Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Chapter 802: Chapter 331: A Match in the Ink Lotus Garden, The Future of the Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill_2

“An individual’s strength is extremely limited compared to a clan or sect, until a sufficiently high realm is reached,”

“And you, still in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, naturally feel overwhelmed when handling internal and external affairs.”

“But if you take a broader view, you are the descendant of a Golden Core Cultivator, your clan possesses more than a dozen individuals at the Foundation Establishment level, including powerful late-stage practitioners like your sister and Tao Daonan, and even you yourself have the status of a Qingdan Valley True Disciple!”

“In many cases, these external factors can lend you strength.”

“Against enemies, you often don’t need to take action personally, you can fully leverage others to exert force, or you can ally and maneuver strategically.”

“That’s the big picture, but zooming in, you have to consider multiple interests. What can you satisfy, what can others offer you, or alternatively, how can you seize benefits from others to give to someone else in exchange for mutual supplementation.”

“To simplify, it’s about siding with one faction against another, you’re the one carving up the spoils. Others are targeting not you, but the spoils in your hands.”

“And there’s more…”

The “Ink Lotus Meeting” lasted an entire afternoon.

The knowledge Luo Chen imparted wasn’t anything profound, just some relatively basic theories.

He too had never received systematic education in this respect.

Many things were simply figured out by him based on theories from his past life combined with practices of this life.

It was nothing more than conversations from experience!

As for how to implement these ideas, it would depend on the specific circumstances at the time.

Luo Chen especially cautioned against blindly copying these methods, and to make decisions only after careful analysis.

However, at least after an afternoon’s instruction, Tao Yisheng now had at least a vague concept in his mind.

As he dealt with more and more family affairs in the future,

these concepts would gradually become part of his instincts.

That’s the way of the Immortal Cultivation World.

For those with exceptional talent, what is taught from a young age is cultivation and the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation.

Regarding how to conduct oneself, manage others, and control subordinates, few are especially taught.

In high realms, one can naturally suppress everything.

But obviously, not everyone can reach the highest realms.

Now, Luo Chen, from the perspective of an outsider, has instilled some conceptual knowledge into Tao Yisheng.

With his intelligence and wisdom, he will surely benefit in the future!

The only pity is that his remarkable talent for pill refinement may be buried in the myriad of complicated affairs.

In a person’s life, energy is limited.

It is impossible to master everything and become an all-rounder in the Immortal Cultivation World.

Even Luo Chen learned to delegate authority during his Qi Refinement Stage.

He was only responsible for making major decisions, while the implementation had to be carried out by those below him.

Tao Yisheng left.

With his mind filled with a multitude of things and hopes for the future, he left the Ink Lotus Garden.

After a simple and hearty dinner, Luo Chen entered his cultivation room.

He took out a Medium Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill and swallowed it.

Ever since ascending to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, the amount of Spirit Qi needed to breakthrough this realm had become even more considerable.

Compared to the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, it was more than double.

If he had not achieved the Hundred Meridians Penetration and only used Second Order Lower Grade pills for assistance,

breaking through would take him at least a decade or so.

But now, with the aid of Blood Evil Qi Pills, having achieved the Hundred Meridians Penetration, and with the Grandmaster-level “Evergreen Sutra” as his Master Cultivation Technique,

coupled with an Ascendant Grade Cave House, he was confident he could break through to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment within six years!

This is the confidence Luo Chen felt after the explosive increase in cultivation speed following the Hundred Meridians Penetration.

But,

Just this alone would not satisfy Luo Chen!

In the vastness of Qingdan Valley, there are hundreds of Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators.

Many of them are stuck at the seventh or eighth levels, or like Tao Daonan, have grown old at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

Don’t they want to reach Foundation Establishment Stage Finalization?

No!

It’s simply because, the further one progresses in cultivation, the slower it becomes, and even each minor realm feels like an enormous gap that is extremely difficult to cross.

Just the fifth level of Foundation Establishment is going to take Luo Chen five or six years.

He could imagine what that time would become once he reached the later stages of Foundation Establishment.

Fifty years?

A hundred years?

He did not want to wait until he was over two hundred years old like Tao Daonan before making a sprint for the Golden Core Period.

His goal was that of outstanding talents like Tao Wen and Shangguan Yan!

Not over a hundred and fifty and already at ninth level Foundation Establishment.

With plenty of time to perfect the Foundation Establishment Realm and to rush towards the Golden Core Period.

“My goal has never been limited to that of an ordinary sect disciple,”

“These exceptional geniuses are the existences I should be chasing!”

His mind gradually became calm.

Luo Chen focused on assimilating the medicinal power of the Medium Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill.

The current state of his cultivation no longer satisfied him, and better Third Order Spirit Lands were even harder to come by.

If he wanted to accelerate his cultivation speed, he had to rely on elixirs.

And the Dao of Alchemy happened to be the skill he was most confident in.

…

Three days later.

Luo Chen, with an uncertain expression, walked out of the cultivation room.

He had already tested the medicinal power of the Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill at various grades.

The Lower Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill had only half the effect of a Lower Grade Rising Dragon Pill.

The Medium Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill was barely comparable to a Lower Grade Rising Dragon Pill.

The Ascendant Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill surpassed the Lower Grade Rising Dragon Pill but still fell short of the Medium Grade Rising Dragon Pellets.

Only that one Top Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill slightly exceeded the effect of the Medium Grade Rising Dragon Pellets.

If Luo Chen had been at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment when he discovered this, he would have been extremely delighted.

After all, digesting the power of a Medium Grade Rising Dragon Pellets was roughly equivalent to half the effect of one full rotation of an Ascendant Grade Cave House’s cultivation technique.

One pill could replace half a day of arduous cultivation.

By any account, that was exceedingly good.

But now!

Luo Chen’s realm had already reached the Fifth Level Foundation Establishment.

What he desired was an Ascendant Grade elixir akin to the Rising Dragon Pill!

The mere Medium Grade ones could only be considered adequate.

However, Luo Chen had studied the pill formula for the Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill.

He didn’t know how difficult it would be to refine them, but he could determine the cost of the raw materials through his extensive knowledge.

A single batch would cost a hundred Spirit Stones, almost comparable to a Jade Dew Pill!

If Luo Chen wanted to refine a Top Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill.

Even without considering the cost of increasing proficiency at the beginning, just the fact that the production rate of a Top Grade elixir was only ten percent.

It meant that he would have to spend a thousand Spirit Stones to produce one Top Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill!

A thousand Spirit Stones for a bottle of Second Order Middle Grade Pills was very reasonable!

But what was unreasonable was that the yield of each batch of Colorful Chrysanthemum Pills would likely not be high.

Tao Yi Sheng initially produced just three.

If it were Luo Chen doing it, perhaps he could double or even get seven to eight pills.

But compared to directly purchasing Second Order Middle Grade Pills, it still wouldn’t be cost-effective.

Luo Chen was not a fool; he knew how to calculate.

Just crunching these numbers, one could find that after reaching a higher realm, refining Top Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pills was a losing proposition.

Self-sufficiency would only result in double the work for half the gains!

“That’s right, if it were a cultivation pill formula no inferior to the Rising Dragon Pill, the Tao Family wouldn’t have given it to me.”

“I should have anticipated this.”

“Just like how the rubbish pill formula for the Jade Marrow Pill can be circulated, as long as the Great Sect controls the better cultivation pill formulas, they can completely suppress the common cultivation pills refined by Rogue Cultivators in terms of cost-performance ratio, thereby dominating the vast majority of the market!”

Having realized this, Luo Chen could only offer a bitter smile.

The pill formula for the Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill that he held in his hand suddenly seemed incredibly useless.

To say it had use, it was of little use to Luo Chen.

To say it was useless?

That wasn’t necessarily true either. If Luo Chen developed a resistance to the Rising Dragon Pills in the future and couldn’t find an alternative, then the Top Grade Colorful Chrysanthemum Pill, comparable to a Medium Grade Rising Dragon Pill, could still serve as a backup plan.

It’s just that this backup plan seemed rather feeble.

Amidst his bitter laughter, Luo Chen left the Ink Lotus Garden.

Looking in the direction of the Tao Family Head’s residence, he fell silent for a moment.

Perhaps even Tao Wen hadn’t expected his demand for elixirs to be so high!

For an ordinary Rogue Cultivator, being able to refine one’s own elixirs was already a great fortune.

But Luo Chen’s demands far exceeded those of the average Rogue Cultivator.

“Enough, perhaps I am being a little too greedy.”

“The current situation has already exceeded my initial expectations. How can one expect to become hugely successful overnight?”

Shaking his head, Luo Chen rode the clouds and left the Ink Lotus Garden.

He decided to go out and clear his mind.

Tao Yi Sheng had mentioned that the Sect District City of Qingdan Valley had been bustling lately.

The Seed Cultivator Battle was imminent, many Foundation Establishment True Cultivators of the Sect had returned, along with many hired helpers and even quite a few visiting Foundation Establishment Disciples from other sects.

With so many people gathering together in a short time, it was natural that transactions would occur.

“Disappointed in the Dao of Alchemy, perhaps in other areas, luck might compensate me somewhat?”

With hopeful expectations, Luo Chen rode the clouds and stepped into the Qingdan District City.