Pill Room, Immortal Beans

Perhaps it was because Fu Xiu Xiu had been home these past two days.

Bai Mei Ling seemed to return from work a little earlier every day.

After returning, she would pull Fu Xiu Xiu out shopping, or chat with her in the courtyard, letting out crisp, delicate laughter from time to time.

Of course, she also kept finding excuses to slip into Luo Chen's room.

Watching Luo Chen build the Pill Room bit by bit, her eyes held an extra trace of admiration.

"With craftsmanship like yours, even if pill refining doesn't work out someday, you could still find work at Ailao Mountain."

"Ailao Mountain? What does it do?"

"It's a Golden Core sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain. It produces all kinds of minerals, and the sect is especially skilled at building houses. Didn't you buy these bricks and stones from Immortal Abode Residence, Ailao Mountain's directly operated shop?"

Immortal Abode Residence was an Ailao Mountain business?

Luo Chen really had not known that.

Or rather, he did not know much about the Ailao Mountain sect at all.

Bai Mei Ling casually explained it to him, and only then did he learn that Ailao Mountain was flourishing spectacularly in the Jade Cauldron Domain.

Independent cultivators were not too particular about where they lived. A wooden house or a cave was enough for them to live happily.

But sect cultivators with deep pockets were not nearly so willing to make do.

Their residences and cave abodes often had to be carefully designed.

From lighting and illumination to herb gardens and Pill Rooms, everything had to be built in the right location with the right materials.

Large buildings in particular contained countless hidden intricacies.

From mountain gates and blessed grottos to Marketplace structures, it was not as simple as building the house, laying the floor, and setting up one massive formation.

How spiritual wood should be matched, how ore permeated and gathered spiritual energy, and how feng shui orientation affected a cultivator's long-term residence.

They even had to consider whether the flooring was suitable for large flying ships to take off and land on.

Some renowned grand formations were deliberately arranged not merely to blend with the mountains and waterways, but to fuse with the buildings themselves, borrowing each other's momentum.

In the three hundred years since the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had established its supremacy over this region, a vigorous wave of development and construction had swept through it.

During that immense construction boom, Ailao Mountain had taken on a great many projects and made money until its bowls overflowed and its basins brimmed.

"The early construction of our Great River Market, from layout and design to actual construction, was entirely handled by Ailao Mountain."

"It is said that in Divine Craftsman City of Ailao Mountain, any random cave abode starts at one hundred thousand Spirit Stones—and is only sold for seventy years."

After hearing Bai Mei Ling's explanation, Luo Chen was left utterly stunned.

Real estate in the Cultivation World was this lucrative too?

No, when I have Spirit Stones in the future, I have to hire experts from Ailao Mountain to redesign the place.

"By the way, do Sister Xiu Xiu and Sister Cai Yi have some kind of conflict?" Luo Chen curiously asked for gossip.

Matters between women were troublesome, and he did not want to get involved.

But gossip between women always sounded interesting.

Bai Mei Ling tilted her little head. "There's no conflict!"

"Sister Xiu Xiu is very gentle. She is usually amiable and rarely argues with anyone."

Luo Chen froze for a moment. "Then why did Sister Xiu Xiu seem uncomfortable when I mentioned Sister Cai Yi?"

"Oh, that!" Bai Mei Ling smacked her lips and waved her small hand. "Isn't it all because of what happened with Sister Xiu Xiu's Dao companion?"

Fu Xiu Xiu had once had a Dao companion?

Luo Chen's interest instantly flared.

"Sister Xiu Xiu's Dao companion was an Inner Disciple of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. But after failing to break through to Foundation Establishment, he transferred to the outer sect as an Outer Sect Elder."

"Outer Sect Elders cannot devote themselves wholeheartedly to Pure Cultivation. They have to be dispatched to various places to handle the sect's industries."

"That man came to Great River Market and met Sister Xiu Xiu, who was still an independent cultivator at the time. The two became Dao companions."

As Bai Mei Ling spoke, she shook her head.

"But after failing Foundation Establishment, his Dao heart was damaged, and he later drowned himself in pleasure. Even after getting Sister Xiu Xiu, he still frequently spent the night at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion."

"One morning, he died. He died in an embroidered chamber at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion."

"Senior Sun Shou personally went to retrieve the corpse."

To die beneath the peony flowers, and remain romantic even as a ghost?

Luo Chen could not help giving a thumbs-up. Truly a role model for our generation.

"After that, Sister Xiu Xiu stopped liking anything connected to Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. Since Sister Cai Yi works there, perhaps seeing her stirred old memories, so she does not like Sister Cai Yi very much!"

Bai Mei Ling laid out the whole story one detail at a time, and only then did Luo Chen come to a sudden realization.

Hating the house and its crow, that was more or less the situation.

Having satisfied Luo Chen's curiosity, Bai Mei Ling also remembered her own question.

"Can the Fire Hound Whip be used to refine High-Grade Grain Avoidance Pills too?"

Luo Chen hurriedly pushed her outside. "I need to get busy. It's going to smell terrible in a while!"

"Eugh, remember to turn on Faint Smoke Sparse Rain Pavilion, or I'll report you."

Pinching her nose, Bai Mei Ling ran away in disgust.

With a casual flick of spiritual power, Luo Chen turned on the exhaust hood and took the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace from his Storage Bag.

"A one-cubic-meter capacity is still a little too small. If only I had a Storage Bag with three or five cubic meters, or even one with a hundred cubic meters."

It was ultimately still a Tier 1 Lower-Grade Dharma Artifact and could not expand or shrink as he pleased.

The Purple Cloud Copper Furnace alone occupied nearly eighty percent of his Storage Bag's space.

He had had no choice before, so he stuffed the medicinal herbs inside the furnace.

If he did not take them out soon, even the main ingredients would absorb each other's odors.

Carefully placing the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace above the fire pit, he added water.

He took out a bundle of yellowed Azure Steel Wood and stuffed it beneath the furnace. With a Fireball Spell, the firewood slowly began to burn.

Having switched alchemy tools, the peach wood and Redwood he had often used before were no longer suitable.

Those two kinds of firewood produced too little heat. Heating the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace with them would take who knew how long.

Thus, Luo Chen had specially purchased the expensive Azure Steel Wood.

This Tier 1 spirit wood contained oils and could release considerable heat after being ignited.

"It is said that high-level cultivators refining pills either use their internal pill fire or borrow Earthfire and Heavenly Fire from heaven and earth. When will I be able to use such methods?"

After muttering a few words and confirming that the fire pit's insulation was fine, Luo Chen turned and left the Pill Room.

First, he needed to burn the Alchemy Furnace, warm it up, and burn out some of the medicinal fumes hidden within.

These were all lessons learned from experience.

When Xiang Xiang Girl sold him the furnace, she had also reminded him of this in the booklet she left behind.

Burning the furnace was only the first step. Next came testing the furnace; only after becoming familiar with it could he refine pills with confidence.

For these next two days, he would process the medicinal herbs first!

Crackle!

Bang! Crack!

"What was that sound?"

A lazy, puzzled voice came from outside. Luo Chen opened the stone door of the Pill Room and walked out, his face covered in soot.

Seeing his bedraggled appearance, Gu Cai Yi could not help letting out a snort of laughter.

"What are you doing? And why did you partition off a room inside your house?"

Huff, huff!

Luo Chen fanned the air and cast a Cleanse Spell on himself.

With a bang, the dust clinging to his body scattered in all directions, making Gu Cai Yi hurriedly dodge aside.

He walked over to the water vat, scooped up a large ladle of cold water, and gulped it down. Only then did he catch his breath.

"Damn it, no wonder famous pill refiners all need furnace-tending boys. This Pill Room simply isn't a place people can stay in often."

After cursing, he finally had the time to explain things to Gu Cai Yi.

"This is the new Pill Room I built. Not bad, right?"

Gu Cai Yi waved her hand, brushing away the dust around her.

"It is not bad. I suggest you stay in there every day."

Luo Chen's expression darkened, but he did not take it to heart. "I was testing the furnace and stir-fried some Immortal Beans. Want some?"

"Immortal Beans?"

Luo Chen ducked into the Pill Room and soon carried out a plate of golden beans.

The beans had shells, but during the high-heat stir-frying process, the shells had already cracked open.

With a gentle peel, the snow-white kernels inside were revealed.

"They're Bitter Hazelnuts?" Gu Cai Yi skeptically picked one up. "These things are very bitter. Can you eat them?"

"You'll know if you try."

Luo Chen had already begun peeling shells and stuffing several into his mouth.

Gu Cai Yi peeled open the golden shell and placed the tender white kernel into her mouth.

Her rosy lips moved slightly, and her eyes slowly brightened.

"Oh, this is good! How did you fry them? They're fragrant and crispy, and there's even a faint trace of spiritual energy in them."

Luo Chen smugly said, "A secret recipe, no comment!"

Gu Cai Yi rolled her eyes at him and snatched away the entire plate of Immortal Beans.

Luo Chen did not mind. He added a bucket of water to the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace, then carried a small watering can outside.

In the courtyard, Gu Cai Yi sat on the child-sized swing Little Hu usually used, holding the plate of Immortal Beans and absentmindedly peeling one now and then.

Across from her, Luo Chen carried the small watering can and watered a row of potted plants one by one.

"These are Fu Xiu Xiu's flowers and plants, right?"

Luo Chen gave a grunt, checking the two spirit plants Sister Xiu Xiu had specifically told him to watch over and confirming that nothing was wrong.

Four days had already passed since the last gathering.

Fu Xiu Xiu's rest day had ended, and she had returned to work at Divine Talisman Pavilion. She only had one day off per month.

She had been promoted to manager some time ago and had spent a long time at Divine Talisman Pavilion before accumulating three days of leave.

Before leaving, she had entrusted these flowers and plants to Luo Chen's care.

"You really are familiar with her fast. You only just met her, and you already tricked these flowers and plants into your hands."

"You can't just say things like that! How can something between neighbors be called tricking?"

"Tch. I saw it just now—you put that pot of Moonlight Grass by your bed. You must secretly work hard at cultivating every night, right?"

Luo Chen's face reddened. How were this woman's eyes so sharp?

But she was right, the Moonlight Grass was truly quite effective. Though it could not compare to Soul Calming Incense, it still had about one-tenth of its effect.

Over the past two nights, the maximum number of times he could circulate the Evergreen Art had increased by one.

After cultivating each day, he woke up brimming with energy in the morning!

Even his daily grinding of Spell proficiency shot upward, and several spells had broken through to new levels.

Luo Chen hurriedly changed the subject. "Why didn't I see you come back these past few days?"

"Eh, wait, your cultivation?"

Gu Cai Yi pursed her lips in a smile. The narrow swing squeezed her plump hips, creating an exaggerated visual contrast against her slender waist.

"You noticed, huh? I'm at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer now!"