Chapter 222: A Land of Abundant Spirit Energy, Times Have Changed (II)

Dawn broke, and the morning mist gradually dissipated.

Luo Chen emerged from the spirit vein cave, his face brimming with joy.

With the aid of the spirit purification pills, his cultivation speed had nearly doubled! If he had enough spirit purification pills, the five to six years he had estimated to reach Perfected Mastery of Qi-Refining could be drastically shortened.

The prerequisite was having a sufficient supply!

Luo Chen’s excitement slowly faded.

Spirit purification pills were not like ordinary pills; they weren’t easy to acquire. Even when the Spirit Herb Pavilion was still around, these pills were never on their shelves. They only occasionally appeared at auctions.

"I have four bottles of spirit purification pills, forty pills in total, using one-tenth at a time. That means they’ll last me roughly four hundred days.

"I still need a lot more! So where can I get them?"

Luo Chen had already given a bottle to Wang Yuan, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask for it back. Besides, he wasn’t lacking spirit purification pills for now, and even in the long run, a bottle or two wouldn’t make much of a difference.

What he needed was a reliable and stable supply.

"Stable? Even when Dahe Market’s order was intact, there was no stable supply of spirit purification pills. So, I need to find the right channels where these pills can be obtained."

Luo Chen’s eyes flickered with contemplation as a plan took shape in his mind.

Since he had chosen to carve his own path instead of going with the flow, he had to think ahead, far beyond just the spirit purification pills. There were many other resources he needed to secure as well.

***

Within Luo Tian Society, a conversation unfolded, punctuated by the steady clatter of an abacus.

"At present, there are very few early stage Qi-Refining cultivators in the association, with a monthly expenditure of only eighty low-grade spirit stones.

"The Alchemy Hall has thirty mid-stage Qi-Refining cultivators, with salaries fluctuating around fifty spirit stones depending on their roles and contributions. The monthly payroll expenditure is around fifteen hundred spirit stones.

"The Battle Hall mainly consists of cultivators at the seventh or eighth stage of Qi-Refining, with a few mid-stage elites. Their salaries, which you personally set, are a hundred spirit stones per month. This amounts to a total monthly expenditure of three thousand low-grade spirit stones."

"The Merit Hall and Gold Hall have fewer members and lower cultivation realms, with last month’s total expenditure being a thousand spirit stones."

Hearing this, Luo Chen’s brow twitched slightly. He lifted his hand, prompting Murong Qinglian to pause her abacus calculations. The clattering ceased, leaving the room in silence. However, when dealing with extensive income and expenditures, using an abacus along with the ledgers made everything clearer.

"The treatment of the Gold Hall members should be improved in the future."

"Hmm?" Murong Qinglian was slightly surprised but did not question Luo Chen’s decision.

In fact, she had initially disagreed with the salary standards Luo Chen had set for the cultivators. Not because they were too low, but because they were too high!

Late stage Qi-Refining cultivators were earning nearly one hundred spirit stones per month, far higher than the sixty to seventy spirit stones that even major sect-run shops used to pay. Given that the Battle Hall operated in life-and-death situations, a slight salary increase was reasonable, but a hundred spirit stones per month still seemed excessive.

However, as time passed and smaller factions saw their talents poached by the major families and the Dajiang Gang, Luo Tian Society remained intact, with almost no one choosing to leave. It was only then that she truly understood the wisdom behind Luo Chen’s decision. Without competitive salaries, even if external threats didn’t exist, Luo Tian Society would have inevitably fractured from within.

Had that been the case, there would be no such luxury as sitting here peacefully, sipping tea while managing the accounts.

Reality was far harsher than ideals! Early and mid stage cultivators had no choice, but late stage cultivators had plenty of options.

"Go on!" Luo Chen poured himself a cup of tea, blew away the steam, and took a small sip.

Hmm!

Currently, aside from Luo Chen and Wang Yuan, there were nine other ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivators in Luo Tian Society. Most of them held significant positions within the various halls. Thus, their salaries had once reached three hundred spirit stones per month, which was yet another enormous expenditure.

"Additionally, Caiyi and I each receive a salary of five hundred spirit stones per month.

"Lastly, the cost of raw materials requires an expenditure of twenty-five hundred spirit stones per month."

After a flurry of calculations, Murong Qinglian let out a long breath. She had arrived at the final total for Luo Chen.

"Last month’s total expenditure was eleven thousand seven hundred spirit stones."

Such a massive sum was enough to make any rogue cultivator envious, greedy, or even murderous. But Luo Chen remained unfazed, calmly accepting the figure.

He asked, "How many spirit stones do we currently have on the books?"

"Twenty-six thousand spirit stones!"

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Why is there so much more than I expected?"

According to his own estimates, the amount shouldn’t be this high, at most, half of it.

Murong Qinglian tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "You forgot about a batch of mid-grade Jade Essence pills you refined back when you were with Poshan Gang. That batch didn’t cost us anything, it's pure profit!"

"Hehe, I actually forgot about that."

Luo Chen recalled that during the Crescent Moon Valley battle, he had specifically set aside that batch of Jade Essence pills. Upon closer calculation, that batch was worth at least fifteen thousand spirit stones!

If he deducted this "free" fifteen thousand, Luo Tian Society's normal monthly operations would still leave them with a surplus of around eleven thousand spirit stones after covering all expenses.

"What do you plan to set as Hall Leader Wang Yuan’s salary?"

Luo Chen had already made up his mind about this. Without hesitation, he said, "Three thousand!"

"So high?" Murong Qinglian's eyes widened in shock, and her throat felt dry. "That’s nearly the same as what small sects pay their Foundation Establishment cultivators as offerings!"

"He’s worth it!" His resolute tone made Murong Qinglian pause.

She recalled what Old Qin had mentioned about the battle against the Fu family, where Wang Yuan had single-handedly broken the enemy formation.

In the end, she nodded in agreement. "Then let’s follow the three thousand spirit stone standard for Foundation Establishment offerings!"

Lowering her head, she carefully recorded the transaction in the ledger.

Watching this, Luo Chen couldn’t help but feel encouraged, everything was moving in a positive direction.

Running Luo Tian Society, he, as its president, could personally take home a net profit of eight thousand low-grade spirit stones per month. The profits were simply enormous!

If word got out, it would be enough to make every Qi-Refining rogue cultivator and even Foundation Establishment cultivators envy.

Yet, in reality, this was a completely reasonable income. The pills he refined were all mid-grade Jade Essence pills, sold externally at fifty spirit stones per bottle, bringing in over twenty thousand in gross profit per month. And now, he no longer had to split profits with anyone else.

If he had followed the original deal with Miao Wen, where profits were split fifty-fifty, he would have had to give away four thousand. Although four thousand per month was already two to three times more than what he had earned during his time in Poshan Gang...

It was still far too little, unworthy of his status as an alchemist.

Eight thousand is not too much, not too little. In fact, it was just right!

Still, Luo Chen didn’t withdraw all the spirit stones from the account. He left fifteen thousand as Luo Tian Society’s circulating funds, taking only his standard eight thousand profit for the month.

After receiving the spirit stones from Murong Qinglian, Luo Chen exhaled deeply. He had already accumulated a considerable fortune, combined with the contribution from Gao Tingyuan’s storage pouch, and now, this new addition of spirit stones.

His total wealth had now soared to twenty thousand spirit stones. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this amount was enough to consider purchasing a true enchanted treasure.

No, perhaps some newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators had exhausted their entire fortune and still didn’t have this amount of savings.

Luo Chen knew all too well how difficult life was for rogue cultivators.

The reason Mi Shuhua had invested so much effort in him, even after establishing Poshan Gang, was nothing more than planning for the long-term future. It was just that Luo Chen had progressed too quickly, and Mi Shuhua had happened to suffer a severe injury, so he had wanted to harvest his investment early.

Unfortunately, Mi Shuhua never got to see the moment of great profit.

The world rarely went as one wished, and Luo Chen was not the only one affected. Among the billions of living beings, how many could truly have everything go their way?

Even someone as strong as Pang Renxiong had...

Thinking about it, Mi Shuhua, Miao Wen, and Pang Renxiong all met rather miserable ends. Am I cursed to bring bad luck to my benefactors?

No, I should never have a benefactor in the first place!

Luo Chen let out a cold laugh and got up to leave.

Murong Qinglian, who was still in the room, looked utterly confused. Why was Luo Chen suddenly laughing coldly for no reason?

***

"Why did you drag me out?

"Isn't it because you need a bodyguard?

"What about Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang?"

"Zhou Yuanli has accumulated enough recently, and with the spirit energy in Dahe Market stabilizing, he plans to go into seclusion to break through the ninth stage of Qi-Refining." Luo Chen stopped walking and spread his hands. "Besides, their strength is indeed a bit lacking."

"They’re not that bad. Together, they should be able to handle an ordinary ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivator," Wang Yuan said, stopping as well, a hint of doubt in his voice.

"But for where I’m going next, their strength simply won’t be enough." Luo Chen smiled faintly. Under Wang Yuan’s watchful gaze, he rubbed his hands over his face vigorously.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Moments later, an unfamiliar yet vaguely recognizable face appeared.

He’s even disguising himself?

Wang Yuan sighed in resignation. His body trembled slightly, and a series of crackling sounds echoed as his bones shifted. His entire frame shrank by a few inches, making him nearly the same height as Luo Chen.

With a single swipe of his hand over his face, he too had altered his appearance. Once their disguises were set, Luo Chen led Wang Yuan into a familiar alleyway.

As they walked, he transmitted a message mentally, "How far have you progressed with your techniques against ghosts?"

"They're still not perfect. For someone like me, whose qi and blood qi are exceptionally strong, low-tier ghosts wouldn’t dare come near me. But to powerful ghosts, I’d be an irresistible delicacy."

"So, does that mean the plan to explore the inner city has to be put on hold?" asked Luo Chen,

"Are you in a hurry?" questioned by Wang Yuan.

Luo Chen shook his head. "I’m not, but other factions are already gathering people to enter the inner city."

"Then let them take the lead." Wang Yuan stopped in his tracks.

Looking at the familiar doorway, he hesitated. "Precious Dragon Black Market?"

Luo Chen nodded. "Times have changed. The Precious Dragon Black Market isn’t as it used to be. We need to be careful."

With that, he lifted the curtain and stepped inside. Wang Yuan didn’t hesitate and followed him in.

After giving the secret signal and showing the embroidered sphere artifact, the two once again stepped into the vast underground hall, which spanned a hundred zhang in width.

The moment they entered, Wang Yuan’s entire body tensed. He finally understood why Luo Chen had said, times have changed. Because at this moment, the black market held several figures radiating the aura of Foundation Establishment cultivators.