Lord of the Demon Sect - Chapter 28 - Master Luo Zhiyuan

Twelve hours passed in the blink of an eye. When the sand clock ran out, the bald elder let out a heavy grunt and then sternly declared, “Everyone, stop what you’re doing immediately and leave your pill rooms. We are about to conduct inspections! If anyone is still refining pills after I finish speaking, they will be disqualified from the assessment!”

After he finished speaking, Jiang Chen and the other two immediately ceased all activities, obediently leaving the pill room and standing aside with their hands clasped behind their backs.

Next, the three examiners moved together to the pill rooms where the three had just been working, inspecting the failed pills, leftover materials, and completed pills.

The bald elder slowly approached the pill room, stealing a glance at Jiang Chen with a meaningful smile, and said, “Little guy, you’ve hidden yourself quite well; even I couldn’t see through you!”

Jiang Chen smiled faintly. Naturally, he had no way to respond to his words, so he simply shrugged his shoulders and made a helpless expression.

The middle-aged scholar and the middle-aged beauty, the two examiners, first took out the pills refined by Zhang Li and Liu Nian, respectively. Zhang Li had refined one pill, while Liu Nian had refined two. However, upon close examination of the color and luster of the pills, they found that Zhang Li’s pill was of higher quality than Liu Nian’s. Yet, in terms of success rate in refining, Liu Nian’s was double that of Zhang Li’s. Overall, Liu Nian had the slight edge.

Nonetheless, the three examiners unanimously agreed that both of them met the standards for a junior alchemist. They could pass!

Hearing their words, both Zhang Li and Liu Nian let out long sighs of relief, their faces beaming with joy.

After checking Zhang Li’s and Liu Nian’s pills, the three examiners finally entered the pill room where Jiang Chen had been working. Master Luo casually picked up the jade slip on Jiang Chen’s table and, upon reading the words, couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback, exclaiming, “Gathering Qi Powder?”

The middle-aged scholar and the middle-aged beauty also changed their expressions, looking shocked. “This is one of the more difficult junior pills to refine. This kid was actually able to create it; that’s not an easy feat! Especially considering his cultivation level is only at the fourth layer of qi refinement. I fear many alchemists at the seventh or eighth layers of qi refinement wouldn’t be able to manage it!”

Hearing the name Gathering Qi Powder, both Zhang Li and Liu Nian could only shake their heads helplessly, filled with admiration for Jiang Chen.

Forget about his cultivation and age; just looking at the difficulty of the pill recipe, it was many times harder than what the two of them had attempted.

After Master Luo finished inspecting the pills, he exclaimed in amazement, “Jiang Chen, you little rascal, you really have some talent! You managed to successfully refine three Gathering Qi Powders. Even intermediate alchemists might struggle to achieve that! And your cultivation level is only at the fourth layer of qi refinement! Impressive!”

At this moment, he abandoned his earlier disdain and treated Jiang Chen with remarkable respect.

Jiang Chen smiled slightly, understanding that in this world, earning others’ respect required extraordinary skills-whether in the Demon Sect or the righteous path, whether within a sect or outside of it, the principle remained the same.

And alchemy was indeed a highly notable skill.

“Ah, what a pity! You’re in a small sect like the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. If you were with the Alchemist Guild, I would definitely nurture you personally!” Master Luo sighed regretfully.

The Demon Sect is quite averse to poaching talents from others, and since the Alchemist Guild is an organization under the elder council of the Demon Sect, it holds a unique status on demon territory. Attempting to recruit a disciple from a small sect would indeed invite ridicule.

He then took out three shiny red badges with alchemy furnace designs, each adorned with a star. They clearly belonged to junior alchemists.

“Congratulations, Jiang Chen, Zhang Li, Liu Nian! You all passed the junior alchemist assessment!” Master Luo affixed the badges to their sect uniforms.

Instantly, smiles broke out on all three faces.

Zhang Li and Liu Nian quickly said their goodbyes and left. Just as Jiang Chen was about to walk out, Master Luo called out to him, “Jiang Chen, young friend, please wait a moment!”

Jiang Chen was slightly startled and stopped in his tracks.

“Jiang Chen, I noticed your techniques seem rather inexperienced. May I ask who your master is? Is it Master You from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect?”

“No, I taught myself. Look at me, I’m only at the fourth layer of qi refinement, and I have impure spiritual roots. How could Master You possibly take me as a disciple?” Jiang Chen could only smile bitterly.

Master You, mentioned by Luo, was the intermediate alchemist from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, known as the top alchemist in the sect, with cultivation at the late stage of foundation establishment. It was said that all foundation establishment pills within the sect were produced by him.

His status was extremely high; even though the peak masters of the Ghostly Slaughter’s seven peaks reached the golden core stage, they treated him with great respect and referred to him as Master You, never daring to assume a senior role.

“Oh, that makes sense. I was just thinking that if you were a disciple of Master You, your techniques shouldn’t be so clumsy…” Master Luo was abruptly taken aback, realizing that if Jiang Chen was entirely self-taught and could still achieve a thirty percent success rate in refining pills, then his talent for alchemy was truly extraordinary!

Master Luo looked at Jiang Chen with increasing fondness, a glimmer of excitement shining in his eyes as he felt an overwhelming urge to take him as a disciple.

Jiang Chen felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and couldn’t help but wonder if this bald old man had some odd preferences. He had heard rumors in the cultivation world about certain old-timers with a taste for young men. What if Master Luo had taken a liking to him?

“Jiang Chen! I have my eye on you!” Master Luo exclaimed, his face radiating joy.

“This… Master Luo, I don’t want to…” Jiang Chen said with a distressed expression, feeling the powerful aura emanating from Master Luo pressing down on him, making it slightly difficult to breathe.

“Jiang Chen, you are a once-in-a-century alchemy genius! In the environment of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, what kind of achievements can you possibly attain? Why not become my disciple instead? I’m a senior alchemist, my skills and cultivation level far surpass that of You Xue. Being your master is more than adequate!” Master Luo said enthusiastically.

Relieved, Jiang Chen realized that Master Luo simply wanted to accept him as a disciple, and not for any unusual reasons. That was something he could accept. Moreover, having a senior alchemist from the Alchemist Guild as his master, who was also a cultivator at the golden core stage, would provide him with a solid backing.

However, Jiang Chen was aware that agreeing too quickly might make others underestimate him. Additionally, he had the so-called Holy Lord System, which was tied to tasks that couldn’t be completed while he stayed within the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. He needed to clarify this.

“Um… Master Luo, if I become your disciple, will you require me to leave the Ghostly Slaughter Sect?” Jiang Chen quickly asked.

“Rest assured! There will absolutely be no impact!” Master Luo, recognizing Jiang Chen’s hesitation, quickly replied with excitement. “Our Alchemist Guild is directly under the elder council of the Demon Sect; it operates entirely differently from a sect. It’s more of a certification body or a management organization for alchemists. You’re actually already a member of the Alchemist Guild, but it doesn’t affect your status as a disciple of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect.”

After a pause, he added, “What I will teach you primarily involves alchemical techniques and insights related to pill refinement. If you want to learn cultivation techniques or spells from me, I can teach you that as well. However, I am a cultivator with a fire spiritual root, focusing on fire techniques, while your Ghostly Slaughter Sect practices dark techniques, which may not be entirely compatible. You need to think this through!”

Seeing Master Luo’s eagerness, Jiang Chen seized the opportunity to ask, “So if I get bullied outside, can I come to you for help?”

Upon hearing Jiang Chen’s question, Master Luo nearly jumped out of his seat. He exclaimed, “Who dares bully my disciple? I’d flatten him! Even if I can’t handle it myself, I’ll find someone to take care of it! Hmph! The demand for pills among cultivators is vast. All alchemists within the Demon Sect are our members-what sect would dare to disrespect the Alchemist Guild? As long as you don’t go provoking people, how many fools would have the audacity to trouble you?”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt a sense of relief. Moreover, it was evident from Master Luo’s demeanor that he genuinely cared for and supported him. Although he was currently a disciple of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect’s Ghost Mist Peak, he was merely a named disciple. Only after becoming an outer sect disciple would he officially become a disciple of the Ghost Mist Ancestor.

Noticing Jiang Chen’s hesitation, Master Luo assumed he was worried about being unable to take on another master within the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. So he quickly added, “Becoming my disciple won’t affect your ability to take on another master within the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. The path of cultivation is long and winding, and throughout one’s life, who knows how many years one will face? It’s quite common for a disciple’s cultivation level to surpass that of their master, both in the Demon Sect and the righteous path. When you reach a certain level, you will definitely seek out a second or even a third master. Rest assured! I would never stop you!”

He even boldly referred to himself as “master” without reservation.

Seeing Master Luo’s eagerness and his protective attitude, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel touched. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally made up his mind. He respectfully bowed and said, “Disciple Jiang Chen greets Master!”

Master Luo’s heart soared with joy, and he said repeatedly, “Good disciple! I don’t have any extravagant gifts for our meeting, but you can take this furnace and use it!”

With that, he pulled out a small, golden-yellow pill furnace from his storage bag. It looked like it was made of jade, featuring four dragon-eye-sized holes around it. Its ancient design included intricate patterns, some of which were engraved with characters Jiang Chen couldn’t decipher, emanating a faint fragrance of pills.

“Wow! Master Luo, you’re giving away this furnace too?” the middle-aged scholar and the middle-aged beauty exclaimed in astonishment.

“What does it matter? I can’t use it anymore! It’s perfect for my disciple!” Master Luo chuckled, unfazed.

He lightly tapped the small furnace, and it produced a clear, resonant humming sound.

“Chen Er, this pill furnace is called the Golden Jade Furnace. I sourced it from the lava of a volcano in the South Sea. It’s made of durable material, elegantly designed, and resistant to high temperatures. Not only can it be used for pill refining, but it’s also a superior-grade defensive spiritual artifact that can resist ordinary spell attacks. I only stopped using it after I reached the golden core stage!” Master Luo said, gently stroking the small furnace, a hint of reluctance gleaming in his eyes.