Chapter 194: Funeral, Extinction, Heartache, Our Paths Will Cross Again! (I)

"Haven't seen you in a while, Senior Miao." Luo Chen said.

"Doing well, Luo Chen? You look radiant and full of spirit. Things must be going smoothly for you!" Steward Miao replied.

"Haha, it’s all thanks to your support."

"Have a seat!"

In a private room on the third floor of Zhongding House, Miao Wen and Luo Chen took their seats across from each other, both wearing cheerful smiles. Although they had crossed paths both openly and discreetly many times, most of those encounters had been one-sided. Luo Chen knew who Miao Wen was, while the latter barely acknowledged him.

Strictly speaking, this was only their third formal conversation. Yet, their familiarity seemed to suggest they had known each other for decades.

Miao Wen’s skill in navigating social situations was something he had refined over many years as an outer sect steward, tempered through constant experience in the outside world. Seeing Luo Chen handle these formalities with such ease, he couldn’t help but inwardly praise, this young man was one to watch.

Countless young cultivators, upon stepping onto the path of cultivation, are quick to speak of contending for the Great Dao and defying the heavens.

But Luo Chen was different. He was pragmatic, hardworking, and knew when to advance or retreat always understand his place. Even when Miao Wen acted casually, Luo Chen maintained a respectful demeanor. Miao Wen enjoyed this atmosphere—discussing business while preserving his dignity as a Foundation Establishment Initiate.

In times like these, serving in a great sect was no easy task. Inner sect stewards had ample opportunities for profit, but they had to bow and scrape before True Inheritors, Dao Scions, and Golden Core Adepts. At all times, they had to know their place.

Even if their cultivation surpassed that of some True Inheritors, they still had to endure humiliation and tread carefully. After all, those True Inheritors and Dao Scions held a high chance of advancing to the Golden Core Realm. Once they stepped into that realm, they would become exalted figures, standing far above mere inner sect stewards. Therefore, inner sect stewards had to remain humble, serve diligently, and hope for scraps of resources from their superiors to aid their cultivation.

In comparison, outer sect stewards had it somewhat easier. They had greater autonomy. Even if sent to a remote place, their cultivation might progress slowly, but they could rule over their territory like kings—far from the eyes of their superiors.

Well, except for the "slow cultivation."

Take Dahe Market, for example—the spirit veins were only of the first-tier. Even with a spirit-gathering formation, it barely aided cultivation. Thus, every outer sect steward sent to a small place would find ways to line their pockets after fulfilling their sect duties.

But where did that extra profit come from, then?

The sect’s resources were absolutely off-limits—daring to embezzle from them was a death sentence if discovered.

A Nascent Soul Sect like Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, which dominated an entire region, might lack some Foundation Establishment cultivators—but they would never care about losing one or two.

That’s why it fell to the outer sect stewards to get creative and find their own ways.

Back in his day, Miao Wen had his share of tricks. Accepting offerings from families, skimming off profits from lesser-known spirit resources, or occasionally playing the role of mediator—helping settle disputes and collecting "appreciation gifts" in return.

Back then, he had been the mediator in the dispute between the Dajiang Gang and the Poshan Gang.

But those methods had never been sustainable! Especially given the importance of Dahe Market’s location—it had been designed with the goal of accommodating a city-scale population of a hundred thousand rogue cultivators.

Previously, they had even sent an additional Foundation Establishment true disciple—Luo Tianhong.

Although Luo had only stayed for a short while, his presence had already significantly affected Miao Wen’s ability to skim off the top. In the future, it was likely that even more outer sect stewards would be dispatched. There might even come a day when a proper Pavilion Master would be stationed there.

Due to this, Miao Wen had been racking his brain, seeking a stable and lucrative source of income.

Previously, he had found one.

The Poshan Gang—Mi Shuhua!

As long as he had agreed to endorse the Jade Essence pills and withstand the pressure from the local Spirit Herb Pavilion, allowing the pills—close to mainstream cultivation products—to circulate freely, he would have been able to receive two thousand spirit stones every month.

It had not been a huge amount, but Mi Shuhua had promised that it would increase in the future.

At the time, Miao Wen had already realized that the old fox, Mi Shuhua, had managed to win over an alchemy master. He had been envious, but he knew better than to seize it by force.

Firstly, as an outer sect steward, he had been bound by certain unspoken rules—he could not turn the local area into a chaotic mess.

Secondly, Mi Shuhua’s control over the Poshan Gang had indeed given him considerable manpower and resources. Even if Miao Wen had forcibly taken over the Poshan Gang, he would not have had the time to manage it properly.

Thus, he had been left with nothing but envy.

However, an opportunity had presented itself!

When he had received Mi Shuhua’s sound-transmission jade token, Miao Wen had almost immediately made up his mind without any hesitation. He had verbally promised to go rescue him at once.

But in reality, he had stayed put at the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion and merely sent his junior brother Luo Tianhong to handle the aftermath.

As a result, Mi Shuhua had died.

After that, when Miao Wen had stepped in, he could openly establish a partnership with Luo Chen.

Strictly speaking, it had not been all that legitimate, but as long as no one reported it upwards, who would really care? The locals respected his position, and Elder Pang was wholly devoted to his cultivation. He turned a blind eye to everything else.

Thus, Miao Wen had finally secured a stable and profitable source of income!

Looking at the young man across from him, Miao Wen had revealed the most amiable smile he had ever shown and asked, "Luo Chen, how is your Luo Tian Society progressing?"

Luo Chen straightened his back and focused—after all, this was his ‘investor.’

Now was the time to deliver his progress report.

Luo Chen reported, "Although it is not yet a tenth of the old Poshan Gang, it is beginning to take shape. At most, in another half month, it will be fully operational."

Miao Wen’s eyes lit up!

In half a month, operations would commence; in another month, pill refining would follow; and in the final month, the sales would roll out.

In other words, within three months, he would see returns.

If, in the past, he had still harbored doubts about Luo Chen’s alchemy skills, then after seeing that small storage pouch containing nearly three thousand mid-grade Jade Essence pills, all his doubts had vanished.

This man was undoubtedly a genius in the Dao of Alchemy!

Had this been when he was first assigned as a steward, he would have done everything in his power to recommend Luo Chen to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

After all, recruiting talent for the sect had been his duty.

But after so many years, he had come to see things with absolute clarity. A steward was nothing more than a glorified errand boy for the sect.

Rather than handing Luo Chen over to the sect for their benefit, it would be better to keep him here in Dahe Market and work together. That way, he would earn even more.

In the future, he could leave behind a substantial fortune for his family. Perhaps, with this fortune, the Miao family might even one day produce a genuine Golden Core Adept within the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

Miao Wen laughed and said, "Good, good!

"You can rest assured and proceed boldly. Don’t worry about those petty folks.

"With me backing you, the Luo Tian Society will surpass the Poshan Gang in the future!"

Luo Chen showed a grateful smile and said, "Thank you so much, Senior Miao."

Waving his hand, Miao Wen said, "Why call me Senior? I’m nearly two hundred years old—several cycles older than you. Just call me Uncle Wen."

Luo Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Uncle Wen was better than calling him Senior Miao!

Seizing the opportunity, Luo Chen promptly called out, "Uncle Wen!"

Miao Wen nodded in satisfaction and casually asked, "How is the Luo Tian Society doing? Is there anything you need help with?"

At this point, Luo Chen’s expression turned troubled.

He sighed and said, "There actually is something."

Miao Wen raised his eyebrows and asked, "Mm?"

Luo Chen spoke with concern, "The first issue is safety!" He let out another sigh and continued, "You’ve been to Crescent Moon Valley. It’s been battered into ruins, and it’s isolated outside the market.

"If a powerful rogue passes by, there’s no telling what malicious thoughts might arise. Even without a strong foe, there’s no guarantee we won’t be targeted by raiding cultivators or attacked by demonic beasts.

"This matter of security is absolutely crucial."

Miao Wen let out a sneering laugh and said, "Isn’t that simple?"

As he spoke, he reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a large handful of formation flags, along with a small circular disk.

The moment Luo Chen saw that disk, his eyes widened in shock.

It’s a formation disc!

Luo Chen tested the waters and asked, "A second-tier formation?"

Miao Wen shook his head and said, "What are you thinking? Even if I gave you a second-tier formation, you wouldn’t be able to use it!"

That was true. On the surface, Crescent Moon Valley had no spirit veins. It simply couldn’t support the massive consumption of a second-tier formation. Any large-scale formation above the second tier required at least a first-tier spirit vein, preferably of matching grade.

If there was none, then quantity had to make up for it.

Such as a large first-tier spirit vein!

Miao Wen patted the formation disc and introduced, "This is a supreme-grade, first-tier large defensive formation. The disc that comes with it is a supreme-grade enchanted artifact.

"When activated under normal circumstances, its power is roughly equivalent to the Earth Guardian Array." But if you use mid-grade spirit stones to power the disc, it can temporarily rival a second-tier defensive formation."

What a treasure! It was convenient and efficient. Although it required mid-grade spirit stones, at least it eliminated the dependence on spirit veins.

Moreover, Luo Chen knew that Crescent Moon Valley actually had a small branch of a spirit vein.

Luo Chen asked, "What’s the name of this formation?"

Miao Wen replied, "Minor Five Elements Formation. If you want to set it up, you’ll have to renovate Crescent Moon Valley a bit to align with the mutual generation principles of the five elements."

Gripping the formation disc, Miao Wen casually asked, "Do you have someone knowledgeable in formations on your side?"

Luo Chen blinked. He really did have someone.

Duan Feng had some knowledge of formations; otherwise, he wouldn’t be capable of repairing enchanted artifacts.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

After confirming there was someone capable, Miao Wen handed over the supreme-grade formation set to Luo Chen.

Afterward, Luo Chen brought up the issue of the leftover shops from the Poshan Gang.

To Miao Wen, these were all trivial matters. With just a single command, he could settle everything effortlessly.

However, when he heard that the Luo Tian Society had Mi Li, a descendant of Mi Shuhua, his expression turned somewhat strange.

Luo Chen noticed but merely assumed it was due to nostalgia.

He brought up a few more minor matters, such as alchemy furnaces and medicinal material suppliers. These were quite troublesome for the fledgling Luo Tian Society.

But in Miao Wen’s hands, they were nothing but minor inconveniences. With just a few words, he could save the Luo Tian Society from taking many wrong turns.

There were many matters to handle, but Miao Wen never once showed any sign of impatience. Years of serving as an external steward had honed his patience to perfection.

He also understood that only by resolving these small matters could the Luo Tian Society experience rapid growth.