An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Profound wisdom? There really wasn’t any profound wisdom in those words. It was simply the basic principle of buying low and selling high.

With Duan Feng’s skills, it was something he could actually pull off.

Cultivators didn’t understand this? That would be a joke.

Understanding was one thing; having the technical expertise was another. Even with technical expertise, so what? You’d still need startup capital! Without Luo Chen’s planning and substantial financial backing, ordinary rogue cultivators couldn’t get such a business off the ground.

Even if all those conditions were met, what then?

Encountering unreasonable raiding cultivators who killed and looted would render all efforts meaningless in the end.

Duan Feng was unafraid of these risks. With a ninth stage Qi-Refining Realm and battle prowess that had once placed him in the top three of the Elite Prodigy Board, he was more than capable of dealing with enemies below the Foundation Establishment Realm.

”Also! Take this!”

Duan Feng quickly reached out and caught the token Luo Chen tossed his way.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed the ancient characters ”Po” on the front and ”Dan” on the back.

”This is the Poshan Gang’s Alchemy Hall token. It can command cultivators from all nine halls of the gang.” Luo Chen explained.

Duan Feng’s eyes widened. Such authority!

Luo Chen cleared his throat and added, ”Of course, being able to command them is one thing, but whether they’ll listen is another. Still, most cultivators will give some respect when they see this token.”

This wasn’t an exaggeration on Luo Chen’s part. Back when the Alchemy Hall was first established, Mi Shuhua had gathered most of the late stage Qi-Refining cultivators in the gang.

When Luo Chen distributed fasting pills to those late stage cultivators, Mi Shuhua had asked them to support Luo Chen wholeheartedly. At the time, those cultivators had ”readily agreed.”

Later, a batch of black iron tokens was custom-made specifically for the Alchemy Hall.

Currently, only Luo Chen, Sikong Shoujia, and Gu Caiyi possess these tokens.

When Duan Feng joined the Poshan Gang a few days ago, Luo Chen giving him one of the tokens was only appropriate.

Luo Chen had high hopes for this artifact repair shop and second-hand artifact recycling point! He valued it far more than the Chen Yue Snack Stall or Mi Xu Ice City!

It came second only to his primary alchemy business. This was the perfect time, with enchanted artifact prices soaring.

Ordinary cultivators couldn’t afford new artifacts, but with a shop like Fenghai Forging Workshop, why not repair and reuse them for another three years?

For instance, when one of Luo Chen’s seven jade blades was damaged, it disrupted the formation of a complete blade storm, significantly weakening its power.

If Duan Feng hadn’t repaired it for him, the jade blade set, capable of forming a formation on par with a top-grade artifact, would have lost half its power. Fortunately, Duan Feng repaired it for free; otherwise, Luo Chen would have gladly paid dozens of spirit stones for the fix.

Even Old Chu, the Foundation Establishment cultivator at Treasure Pavilion, had casually remarked that ordinary rogue cultivators only knew how to fight and kill but had no idea how to maintain their artifacts.

In artifact repairs, there was an enormous untapped market. If Duan Feng manages it well in the coming days...

Luo Chen couldn’t even begin to imagine how many spirit stones he would earn!

”By the way, forging and alchemy both require fire. Where’s your fire?” Luo Chen asked.

***

It was only then that Luo Chen noticed Duan Feng hadn’t purchased any large quantities of firewood or coal.

Duan Feng replied curiously, ”In Qinghe Mountain, fire is the least of our concerns.”

Huh? Luo Chen then saw Duan Feng run into the branch of the Lianyun Trade Alliance nearby.

When he emerged, he was holding a large bundle of blue-green straw.

”Qinghe demon, a first-tier wood-element spirit. Once ignited, its firepower is immense, rivaling even earth fire.” Duan Feng explained. ”Additionally, the intensity of the flames can be adjusted freely by controlling how much of the Qinghe demon’s body is fed into the furnace.” As he spoke, Duan Feng demonstrated by carefully feeding a Qinghe demon into the forge.

Crack! He struck a small fireball, and the tail of the Qinghe demon began to burn slowly.

Duan Feng gave a gentle push, feeding a larger portion of the Qinghe demon into the forge, causing the flames to surge fiercely.

When he pulled it back slightly, the flames diminished significantly. Faintly, a series of crisp wailing sounds could be heard.

”Yikes! You guys are so cruel!”

Luo Chen’s eyes lit up! He hadn’t been to the Ancient Plains in ages, and now there was this treasure. When had it been discovered?

What effect would this thing have if used in alchemy? Also, this thing was supposed to be dead... so why was it screaming?

”It was discovered last summer.” Duan Feng explained awkwardly. ”The surrounding mountains used to be full of these harmless Qinghe demons, which is why this area became a primary entry route to the mountains. But last summer, a Foundation Establishment cultivator passed by, found the Qinghe demons to be an eyesore, and burned them with his Foundation Flame. The resulting blaze nearly burned down an entire Qinghe Mountain.”

”At that time, someone discovered this thing called the Qinghe demon, and it was particularly resistant to burning. Rogue cultivators in the Qi-Refining Realm couldn’t ignite it no matter what they tried. Later, the Lianyun Trade Alliance developed a special technique to ignite the Qinghe demon and issued a bounty for rogue cultivators to capture and sell it to them. After acquiring them, they refined the sprouts slightly and sold them at higher prices elsewhere.” Duan Feng explained.

After hearing this explanation, Luo Chen suddenly understood.

No wonder he hadn’t noticed it before. It turned out this thing required special techniques that only a Foundation Establishment cultivator could perform to unleash its true potential!

Suddenly, he glanced at Duan Feng, whose expression looked a bit unnatural, and a thought struck him.

”You didn’t... happen to catch these things before, did you?” Luo Chen asked, narrowing his eyes.

Duan Feng shifted uncomfortably and said, ”When I went into the mountains to hunt demonic beasts, I’d sometimes catch a few Qinghe demons on my way back and sell them to the Lianyun Trade Alliance.”

”And now you’re buying them back at a higher price? Without even bargaining?” Luo Chen asked incredulously.

”Uh, it seems like that’s exactly what happened.” Duan Feng admitted awkwardly.

Damn! There’s someone out there even more of an unscrupulous merchant than me!

Lianyun Trade Alliance, I’ll remember this!

Luo Chen shook his head in exasperation and said to Duan Feng, ”Next time you buy Qinghe demons in bulk, make sure to bargain.”

”Oh!” Duan Feng responded quickly.

”Oh, what’s with the ‘oh’? While you’re at it, use the excuse of buying Qinghe demons to build connections with the cultivators at the Lianyun Trade Alliance. You never know when you’ll need their support in a critical moment.”

”Also, if you encounter danger, show them that token and use my name, Dan Chenzi. If that doesn’t work, mention Mi Shuhua of Poshan Gang. Avoid fighting if you can.”

After saying this, Luo Chen nagged him a bit more before finally leaving with his bodyguards. As for those rogue cultivators bustling in and out of Qinghe Mountain, heading straight for the Ancient Plains Mountain Range, Luo Chen didn’t even spare them a glance.

What Foundation Establishment treasures or Core Formation opportunities? Did these common rabble really think they had a shot?

After Luo Chen left, Duan Feng stood motionless, feeling an unfamiliar sense of aimlessness.

In his early years with the Duan family, he primarily focused on learning the art of artifact forging. After his mother passed away, he left the Duan family and made his way to Dahe Market, where he relied on his combat skills to make a living. Now, running a shop was something he wasn’t accustomed to at all.

Feng Xia stood beside him and let out a sigh and said gently, ”Xiao Duan, don’t let Luo Chen’s kindness go to waste.”

Duan Feng nodded. Luo Chen’s efforts weren’t lost on him.

Luo Chen had purchased a large amount of artifact forging tools, given him five low grade artifacts and two mid grade ones, and even provided two thousand spirit stones as working capital.

Even the token representing Luo Chen’s status in the Alchemy Hall was generously handed to him. To say he wasn’t grateful would have been outright self-deception. Moreover, Luo Chen had once generously given him a bottle of meridian repair liquid when he had been gravely injured.

”So, sometimes you have to learn to adapt and change.” Feng Xia advised. ”Not just for Luo Chen, but for yourself as well.”

Feng Xia’s eyes burned as she spoke hoarsely, ”Do you remember how Yuan Xiaoyue used to run her business?”

Yuan Xiaoyue! That young girl who lived with her disabled grandfather.

Thinking of her various moments at Whitestone Plaza, Duan Feng swallowed involuntarily.

”Be brave, Xiao Duan!” Hearing the hoarse yet gentle voice by his ear, Duan Feng closed his eyes, gathered his spirit energy, and shouted.

”The Fenghai Forging Workshop is open for business!

”Specializing in repairing damaged artifacts, polishing, maintenance, and custom modifications. The Fenghai Forging Workshop is your most reliable logistical support on your path to the Great Dao!

”Come take a look!”