I Can't Go With You

"Look here, look there, immortal cultivation days are truly splendid!"

"Five spirit stones aren't much, can't buy a magic artifact, can't buy a carriage."

"Are our pills any good? Your intimate Dao companion will know best."

"Pop an All Wonders Pill or two, and the cultivation road holds boundless sights for you."

Listening to the youngster beside him rattle off one catchy rhyme after another, Chen Xiuping felt more embarrassed than he had in his entire life.

He dearly wished he had properly learned the Earth Splitting Technique when he was young. If he had, he could split open the ground right now and crawl inside.

This was far too humiliating!

They might be running a street stall, but they were still cultivators!

How could they hawk wares like mortal peddlers, utterly abandoning all dignity?

Chen Xiuping regretted it. Why had he rented the same stall as Luo Chen?

Wasn't it just half a spirit stone? It was not as if he lacked that money.

Casting Luo Chen a resentful glance, Old Taoist Chen pleaded, "Little Luo Fellow Daoist, could we keep our voices down a little?"

"Why should we? Haven't eaten, or suffering from malnutrition?"

"None of the other fellow Daoists hawk their wares like you do!"

Luo Chen spoke with perfect confidence. "That's because they have no faith in their own goods! I'm different. A Golden Core Immortal's pill recipe, personally refined by an Alchemy Grandmaster, taking a whole month to produce one batch of All Wonders Pills. If I don't shout louder, how can more fellow Daoists enjoy them?"

Damn, a Golden Core Immortal's pill recipe?

It was one thing to fool others, but he believed it himself now?

Yet Chen Xiuping could not refute him. The Spirit Concealing Aura Hiding Talismans Old Taoist Chen had been selling so well lately also bore the name of the Spiritual Hermit from the Divine Talisman Sect.

How had he fallen for this brat's nonsense in the first place?

Now they were going to lose face together.

Just as Chen Xiuping's old face burned red with shame, more and more cultivators gathered around the Azure Stone stall.

"What kind of pill is this, to dare boast so extravagantly?"

"All Wonders Pills? Never heard of them!"

"What does this pill do?"

Luo Chen remained unhurried. He enthusiastically picked up a jade bottle and began introducing it to the crowd.

"Made with North Sea Jade Scallops and spirit beast flesh, a specialty of the Medicine King Sect, then personally refined by an Alchemy Grandmaster, this batch of All Wonders Pills was finally produced."

As he said this, his face did not redden and his heart did not race.

A Grain Avoidance Pill master was still a master!

He dared swear to the heavens that his words contained not the slightest falsehood!

"Take one, and your yang energy will surge, your desires will soar, allowing you and your Dao companion to ascend together to the peak of cloud and rain."

"This is no demonic-path pill. It also strengthens the foundation and nourishes the origin, without harming your vital essence."

"In short, one pill brings bliss, two pills make you an immortal or Buddha, and three pills make you supreme above heaven and earth!"

The cultivators gradually caught on.

What spiritual miracle medicine was this? It was plainly the most sought-after aphrodisiac in the mortal world.

Still, the young man spoke with a silver tongue, and everyone listened with great relish.

They did not particularly believe that this sort of medicine could affect cultivators.

Some refused to believe it without trying. They picked up a pill bottle, removed the stopper, and sniffed it.

"Does it really work?"

"Genuine goods at a fair price, neither child nor elder deceived!" Luo Chen declared solemnly.

"But I still want to establish my foundation and pursue the Great Dao." The questioning cultivator wore a resolute expression, as though he himself believed such nonsense.

Luo Chen did not expose him. Anyone truly determined to pursue the Great Dao would never entertain such thoughts.

Instead, he became even more enthusiastic. This was exactly his target customer!

"Rest assured, as long as you take it in moderation, it will not break the Lower Gate Golden Lock. Your Primordial Yang True Essence will escape without leaking."

"Really?"

"You'll know once you try it. At the crucial moment, the essence that escapes is actually transformed from the pill, not your own vital essence."

That cultivator still hesitated.

The main reason was that although many people were watching, not a single one had bought anything.

Just as the stalemate continued, a fat man squeezed out from the crowd.

"Fellow Daoist Zeng, long time no see."

"Mm. Give me five bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills." Zeng Wen's face remained calm as he flicked out eleven spirit stones.

The surrounding cultivators were all stunned. Five bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills should only cost one spirit stone!

"Right away! Here are your Grain Avoidance Pills, Fellow Daoist. May you enter treasure mountains, explore spirit springs, and win a banner victory from the start!"

Luo Chen handed him a handful of Jade Bottles, about seven in total.

Two of them were unmistakably Jade Bottles of All Wonders Pills.

Zeng Wen calmly put away the Jade Bottles, turned, and left the crowd.

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then the cultivator who had been questioning him softly said, "It seems my home is also short on Grain Avoidance Pills. Give me five bottles!"

With that, he took out six spirit stones and happily received five bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills, along with one complimentary bottle of All Wonders Pills.

At that, the cultivators all suddenly understood.

For a time, everyone generously opened their purses, all to buy a few bottles of Grain Avoidance Pills and return home for secluded bitter cultivation.

Once that wave of customers left, Luo Chen took even more pills from his Storage Bag.

Old Taoist Chen beside him watched with twitching eyelids, shocked both by how quickly Luo Chen earned spirit stones and by the tremendous progress in Luo Chen's pill refining.

It had only been a month since they last met, yet he had refined even more pills than before.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, with so many customers here, aren't you going to promote your talismans while you're at it?"

Luo Chen casually reminded him amid his busy work.

Old Taoist Chen instantly came to his senses.

Luo Chen had always been mooching off his customers before. Why was he being so slow today?

He opened his mouth and murmured something softly, but no one heard him.

After a while, though, he gathered his courage and shouted.

"Quality Aura Concealing Talismans! Demonic beasts can't see you, enemies can't find you! You won't lose out by buying, you won't be fooled by buying, come take a look!"

Luo Chen was jolted.

Then he gave Old Taoist Chen a thumbs-up.

As expected of a man who could sell goods from the same stall as me. Still vigorous in old age!

Perhaps today's feng shui was good, perhaps Luo Chen shouted loudly enough, or perhaps the recent conflict between the two gangs had left the cultivators' nerves stretched too tight.

In any case, the All Wonders Pills sold very well that day.

Even the Grain Avoidance Powder he had refined on the side sold out in a short time.

By noon, only the last few bottles of All Wonders Pills remained unsold.

Luo Chen had originally wanted to strike while the iron was hot and hawk them all off, then go purchase raw materials in the afternoon.

However, after only shouting a few times, two cultivators with unfriendly expressions appeared in front of his stall.

"Luo Chen, right?"

Luo Chen's heart gave a thump, and he instantly realized something.

Yet his expression did not change, and he continued greeting them warmly.

"Would you two fellow Daoists like to learn about the All Wonders Pills?"

"We're not buying pills. Tell me, do you know Gao Ting'e?"

Luo Chen first shook his head. "No." Then he asked curiously, "Who is that?"

Duan Sanfu said coldly, "Gao Ting'e is the younger brother of our boss, Gao Tingyuan. A month ago, he disappeared in the Outer City Southwest Wasteland. You should know that place well, shouldn't you?"

"Of course I know it well. That's my home!"

Luo Chen first nodded, then indignantly said, "I was out collecting medicinal herbs at the time. When I came back the next day, my house had been burned to the ground. So it was your people who did it! Is there no justice, no law left in this world?"

Law? Their Great River Gang was the law!

Duan Sanfu gave a mocking laugh, exchanged a glance with his companion, then coughed.

"Who burned your house, we don't know. But now, you'd best come with us and meet our big brother."

Luo Chen seriously took half a step back and watched them warily.

"Can I not go? I feel like you'll beat me up."

"You cannot refuse!" Duan Sanfu sneered. "Our big brother is the second-in-command of the Great River Gang, second only to Gang Leader Wang. If you refuse, the consequences will be severe."

In his view, a mere Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator should have already been scared out of his wits upon hearing the name Great River Gang.

Next, Luo Chen should obediently follow them.

However, Luo Chen merely shrugged.

"Then I definitely can't go with you to the Great River Gang."

"Hm? Why?"

"Because my big brother is Wang Yuan!"

Luo Chen said with a smile, pointing into the distance.

At a nearby street stall, Wang Yuan had already risen to his feet, his cold eyes fixed indifferently in this direction.