Chapter 87: The Death of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator

"What? You're saying a late stage Foundation Establishment grand cultivator was killed here in Dahe Market?"

Early in the morning, Luo Chen, who had just stepped out, was startled by the heated discussions in the courtyard. Qin Liangchen and his wife, Gu Caiyi, and even Bai Meiling and Feng Xia were gathered together. They were fervently discussing the death of a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Bai Meiling chartered on, "The body was found two days ago. A Golden Core cultivator from Ai Lao Mountain used a soul token and tracked enchanted treasures to retrieve it from the bottom of the Lancang River near Dahe Market."

"It wasn't suicide—it was murder!"

Luo Chen scoffed.

Obviously. What kind of cultivator would randomly decide to commit suicide?

Yet, one question nagged at him. "If it was murder, why didn't the killer dispose of the body properly? Dumping it in a river is such a crude method—why not just use high-tier true flames to burn it to ashes?"

"Maybe they wanted to but couldn't!" Bai Meiling tilted her head thoughtfully.

"They managed to kill him but couldn't destroy the body?" Luo Chen arched a brow.

"That Foundation Establishment cultivator had a defensive enchanted treasure," Bai Meiling explained. "Apparently, his wife had it specially made for him by a Golden Core senior."

A defensive enchanted treasure!

Luo Chen's eyelid twitched.

Then, he realized something was off about the atmosphere.

Why were only Bai Meiling and Qin Liangchen talking while Gu Caiyi remained silent?

Noticing Luo Chen's gaze, Gu Caiyi's expression turned complicated.

Gu Caiyi hesitated before nodding. "Fei Bowen did indeed have a unique defensive enchanted treasure with a peculiar function called Fanlong. It's said that once activated, it transforms into a small celestial shelter, isolating all spirit power from the inside and outside. Unless attacked by a late stage Golden Core Realm cultivator, if not it's practically indestructible.

"Of course, once Fanlong is activated, the person inside can't get out either—they have to wait for someone to rescue them."

Truly a quirky enchanted treasure.

It defends against enemies but conveniently traps the user as well.

Murong Qinglian was visibly surprised. "Caiyi, you know that late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Gu Caiyi nodded slightly and pointed to a gauzy garment she was wearing.

"This was something he gifted me when he stayed at Tianxiang Tower in Dahe Market—a high-grade defensive artifact."

A high-grade defensive artifact, given away so casually?

That late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was incredibly generous!

For a moment, Murong Qinglian and Bai Meiling looked at Gu Caiyi with slightly unusual expressions.

Gu Caiyi didn't bother explaining. She had tried to return the artifact, but the man had adamantly refused to take it back.

He even claimed that once he gave something away, he wouldn't take it back—doing so would be a slap to his face!

"Fei Bowen?"

Luo Chen repeated the name once and instinctively said, "Isn't that the foreman from Ai Lao Mountain?"

Foreman?

Gu Caiyi had long since understood the meaning of that term.

She rolled her eyes at Luo Chen and sighed. "It's indeed him. Otherwise, the Golden Core Adept from Ai Lao Mountain wouldn't have come in person to look for him. Because of this, Ai Lao Mountain's shop, Immortal Build Residence, has been closed for the past two days."

Immortal Build Residence shut down?

Luo Chen suddenly understood.

No wonder the cultivators from Ai Lao Mountain who were building his alchemy room didn't even ask for the remaining payment and left in such a hurry.

So, they were dealing with such a major incident!

But he came to Dahe Market to repair spirit residences and help construct the Debate Platform. Who would kill him, and who even could kill him?

Luo Chen, filled with curiosity, started piecing together Fei Bowen's background. "Not to mention his late stage Foundation Establishment Realm, just the fact that he's the live-in son-in-law of a Golden Core cultivator's granddaughter should make him untouchable, right?"

The group couldn't make sense of it, so after some more discussion, they dispersed. After all, everyone still had work to do.

Before leaving, Murong Qinglian reminded everyone to be cautious when coming and going. She warned, "The murderer might be an outsider and is very likely still lurking in Dahe Market."

Everyone agreed but didn't take it too seriously.

After all, whoever killed a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was working on a much bigger scale—they wouldn't bother with small fry like them.

As Luo Chen put it, it was akin to saying, "As long as I act like a pile of dung, no one will bother stepping on me."

This statement earned him a round of scolding from several female neighbors.

***

The alchemy room was nearing completion, yet instead of fewer visitors, the number of gang members coming and going only increased. Luo Chen no longer carefree, now found himself increasingly occupied.

He scanned the list of names that had been submitted for admission into the Alchemy Hall, his expression unreadable.

Luo Erduo, nephew of Luo Wudi, fourth stage of Qi-Refining.

Yang Qi, son of Dragon Coil Tiger Yang Wei, first stage of Qi-Refining—only nine years old and he is being sent to the Alchemy Hall?

Mi Li, Mi Shuhua's granddaughter? Fourth stage of Qi-Refining at twenty-one? Her aptitude doesn't seem great; otherwise, she'd have been sent to a major sect by now.

Faces flashed through his mind—some filled with youthful ambition, others brimming with arrogance, and a few clouded with doubt. Each of them was someone that the hall leaders were pushing into his Alchemy Hall.

Luo Chen knew he couldn't refuse. It was part of the agreement he had made during the Radiant Moon Hall meeting. He had promised to teach alchemy to their descendants, and so he would.

But how much effort he put into it was entirely up to him.

As for how many of them would actually master alchemy? That was another matter entirely. He himself was still solidifying his own foundation in alchemy—how could they expect him to train a bunch of brats into master alchemists overnight? What kind of cultivation joke was that?

Glancing at the group of young people in the valley with his

Compendium of Hundred Herbs

in hand, Luo Chen smirked.

These people were unreliable—he'd need to cultivate another group of “helpers.

***

In Crescent Moon Valley, a group of young people gathered, idly chatting.

Their conversation was peppered with curiosity about Luo Chen, the Alchemy Hall Leader.

"He's not even older than me, and he's already a hall leader?"

The speaker was Luo Erduo, the nephew of Luo Wudi. His aura was fierce, clearly someone who had ventured into the mountains and seen the blood of demonic beasts.

But this experience didn't hold much weight compared to the others.

After all, whose elders hadn't fought their way out of the mountains through rivers of blood and piles of corpses?

Across from him, Tang Quan sneered. "Sure, you're older, but your cultivation isn't higher. What else do you have besides brute strength? To get ahead, you need skill!"

Tang Quan was a Zeng Wen recommendation, though they weren't relatives by blood. He was merely the descendant of one of Zeng Wen's fallen comrades. Since Zeng Wen and Luo Chen had a good relationship, Tang Quan naturally aligned himself with Luo Chen's side.

Luo Erduo's face flushed red. "Sure, you've got skills. I bet you learned plenty of ‘Lady-Charming techniques' from your Sick Tiger uncle!"

Tang Quan's eyes flared as he shot to his feet. "You little brat, say that again!"

"Afraid of you?!" Luo Erduo snapped back.

Seeing the two about to argue, the others looked on helplessly.

Truth be told, Tang Quan truly wasn't afraid of Luo Erduo. Luo Erduo's father had passed away long ago, and his uncle rarely cared about him, so he frequently accompanied the warriors of the Battle Hall to hunt demonic beasts in the mountains. In terms of cultivation realm, the two were evenly matched.

"Everyone, can we stop arguing, please?"

Hearing the gentle voice, both Tang Quan and Luo Erduo muttered a few final harsh words but stopped arguing.

The speaker was Mi Li, granddaughter of Mi Shuhua and daughter of Mi Junping, the Hall Leader of the Merit Hall.

She was a three-spirit-root cultivator at the fourth stage of Qi-Refining, with delicate features marred by a constant sickly pallor.

Forcing a smile, she said, "We're all here at the Alchemy Hall to learn alchemy from the Hall Leader. Why make things so unpleasant?"

Some nodded in agreement, while others remained silent, their thoughts veiled.

Most of them had heard something about the Alchemy Hall from their elders—some respected it, while others dismissed it as unimportant.

Thus, the composition of the younger generation sent to the Alchemy Hall was rather mixed. Some were sent with genuine intentions to learn alchemy, while others were merely sent over to keep them out of the way.

Mi Li sighed, her heart filled with unease.

Within the Mi family, she had never been particularly significant.

Her congenital frailty had drained her parents' resources since birth, yet she had achieved little to show for it. Now, under Mi Shuhua's leadership, the Mi family was flourishing, with promising young talents rising one after another. One of her peers was even on the verge of joining a major sect.

Her status had plummeted further.

Now, her mother had insisted on sending her to the Alchemy Hall, and Mi Li couldn't discern her true intentions.

Was it just to get her out of the way, or did her mother genuinely hope she could learn something?

Before she could dwell further, an excited cry rang out from one of her companions.

Mi Li's head snapped up. She looked up to see an earthen-yellow streak of light dart across the sky, gracefully disappearing into the depths of Crescent Moon Valley.

It's Grandpa!

Mi Li thought to herself.

***

As soon as Mi Shuhua landed, he wasted no time getting to the point.

"Little Luo, how's the research on the Jade Essence pill coming along?"

Luo Chen, standing amidst the growing foundations of the Alchemy Hall, offered a faint smile. He cupped his hands lightly in greeting.

"Gang Leader Mi, you flatter me. I've only just begun working on the pill recipe. If it were so easily refined, wouldn't your esteemed family's name already be renowned far and wide?"

Mi Shuhua chuckled awkwardly. He knew he was being impatient.

But after his conversation with Wang Haichao last night, ensuring Gao Tingyuan wouldn't trouble Luo Chen again wasn't the only matter pressing on his mind. There was another matter that left him no choice but to rush things.

If the Poshan Gang's Alchemy Hall could truly produce quality pills, the Dajiang Gang would definitely want a piece of the action. With the Dajiang Gang's distribution channels, their pills could be sold in other marketplaces.

Sighing, Mi Shuhua suppressed his impatience.

"The opening ceremony for the hall is set for three days from now. We'll invite some of our internal cultivators to witness it.

"I'm planning to organize a ceremony for you. Any thoughts?"

Luo Chen blinked.

A ceremony? A spectacle?

Of course, the grander, the better!

"Sure, let's combine the opening ceremony with furnace lighting. I'll give everyone a little taste of what it means to be an Alchemy grandmaster!"