Chapter 245: You Have a Story? Hey, I Have Wine! (I)

"Eight?"

Inside the Four Symbols Cauldron, eight blood-red pills floated silently, their deep crimson hue gleaming under the dim light.

Luo Chen's eyes widened in surprise. He had used four portions of raw materials for this batch. Normally, succeeding with just one portion was considered acceptable. However, instead of seven pills, there were eight, which truly surprised him.

Luo Chen subconsciously raised his hand, gazing at his slender fingers, his mind deep in thought.

Did the Flowing Creek Hand purify some of the impurities in the Explosive Ape blood, thereby increasing the number of pills? That means the alchemical formula for the Blood-Burning pill still has room for improvement!

While refining the Blood-Burning pill earlier, he recalled that the Explosive Ape blood was also a liquid-type ingredient. So, he had tried using the Beginner level Flowing Creek Hand to refine it. He hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise.

After the surprise came a sense of awe. Alchemy was truly vast and profound, far beyond what he had initially imagined.

At the beginning, he had thought he was exceptionally talented. With a few achievements, he had believed himself worthy of being called a master.

However, as he refined more pills and mastered more alchemy techniques, he realized how much he still didn’t know.

With this, there's no need to refine another batch.

Now, he had fifty eight Blood-Burning pills in hand, fulfilling Tian Xingzi’s request. He would keep eight for the Luo Tian Society’s use, while the remaining fifty would be delivered in a few days. He also planned to visit the Precious Dragon Black Market to see if they had gathered double the medicinal materials as requested.

As he stepped out of the alchemy room, he saw that Gu Caiyi had been waiting outside for him.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asked.

"Not too long."

"Is something wrong?"

"It's still about the production of Jade Essence pills. The Duan family is urging us again. Also, the supply for the rogue cultivator market is insufficient, "she said, her voice carrying a trace of hesitation.

Luo Chen paused and frowned. "Why does the Duan family need so many pills? Have they also sealed off their clan like the Nangong family?"

"No, not exactly," Gu Caiyi replied. "But their monthly demand is nearly double that of the Li and Chen families."

She, too, found it odd.

Suddenly, as if recalling something, she blurted out, "The Duan family has been frequently sending people to contact Duan Feng lately."

Contacting Duan Feng?

What could this mean?

Luo Chen clearly remembered that Duan Feng, the abandoned son of the Duan family, held a deep grudge against the Duan family's Grand Elder.

Back during the struggle over the Golden Core Ruins, Duan Feng had desperately sought to enter the mountains in search of opportunities.

His goal was to increase his strength and return to take revenge on his family.

Luo Chen still vividly remembered his words: "That old dog doesn’t have many years left!"

What kind of hatred would drive a Qi-Refining cultivator, bound by blood ties, to call a Foundation Establishment Initiate an old dog!

As for the "old dog" Duan Feng spoke of, Luo Chen was actually quite "familiar" with him.

It was none other than Duan Qiankun!

Instead of dedicating himself to cultivation, the old man frequented the Precious Dragon Black Market, showing up almost every time the market opened.

Luo Chen even remembered that most of the resources Duan Qiankun bid on—whether it was pills, talismans, medicinal herbs, puppets, or enchanted artifacts were all directly related to combat and survival.

From this perspective, it seemed that Duan Qiankun knew his days were numbered, so he was making preparations for the family's future.

pills, talismans, medicinal materials, puppets, enchanted artifacts... and now, he was even reaching out to Duan Feng, whom he had once abandoned.

He was likely trying to resolve their enmity and reintegrate Duan Feng into the clan.

Duan Feng was no nobody. In the past, he had gained fame on the Debate Platform for his formidable strength.

In truth, his talent for artifact forging was even greater. It was only for the sake of revenge that he had shifted his focus toward combat.

Now, Duan Feng was an elder of Luo Tian Society’s Battle Hall, and there was a strong possibility that he would branch out to establish an Artifact Hall in the future.

Such talent—Luo Chen would never let him return to the Duan family.

"Don’t worry about the Jade Essence pills. Let Zeng Wen deal with them. In any case, this month, we’re only providing the standard quota."

Gu Caiyi nodded. She wasn’t particularly suited for rejecting people too often.

Zeng Wen, on the other hand, was perfect for the job. His role now was primarily to handle the dirty work.

"Alright, I’ll use the excuse of insufficient production and have Zeng Wen brush off the Duan family’s cultivators!"

"Mhm. You can also say that the Nangong family took too many Jade Essence pills."

Gu Caiyi’s eyes lit up.

That’s right! By using this tactic, they could shift the pressure onto the Nangong family, making Luo Tian Society seem less responsible for offending anyone. The Nangong family's closure was now widely known in Dahe Market.

Even if the Duan family wanted to negotiate, they wouldn’t be able to find anyone to talk to.

After settling this matter, Luo Chen hesitated for a moment before decisively stepping out of the Alchemy Hall.

***

Outside Crescent Moon Valley, a new complex of buildings stood in neat rows along the spacious dueling platforms. This was the Battle Hall's headquarters, where most of its cultivators currently resided.

From time to time, Wang Yuan would organize small-scale sparring sessions. Luo Tian Society paid them such high salaries not just for escorting pills and patrolling as guards. Enhancing combat strength and preparing for potential conflicts at any moment was the real priority.

Luo Chen arrived silently.

With steady steps, he gradually approached a large building with a towering chimney.

Before he even entered, he heard the clanging sounds from inside. About five mid-stage Qi-Refining cultivators were inside, working on various ores and metals.

A pungent, scorching smell filled the air, unmistakable even in the winter season. Above them, a massive ventilation fan whirred loudly, dispersing the rising smoke.

Luo Chen frowned and looked at the equally massive forging furnace.

At the center of it all, Duan Feng, his bare chested glistening with sweat, swung a heavy hammer, striking down upon a glowing metal ingot.

Duan Feng's muscular frame was impressive, yet it wasn’t his physique that caught Luo Chen’s attention—it was the look on his face. His expression was dark, and with every hammer strike, it seemed as if he was not forging metal but pounding a person.

However, it wasn’t just about venting emotions.

Luo Chen could sense that with every rise and fall of the hammer, spirit power flowed through him.

This is quite an unconventional method for refining spirit power.

Luo Chen's eyes lit up as he faintly grasped the intricacies of it.

With each strike, spirit power moved in and out. Just like the metal ingot, impurities seemed to be hammered out in the process. The spirit power reabsorbed into the body in the end was exceptionally pure.

But why have I never seen Duan Feng use this technique before?

"President!"

"Greetings, President!"

While Luo Chen was still puzzled, the cultivators inside finally noticed him. After all, he was standing right at the entrance without any attempt at concealment.

Duan Feng stopped his work and turned to look at Luo Chen.

Without a word, he set down his hammer, wiped his hands with a cloth, grabbed his coat, and walked out to meet him.

***

Beneath the towering dueling platforms, two figures stood in stark contrast—Luo Chen, draped in a luxurious snow-white fox fur coat, and Duan Feng, clad in nothing but a thin outer robe. It was as if they existed in two different seasons—one in the depths of winter, the other in the warmth of summer.

However, their moods seemed to be completely opposite. Luo Chen chatted enthusiastically, his words flowing with ease, while Duan Feng remained as curt as ever, his responses clipped and to the point.

Having long grown used to this one-sided conversation style, Luo Chen knew exactly how to stir him into engaging.

Oh, playing the silent act with me, huh?

"How’s the new batch of people you’re training?"

Duan Feng finally showed some interest. "They're decent. They can already assist me in processing basic metal ores."

"What about enchanted artifacts?"

"Right now, we're still at the maintenance and repair stage. Forging brand-new artifacts is still too difficult."

Duan Feng said with frustration, "I only have two flying sword blueprints—one low-grade and one mid-grade. As you’d put it, they have no real market competitiveness. At best, I can forge them for internal use."

Just as alchemy required formulas, artifact forging required blueprints. Unless one had reached the level of a master like Huyan Zhuo from Tianfan City, capable of innovating and developing new enchanted artifacts and treasures.

But clearly, Duan Feng was not at that level yet.

Luo Chen didn’t have such high expectations for him either.

Bringing up artifact forging as a topic was simply a way to get him talking—starting with something he was most passionate about.

Without much prompting, he would talk endlessly on his own.

"That batch of second-hand enchanted artifacts we recovered from Qinghe Mountain—I've pretty much repaired them all. Selling them should not only recover your costs but also make you a small profit."

Luo Chen laughed. "You still remember that?"

Duan Feng scratched his head. "That little stall at Fenghai Forging Workshop—you invested two to three thousand spirit stones into it, and in the end, I only managed to pay you back a thousand. How could I forget?"

That was true. Fenghai Forging Workshop was one of Luo Chen’s rare business losses.

Due to the contraction of the Heavenly Spirit Seizing Array at the Golden Core Ruins in the Ancient Plains, rogue cultivators had fallen into chaos, triggering a demonic beast rampage.

In the end, it had negatively impacted the business of that forging stall.

To this day, Luo Chen still hasn't recovered his investment.

"Also, the enchanted artifacts we recovered from the Crescent Moon Valley battle and the Fu family battle—I've been working overtime to repair them.

"It won’t be long before you can start using them."

Among them, there were quite a few high-quality artifacts. There were over a dozen top-grade enchanted artifacts. Some of them even had defensive properties.

However, Luo Chen merely shook his head with a light chuckle. "I alone don’t need that many enchanted artifacts!"

Duan Feng was momentarily stunned before realizing the truth.

Indeed, while enchanted artifacts were valuable, having too many wasn’t necessarily beneficial. A person’s focus and spirit power were limited.Having too many artifacts would make it impossible to fully master them.

In battle, the limitation of spirit power meant one couldn't just wield numerous artifacts freely. Typically, cultivators of any realm would select only the artifacts that suited them best.

The standard setup included one or two offensive artifacts, a defensive artifact, and a mobility artifact, with perhaps a few exotic ones for special purposes. Even this setup required a cultivator to be at least late stage Qi-Refining to barely manage it. Early and mid-stage cultivators simply didn't have the spirit power to control that many enchanted artifacts.

Luo Chen knew he had access to many top-grade enchanted artifacts. These could barely be considered part of his personal assets.

However, he had always stuck to his original set of enchanted artifacts, only recently acquiring a sword orb to make up for his offensive shortcomings. He had only chosen the sword orb because they consumed little spirit power.

Duan Feng naturally understood this reasoning as well; he had just not thought of it before.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "If you don't need them, you could use them as rewards for Luo Tian Society's cultivators!"

Luo Chen shook his head.

Under Duan Feng’s puzzled gaze, he slowly said, "You should know, I didn't come to talk about this."

Silence. He fell silent again.

Luo Chen sighed. "I know the Duan family has been sending people to contact you recently. What are your thoughts on this? Can you share them with me?"

"My thoughts?

Hehe...

A trace of self-mockery appeared on the man’s resolute face.

He opened his mouth and finally muttered gloomily, "Do you want to hear my story?

"I have wine!"

Uh...