Lord of the Demon Sect

For the next six months, Jiang Chen busied himself running around, collecting materials. He took on tasks from the sect that were related to material gathering whenever possible. At the same time, he also exchanged for a pill recipe for the qi nourishing pill, which he intended to refine for his own use.

At first, his contribution points and spirit stones were scarce, making the refining process slow. However, once he had a bit of capital, he decided to purchase materials from the bazaar to refine the pills himself. The qi nourishing pills he crafted were partially for his own use, while the rest were handed over to Zhang Pang to sell, with Jiang Chen keeping twenty percent of the spirit stones as a reward. The remaining eighty percent was used to buy more materials from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect’s bazaar.

Of course, he had prepared a convincing story, claiming that he had befriended a rogue cultivator who was at the foundation establishment stage while collecting materials. This person was a junior alchemist who entrusted Jiang Chen to procure alchemy materials for him within the Ghostly Slaughter Sect and sell the pills he crafted, allowing Jiang Chen to take a cut – a mutually beneficial arrangement for both brothers.

Zhang Pang, touched by this, asked Jiang Chen why he didn’t set up his own stall to sell the pills.

Jiang Chen explained that he preferred not to run a stall in the bazaar himself because he wanted to focus on his alchemy career and become a true alchemist. He believed that the future was bright for alchemists, so he dedicated himself to this path.

This made Zhang Pang feel that it was a pity. He thought that if Jiang Chen concentrated on cultivation, even with impure spiritual roots and starting late, he could at least reach the middle stage of the Qi Refinement Stage.

Zhang Pang was already a disciple at the fifth layer of the Qi Refinement Stage, and the ones typically purchasing qi nourishing pills were disciples at the first to third layers. Naturally, they wouldn’t dare to target a senior brother who was stronger than them. Thus, the sales of these qi nourishing pills went smoothly.

Zhang Fei and Lin Yushang, among other disciples from Ghost Mist Peak, were a bit curious and asked Zhang Pang where he got so many qi nourishing pills to sell. Zhang Pang shared Jiang Chen’s explanation, saying he had met a foundation establishment stage rogue cultivator while hunting ghosts. The rogue cultivator was a junior alchemist, and due to their good relationship, he entrusted Zhang Pang to procure materials and sell the pills for him, sharing the profits.

Upon hearing this, they were astonished that a foundation establishment cultivator was involved, especially one who was an alchemist. Naturally, they didn’t dare to inquire further. After learning this, Lin Yushang expressed interest in meeting this cultivator.

Zhang Pang had no choice but to say that this cultivator was reclusive and did not like to meet strangers, prompting Lin Yushang to drop the idea.

After half a year of cultivation and consuming a large number of qi nourishing pills, Jiang Chen’s cultivation level had risen to the third layer of Qi Refinement. This rate of progress was unattainable not only for disciples with impure spiritual roots but even for those with three or dual spiritual roots. Only those with a single spiritual root, referred to as heavenly spiritual root disciples, might achieve such speed.

In order to prevent others from discovering his rapid advancement, Jiang Chen spent thirty contribution points to learn a spell called the breath concealment technique. This spell could hide one’s aura, making it difficult for cultivators of the same stage to perceive his true cultivation level. It could also be employed in combat for surprise attacks against enemies. Another benefit of this spell was that the user could intentionally lower their displayed cultivation level to half of its actual value, effectively misleading their opponent. Only cultivators at a higher tier could see through this ruse. With Jiang Chen’s strength at the Qi Refinement stage, only Foundation Establishment cultivators would be able to discern his true ability.

After mastering this spell, Jiang Chen felt much more at ease. Now, he appeared to still be at the first layer of Qi Refinement, a pace that matched his status as a disciple with impure spiritual roots, thus not raising any suspicion.

What pleased Jiang Chen even more was the rapid progress of Xiao Qian’s cultivation.

Six months ago, both he and Xiao Qian were at the first layer of Qi Refinement. Now, Xiao Qian had reached the fourth layer. Being at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement meant she was now considered at the middle stage, a significant improvement compared to the early stage of Qi Refinement.

Jiang Chen mused that if he were to take Xiao Qian into a one-on-one match against cultivators of his level, provided they weren’t from prestigious backgrounds, the typical third layer Qi Refinement disciples wouldn’t stand a chance against him – after all, he was two against one! Moreover, Xiao Qian had become a mid-stage Jiangshi servant.

Jiang Chen was also pleasantly surprised by Xiao Qian’s spiritual awareness. Although she could not speak yet, she was exceptionally clever. He had given her the green ghost flame sword he obtained from Du Wei, and she used it to slay ghostly spirits with remarkable precision, often taking them down with one clean strike. Remarkably, she had also learned to use the netherworld ghost claw, demonstrating great accuracy. On several occasions, when Jiang Chen was gathering herbs on steep cliffs that were hard to access, it was Xiao Qian who retrieved the plants for him using the netherworld ghost claw. This truly left Jiang Chen in awe.

One day, Jiang Chen ventured over two hundred miles away from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect to an abandoned graveyard. He had heard it was home to grave moss and ground root grass, both of which were vital materials for refining Jiangshi cultivation pills. He could not afford to miss this opportunity.

After searching the graveyard for half a day, he finally collected thirty-two pieces of ground root grass and forty-five pieces of grave moss. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard voices approaching.

Jiang Chen was taken aback, unsure whether the newcomers were friends or foes. Just as he was preparing to leave discreetly, the visitors spotted him. He heard a stern shout, “Who goes there? Stop!”