Chapter 250: Nanwa Is Gone, An Old Friend Comes in the Snow, Luo Tian Society’s Shift, Rising to the Summit (III)

"Isn't this exactly the path I started on?" Luo Chen let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

In the beginning, hadn’t he focused all his efforts on Fireball? He had ignored Cleanse and Entangle, allowing Fireball to rapidly increase in proficiency. This was how he managed to kill formidable opponents like the pauper Chen Xiao and the unlucky Gao Ting’e across realms.

Yet, as his realm advanced, he had strayed from that path.

Now, his potential enemies were no longer Qi-Refining Realm rogue cultivators. Instead, they were influential figures in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Given that, why shouldn’t he return to his old method and master a single skill to perfection?

With his spell training planned, the next thing to address was his techniques.

Cultivation was not just about spells.

Long Spring Art was non-negotiable, three times a day, plus an extra five sessions with the help of calming incense. This had to be maintained.

Divine Breaker of Malevolence, an unusual technique that didn't fit into any conventional category, also had to be accounted for. He was only a few full-powered circulations away from reaching the Skilled level in its second realm.

Luo Chen would not abandon it. He vividly remembered how he had escaped when Gao Tingyuan had used Soul-Intimidation.

A stronger will allowed Luo Chen to face any crisis without losing his composure, even if a mountain crumbled before him.

Furthermore, the Divine Breaker of Malevolence enhanced the divine soul. With the combined aid of Spirit Passage pill and Soul-Intimidation, it was a three-pronged enhancement. This was why Luo Chen had prioritized Spirit Passage pill over the seemingly more lucrative Jade Essence pill and Blood-Burning pill.

Duan Feng’s words had indeed left an impact on him. Everything else was a means to an end, cultivation was the only absolute!

The only thing Luo Chen found difficult to set aside was the alchemical technique Falling Clouds Mist. If he could fully master it, it would greatly elevate his understanding of alchemy.

At that point, with proficiency in both water and fire attributes, his pill refinement would become much easier.

Water and fire together?

Suddenly, Luo Chen couldn’t help but laugh.

The downfall of the so-called genius from the Duan family was a glaring cautionary tale. How had he ended up considering something as reckless as balancing water and fire?

"Forget it. Water techniques were only meant for refining Imperial Nectar. For now, I don't even need Imperial Nectar, I only toy with that formula when I'm exhausted.

"Since that's the case, I can pause my training in water-based alchemy."

After finalizing all these decisions, Luo Chen finally felt a sense of relief.

This wasn’t just about lightening his workload, it was about maximizing efficiency.

Anyone would feel exhausted after a day of handling scattered, complex tasks. Focusing on a single pursuit might be monotonous, but it would undoubtedly lead to faster progress.

Once Fireball was fully optimized, wouldn't he have even more time to deal with everything else?

***

Early the next morning, in the Radiant Moon Hall, a graceful figure sat quietly in the guest seat.

However, her emotions were far from as calm as she appeared.

Why would the President summon me for no reason?

I’ve been doing fairly well in the Gold Hall, haven’t I? I don’t think I made any mistakes. My big brother is steady and has already secured his position in the Battle Hall. Could it be about my little brother?

The woman’s thoughts fluctuated, unsettled.

Suddenly, steady footsteps reached her ears, and she immediately stood up.

She gracefully bowed toward the approaching figure. "Huiniang greets the president!"

Luo Chen waved his hand, signaling her not to be so formal.

Taking his seat at the head of the hall, Luo Chen finally had a moment to carefully observe Sima Huiniang.

This female cultivator had crossed paths with him long ago.

Under Luo Chen’s gaze, Sima Huiniang felt slightly uneasy.

Unable to hold back, she asked, "President, what do you need from me?"

Luo Chen smiled faintly. "Nothing major, really. I’ve wanted to chat with you for some time, but I was always too busy. Now that winter has slowed things down, I finally found the time."

Chat with me?

Sima Huiniang was surprised.

Before she could inquire further, Luo Chen casually said, "I spoke with your brother before. He mentioned that the three of you traveled outside, engaging in trade. You were the one leading the business?"

"Yes, that’s right." Sima Huiniang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "My big brother is steady, but he’s a bit dull and not great at socializing. My little brother, on the other hand, is too reckless. So, most decisions were made by me."

"Then why did you stop doing business?"

Sima Huiniang let out a bitter smile. "It’s too difficult!"

"Oh? Tell me more."

As she explained, Luo Chen finally understood the hardships involved.

Although he had spoken with Sima Xian before, men rarely liked to reveal their struggles to outsiders.

Women, however, were more perceptive.

Noticing that Luo Chen was genuinely interested, she provided a thorough explanation.

Overall, while the nearest market to Dahe Market was Snow Lotus Market, its trade was actually more closely tied to Taishan Market. The reason was that Snow Lotus Market’s climate fluctuated dramatically, with two-thirds of the year being frigid.

Frequent snow blockages disrupted trade routes, making commerce unstable.

Although Taishan Market was farther away, it was directly connected by the Lancang River. Traveling downstream on large ships didn’t take too much time. At most, it would take ten days to half a month to reach.

"Taishan Market has a high demand for Dahe Market’s demonic beast materials. Each resale would bring us significant profits. And many cultivation items from Taishan Market were highly sought after in Dahe Market...

"But every trip required a considerable amount of spirit stones. We traveled on Dajiang Gang’s ships, and whenever demonic beasts appeared, we had to help fight them off."

Luo Chen nodded.

Nowadays, many rogue cultivators in Dahe Market were reluctant to leave. Besides the abundance of resources from the nearby mountains that aided cultivation, there was also the issue of long and treacherous journeys elsewhere.

The Lancang River was far more than just a simple waterway. It was home to countless demonic beasts, including many of the second and even third tier.

Back when Pang Renxiong slew that Golden Core devil cultivator, numerous first-tier demonic beast corpses were found at the bottom of the Lancang River.

The rogue cultivators who later arrived and dared to dive in also reaped considerable rewards.

"Actually, trade with Glowing Stream Market was the most profitable.

"That area was once a mining ground for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, but after centuries of excavation, there was little left.

"Over the three centuries of mining, many factions arose around it.

"But after the mines were depleted, these factions lost a significant source of income. Combined with scarce resources, conflict became rampant.

"Every time we transported goods there, we made a decent profit since they lacked resources. But there were too many raiding cultivators, so we gradually stopped going."

Luo Chen didn’t know much about the situation in Glowing Stream Market. Most of what he knew came from the autobiography of the Soul-Refining Hermit Gu Yue and the accounts of people like Wang Yuan, who had traveled beyond. That place was teeming with raiding cultivators who killed and robbed without hesitation.

The reason was simple, it was the only market in the area without a Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion presence. Raiding cultivators like Qiu Bai and Liu Han had come from Glowing Stream Market and there were many more like them.

"We stopped doing business there because the outside world was getting increasingly chaotic.

"The three of us were constantly traveling outside, sooner or later, something bad would happen.

Sima Huiniang let out a bitter smile. "To be honest, last year, right here in Dahe Market, the three of us nearly died at the hands of two raiding cultivators."

Luo Chen remained silent.

Of course, he knew about that incident, he had been the one to step in and save them.

"After that battle, my big brother and I were severely injured. Once we recovered, we realized we couldn't keep going like that, so we decided to join a faction."

Luo Chen chuckled. "So why did you choose Luo Tian Society?"

Sima Huiniang straightened her posture, she understood that this was the real test.

If she didn’t answer well, at best, she would leave a poor impression. At worst, she could be sidelined or even expelled from Luo Tian Society.

She answered seriously, "At that time, Dahe Market was in chaos, the Poshan Gang had been wiped out, the Xuanyi Society had collapsed, the major Foundation Establishment families were fighting each other, and countless small factions were rising. It was practically a battlefield of devils.

"Honestly, we even considered joining the Dajiang Gang.

"But the Dajiang Gang was too complicated. From what we saw in Taishan Market, they weren’t just working with the Lianyun Trade Alliance, they were also constantly fighting or forming alliances with various cultivation families there.

"If we joined the Dajiang Gang, we could easily end up as pawns in their factional struggles."

Luo Chen nodded and asked, "Then why not join one of the local cultivation families?"

Sima Huiniang let out another bitter smile. "Those families are all centered around their own bloodlines. Unless an outsider has a high cultivation realm and can become a clan offering, they would never be given any real authority."

That was true.

Cultivation families always operated based on blood ties. They never truly relied on outsiders.

"As for the smaller factions, honestly, we didn’t think much of them. Some were probably weaker than the three of us combined.

"Under those circumstances, Luo Tian Society, as the inheritor of the Poshan Gang’s legacy, was the best choice."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Elaborate on that."

Faced with Luo Chen’s questioning, Sima Huiniang remained unfazed.

She spoke confidently. "It’s simple. Your organization was still recovering and needed manpower. If we joined, we were likely to be valued, and that turned out to be true!"

Her big brother, Sima Xian, was now an elder of the Battle Hall. With Wang Yuan not taking charge and Duan Feng focused on cultivation and artifact forging, Sima Xian had practically become the true leader of the Battle Hall.

Her younger brother, Sima Wenjie, was also doing fairly well. His once reckless nature had mellowed through the challenges of managing people.

"Also, with the three of us at the ninth stage of Qi-Refining, we wouldn’t overshadow Luo Tian Society.

"At that time, Luo Tian Society already had six or seven ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivators, we weren’t a threat to your hierarchy.

"As for the final reason..." Sima Huiniang laughed brightly and looked at Luo Chen. "With the name of Dan Chenzi as its leader, Luo Tian Society’s future was bound to surpass that of any small faction."

"You certainly have things figured out. No wonder both your brother and your younger sibling listen to you." Luo Chen chuckled in surprise, he hadn’t expected that their ultimate reason for joining was him.

However, Luo Chen’s next words stunned her.

"Since you have such confidence in Luo Tian Society, have you considered taking an even greater role?"