Alchemy, Being Expelled

A sharp hiss! Lu Xiaotian felt a stinging pain in his brain and quickly withdrew his Spiritual Sense from the Storage Bag.

Lu Xiaotian looked at the black Storage Bag with surprise and doubt. Logically, the Black Robe Old Man's Primordial Spirit had already been destroyed by him, so opening this Storage Bag should not be a problem. Yet, when he tried to open it with his Spiritual Sense, he was still met with a cold, snake-like mental attack attached to the Storage Bag.

Perhaps the Black Robe Old Man had some unrevealed secrets, but now that his soul was scattered, that secret would likely remain buried forever.

What a shame about that Golden Flying Sword. Lu Xiaotian smacked his lips, but he was satisfied with today's battle.

With the Black Robe Old Man gone, he could finally make proper use of the mysterious Space within him. Aside from keeping an empty Storage Bag on him as a pretense, all the remaining Spiritual Materials were sent into the Barrier.

After doing this, Lu Xiaotian rested his chin on his hand. Before, he was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer. Even with an ample supply of Pills, it would have taken several years to cultivate to the Fifth Layer.

But now, he was already at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. The Primordial Scripture in his hand could only cultivate him to the Mid Qi Refining Stage, so obtaining a Cultivation Technique for the Late Qi Refining Stage was an urgent matter.

A single late-stage Cultivation Technique usually cost around forty Low-grade Spirit Stones in the shops. Ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivators could barely afford one by relying on their usual earnings; Luo Yuan even had to take on debt. Now, he only had eight Low-grade Spirit Stones. The only things he could sell were a dozen or so Origin Energy Pills. Although it was a windfall, it could easily attract the attention of those at the Late Qi Refining Stage, or even Qi Refining Great Perfection. This would be extremely disadvantageous for his future adventures in the Moon Gazing Mountain Range and for collecting the Spiritual Materials needed to join a Sect. Moreover, he would need a lot of Spirit Stones later to collect Pill Recipes for the Mid and Late Qi Refining Stages.

Going out to find work, the Spirit Stones earned in a month, after deducting various expenses and the cost of cultivation, would likely take a considerable amount of time to accumulate. This would undoubtedly affect his cultivation.

However, Lu Xiaotian thought about how in Moon Gazing City, various workshops and shops offered good prices for those who could forge artifacts, raise Spirit Beasts, refine pills, or cultivate low-grade Spiritual Grass, or make Spirit Talismans.

Coincidentally, there were still over a dozen Purple Spirit Grass in the Barrier, and they could regenerate. They could be used to refine Qi Gathering Pills. After much thought, Lu Xiaotian decided to start with alchemy.

The consumption of Pills by cultivators was a significant expense, and it could also satisfy his own needs. Even if the Qi Gathering Pills were less effective now, it was still better than nothing. Furthermore, as someone at the Mid Qi Refining Stage and a beginner Alchemist, selling Qi Gathering Pills would not attract too much attention.

With this in mind, Lu Xiaotian went out again and bought all the other herbs needed as auxiliary ingredients for refining Qi Gathering Pills. He also purchased a batch of charcoal. Apart from the Purple Spirit Grass, the auxiliary ingredients were not expensive, costing only two Low-grade Spirit Stones in total.

The charcoal was made from burning low-grade Spiritual Wood. For refining pills, cultivators could also directly condense Primordial Yang Fire from their Origin Energy. However, this would consume too much Origin Energy. If the Origin Energy in the Dantian was depleted, and the heat could not be maintained, the pill would likely become a waste pill.

After preparing the materials, Lu Xiaotian hesitantly looked at the room's environment. The room was too small and not suitable for alchemy. But other than this room, he had nowhere else to go.

He couldn't worry about it anymore, he'd refine first. Thinking this, Lu Xiaotian hardened his resolve.

He took out the Alchemy Furnace he had bought from Luo Qing earlier. The furnace had alternating purple and yellow stripes, a characteristic pattern of Purple Profound Copper. Touching it with his hands gave it a cold texture. Three curved legs supported the small cauldron on the ground.

He had already memorized the Pill Recipe for the Qi Gathering Pill. Following the steps, he started the fire. The Spiritual Wood charcoal burned at a high temperature, quickly heating the small cauldron until it glowed red. Lu Xiaotian followed the steps and first put in several auxiliary ingredients, reducing the amount of charcoal. When a faint fragrance wafted from the small hole in the lid of the cauldron, Lu Xiaotian took out a stalk of Purple Spirit Grass and threw it in.

A moment later, a unique aroma rose from the cauldron. Lu Xiaotian's spirits lifted. It was exactly the scent of a Qi Gathering Pill. However, according to the Pill Recipe, the Purple Spirit Grass inside had only turned into juice at this point. The opening time had to be precise. If opened too early, the pill would not have formed, and its medicinal properties would dissipate. The refined Spirit Pill's potency would be greatly reduced. If opened too late, after an extended refining time, it would most likely turn into a waste pill.

Chiiii---

Suddenly, the medicinal aroma in the small cauldron abruptly stopped, and a choking burnt smell emerged.

"Damn it, I was so focused on the timing of opening the furnace to get the pill that I forgot to control the heat. The fire was too strong, the temperature inside the cauldron was too high, and it directly burned the unformed pill liquid into waste."

Bang bang!

The door was violently pounded. "Open the door, open the door! What are you doing in there?"

"That smell… it's like a failed alchemy attempt."

"How ignorant. Alchemy in such a small space? It'd be a miracle if it didn't fail."

Several Qi Refining Stage cultivators staying at the same inn began to discuss with mocking tones.

"Cough, cough."

Lu Xiaotian opened the door. The burnt smell and the high temperature from the burning Spiritual Wood charcoal made the inn's waiter choke and cough violently. After a while, he recovered and, without even seeing Lu Xiaotian's face clearly, loudly accused him, "This inn is for lodging, not for your reckless experiments! What did you do in there? If you burned down the whole inn, could you afford to pay for it?"

"Get out! We don't welcome you at our inn. Never come back to this inn!"

The commotion inside the inn quickly alerted the innkeeper. Given the negative impact Lu Xiaotian had caused, almost burning down the inn, the innkeeper, both shocked and angry, kicked Lu Xiaotian out. It was only because Lu Xiaotian was already at the Mid Qi Refining Stage that he didn't explicitly tell him to "scram." But the meaning was more or less the same.

Lu Xiaotian put away his Alchemy Furnace and emerged from the inn in a sorry state. He glared angrily at the inn. "What's the big deal? I didn't actually burn down the inn." he thought resentfully.

"Just a common Rogue Cultivator, and he wants to become an Alchemist? Such lofty ambitions." Other cultivators on the roadside who had stopped to see the smoke from the inn also shook their heads and left after learning what had happened.

"Huh, isn't that Brother Lu?"

A familiar voice called out from the crowd. Lu Xiaotian looked over and saw the Luo siblings walking towards them.

"Brother Lu, what happened? This innkeeper is so unreasonable. I'll go and reason with him." Luo Yuan said chivalrously. However, Luo Yuan quickly reacted and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Lu, your cultivation is…?"

"This was my fault from the start." Lu Xiaotian said with an embarrassed expression, stopping Luo Yuan. Seeing his shocked look, he explained, "I used a little trick before. This is my true cultivation level now."

Then, Lu Xiaotian briefly recounted the incident at the inn.

"I see. So you don't have a place to stay now, Brother Lu? Why don't you move in with us?" Luo Qing said enthusiastically upon hearing this.

"With you guys?" Lu Xiaotian was taken aback.

"It's like this." Luo Qing continued.

It turns out that renting accommodation as a Rogue Cultivator in Moon Gazing City is very troublesome, and renting an inn alone is quite costly. So, she and a few other close friends rented a small courtyard together. It has four rooms, and it only costs ten Spirit Stones a month. The space is larger than an inn, and it has a small courtyard. One of their friends unfortunately perished the last time they entered the Moon Gazing Mountain Range, so a room became vacant. Although the price is slightly higher than staying at an inn, it is more comfortable to live there, and there are fewer people and prying eyes than at an inn.

Lu Xiaotian was somewhat tempted, but then he thought it was still inappropriate. He had secrets he didn't want outsiders to know. Even raising Shadow Ants was for the purpose of surprising enemies at critical moments. He pondered this in his mind. He still had quite a few Spirit Talismans on hand. Selling some of them could solve his current Spirit Stone crisis. Thus, he refused, "No, I still have some Spirit Stones. I want to rent a small courtyard alone."

"Renting a small courtyard alone, Brother Lu is truly generous. I do know of a courtyard not far from ours. If you're interested, Brother Lu can go take a look," Luo Qing said with a charming click of her tongue.

In Moon Gazing City, usually only those with high incomes like Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, or those at the Late Qi Refining or Great Perfection realms would rent a courtyard alone. Many at the Late Qi Refining Stage even shared courtyards with others.

"Then thank you." Lu Xiaotian no longer refused. It would have taken him some effort to find one on his own.

Several hours later, Lu Xiaotian moved into his new courtyard. It had three fewer rooms than the Luo siblings' place, but it only cost seven Spirit Stones a month. The size was sufficient for him.

He hadn't raised Shadow Ants for a while. Lu Xiaotian took out the Jade Pool and sprinkled dozens of Beast Spirit Pills into it. He then released the Shadow Ants from the Jade Gourd. The Shadow Ants were in a dormant state in the Jade Gourd, but they hadn't eaten for a long time.

The awakened Shadow Ants began to eat ravenously. A few even started biting each other while eating the same Beast Spirit Pill, indicating they were extremely hungry. Lu Xiaotian quickly separated the fighting Shadow Ants.

After feeding the Shadow Ants, Lu Xiaotian released the Leopard from the Spirit Beast Bag.

"Awooo." The Leopard had also been cooped up in the Spirit Beast Bag for too long. It let out a complaining cry upon coming out, then obediently rubbed its head against Lu Xiaotian's pant leg.

"Alright, go play. Don't go outside the courtyard." Lu Xiaotian patted the Leopard's head and let it move freely. The Leopard was no longer of much use to him now, but when he was weak, if it weren't for the Leopard, he would probably be a pile of bones by now. Therefore, even if he kept it idle, he wouldn't sell it like some other cultivators who sold useless Spirit Beasts.