An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Dahe Market was located at the very edge of the Jade Cauldron Domain, bordering the Great Million Mountains of the Eastern Wilderness.

According to the statistics from a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had written a travel log a few years ago, the market was situated on a first-tier spirit vein, and as a result, it was bustling with tens of thousands of cultivators year-round.

The area was primarily populated by rogue cultivators, with members of major sects rarely staying long. They only lingered here to manage business matters.

Moreover, the management of the shops in the inner city was cyclical, with managers being rotated out every few years.

Thus, the entire Dahe market was mostly dominated by the spontaneous activities of rogue cultivators.

The market was much like a gathering for rogue cultivators, divided into a big market and a smaller one.

The big market was held once a month, while the smaller one took place on the first, fourth, and seventh days of each week.

Of course, when there wasn't a market day, there were still cultivators setting up stalls, but the crowds were much smaller.

It had been ten days since the last small market.

Zeng Wen was in luck this time. After only a few days in the mountains, he had hunted a first-tier demonic beast, securing over a thousand pounds of its meat!

His storage bag had limited space, just enough to barely hold it all.

So, when he had gathered enough, he wisely withdrew from the mountains.

Ten jin of first-tier demonic beast meat could be sold for one low-grade spirit stone, and the beast's bones were a type of spirit material as well. Thus, this harvest was just enough to let him live lavishly for a while.

After returning home yesterday, he found a familiar butcher to process the meat, and he couldn't wait to indulge himself at the Tianxiang Tower.

The experience was, well, somewhat indescribable.

The beauties were delightful, and his performance, as usual, was steady and efficient. However, compared to the triumphant victory he had achieved last time, this felt rather lacking. Thus, with great resolve, he tore himself away from the "hero's grave" early in the morning, just to do some business with the young man he had met on his last visit.

When he arrived at the market in the southern part of the city, there were already a few people setting up stalls, and Old Man Chen, who sold talismans, was comfortably seated on a small stool.

"Is Fellow Daoist Luo here?"

"No, he's likely at home refining pills!"

"Will he still come to set up his stall today?"

"If he's not here by now, he probably won't come to the small market at all today.."

Zeng Wen was clearly disappointed. Still, he struck up a casual conversation with Old Man Chen, recounting some of his recent experiences in the mountains.

Noticing a customer approaching, he prepared to leave. However, before he left, he saw Old Man Chen carefully holding onto the dissatisfied customer.

"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in the qi-concealing talismans?"

"What's that? Something to conceal one's aura?"

"You know of the Spirit-Concealing Adept from the Divine Talisman Sect, right? Let me tell you…"

Zeng Wen's expression grew odd; he had the strange feeling that those words sounded quite familiar.

After he had walked a good distance from the market, he suddenly realized something.

Wasn't that the exact line Fellow Daoist Luo had used back then?

"Damn it, the old man's learned some bad habits!" Zeng Wen muttered to himself. He didn't think Luo Chen had deceived him, because back then, when Luo Chen had promoted the Myriad Wonders pill to him, he had never used definitive words—only ambiguous phrases.

Moreover, the effects of the Myriad Wonders pill were exactly as Luo Chen had described.

He could only conclude that Old Man Chen had plagiarized Luo Chen's sales pitch.

Meanwhile, Luo Chen, the unwitting victim, was crouched at home, wearing an apron and worshiping Holy Ruler Deity Guan.

He kept adding herbs to the pot as he muttered under his breath, "I've failed the last few batches and wasted enough materials. Today, I should finally succeed! Holy Ruler Deity Guan, I've lit for you today, please bless me!"

The processed Fire Hound Whip emitted a natural stench, which mixed with the scent of other spirit herbs, it created an indescribably strange aroma. The process of concocting the medicine lasted from morning till afternoon.

When Luo Chen lifted the lid and saw the deep red paste, he inhaled and smelled this refreshing aroma, which led him to clench his fist with satisfaction.

"Yes! This time, the sixth batch succeeded. It's a huge improvement!

"Holy Ruler Deity Guan, I knew you had my back even across time, you're still watching over me.

"I'll keep up the effort tomorrow!"

***

Half a month later, Luo Chen looked contentedly at the fifty small jade bottles on his table.

This was the result of nearly a month's hard work. Thirty of the bottles contained fasting pills, which he had hastily produced over the past two days. The remaining twenty bottles all contained the Myriad Wonders pill.

Unlike the fasting pills, which were packed ten per bottle, the Myriad Wonders pill was one per bottle. In other words, he had only succeeded twice in producing the Myriad Wonders pill this time.

Nineteen portions of materials had yielded only two batches, which wasn't a very high success rate, and the pills were merely of low-grade quality.

Low-grade pills had significant limitations; their efficacy was average, and consuming too many came with strong side effects. But that was not his concern; he trusted that his Fellow Daoist had enough self-control to enjoy in moderation and avoid overindulgence.

"This is all I can manage for now, but once my proficiency improves, things will definitely get better! The future is bright, keep it up, Luo Chen!"

Packing the jade bottles into a bag, Luo Chen closed his door and dashed into the inner city of Dahe Market like the wind.

Today was the big market day, and he was determined to sell this batch well.

When he arrived at the market, it was still sparsely populated; he had come too early.

Old Man Chen hadn't arrived yet, but his old friend Wang Yuan was already sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Young man, don’t you care about your body? The ground is so cold!" Luo Chen muttered softly as he greeted Wang Yuan and squatted naturally in front of his stall.

"Oh, there are even more items here now!" he said to Wang Yuan.

Compared to last time, there were several more old books and even a broken jade scroll. There were also four or five more enchanted artifacts, a few of which had traces of darkened blood.

Luo Chen continued, "Brother Wang, did you strike a few big deals recently?"

Wang Yuan lowered his eyelids. "Look all you want, but don't touch."

Luo Chen eagerly eyed a few old books, Five Essential Spells for the Qi-Refining Stage, Miscellaneous Discussions on Herbs, Long Spring Art Technique,...

They were all things he wanted, but sadly, he had no spirit stones!

If Wang Yuan sold all these things, along with those artifacts, who knew how much he would make?

As far as he knew, even a low-grade artifact would start at a hundred low-grade spirit stones, while mid-grade and high-grade ones being outrageously expensive.

Killing for treasures would truly be the fastest way to make money in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, he wasn't skilled at such things, he was just an honest cultivator who enjoyed refining pills.

Luo Chen sighed while he picked up Scenes of the Six Domains, which hadn't been sold yet, and started reading it with great interest.

The Far East Six Domains each had six major sects that had produced Nascent Soul Sages, such as the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, Hehuan Sect, Divine Talisman Sect, and Medicine King Sect.

Apart from these sects, each major domain was also home to numerous smaller sects and cultivation families. The vast lands and abundant resources had given rise to countless brilliant individuals.

In every era, powerful cultivators would emerge. Their ascension was often accompanied by strange and fascinating events.

The author of Scenes of the Six Domains was a ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivator who had given up hope of reaching Foundation Establishment, and spent the rest of his life writing this book.

Due to his limited realm and experience, much of what he wrote was mere hearsay.

Even so, Luo Chen found the book useful for catching a glimpse of the vast cultivation world. These small glimpses stirred him and filled him longing.

"The real Jade Cauldron could cut through mountains and rivers with a single sword, stabilizing the domain. Such majesty—truly magnificent!"

After a moment of admiration, Luo Chen reluctantly put down the book and prepared to set up his stall.

"If you like it, take it to read. There are too many errors in this travel log; it hasn't sold in months."

Wang Yuan spoke indifferently, and with a lift of his finger, the book floated gently into Luo Chen's hands.

Luo Chen was surprised, then overjoyed as he exclaimed, "Thank you, Brother Wang. I'll return it once I'm done."

Holding the book, Luo Chen returned to his bluestone stall, where Old Man Chen hurriedly approached him. Seeing the familiar old face, Luo Chen smiled slightly. "Are you here to tell me how well business has been lately?"

"No, I'm here to remind you to repay your debt!"

"Uh!" Luo Chen was deeply shocked; just moments ago, he had thought the cultivation world was full of good people.

However, after Luo Chen arranged his pills, Old Man Chen still gave him some good news. "Lately, many Fellow Daoists have been asking about your Myriad Wonders pill. You're about to hit it big!"