Black Rock City was one of the foremost major cities in the entire Jia Ma Empire.
After paying the entrance fee, Mu Chen smoothly entered the city. As he moved through the bustling streets packed with traffic, the clamorous voices of the crowd made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
However, after walking for a while, Mu Chen gradually adapted to this "quiet" that differed from the Magic Beast Mountains. Washed over by the overwhelming liveliness of the city, much of the gloom in his heart was also swept away.
There were many marketplaces in a large city, but those who could survive here were all shrewd people. Even with Mu Chen's own discernment, he could not hope to find any overlooked bargains in a place like this.
Mu Chen flexed his fingers. The gold coins obtained from the system's lottery could not be sacrificed, and by now, he had little use for the medicinal ingredients and such that could be bought with gold coins in the points store.
Frowning, Mu Chen thought, The hidden injuries in my body are troublesome. They must be dealt with as soon as possible, or they will affect my future cultivation.
The most suitable remedies for hidden injuries are the Third-Grade Pill, Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid, and the Fourth-Grade Pill, Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill.
The former is manageable. I have the ingredients, and I can refine it tonight after finding an inn. But the latter requires a Third Tier Water Attribute Magic Core. These marketplaces probably do not have such high-end goods, and even if they do, the price will surely be outrageous.
In the end, Mu Chen entered an upscale auction house. He bought a Third Tier Water Attribute Magic Core for one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins, then purchased a Fourth-Grade Alchemy Cauldron for two hundred thousand gold coins.
Although the auction house was in full swing and the auctioneer was beautiful and alluring, Mu Chen did not find anything worthwhile after waiting for a while. He therefore did not linger and left the auction house.
Several hours later, Mu Chen looked completely refreshed. Dressed in a brand-new white short shirt, he stopped in front of an inn and walked straight inside.
The cauldron landed and the flame emerged. Even with his injuries, Mu Chen successfully refined the Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid half an hour later.
He heated some clean water and poured it into a bathing barrel. Mu Chen dripped in the Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid, removed his clothes, and soaked inside. The rising steam dampened his cheeks, while the medicinal power in the hot water continuously seeped into his body, clearing some meridians blocked by congealed blood and lightly repairing the injuries within him.
"The Blood-Activating and Stasis-Resolving Liquid won't do much for deep hidden injuries. I'll still need the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill."
The next day, as the lazy morning sun had just risen, Mu Chen walked beneath the warm sunlight, passed through the crowds, and headed straight for the flying transport station at the center of the city.
After last night's preliminary treatment, Dou Qi flowed through his meridians without difficulty. After walking for a while, a spacious plaza appeared before his eyes.
More than a dozen enormous flying magical beasts, Thick-Winged Birds, were resting in the plaza.
Mu Chen automatically filtered out the chaotic cries around him, bought a "ticket" to the Tagor Desert, and declined the paid "services" offered by several seductive women who recommended themselves.
With a light stomp, Mu Chen leaped onto a bird's back under their resentful gazes. He casually chose an empty room and settled inside.
About half an hour later, a clear cry rang out, followed by a faint sensation of weightlessness. Mu Chen pushed open the closed window and indeed saw the ground below growing increasingly blurred, while the airflow stirred up by the flying magical beasts swept away the scattered clouds in the sky.
After leaving his room, Mu Chen pretended to be someone boarding a flying magical beast for the first time and paced through the corridor. He soon discovered that four other people were traveling with him.
The four consisted of a somewhat lecherous old man and three middle-aged men. All wore luxurious black alchemist robes and looked extremely arrogant, with badges representing their alchemist ranks prominently displayed on their chests.
"One Third-Grade and three Second-Grade.
"The three Second-Grade ones are all Dou Masters. Their star levels are still unclear, but Dou Masters pose little threat to me.
"That old man's aura is somewhat unsteady. He must have only recently broken through to Da Dou Shi."
Mu Chen's expression became somewhat strange. These four should be the unfortunate fools from the story who coveted the Blood Lotus Pill.
Licking his lips, Mu Chen knew that none of them were good people. His gaze fell upon the Storage Rings on their fingers as he thought, I wonder if there's anything good in their Storage Rings. As alchemists, their wealth should be greater than that of ordinary people.
While Mu Chen was sizing them up, the four also casually glanced at him. When they saw that Mu Chen was not wearing the black robes belonging to an alchemist, their faces all revealed deep disdain. They had no intention of greeting him. In their eyes, Mu Chen was not even worthy of another word.
The four exchanged a few familiar words, laughed lewdly, and returned to their rooms. Before long, men's heavy breathing and women's alluring moans sounded one after another.
The corner of Mu Chen's mouth twitched. He returned to his room and refined several Third-Grade healing pills to repair the injuries in his body.
Three days passed in this manner, and Mu Chen estimated that they were not far from the Tagor Desert.
After ending his cultivation, Mu Chen took out the Fourth-Grade Alchemy Cauldron he had purchased at the Black Rock City auction house. His previous Third-Grade Alchemy Cauldron had already developed cracks after being tempered by the Xuan Huang Flame. If he used that cauldron to refine the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill, it would definitely explode.
"Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill," a Fourth-Grade Pill.
Effect: It could repair accumulated hidden injuries within the body and temper the flesh. It was especially effective at strengthening the bones.
Required materials: one Third Tier Water Attribute Magic Core, one hundred-year Bone-Refining Spirit Grass, one fifty-year Tri-Color Flower, one portion of Ice Crystal Jade Essence...
"Although the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill is slightly inferior to top-tier Fourth-Grade Pills such as the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and Three-Mark Azure Spirit Pill, it is absolutely a high-level Fourth-Grade Pill. Refining it successfully will take no small amount of time." Shaking his head, Mu Chen quickly cast aside his distracting thoughts and adjusted himself to his best condition.
He took out the medicinal ingredients and arranged them one by one. With a flick of his finger, the Xuan Huang Flame slipped into the gray cauldron. Mu Chen lightly pinched his fingers, shooting a Qi-Replenishing Pill into his mouth. He wrapped it in Dou Qi and sealed it in his stomach, ready to refine the pill and replenish his Dou Qi once he had consumed too much.
The gently rising Xuan Huang Flame enveloped the ingredients thrown into it. Under Mu Chen's precise control, it rapidly extracted their essences. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. Unlike ordinary pills such as the Blue Heart Pill, refining the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill consumed considerable time and Dou Qi.
Mu Chen focused completely, not daring to show the slightest carelessness. In this way, five hours passed in the blink of an eye. Within the gray cauldron, inside the deep yellow Xuan Huang Flame, an emerald-colored pill the size of a longan had already taken shape.
Having entered the final pill-condensation stage, Mu Chen quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead and swallowed another two Qi-Replenishing Pills to restore the Dou Qi he had expended.
Five hours—this was the first time Mu Chen had spent so long refining medicine. He knew that if not for the Xuan Huang Flame, his strength as a Dou Master would never have supported him until the pill-condensation stage.
Another half hour later, a rich medicinal fragrance suddenly wafted out from the cauldron. It swiftly broke free of the confines of Mu Chen's room and echoed through the surrounding air.
"The pill fragrance fills the air—the Jade Bone Body-Tempering Pill is complete!"
Mu Chen slapped the cauldron, and an emerald streak of light shot out. He caught it in his palm, and a single rounded pill mark was clearly visible on the emerald-colored pill.
"Five and a half hours. That was truly not easy.
"The pill fragrance has spread out. Those four fellows probably can't sit still any longer."
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