Chapter 13 - Initial Formation of the Wind Mansion

“Boom!” A muffled sound echoed, the pill furnace trembled, then settled down. Lifting the lid, nine perfectly formed pills appeared before his eyes. A rich aroma of pills wafted over, refreshing the heart and mind. A satisfied smile spread across Long Chen's face. He reached out and picked up a pill. It was smooth all around, with a faint sheen and a subtle pattern on its surface. “Although the pill patterns are shallow and the color lacks brilliance, the pill's spirit is somewhat lost. However, it can barely be considered a mid-grade pill.” This was the first mid-grade pill Long Chen had refined. It is important to know that the improvement of pills involves multiple aspects such as the furnace, pill fire, and soul power, all indispensable. Currently, Long Chen's spiritual strength was flawless, but the pill furnace was too inferior, and the pill fire... not to mention. Using an ordinary first-grade pill furnace and the most inferior pill fire to refine a mid-grade pill, perhaps only a monster like Long Chen, who had integrated the soul of a Pill Emperor, could achieve this in the entire pill refining world. He refined over twenty furnaces of pills in one go, with over a hundred low-grade Wind Mansion Pills lying quietly in Long Chen's ring. Long Chen secretly inquired about the situation outside midway. Since Li Hao was killed, naturally no one suspected Long Chen. And the Imperial Capital had posted a bounty notice to capture the murderer of Li Hao, but it was all thunder and no rain, soon fading into silence. Long Chen sneered inwardly; if they were acting, they should have done it thoroughly. Did they take him for a fool? A noble son was killed without any clear reason, and it was just left unresolved. It was too blatant! Although he understood in his heart, Long Chen dared not act rashly now. Without absolute strength, he had to protect himself. Currently, his father was guarding the wilderness, and he didn't know the situation there at all. According to the Fengming Empire's practice, all generals and marshals outside were prohibited from leaving the Imperial Capital, which essentially meant making them wary. Long Chen knew nothing about his father's situation. He only knew that since he was sensible, his father was not around. As he grew up, the once lively Marquis's mansion became increasingly deserted. Fewer and fewer people visited during holidays. Since a few years ago, the Long family fell increasingly, its status in the Imperial Capital plummeting, and Long Chen became a target for the noble sons of his age. The Marquis of Zhenyuan was silent about it, and Long Chen couldn't help but feel some resentment towards his father, but was sternly scolded by his mother. After waking up this time, Long Chen finally realized that things were not right, and he had thought too simply before. His father refused summons multiple times, surely for his reasons, not just because the barbarian war was tense. Once or twice might be excused, but over the years, multiple refusals had aroused dissatisfaction among countless lords and marquises towards Long Tianxiao in the Imperial Capital. Secretly, there were even rumors that Long Tianxiao intended to rebel, but no matter how these rumors spread, there was never any response from Long Tianxiao's side. Until three years ago, the royal family no longer summoned Long Tianxiao, but the Long family's situation worsened. First, the Long family's salary was deducted, leaving them in dire straits without any source of income, and then various provocations from the noble sons towards Long Chen. Especially this time, after Long Chen was injured, that old man cheated a lot of money from the Long family, finally alerting Long Chen. This was slowly pushing them to the brink, aiming to make Long Tianxiao yield, but Long Chen knew nothing about the hidden secrets within. However, one thing could be confirmed: someone strong was wrestling with his father behind the scenes. “Never mind, a hungry wolf will show its fangs sooner or later. What I need is to raise my strength.” Long Chen gave Bao'er a few brief instructions and began his seclusion. Now that the embryonic form of the Wind Mansion Star had condensed, the rest was simple. He just needed to keep absorbing the medicinal power. The Wind Mansion Star beneath Long Chen's feet began to grow quickly as it absorbed the medicinal power of the Wind Mansion Pills. Seven days later, Long Chen was madly consuming pills like eating meals. The Wind Mansion Star under his feet, originally the size of a soybean, had grown to the size of a longan, as if opening up a whole new space beneath him. When the Wind Mansion Star reached the size of a longan, its shape stopped changing. As it continued to absorb medicinal power, countless tiny lines appeared on the Wind Mansion Star, starting to rotate slowly. “Boom!” With a loud bang, after the last mid-grade Wind Mansion Pill was absorbed, the originally lifeless Wind Mansion Star beneath Long Chen's feet finally moved, frantically absorbing spiritual energy from the outside. “Yes, finally successful!” Long Chen shouted, feeling the operation of the Wind Mansion Star beneath his feet, his whole body filled with power. “However, now it is just successfully condensed. According to the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, each star must undergo nine transformations to be considered complete. My Wind Mansion Star has just condensed. If I follow the outside world's terms, I wonder if it's considered the First Heaven of Qi Gathering.” “Whish, whish, whish” Throwing three punches in succession, the whistling wind was deafening, the walls vibrating, almost collapsing. Without using any spiritual energy, relying solely on physical strength, he had such power. Long Chen couldn't help but be ecstatic. Although it was a bit hard and the progress was slow, the power of the Nine Star Hegemon Body Art was truly formidable. It was only the First Heaven, yet now he was much stronger than when he sent Shi Feng flying with one punch that day. “Heh, heh, if this continues, I will soon be able to find my future wife.” Long Chen chuckled, thinking of Mengqi's face, his heart burning. But thinking of that Qi Shi brother, Long Chen snorted coldly in his heart, “Next time I see you, if I don't beat the crap out of you, you won't know why the flowers are so red.” Suddenly, Long Chen slapped his forehead, having been engrossed in cultivation, he almost forgot today was the day to go to the Tai Academy. Seeing the sky just beginning to brighten, he quickly changed into a new set of clothes and rushed to the Tai Academy. Along the way, Long Chen's face was filled with uncontrollable joy. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the spiritual energy that could be stored within his Wind Mansion Star was substantial. He would no longer have to worry about insufficient spiritual energy while refining pills, no longer needing to constantly take medicine. Last time, during the duel with Li Hao, Long Chen had activated the combat skill Bull Strength, which was immensely powerful, crippling Li Hao with one punch. But that punch almost drained all his spiritual energy. Now he no longer had to worry about this issue. Sensing the spiritual energy within the Wind Mansion Star, he conservatively estimated it was enough to activate Bull Strength over a dozen times, which was the true difference of stepping into the Wind Mansion Star. Most importantly, as his cultivation increased, his physical strength also increased rapidly. Although he hadn't tested it, he knew it must be terrifyingly large. While he was excited, he soon arrived at the front gate of the Tai Academy. Entering the gate, as usual, he headed straight to the Literary Hall. As soon as he entered the Literary Hall, the originally noisy hall quieted down instantly due to Long Chen's arrival. Li Hao's death left many people hesitant to accept it. Almost all the noble sons were present at the battle that day, witnessing Long Chen's domineering punch firsthand. Those who used to mock and ridicule Long Chen fell silent, now feeling a sense of dread. “Haha, Brother Long!” As soon as Fatty Yu and others saw Long Chen, they were overjoyed, hurrying over. “Brother Long, you look more spirited!” “Brother Long, please sit.” “Brother Long, have some tea.” “Brother Long, let me massage your back.” Long Chen laughed and scolded, “Stop this nonsense. Help me get something to eat. I haven't had breakfast yet.” Long Chen found a corner to sit down in, and Fatty Yu had already brought over the snacks, with several people eagerly watching Long Chen. Long Chen was indeed hungry. He had been eating pills these past few days and was almost sick of them. Grabbing some snacks, he began to eat. Just as he was eating, Shi Feng arrived, and Long Chen waved him over. Shi Feng walked up to Long Chen, who handed him a jade bottle, saying, “Take this. It won't be long before you become a new generation of Blood Condensation realm powerhouse.” Long Chen's voice was not loud, but Fatty Yu and others heard it clearly, leaving them speechless in shock. Shi Feng was also greatly surprised, hurriedly opening the jade bottle. A rich pill aroma wafted out, with a round pill inside. “What is this?” Long Chen smiled slightly and casually said three words, “Condensing Pill.” Others might not know what a Condensing Pill was, but as someone at the eighth level of Qi Gathering, Shi Feng knew it was a treasure that Qi Gathering level nine cultivators dreamed of. The Condensing Pill is a pill for those in the Qi Gathering stage to advance to the Blood Condensation realm, containing abundant energy to help one break through quickly. Most importantly, the Condensing Pill is only for Qi Gathering, with no impact on future cultivation. However, the Condensing Pill is extremely difficult to refine, with a high failure rate, especially the final pill formation moment, which is a nightmare for alchemists. An ordinary Condensing Pill costs over a million gold coins, and it's still in high demand. A million gold coins were simply unattainable for Shi Feng, who was not well-off. He never dared to dream of it. “Long Chen, this...” “What this or that, just take it. I never hesitated when taking your things, so don't act like a woman.” Long Chen interrupted with a wave of his hand. Shi Feng nodded. At this moment, saying anything was superfluous. He held back his excitement and said, “Alright, once I reach the ninth level of Qi Gathering, I'll take it immediately.” “No need. Didn't you see the pattern on it? Take it now, and you'll soon advance to the Blood Condensation realm,” Long Chen said with a smile. Only then did Shi Feng notice a faint pattern on the pill, almost exclaiming in surprise. It was actually a mid-grade pill, which meant its price was many times higher. “Quickly put it away. Between us brothers, no need for useless words,” Long Chen said. Shi Feng's eyes reddened, and he stored the pill close to his body. The camaraderie from Long Chen moved him more than the pill itself. “Brother Long!” “Master Long!” “Grandpa Long!” “...” Although Fatty Yu and the others didn't know what a Condensing Pill was, they knew it was a treasure. They stared at Long Chen like hungry wolves, their eyes turning blue. Long Chen shivered from their calls, quickly asking them to stop, “Don't worry, I promised to handle your issues.” The reason they couldn't cultivate was due to their poor spiritual roots, unable to sense true qi. Perhaps others couldn't help, but who was Long Chen? With the memories of a Pill Emperor, if he couldn't handle this, how could he claim to be a Pill Emperor? “Here, each of you take a bottle. Three drops a day, abstain from meat, alcohol, and lust. Results in seven days, and within half a month you can sense qi. How long it takes to enter Qi Gathering depends on your effort.” Long Chen tossed each of them a bottle filled with medicinal liquid, which he had concocted himself. The liquid wasn't precious, but it could barely improve their spiritual roots, which were considered useless. However, Long Chen wasn't a god, so the improvement was limited. Entering the Qi Gathering realm shouldn't be an issue, and with luck, they might reach the Blood Condensation realm, but anything beyond was impossible. However, for Fatty and the others, it was an unimaginable treasure, and they stared at the bottles, eager to take a drop immediately. “Brother Long, won't it be disadvantageous for you if we can cultivate?” Although Fatty was fat and had a large head, his brain was not small. He was the first to think of the potential problem. If Long Chen truly had a way to enhance them, it might bring trouble if malicious people targeted Long Chen. Fatty's intention was to ask if they should help Long Chen keep it secret. But Long Chen laughed heartily, “No worries, these medicines are made by Master Yun Qi. Anyone who wants them can go ask Master Yun Qi.” “Master Yun Qi?” The group was shocked and was about to ask if Long Chen was joking when footsteps approached, and they turned to see several people, their faces filled with panic.