Chapter 123: Aftermath

Three days later.

Chen Luo carefully dug out a black medicinal herb from the soil.

The competition for Foundation Establishment spirit objects had concluded three days ago. To avoid encountering any Foundation Establishment cultivators, Chen Luo deliberately chose an unnoticed spot within the mountain valley to excavate spirit materials.

This valley had remained untouched for a long time, containing numerous spirit materials suitable for pill concoction.

Chen Luo’s meticulously acquired pharmacological knowledge finally proved immensely useful here.

Over these three days, he unearthed many valuable spirit materials, replenishing his depleted stock once again. Additionally, during this period, he completed the refinement of the fiend beast essence blood. From an entire bottle of giant python blood, only a single drop remained after purification.

With this drop of blood, his preparations for cultivating the Iron Body Art were now complete. Upon returning, he could begin practicing immediately.

“The color has turned golden. Could that white giant python truly be some rare species?”

The refined essence blood floated within the bottle, its vibrant hue undiminished even through the porcelain container typically used for medicinal pills. Faint wisps of heat emanated from the bottle, attracting a noticeable increase in insects gathering around it.

As Chen Luo gazed at the blood within the bottle, he distinctly felt a yearning from his body, akin to a parched person encountering a bottle of water—an intense desire to consume it.

The mummified brain was rated as ‘high-grade essence blood,’ after all, which made it distinct.

After storing the medicinal pill in his bag of holding, Chen Luo rose and headed towards the direction where he had parted with Zhou Tianyang and the others three days ago.

The morning sun shone brightly.

Walking through the forest, Chen Luo noticed numerous remnants of battle everywhere, indicating that the skirmish three days prior had been intensely fierce. He could discern traces of at least three separate battlegrounds just by his perception alone.

After traversing some distance, near the Negative Wood Forest, Chen Luo spotted two corpses. Both wore attire of the Loose Cultivators Union, one matching Zhou Tianyang’s exactly, suggesting they were likely high-ranking officials of the union.

These two individuals were the Qi Refinement Perfection cultivators who had confronted Zhou Tianyang and Old Man Hu earlier.

It remained unclear what misfortune befell them, but neither managed to escape.

“How tragic,” Chen Luo lamented softly.

Sighing, Chen Luo approached and placed his hands on their heads, allowing a thread of energy to flow from his palms into their bodies. Since they were already dead, leaving them here would only result in decay; it was better for him to extract some remaining value.

After breaking through to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining, his capacity limit had significantly increased, making these two perfect additions. Honestly, at this point, he barely considered the brains of mere Qi Refinement cultivators worthwhile, but every bit counts, and nothing should go to waste.

Passing by the corpses, Chen Luo continued deeper into the Negative Wood Forest once more.

The chilling atmosphere that previously permeated the forest was now absent, and the trapping effect had vanished as well. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns below, creating a strikingly beautiful scene.

The giant ape’s corpse still lay there, though torn apart by the aftermath of the battle. Its brain was reduced to pulp, blood drained away, and any valuable parts had been scavenged.

Where the four cultivators had stood initially was now a massive crater, surrounded by charred trees with broken trunks still smoldering.

Chen Luo approached the edge of the crater and peered inside.

“Isn’t that old buddy Zhou Tianyang?”

In the depths of the crater, Zhou Tianyang lay dead, his eyes wide open staring at the sky. A massive hole gaped in his chest, with his heart nowhere to be found—a gruesome end indeed. Nearby, there were two more bodies that Chen Luo had never seen before. They likely entered later, and judging by their clothing, they appeared to be from the Loose Cultivators Union.

Even before this alliance could challenge the three major sects, internal power struggles had already begun—an attitude prevalent among most solo cultivators.

“Brother, why did you have to leave so soon?!” Chen Luo lamented sorrowfully.

During their time together in Woodmount City, his partnership with Zhou Tianyang had been quite fruitful. Through connections provided by his “bro,” Chen Luo reaped numerous benefits. Of course, Zhou Tianyang himself didn’t lose out either, as evidenced by the significant increase in his cultivation strength. However, despite all his efforts, he met his demise here in the mountain valley, leaving no one to even claim his remains.

Chen Luo jumped into the large pit and placed his hand on Zhou Tianyang’s forehead.

‘Contacting deceased brain waves, Degradation Rate 87%. Read memory?’

Seeing these familiar words, Pill Master Chen, tears welling up, chose to read the memories.

A thread of energy flowed into his palm.

Next, Chen Luo proceeded to collect the brains from the two unidentified solo cultivators as well.

Without any effort, he had acquired five brains along his journey.

“Brother, let me see you off for one last time.”

Chen Luo retrieved a shovel and deer-hide gloves from his bag of holding.

He dug a grave, filled it with soil, and carried out the task efficiently.

“Dust returns to dust, earth to earth. Farewell on your final journey, old brother.”

After filling in the grave, Chen Luo stood nearby, offering a few words for Zhou Tianyang, considering it his final gesture. He also buried the two unknown solo cultivators beside him, providing some company so Zhou Tianyang wouldn’t be lonely.

Having interred Zhou Tianyang, Chen Luo meticulously searched the vicinity of the Negative Wood Forest several times.

However, he found neither Daoist Dry Corpse nor Old Man Hu, which left him slightly disappointed.

It seemed these two friends had successfully escaped.

Upon leaving the forest, Chen Luo conducted another thorough search throughout the mountain valley, ensuring he covered every area except those visited over the past three days. Even the central lake was not overlooked. The calm waters of the circular lake appeared bottomless, revealing only faint black shadows moving beneath when peering down.

Chen Luo did not venture deeper to investigate.

He briefly examined the large rock at the center of the pool, where the Foundation Establishment spirit object was believed to have emerged. Zhou Tianyang had informed him about this location on their way here.

Unfortunately, it now lay barren, with nothing left behind. Zhou Tianyang’s scheme yielded no gains and ultimately cost him his life.

Following the river back, Chen Luo re-entered the cave and traversed along its watercourse. As he approached the entrance, he noticed a black mark on the wall.

“Daoist Dry Corpse’s imprint?”

Chen Luo touched it gently, swiftly retrieving a message:

‘If all is well, meet at the Abandoned Burial Ground.’

This unique method allowed only Chen Luo to read the message, serving as their agreed-upon means of communication from before.

“It seems that old fellow managed to escape.”

With a casual swipe, Chen Luo erased the mark and stepped into the water.

By the time he returned to Woodmount City, it was already late at night.

Returning to his small courtyard residence, Chen Luo let out a long sigh of relief. Although he didn’t acquire any Foundation Establishment spirit artifacts on this trip, he obtained a significant amount of valuable spirit materials and incidentally gathered five brains, making it worthwhile overall. Once he retrieves the Foundation Establishment Pill formula and necessary ingredients from the emaciated old daoist, he can begin preparing for his own Foundation Establishment.

Indeed, being an alchemist pays off; without this identity, such opportunities would never come knocking at his door.

“First, I’ll elevate my cultivation base to the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refinement before focusing on Foundation Establishment.”

Chen Luo closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged, and commenced his daily practice. There were no shortcuts for the final two layers of Qi Refinement; progress could only be achieved through time and gradual accumulation.

Zhou Tianyang’s disappearance had no impact on the Loose Cultivators Union. Within three days of his vanishing, a new overseer took charge. Just like Zhou Tianyang, armed with the imperial court’s appointment as County Magistrate, he became the new lord of Woodmount City while secretly reestablishing the union’s channels behind the scenes.

Less than two days later, the newly appointed overseer of the Loose Cultivators Union paid Chen Luo a visit.

The presence of an alchemist in Woodmount City was no longer a secret within the Loose Cultivators Union. In a way, this alchemist, Chen Luo, could be considered one of the significant ‘legacies’ that the new deacon should inherit upon taking over.

“Pill Master Chen, I am Zhu Jie, the newly appointed Deacon of the Loose Cultivators Union. If you ever need assistance or errands run, feel free to approach me directly.”

The new deacon turned out to be a woman—a strikingly attractive one at that. Her tight-fitting black attire accentuated her curves perfectly, with ample fullness where it mattered and slender finesse elsewhere. Her skin seemed delicate, almost translucent, while her watery eyes held a captivating allure, stirring an irresistible fascination in those who beheld her.

“Even late at night is fine, you know.” Zhu Jie extended her index finger, gently tracing it near Chen Luo.

Chen Luo hadn’t anticipated inheriting such a legacy from his old buddy Zhou; if he had known earlier…

“Deacon Zhu, your timing is impeccable. I’ve run out of ingredients for the Spirit Explosion Pills, making it impossible to continue supplying medicinal pills to the union.” Chen Luo, expressionless, began reporting his needs.

He firmly intended to keep the spirit materials sent by Zhou Tianyang before his death—no question about it.

But with Zhou Tianyang already deceased, could they really exhume his body to confront him about the accounts?

“Additionally, we need replenishment of ingredients for Qi Nourishing Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, Gathering Spirit Pills, and Rising Spirit Pills.”

“No problem.”

To Chen Luo’s surprise, Deacon Zhu readily agreed without any questions or hesitation.

“If you have any further requirements, feel free to mention them, as long as it falls within my authority,” she assured him.

Her cooperative attitude made Chen Luo somewhat uneasy. He hesitantly raised two more minor requests, which Zhu Jie also accepted without delay.

“Now, let’s discuss the issue of medicinal pill wastage, Pill Master Chen.”

With official matters settled, only personal concerns remained.

“The ingredients for the Spirit Explosion Pill are not cheap; I assume Deacon Zhou had mentioned this before?”

“Yes, they are indeed expensive. However, concocting Spirit Explosion Pills is highly challenging. Very few tier-1 alchemists can produce such pills. Most who can successfully create them are already tier-2 alchemists. You understand well the cost associated with tier-2 alchemists, don’t you?” Chen Luo reminded her.

As a medicinal pill for the peak of Qi Refinement stage, its complexity was comparable to many tier-2 pills.

The Loose Cultivators Union collaborated with numerous alchemists, so they were well aware of the costs involved.

“I understand that aspect,” Zhu Jie said as she took a seat across from Chen Luo, resting her chin on one hand. “What I want to discuss with Pill Master Chen is the wastage of medicinal pills.” She queried, “Is it possible to improve the success rate of your Spirit Explosion Pills?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo immediately comprehended her concern.

“Creating six Spirit Explosion Pills from twenty sets of spirit materials is already my limit.”

“Six? Not just one?” Before Chen Luo could finish, Zhu Jie interrupted, eyes widening in realization as she understood the situation fully.

Zhou Tianyang, you despicable swindler! How dare you have such audacity!

A success rate yielding six Spirit Explosion Pills turned into only one under his watch. Such deceitful and brazen behavior…

“Well then, let’s go with one pill.”

Zhu Jie swiftly stood up, realizing that her initial perception of being unfairly dispatched to Woodmount City, a remote place, was misguided. Now it seemed clear that far from being isolated, this city held exceptional feng shui and untapped potential!