The Auspicious Hour Has Arrived—This One Begins Alchemy

They began searching for Spirit Medicine seeds again. Spirit Medicine was hard to come by, but seeds were plentiful. Chen Xun bought several bags, only to find that more than half contained dead seeds mixed in to pass for the real thing.

Chen Xun immediately refused to stand for it. He was at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, and possessed the Fireball Technique—did they really think he was so easy to bully?

"I clearly gave you a full bag of Spirit Stones, yet you only gave me half a bag of seeds?" Chen Xun raised a brow, though no one could see it.

"Moo moo!!" Black Bull also let out an angry bellow at the stall.

"What? Spirit Medicine seeds are like this to begin with. Are you looking to pick a fight, Fellow Daoist?"

The man sneered. A yellow talisman rose into the air, and with a swipe of two fingers, he activated it in a burst of light before it vanished instantly. He looked at Chen Xun provocatively.

Who among those who had done business here for years did not know this fool who led around a bull and wore a black hood? Qi Refining, Third Layer, with no one to rely on.

The Spirit Insight Technique flickered in Chen Xun's eyes. This man was actually at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer, and he appeared quite well-off.

"Brother Liao, who dares cause trouble here!"

Several people hurried over from behind the crowd. They wore similar attire and were most likely from some cultivation lineage.

All of them were at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer; one was even at Qi Refinement Level Five. Quite a few Rogue Cultivators gathered around at this point, all watching Chen Xun with mocking, indifferent eyes.

"What, using numbers to bully the few?"

Chen Xun gave a cold smile, fearlessly meeting their gazes. "That is no way to conduct business."

"Who did I think it was? So it is this bandit fool."

A round-faced brute spoke disdainfully. "Brother Daoist, leave this man to me."

"Fine."

The man gave a slight nod. "No techniques may be used within the valley. Mind your limits."

"Fool, kneel and kowtow to my brother a few times. Admit your mistake, and we will let today's matter slide."

The round-faced brute lifted his chin, looking down his nostrils at Chen Xun. "I do not want to see you at the next Immortal Ascension Assembly."

These people were plainly trying to humiliate him. The more dissatisfied people were with their own lives, the more they enjoyed bullying those weaker than themselves.

If he did not show some backbone now, these Rogue Cultivators would truly think they could squeeze him any way they pleased.

"What the hell are you supposed to be? You look like a rotten watermelon."

Chen Xun calmly spat out the words, standing still where he was. "And you dare bark and howl in front of me?"

"Sharp-tongued bastard. Watch me smash that mouth of yours to pieces."

The round-faced brute's face twisted with rage. This fool actually dared insult him. He took a booming step forward, faint light emerging from his hand as his Vajra Fist shot toward Chen Xun with a fierce blast of wind.

Bang!

Chen Xun shifted one step back at the hip and threw an utterly ordinary punch. It collided with the round-faced brute's fist, and the latter's expression changed drastically, pain flashing across his face as he suddenly cried out, "Ah!!"

Cracking sounds of breaking bone rang out. The round-faced brute flew backward, staring at Chen Xun in fear. What kind of monstrous strength was that?!

"The Liao Family's Vajra Fist was actually broken? This man has been hiding his strength."

"Heh heh, who would have thought this fool... Fellow Daoist possessed such power?"

A commotion rose from the crowd. The way they looked at Chen Xun changed considerably. So this man was not a fool after all.

"The Liao Family, is it?"

Chen Xun nodded faintly and looked toward the furious group. "Remember this: you still owe me half a bag of Spirit Medicine seeds."

"Then Fellow Daoist had best be careful outside Nine-Star Valley."

The man supported the round-faced brute and smiled darkly. "Knowing a few body techniques does not decide everything."

"Oh?"

Chen Xun smiled. Framed by his hood, his smile was darker and more terrifying than the man's, chilling the Liao Family members to the bone.

The watching Rogue Cultivators inwardly cursed in shock. So that hood was this oppressive.

Chen Xun led Black Bull away directly. One member of the Liao Family followed behind them, but their pace gradually quickened, faster and faster.

After three sharp turns, they suddenly rushed out of Nine-Star Valley and disappeared. The Liao Family member following them was dumbfounded. Where had they gone?!

On the road.

"Old Bull, I acted impulsively this time. If I had not cared about that half bag of Spirit Medicine seeds, we would not have made enemies."

Apology filled Chen Xun's eyes. Over the past few years, they had heard plenty of rumors, but had always let them pass as if nothing had happened.

"Moo moo!"

Black Bull's eyes showed no concern. They had clearly been deliberately bullying them. In life, there were things one simply could not yield.

"Let us not go to the Immortal Ascension Assembly for now. Those Liao Family people will definitely wait to ambush us."

Chen Xun spoke quietly. "We should build our strength first. We have no one to rely on, and the Cultivation World is far crueler than the Mortal Realm."

"Moo!"

Black Bull answered. Its senses were keener than Chen Xun's, and the Liao Family people had clearly developed killing intent.

Upon returning to their cave on the outskirts of the mountain range, Chen Xun kept reflecting on himself. He had stayed in the Mortal Realm too long; after coming here, he still had to contend over a momentary burst of temper. It might bring them fatal disaster.

"Old Bull, if we encounter something like this again, we endure it. Once we are strong enough, we will take back what we lost."

Chen Xun muttered a curse that Black Bull could not understand. "Damn it, a bunch of little brats."

"Moo moo moo~~"

Black Bull nudged Chen Xun. Their mindsets had not yet reached the point where they could treat everything with indifference. They had to go through these things.

"Old Bull, it is fine." Chen Xun hugged Black Bull. "Go tend to the Spirit Medicine. I will study the Alchemy Technique."

"Moo!" Black Bull was extremely obedient and hurried off, wanting to cheer Chen Xun up.

Chen Xun flipped through the Basic Alchemy Technique. First, one had to condense Pill Fire within the body, then slowly refine the medicinal properties of the Spirit Medicine, and finally fuse them together into a pill.

However, Pill Fire consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power. A single careless mistake could ruin an entire batch of pills. A true master alchemist was undoubtedly built from mountains of Spirit Medicine.

But the Alchemy Technique also mentioned that Earth-vein Fire could replace Pill Fire. Such places, however, were generally occupied by Immortal Gates, so ordinary cultivators could forget about them.

Chen Xun read with great interest. He had once studied medicine, and some of the principles here were connected.

The most common pills in the Qi Refining Realm were the Heavy Feather Pill and the Qi-Boosting Pill, both excellent pills for advancing cultivation. Their formulas had long since become commonplace.

"Twenty-year Spirit Medicine can be used in pills."

Chen Xun murmured. Naturally, the older the better, but Spirit Medicine with more years was generally used to refine even better pills.

Time flew like a shuttle. Before they knew it, a year had passed. They had missed this Immortal Ascension Assembly, while the Liao Family people had long been waiting outside the valley in battle formation, never expecting to come up empty-handed.

It seemed that fool had some wits after all. Knowing he had offended powerful people, he had turned into a turtle hiding in its shell.

This year, several people actually appeared selling little booklets like Chen Xun's. They were incredibly popular and earned a fortune.

Inside the cave, Chen Xun continued adding Longevity Points to the Essence of All Things.

Today, Chen Xun calmed his mind and sat cross-legged on the ground. Black Bull stood up and kept massaging Chen Xun's shoulders, snorting continuously in obvious excitement.

"The auspicious hour has arrived. This one opens the furnace to refine pills. May immortals, gods, and Buddhas bless me and show Chen Xun some favor!"

"Moo moo moo moo!!" Black Bull called out behind Chen Xun as well.

Chen Xun's half-closed eyes snapped open. An alchemy furnace sat before him. At a point of his finger, the furnace spiraled into the air until it was level with his gaze.

Dozens of sets of Heavy Feather Pill ingredients were laid out around them, all over thirty years old—the fruits of their savings over the past two years.

"Go!"

Chen Xun shouted, and a stalk of Spirit Medicine rose into the air and flew into the furnace. Pill Fire emerged from his palm, spiritual power beginning to drain from his body as a fine sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Under Chen Xun's control, the Pill Fire grew large and small by turns. Black Bull felt as though it was riding a roller coaster, its heart lurching up and down as it did not even dare breathe loudly.

Stalk after stalk of Spirit Medicine continuously flew into the furnace, waves of medicinal fragrance rushing to their noses. Black Bull's bovine eyes widened.

Pop—a sound like a bursting bubble rang out. One set of Heavy Feather Pill ingredients was completely ruined, turning into pools of useless medicinal liquid.

Chen Xun panted heavily, took out a blank booklet, and recorded every sensation from just now, including the heat used for each medicinal ingredient. Theory and practice were entirely different matters.