Rumble... Rumble...

The deafening sound of thunder echoed through the skies, and the overwhelming might of the heavens caused the entire Dahe Market to fall silent.

The sky was usually bustling with light streaks, but far fewer were now darting through the clouds.

After all, no one could guarantee that flying in the open sky wouldn’t result in a random bolt of lightning striking them down.

Who knew if that strike of lightning would be considered an early strike of tribulation?

Dahe Market was vast, with an inner city fortified by a three-layered formation, capable of defending against attacks from spirit beasts below the third tier.

Even if a third-tier spirit beast suddenly attacked, the defenses could hold long enough for the residents to respond.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Of course, such a formation required immense resources for daily operation and maintenance, so it only covered the inner city.

In contrast, the outer area where rogue cultivators gathered, was far less secure.

Tens of thousands of wooden and stone houses stood scattered across the land around the inner city.

In the southwestern corner, by a stream, sat a quiet wooden house with a single room, a hall, and a kitchen. The nearest rogue cultivator’s dwelling was nearly two li away [1].

While the outside remained peaceful, the kitchen inside the house was bustling.

"A pound of sliced yam, two ounces of white poria, three ounces of one-year-old ginseng...

"A pound of minced first-tier yellow beef, make sure there’s not a bit of bone left.

"Add green onions, ginger, rice, and fennel..."

A young man with a bare chest was muttering to himself as he concentrated on the pot in front of him. He skillfully grabbed various ingredients from a wooden rack and added them to the pot, stirring it with a ladle with practiced ease.

As a large pot of white bone broth was poured in, Luo Chen let out a breath of relief. He tended the fire beneath the stove, occasionally adding a few pieces of wood, and then waited patiently for the concoction to finish.

Two hours later, the young man lifted the lid of the pot and took a deep breath as he looked at the thick, simmering mixture inside.

"Look at this color, white and glossy—top-grade!

"Smell that aroma, rich but not overbearing—top-grade!"

Luo Chen dipped a finger into the ladle and tasted a small amount.

"The essence of energy is well-preserved. With the help of the ginseng and angelica root, the spirit energy of the five pounds of first-tier yellow beef has been evenly distributed into this fasting concoction."

"Not bad, the taste is just right—top-grade!"

Licking his fingers, Luo Chen smiled in contentment. Based on his experience from the past few days, this pot of fasting concoction could at least produce five bottles of fasting pills.

It might sound amusing, but Luo Chen was, in fact, refining pills! Specifically, he was making fasting pills most commonly used by cultivators. Although this was a low-grade version, which could barely be called a fasting concoction.

Before the mixture could cool, Luo Chen poured it out onto a wooden board.

He picked up a yellowed bamboo scroll, spread the thick paste on it, and then added a few drops of fragrant honey before rolling the bamboo tightly.

As the bamboo rolled, the steaming concoction gradually took on a cylindrical shape, turning slightly yellow from the honey.

Luo Chen worked quickly, shaping the cylindrical paste into small, round pills, each the size of a thumb.

One, two, three…

By the time Luo Chen stopped, fifty neatly arranged fasting pills lay on the wooden board.

Before he could even celebrate his achievement, his attention turned to a panel visible only to him.

[Status Panel]

Name: Luo Chen

Lifespan: 27/75 Spirit Roots: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

Realm: Qi-Refining Realm Stage Three (75/100)

Achievement Points: 10 (Can be used to unlock cultivation techniques, spells, or skills)

[Technique]

Long Spring Art: Proficient (235/300)

[Spells]

Cleanse: Beginner (49/100)

Entangle: Skilled (176/200)

Fireball: Proficient (268/300)

[Skills]

First-tier Alchemist

"Ten achievement points, finally! I can use them to unlock the path of the Myriad Wonders pill!"

Luo Chen felt a surge of emotion looking at the status panel. It had been a year since he arrived here.

In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary office worker, waking early and returning late, with only the occasional time to play cultivation-themed games on his phone. Since he didn’t have much money, he could only rely on constant in-game effort to advance his cultivation technique progress bar.

Who would have thought that one late night, while playing the game, he would suddenly find himself teleported to another world?

The original owner of this body had also been named Luo Chen, and he was the same age.

Years ago, this body’s owner had stumbled upon a great fortune in the depths of the mountains—a cave where he found the remains of a cultivator. That discovery had set him on the path of cultivation for the past ten years.

Guided by a map from the remains, he had arrived at Dahe Market, hoping to join a nearby sect.

However, by that time, he had already turned seventeen, one year too old for the sect's recruitment age limit.

To make matters worse, he had the rare, balanced constitution of five spirit roots, which was considered almost as useless as having no spirit roots at all. Naturally, no sect wanted him.

By all rights, he should have returned to where he came from.

But the original Luo Chen desire for the Dao was resolute. Relying on a bottle of pills, a scroll of the Long Spring Art Technique, and a few spirit stones from his fortunate encounter, he settled down in Dahe Market.

Early on, due to financial struggles, he couldn’t even afford to live in a wooden house near the inner city, so he had to rent a place by the stream on the outskirts.

Living in the market was no easy task.

Even the most remote house cost half a spirit stone per month in rent, and even though he built a house himself, he still had to pay rent for the land..

After burning through his few spirit stones, the original Luo Chen didn’t give up.

He managed to scrape by, either helping others tend their stalls or joining hunting expeditions in the mountains.

Eventually, realizing this wasn't sustainable, he turned his focus to the two pill recipes left by the cultivator's remains.

The Myriad Wonders pill recipe was too advanced, so he started with the simplest one—the fasting concoction.

It seemed that those blessed with fortune often had a stroke of luck.

After a few initial failures, he successfully created a batch of fasting concoction.

Although the quality wasn’t great, there were always rogue cultivators, who frequently ventured into the mountains for days at a time, willing to buy it.

Thus, the original Luo Chen managed to barely eke out a living in Dahe Market.

But fate was fickle, and tragedy struck.

When the fasting concoction was no longer sufficient to support his cultivation, he turned to an incomplete pill recipe he had found, hoping to concoct something more valuable.

Then, during his first attempt, the cauldron exploded!

The explosion was so powerful that it collapsed the wooden house.

That was the moment the "new" Luo Chen’s soul crossed into this world and took over the body.

Recalling his predicament upon crossing over, Luo Chen couldn’t help but feel a wave of devastation.

It had been raining heavily that night, and amidst the ruins, he had stood there with blood on his face, feeling utterly confused as he faced this unfamiliar world.

But thankfully, all of that was behind him now.

"A year has passed, and my mastery of fasting pill concoction has advanced from Perfection Level to the Grandmaster Level. It should be enough to support my daily needs.

"The greatest reward, though, is accumulating ten achievement points. I can now unlock the Myriad Wonders pill!"

At present, Luo Chen had three pill recipes.

The fasting concoction, the Myriad Wonders pill recipe, and an incomplete second-tier recipe called the Jade Dew pill.

If successfully refined, the Jade Dew pill would greatly benefit those cultivating water-based techniques.

A single bottle of this pill could fetch the hefty price of one mid-grade spirit stone!

With such a large potential profit, it was no wonder the original owner had been so carried away.

Perhaps it was faith in his luck, or perhaps the ease of concocting the fasting pill had given him confidence, or maybe it was the harsh reality of poverty that had driven him to risk it all.

He rushed forward blindly.

The result? His cauldron exploded, his house collapsed, and he lost his life.

Now, the new Luo Chen found himself at a similar crossroads.

Relying solely on the fasting concoction would allow him to survive, but it wasn’t enough for cultivation.

To gain resources for his cultivation, he needed another source of income beyond the fasting concoction.

His goal wasn’t to tackle the Jade Dew pill, especially since ten achievement points weren’t enough to unlock second-tier alchemy.

From the moment he discovered the proficiency panel’s achievement point function, he made up his mind.

"I must refine the Myriad Wonders pill!

"I have no choice!

"Even if it costs me my fame!"

1. Chinese traditional units of length: 1li ≈ 500m, 1zhang ≈ 3.3m, 1chi ≈ 33cm, 1sun ≈ 3.3cm.. ☜