Chapter 20: Treading into the Great Mountain

Fifty-five bottles of Qi-Opening Pills, thirty bottles of Wondrous Pills.

This was Luo Chen's achievement over the past month.

He had only refined fifty bottles of Qi-Opening Pills; the extra five bottles were the inheritance left by that short-lived fellow.

As for the thirty bottles of Wondrous Pills, it was a pleasant surprise.

This time, he actually succeeded with three batches, all of which were of inferior quality.

Laying the pills on the green stone slab, Luo Chen placed his hands on his hips, looking forward to today's market.

Old Daoist Chen, as usual, arrived a bit later.

Seeing Luo Chen, his old eyes were filled with resentment.

Fifty spirit stones!

He had just recovered them last time, and this kid borrowed them again.

He had already made up his mind; no matter how much Luo Chen talked, he would definitely reclaim that loan today!

Definitely!

"Little Luo, your alchemy skills have improved again!"

The corner he used to allocate to Luo Chen had never been filled before.

But today, it was densely packed with jade bottles, at least fifty to sixty of them, almost filling the entire space.

From this, it was evident that Luo Chen's alchemy skills had indeed improved.

Luo Chen chuckled, "This is all thanks to Brother Chen's generous assistance. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the capital to refine more pills."

"Hmph, you know it, kid." Old Daoist Chen snorted, then said sternly, "I lent you those spirit stones out of kindness last time, but today you must return them."

"Definitely, definitely!"

Luo Chen put on a face of someone who would return what he borrowed.

Old Daoist Chen's expression improved; owing a debt really made him lose his appetite and sleepless.

Suddenly, he let out a light exclamation.

"Huh!"

"Little Luo, you're at the fourth level of the Qi Condensation stage?"

Luo Chen was curious, "How did you know?"

"I have practiced the Spirit Eye Technique. Observing the aura and detecting the spirit is just a minor skill." Old Daoist Chen said proudly, then added with some doubt, "You have a five-element constitution. To break through to the middle Qi Condensation stage at your age is quite remarkable."

The Spirit Eye Technique is a low-level spell that can use spirit energy to make one's vision clearer and grant the ability to observe auras and detect spirits.

Among low-level spells, it is known as one of the five essential spells for the Qi Condensation stage, alongside Fireball Spell, Wind Control Spell, Attraction Spell, and Healing Spell.

Unfortunately, Luo Chen only knew the Fireball Spell; he didn't know the other four.

The Binding Spell and Fireball Spell were both obtained by the original owner through a fortuitous encounter.

The Cleaning Spell was just one of the most useless spells, which he had traded for a bottle of Qi-Opening Pills at the market.

Old Daoist Chen looked at Luo Chen with a strange expression.

He probably never thought that one day, Luo Chen would be at the middle Qi Condensation stage, just like him.

While there wasn't a significant difference between early and middle Qi Condensation stage cultivators, the upper limit of spirit energy in the body could double!

Various combat techniques could also be used more freely.

Early Qi Condensation stage cultivators were at the bottom of the Great River Market.

Without a special skill, they could only do menial jobs, being ordered around by others.

But middle Qi Condensation stage cultivators were different. They could join various factions and take on tasks with generous rewards.

One could say that middle Qi Condensation stage cultivators truly had the means to live in the Great River Market.

Faced with the old man's doubts, Luo Chen just smiled and said it was good luck.

In reality, it was just a matter of course.

A bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills provided him with a large amount of spirit energy, pushing his progress to 96%.

The remaining spirit energy he needed was accumulated over the past twenty days through the Perfect Longevity Technique and the Calming Incense, practicing day and night.

Breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation was a natural progression.

After helping Old Daoist Chen set up the talisman paper, Luo Chen pointed to Wang Yuan's usual stall location with some confusion.

"Brother Wang hasn't been setting up his stall recently?"

"Didn't you know about the big event in the outer city recently?" Old Daoist Chen looked at him strangely.

Luo Chen was puzzled.

"You live too far away. If you don't pay attention, you might really not know."

Old Daoist Chen explained to himself, then said meaningfully, "Recently, the Great River Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance have formed an alliance."

"Isn't that normal?"

The Lianyun Merchant Alliance is a well-known faction of independent cultivators in the Jade Tripod Domain, with businesses spanning all the markets in the Jade Tripod Domain.

Their main business is transporting and selling various heavenly materials and treasures from different regions, making a profit from the price difference.

This inevitably involves transportation.

It was mentioned before that storage bags are not something ordinary independent cultivators can afford, and for such large-scale businesses, a few storage bags wouldn't make much of a difference.

Therefore, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance has always had a good cooperative relationship with the local Great River Gang.

The Great River Gang makes a living from the Lancang River around the Great River Market.

Throughout history, transportation has always been one of the most profitable businesses, involving countless industries.

It is entirely normal for the Lianyun Merchant Alliance to choose to form a deep alliance with the Great River Gang.

Old Daoist Chen shrugged, "But it's not normal for the Great River Gang to have designs on the mountain business."

"Mountain business?" Luo Chen asked in surprise, "Isn't that the territory of the Mountain Breaking Gang?"

"Ha!"

Old Daoist Chen sneered, "What Mountain Breaking Gang? The Eastern Wasteland's vast mountains are the domain of beast demons. Even the six major sects in the far east wouldn't dare to claim it as their business."

"Uh..."

"Let me put it this way, the Great River Gang is interested in the few safe routes the Mountain Breaking Gang has explored over the past hundred years."

Old Daoist Chen liked to gossip and was also good at gathering information, as these things were not valuable.

Sometimes, when he met high-level cultivators from other places, he could even earn a few spirit stones by sharing this information.

He had gathered very clear information: the Great River Gang was serious about this.

Initially, they sent their own people to explore safe routes into the mountains, but suffered heavy losses.

Later, they started to use the routes explored by the Mountain Breaking Gang.

Naturally, the Mountain Breaking Gang was unwilling, leading to various conflicts.

A month ago, the magical artifacts Wang Yuan sold were the spoils of war from Mountain Breaking Gang cultivators killing Great River Gang members in the mountains.

Now, the conflict is escalating, and the battles are no longer limited to the mountains.

Fights between the two gangs often break out in the outer city at night.

Luo Chen listened to these gossips, his mind working.

"You specifically mentioned the alliance between the Lianyun Merchant Alliance and the Great River Gang. Could it be that the Great River Gang's actions are being instigated by the Lianyun Merchant Alliance?"

After raising this question, Luo Chen's mind worked even faster.

"Right, the various heavenly materials and demon beast flesh hunted by the Mountain Breaking Gang are sold at high prices to major factions. The Lianyun Merchant Alliance, not being a sect, naturally wouldn't be satisfied with those prices."

"Now, by forming an alliance with the Great River Gang, they are trying to cultivate a rival to compete with the Mountain Breaking Gang."

"If they succeed, the cost of acquiring resources will be much lower in the future."

Old Daoist Chen nodded.

"You're not stupid, kid. I thought the same. Otherwise, why would the Great River Gang suddenly have designs on the mountains after forming the alliance?"

After agreeing, he sighed deeply.

The conflict between the two gangs has made the already unsafe outer city even more chaotic.

Some independent cultivators are taking advantage of the chaos, making life even harder for the honest and hardworking ones.

"Wang Yuan has become quite famous recently. He guarded the mountain path and killed five to six middle Qi Condensation stage cultivators, even slaying an eighth-level Qi Condensation stage cultivator from the Great River Gang."

"It's normal that he didn't come today."

Old Daoist Chen shook his head, "If things keep getting worse, I plan to move to the inner city."

"What about you, Little Luo?"

Luo Chen fell silent.

He lived in the most remote southwestern corner, adjacent to the Howling Moon Mountains, far from the Ancient Plain Mountains and the Great Snow Mountains where the Mountain Breaking Gang mainly operated.

If there were conflicts, they probably wouldn't affect him.

But what if they did?

"I'll think about it. The rent and deposit for living in the inner city are not small amounts."

Living in the market is not easy.

Living in the inner city is even more unaffordable for ordinary independent cultivators.

Sighing, Luo Chen gathered his thoughts and forced a smile to welcome today's customers.

"Brother Zeng, good morning, on time?"

"On time!"

(End of Chapter)