Recaps

Luo Chen refined a batch of grain avoidance pills and reviewed how he had survived his first year in Great River Market after transmigrating into a poor rogue cultivator’s body. With ten achievement points accumulated, he decided to use them to begin mastering the All Wonders Pill and pursue a new source of income.

• Luo Chen cooked and rolled a pot of grain avoidance powder into fifty pills.
• Luo Chen checked his proficiency panel and saw that he had accumulated ten achievement points.
• Luo Chen recalled how the original Luo Chen had settled in Great River Market and supported himself by selling grain avoidance powder.
• Luo Chen remembered that the original owner had died when an attempt to refine the incomplete Jade Dew Pill caused his cauldron to explode.
• Luo Chen decided to spend his achievement points on the All Wonders Pill and refine it despite the risk to his reputation.

Luo Chen brought a record number of Grain Avoidance Pills to his shared stall in the Great River Market after his pill-making skill advanced. As he and Chen Xiuping bantered over their goods and Luo Chen considered his improving prospects, Chen Xiuping announced that a customer had arrived.

• Luo Chen entered the inner city early and set up his stall with twenty bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills.
• Chen Xiuping praised Luo Chen’s increased output and jokingly checked whether the pills had been padded with flour.
• Luo Chen teased Chen Xiuping about his Aura Concealing Talisman, prompting the old man to protect his prized product.
• Luo Chen reflected on his modest income and concluded that mastering pill making was more suitable than switching to talisman crafting.
• Chen Xiuping tugged at Luo Chen’s sleeve and told him that business had arrived.

Luo Chen sold Grain Avoidance Pills at the market, then bought medicinal herbs in bulk for his plans to make new pills. He arrived at Hundred Herbs Hall and asked the Fat Shopkeeper for dried scallops and Fire Hound Whip.

• Luo Chen and Old Taoist Chen sold talismans and Grain Avoidance Pills to three cultivators, with Old Taoist Chen secretly putting another Aura Concealing Talisman on the stall.
• Luo Chen sold most of his goods, and Old Taoist Chen warned him against risking his savings on the Incomplete Pill Recipe.
• Luo Chen left the market stall and spent the afternoon bargaining for medicinal herbs in the herb trading district.
• Luo Chen went to Hundred Herbs Hall and asked the Fat Shopkeeper whether it had dried scallops and Fire Hound Whip.
• The Fat Shopkeeper gave Luo Chen a playful look after hearing the names of the ingredients.

Luo Chen bought the ingredients for the All Wonders Pill, spending all his savings, then studied its recipe and used ten Achievement Points to learn the pill-refining technique. He prepared to begin refining the pills the next day.

• Luo Chen bought one hundred portions of dried scallops and ten Fire Hound Whips from Shopkeeper Liu for twenty Spirit Stones.
• Luo Chen returned home, bathed, and reviewed his cultivation method, pill recipes, and Attribute Panel.
• Luo Chen studied the All Wonders Pill recipe and noted that he had enough ingredients for ten attempts.
• Luo Chen spent ten Achievement Points to reach novice proficiency in All Wonders Pill refining.

Luo Chen processed ingredients and prepared to refine All Wonders Pills, while preserving Grain Avoidance Powder as a source of income. After seven days of preparation, he stood before his stove and prayed for success as he began.

• Luo Chen dried and sorted medicinal ingredients, peeled Jade Lotus Seeds, and prepared Jade Mountain Herb for both All Wonders Pills and Grain Avoidance Powder.
• Luo Chen cooked a meal with Spirit Rice and Yellow Cattle beef, then practiced his Fireball Spell to ignite the stove and increased its proficiency.
• Luo Chen processed the foul-smelling Fire Hound Whips, repeatedly retreating to the stream to retch before continuing.
• Luo Chen completed seven days of ingredient preparation and refined several batches of Grain Avoidance Powder, which he stored for later sale.
• Luo Chen put on an apron, prayed to Lord Guan, Lord Lao, and the local Pill Saint, then opened the pot and raised the fire to begin refining All Wonders Pills.

After six failed attempts to refine All Wonders Pills, Luo Chen blamed his crude equipment and exhausted himself practicing Fireball Spell. Checking his Attribute Panel the next morning, he discovered that failed pill refining had still increased his proficiency.

• Luo Chen failed to refine All Wonders Pills for the sixth day in a row and wondered whether his Iron Pot was the problem.
• Luo Chen vented his frustration by casting nine Fireball Spells, gaining proficiency but draining all his spiritual energy.
• Luo Chen meditated to recover and reviewed his Attribute Panel, noting his Fireball Spell had reached Perfect Grade and earned him an Achievement Point.
• Luo Chen noticed All Wonders Pill proficiency had risen from one to three despite his failed attempts and wondered whether failure could still raise proficiency.

Luo Chen realized failure could build proficiency and spent the day learning the mundane lightness skill Carefree Wander, quickly reaching Entry Level. The chapter ended when beast roars sounded in the mountains and several streaks of Evasive Light emerged, prompting Luo Chen to retreat inside and prepare for danger.

• Luo Chen reasoned that failure could provide experience and credited his system for letting him begin with the experience of success.
• Luo Chen chose to practice Carefree Wander because running would help him survive, and expensive talismans and spells were beyond his means.
• Luo Chen practiced the travel-focused lightness skill across the plains and reached Entry Level with proficiency at 13/100.
• Luo Chen attributed his rapid progress to his strengthened body and continued practicing through the afternoon.
• Luo Chen molded a clay figurine near the creek, then heard roars from the mountains and saw several streaks of Evasive Light emerge.
• Luo Chen returned to his house, picked up his Magic Sword, and shut the great gate while the streaks descended into the weeds and watched the mountains.

Luo Chen refined All Wonders Pills after several failed attempts, then traveled quickly to the Marketplace to prepare to sell his successful batch. He ended by asking Old Taoist Chen whether he knew Yun Zhonghe.

• Cultivators warned Luo Chen that the Frost Wolf Pack had been appearing near the outskirts, and Hui Niang advised him to move closer to the Inner City Area.
• Luo Chen resumed refining pills, failed repeatedly, and finally produced ten Red Small Pills from a successful batch of All Wonders Pills.
• Luo Chen’s attempt to refine another batch failed, leaving him worried that he would not recover the five Spirit Stones he had spent on its ingredients.
• Luo Chen used his improved Carefree Wander movement technique to reach the Southwest Rogue Cultivator Area in twenty minutes and read Six Domains Customs Record at Wang Yuan’s stall.
• Luo Chen returned to his Azure Stone slab stall, greeted Old Taoist Chen, and asked whether he knew Yun Zhonghe.

Luo Chen learned from Chen Xiuping about Cloud Crane Supreme and the Joyful Union Sect, then claimed his newly refined Jade Dew Pills were a lost secret recipe called the All Wonders Pill. As customers arrived at the market, he began promoting the pills to a buyer who had come for Grain Avoidance Pills.

• Chen Xiuping told Luo Chen that Great River Market lay in the Jade Cauldron Domain and explained Cloud Crane Supreme’s fame in the Joyful Union Sect.
• Chen Xiuping described how Cloud Crane Supreme captured a Fourth Order demon beast and earned his title, while Luo Chen listened and thanked Wang Yuan for the Six Domains Customs Record.
• Luo Chen teased Chen Xiuping about becoming a Golden Core cultivator, then revealed he had refined a new Tier 1 pill from an incomplete recipe.
• Luo Chen falsely claimed the pill was the All Wonders Pill, a secret recipe from Cloud Crane Supreme that had been lost in Great River Market.
• After a cultivator bought five bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills, Luo Chen called after him and asked whether he was interested in the All Wonders Pill.

Luo Chen sold Zeng Wen a bottle of All Wonders Pills by claiming they were derived from an ancient insight of Yun Zhonghe. Convinced by the pills’ scent and promise, Zeng Wen rushed to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and declared he would take on ten women.

• Luo Chen used lofty Daoist sayings and a tale about Yun Zhonghe to pitch the All Wonders Pill to Zeng Wen.
• Zeng Wen smelled the pill, believed it held extraordinary effects, and bought the bottle for five Spirit Stones.
• After Zeng Wen left, Old Taoist Chen Xiuping confronted Luo Chen about claiming he had refined only one bottle; Luo Chen explained that he had divided one batch into ten bottles.
• At noon, Zeng Wen charged into the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, where a Foundation Establishment cultivator turned guests away, and announced that he would take on ten.

Luo Chen sold out his All Wonders Pills and earned enough to restore his savings to fifty Spirit Stones, then persuaded Old Taoist Chen to lend him another fifty. He promised to teach Chen how to sell talismans for more and began by asking whether he knew about Brand Value.

• Luo Chen explained why All Wonders Pills appealed to Qi Refining cultivators and sold his second bottle for five Spirit Stones.
• Luo Chen pitched All Wonders Pills to Old Taoist Chen’s customers, using a story about Mister Yun Zhonghe to encourage sales.
• Luo Chen sold ten bottles of All Wonders Pills for forty-six Spirit Stones and twenty bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills for four, bringing his savings back to fifty Spirit Stones.
• Old Taoist Chen asked about the pills’ production cost, and Luo Chen offered to explain his sales strategy if Chen would do him a favor.
• Luo Chen persuaded Old Taoist Chen to lend him fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones by promising to help him sell talismans at higher prices.
• Luo Chen asked Old Taoist Chen whether he knew what Brand Value was.

Luo Chen taught Old Taoist Chen how to build brand value for his talismans, then spent his earnings on ingredients and supplies. He returned home safely from the dangerous Outer City Area and prepared to expand production the next day.

• Luo Chen explained brand value to Old Taoist Chen and advised him to give his Aura Concealing Talismans a story and gold borders.
• Luo Chen left Old Taoist Chen and spent the evening buying materials in the Rogue Cultivator Market.
• Luo Chen hurried home through the Outer City Area, where robbers often preyed on people after dark, and arrived safely.
• Luo Chen sorted his purchases: he bought nineteen batches of All Wonders Pill ingredients, Grain Avoidance Pill ingredients, Spirit Rice, and two months of rent.
• Luo Chen rested at home, pleased with his purchases and ready to expand production the next day.

Luo Chen processed pill ingredients and discovered that his Perfect-level Fireball Spell used less spiritual energy and cast much faster than before. He gained a reliable combat method and planned to keep cultivating discreetly until he advanced to the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

• Luo Chen processed ingredients for Grain Avoidance Pills and All Wonders Pills, reflecting that improving his All Wonders Pill success rate could make his small product line viable.
• Luo Chen cooked beef rice, then fished beside the creek while checking his Attribute Panel and saw his cultivation rise to 76 progress and Carefree Wander reach Proficient Level.
• Luo Chen tested his Perfect-level Fireball Spell on the creek, blasting fish from the water and finding that the spell took only one breath to cast.
• Luo Chen tested three more Fireball Spells and confirmed that four casts consumed only two-tenths of his spiritual energy.
• Luo Chen realized the spell could help him catch enemies off guard, then picked up a stunned fish for tomorrow’s meal and gained one point of Fishing Skill proficiency.

Luo Chen completed a batch of Grain Avoidance Pills and All Wonders Pills and went to Great River Market’s major market to sell them. Old Taoist Chen reminded him to repay what he owed, then told him that many fellow Daoists were looking for him and his All Wonders Pill.

• Zeng Wen returned to South City Market with demon beast meat and realized Old Taoist Chen was using Luo Chen’s sales pitch for the Spirit Concealing Aura Hiding Talisman.
• Luo Chen prayed to Lord Guan while refining All Wonders Pills, and his sixth batch succeeded.
• After nearly a month of work, Luo Chen prepared thirty bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills and twenty bottles containing two batches of low-grade All Wonders Pills.
• Luo Chen arrived early at the major market, greeted Wang Yuan, and borrowed the Six Domains Customs Record to read.
• Old Taoist Chen told Luo Chen to remember to repay what he owed, then said many fellow Daoists were asking for him and the All Wonders Pill.

Luo Chen sold out his pills at the market, borrowed and reinvested Spirit Stones, and helped Old Taoist Chen sell talismans. On his way home with a sack of supplies, he found four people blocking his path.

• Luo Chen sold thirty bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills and twenty bottles of All Wonders Pills, then returned fifty Spirit Stones to Old Taoist Chen before borrowing them back.
• Luo Chen helped Old Taoist Chen sell talismans while Wang Yuan faced down three cultivators who confronted him over bloodstained goods at his stall.
• Luo Chen spent all his Spirit Stones on reserved raw materials and headed home after the market closed.
• Four people blocked Luo Chen's path under the moonlight, and his heart sank as he feared they had come to rob him.

Luo Chen tried to escape a clash between Wang Yuan and Great River Gang cultivators, but one injured pursuer attacked him, forcing him to kill the man with a barrage of fireballs. After finding a Storage Bag on the corpse, Luo Chen saw a burly man carrying two heads swoop toward him.

• Luo Chen recognized Wang Yuan surrounded by Li Zixiong and two other Great River Gang cultivators, then slipped away rather than join their fight.
• A wounded Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator tracked Luo Chen through an alley and struck him with a Soul Severing Nail.
• Luo Chen survived the attack and killed the pursuer with twenty consecutive fireballs, though the nail remained lodged in his abdomen.
• Luo Chen searched the charred corpse and found a Storage Bag beneath the ruined magic robe.
• A burly man carrying a great saber and two heads swooped down toward Luo Chen.

After surviving an attack and looting his dead assailant, Luo Chen treated his wound and discovered that the stolen goods had made him far wealthier. The next day, Wang Yuan gave Luo Chen a Mountain Shattering Gang token and warned him that the Outer City Area would remain unsettled.

• Wang Yuan severed the charred corpse’s head, gave Luo Chen a bloodied Soul Severing Nail, and told him to flee through the woods.
• Luo Chen returned home wounded, treated himself, and sorted the herbs he had gathered.
• Luo Chen opened the dead cultivator’s Storage Bag and found valuable pills, incense, talismans, spiritual grass, Spirit Stones, and a Storage Bag worth far more than his previous possessions.
• Luo Chen used Golden Chest Powder on his wound and eventually fell asleep despite the pain.
• The next day, Wang Yuan gave Luo Chen an iron token making him a member of the Mountain Shattering Gang and warned him to be careful in the unsettled Outer City Area.

Luo Chen examined the loot from his battle, discovering the Soul Severing Nails’ immense power and the Soul Calming Incense’s benefits to cultivation. After reflecting on how poorly he had handled the fight, he resolved to learn from his mistakes and prepare better for future dangers.

• Luo Chen recalled how Wang Yuan had risen from a fellow newcomer in Great River Market to a powerful Seventh Layer cultivator and wondered why he had invited him to join the Mountain Shattering Gang.
• After his abdominal wound healed, Luo Chen tested the Soul Severing Nails and discovered that their Armor Piercing Array made them exceptionally powerful, though firing them consumed much of his Mana and they could not be recalled.
• Luo Chen lit Soul Calming Incense and used its calming effect to circulate the Evergreen Art more times, restoring Mana and improving his cultivation practice.
• Luo Chen reviewed his fight with the Short-Lived Ghost and recognized that he had been indecisive, wasted Mana, and survived largely because he encountered Wang Yuan afterward.

Luo Chen refined a Qi Nourishing Pill, advancing his cultivation and reaching Perfect Grade in the Evergreen Art, which doubled its spiritual-energy efficiency. He developed a mobile, long-range combat style inspired by Wang Yuan and returned to pill refining to fund his cultivation.

• Luo Chen refined a Qi Nourishing Pill and raised his Third Layer of Qi Refining progress from 76 to 78.
• Luo Chen reached Perfect Grade in the Evergreen Art and discovered that it cut his cultivation cycle in half while doubling the spiritual energy refined.
• Luo Chen concluded that he still needed pills and Spirit Stones to make meaningful progress despite his improved cultivation efficiency.
• Luo Chen practiced combining the Carefree Wander skill with rapid Fireball Spells, modeling his combat approach on Wang Yuan.
• Luo Chen settled on fighting as a mobile long-range attacker, keeping his Soul Severing Nails as trump cards, then went home to refine pills for money.

Luo Chen displayed his growing stock of pills at the market and learned that the Great River Gang had allied with the Connecting Cloud Commerce Alliance to challenge the Mountain Shattering Gang’s mountain routes. As the fighting spread through the Outer City Area, Luo Chen considered whether he and Old Taoist Chen should move to the Inner City.

• Luo Chen prepared fifty-five bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills and thirty bottles of All Wonders Pills for market day.
• Old Taoist Chen noticed Luo Chen had reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and Luo Chen credited his progress to cultivation and a Qi Nourishing Pill.
• Luo Chen asked about Wang Yuan, and Old Taoist Chen explained that the Great River Gang and Connecting Cloud Commerce Alliance were challenging the Mountain Shattering Gang’s mountain routes.
• Old Taoist Chen said Wang Yuan had killed several Great River Gang cultivators while guarding a mountain road and warned that fighting had spread into the Outer City Area.
• Old Taoist Chen considered moving into the Inner City, while Luo Chen chose to wait and see because moving would be expensive.

After earning a profit from selling pills, Luo Chen spent most of his savings on medicinal ingredients to expand his pill-making efforts. He returned home to practice his spells and cultivation, then abruptly opened his eyes and stared at the door.

• Luo Chen counted his earnings, talked Old Taoist Chen out of immediate repayment, and promised to repay the fifty spirit stones later.
• Luo Chen bought large quantities of medicinal ingredients and learned Shopkeeper Liu could potentially help sell pills through the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.
• Luo Chen returned home with only forty spirit stones left, sorted his supplies, and practiced the Fireball Spell and Entangling Spell.
• Luo Chen cultivated with the Perfect Grade Evergreen Art, went to bed, then opened his eyes and stared at the door.

Zhou San’s desperate flight brought Gao Ting'e to Luo Chen’s courtyard, where their fight set Luo Chen’s house ablaze. Luo Chen killed Gao Ting'e with a Soul-Breaking Nail and the Entangling Spell, then looted both bodies and lamented that they had little worth taking.

• Zhou San fled toward the Howling Moon Mountain Range while Gao Ting'e pursued him with a Swift Travel Talisman and wounded him with a Flying Sword.
• Zhou San charged toward Luo Chen’s house, and Gao Ting'e’s Fireball struck the courtyard, setting the house ablaze.
• Luo Chen attacked Gao Ting'e with a Fireball and Soul-Breaking Nail, then kept up a barrage that prevented Gao Ting'e from recasting his defensive spell.
• Luo Chen suspected Gao Ting'e was playing dead and killed him with the Entangling Spell when the corpse moved to draw its sword.
• Luo Chen searched both corpses, found little loot, and complained about the poor rewards and his burning house.

Wang Haichao and Xiao Gao discussed the Great River Gang's raid, their losses, and the threat posed by Mad Blade Wang Yuan. Meanwhile, Luo Chen rented a large, cheap room in the Inner City, though its gloomy condition and extra fees left the reason for its low price unexplained.

• Wang Haichao learned that the Great River Gang had looted seven Mountain Shattering Gang strongholds and ordered a High-Grade Magic Tool set aside for Ding Yilong.
• Wang Haichao and Xiao Gao discussed Wang Yuan's growing reputation and Xiao Gao's missing younger brother, whom Xiao Gao believed safe with protective gear and a Swift Travel Talisman.
• Wang Haichao told Xiao Gao to watch for a Mountain Shattering Gang counterattack, noting that reinforcements would soon arrive.
• Luo Chen asked Sun Shou to find him a spacious Inner City rental, and Sun Shou led him through several expensive options before finding a large room in a courtyard.
• Luo Chen agreed to pay rent, a deposit, management and waste-removal fees, and received a smoke-collecting magic tool before asking Sun Shou why the room was unusually cheap.

Cai Yi explained that Great River Market’s Inner City suppressed a Ghost King beneath a formation, while Luo Chen settled into his new room and reckoned with the costs and spoils of his recent fight. After cultivating with the First-Order Spirit Vein, he stopped missing his old home.

• Cai Yi told Luo Chen that the Jade Cauldron Domain’s Founding War had left many ghosts behind and that Great River Market’s formation suppressed a Ghost King beneath the Inner City.
• Cai Yi reassured Luo Chen that the formation kept the Ghost King from affecting daily life, then left for her job dancing at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
• Luo Chen cleaned his room, burned the musk Cai Yi had given him, and took stock of his damaged belongings and the magic tools and Spirit Stones he had seized.
• Luo Chen decided to buy medicinal herbs and household supplies while staying wary of retaliation from the cultivator he had killed.
• Luo Chen circulated the Evergreen Art and felt the benefits of cultivating on a First-Order Spirit Vein.

Luo Chen settled into the Inner City and tested his Jade Knives, realizing he needed the Attraction Art to control them effectively. After reading about a renowned Golden Core Cultivator, he met Cai Yi on his way out and told her he was a Pill Refiner.

• Luo Chen compared the Inner City's First-Order Spirit Vein with the Outer City's poor cultivation conditions and resolved to stay in the Inner City.
• Unable to sleep in the cold, Luo Chen tested his Jade Knives and discovered that the largest blade controlled the child blades.
• Luo Chen decided he needed to buy the Attraction Art so he could control the Jade Knives more effectively.
• Luo Chen practiced Carefree Wander and read about Mu Qingcheng, a Golden Core Cultivator famed for her Mandarin Duck Axes.
• Luo Chen met Cai Yi returning from work and told her he refined pills and usually sold them at the Southern City Rogue Cultivator Market.