Lord of the Demon Sect

Liu Mo’s hands were soft and delicate, her skin smooth and warm like jade, causing Jiang Chen to feel a stir in his heart. He tried to calm his emotions and then said, “Liu Mo, since we’re about the same age, let’s not be like those old cultivators who insist on calling each other ‘fellow daoists.’ How about we just call each other by our names?”

“Sure! I’ll call you Jiang-Ge¹!” Liu Mo nodded eagerly and then cautiously added, “Jiang-Ge, if you don’t mind, just call me Mo’er! That’s what my family calls me!”

“Alright! Mo’er, please lead me to your home!” Jiang Chen glanced around to ensure there was no one else in the alley before urging her on.

Liu Mo felt a rush of joy and happily took Jiang Chen’s hand, guiding him toward her house.

The Liu family was not far from the alley. After turning a couple of corners, they arrived at a large courtyard with gray stone walls and a tidy appearance.

Two house servants at the entrance saw their young lady escorting a boy and immediately bowed respectfully.

As they passed through several courtyards, they were met by a middle-aged man in a white brocade robe. It was Liu Mo’s father, Liu Jie, the one who sold the Qingpu Pill Furnace to Jiang Chen.

Seeing Liu Mo, he greeted her with a beaming smile, “Daughter, you’re back! I heard from the guards that you went to the Alchemist Guild. How did it go? Did Master Luo agree to help us?”

But at that moment, he suddenly noticed Jiang Chen standing behind Liu Mo, his expression turning to one of astonishment.

“Ah! It’s you!” Liu Jie never expected his daughter would bring the person who bought the Qingpu Pill Furnace back home.

In fact, after returning from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect, Liu Jie had regretted his earlier decision quite a bit after being scolded by his daughter. In hindsight, he felt he had been too weak.

At that time, he didn’t dare to sell in Blood Shadow City, as it would have been embarrassing. Although the alchemy workshop was closed, the Liu family still had the artifact crafting pavilion and dozens of acres of spiritual fields to support the family’s livelihood. They needed to continue living in Blood Shadow City, where everyone would see each other regularly. If someone he knew saw him selling a furnace, where would he hide his face?

So he went to some nearby sect bazaars, hoping to sell the items. However, he quickly realized that there were very few people knowledgeable in alchemy, and those with talent were already being supported by their respective sects. With backing from a sect, those alchemists looked down on the furnaces and pill recipes he had for sale. It wasn’t until he reached the marketplace of the Ghostly Slaughter Sect that he encountered Jiang Chen, the stubborn youth.

However, the Ghostly Slaughter Sect was also a second-rate sect in the vicinity, not something a small cultivating family like his could provoke, especially since they had golden core stage cultivators. Moreover, the cultivator from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect who bought the Qingpu Pill Furnace didn’t even share their name, so Liu Jie held no hopes of reclaiming the furnace. He never expected that his daughter would bring that person home.

“Dad, this is the alchemist I hired-Jiang Chen from the Ghostly Slaughter Sect. He just passed the qualification exam for a junior alchemist! It took me a lot of effort to persuade him to help us with alchemy!” Liu Mo introduced enthusiastically.

Liu Jie stared at the alchemist’s badge on Jiang Chen’s chest, utterly speechless.

He knew full well that selling the Qingpu Pill Furnace happened only six months ago, and back then Jiang Chen had no knowledge of alchemy whatsoever. Yet now, he had become qualified as a junior alchemist! What incredible talent! Even the top six sects of the Demon Sect likely didn’t have disciples with such extraordinary alchemy skills!

“What a pity! This kid only has impure spiritual roots; he might not even be able to establish his foundation. Otherwise, his achievements in alchemy would surely be remarkable!” Liu Jie mused to himself.

At that moment, Jiang Chen noticed Liu Jie and quickly clasped his fists in greeting, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you, Uncle Liu, for gifting me ‘Introduction to Alchemy.’ It has paved my way into the world of alchemy, and I have achieved some progress today. I’m incredibly grateful!”

Seeing that Jiang Chen didn’t mention anything about buying the Qingpu Pill Furnace or the Jiangshi cultivation pill recipe, Liu Jie felt somewhat relieved. However, he still harbored some doubts about Jiang Chen’s alchemy skills. After all, he was still a novice who had only studied alchemy for half a year. Even if he had miraculously passed the junior alchemist exam, could he really compete with the two senior alchemists from the Shang family?

…

In a secret chamber of the Liu household, Jiang Chen, Liu Jie, and Liu Mo gathered to discuss the current situation.

Liu Jie explained to Jiang Chen, “Jiang Chen, the Shang family currently has two alchemists: one named Shang Xuan and the other Huang Zong. Although both are junior alchemists, they have been refining pills in Blood Shadow City for many years and are quite skilled. They have a certain level of notoriety among the many rogue cultivators in the city. Shang Xuan is from the Shang family, while Huang Zong…”

At this point, Liu Jie couldn’t help but reveal a wry smile. “He was the one poached by Shang Zhengwu. I trusted him so much that I shared all the alchemy insights accumulated by the Liu family over the centuries. I showed him all the pill recipes, planning to cultivate him intensively. I never expected I’d end up raising a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Now, due to his betrayal, he knows everything about our pill prices, sales, and recipe materials, thanks to his inside knowledge from the Shang family. Of course, he could tailor his approach to suppress us. It’s not entirely because we lack alchemists.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen nodded slightly. Huang Zong had been an alchemist in the Liu family for many years and had an in-depth understanding of the Liu family’s pill recipes and their situation. His betrayal to the rival Shang family would indeed deal a significant blow to the Liu family.

“Jiang-Ge, our main threat now comes from a modified version of the gathering qi powder developed by the Shang family,” Liu Mo sighed. “The gathering qi powder is suitable for cultivators in the early middle stage of Qi Refinement. While there are not as many cultivators in this stage compared to those in the early stage, they can afford to buy pills. Therefore, in our bazaar, the gathering qi powder yields the highest profits among all the pills!”

Jiang Chen understood this point as well. Cultivators in the early Qi Refinement Stage, even those who are disciples of a sect, are typically very poor, not to mention the rogue cultivators. Only those who reach the early middle stage of Qi Refinement would have a little savings.

Liu Mo furrowed her brows and continued, “Huang Zong took our Liu family’s gathering qi powder recipe to the Shang family, and together with their alchemist Shang Xuan, they developed a modified version of the gathering qi powder. Its cost is about ten percent higher than the regular gathering qi powder, but it increases cultivation by twenty percent after consumption. Therefore, even though the selling price is higher, it sells very well. After all, spending ten percent more to gain twenty percent improvement in cultivation is an easy calculation to make. As a result, even if we bring in a batch of gathering qi powder from other cities to sell, we can’t compete with them.”

Liu Jie also sighed, “Exactly! Moreover, bringing in supplies from other cities not only incurs shipping costs but also carries the risk of being robbed along the way. It’s not a sustainable plan.”

Jiang Chen’s gaze flickered as he furrowed his brows and asked, “Is there another pill that can compete with this modified gathering qi powder?”

“Yes! There’s a pill called the Qi condensing pill, which, like the gathering qi powder, is suitable for cultivators in the early middle stage of Qi Refinement. Its effects are significantly better than that of the regular gathering qi powder, with a cultivation increase that is double that of the gathering qi powder,” Liu Jie explained.

“Oh? Does it require materials that are twice as expensive?” Jiang Chen inquired.

“Correct! However, the materials needed for the Qi condensing pill are much cheaper than those for the gathering qi powder. So, even though the quantity and variety of materials used is doubled, the overall price is about the same!” Liu Jie clarified.

Jiang Chen listened attentively but was puzzled. “If that’s the case, why is the most popular product the gathering qi powder instead of the Qi condensing pill?”

“That’s because the success rate for refining the Qi condensing pill is too low!” Liu Mo sighed. “The number and variety of materials required for the Qi condensing pill are double that of the gathering qi powder, totaling over thirty types. It also requires precise ratios of ingredients and a high level of skill in controlling the heat during the refining process. As a result, the difficulty of refining it is more than doubled. A typical junior alchemist, after some practice, might achieve a success rate of around ten percent when refining gathering qi powder. But if they try to refine the Qi condensing pill, they might not even produce a single pill after using thirty sets of materials. Therefore, when factoring in the failure rate, the price for one Qi condensing pill would be more than triple that of gathering qi powder… In this situation, who would even consider buying such an expensive Qi condensing pill?”

Seeing the struggling expression on Liu Mo’s face, Jiang Chen carefully glanced at her and took a deep breath. “Mo’er, I actually want to give the Qi condensing pill a try. I have a strong feeling that my success rate for refining this pill should be quite high…”

“Jiang Chen, are you sure you can do this? If I’m not mistaken, you just started learning alchemy half a year ago and only recently passed the certification exam to become a junior alchemist today. Do you really think you can refine the Qi condensing pill? While it’s only a beginner-grade pill, not many intermediate alchemists can achieve even a ten percent success rate. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so few of these pills on the market!” Liu Jie replied, a skeptical look on his face.

“Hey, Uncle Liu, Mo’er, just let me try! If it doesn’t work out, we can come up with another plan. But if I succeed, wouldn’t that change our situation?” Jiang Chen said with a mischievous smile in his eyes.

Liu Mo and Liu Jie exchanged glances before slowly responding, “Dad, since the situation is so critical, why don’t we let Jiang-Ge give it a shot? After all, we would only be risking a few dozens worth of materials for the Qi condensing pill.”

From her tone, Jiang Chen sensed that Liu Mo didn’t have much confidence in him; she was just trying to save him face.

Footnote:

Ge(哥): In Chinese culture, it is quite common to address someone as “xx 哥” (pronounced as “xx ge”). The term “Ge” means “older brother” and, when used in this context, typically carries a sense of affection and friendliness. It indicates respect and amiability towards the person, similar to calling someone “bro” or “big brother” in English.