At the threshold of the alchemy room, a petite figure crouched low, her finger drawing aimless circles in the dust. Faint wisps of yin qi swirled around her, occasionally forming sharp claws that etched jagged lines into the stone floor. Yet her gaze never shifted, fixed entirely on the figure moving within the alchemy room. The earth fire blazed, spirit energy flowed in steady waves, and every so often, a burst of Foundation Establishment true fire would surge into the cauldron, intensifying the heat. One ingredient after another was added to the massive cauldron, each introduced with precision, according to a fixed sequence. Some of the ingredients weren't added directly. They had to be processed through special enchanting spells beforehand. From time to time, Bai Meiling heard Luo Chen’s low murmur. "Hundred Flowers Dew goes in first to form the base layer. It looks simple, but it’s the key to shaping the pill membrane in the end. I can't be as careless as I was in the third attempt. I'll need both the Flowing Creek Hand and the Cloud Transformation Hand together. "Cold ginseng, angelica root, fallopia, motherwort, aloe vera... These secondary materials can’t just be crudely processed with fire. The formula doesn’t mention it, but if I use water-based techniques for preliminary treatment..." As Luo Chen spoke, his eyes burned with focus, locked onto the cauldron. His spirit consciousness reached deep within, tracking the transformation of every ingredient, imprinting each detail into memory. Even though the system gave him a fixed success rate, he knew better than to rely on it blindly. Without full concentration, even the bare minimum success rate could fall apart. The same applied to increasing skill proficiency. Take the Yi Wood Medicine King Codex, for example. If he practiced it perfunctorily, it would take forty or fifty repetitions just to earn one proficiency point. But if he gave it his all, he could reduce that to just twenty repetitions per point. Now, with the Jade Dew pill, Luo Chen maintained the same standard. Unlike his Qi-Refining days, he now had spirit consciousness to assist him. It allowed him to observe the pill-forming process with microscopic clarity, seeing changes invisible to the naked eye. Each refinement yielded far more information than before, and even a failed batch now brought a measurable increase in proficiency. Truly, the Jade Dew pill lived up to its reputation as a second-tier pill. Its complexity far surpassed first-tier pills like the Jade Essence pill or the Myriad Wonders pill. Some stages even demanded that both water and fire refinement methods be executed at the same time, something that would have once overwhelmed him. However, this also brought a huge benefit. Luo Chen’s alchemy techniques were improving at a visibly astonishing rate. If he continued at this pace, he believed it wouldn't take long before all his alchemy techniques reached full mastery. "Time for the Lingting Fragrant Herb!" Luo Chen's gaze shifted to the bottom shelf of the herb rack, where shallow pots held clusters of vibrant green stalks, thriving and full of vitality. Lingting Fragrant Herb, one of the Jade Dew pill's three core ingredients, was a prized second-tier plant. A single stalk costs twenty spirit stones. More importantly, it couldn’t be prepared ahead of time. It had to be freshly picked and used right away. Such delicacy demanded the technique known as Unadorned Heart. Not just any version, only one cultivated to major mastery could handle such delicate material. Luo Chen remained unhurried. His Unadorned Heart had already reached Grandmaster level, and handling the Lingting Fragrant Herb posed no difficulty for him. He plucked a stalk, and several threads of spirit power wove into a fine net, sealing the cut end. The herb was then levitated above the cauldron. The spirit net extended upward, slicing it into a "cross" pattern. Only the core, the precious heart of the herb, dropped cleanly into the cauldron. That central core was what truly mattered. Any conventional harvesting method, no matter how refined, would inevitably bruise the surrounding fibers. Once damaged, those fibers would taint the medicinal power, leaving the core muddled and ineffective. Only with Unadorned Heart's spirit net could one extract a single, flawless core, pure, whole, and untouched. Luo Chen withdrew his spirit power and took a long breath. Next came the extraction of "Jade Smoke" from the Blue Jade Smoke to be infused into the pill. After that, the Hundred Flowers Dew would seal the pill, forming the membrane. Then, the completed pill would need to rest in a freezing chamber for a full day and night before it could fully settle. He was almost through all the preliminary stages. At this point, failure would be unacceptable. To process Blue Jade Smoke, one needed to use the alchemy technique, Jade Fracture. And in this area, Luo Chen truly excelled! Back when he refined Jade Essence pills daily, Washed Jade had been his primary material. He had long since mastered Jade Fracture to the level of Perfected Mastery. Now, applying it to Blue Jade Smoke was nothing more than a warm-up. In truth, this was one of the main reasons Luo Chen had chosen to begin with the Jade Dew pill rather than the more aggressive Blood Fiend pill. In this domain, his foundation was solid beyond question. Luo Chen proceeded through the steps one by one. To any outsider unversed in alchemy, watching Luo Chen’s long day of intricate techniques would have been utterly bewildering. They would likely gape in disbelief and mutter, "Isn’t this a bit much for a single pill?" A true top-tier alchemist wouldn't even bother answering that question. Why were alchemists ranked among the most revered professions in the Hundred Ways to Immortal Ascension? Yes, profit played a role, and their importance to cultivation was another, but far more critical were the steep entry requirements and the sheer difficulty of advancement. In other disciplines, talent alone might be enough to dive deep and go far. But alchemy? That path offered no shortcuts. Talent, effort, resources, persistence, and insight, every one of these was indispensable. There were no shortcuts in alchemy. Alchemy demanded pill after pill to be formed by one’s own hands, until flames and skill fused into perfection, until an alchemist could dismiss their mastery as nothing more than "skilled hands." Luo Chen possessed every one of those traits except for talent. And the system had granted him that missing piece. More accurately, he had earned that talent by converting the fruits of other skills into alchemical proficiency. That was why Luo Chen could proclaim with a clear conscience, "Everything I’ve achieved in alchemy, I earned through hard work." "Little Ling!" Luo Chen shouted. A lovely silhouette appeared at his side, holding a round tray as pale as the moon. Wisps of frosty mist curled up from its surface. The White Jade Ice Tray! A low-grade enchanted artifact that is forged in Tianfan City and sold by the Treasure Pavilion. It is typically used to chill wine and fruit and is now perfectly suited for setting Jade Dew pills to rest and solidify. With a flick of his fingers, ten perfectly round, shimmering pills soared toward him like swallows returning to their nests. Each landed softly into the tray without raising so much as a speck of dust. Bai Meiling asked curiously, "Did it work?" "It worked!" Luo Chen replied without hesitation. Normally, one would wait a full day before confirming success when four cloud patterns finally emerged on the pill surface. Yet Luo Chen spoke with absolute confidence, as though the result had already been foreseen. Why? Because on his system panel, Jade Dew pills had just gained ten points of proficiency. That meant his very first batch had succeeded. With the refinement completed, Luo Chen allowed himself a rare moment of fatigue. Not because the pill was too difficult, but because the process was exhaustingly intricate. A full day was required to produce just one batch, and through that entire day, he had to remain wholly focused. That alone was an ordeal. Still, there were benefits. Luo Chen's control over spirit power and spirit consciousness had become ever more refined. In this regard, he was confident that he stood at the peak of all rogue cultivators. Even when facing elite disciples from sects, he would not be outshone. After tidying up the alchemy room, Luo Chen walked to the living room and began calculating the cost of refining the Jade Dew pill. Due to recent conflict, the base materials had risen to around one hundred spirit stones per batch, and the price still wasn't stable. At ten batches, the cost had already reached a total of one thousand spirit stones. At his current Beginner level, his success rate was only ten percent. That meant ten batches produced one low-grade Jade Dew pill. "Looks like, without improving the pill yield, these low-grade Jade Dew pills still can't break even." The market price for second-tier, low-grade pills had long stabilized in the cultivation world. Ordinary pills started at three hundred, while those related to cultivation typically hovered around five hundred. But pills related to breakthroughs were another matter entirely. They were practically priceless, with no steady supply in the market. Take Foundation Establishment Pills, for instance. Technically still a second-tier pill, they often started at two thousand spirit stones in auctions. Final bids usually landed between four and five thousand, with rare cases spiking as high as ten thousand. The Jade Dew pill couldn't compare to such an essential item. Its equivalents were pills like the Ascending Dragon pill or the Qi-Consolidation pill. But considering its additional benefits for female cultivators, its value could reasonably be set even higher. Six hundred spirit stones would not be unreasonable, and with wartime inflation, marking it up to seven hundred was entirely justifiable. Based on that calculation, once Luo Chen raised his success rate to twenty, thirty, or even fifty percent, the profit would become astonishing. "Unfortunately... I can't actually use that route." A man without sin, yet burdened by his treasure. The Jade Dew pills would never be his key to wealth. Their true purpose was to serve as his stepping stone. Luo Chen's eyes gleamed. Even before he began refining, he'd had this strategy in mind. Now that the pills were done, it was time to move the rest of his plans forward. "Little Ling, what are you doing, leaning over like that?" He glanced over and saw Bai Meiling adorably sprawled beside the White Jade Ice Tray. Bai Meiling raised her head sleepily. "Nothing much..." "Then what is it?" Luo Chen asked. "I just thought the smell of this pill... was really nice." Luo Chen's brow furrowed. "Can you even absorb a Jade Dew pill?" She shook her head quickly. "No, I don’t have a physical body, how could I? But just a few whiffs of its pill energy... and my yin qi started flowing faster." Her words gave Luo Chen pause. He didn’t chase her away, allowing her to remain near the pills. He cast Cleanse on himself, and he stepped out of the cave residence feeling slightly refreshed. Nearly a month had passed, yet Duan Feng had still not emerged. Could it be... "Haha! You must be Fellow Daoist Luo Chen!" A bold voice rang out from above. Luo Chen looked up in surprise. A figure hovered high above, grinning down at him. Surprise flashed across Luo Chen's face. "Fellow Daoist Chu Kui?" After attaining minor mastery in the Clear Origin Mystical Pill Method, he had received several voice-transmission talismans. Aside from Sima Huiniang, the others had yet to reach out. Li Yixian, for instance, seemed preoccupied and hadn't returned to her cave in a long while. The last talisman belonged to Chu Kui, a powerful rogue cultivator. He had assumed it was mere courtesy. He didn't expect Chu Kui to actually show up today. "That would be me!" replied Chu Kui. Luo Chen pressed his lips together, glanced briefly toward Duan Feng's residence, and extended an inviting hand. "Why don't you come down for a chat?" Without hesitation, Chu Kui descended onto the platform. With a wave of his sleeve, Luo Chen summoned a simple wine set onto the cliffside table. "You mentioned having drinks. How about today?" Chu Kui took the jar, gave it a sniff, and immediately shook his head. "This wine won’t do. Let’s have mine instead!" With a flick of his wrist, a fine wine jug appeared in his hand. "This is a second-tier spirit wine from Taibai Market, absolutely exquisite. Care for a taste, Fellow Daoist?" Luo Chen gave the man a long, scrutinizing look. This fellow was quite the natural-born chatterbox... Still, he didn't bother to refuse as he lifted the spirit-rich cup of wine, and he emptied it in a single draught. The liquor burned smoothly down his throat and spread into his core. The flavor was mellow, but nothing remarkable. This qualifies as second-tier spirit wine? Just as Luo Chen began to question it, his expression suddenly shifted. Across from him, Chu Kui grinned as he held his cup. "Well? Good stuff, isn't it?" Luo Chen gave a slow nod. "No doubt about it, a true second-tier spirit wine. What's it called?" "Same name as the place that makes it, Taibai Wine." "Excellent wine! Truly excellent!" Luo Chen praised. He could feel the heat of the alcohol rushing into his sea of qi, soaring upward like a plume of fire. Stimulated by the wine, his stored clouds of spirit energy began condensing faster, turning into droplets of spirit liquid that dripped into his sea of qi like a light rain. Cultivation in the early stage of Foundation Establishment wasn't complicated. It simply required repeating, again and again, the process of refining gaseous spirit power into liquid. Normally, Luo Chen would cycle his techniques to absorb ambient spirit energy from the spirit veins beneath his cave. At that point, the power had only undergone a first-stage refinement. It remained gaseous in his body, gathered as misty clouds hanging above his sea of qi. Only with daily cultivation and repeated refinement would it condense into true spirit liquid and sink into the depths. Spirit Purification pills could accelerate the process. And now, to his surprise, this second-tier Taibai Wine had a similar effect. Only slightly weaker than a Spirit Purification pill. A spark lit in his heart; he was already tempted to buy it in bulk. But before he could think further, Chu Kui let out a hearty laugh. "Fellow Daoist, don't look at me like that. Taibai Wine is extremely rare. I only got this because I placed top ten in last year's Debate Platform." Luo Chen asked with confusion, "Didn't you say this was a specialty wine from Taibai Market?" "Yes. A specialty, but exclusively for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect!" So that's why. No wonder it was given as a ranking reward. Luo Chen sighed in mild regret. Whether it was Spirit Purification pills or this Taibai Wine, such resources that aided refinement were always in short supply. Even in Tianlan Immortal City's Spirit Herb Pavilion, they were rarely seen. If they did appear, they were snatched up instantly. Unless he camped out at the store day and night, he'd be lucky to encounter it once in a lifetime. "Fellow Daoist Luo, where did you come from anyway? I heard you've got your own faction?" Luo Chen gave a simple rundown of his origins. As for the Luo Tian Society, he glossed over the details. To his surprise, Chu Kui was deeply intrigued. "Running a faction in Tianlan Immortal City? That's no easy task. I heard that when you took over Danxia Peak, you ran into some serious trouble with the Divine Craftsman Sect, wasn't it? And the Geng family, too! Those aren't easy enemies. It might seem quiet now, but who knows what they're scheming? "They say you drove off three Foundation Establishment cultivators in one move. Forced two factions to withdraw without a fight. Quite the show of strength! But as the saying goes, a thief has a thousand days to scheme, yet a man cannot guard against him for a thousand days. Don't you want to eliminate those threats once and for all?" As Chu Kui spoke so casually, Luo Chen couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, especially that last part. A frown creased his face. "Fellow Daoist Chu, if you have something to say, speak plainly." Chu Kui cleared his throat. The carefree demeanor vanished, replaced by the quiet dignity of a seasoned master. "I am Chu Kui. Frequent contender at the Debate Platform, ranked in the top ten on the Elite Prodigy Board, and among Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators, I stand at the forefront. Thanks to the recognition of many in the city, I've earned the Dao title Tian Kuizi[1]. I am a man of justice. I cannot stand to see oppression. Groups like the Divine Craftsman Sect are opportunistic scum and deserve to be crushed by all." Luo Chen frowned. "Out with it. Be blunt." Chu Kui waved grandly and said, "For a modest fee in spirit stones, I'll take care of them for you!" 1. 天魁子 can have the definition of a celestial leader. In Daoist context, 天魁 (Tiān Kuí) is also the name of a star associated with leadership and nobility in traditional Chinese astrology. So 天魁子 as a Dao title carries connotations of someone born under a noble star or fated for greatness. ☜