Chapter 98: Securing the Nutritional Front(I)

The deeper parts of the tunnels could wait for another day.

Standing at a junction within the vast, dimly lit mining shaft, Luo Chen glanced at the three branching paths ahead.

After a moment's thought, he turned around without hesitation. This section of the old Star Silver mine was far too extensive to explore in a single afternoon.

“That’s enough for today,” Luo Chen decided.

Recalling the pangolin puppet, Luo Chen relied on his memory to quickly return to his stone house. Once there, he chipped off a piece of stone and used it to reseal the hole he’d blown open with the palm . A quick application of the Cleanse left him feeling fresh and clean. With a satisfied breath, he pushed open the heavy stone door.

“My profit share from last month?” he echoed in surprise when Gu Caiyi handed him a bag.

Excited, Luo Chen opened it up. Inside was a hefty pile of low-grade spirit stones—clean, crisp, and uniform in size. A quick count revealed six hundred fifty spirit stones. His joy dimmed slightly..

“Was your share less than expected?” Gu Caiyi asked, noting the flicker of disappointment on his face.

Luo Chen hesitated before giving a nod. “A little less, but not by much.”

Even though he hadn’t personally handled last month’s sales of Myriad Wonders pills, as an alchemist, he naturally understood the costs and returns.

In one month, with two furnace sessions daily—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—the mid-grade Purple Cloud Cauldron could refine two sets of raw materials, and the two Purple Cloud Copper Furnaces could refine one set each. Combining this with his later advancement to Grandmaster level proficiency in Myriad Wonders pills, he had ultimately produced a thousand pills.

The pills varied in grade—low, mid, and high—and Mi Junping had introduced a tiered pricing system accordingly. All told, the sales should have brought in about four thousand spirit stones. After deducting the six hundred spirit stones spent on raw materials, the rest was profit.

Luo Chen’s share of the profit should have been around seven hundred spirit stones.

Now, seeing fifty missing, he raised an eyebrow—until Gu Caiyi handed him a list.

“This is from Hall Leader Mi,” she explained. “It details the shared expenses—alchemy hall cultivator stipends, wages for the three shopkeepers, and pay for the pill escort team. These expenses were deducted from the profits and shared among everyone.

“Of course, relying solely on this share of the profit wouldn’t cover everyone’s wages, so headquarters supplemented part of it.”

Luo Chen scanned the list carefully, reviewing every name and expense line. Finally, he gave a small nod. It was within expectations. Nothing seemed out of place, and he didn’t feel the need to argue over fifty missing stones.

Instead, his thoughts wandered toward a bigger question

What if he hadn’t joined the Poshan Gang? How many spirit stones could I have made last month working alone?

Without the three furnaces, the raw materials provided by the Poshan Gang, the fire handlers and apprentice alchemists assisting him, and people dedicated to selling the pills.

At most, he could have run two furnaces a day, and no matter how quickly he improved, his proficiency wouldn’t have skyrocketed to the Grandmaster level.

Breaking down the numbers and adjusting for those limitations, Luo Chen arrived at a rough estimate.

“Eight hundred.”

Yes, if he had relied solely on himself, his net income last month would have been eight hundred low-grade spirit stones.

At first glance, it seemed like joining the Poshan Gang had cost him a loss of one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

However, that’s not how the calculation worked!

“In addition to the profit share, I also receive a fixed salary of qi-nourishing pills worth four hundred a month, even though I kind of wrangled that out.”

This single additional income had already offset his losses.

In fact, he’d made a profit! Luo Chen gave it a thought.

The massive amount of pill refining significantly boosted my proficiency, giving me solid alchemy experience and achievement points. That had to be considered as well.

Not to mention, The Treatise on Green Origin pills, Compendium of Hundred Herbs, and the incomplete Spirit Passage pill formula—all of these were worth thousands of spirit stones!

And most importantly, there was one more thing.

The Poshan Gang's prestigious reputation and the protection of Mi Shuhua, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This was an invaluable asset, shielding me from the covetousness of other cultivators during his weaker stages.

For instance, the troubles involving Gao Tingyuan had been personally resolved by Mi Shuhua.

He couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

Indeed, my decision back then was the right one.

While being a tool may feel restrictive at times, the long-term benefits are unquestionably worth it. Besides, hasn’t my monthly compensation increased again?

His gaze landed on another item in the bag. A plain wooden box. Curious, Luo Chen opened it—and the moment he saw its contents, his expression lit up.

Inside were twelve slender incense sticks, neatly arranged in rows.

“Calming incense!” he exclaimed.

Gu Caiyi’s eyes widened.

Mi Shuhua acted so swiftly, actually delivering this item to Luo Chen.

Luo Chen closed the box with a pleased nod. This wasn’t some cheap favor—it was a truly valuable gift. He had experienced the effects of Calming Incense firsthand. A full box like this was worth a solid hundred twenty spirit stones. For a low-tier cultivator, it was a treasure.

With this incense, his cultivation efficiency could rise dramatically. It allowed low-tier cultivators to run their core cultivation techniques four or five extra times per day without suffering from soul fatigue or pain.

Of course, the body required ample nutritional supplements; otherwise, the soul might keep up, but the body wouldn’t.

Luo Chen knew this from experience. The first time he’d used calming incense, he was so poor he had to stretch one stick over two or even three days just to avoid collapsing from overexertion. This was because his nutrition couldn’t keep up at the time.

But now, he was well-off!

With his share of the profits and previous savings, he had, for the first time through his own efforts, surpassed the thousand-spirit-stone mark.

One thousand three hundred!

This was his current net worth, excluding other assets.

And when it comes to nutritional supplements? He had methods for that as well.

Putting away the Calming Incense, Luo Chen grabbed Gu Caiyi and hurriedly headed out.

“Time to clock out, time to clock out!”

Gu Caiyi was a bit confused. "Aren't we supposed to refine pills in the furnace this afternoon?"

Luo Chen waved dismissively. “Why rush it? Refining a batch of Jade Essence pills today is enough to keep Old Man Mi smiling for the next two days.”

He smirked. “I, Luo Chen, only work to get off work. Overtime? That doesn’t align with my core values.”

Turning toward the Alchemy Hall, he cupped his hands and shouted, “Brothers! Take the rest of the day off! Be back early tomorrow!”

The rookies, who were struggling to familiarize themselves with the Jade Essence pill's ingredients and fires, immediately erupted into cheers.

“Long live the Hall Leader!”

“See?” Luo Chen said smugly, glancing at Gu Caiyi. “No one wants overtime.”

Gu Caiyi blinked in confusion.

Wasn't this technically skipping work? How could he call it overtime?

Luo Chen grinned. He could practically hear the capitalist shackles clinking in her mind.

This poor girl... completely brainwashed by the late shifts at Tianxiang Tower,

he thought.

***

Leaving work early wasn’t really about being lazy.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The main reason was far more practical: his packed schedule of early mornings and late nights meant he always missed the best hours of the daytime markets.

After all, this was a ruthless and cunning cultivation world. People rarely conducted business at night. Thus, all the good stuff was usually only available during the day.

Luo Chen couldn’t afford to wait. He feared that if he delayed any longer, he’d end up with spirit stones and nowhere to spend them.

So, escorted by two bodyguards wearing awkward, unreadable expressions, Luo Chen marched toward the inner city with Gu Caiyi by his side. Then, he dove straight into the south city rogue cultivator market.

The number of cultivators in Dahe Market was steadily growing, with its permanent population now exceeding twenty thousands.

Two new Foundation Establishment families had moved into the area, bringing thousands more with them. Rumor had it that the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect was still relocating people to this area. In addition to the vast numbers of mortals, the sect was moving cultivators in family units as well.

One could only say that Dahe Market was becoming increasingly prosperous.

As a result, in addition to the south city rogue cultivator market and the central commercial street, two more trading centers had popped up.

One was in the Whitestone Plaza outside the Debate Platform, where Xiao Yue used to sell celestial bean popcorn. Another was in the northern part of the city, where a small commercial street had been established and where the Poshan Gang had set up its own storefront.

Unlike the central street dominated by sect-backed businesses, the northern shops were mostly run by small families and minor factions. Luo Chen made a mental note to visit there when he had more time.

But for today, his main destinations were the familiar south city rogue cultivator market and the central commercial street.

***