Chapter 89: Advancing to Sixth Stage of Qi-Refining in a Month

Inside the Alchemy Hall, Luo Chen stood before a group of twenty or so cultivators, delivering his first-day speech. His words were a blend of encouragement and criticism, pointing out their room for improvement while setting clear expectations. Once he finished, he dismissed them.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As they left, Luo Chen muttered to himself, "Although they’re all mid-stage cultivators, most are old, weak, or frail, and a majority of them are female cultivators.

"They must have been transferred directly from the Medicine Hall. They seem to know my sister-in-law Murong.

With these thoughts lingering, Luo Chen made his way toward his personal residence within the Alchemy Hall.

Unlike other dwellings located in the valley or on the mountainside, his residence was built right next to the alchemy room, nestled beside a small mountain spring and a pond.

Upon entering, he found Mi Shuhua already waiting for him, flanked by the two Alchemy Hall stewards, Sikong Shoujia and Gu Caiyi.

There was no time for small talk—they got straight to business, the future direction of the Alchemy Hall.

"Fasting pills can be refined, but we shouldn’t make too many. Around a thousand a month should suffice. I’ve calculated it. The profit margin is too low. And with their quality so high, giving them to low- members is a waste.

"These thousand pills can be sold at a low price to mid and late stage members as rewards." Mi Shuhua spoke confidently. He had his own methods for managing the Poshan Gang.

Luo Chen had no objections—refining a thousand fasting pills was just a matter of two or three days for him.

"Our main focus is still the Jade Essence pill!" Mi Shuhua’s face turned serious as he fixed his gaze on Luo Chen. "Give me a definitive answer—how long will it take to refine it?"

Luo Chen pulled a sour face and spread his hands helplessly.

"I'm still getting familiar with the stages of the pill formula—how can I give you a definitive answer?

"Besides, you must have seen the formula. The tricky part lies in extracting the Washed Jade Essence from the Washed Jade. It’s a first-tier spirit material, and with my current stage, it’s difficult to avoid damaging the essence."

Mi Shuhua, who usually had the rosy-cheeked appearance of a wealthy elder, now had his face scrunched up like a wrinkled cloth.

"Indeed, extracting the Jade Essence thread by thread at the fifth stage of Qi-Refining is a bit challenging."

Luo Chen sighed. "If I could get an extra bottle of qi-nourishing pills every month, I might be able to break through to the sixth stage of Qi-Refining soon. At that point, I’d certainly be able to extract the Jade Essence with ease."

Sikong Shoujia, standing by, couldn’t help but interject, "Didn’t we already agree to give you two bottles of qi-nourishing pills a month? Isn’t that enough?"

Mi Shuhua also tried to dissuade him, "Three bottles a month means one pill a day. Taking pills so frequently might overstrain your meridians."

Overstrain?

I’m a genius with unblocked meridians and Grandmaster level Long Spring Art! I could refine two pills a day—three bottles are hardly enough for me!

Of course, Luo Chen knew that when it came to taking advantage of a situation, it had to be done gradually. Pushing the old man too hard wouldn’t end well.

Feigning a pained expression, he said earnestly, "For the sake of cracking the Jade Essence pill formula as soon as possible, how could I care about a little meridian strain? Gang Leader, let me give my all for the growth of our gang!"

Mi Shuhua hesitated.

After a long moment, he finally nodded.

"Three bottles of qi-nourishing pills a month it is. I’m gratified by your dedication."

Luo Chen’s eyes lit up.

Yes! Foundation Establishment cultivators truly have deep pockets—Poshan Gang treats me well indeed!

Gu Caiyi, listening to this arrangement, couldn’t help but feel envious, her eyes nearly turning red. She had only managed to earn a significant number of spirit stones during her last month at Tianxiang Tower. Before that, she earned no more than two or three hundred spirit stones a month.

Now Luo Chen, just from his fixed supply of qi-nourishing pills, had three bottles—that was worth three hundred spirit stones alone!

"Jade Essence pill is the main goal, but now that the framework of the Alchemy Hall is established, you should also have a stable income source," Mi Shuhua said, looking at Luo Chen.

"Keep refining your Myriad Wonders pill for now!"

"What about the primary materials?" Luo Chen asked.

"I’ll have people regularly purchase them from the Hall of Hundred Herbs," Mi Shuhua explained. "Additionally, part of the auxiliary materials will come from the Medicine Hall, but on paper, the Alchemy Hall will still need to pay for them in spirit stones."

I understand this!

Luo Chen smiled faintly. This was essentially akin to transactions between subsidiaries within a corporation—formalities still had to be observed. This way, the Medicine Hall could earn some spirit stones, and once the Myriad Wonders pills were refined, the Alchemy Hall could profit further.

"With more and more outside cultivators arriving at Dahe Market, the prospects for Myriad Wonders pills are very promising.

"Additionally, our gang has a brothel in the outer city. These pills can also be supplied to them."

The Poshan Gang have this kind of business?

Luo Chen was stunned. He had never heard of this before.

After some thought, he felt a pang of discomfort.

No wonder there were so few female cultivators in the gang—most were concentrated in the Medicine Hall, Beast Hall, or his current Alchemy Hall.

Some of them had probably ended up in the Poshan Gang’s secret brothel!

This old schemer—always up to no good!

"List the materials you’ll need for the month, and Elder Sikong will take care of the procurement," Mi Shuhua instructed.

"Got it," Luo Chen muttered gloomily.

Mi Shuhua looked at Luo Chen, who seemed tactful and cooperative, and let out a sigh of relief.

Everything was falling into place. This gang had cost him much effort but had also brought him and his family a substantial amount of spirit stones.

As long as the Jade Essence pill could eventually be refined, advancing to the late stage of Foundation Establishment would no longer be a concern in terms of resources.

Rogue Cultivator really has it rough. Having a faction to leaned on is ultimately a blessing

"Alright, I’ll take my leave. From now on, Elder Sikong will handle external matters for the Alchemy Hall, and Steward Gu Caiyi will oversee internal affairs."

"Luo Chen, you can just focus on refining pills!"

Focusing solely on pill refining? That’s impossible—not in this lifetime.

Refining pills is just a means to earn spirit stones. Earning spirit stones is buying pills for cultivation.

But now, if you’re directly paying me with qi-nourishing pills, why wouldn’t I just focus on cultivation?

Why bother with middlemen when I can cut straight to speeding up my progress?

Today, he received another bottle of qi-nourishing pills. Adding the two bottles he got after the Radiant Moon Hall meeting earlier this month and the two remaining bottles he had previously purchased,

Luo Chen now had a total of five bottles of qi-nourishing pills.

At two pills a day, this supply was sufficient for about 25 days.

Paired with his Grandmaster- Long Spring Art Technique, a first-tier spirit vein in the inner city, and the Moonlight Herb gifted by Fu XiuXiu.

Luo Chen was now spending nearly every morning and evening cultivating diligently.

After completing another cycle of the Long Spring Art Technique, Luo Chen opened his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Name: Luo Chen

Lifespan: 27/75

Spirit Roots: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

Realm: Qi-Refining Stage Five (38/100)

Achievement Points: 22

[Techniques]

Long Spring Art Technique: Grandmaster (600/1000)

[Spells]

Fireball Technique: Perfected Mastery

Carefree Wander: Grandmaster (800/1000)

Wind-Control Seal: Grandmaster (570/1000)

Traction Technique: Grandmaster (600/1000)

Entangling Technique: Perfection (380/500)

Spirit Eyes Technique: Perfection (380/500)

Cleansing Technique: Perfection (300/500)

Healing Technique: Beginner (5/100)

Spirit Suppression Seal: Beginner (1/100)

[Skills]

First-Tier Alchemist

After reviewing it, he shook his head.

The past half month seemed carefree, but in reality, it was packed with various matters.

In terms of spells, Carefree Wander and Wind-Control were used daily and progressed the most, but neither reached a qualitative transformation.

The only skill that advanced in proficiency was Cleanse, which reached the Perfection level. This was due to those ten days of practicing how to control "consistent pill formation," during which he frequently used the Cleanse to achieve the upgrade.

The additional achievement point also came from this.

Apart from that, there was no significant change. He had only just begun Spirit Suppression and Heal, which were currently of little practical use.

What he cared about most was his realm progression—Qi-Refining Stage Five, currently at 38 out of 100.

A reasonable rate of progress, two qi-nourishing pills yield one increment in the progress bar. Through cultivation alone, he could gain about 15 increments per month, which was the limit of the Grandmaster level Long Spring Art.

"Not bad. As long as the pill supply continues and I persist in cultivation, advancing to the sixth stage of Qi-Refining should take about a month and a half."

After arriving at this estimate, Luo Chen let out a long breath of relief.

This cultivation speed was astonishing—such rapid progress could only be achieved with fully unblocked meridians and a steady supply of resources.

However, the thought that advancement pills become less effective at higher realms made Luo Chen feel a growing sense of urgency.

At present, he had around seven hundred spirit stones in savings. Once considered a small fortune, a quick calculation revealed it would be nowhere near enough to sustain his cultivation in the later stages..

With a long-term vision, Luo Chen was already planning for the sixth stage of Qi-Refining and beyond.

"The Jade Essence pill!

"Mi Shuhua is anxious, but how could I not be?

"But whether I am anxious or not, the initiative is still in my hands. Using this matter, I can squeeze more benefits out of that old man!"

As he closed the status panel, Luo Chen glanced at the skill section.

He remembered that his fasting concoction had already surpassed 800, yet after refining over two hundred pills today, it had only increased by a few points.

Luo Chen frowned, a thought surfacing in his mind.

Could it be that for each proficiency level, only refining pills of the corresponding tier can yield proportional growth?

Most of the fasting pills he refined today were lower and mid-grade, with only sixty being top-grade.

The increase in proficiency matched precisely that number sixty.

If that's the case, I’ll need to carefully consider the quality and tier of pills I refine in the future.

***

The next day, Luo Chen arrived at Crescent Moon Valley with his two bodyguards.

After leaving the bodyguards in the valley, he summoned everyone in the Alchemy Hall.

Excluding the transport and sales teams that were outside his jurisdiction, the thirty old, weak, and female members in front of him were his direct subordinates.

"Today, we’re going to assign tasks!"