms at the same time. Do you think I can handle it?”

“Besides, if I don’t rest, do they not rest?”

At Luo Chen’s gesture, Mi Shuhua noticed that the cultivators responsible for watching the fire also had tired expressions on their faces. Several older female cultivators had flushed faces and sweat dripping down.

“Furthermore, the furnaces can’t handle it either!” Luo Chen pouted, “Two low-grade artifacts and one mid-grade alchemy furnace can’t support constant alchemy. Unless you get me a treasure alchemy furnace or a top-grade furnace.”

Mi Shuhua chuckled wryly, “Then you all go rest!”

What a joke! A treasure alchemy furnace? He didn’t even have a natal treasure yet. One of his best top-grade artifacts, the Purple River Dao Robe, had been destroyed by Qin Liangchen on the debate stage.

…

When Luo Chen went out to get his lunch, he learned that Mi Shuhua had already left Slanted Moon Valley. Good riddance. With him around, everything felt constrained. Luo Chen glanced at his lunch, and couldn’t help but grin.

“Hey, not bad! Spiritual rice, spiritual vegetables, and the meat is from a first-rank demonic beast.”

The Broken Mountain Sect’s treatment for him was top-notch! Even better than the other hall masters. After all, Luo Chen would be the Broken Mountain Sect’s money tree in the future, so they naturally had to treat him well.

He poured all the food into a large bowl, making a hearty rice bowl. Luo Chen took out his green gourd from his storage bag, hung it around his waist, and strolled around the Pill Hall, eating and checking what his little patch of land was missing. After a while, he had a plan. He finished his meal and casually walked out of the Pill Hall.

Along the crushed stone path paved with mine tailings, he slowly came to Slanted Moon Valley. Several large stone houses were built side by side on the valley’s mountainside. These were the medicine hall’s offices. At noon, there were fewer people, but some cultivators were still busy turning over the herbs to ensure adequate sun exposure.

He found Murong Qinglian sketching something.

“Sister-in-law, busy?”

Murong Qinglian looked up at him, annoyed.

“You dare show your face here.”

“What’s wrong?” Luo Chen put down his chopsticks, puzzled.

Murong Qinglian sighed helplessly, “Look, in the past few days, your Pill Hall has taken so many people from the Medicine Hall. Now we’re short-staffed.”

Was there even that? Luo Chen hadn’t expected this. But judging from Murong Qinglian’s expression, she wasn’t truly angry.

“I’m busy selecting suitable cultivators from the outer sect. These are their backgrounds and histories. I need to choose those with relatively clean records.”

Murong Qinglian pointed to a pile of bamboo slips and books on the table.

Got it, resumes!

“The Medicine Hall’s work is tedious but safe. So there are many cultivators who want to work here,” Murong Qinglian explained.

As she spoke, she inadvertently glanced at Luo Chen’s large bowl of “mixed rice.”

“Wow, your food treatment is really good. An outsider would think you’re eating spiritual stones!”

“Of course! I’m the Broken Mountain Sect’s money tree. If they don’t give me top treatment, who will they give it to?”

Luo Chen put his hands on his hips, smug. He had to admit that his decision to join the Broken Mountain Sect and become the Pill Hall Master was initially a bit of a struggle. But after truly enjoying the various benefits, he realized that it was the best decision!

He didn’t have to worry about food and drink, he had bodyguards to escort him to and from work, he didn’t have to purchase and process raw materials himself. Once he had trained those apprentice herbalists and fire controllers, his alchemy would become even easier. And the four Qi Nourishing Pills he got as a monthly salary were incredibly sweet.

“However, it’s still not enough!”

The greedy Luo Chen wouldn’t be satisfied with this. The Broken Mountain Sect was large and wealthy, and Mi Shuhua, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was even more rich and powerful. He had to find a way to get more benefits!

“How to do it?”

The rat Luo Chen’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

(End of Chapter)

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