The next morning, before the sky had even begun to brighten, Luo Chen crawled out of bed.

A thick fog hung in the air. If listened closely, could even hear the distant roars of beasts from within the Great Million Mountains. However, none of that had anything to do with him.

Today, and for the days to come, he would be very busy.

First, he had to sort and prepare various herbs.

The herbs bought from rogue cultivator stalls were mostly crude, some hadn't even been dried.

He placed them on a sieve and waited for the sun to rise so he could dry them outside.

Next was the Jade Lotus Seed.

He had to peel them, keeping only the lotus kernel, the skins were definitely unusable..

Under the oil lamp, Luo Chen peeled them one by one until his eyes grew dry, then finally stopped.

"I wonder if this will make me nearsighted?

"But I'm a cultivator now, surely I won't end up with nearsightedness!"

By the time he finished with the lotus seeds, the sun was fully up.

He soaked the lotus seeds in diluted blood from a Red Sun Chicken, and took several sieves outside to dry.

Living on the edge of the outer district wasn't particularly safe, but it did offer one advantage—ample space.

When refining fasting concoction, there was one step that produced a very pungent smell. If he did it in a crowded area, he'd likely get complaints.

Old Man Chen, who tanned hides for talismans at home, had received multiple complaints and had to bribe the management with a few good talismans to smooth things over.

Luo Chen didn't have to worry about that.

The Jade Yam had to be diced, with some slices set aside specifically for refining fasting concoction.

Luo Chen wasn't the type to put all his eggs in one basket.

In the early realm of refining the Myriad Wonders Pills, he anticipated many failures.

It was entirely possible that he would fail completely and lose everything!

After all, he was only a beginner at this.

In this situation, he couldn't afford to cut off his original source of income.

The worst-case scenario was losing everything, but he could at least rely on the earnings from fasting concoction to sustain himself and make a comeback.

By the time he finished processing the Jade Yam, it was already noon.

It was time to eat!

Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Luo Chen pursed his lips.

They always said cultivators didn't need mortal grains, but the truth was, hunger still came just the same!

He washed his hands and went into the kitchen.

He then scooped a small bowl of glistening rice from the rice jar and poured it directly into a small pot without washing it.

This was spirit rice, costing one spirit stone per ten jin [1] !

He couldn't bear to wash it, fearing he'd wash away some of its spirit energy.

He pressed a hidden compartment beside the kitchen, and a large hole appeared in the ground, a narrow three chi underground storage room was revealed.

Inside hung a partial slab of beef!

It was from a first-tier demonic beast, the Yellow Beef!

This stuff was expensive too, costing nearly one low-grade spirit stone per ten jin.

Luo Chen had this hundred jin of meat not because he was gluttonous, but because yellow beef meat was one of the main ingredients in fasting concoction.

One jin of meat, along with suitable amounts of ginseng, angelica, and other herbs, could produce five bottles of fasting concoction, which he could sell for one spirit stone!

He always bought in bulk for a discount and stored it with ice.

Looking at the partial slab of beef, Luo Chen couldn't help but swallow.

Then, with a kitchen knife, he sliced off about two liang of meat and took out some ordinary vegetables from the icebox.

He washed the meat and vegetables thoroughly, diced the vegetables, and sliced the meat into very thin slices before placing everything into the small pot.

He added firewood and ignited the fire!

He then formed a seal with his hands, muttering an incantation, and after about two breaths, a small fireball appeared in his hand.

"Go!"

With a puff, the wood in the stove ignited instantly.

"This went smoothly this time. The fireball-blasting-the-stove incident from when I first transmigrated shouldn't happen again!"

Luo Chen gave a slight smile, feeling a sense of pride.

He glanced at his status panel, his Fireball had gone up from 268/300 proficiency to 269/300!

He was now cultivating a total of three spells.

The water-based Cleanse, the wood-based Entangle, and the fire-based Fireball.

Among these, his Fireball had the highest proficiency.

This was no coincidence.

At first, he thought cultivation was mysterious and fun, so he played around by casting fireballs whenever he had nothing to do.

He tested this spell's effects: it was slow and energy-consuming, but the power was undeniably strong!

If it hit the target, it could melt gold, smelt iron, and reduce bones to ashes.

But that was only if it hit!

A normal cultivator casting the Fireball took at least three breaths from forming the seal to chanting.

In three breaths, an enemy could kill him a hundred eighty times over.

At first, Luo Chen was about the same, and each cast would consume one-tenth of his total spirit energy.

That was when he understood why low-stage cultivators rarely used spells in combat.

They either used enchanted tools or talismans, both of which were faster, consumed less energy, and were just as powerful as spells.

Once he realized this, he lost interest in low-tier spells like Fireball.

But as his proficiency increased each time he used the Fireball to ignite fire during pill refinement, his proficiency grew, and he began to feel that spells might not be entirely useless.

Like now, the energy cost remained one-tenth, but the casting speed had already reduced to within two breaths.

And this was only at the Proficiency level.

What if he reached the Perfection level?

What about the Grandmaster level?

So, whenever he had a reason to use the Fireball, he would do it once or twice.

Every bit added up!

Lost in these thoughts, he realized the rice in the pot was almost done.

Smelling the aroma, Luo Chen took a piece of pickled radish from the pickle jar.

A large bowl of beef stew rice, brimming with spirit energy and vibrant colors of red, green, yellow, and white, paired with a few pieces of sweet and tangy pickled radish.

Sitting under the eaves, feeling the cool streamside breeze and sunlight, he dug in heartily.

This was the most enjoyable time of Luo Chen's day!

If he had no survival pressures or pursuit of longevity, enjoying such a meal daily would indeed be a true pleasure.

Unfortunately, Luo Chen had no choice. He was a man with a system; even in the darkest nights, he would eventually shine!

***

"Damn, why is this thing so stinky!"

The man destined to shine clutched his chest, retching beside the stream.

He hadn't expected the Fire Hound Whip he bought from the Hall of a Hundred Herbs to reek so badly during processing.

He put on a mask, gathered his courage, and resumed processing the Fire Hound Whip.

As he peeled back the skin and applied a special liquid solution, he muttered to himself, "This stuff doesn't stink, this stuff doesn't stink. It's spirit stones, all spirit stones, fragrant spirit stones!"

After finishing one Fire Hound Whip, he rushed to the stream.

"Ugh!"

Processing raw materials was time-consuming and exhausting, but he couldn't cut any corners!

In fact, it was even more crucial than the refinement techniques themselves.

It was simple logic: no matter how perfect the pill formula, how precise the technique, or how top-notch the equipment, if the materials were flawed...

Then the final result was doomed.

It was like building a tall tower on a shaky foundation; nothing else mattered if the base was flawed.

After seven days, he had brought the raw materials, through preliminary and deep processing, to a state of near perfection.

Luo Chen had also taken the time to refine a few batches of fasting concoction, molding them into pills and storing them.

But he didn't plan to sell them this time.

He planned to sell them together once he refined the Myriad Wonders pill.

In the coming days, that iron pot, infused with trace amounts of spirit minerals, would need to be cleaned thoroughly for refining the Myriad Wonders pill.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Standing at the stove, Luo Chen solemnly donned an apron.

He bowed to the blackened kitchen ceiling, "Holy Ruler Deity Guan [2] from my homeland, The Heavenly Lord of Dao [3]. , the local Lord Saint Alchemist [4].—grant me success in one go!"

The pot was ready and the fire was lit!

1. Chinese traditional units of weight:1 jin ≈ 500 grams, 1 liang ≈ 50 grams, 1 qian ≈ 5 grams. ☜

2. A legendary martial deity revered across realms, known for his divine halberd and protection of the righteous path ☜

3. A deity who has comprehended the Great Dao, shaping heavenly laws and guiding cultivators toward enlightenment ☜

4. A master alchemical arts, celebrated for creating miraculous pills that elevate cultivation and extend life ☜