Chapter 5: With Lord Guan Above, Bless My Alchemy

The next morning, while it was still dark, Luo Chen got out of bed.

Outside, it was misty, and if you listened carefully, you could occasionally hear the roars of beasts from the Million Mountains.

However, these had nothing to do with him.

He would be very busy today, or rather, in the coming days.

First, he had to sort and process various herbs.

Most of the herbs he bought from the wandering cultivators' stalls were processed rather roughly, and some were even not yet dried.

He put these things on a sieve and waited for the sun to come up to dry them.

Then there were the jade lotus seeds.

He had to peel them, keeping only the kernels, as the peels were definitely not needed.

Under the oil lamp, Luo Chen peeled each one, until his eyes were dry, before he stopped.

"I wonder if this will make me nearsighted?"

"But I'm a cultivator now, I can't possibly get nearsighted, right!"

By the time he finished processing a large pile of lotus seeds, it was already bright outside.

He soaked the lotus seeds in diluted chicken blood from the Red Sun Chicken and took the sieves out to dry.

Living on the outskirts of the outer city, although it wasn't very safe, it had its advantages, such as a large usable area.

When refining the辟谷散 (Pigusuan, a type of alchemy), there was a process that produced a very pungent smell. If he refined it in a densely populated area, he would likely receive complaints.

Old Daoist Chen, who tanned talisman skins at home, had been complained about more than once. He eventually had to bribe the managers with some good talismans to get away with it.

Luo Chen didn't have this worry.

The yushan yam needed to be cut into cubes, and some needed to be sliced. The slices were for refining the Pigusuan.

Luo Chen wasn't the type to put all his eggs in one basket.

The initial refining of the Zhongmiao Pills would likely result in many failures.

Even a complete failure, losing all his capital, was entirely possible!

After all, he was just a beginner in terms of skill proficiency.

In such a situation, he couldn't afford to cut off his original source of income.

The worst-case scenario would be a total loss, but at least he could rely on the income from the Pigusuan to maintain his life and make a comeback.

By the time he finished processing the yushan yam, it was already noon.

It was time to eat!

Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Luo Chen pouted.

They say cultivators don't eat human food, but in reality, they still get hungry!

He washed his hands and went into the kitchen.

He scooped out a small bowl of crystal-clear rice from the rice jar and poured it directly into a small pot.

This was spirit rice, which cost one spirit stone for ten pounds!

He was reluctant to wash it, fearing that some of the spirit energy would be washed away.

Next to the kitchen was a hidden compartment. He pressed a button, and a large hole appeared in the ground, revealing a small, three-foot-square underground storage room.

Inside hung half a side of beef!

A first-stage demon beast, the Yellow Ox!

This was also expensive, costing about one low-grade spirit stone for ten pounds.

Luo Chen had over a hundred pounds of meat, not because he was greedy, but because the Yellow Ox meat was one of the main ingredients for the Pigusuan.

One pound of meat, plus an appropriate amount of ginseng, angelica, and other herbs, could produce five bottles of Pigusuan, which he could sell for one spirit stone!

He always tried to buy as much as possible, as buying in bulk was cheaper, and he stored it with ice.

Looking at the half side of beef, Luo Chen felt his mouth watering.

He then used a kitchen knife to cut off a small two-ounce piece of meat and took some ordinary vegetables from the ice cellar.

He washed the meat and vegetables thoroughly, chopped the vegetables into small pieces, and sliced the meat very thinly, then put everything into the small pot.

He added firewood!

He lit the fire!

With both hands forming seals and chanting, a small fireball appeared in his hand after about two breaths.

Go!

With a puff, the firewood in the stove immediately caught fire.

"This time it went smoothly. The fireball explosion in the stove when I first crossed over shouldn't happen again!"

Luo Chen smiled, feeling quite pleased.

He glanced at his status panel. The proficiency of the Fireball Spell, which was at 268/300, had jumped to 269/300!

He had cultivated three spells in total.

A water-based Cleansing Spell, a wood-based Entanglement Spell, and a fire-based Fireball Spell.

Among these three spells, the Fireball Spell had the highest proficiency.

This wasn't without reason.

Initially, he just found cultivation mysterious and fun, so he would often play with the Fireball Spell.

He had tested the spell's effects: it was slow, energy-consuming, but powerful!

As long as it hit the target, it could melt metal, burn bones, and turn ashes to dust.

But the key was hitting the target!

A normal cultivator would need at least three breaths to cast the Fireball Spell, from forming the seals to chanting the incantation.

In three breaths, an enemy could kill him a hundred times over.

Luo Chen was initially about the same, and each cast would consume one-tenth of his spirit energy.

At that time, he realized why low-rank cultivators rarely used spells in combat.

They either used magical artifacts or talismans, which were faster, less energy-consuming, and just as powerful as spells.

After understanding this, he lost interest in low-rank spells like the Fireball Spell.

However, as he used the Fireball Spell to ignite the fire during each alchemy session, his proficiency increased, and he began to see that spells weren't entirely useless.

Now, the energy consumption remained the same, one-tenth, but the casting time had been reduced to two breaths.

This was just at the proficient level.

What if he reached perfect proficiency?

What if he reached master proficiency?

So, whenever he needed to use the Fireball Spell, he would cast it a couple of times.

Little by little, it added up!

While lost in thought, the rice in the pot was almost done.

Smelling the aroma, Luo Chen took a piece of pickled radish from the pickling jar.

A large bowl of beef stew, full of spirit energy, with a red, green, yellow, and white color that was very inviting, paired with a few pieces of sweet and sour pickled radish.

Sitting under the eaves, enjoying the cool breeze from the stream and the sun, he feasted heartily.

This was Luo Chen's most enjoyable time of the day!

If there were no survival pressures or the pursuit of immortality, such a meal every day would indeed be a pleasure.

Unfortunately, Luo Chen had no choice. He was a man with a system, and even in the darkest night, he would eventually shine!

"Damn, why is this thing so stinky!"

The man destined to shine, holding his chest, was vomiting by the stream.

He hadn't expected that the Fire Dog Whip he bought from the Hundred Herbs Hall would be so stinky during special processing.

Wearing a mask, Luo Chen mustered his courage and began processing the Fire Dog Whip again.

While applying the special liquid to the surface with his hands, he muttered to himself.

"This thing isn't stinky, this thing isn't stinky."

"It's spirit stones, all spirit stones, fragrant spirit stones!"

After processing one Fire Dog Whip, he rushed to the stream.

"Ugh!"

Processing raw materials was very time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it couldn't be compromised!

In fact, it was even more critical than the refining process itself.

The logic was simple: even if your alchemy formula was perfect, your technique was exquisite, and your alchemy tools were top-notch, if the materials themselves were problematic, the result was inevitable.

It was like building a skyscraper; if the foundation was flawed, what else could be said?

It took seven days to process various raw materials, both semi-processed and fully processed, to the best of his ability.

Luo Chen also took the time to refine a few batches of Pigusuan, which he formed into pills and stored.

But he didn't plan to sell them this time.

He intended to wait until the Zhongmiao Pills were refined and sell them together.

In the coming days, the iron pot containing a trace of spirit ore would be cleaned and used to refine the Zhongmiao Pills.

Standing in front of the stove, Luo Chen solemnly put on an apron.

He bowed to the dark kitchen ceiling, "Lord Guan from my hometown, Laozi, and the local Alchemy Sage, bless me with success in this batch!"

He opened the pot!

He started the fire!

(End of Chapter)