Chapter 89: A Month to Reach the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement

Inside the Alchemy Hall.

Luo Chen addressed over twenty cultivators, giving his first speech on the job.

He offered both encouragement and criticism, saying they still had a lot of room for improvement.

After he finished speaking, he dismissed everyone.

"Although they are all mid-stage cultivators, most of them are elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, with female cultivators making up the majority."

"They were probably transferred directly from the Medicine Hall; they all seem to know Sister Murong."

Luo Chen muttered to himself as he entered the house built for him in the Alchemy Hall.

It wasn't built in the outer valley or on the mountain slope.

Instead, it was right next to the alchemy room, close to the mountain spring pond.

Inside the house, Uncle Mi Hua had been waiting for a long time, along with the two major Alchemy Hall enforcers, Sikong Shoujia and Gu Caiyi.

Without any small talk, the two of them got straight to the point.

The topic of discussion was very simple: the future direction of the Alchemy Hall.

"Qi Condensation Pills can be refined, but we don't need to refine too many. A thousand or so per month should be enough."

"I've calculated it; the profit is too low. And with such high quality, it would be a waste for low-level members."

"These thousand or so pills can be supplied at a low price to mid- and late-stage members as a reward."

Uncle Mi Hua spoke confidently.

He had his own insights on how to run the Broken Mountain Gang.

Luo Chen had no objections; refining a thousand Qi Condensation Pills would only take two or three days.

"Our main goal is still the Jade Marrow Pill!" Uncle Mi Hua's face turned serious as he stared at Luo Chen. "Give me a definite answer: how long will it take to refine it?"

Luo Chen's face fell, and he spread his hands.

"I'm still familiarizing myself with the formula. How can I give you a definite answer?"

"Besides, you've seen the formula. The difficulty lies in extracting the jade marrow from the Washing Jade. It's a first-stage spiritual material, and to extract it without damaging the jade marrow, my current realm is still too low."

Uncle Mi Hua, who was already old and usually had a ruddy complexion like a wealthy man, now had a face as wrinkled as a rag.

"Indeed, at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, extracting the jade marrow is quite challenging."

Luo Chen sighed. "If I could get an additional bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills each month, I might be able to break through to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement quickly. Then, I could easily extract the jade marrow from the Washing Jade."

Sikong Shoujia couldn't help but interject, "We already promised you two bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills each month. Isn't that enough?"

Uncle Mi Hua also advised, "Three bottles a month means one Qi Nourishing Pill per day. Taking so many pills so frequently, your meridians might not be able to handle it."

Can't handle it?

I'm a genius with fully connected meridians and the Grandmaster level of the Eternal Spring Technique!

I can refine two pills a day; three bottles are not enough for me.

Of course, Luo Chen knew that he couldn't push too hard and had to take things step by step.

He said with a pained expression, "To conquer the Jade Marrow Pill formula as soon as possible, I won't care about the pain in my meridians. Chief, let me do my best for the development of the gang!"

Uncle Mi Hua hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Three bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills a month. I'm glad to see your dedication."

Luo Chen's eyes lit up.

Great!

Core Formation cultivators indeed have substantial resources, and the Broken Mountain Gang treats me well!

Gu Caiyi, standing nearby, was envious to the point of almost turning red.

She had only earned a lot of spirit stones in the last month at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

Previously, she only earned about two or three hundred spirit stones a month.

Luo Chen now had a fixed supply of three bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills, which was worth three hundred spirit stones!

"The Jade Marrow Pill is the main focus, but now that the Alchemy Hall's framework is in place, you should also have a steady source of income."

Uncle Mi Hua looked at Luo Chen. "Continue refining the Wondrous Pill!"

"What about the main ingredients?" Luo Chen asked.

"I'll send people to purchase them regularly from the Hundred Herbs Hall," Uncle Mi Hua said. "Additionally, some of the auxiliary materials will be provided by the Medicine Hall, and the Alchemy Hall will pay spirit stones for them."

I understand!

Luo Chen smiled. This is like the business transactions between subsidiaries within a group company; the accounts still need to be settled.

This way, the Medicine Hall can also earn some spirit stones.

Once the Wondrous Pill is refined, the Alchemy Hall can make another profit.

"More and more external cultivators are coming to the Great River Market, so the prospects for the Wondrous Pill are great."

"Additionally, we have a brothel in the outer city, and we will supply some of the pills to them."

The Broken Mountain Gang has such a business?

Luo Chen was surprised; he had never heard of this before.

After a moment of thought, he felt a bit depressed.

No wonder there are so few female cultivators in the gang, and most of them are gathered in the Medicine Hall, Beast Hall, and now the Alchemy Hall.

Some of them must have gone to the secret brothels run by the Broken Mountain Gang!

What a despicable old man!

"Make a list of the herbs needed for a month, and Elder Sikong will lead people to purchase them."

"Sure, I understand," Luo Chen said gloomily.

Seeing Luo Chen's understanding, Uncle Mi Hua felt relieved.

Everything was on track.

He had put a lot of effort into this gang, and it had earned a lot of spirit stones for him and his family.

As long as the Jade Marrow Pill can be refined in the future, he won't have to worry too much about the resource supply for advancing to the later stages of Core Formation.

Being a solitary cultivator is really difficult.

Having a powerful force to rely on is still better.

"Alright, I'll leave now. External matters of the Alchemy Hall will be handled by Elder Sikong, and internal matters will be handled by Enforcer Gu Caiyi."

"Luo Chen, focus on refining pills!"

...

Focusing on refining pills is impossible, and it will never happen in my life.

Refining pills is to earn spirit stones, and earning spirit stones is to buy suitable pills for cultivation.

Now that you're giving me a salary (Qi Nourishing Pills), why shouldn't I cultivate directly?

Skip the middleman and start sprinting!

Today, I received a bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills, and after the meeting at the Bright Moon Hall at the beginning of the month, I got two more bottles. Adding the two bottles I bought previously, I now have five bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills.

At a rate of two pills per day, it's enough for about twenty-five days.

With the Grandmaster level of the Eternal Spring Technique, the first-stage spiritual vein in the inner city, and the Moonlight Grass given by Fu Xiuxiu, Luo Chen is almost always cultivating diligently in the morning and evening.

After completing another cycle of the Eternal Spring Technique, Luo Chen opened his attribute panel.

【Lifespan: 27/75】

【Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth】

【Realm: Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement: 38/100】

【Cultivation Technique: Grandmaster Eternal Spring Technique: 600/1000】

【Spells: Perfect Fireball Spell, Grandmaster Free and Easy Wanderer 800/1000, Grandmaster Wind Control Technique 570/1000, Grandmaster Attraction Spell 600/1000, Perfect Entanglement Spell 380/500, Perfect Spirit Eye Spell 380/500, Perfect Cleansing Spell 300/500, Beginner Healing Spell 5/100, Beginner Breath Concealment Spell 1/100】

【Skills: First-Class Alchemist: Grandmaster Qi Condensation Powder 910/1000, Perfect Wondrous Pill 311/500】

【Achievement Points: 22 points】

After reviewing everything, he shook his head.

The past half-month seemed leisurely, but in reality, there were many things to deal with.

In terms of spells, only the Free and Easy Wanderer and Wind Control Technique were used daily, and they had the most progress, but there was no qualitative change.

The only skill that advanced in proficiency was the Cleansing Spell, which reached the Perfect level.

This was because he practiced controlling "normal pill formation" for ten days and used the Cleansing Spell multiple times to achieve this.

The extra achievement point also came from this.

Apart from that, there were no significant changes.

Only the Breath Concealment Spell and Healing Spell had reached the Beginner level, but they were not very useful at the moment.

What he was concerned about was the progress in his realm.

【Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement: 38/100】

Reasonable growth; currently, two Qi Nourishing Pills increase one progress bar.

Through cultivation, he can increase about fifteen progress bars a month, which is the limit of the Grandmaster level of the Eternal Spring Technique.

"Alright, as long as the supply of pills is steady, and I continue to cultivate diligently, advancing to the sixth layer of Qi Refinement should take about one and a half months."

After calculating this, Luo Chen felt relieved.

This speed is very fast!

Only with fully connected meridians and abundant resources can such a speed be achieved.

But thinking about how the higher the realm, the less progress pills can provide, Luo Chen felt a sense of urgency.

Currently, he only had about seven hundred spirit stones in savings.

What was once a large sum is now insufficient to support later cultivation.

Luo Chen had a long-term perspective and was already considering the sixth layer of Qi Refinement and beyond.

"The Jade Marrow Pill!"

"Uncle Mi Hua is anxious, and I am no less anxious."

"But despite the urgency, the initiative is still in my hands. I can use this to get more benefits from that despicable old man!"

As he closed the attribute panel, Luo Chen glanced at the skill section.

He remembered that the proficiency of Qi Condensation Powder was already over eight hundred, and today, after refining two hundred more pills, it only increased by a few dozen points.

Luo Chen frowned, thinking of a possibility.

"Could it be that each level of proficiency requires refining pills of the corresponding quality to achieve the corresponding increase?"

Today, most of the Qi Condensation Pills he refined were of low and medium quality, with only sixty being of high quality.

The increase in proficiency was exactly sixty.

"If that's the case, I'll have to carefully consider the quality of the pills I refine in the future."

...

The next day, Luo Chen, accompanied by two bodyguards, arrived at the Slanting Moon Valley.

After leaving them in the valley, he gathered everyone in the Alchemy Hall.

Excluding the transport and sales teams not under his direct control, the thirty elderly, weak, and female cultivators in front of him were his direct subordinates.

"Today, we will divide the tasks!"