Can This Thing Refine Pills?

Outer City, Southwest Corner.

As the area closest to the Howling Moon Mountain Range, this place had always had the fewest residents.

Naturally, that was because the Howling Moon Mountain Range was dominated by wolves—coming and going like the wind, bloodthirsty and vicious.

Even though high-level demon wolves feared Great River Market's formations and dared not come over, there would always be one or two demon wolves without awakened intelligence that occasionally broke through.

That was also why Luo Chen had never dared recklessly expend his spiritual power here, always making sure he had enough left to flee.

Normally, few cultivators came here.

But today, a large crowd had suddenly arrived.

At their head was a short, stocky cultivator. His weathered face brimmed with ruthlessness whether his eyes were open or closed.

"Are you sure it's here?"

"Second Brother Gao, according to the Qi Seeking Plate's guidance, the lingering aura is strongest here. Ting'e should have stayed here for quite some time."

Five or six days had passed since the Great River Gang had suddenly attacked the Mountain Shattering Gang's seven halls.

The Mountain Shattering Gang had suffered grievous losses in that battle.

But compared with the manpower the Great River Gang had lost in the mountains, the two sides' losses were merely six of one, half a dozen of the other.

If this continued, those loose cultivators who were merely trying to make a living would find it hard to bear.

And those people made up the majority of the gangs.

Thus, Mi Shuhua, leader of the Mountain Shattering Gang, had stepped forward to seek peace talks.

The outcome of the negotiations was unknown, but at least there would be no more large-scale fighting in the short term.

As the Great River Gang's second-in-command, Gao Tingyuan finally had some free time to worry about his bastard little brother, Gao Ting'e.

He had been missing for days!

Everyone knew what it meant for a Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivator to vanish for several days in Great River Market's Outer City without saying a word.

Gao Tingyuan became anxious.

He found an expert in charge of river transport and began tracing his younger brother's whereabouts.

In the end, they came here.

Gao Tingyuan looked at the scorched ground, then at the ruins beside it, which had nearly been burned to ash.

Clearly, a brutal battle had once taken place here.

And the method that had created such a miserable sight was, without surprise, the Blazing Sun Talisman Gao Ting'e had bought from the black market.

The Earth Protection aura was thick as well. He must have activated that Earth Protection Talisman too.

Gao Tingyuan's expression darkened further. "The Blazing Sun Talisman was used, and so was the Earth Protection Talisman. If they had only been used to kill a Zhou San, that would be utterly impossible."

He glanced at the ruins nearby.

"Who lived here?"

"A loose cultivator named Luo Chen. In the beginning, he ran errands and did odd jobs for others. Later, he fiddled around with some Grain Avoidance Pills to sell."

"What cultivation level?"

"Qi Refining Third Layer, I think. A pauper. He lived here only because the rent was cheap—half a Spirit Stone a month."

"Where is he?"

"We haven't found him for now. They say he's usually quite withdrawn and never associates with the neighbors here."

A Qi Refining Third Layer loose cultivator could not possibly pose much threat to a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator.

Especially not to someone like Gao Ting'e, who was laden with treasures.

"Can you find where my little brother's final aura stopped?"

The cultivator beside him increased the spiritual power he poured in. The Qi Seeking Plate in his hand began to tremble, and at last its needle pointed straight ahead.

"In the mountains!"

"Come. Follow me inside and take a look."

"But we know nothing about the situation in the mountains!"

"Hmm?"

Under Gao Tingyuan's stare, several cultivators could only follow him in helplessly.

They crossed the weed-choked wilderness and gradually ventured deeper into that dense forest.

Within the forest, traces of Demon Qi had already begun to appear, making the cultivators deeply uneasy.

Even Gao Tingyuan found himself unable to make up his mind.

The Eastern Wilderness Million Mountains possessed resources so abundant they defied all measure.

Yet after thousands of years, human cultivators had opened up less than one percent of them.

Rumor had it that the mountains contained countless Third Order Demon Kings and Tier 4 Demon Emperors, with even Ancient Demons lurking within.

The so-called mountain hunts of ordinary loose cultivators were, in truth, merely small skirmishes around the outermost regions.

Once they encountered a Second-Order Demon Beast, they could only flee in panic—and most would not escape at all.

The reason the Mountain Shattering Gang could firmly control the mountain trade was that, in its early days, it had used life after life to probe out the territories of numerous Second-Order Demon Beasts.

But even so, every trip into the mountains required the utmost caution.

"Something's wrong, Second Brother Gao."

"What is it?"

"The Qi Seeking Plate is becoming chaotic."

"What do you mean?"

Gao Tingyuan looked at the Qi Seeking Plate. Its needle was darting wildly about, pointing east one moment and west the next.

In just a short while, it had pointed in four or five different directions.

"This has happened before. One of our brothers was killed, his corpse cut into several pieces and fed to a few big fish..."

The cultivator holding the Qi Seeking Plate spoke more and more softly.

Because Gao Tingyuan's face beside him had already darkened to the extreme.

The oppressive atmosphere blended perfectly into the forest.

After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Good! Good! Good! Not only did you kill my little brother, you desecrated his corpse as well. Don't let me find you!"

"Then, Second Brother, what do we do now?"

"Go back!"

The group felt as though a great burden had been lifted, and even their steps back became much lighter.

As they passed the ruins, Gao Tingyuan paused his short, stocky frame.

"Notify Fifth Brother. Have him find out whether any Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators from the Mountain Shattering Gang came this way that night. Check the Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivators too."

"Also, investigate that loose cultivator who lived here. If he's still alive, bring him before me."

"Don't let me find you, you bastard. I'll make you wish you were dead!"

With that, he flicked out a streak of spiritual light.

A Magic Tool flickered within the light, transforming into an azure Water Flood Dragon that suddenly slammed into the ruins.

The only half-wall that had yet to collapse was driven three feet into the earth, leaving only a pointed corner exposed.

Luo Chen knew nothing about someone adding another Water Flood Dragon strike to his old home.

In fact, even if he had known, all he could have done was give it a thumbs-up.

After salvaging part of his belongings from the house, he had added several Fireball Spells of his own, burning the place even more thoroughly to ensure that not too many traces remained.

As for Zhou San and Gao Ting'e, those two paupers whose names he did not know, his method of disposal had been simple.

He had cut them into several pieces, added some special Chinese medicinal herbs, lightly roasted them over the fire used to burn the house, then thrown them into the forest.

That specially made "roasted meat" was highly attractive to demon beasts such as wolves and dogs.

Luo Chen had discovered the recipe when he once roasted beef himself, added herbal powder that greatly replenished qi and blood, and drew over a young wolf.

Since then, he had never used that recipe again, afraid it would attract even stronger demon beasts.

After disposing of the corpses, he had found a place to hide. The next day, he headed straight for the Inner City.

As for whether he would be found out later, he would deal with that when the time came!

Luo Chen had no time to think about such things now. All he wanted was to refine pills.

The materials, which had cost as much as two hundred Spirit Stones, had long since been prepared.

The refinement of All Wonders Pills was back on track once more.

Based on his previous experience, his success rate was around ten percent.

Yet this time, during the first five days of refining, he succeeded twice in a row.

His success rate was as high as forty percent!

How could he not be overjoyed?

But as the subsequent refining continued, that wild delight gradually faded.

Five consecutive failures made him realize that his earlier luck had merely been like eating dumplings during Chinese New Year.

If he wanted to raise his success rate and reduce the cost even further, he still had to grind up his All Wonders Pill proficiency.

"Soon, soon!"

Luo Chen glanced at the Attribute Panel. [All Wonders Pill Novice 91/100].

He only needed to succeed one more time before he could level up.

This feeling—that effort would always bring rewards—was simply too wonderful.

Even his daily work of blasting Fireball Spells into the corner of the wall, then filling it with fresh dirt, became more passionate.

Several more days passed in failure.

"This time, I'll definitely succeed."

Wearing a brand-new apron, Luo Chen lit a stick of incense before the newly molded Lord Guan. There were even two Pinpo Fruits placed beside it.

He felt that his failures over the past few days were because he had forgotten to offer incense to Lord Guan.

The Faint Smoke Sparse Rain Pavilion was still at work. It had to be said that this Magic Tool invented in Sky Sail City truly had something special about it.

Though Luo Chen had grown accustomed to all sorts of smells during pill refining, the odor before an All Wonders Pill took shape still made him deeply uncomfortable.

But with this Magic Tool, he no longer had to endure the torment of that biochemical poison gas.

In the afternoon, Luo Chen carefully lifted the pot lid.

A bright-red gelatinous substance, like jelly, came into view, and Luo Chen's brows and eyes softened.

"It's done, Second Master!"

"We're champions!"

The first thing he did was check the Attribute Panel.

[All Wonders Pill Novice 91/100]—[All Wonders Pill Proficient 101/200]

At the instant his proficiency leveled up, Luo Chen vaguely felt as if a window paper had been pierced through.

Insights he had never possessed before gathered into trickling streams under the system's blessing, which he absorbed and digested.

Details he had previously overlooked also emerged one after another.

Luo Chen had the feeling that if he started another batch of All Wonders Pills, he would surely handle the finer details better, and the success rate should rise considerably as well.

Creak!

The wooden door was suddenly pushed open.

A bright, graceful face poked in.

Gu Cai Yi's eyes lit up. "You really are home! I bought some Spirit Fruits from Spirit Source Studio. Want to try some?"

Spirit Source Studio's Spirit Fruits!

Of course he had to try them. Luo Chen had no idea what thin skin meant.

Gu Cai Yi pushed the door open, only then noticing Luo Chen standing before the stove in an apron.

She handed him a large emerald-green fruit, then craned her head to peek into the pot.

"What delicious thing are you making now?"

"Meat jelly?"

"Why does it smell so strongly of medicine?"

Holding the fruit, Luo Chen took a bite.

It was bursting with juice. There was not much spiritual qi in it, but it was sweet.

The taste was far better than the wild hawthorns he had been eating lately.

He said casually, "It's not for eating. It's a pill I refined. Hey, don't touch it. It's hot."

Gu Cai Yi looked utterly bewildered.

Pointing at that iron pot, she questioned her very existence. "This thing can refine pills?"