Chapter 71: Zhongding Banquet, Arrival of the Golden Core Adept

"Yes, just follow the original blueprint." "Replace the main beam, patch up the stone walls—grab some rocks from outside the city." "Need green fire bricks? Get them from the Immortal Build Residence. They’ll deliver."

Luo Chen hired three juniors from Poshan Gang, paying each one a spirit stone to help fix the house.

While the repairs were underway, Luo Chen moved his salvaged belongings into Qin Liangchen’s house next door. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get by for now.

Before long, the sky darkened.

Luo Chen freshened up and accompanied Qin Liangchen to Zhongding Restaurant for the banquet.

On the way, Qin Liangchen casually mentioned, "In fire-element spells, there is a second-tier spell called Solar Flare. When cast, it explodes like a miniature sun, with overwhelming power, leaving no grass within twenty zhang." [1]

Twenty zhang! That’s nearly the size of half a football field!

"What are you talking about, Big Brother Qin? I'm only in the mid-stage of Qi-Refining; how could I know the second tier Solar Flare!"

Luo Chen frantically waved his hands. But deep down, he had some thoughts forming.

The power unleashed earlier, when he fused those twenty fireballs into a single miniature sun, had a resemblance to the Solar Flare, albeit a rough, incomplete imitation.

What if he fused another ten, twenty, or even thirty or fifty fireballs?

The potential was terrifying, but so was the risk. The spirit energy consumption alone would be staggering. And if he lost control, today’s small explosion would seem like a candle’s flicker in comparison.

Let it remain as a trump card for now; I’ll find time to practice it thoroughly later.

Although he was pained by the nearly ten spirit stones lost today, Luo Chen was still excited. He had gained another trump card beyond his usual methods.

Upon arriving at Zhongding Restaurant’s third floor, they found the banquet hall still relatively quiet. Only a few attendants and minor cultivators had arrived.

Qin Liangchen joined some acquaintances for small talk, while Luo Chen slipped away into a side room, seeking a moment of peace.

He happily sought out a quiet private room. Half of his focus remained on keeping an eye on his surroundings, while the other half turned to his status panel, which he had yet to fully review.

In terms of cultivation realms, it was neither too fast nor too slow. His Grandmaster level Long Spring Art not only boosted his cultivation efficiency but also helped clear his twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians. This allowed him to cultivate two Qi-Nourishing pills each day.

However, after advancing to the fifth stage of Qi-Refining, the progress bar for cultivation had shifted once again. Back in the third stage, each Qi-Nourishing pill would push the progress bar forward by two points. Upon reaching the fourth stage, that same pill was only worth a single point. Now, at the fifth stage, it takes two pills just to gain one point Thus, after half a month of taking two pills daily, his progress bar had only inched up to only sixteen points.

This outcome didn’t surprise Luo Chen; it was within his expectations. Advancing in cultivation meant increasing the upper limit of spirit power within one’s body, which was a natural phenomenon.

Why did cultivators take increasingly longer to break through higher realms?

The main issue laid in the spirit power required to fill each subsequent stage only grew, often exponentially.

In Dahe Market, there were hundreds of cultivators in the late stages of Qi-Refining. But those who reached its peak were few and far between.

The late Devouring Heart Tiger, Han Dang, was one such example, while Fu Xiuxiu, who had failed to advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm, was another. Beyond them, the numbers were minimal.

Even among those Luo Chen knew, like Qin Liangchen and Murong Qinglian, none had reached the pinnacle of Qi-Refining. Others, such as Luo Wudi and Ke Yuelin, were even further behind.

The only concern Luo Chen had was whether Qi-Nourishing pills would remain effective once he reached the late stages of Qi-Refining.

After all, medicinal resistance was a known limitation of such pills.

“For now, it’s not worth worrying about.” Luo Chen avoided overthinking and cast his gaze toward the spells section.

His eyes directly landed on the entry,

Achievement Points: 21

.

He hadn’t expected that Perfected Mastery Fireball would grant him an additional achievement point.

By this calculation, a Perfected Mastery skill would yield five achievement points. These points corresponded to the milestones of Skilled, Proficient, Perfection, Grandmaster, and Perfected Mastery.

The past half-month had brought him immense progress. His mastery had advanced to the Grandmaster level in Wind-Control and Traction, while spells like Entangle, Spirit Eyes, and even the rarely used Cleanse had also leveled up consecutively.

Altogether, these had earned him seven achievement points.

"Now, what should I do with these 21 achievement points?

"Beginner level Heal? Forget it, I can master that on my own in two more days of practice.

"I don’t have any other cultivation techniques on hand either. Besides, compared to techniques, using achievement points to learn a pill formula would be much more worthwhile. That way, I could avoid countless failures during the entry phase."

What did countless failures mean?

Countless spirit stones!

Right now, the only pill formula Luo Chen had was a partial second-tier recipe for the Jade Dew pill.

Clearly, it wasn’t the right time to refine the Jade Dew pill. He lacked the financial resources and skill, and even if he managed to refine it, he probably wouldn’t dare sell it.

"So, I need to find a first-tier pill recipe—one with a broad market and few competitors. I wonder if Poshan Gang has any? Or perhaps there’s something in the Medicine Hall?" As Luo Chen pondered, he glanced up to see that night had already fallen.

Outside the small private room, bursts of lively chatter echoed. He steadied his mood and quietly stepped out.

With just one glance! He held his breath.

One, two, three, four, five, six...

There were a total of thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators! My heavens, since when did this little Dahe Market have so many Foundation Establishment cultivators?

Luo Chen actually recognized most of them, at least vaguely.

Shopkeeper Liu from the Hall of Hundred Herbs was deep in conversation with Shopkeeper Wang of the Spirit Herb Pavilion. Meanwhile, Daoist Mu, the leader of the Spirit Source Pavilion, stood at the center of a small gathering, discussing enchanting spells with three unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Across the room, Mi Shuhua of the Poshan Gang laughed and chatted with Wang Haichao from the Dajiang Gang and another man. It was almost hard to believe that not long ago, these two had been locked in fierce conflict.

The stern-looking man beside them was likely Zhou Chaoxian, the local head of the Lianyun Trade Alliance—said to hold a high-ranking elder position within the alliance.

Not far away, Old Chu, the infamous merchant from the Treasure Pavilion, was whispering to a well-dressed man. However, the latter seemed impatient, his gaze frequently drifting toward the female cultivators. Even so, he dared not offend Old Chu and continued nodding along to the conversation.

Luo Chen’s eyes flickered toward the gathering of female cultivators, where he unexpectedly spotted a few familiar faces. The elegant and radiant Gu Caiyi, the stunningly beautiful Miss Xiangxiang, and the gentle and demure Fu Xiuxiu were among them.

However, no matter how attractive they were, the focus of the gathering was still the graceful lady in palace attire.

She must be the madam of Tianxiang Tower—oops, I mean, the Hehuan Sect cultivator, Gong Huiqin. So elegant and gorgeous, who knows how old she really is? Quite the high-class lady! She seemed particularly sensitive to men's gazes.

In an instant, the graceful woman’s gaze landed on Luo Chen.

Luo Chen quickly lowered his head and sidled up to Qin Liangchen, who was standing in the corner. "Big Brother, this place is full of big shots. What are we doing here?"

Speaking in a cautious tone, Luo Chen felt like a lowly junior.

Qin Liangchen chuckled, "Why? We're here to play junior, of course!"

Luo Chen was stunned.

So, he really was just a junior after all!

"When big shots go out, they need to bring a couple of juniors," Qin Liangchen said, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't lose heart. Maybe one day, we'll get to be the big shots ourselves."

Well, wasn't that the classic "Why not us?" sentiment!

Luo Chen rolled his eyes.

Talking like that, wasn't he worried the Foundation Establishment cultivators might overhear?

He'd heard that the Sound Transmission wasn't all that secure.

It just so happened that three Foundation Establishment cultivators were standing right in front of them—Mi Shuhua, Wang Haichao, and Zhou Chaoxian.

The last of the three abruptly turned around, his piercing gaze fixed on Qin Liangchen. "So, you're the one who killed Bai Qi on the Debate Platform, aren't you?"

Qin Liangchen's expression instantly tensed, and his gaze darted toward Mi Shuhua for help.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you..." Mi Shuhua began, but Zhou Chaoxian raised a hand to cut him off.

Zhou Chaoxian smiled faintly. "It's nothing, I just wanted to make his acquaintance. After all, Little Qin here has a son who is a distinguished disciple of Luoyun Sect. Why would I ever do anything to him? However, Fellow Daoist Mi, I've heard you're safeguarding his Foundation Establishment pill. Don't secretly pocket it for yourself later!"

Mi Shuhua's expression froze and then darkened noticeably.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a sharp and piercing aura emanated from the doorway.

In the next moment, seven Foundation Establishment cultivators ascended the stairs together.

They were Jade Cauldron Sword cultivators.

The seven ascended without hesitation, bowed, and called out toward the outside. "We respectfully welcome Elder Pang!"

Everyone was momentarily stunned before hurriedly bowing and respectfully echoing, "We respectfully welcome Elder Pang!"

Under the night sky, a golden light, devoid of any ostentation, streaked into the third floor of Zhongding Restaurant.

It was none other than the Golden Core Adept, Pang Renxiong.

Luo Chen lowered his head deeply, not daring to glance around even from the corner of his eye. Under the unabated pressure of the Golden Core's might, his teeth, bones, and even his very soul seemed to tremble.

So, this is the power of a Golden Core?

Deep inside, a torrent of thoughts surged wildly within Luo Chen.

A true man should aspire to such heights!

1. 1 zhang (丈) ≈ 3.33 meters (10.94 feet). Zhang was commonly used during ancient times to measure distances, the height of structures, and even the depth of water or land boundaries. ☜