An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

A brief rainstorm had swept through the valley, leaving behind a refreshing coolness in the air.

Luo Chen strolled along the mountain path, leisurely making his way through Crescent Moon Valley.

Beside him, Gu Caiyi hurried to keep pace, her expression one of satisfaction.

”The collaboration with the Nangong family has been finalized,” she reported. ”Starting next month, they will supply us with a thousand spirit stones’ worth of Fu Zhu Deer Milk. They also asked if we needed another type of demonic beast milk, but I turned it down for now.”

Luo Chen nodded in approval. ”That was the right call. For now, two types of milk tea are enough for Mi Xu Ice City to establish itself in Dahe Market. Unless new competitors emerge, we can roll out new products gradually.”

”Yes, that was my thought as well.” Gu Caiyi nodded firmly.

”Also, the Dajiang Gang has reestablished our supply agreement for Washed Jade. The pricing follows the same rules as when it was under the Poshan Gang.”

That was another piece of good news.

Lately, the Washed Jade Luo Chen had been using to refine Jade Essence pills that all came from the stockpile left by the Alchemy Hall of Poshan Gang. However, after two months of intense refining, those raw materials had nearly run out.

The Dajiang Gang reaching out proactively was definitely a welcome development.

”As per your instructions, aside from our shops in the inner city and outer district, we’ve contacted all fi—uh, four major families.”

The once-renowned five Foundation Establishment Families of Dahe Market had now dwindled to four with the fall of the Fu family. In fact, the Chen family, which barely lived up to its name, was in a dire situation.

Several small factions formed by rogue cultivators were eyeing them greedily, eager to replicate Luo Tian Society’s bold move.

”For each of the families, we provided a few bottles of the highest-quality Jade Essence pills for free and offered them a Gold-Gilded Member discount price.

”They’re still considering it, but I have a feeling that once they try the pills, the deal will go through.” Gu Caiyi spoke with full confidence.

Family cultivators were different from rogue cultivators. Their structure resembled that of sects, with high-realm members dedicated to cultivation and major decision-making.

Meanwhile, mid-realm or elderly cultivators were assigned various administrative and logistical duties. Paradoxically, it was the young, low-realm members who received the best care and resources. They were exempt from chores and could focus entirely on their cultivation.

For these younger generations, the major families often adopted sect-like practices, providing them with fixed allocations of spirit stones and pills to support their cultivation. Occasionally, they would also organize sparring trials between juniors from different families, ensuring that they didn’t just cultivate in isolation but also refined their combat skills through real battle experience.

This was why rootless rogue cultivators often envied family and sect cultivators. At their weakest stage, they had the least to worry about when it came to cultivation resources.

Luo Tian Society was now targeting this exact market. He wanted to establish the Jade Essence pill as the standard cultivation pill for all major families.

The reason Luo Chen had made this decision was that the Spirit Herb Pavilion’s pill prices were simply too high.

A bottle of qi-nourishing Pills could easily cost a hundred spirit stones—a luxury far beyond the reach of early- and mid-stage Qi-Refining cultivators. Even cultivation families had to carefully regulate their pill allocations.

Yet, despite the cost, using pills to accelerate cultivation remained the greatest shortcut on the path to advancement. Compared to qi-nourishing pills, Jade Essence pills were significantly cheaper and could be supplied in large quantities.

As long as Luo Chen slightly lowered the price, he could completely dominate this low-end market. At that point, Luo Tian Society wouldn’t even need to worry about expanding the market.

The demand from these families alone, along with the rogue cultivators of Dahe Market, would be enough to consume all of Luo Tian Society’s pill production.

In reality, this had been Mi Shuhua’s overarching strategy as well. However, he had ultimately been unwilling to sacrifice profits and had never steered toward Foundation Establishment families with consistent demand.

Of course, at that time, the Xuanyi Society, formed by the Great Five Families, had been in subtle opposition to the Poshan Gang, creating a tense situation.

Luo Chen naturally wouldn’t make the same mistake. Moreover, Luo Tian Society’s relationship with these families was still relatively ’cordial.’

As Gu Caiyi reported her work, the two leisurely strolled around Crescent Moon Valley.

Wherever they passed, voices of ”Good morning, President!” and ”Greetings, President!” echoed all around. The way these cultivators looked at Luo Chen had changed from casual indifference to cautious respect, tinged with a hint of awe.

No matter what, it was Luo Chen who had led Luo Tian Society to crush the Fu family! Moreover, in the final battle, under the watchful eyes of thousands, he had personally defeated Fu Zhang, who wielded a talisman treasure.

His methods commanded conviction.

His strength inspired fear!

”Cough, cough...”

”Luo Chen, are you alright?” Gu Caiyi asked with concern.

Luo Chen waved dismissively and took a deep breath of fresh air. ”It’s nothing. At most, a few more days, and I’ll be fully recovered.”

He was speaking the truth, not trying to act tough.

For cultivators, the most severe and feared injuries were those affecting the divine soul. Next in severity was damage to the dantian, followed by injuries to the meridians and acupuncture points.

In comparison, organ damage was also considered a serious internal injury, ranking just below meridian and acupuncture point damage.

However, due to a cultivator’s naturally resilient physique, internal organ damage often healed on its own over time. For this reason, few healing pills were specifically designed to treat internal organ damage.

Thus, compared to specialized pills that repaired meridians or external injuries that healed relatively quickly, organ damage was rarely a primary concern in pill refinement.

Luo Chen wasn’t in a hurry. Since his lungs were injured, he could take this opportunity to train his Heal to the Grandmaster level—it was only a few dozen proficiency points away. He was also curious to see how the Grandmaster level Heal compared to part-time healers like Granny Yuan and Luo Tianhong.

When he reached a small pond, Luo Chen halted his steps.

”Go ahead and take care of your tasks. You don’t have to keep me company.”

”Alright. Take care of yourself. Later, I’ll have Granny Yuan make you a bowl of pig lung soup.”

After Gu Caiyi left, Luo Chen silently approached the pond.

Then—

”Hey!”

”Ah!”

A sharp, childlike voice suddenly rang out, startled Luo Chen instead.

Qu Lingjun leaped down from an artificial rock formation, holding a book, and respectfully bowed to Luo Chen.

”Greetings, President!”

Luo Chen waved his hand and took the book.

Flipping through its pages, he asked, ”It’s been a while. How well have you memorized it?”

Qu Lingjun responded nervously, ”I think I’ve got most of it down.”

”‘Most of it’ won’t cut it! If you settle for ‘almost’ in daily practice, when the critical moment comes, it might make all the difference.”

Luo Chen smiled faintly and closed the Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs.

He sat down on the bluestone where Qu Lingjun had been earlier, lifted the hem of his long robe, and crossed his right leg over his left knee.

As the robe draped over his leg, he spoke leisurely, ”Alright. I’ll ask, you answer. If I’m satisfied, I’ll give you a little reward.”

Qu Lingjun’s eyes lit up.

Qu Lingjun immediately stood up straight in front of Luo Chen.

”Ginseng is one of the most common herbs, frequently used in both alchemy and personal cultivation. Do you know how many types there are?”

Qu Lingjun answered without hesitation, ”Wild ginseng grows in vast wildernesses, cultivated ginseng is known as ’Mountain Ginseng,’ Rock Ginseng is found in cliffside caves, and blood ginseng is formed by absorbing the blood of living beings. There are also rumors of ’Snow Ginseng’ growing in the boundless snowy mountains...”

After finishing his answer, he puffed out his little chest, waiting expectantly for Luo Chen’s praise.

Luo Chen chuckled and asked, ”Then how do you identify the most common Mountain Ginseng? In terms of age, potency, and quality?”

Qu Lingjun pursed his lips and answered at a steady pace, ”It must be identified through five aspects: root hairs, stem base, skin, striations, and body. These are the five forms of ginseng.”

”What about the root hairs?”

”Long, slender root hairs should be aged and tough, thin yet elongated. If pearl-like nodules appear, it is a one-year-old ginseng... Besides this, there are the three additional methods of observation, smell, and taste. The five forms fall under observation, while smell is used to assess potency. It is said that a thousand-year-old ginseng, even if grown in a polluted environment, will still emit a light and pure fragrance.”

”How do you differentiate between Blue Citrus Grass and Luminous Star Grass?”

”The two are similar in shape and scent. However, Blue Citrus Grass has a mixture of sour and sweet flavors when tasted.”

”But Luminous Star Grass is highly toxic and cannot be consumed—how can one rely on taste to distinguish it?”

”At such times, one should use Purifying Glow Leaf as an antidote. With it, the toxicity of Luminous Star Grass is neutralized, and consuming large amounts can even enhance one’s spirit energy.”

”What is Phantom Shade?

”How can one harvest Rock Bamboo without damaging it?”

One question after another was thrown out by Luo Chen.

At first, Qu Lingjun answered quickly and accurately, but as the questions continued, his responses slowed. When it came to distinguishing between similar herbs, even when Luo Chen took out samples from his storage pouch for him to examine, he had to rack his brain before finally answering.