Chapter 276: Chapter 224 Poverty and Wealth!
Chen Jichuan had no way of knowing about the discussions taking place in the Heavenly Patching Hall.
Three days later.
He finished memorizing the magic skill and key techniques of ’Daluo Heavenly Fire,’ then returned to his cave mansion with joy on his face.
Just as he arrived back.
Cheng Beixuan arrived with Zhu Ran to visit him.
"Junior Brother."
"Junior Master."
Cheng Beixuan greeted Chen Jichuan with a smile. Behind him, Zhu Ran respectfully saluted Chen Jichuan, his heart filled with curiosity.
Zhu Ran had long heard people mention the ’Jade-faced Judge,’ but this was the first time he was seeing him in person.
He couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.
"Third Senior Brother—"
Seeing Cheng Beixuan, surprise and joy also appeared on Chen Jichuan’s face. When his gaze shifted to Cheng Beixuan’s cultivation, he was startled: "Senior Brother has advanced to the Second Stage?"
He could tell at a single glance.
The changes in Cheng Beixuan over the past eighty-plus years were all laid bare to him.
Second Stage of Immortal Dao, Enlightenment Realm First Level.
This could definitely be considered a breakthrough.
"Luck!"
Cheng Beixuan’s smile grew wider as he followed Chen Jichuan into the cave mansion, introducing Zhu Ran as they walked: "This is the disciple of Fifth Junior Sister, Zhu Ran, who advanced to late-stage Qi Refinement at the age of eighty-six. Though he pales in comparison to a genius like you, he’s still considered one of the standouts in our Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion in recent years."
Inside the cave mansion.
The three sat down.
Chen Jichuan looked at Zhu Ran. His appearance was ordinary, but his eyes were lively, showing a spirited demeanor. Chen Jichuan nodded with encouragement: "Cultivate well; the Second Stage is within reach."
"Disciple will remember this."
Zhu Ran quickly responded.
Chen Jichuan smiled lightly, refraining from speaking further with Zhu Ran. Turning to Cheng Beixuan, he asked: "How is Fifth Senior Sister’s cultivation coming along?"
Xue Xiao had advanced to late-stage Qi Refinement at the age of seventy-six, earning her the label of a genius back then.
Her progress wasn’t much different from Cheng Beixuan’s.
However, after entering the Heaven Mending Sect to cultivate, the gap between them gradually widened. To this day, while Cheng Beixuan had broken through, Xue Xiao was likely still far behind.
"She works hard, no doubt."
Cheng Beixuan shook his head: "But the path to the Second Stage is tough, and she hasn’t yet grasped the key to her breakthrough."
As expected!
Chen Jichuan heard this and wasn’t surprised.
The conversation shifted, and he began asking about the state of the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion.
Time flies in cultivation.
Compared to the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, a century was but the blink of an eye; changes within it were minimal.
However, Senior Brother Zhu Qian and Second Senior Brother Cao Wan had already reached their natural limits and passed on. Many of the older generation of Qi Refinement cultivators in the mansion also died one by one, with new faces replacing the old. If Chen Jichuan returned, he would likely only find a few familiar ones left.
At this point.
Cheng Beixuan asked in curiosity: "What are your plans going forward, Junior Brother?"
Once you reach the age of two hundred, you can no longer remain a True Disciple.
There are many paths to choose from thereafter, but they mostly fall into two categories—
One is staying in the Heaven Mending Sect.
The other is returning to the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion.
The former offers greater prospects; the latter, however, falls short.
Both Cheng Beixuan and Xue Xiao were deeply attached to the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, which is why they chose to return.
But it was unclear what Chen Jichuan would decide.
"Actually, I would still suggest Junior Brother stay in the Heaven Mending Sect."
Before Chen Jichuan could answer, Cheng Beixuan spoke again, smiling bitterly: "Junior Brother should find advancing to the Second Stage relatively easy, but cultivating at the Second Stage is no walk in the park. The resources in the Outer Sea are far inferior to the Inner Sea, and it’s rare to find peers to debate and exchange ideas with, which isn’t good for cultivation. After advancing to the Second Stage myself for ten years, I’ve come to realize the difficulties of it."
At first glance, these words seemed to be considerate of Chen Jichuan’s situation, but upon closer examination, there were hidden intentions.
The Outer Sea indeed lacks resources.
But within the vast Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, there was originally only one Master Baiyun to cultivate and accumulate resources over generations—all centralized in one person. Now, with Cheng Beixuan advancing to the Second Stage while Master Baiyun’s days are numbered, Cheng Beixuan can effectively monopolize the mansion’s resources, making his cultivation possibly no less advantageous than those Second Stage cultivators who remain in the Heaven Mending Sect.
When he chose to return to the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion, it wasn’t without such considerations in mind.
Yet, the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion is ultimately located in the Outer Sea.
Supporting Cheng Beixuan is manageable enough, but if Chen Jichuan were to return as well, the division of resources would undoubtedly cut into Cheng Beixuan’s share; moreover, given Chen Jichuan’s talents, he might occupy even more resources. This would be quite disadvantageous for Cheng Beixuan.
At this moment, Cheng Beixuan’s persuasion undoubtedly carried this underlying motivation.
Of course.
Chen Jichuan was well aware that the Outer Sea was inferior to the Inner Sea and that cultivation at the Second Stage was challenging.
He had already reached Life Dao Second-order in the Qinling World and cultivated for a period of time, so he had some understanding of the intricacies involved.
However, he hadn’t been planning to return to the Nine Refinement Immortal Mansion anyway, nor had he intended to compete with Cheng Beixuan for resources. But hearing Cheng Beixuan’s remarks still left a slight bitterness in his heart.
He didn’t show it on his face.
After chatting with Cheng Beixuan for a while longer and sharing a meal, the latter eventually departed with Zhu Ran.
...
"Cultivation relies on competition."
"Human nature is ever-changing."
"His actions aren’t wrong."
Back in his cave mansion, as Chen Jichuan thought of Cheng Beixuan, he could understand. Yet past shared lineage and decades of kinship no longer held weight in his heart.
Their relationship would inevitably grow distant in the future.
"No matter."
"I’ll advance to the Second Stage, visit my teacher once more, then focus solely on cultivation in the Inner Sea."
Everything in the Dao Fruit World is but an illusion; Chen Jichuan had grown indifferent to it and focused solely on his cultivation.
Thinking about cultivation.
Chen Jichuan fell deep into contemplation.
"The Xing Dao is still slightly incomplete, but I’ll leave that be for now."
"Immortal Dao and Life Dao are ready for Second Stage advancement, but acquiring the various resources needed later won’t be so easy."
Second Stage of Immortal Dao in the Enlightenment Realm requires opening nine acupoints. Pinpointing the large acupoints to locate the ’Nine Acupoints’ alone is the first major bottleneck. Once located, one must connect, refine, and finally manifest them.
It requires perseverance and diligent effort.
Chen Jichuan lacked neither perseverance nor a willingness to endure hardship, but aside from that, plentiful cultivation resources were indispensable as well.
"’Clear Spirit Pill’ and ’Meridian Traveling Pill’ to nourish the meridians."
"’Yingxiang Pill’ and ’Room Union Pill’ to nurture the acupoints."
"’Nourishing Marrow Pill’ and ’One Yuan Pill’ to strengthen the essence."
"’Spirit Nurturing Pill’ and ’Nourishing Spirit Pill’ to restore spiritual energy."
Cultivation is intense.
Even the gentlest cultivation techniques inevitably harm the body during practice.
Take Chen Jichuan’s ’Sword Map,’ for instance. Sword Qi resides in the Dantian and traverses the body—it is exceptionally sharp, causing significant harm to the physical body. As a result, this lineage rarely sees cultivators with long lifespans, and their cultivation speed is slow as well.
Even more moderate techniques, like ’Primordial Skill’ or the Heaven Mending Sect’s ’Five Directions Five Elements Ascension Method,’ cannot sustain prolonged cultivation periods.
Whether in regular practice or breaking through obstacles, the processes are always intense—
Channeling mana.
Absorbing spiritual energy.
Eliminating impurities.
Enhancing quality.
During cultivation, mana surges within the body like a River Like Sea, rampaging and pounding, causing significant damage. Comparatively, the meridians, dantian, and acupoints are delicate and have limited endurance.
Improper handling could lead to Qi deviation, resulting in death and soul extinction.
Even with caution, damage to these aspects is unavoidable. For a Second Stage cultivator, recovery is certainly possible, but it requires time.
Thus, extended cultivation is rarely practicable.
During the recovery of meridians, acupoints, or dantian, less focus is required, allowing time for contemplating cultivation techniques, practicing magic, or studying alchemy and artifact refining.
It is precisely for these reasons.
Alchemy and artifact refining exist, and cultivators devote effort to such peripheral activities.
Otherwise, in striving for immortality, surely everyone would pour every ounce of time purely into cultivation, leaving none for anything else.
"Human effort has limits."
"But also endless possibilities."
"Though cultivation entails myriad difficulties, pills like ’Clear Spirit Pill’ and ’Meridian Traveling Pill’ make progress more secure and swift."
Chen Jichuan reflected.
These Second-order pills are extremely valuable; a single pill costs around ten thousand Spirit Stones or five to six hundred Spirit Crystals.
Over a long period, the expenses become considerable.
"Currently, I’ve mastered two Second-order pill recipes: one for the ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ and one for the ’Fire Candle Pill.’"
Accumulated knowledge from previous lifetimes greatly benefited Chen Jichuan in this one, allowing his alchemy skills to reach Second-order early on. Over the years, he never ceased refining pills—mostly First-order ones—to generate wealth and support his cultivation while honing his skill at Second-order pill crafting.
After over a century.
He had successfully mastered two kinds of Second-order pills.
Among them, the ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ boosts mana, and the ’Fire Candle Pill’ replenishes Qi-Blood. The former is beloved by Enlightenment Realm cultivators in Immortal Dao, whereas the latter is favored by Soul Refining cultivators in Life Dao. Both are widely sought Second-order pills.
"The success rate for ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ is 35%."
"For ’Fire Candle Pill,’ it’s 20%."
"Right now, I can barely profit without incurring losses, but the returns are not significant."
The cost of crafting these pills is roughly twelve thousand Spirit Stones per batch, and once refined, even pills with standard quality can fetch ten times the cost—a market price of one hundred twenty thousand Spirit Stones. The profit margins were immense.
Yet due to limitations of success rate and pill quality, the earnings from Second-order pill crafting often didn’t surpass those from First-order pills.
Take Chen Jichuan for instance.
Though he could craft ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ over a century ago, until today the success rate was only 35%, meaning out of ten batches, only three to four would yield results. Even those would merely produce lower-quality pills, selling for sixty to seventy thousand Spirit Stones apiece.
After ten batches, the profit might barely reach one hundred thousand Spirit Stones—about five hundred Spirit Crystals.
The amount of effort required was far greater compared to crafting First-order pills, making it less than ideal.
"The low success rate and mediocre quality stem primarily from two reasons: first, my cultivation level is insufficient—low cultivation reduces control, making it far harder to craft high-quality Second-order pills."
"Second, I’ve refined too few batches."
"Early on, crafting even one ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ batch would result in failure, wasting twelve thousand Spirit Stones like throwing money into a void. After ten or even a hundred batches, even a mountain of gold wouldn’t suffice to sustain such losses."
Chen Jichuan thought back to the difficult times when crafting ’Vitality Evolution Pills’ and ’Fire Candle Pills’ early on, shaking his head.
Thankfully, those days had passed, and he was no longer in perpetual deficit.
Leveraging these skills to support his own cultivation already placed him above many Second-order True Persons.
Still, Chen Jichuan remained unsatisfied.
"Earning only one pill’s worth after ten batches—how long would that take to amass wealth?"
He pursed his lips, then chuckled aloud: "I can advance to the Second Stage at any time now. And before doing so, I’ll enhance the recipes for both ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ and ’Fire Candle Pill.’ By increasing success rates and pill quality, my profits will skyrocket!"
Previously, Chen Jichuan lacked sufficient cultivation and skill in crafting pills, so he hadn’t rushed to improve the recipes.
Now was the perfect time.
...
[Would you like to enhance the ’Vitality Evolution Pill recipe’?]
[Would you like to expend one layer of cultivation to enhance the ’Fire Candle Pill recipe’?]
"Enhance."
Chen Jichuan moved his thoughts, instantly emptying his Night Travel Tenth Layer cultivation and ’borrowing’ one layer from Life Dao Core Formation Tenth Layer to simultaneously enhance both recipes.
Looking at the enhanced recipes, the adjustments were minor but impactful: changes to the selection and proportion of ingredients reduced both costs and crafting difficulties.
Take ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ for example.
Its original cost of twelve thousand Spirit Stones was now reduced to ten thousand. Changes were made to several ingredients, streamlining the critical steps in crafting and making it easier to further raise the success rate. Additionally, the potency and quality of the crafted ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ would likewise increase.
Summing it all up, profits might very well multiply.
Factoring in the added mastery from practicing ’Daluo Heavenly Fire,’ improvements in fire control would further enhance pill quality and profits.
And the more expertise gained, the greater the advantages.
A typical Second-order Alchemist can become extraordinarily wealthy from mastering just one Second-order recipe—a claim that’s far from exaggerated.
"Next, I’ll use the improved ’Vitality Evolution Pill’ and ’Fire Candle Pill’ recipes to earn Spirit Stones and trade for ’Clear Spirit Pills,’ ’Meridian Traveling Pills,’ and other resources to aid my cultivation."
"At the same time, I need to start crafting ’Clear Spirit Pill,’ ’Meridian Traveling Pill,’ and the rest—working to master them one by one."
Chen Jichuan briefly outlined his plans for the future.
Then he sat down cross-legged.
Before focusing on the new pills, he needed to formally advance his cultivation to the Second Stage.
Two hundred years in the mortal realm.
The carp’s transformation into a dragon was happening today!
...