An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Thick pillars supported the grand hall, their presence solid and unyielding. Beneath them, the stone tiles had been laid with meticulous care, forming clean lines that echoed restraint rather than extravagance. The newly constructed grand hall exuded a deliberate minimalism, practical, austere, and efficient.

This was the Luo Tian Society’s Grand Hall, the new main hall of the Luo Tian Society. From the outset, there was no extravagant design because it had been built to conserve spirit stones. Luo Chen had no desire for opulence or the grandeur of the immortals. Right now, what mattered most was functionality. Simplicity was not only a virtue, it was a necessity. Everything was hard at the start, and the Luo Tian Society had to walk before it could soar.

When Luo Chen arrived at the Luo Tian Society’s Grand Hall, Sima Huiniang, Gu Caiyi, Duan Feng, and Qu Lingjun were already waiting for him. Without wasting time, he went straight to the matter that concerned him most, the market for Jade Essence Pills.

“Caiyi, go ahead,” said Luo Chen.

Gu Caiyi stepped forward and began her report, the culmination of a year’s work.

“First, the Washed Jade. At present, Tianlan Immortal City has no fewer than ten shops capable of supplying it in bulk. That means we won’t be choked at the source for raw materials. The issue is that, because of the war, the price of Washed Jade has risen. We need to account for higher production costs.”

As Luo Chen listened, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. It was clear that she had gone well beyond the scope of the task. He had only asked her to assess the market conditions, but she had also investigated the supply chain.

She continued, “Second, the competitors. In Tianlan Immortal City, there are fifteen types of cultivation pills suitable for low-tier cultivators. Among them, the qi-nourishing pill from the Spirit Herb Pavilion and the Yellow Dragon pill from the Green Pill Valley lead the pack. They sell for one hundred and twenty and one hundred and ten spirit stones per bottle, respectively.

“The other thirteen varieties come from sects like the Hundred Flowers Palace, the Luoyun Sect, and a handful of cultivation families. The major sect products are reliable and consistent, averaging around one hundred spirit stones per bottle. However, smaller factions struggle with quality. Even with the war driving up prices, their pills rarely sell above ninety spirit stones, and their share of the market is minimal.”

After speaking at such length, even Gu Caiyi felt slightly winded. She had spent months memorizing not only the names and effects of every low-tier pill on the market, but also their prices and origins. And beyond rote memorization, she’d taken the time to observe, assess, and form reasoned evaluations to present a clear and accurate picture of the current market conditions. Only then could Luo Chen fully grasp the state of the market.

When Luo Chen nodded thoughtfully, Gu Caiyi finally relaxed and continued, “Lastly, from what I can see, the low-tier pill market in Tianlan Immortal City is already heavily saturated. It will be quite difficult for us to break in.”

Qu Lingjun asked curiously, “What kinds of difficulties?”

“Price wars, competition from similar products, and even...” Gu Caiyi hesitated, lips pressed together.

“Permission from the powers above?” Luo Chen asked calmly.

Gu Caiyi nodded. “That’s right. I found that three cultivator families pay tribute in spirit stones to the major sects they’re affiliated with to sell their pills. To be honest, the batch of Jade Essence pills you gave me before could have sold within one or two months. But this time, it took a whole year of effort selling through black markets, informal channels, and town bazaars, just to finish selling them.”

Qu Lingjun, who had already grown into a young man, felt his head throbbing after hearing all this. He thought refining pills was hard enough; who knew selling them would be even tougher?

Sima Huiniang frowned deeply at the report. She knew how much that batch of pills was worth. If this continued, how could the Luo Tian Society ever hope to expand or prosper? Forget expansion, even supplying Luo Chen’s cultivation would become a burden at this rate. For a moment, even she, as Director, was at a loss.

But to their surprise, Luo Chen remained perfectly composed and said with a faint smile, “Too many competitors? That’s not a problem. It just means the market is huge, not saturated. Our Jade Essence pills already cost very little to produce. And I’ve resolved the jade transformation aftereffects. Their medicinal power is on par with qi-nourishing pills. That means we can rely on pricing to force our way into the market! As for pressure from major powers...”

The four all looked at Luo Chen with curiosity.

Could Luo Chen really resolve that? After all, the major powers in Tianlan Immortal City included the Seven Sects of the Jade Cauldron and even the Nascent Soul sects from other domains. Even though he had continued to perform one miracle after another on his journey, could he really forge a path forward even on such a lofty level?

Facing the curious, anxious, and expectant gazes of the three, Luo Chen said softly, “I’ll handle the pressure from the major powers. You don’t need to worry.”

He really could solve it! The four looked at one another in astonishment, their admiration for him deepening yet again.

Luo Chen turned his attention to Qu Lingjun. “Have the earth fire caverns all been prepared?”

Qu Lingjun nodded immediately. “Beneath Danxia Peak lies a first-tier earth fire vein. Back then, the Divine Craftsman Sect and the Geng family opened up twenty earth fire caverns and rented them out. After we reorganized the site, we merged several smaller caverns to form the large alchemy chamber configuration you’re familiar with, Master.

“At present, only the Artifact Hall and I are using a few of them. Most are still vacant.”

It was well known that the Jade Cauldron Domain was rich in earth-fire veins. Luo Chen had already encountered many such veins throughout his journey.

The Treasure Pavilion in Dahe Market’s inner city had one, and the Duan family at Xiaohuan Mountain had another. In Taishan Market, the Chican Mountain under the Huo family had one, and so did the Kang family.

After arriving in Tianlan Immortal City, he had seen even more. Danxia Peak, Parasol Tree Mountain, the Divine Craftsman Sect, Treasure Pavilion... by rough estimate, there were more than he could count on two hands.

Even if they were all low-tier veins and lacked exceptional intensity, they nonetheless provided a solid foundation for industries like alchemy and artifact forging.

Qu Lingjun’s arrangements were thoughtful and precise. He had taken care to separate the earth fire caverns needed for the Alchemy Hall and Artifact Hall. More than that, he had even customized the layout of Luo Chen’s alchemy chamber to match his habits and preferences exactly. Once large-scale alchemy began, these small but critical details would prevent needless complications and disruptions.

As far as disciples went, disregarding the cultivation, Luo Chen was very satisfied with him. Especially since Qu Lingjun could stably refine low-grade Jade Essence pills, and had begun experimenting with mid-grade ones using Luo Chen’s recorded methods. That truly warmed his heart.

“Since everything’s ready,” Luo Chen declared, “begin preparations immediately. It’s time for a large-scale production of Jade Essence pills.

He shifted the topic and turned to Sima Huiniang. “Huiniang, how much spirit stone balance does the Luo Tian Society have right now?”

Sima Huiniang knew the accounts like the back of her hand and replied immediately, “Originally, we had only twenty thousand. Later, Hall Leader Gu brought in fifty thousand more, bringing it to seventy thousand. After Biyou Valley began operations, Hall Leader Duan Feng sold many refurbished artifacts and added another thirty thousand. At one point, we had nearly a hundred thousand!

“But over the year, after salaries, material purchases, and daily expenses, we’ve burned through half of it. That was unavoidable. Our first year on Danxia Peak was always going to be the most expensive. So now, we’re down to about fifty thousand in liquid assets.”

For an ordinary rogue cultivator, fifty thousand spirit stones were a fortune. But for core members like Sima Huiniang, Gu Caiyi, and Duan Feng, who were used to handling large funds, it wasn’t particularly impressive. In fact, for the current scale of the Luo Tian Society, it was on the low side.

Luo Chen instructed, “Allocate ten thousand to purchase raw materials for the Jade Essence pill. That should cover several months of production.”

Ten thousand spirit stones would be enough to fund three to four months of continuous refinement. Yet Luo Chen deliberately refrained from drawing more. Every faction required cash flow to operate smoothly, and a portion of their reserves was in mid-grade spirit stones. Those were a strategic reserve and could not be moved lightly.

Take the Langqi Flying Boat, for instance. Under normal use, he could power it with his own spirit power. But to activate its large-scale flight mode, it required a steady supply of mid-grade spirit stones.