Chapter 4: Introduction to the Pill of Marvels

Scallops are still fine, with their unique texture, often bought to simmer in soups.

But the fire dog penis, its use is rather singular.

How could a young man like you need such a thing already?

Hehe

"Please don't call me Senior, just call me Manager Liu. How should I address you, young friend?" the plump manager asked with a smile.

"Manager Liu, I am surnamed Luo, you can just call me Little Luo."

Luo Chen couldn't help but be humble, as the amiable plump manager exuded an aura that made him very uneasy.

He had felt this aura before, naturally emitted by cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage.

In front of such a high-level expert, he naturally had to show the utmost respect.

Manager Liu smiled slightly, "Ah, it's Daoist Luo. The two medicinal materials you mentioned, I do have them, but the quantity is indeed not much."

Luo Chen had expected this.

The Great River Market was located near the Eastern Wasteland, a vast inland area.

One of the two medicinal materials he inquired about, scallops, was a sea-based spiritual medicine, often transported from far away.

The limited quantity was foreseeable, but having any at all was good!

"Can you gather a hundred scallops? I need ten fire dog penises."

"There is that much, but the price is not cheap," Manager Liu said with a chuckle.

By "not cheap," he meant it wasn't very expensive, but rather, it was expensive relative to Luo Chen's cultivation level of the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage.

Especially given his attire, which didn't show much wealth.

"What's the price?"

"A hundred scallops for ten low-grade spirit stones, and ten fire dog penises for another ten low-grade spirit stones."

Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.

He even suspected that this plump manager had X-ray vision, seeing that he had exactly twenty spirit stones left in his possession.

"Is it that expensive?"

"Do you want it?"

"I will be a long-term customer, can you give me a discount?"

"Herb Hall, a 500-year-old store, with branches in four regions, fair prices, no cheating, no bargaining!"

"Alright, pack it for me, here are twenty spirit stones."

Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen reluctantly took out twenty spirit stones from his pocket.

The plump manager, with a speed invisible to the naked eye, snatched the bag of spirit stones from his hand.

"Xiao Ling, gather a hundred scallops and ten fire dog penises!"

With the goods in hand, Luo Chen shouldered the large bag of herbs at the door and left the Herb Hall with a knowing smile from the manager.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't dark yet and there were no wandering cultivators on the road, Luo Chen hurriedly returned home.

Looking at the pile of things on the ground, Luo Chen sighed.

Years of savings, all gone in one day.

After a careful calculation, he had saved fifty spirit stones over the years, and today he spent them all.

Especially the last two main ingredients, which cost him twenty spirit stones.

"Five hundred years of old store, more like a black market, I wish you go bankrupt soon!"

Cursing the unscrupulous merchant, Luo Chen tried to boost his morale.

"It will come back, everything will come back!"

"The spirit stones I earn in the future will only be more!"

After saying that, he took off his low-grade magic robe, carefully folded it, and jumped into the nearby stream wearing only a pair of shorts.

This place was relatively remote, though it was close to the Eastern Wasteland's vast mountains, most people returning from the mountains came from the east, making the area sparsely populated.

He didn't have to worry about being seen by others, let alone having to offer himself in return.

A refreshing wash, removing all the various odors from the day.

Although he knew a cleaning spell, it was more like using spiritual energy to explode the dust off his body, which wasn't as refreshing as taking a bath.

He only used it when cleaning his magic robe.

Back in the wooden house, Luo Chen changed into a pair of shorts and casually put on a gray linen shirt.

With his wet, long hair hanging behind him, he took out a leather-wrapped package from under the floorboards in the corner of the room.

Opening the package, inside was a yellowed bamboo scroll, a thin book, and a piece of parchment.

The content on the bamboo scroll was simple, named the Eternal Spring Art, which was Luo Chen's main cultivation technique, reaching up to the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation stage.

He had heard that this technique was the entry-level technique of the Medicine King Sect, with the Yi Wood Medicine King Scripture above it.

This technique came from a young man's adventure, the remains in a cave in the wilderness.

Luo Chen had never stopped practicing this technique, dedicating most of his time to it, except for the days he didn't refine pills, which he mostly used for practicing this technique.

However, the effect was really minimal.

He was still at the third layer of the Qi Condensation stage, far from breaking through to the fourth layer.

The proficiency of this technique, however, increased quite quickly, already reaching the proficient level.

He estimated that it wouldn't be long before he could break through to the perfect level, and the grandmaster level was just around the corner!

He was very curious whether the grandmaster-level proficiency of the Eternal Spring Art could significantly enhance his cultivation realm.

The parchment recorded the incomplete pill formula of the Jade Dew Pill that his predecessor had found.

Luo Chen had no interest in it, not only because the formula was incomplete, but even if it were complete, he didn't plan to study it.

After all, this was a second-stage pill for Foundation Establishment cultivators, and the various ingredients were beyond his current means to gather.

The original owner had exhausted his savings to barely gather the ingredients, even using many substitutes, hoping to achieve a quick breakthrough.

He must have been desperate from poverty.

His attention was entirely on the thin book.

Flipping through the first two pages, they contained the formula for the Abstinence Powder.

Unlike typical pill formulas that only list the required ingredients, this book detailed the proportions of various materials, the processing methods of the ingredients, and even the control of the fire.

This is why the original owner could easily get started back then.

After just a few minor failures, he successfully refined the first batch of Abstinence Powder.

From then on, he had the capital to stay in the Great River Market.

Luo Chen had already worn out this formula from repeated reading.

What he was about to delve into next were the following five pages.

"Pill of Marvels: harmonizes water and fire, balances yin and yang, stimulates yang energy without harming the kidney's origin, and has the effect of enhancing and prolonging sexual performance."

Alone is not as good as together, the interaction of yin and yang is wondrous!

Thus, this pill is named the Pill of Marvels.

In simple terms, this is the blue pill of the cultivation world.

Of course, according to the finished product description, it should be red.

If this pill could be refined, there would definitely be a market for it.

As long as there are people, there will be demand, even for cultivators.

Even in the Great River Market, one of the six top-tier shops is the Heavenly Fragrance Tower.

This place has few female cultivators, and a group of men who frequently go into the mountains to hunt beasts and gather herbs have a greater demand in this area.

As for why the original owner did not attempt to refine this pill, Luo Chen couldn't guess his thoughts.

Afraid of losing face by selling such a pill?

Ha, cultivation is not about being ashamed!

Calmly and carefully, he read through the five pages of the Pill of Marvels formula again.

The processing of each material, the order and timing of addition, the quantity of each portion, and the control of the fire.

After everything was firmly etched in his mind, Luo Chen opened the panel in his mind.

[Name: Luo Chen]

[Lifespan: 27/75]

[Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]

[Realm: Qi Condensation Stage 3: 75/100]

[Technique: Eternal Spring Art Proficient: 235/300]

[Spells: Cleaning Spell Beginner 49/100, Binding Spell Proficient 176/200, Fireball Spell Proficient 268/300]

[Skills: First-stage Alchemist: Abstinence Powder Grandmaster 501/1000]

[Achievement Points: 10 points (usable for corresponding realm techniques, spells, skills beginner)]

His gaze first paused on his lifespan, then landed on the last item.

Achievement Points!

For every technique, skill, or spell, breaking through a proficiency level would grant one achievement point.

Collecting ten achievement points would allow him to start any corresponding realm technique, spell, or skill at the beginner level.

The Cleaning Spell was recently acquired, so it was just at the beginner level, not yet advanced enough to increase proficiency.

Moreover, any spell was quite draining on spiritual energy.

Due to survival pressure, he had focused most of his energy on alchemy.

In the end, his proficiency in refining Abstinence Powder broke through to the grandmaster level, earning him five achievement points.

Adding the two points from the Eternal Spring Art, one point from the Binding Spell, and two points from the Fireball Spell, he had accumulated exactly ten points!

And all his savings were just enough to gather the materials for ten batches of the Pill of Marvels.

Success or failure, it would be decided tomorrow!

And now, deep blue, add points!

Oh, no, Pill of Marvels refining skill, beginner!

With a thought, the ten achievement points disappeared.

In their place, a new label appeared on the attribute panel.

[First-stage Alchemist, Abstinence Powder Grandmaster 501/100, Pill of Marvels Beginner 1/100]

(End of Chapter)