"A large number of Demon Beasts have appeared in Chi State?"

"And all these Cultivators are here seeking refuge?"

Hearing Hu Yao’s explanation, the two finally understood why the number of Cultivators in the Market had increased so dramatically recently.

Due to differences in Spiritual Qi concentration.

Not all cultivator gathering spots were protected by a Sect, faction, or family. Such settlements were usually weaker, and when a large number of Demon Beasts appeared, they had no choice but to flee if they couldn’t fend them off.

Yunzhou bordered Chi State.

And Jinyun Valley was the largest gathering place in the vicinity.

That was why they had all rushed here.

"Have they found out the reason?"

A thought stirred in Chen Che’s mind. Li Xiaoshuang had once mentioned in class:

Demon Beasts would never gather for no reason. They might be attracted by Celestial and Earthly Treasures, driven out by a powerful entity, or summoned by other Demon Beasts.

"I’m not sure about that. If I get any firsthand news, I’ll come and tell you."

Hu Yao shook his head.

The only reason he knew this much was because he had been assigned the task of settling these Loose Cultivators and preventing them from causing trouble.

"Will these Demon Beasts affect us?"

Ding Fei was a little worried.

The Pill Shop’s business was booming, and he didn’t want it to be suddenly interrupted.

"Absolutely not! Our Valley Master is here. Even more Demon Beasts wouldn’t be able to break in!"

"Chi State has several Foundation Establishment Ancestors watching over it. Mortals and Loose Cultivators are their foundation; they definitely won’t stand by and do nothing. In my opinion, things will be back to normal in three months at most."

Hu Yao spoke eloquently and with great confidence.

"That’s good!"

Chen Che nodded. He also preferred a peaceful life over one filled with constant fighting.

He turned his gaze outside the shop.

He saw the passing Cultivators all chattering nonstop, clearly still unaware of the reason for the influx.

’As expected.’

’Befriending Hu Yao was a good choice.’

’He’s a Sect disciple with access to many channels of information. When it comes to major events in the Cultivation Realm, he always puts us one step ahead.’

...

The large influx of Cultivators also boosted business in the Market, and the number of street stalls nearly doubled.

Chen Che would also take a stroll through it from time to time.

Thanks to the film and television propaganda from the Earth Element Star, there were many plots where protagonists with low Realms would find treasures at street stalls.

This wasn’t entirely fiction.

Even in this world, it happened from time to time.

The reason was naturally very simple:

Either the item was found by accident, or a family had fallen on hard times. The stall owner, being an ordinary person, couldn’t recognize a true treasure, and so it would slip through. Unfortunately, the probability of this happening was extremely low. There were even some stall owners who would deliberately age their wares to hook Cultivators hoping to find a hidden gem.

Distinguishing the real from the fake, the good from the bad, was all up to one’s own judgment. Profit and loss were one’s own responsibility.

The end of the month arrived in the blink of an eye, but the number of Cultivators pouring into the Market hadn’t decreased. In fact, it showed signs of increasing.

By this point, most Cultivators in the Market knew the truth, but it didn’t cause any major panic.

Perhaps.

They had blind faith in the Jinyun Valley Master, a Foundation Establishment Ancestor.

...

「Cave Mansion.」

Chen Che sat cross-legged on the Lotus Platform.

He faced the Spiritual Well, which was covered in Array Patterns. Spiritual Qi drifted around him, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

HAAAA... HAAAA...

Each of his breaths was as long and deep as that of an old tortoise.

Suddenly.

Chen Che, who had been sitting for a long time, suddenly trembled. The Spiritual Qi in the Cave Mansion, as if drawn by some force, surged in from all directions, forming a vortex that poured into his body.

The bottleneck that had held him at the Fourth Layer Peak for so long was shattered in this instant, as if he had been shoved forward, directly ascending to the next level.

Chen Che opened his eyes and exhaled a puff of turbid air.

’My bitter Cultivation during this period wasn’t in vain. I’ve finally stepped into the Qi Refining Fifth Layer!’

Of course.

He also understood that the most crucial factor in his rapid breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer was this Cave Mansion. Otherwise, at his original pace, it would have taken him at least another month.

After advancing to the Fifth Layer, Chen Che circulated the Energy-Introducing Technique for two Grand Circulations before heading to the Alchemy Room.

’Time to do my homework first.’

Inside the Alchemy Room.

There were two Pill Furnaces in sight.

One was a second-hand Pill Furnace he had bought from the Earth Element Star.

The other was a Pill Furnace left behind by the previous Cave Master. Because this furnace always emitted a red glow like an evening sunset when alchemy was finished, he called it the Chixia Tripod.

He took out a complete set of a Stone Mortar, a medicine pestle, and Spirit Grass.

After processing the Spirit Grass, he sat down cross-legged.

After calming his mind and concentrating his spirit, he abruptly formed a Seal Technique, and a Spiritual Fire ignited beneath the Furnace Cauldron.

At the same time, Chen Che slowly extended his right hand, his five fingers forming a gesture like a monk performing the ’Tapping the Crown and Receiving Precepts’ for a Novice Monk. This was a little trick he had learned from the Cave Master’s book, allowing him to feel the Pill Furnace’s temperature without needing to use medicinal powder, which was more convenient and faster.

This was considered third-year high school material, but because the records left by the Cave Master were more complete than those on the Earth Element Star, he had learned it in advance.

Then.

With a wave of his hand, he wrapped the various types of Spirit Grass in True Essence and tossed them into the Pill Furnace.

CLANG!

As the Furnace Cauldron’s lid closed, the burning flames quickly enveloped the Pill Furnace.

A short while later, a Pill Fragrance began to spread.

’Not bad!’

Chen Che lifted the lid of the Furnace Cauldron.

He was quite satisfied as he looked at the few perfectly round Pills at the bottom of the furnace.

Next, he reviewed the processes for making the Body Nourishing Pill, the Qi Gathering Pill, and the Bone Marrow Supplement Pill.

Just like an ordinary student who constantly does practice problems to stay sharp, an Alchemy Master needed to do the same.

Then, he began to attempt refining the ’Sun Gathering Pill’.

Sun Gathering Pill: A Tier One High Grade pill. After consumption, it could cause a short burst of Qi and Blood, after which one’s Qi and Blood would be weakened for a period of time.

This was a new pill that Ding Dawei had recently taught in class, but it was considered a difficult one throughout the entire high school curriculum. Even after graduation, many students still had a success rate of less than ten percent when refining this pill.

His Spiritual Power was highly focused.

He injected True Essence into the Pill Furnace. Towards the end, the medicinal efficacy and True Essence inside the furnace formed a vortex and began to show signs of chaos...

Beads of sweat formed on Chen Che’s forehead.

BOOM!

Before long, a muffled explosion sounded from within the Pill Furnace, accompanied by a burnt smell.

’A pity, I was so close!’ Chen Che sighed.

However.

He wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he recalled the previous alchemy process and attempted another batch. This time, he finally succeeded.

Of course, there was an element of luck involved.

Then, he started on the third batch, but unfortunately, it failed again.

’Many of the techniques are still too unfamiliar, and I’m not sensitive enough to the changes within the pill, causing me to miss the right timing.’

Chen Che analyzed the reasons for his failure.

...

’Now to make some money!’

Putting away the pills he had refined, Chen Che continued to perform alchemy for the shop. Due to the recent surge in the number of Cultivators, the pill supply was starting to run low.

He pushed open the lid of the Chixia Tripod with both hands.

Although.

He couldn’t use the Chixia Tripod for his school homework, that didn’t mean the Pill Shop couldn’t use it.

Pills refined in this Pill Furnace would have an enhanced medicinal effect. It was precisely because of this that many Cultivators had become regular customers of their Pill Shop.

’Sure enough, Old Ding was right. After using an ordinary Pill Furnace, switching to a High-tier Pill Furnace feels incredibly smooth.’

If he had to make a comparison.

The former was like a bicycle, while the latter was like a sports car.

The alchemy process wasn’t just smooth; it was exceptionally so.

Considering the huge demand for Qi Gathering Pills, Chen Che refined a larger quantity of them.

WHOOSH!

After refining several batches of pills in a row, Chen Che had used up most of his True Essence.

Just as he was about to finish refining this final batch of pills, a soft noise suddenly came from within the Chixia Tripod.

"Huh?"

Chen Che was astonished.

’I’m so incredibly proficient at making Qi Gathering Pills that I can even succeed with my eyes closed. How could I have failed for no reason?’

’This smell?’

He struggled to lift the lid of the Chixia Tripod.

Instantly, a fragrance like osmanthus flowers wafted out. Smelling this fragrance that should have been impossible, Chen Che couldn’t help but frown. His first reaction was:

’There’s a problem with the materials in the Pill Furnace!’

Frowning, Chen Che immediately began to inspect the remaining Spirit Grass one by one.

This kind of thing happened often.

Many types of Spirit Grass looked extremely similar on the outside but had vastly different medicinal effects. He needed to find out what kind of Spirit Grass had been mixed in and how much, so he could try to minimize his losses.

However.

When he found the source, his pupils contracted, and his lips trembled slightly.

’Is this heaven-sent opportunity finally about to fall on my head?’