20 Chapter 20 - Touching the Great Mountain_1

Fifty-five bottles of Fasting Elixir and thirty bottles of Allure Pill.

This is Luo Chen's achievement for a month.

He only refined fifty bottles of Fasting Elixir. The extra five were the legacy left by the dead man.

As for the thirty bottles of Allure Pill, they were a pleasant surprise.

This time, he succeeded in refining three batches, and all of them were of lower grade quality.

Placing the elixirs on the stone slab, Luo Chen, with his hands on his hips, was quite excited about today's market.

Elder Chen was still the last one to arrive.

Seeing Luo Chen, his old eyes were filled with resentment.

Fifty spirit stones!

He had just collected them last time, and now they were borrowed back by this kid.

He has made up his mind that no matter how Luo Chen beats around the bush today, he must collect the loans!

Definitely!

"Xiao Luo, your pill refining skills have improved again!"

The corner that was previously assigned to Luo Chen was never full.

But today, it is densely packed with jade bottles. There has to be at least fifty to sixty bottles, almost taking up all the space.

It's obvious that Luo Chen's pill refining skills have certainly improved again.

Luo Chen chuckled, "All thanks to Friend Chen's generous help, otherwise I wouldn't have the capital to refine more pills."

"Hmph, it's good that you know." Elder Chen hummed lightly and then righteously said: "I lent you out of kindness before, but no matter what, you have to return those spirit stones today."

"Of course, of course!"

Luo Chen had a borrowing-and-returning look.

Elder Chen's expression finally improved a bit. Owning debts outside, it really made him lose his appetite for food!

Suddenly, he exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh!"

"Xiao Luo, you've reached the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement Stage?"

Luo Chen was curious, "How did you know?"

"I've cultivated the Spirit Vision Technique before, so observing one's Qi is a simple task for me." Elder Chen explained with pride. Then he became doubtful, "Aren't you a Five Spirit Root Talent? At your age, you even can break through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refinement."

The Spirit Vision Technique, a lower order spell, can make one's vision clearer with the aid of Spirit Qi, and it also has the ability to observe one's Qi.

Among lower order spells, it is considered one of the Five Essential Techniques During the Qi Refinement Period, along with Fireball Technique, Wind Riding Technique, Attraction Technique, and the Healing Technique.

Unfortunately, Luo Chen doesn't know any of them except the Fireball Technique.

The Entanglement Technique and the Fireball Technique were both obtained from a previous misadventure.

The Cleaning Technique is just one of the most worthless techniques. He had got it from the market in exchange for a bottle of Fasting Elixir.

Elder Chen looked at Luo Chen with a strange expression.

It probably never occurred to him that one day Luo Chen would be, just like him, a Middle Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator.

Although there is not a huge difference between the Middle Stage and the Early Stage of Qi Refinement, the limit of internal Spirit Power can directly double!

All kinds of fighting methods can also be easily displayed.

Early Stage Cultivators in The Great River District are just at the bottom.

If they didn't have a unique skill, they would only be able to take odd jobs and be at others' disposal.

But the Middle Stage is different. They can join various forces and receive bountiful rewards.

It can be said that only Middle Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators truly have the capital to sustain life in The Great River District.

In the face of the old man's confusion, Luo Chen just smiled and said he was lucky.

In fact, this was to be expected.

A bottle of Allure Pill had given him a huge amount of Spirit Qi, which had taken his progress bar directly to 96/100.

The remaining required Spirit Qi was acquired from his diligent cultivation over these twenty odd days, utilizing the Perfection Level Longevity Technique along with the Calming incense.

Breaking through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement was like icing on the cake.

After helping Elder Chen arrange the talisman paper, Luo Chen pointed at the spot where Wang Yuan usually set up his stall with some confusion.

"Has Brother Wang not been setting up his stall?"

"Don't you know about the big events happening in the outer city recently?" Elder Chen looked at him strangely.

Luo Chen was bewildered.

"That's right, you live too far away, if you don't pay attention to it, you might not know."

Elder Chen explained himself and then said with interest: "Recently, the Great Lake Gang and the Lianyun Merchant Alliance have formed an alliance."

"Isn't it quite normal?"

The Lianyun Business Union is a renowned Rogue Cultivator Group in the Yu Ding Realm, with industries spread throughout markets big and small across the realm.

Their main business is the transportation and sale of various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, reaping profits from the margins.

In this process, transportation is inevitably involved.

As mentioned before, not every rogue cultivator can afford a Storage Bag, and a few of these bags wouldn't make much of a difference in carrying out large-scale operations.

Hence, the Lianyun Business Union has always had a good working relationship with the local Great Lake Gang.

The Great Lake Gang relies on the Lancang River in The Great River District for their livelihood.

Since ancient times, both domestically and abroad, water transport has been one of the most profitable businesses, involving countless industry chains.

Therefore, it's perfectly natural for the Lianyun Business Union to form an alliance and cooperate closely with the Great Lake Gang.

Elder Chen shrugged his shoulders and said, "However, it's not normal for the Great Lake Gang to have an eye on the business in the mountains."

"The business in the mountains?" Luo Chen asked in surprise. "Isn't that the domain of the Broken Mountain Gang?"

"Pfft!"

Elder Chen scoffed. "The Broken Mountain Gang? The Eastern Wasteland Million Mountains are the territory of Demon Beasts, even the Six Ascendant Sects of the Far East wouldn't dare to claim those as their business territory."

"Uh..."

"Put it this way, the Great Lake Gang has taken an interest in the safe routes that the Broken Mountain Gang has discovered over the past hundred years."

Elder Chen liked to gossip and enjoyed hearing gossip; after all, these things didn't cost anything.

Sometimes, when meeting foreign high-order cultivators, this kind of information could even earn him a few Spirit Stones.

He had clear information that the Great Lake Gang was truly determined.

Initially, they sent their own people to explore safe routes into the mountains, and the losses were heavy.

Later on, they started eyeing the routes established by the Broken Mountain Gang.

The Broken Mountain Gang naturally resisted, leading to various conflicts.

A month ago, the magic tools that Wang Yuan sold were spoils of war seized from the Great Lake Gang's cultivators killed by the Broken Mountain Gang in the mountains.

The conflict is escalating, and the fight between the two groups is no longer confined to the mountains.

In the Outer City, fights between the two gangs occur from time to time in the evening.

Hearing these rumors, Luo Chen began to think.

"You specifically mentioned the alliance between the Lianyun Business Union and the Great Lake Gang earlier. Could it be that the actions of the Great Lake Gang are instigated by the Lianyun Business Union?"

After posing this question, Luo Chen's thoughts began to race even faster.

"Of course, the various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the flesh of the Demon Beasts hunted by the Broken Mountain Gang are sold at high prices to major forces. The Lianyun Business Union, not being a sect force, naturally won't be happy with these prices."

"Now that they have formed an alliance with the Great Lake Gang, they are also trying to nurture a competitor for the Broken Mountain Gang."

"If they succeed, the cost of acquiring resources in the future will be significantly reduced."

Elder Chen nodded.

"You're not stupid, boy. I think so too. Otherwise, why would the Great Lake Gang start targeting the mountains, right after forming an alliance?"

After expressing his agreement, he let out a deep sigh.

Such actions by the two gangs are making the already unsafe Outer City even more chaotic.

Moreover, some rogue cultivators are mixed in, looting in the chaos, causing hardships for those honest rogue cultivators.

"Wang Yuan has been very famous recently. He defended the mountain path and killed five to six middle-stage cultivators, even cutting down an Eighth Level Qi Refinement cultivator of the Great Lake Gang."

"It's normal that he didn't show up today."

Elder Chen shook his head, "If it continues to be this chaotic, I plan to move into the Inner City."

"What about you, Xiao Luo?"

Luo Chen fell silent.

The place where he lives is in the most remote southwest corner, adjacent to the Xiao Yue Mountain Range. It's quite far from the Ancient Plains Mountain Range and Great Snow Mountain where the Broken Mountain Gang is mainly active.

If there is a conflict, it probably won't affect his area.

But just in case!

"Let me think about it. The rent and deposit for living in the Inner City are not small amounts."

Living in the market town is not easy.

Living in the Inner City is something even more unaffordable for a typical rogue cultivator.

With a sigh, Luo Chen gathered his thoughts and put on a smile to welcome the day's customers.

"Friend Zeng, good morning. What will it be, the usual?"

"The usual!"