Chapter 5

Dan Pavilion.

Amidst the bustling crowd and the clamor of the city,

Lu Shen immediately became the center of attention upon his appearance.

"Isn't that Lu Shen? Wasn't he stripped of his cultivation by the City Lord? Why is he here at the Dan Pavilion?"

"Perhaps he's looking for a pill to restore his cultivation."

"Bullshit, with his dantian and martial veins destroyed, even the Great Law Golden Pill can't save him."

"Hehe, the relationship between the Dan Pavilion and the City Lord's residence is significant. If he offended the City Lord, it would be a miracle if the Dan Pavilion let him in."

Voices of criticism and gossip filled the air.

Lu Shen paid no heed, ignoring the commotion around him.

There were plenty of people who took pleasure in his misfortune, and he was too lazy to deal with them.

"Stop right there."

The guard of the Dan Pavilion blocked Lu Shen, shouting rudely, "Civilians and cripples are not allowed to enter!"

Lu Shen's eyes turned cold, a hint of anger rising within him.

The Dan Pavilion had a rule that non-cultivators were not allowed to enter.

But when did they add a rule that cripples were not allowed to enter?

This guard was clearly targeting him.

Behind this, there must be the shadow of the City Lord.

Zhou He!

I will make you lose everything, and you will have no place to bury your corpse.

The most pressing matter now was to buy the Dragon-Awakening Grass, not to argue with a mere guard.

Lu Shen suppressed his anger, not bothering to argue, and directly released his aura.

"Fifth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm!"

The guard was stunned.

The crowd watching the spectacle was also stunned.

Wasn't Lu Shen reduced to a cripple?

How long has it been?

Just one day, right?

How could he still have cultivation?

Where did his cultivation come from?

This was simply a subversion of their worldview.

There was a moment of silence on the scene.

"Can I enter now?"

Lu Shen asked coolly.

"It's just an illusion. Who knows if your cultivation is real or fake?"

The guard, regaining his composure, snorted and refused to let Lu Shen in.

"Since he has cultivation, he should be allowed to enter."

"When did a guard have the authority to change the rules of the Dan Pavilion?"

"I think the Pavilion Master should let the guard take over the position."

Voices of dissatisfaction rose from the crowd.

Indeed, at first, these people were just there to watch the spectacle.

But when Lu Shen revealed his cultivation, some of their thoughts changed.

Even at the Fifth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm, he was a middle-level existence in Shuangmu City.

Most of the people here were still below the Fifth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

The crowd's reaction made the guard very embarrassed.

But the guard had received instructions from above and refused to back down.

"Is someone making you block me?"

Lu Shen said coldly.

"Shut up, if you don't leave, I'll throw you out."

The guard, feeling humiliated, suddenly spread his fingers and grabbed at Lu Shen.

This grab was as heavy as three thousand pounds, and being caught would definitely result in torn flesh and broken bones.

The crowd gasped in shock.

The guard was at the Sixth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm, while Lu Shen was only at the Fifth Stage. How could he resist?

The next moment, the crowd was collectively stunned.

The guard was instead grabbed by Lu Shen, who squeezed his wrist so hard that the guard was drenched in sweat, desperately begging for mercy: "Young Master Lu, I was wrong. You can enter the Dan Pavilion freely. Please, don't break my hand."

Lu Shen snorted, then threw the guard several yards away with a flick of his wrist.

At this moment, Lu Shen's aura was surging, his momentum like a rainbow, like a sword unsheathed.

The crowd was silent, no one daring to speak.

Not even the guard could stand up to Lu Shen, who would dare to say a disrespectful word to him?

Mocking Lu Shen was based on the assumption that he was a cripple.

Once his strength was revealed, no one dared to mock him anymore.

They didn't dare, nor did they deserve to!

Such was human nature!

Inside the Dan Pavilion.

The place was filled with a dazzling array of medicinal herbs and pills, everything one could imagine.

Lu Shen walked in, and all the staff members of the Dan Pavilion were surprised.

Clearly, these people knew something.

Lu Shen ignored them and directly approached a staff member, asking to buy the Dragon-Awakening Grass.

"Sorry, we have been instructed not to sell anything to you."

The staff member replied directly.

"Who gave the instruction?"

Lu Shen's brows furrowed slightly, realizing that someone was indeed up to no good.

"Me!"

A cold voice said.

A young man walked over, his hands behind his back.

The young man wore a black robe embroidered with a golden pill, symbolizing his prominent status in the alchemy path.

A copper pill embroidered on the robe represented a lower-rank alchemist.

A silver pill represented a middle-rank alchemist.

A golden pill represented a high-rank alchemist!

Although alchemists were just at the entry level of the alchemy path, they could still refine some low-level pills.

In Shuangmu City, there were not many middle or lower-rank alchemists, and high-rank alchemists were even rarer, making them highly sought after.

"Alchemist Zhou."

All the staff members bowed respectfully, addressing him.

The Dan Pavilion had no civilians.

Apart from some guards who were pure martial artists, the rest were all alchemy practitioners.

The basic staff were all alchemy apprentices, while the management were alchemists.

"Zhou Hong?"

Lu Shen recognized this high-rank alchemist, Zhou Ruoxue's cousin, who controlled the management of the Dan Pavilion. No wonder the staff here had no good attitude towards him.

"Lu Shen, the Dan Pavilion does not welcome cripples. The door is over there, get lost."

Zhou Hong's expression was arrogant, his tone cold.

"Alchemist Zhou, this person has cultivation, and I couldn't stop him."

The guard, who had entered at some point, held his swollen wrist and reported to Zhou Hong with his head lowered.

"What stage of cultivation?"

Zhou Hong was shocked, his face changing color.

"Fifth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm."

The guard reported truthfully.

"Rubbish!"

Zhou Hong was furious, kicking the guard away, "You are at the Sixth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm, and you couldn't stop a Fifth Stage? What kind of waste are you?"

Inside the Dan Pavilion, there were still many customers. Seeing the commotion, they all gathered around.

"Lu Shen, so what if you have cultivation? A cripple who fell from the True Essence Realm to the Fifth Stage of the Body Tempering Realm is still nothing to me."

Zhou Hong snorted, his face full of disdain, and he raised his own status, "I am a high-rank alchemist, in charge of the Dan Pavilion's external sales. Without my approval, even if you are a True Essence Realm martial artist, you can't buy a single hair."

"I will buy the medicinal herbs as an alchemy practitioner."

Lu Shen responded coldly, knowing that Zhou Hong would make things difficult for him and already having a plan to deal with it.

The Dan Pavilion could refuse civilians and even martial artists, but they could not refuse fellow practitioners: alchemy cultivators.

"Can you refine pills?"

Zhou Hong laughed loudly, and the surrounding people joined in.

In the entire Shuangmu City, anyone with alchemy talent was learning alchemy at the Dan Pavilion.

Most of them were still alchemy apprentices, with only a few of the more talented ones advancing to alchemists.

Zhou Hong was the most outstanding among them, the only high-rank alchemist in the city.

No one had ever heard of Lu Shen being able to refine pills, so who would believe him now?

"Of course, alchemy practitioners can refine pills!"

Lu Shen gave a firm answer.

Lu Shen had inherited a complete set of alchemy knowledge, containing countless pill-refining techniques. If he couldn't refine pills, who could?

"I'll give you a chance. If you can refine a Body Tempering Pill right here, I'll believe you."

"If I refine the pill, you give me the Dragon-Awakening Grass."

"It's a deal!"

Zhou Hong waved his hand, and the crowd made way.

Soon, someone brought a set of medicinal herbs, a small pill furnace, and some firewood.

Lu Shen looked at the firewood, hesitating for a moment.

However, he still sat down, lit the firewood, and ignited the pill fire.

In the martial world, there were six types of pill fires: wood fire, true fire, soul fire, beast fire, earth fire, and heaven fire.

Wood fire was the lowest level of pill fire, used only by alchemy apprentices and middle or lower-rank alchemists.

The highest level was heaven fire, but it was a legend, and no one knew what it was.

Historical records mentioned that tens of thousands of years ago, someone obtained heaven fire and eventually became a Dan Emperor.

Actually, Lu Shen hesitated because his soul power was strong enough to ignite soul fire for pill refining.

However, the Body Tempering Pill was the lowest-level first-stage pill, and using wood fire was sufficient. There was no need to waste soul fire.

Lu Shen circulated his spiritual energy, intensified the pill fire, and began the first step of pill refining: warming the furnace!

The furnace heated up, and he immediately moved to the second step: selecting the herbs!

Lu Shen picked up all the herbs and threw them into the furnace in one go.

Zhou Hong was stunned.

The crowd was stunned.

A moment later, the scene erupted in a cacophony of laughter and Zhou Hong's mocking remarks.

"Is this called refining pills?"

"How does this look like refining pills to me?"

"If you can refine a pill like this, I, Zhou Hong, will eat shit on the spot!"