Luo Chen, a Rogue Cultivator

Rumble...

Rumbling thunder made the entire Great River Market fall silent beneath the might of heaven and earth.

The lively sight of evasive lights filling the sky had noticeably diminished.

After all, no one could guarantee they would not be unlucky enough to get struck down by lightning while flying through the air.

Who knew whether that would count as undergoing a tribulation in advance?

Great River Market covered an enormous area. It had an inner city protected by a Tier 3 Great Formation, sufficient to defend against attacks from demon beasts below the third order.

Even if a third-order demon beast launched a sudden attack, the formation could usually hold for a while—long enough for the people in the city to react.

Of course, such a massive formation required tremendous resources to activate and maintain daily, so it only encompassed the inner city.

By comparison, the rogue cultivator settlements spreading outward from the inner city were far less safe.

In all four directions—east, south, west, and north—over ten thousand wooden and stone houses stood scattered about.

Beside a stream in the southwest corner, a wooden house with one bedroom, one living room, and one kitchen sat quietly apart, nearly two li from the nearest rogue cultivator residence.

It was quiet outside, but the kitchen inside was a blazing hive of activity.

"One jin of Chinese yam, sliced. Two liang of white poria. Three liang of one-year-old ginseng..."

"One jin of Tier 1 demon beast yellow beef, minced. Not a speck of bone grit."

"Add scallion and ginger, japonica rice, fennel..."

The muttering came from a bare-chested young man. He stared into the pot with complete concentration, occasionally skillfully taking ingredients from the wooden shelf beside him and adding them to the pot.

The pot ladle in his hand flew as he stir-fried.

As a huge pot of snow-white beef bone broth was poured in, Luo Chen finally let out a sigh of relief.

He poked at the firewood in the stove, occasionally pulling out a few logs, then quietly waited for the finished product.

An hour later, the young man lifted the lid and drew a deep breath at the sight of the thick, sticky contents.

"Look at that color—smooth, white, and bright. High-grade!"

"Smell that fragrance—rich without being scorched. High-grade!"

Luo Chen extended a finger, scooped a little from the ladle, and put it in his mouth.

One taste!

"Essence full, spirit manifest. Stimulated by the angelica sinensis and ginseng, the spiritual energy from those five jin of Tier 1 demon beast yellow beef has been evenly distributed throughout this grain avoidance powder."

"Not bad. The flavor has been handled perfectly too. High-grade!"

Licking his finger, Luo Chen could not help smiling in satisfaction.

Based on his experience these days, this pot of grain avoidance powder could be rolled into at least five bottles of grain avoidance pills.

It sounded rather ridiculous, but Luo Chen really was refining pills!

And it was the grain avoidance pill most cultivators used. Though this was only a low-end version, at best it could be called grain avoidance powder.

Before it could cool, he took it off the heat and poured it onto the cutting board.

Luo Chen picked up a yellowed bamboo slip, poured the sticky paste onto it, dripped on several drops of Hundred Flowers Fragrant Honey, then began rolling the bamboo slip.

Under the bamboo slip's rolling, the steaming grain avoidance powder gradually became cylindrical. As the Hundred Flowers Fragrant Honey blended in, its color turned faintly yellow.

His hands moved swiftly, pinching the cylindrical medicinal paste into round pills the size of thumbs.

One pill, two pills, three pills...

When Luo Chen finally stopped, fifty grain avoidance pills lay neatly arranged across the cutting board.

Looking at the results, Luo Chen had no time to celebrate before turning his attention to the panel before his eyes, invisible to outsiders.

[Name: Luo Chen]

[Lifespan: 27/75]

[Spirit Root: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]

[Realm: Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage: 75/100]

[Cultivation Method: Evergreen Art Mastery: 235/300]

[Spells: Cleanse Spell Novice 49/100, Entangling Spell Proficient 176/200, Fireball Spell Mastery 268/300]

[Skill: Tier 1 Alchemist: Grain Avoidance Powder Grandmaster 501/1000]

[Achievement Points: 10 points (Can be used for corresponding realm cultivation method, spells, and skill entry)]

"Ten achievement points in hand. I can use them to unlock All Wonders Pill!"

Looking at this proficiency panel, Luo Chen actually felt somewhat moved.

He had been here for a year!

In his previous life, he had merely been a corporate slave who left early and returned late. In his rare spare time, he could only play those xianxia leveling games on his phone.

Because he had no money, he could only grind in such games, grinding cultivation method progress bars whenever he had the chance.

Who would have thought that one sleepless late night, while he was running a game instance, he would run and run straight into transmigration?

The original owner of this body had also been named Luo Chen, and had even been the same age as him.

In his early years, he entered the deep mountains and stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter in a cave: cultivator's remains. From then on, he embarked on a ten-year path of cultivation.

Following the map guidance left with the remains, he came to Great River Market, hoping to participate in the disciple recruitment of a nearby sect.

However, he had already been seventeen ten years ago, past the sects' sixteen-year age limit.

On top of that, he possessed the balanced Five Spirit Roots Physique, practically no different from an ordinary person without spirit roots, so no sect wanted him.

By all rights, he should have gone back where he came from.

But the original owner's heart of seeking the Dao was exceptionally firm. With a bottle of pills, a scroll of the Evergreen Art, and several spirit stones from that fortuitous encounter, he settled down in Great River Market.

In the early days, he had even been so short of money that he could not afford a wooden house near the inner city and could only rent a place beside a stream on the outermost edge.

Living in the market was no easy matter.

Even the outermost houses required half a spirit stone in rent every month.

Although he had built the house himself, he still had to pay that half spirit stone every month.

After spending all his spirit stones, the original owner did not sit still and wait for death.

Sometimes he watched stalls for others; sometimes he followed others into the mountains to hunt. In any case, he struggled to remain.

Later, he realized this could not go on, so he began studying the two pill recipes found with the remains.

All Wonders Pill was too difficult, so he could only begin researching the lowest-grade grain avoidance powder.

All one could say was that those with fortuitous encounters usually had some measure of good fortune.

After several initial failures, he successfully refined grain avoidance powder.

Though its quality was average, rogue cultivators who often entered the mountains to hunt for ten days or half a month at a time would always buy it.

Thus, the original owner barely managed to settle down in Great River Market.

However, the heavens have unforeseen winds, and people have unexpected fortunes and misfortunes.

After deciding that grain avoidance powder was not enough to support his cultivation, the original owner set his sights on an incomplete pill recipe he had collected.

Then, on his very first attempt at pill refining, the pot exploded!

The violent blast even blew this wooden house apart.

That was when Luo Chen transmigrated here and took over this body.

Whenever he thought of his circumstances just after transmigrating, Luo Chen felt like crying without tears.

It had also been raining heavily then. Amid the ruins, his face covered in blood, he had faced this world in utter confusion and helplessness.

But fortunately, everything had already passed.

"One year later, the grain avoidance powder has finally risen from Perfect Grade to Grandmaster Level Proficiency. It can barely meet my daily needs."

"The greatest gain is that I've saved up ten achievement points, enough to unlock All Wonders Pill!"

Luo Chen currently possessed three pill recipes.

A Tier 1 grain avoidance powder recipe, a Tier 1 All Wonders Pill recipe, and an incomplete Tier 2 pill recipe that the original owner had obtained by sheer luck.

That recipe was called Jade Dew Pill. If successfully refined, it could produce a Tier 2 Jade Dew Pill, immensely useful to cultivators practicing water attribute cultivation methods.

A single bottle normally sold for as much as one mid-grade spirit stone!

With such huge profits, it was no wonder the original owner had gotten carried away.

Perhaps he trusted his luck. Perhaps the easy entry into grain avoidance powder had given him confidence. Or perhaps poverty had forced him to take the risk.

In any case, he charged ahead bravely.

The final result was that the pot exploded, the house collapsed, and the man was gone.

Now, Luo Chen had also reached this moment of choice.

Relying on grain avoidance powder alone would only let him survive. It was definitely not enough for cultivation.

If he wanted resources for cultivation, he had to open up another source of income beyond grain avoidance powder.

His target was not Jade Dew Pill at all, and ten achievement points were not enough to unlock Tier 2 pill refining.

Therefore, after discovering the achievement point function on the proficiency panel, he had already made up his mind.

"All Wonders Pill must be refined!"

"I have to refine it!"

"Even if I have to give up my reputation!"

When everyone encounters advertisements like "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention. Just close them. Do not scan the code or send text messages!

At the request of many readers, a VIP membership ad-free function has now been launched.