Vampire Cultivation Notes

After thinking for a while and not being able to figure out anything, Li Jieqing put the matter aside for the time being.

With his new residence settled and a few spirit stones still in his hand, Li Jieqing simply bought a few more bottles of cultivator's blood from Old Liu and took them with him.

Once back in the courtyard, he closed the door, activated the magic array, and then plunged into the newly arranged alchemy room.

"Retreat into your small building and become a world unto yourself, regardless of spring, summer, autumn, or winter."

As Li Jieqing heated the alchemy furnace, he looked out the window, where snowflakes continued to fall.

Taipingfang Market has existed for over a hundred, almost two hundred years; it's impossible that it couldn't survive this beast tide.

In other words, as long as you don't go out, you're perfectly safe staying in your new place.

This is because we have only ever heard of disasters occurring in expanded shantytowns, but never of monsters breaching the proper residences inside the market.

"For food, there's no need to go to great lengths to buy spirit rice; for clothing, a black robe will suffice for now when going out; for lodging, this little courtyard is quite nice; for travel, I was killed the last time I finally managed to go out to gather herbs, so I'll probably have to think about going out again for at least a few years."

"I have everything I need, from food and clothing to shelter and transportation. I lack nothing now!"

The alchemy furnace was already hot, and Li Jieqing, who had arrived at his new residence, was quite spirited as he manipulated the fire in the furnace.

Alchemy!

With spirit stones, I have everything; my path to enlightenment is in sight!

……

The snow fell heavily, covering the small courtyard, only to melt away completely at a certain moment, leaving the bright sun shining down.

Six months later.

evening.

Old Liu, a robust man still full of energy, came to the door and sent a message into the courtyard through an array at the entrance.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, a new batch of Blood Bamboo Spirit Charcoal has arrived; it was just burned recently."

There's no need to ask if they're home or not.

Those in the market who were observant knew that a new alchemist had arrived, a man who preferred to stay indoors for months on end.

It takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The array enveloping the courtyard cracked open, and the courtyard gate creaked open.

Li Jieqing, with disheveled hair and a dusty face, walked out, coughing occasionally.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, what's going on?"

"The alchemy furnace...it exploded, don't make a fuss."

Upon hearing Old Liu recommend the Rejuvenation Pill for healing, Li Jieqing tried to regain his composure despite his flushed face.

After only half a year of refining pills, the perfectly good alchemy furnace was gone. The person who sold the furnace was a real swindler.

Isn't it just baking it with fire day and night...?

Using his magic to lift up the two hundred pounds of blood bamboo charcoal at the door, Li Jieqing secretly shook his head.

That's it.

This can be considered the Little Black Cauldron's mission accomplished.

Old Liu helped carry the blood bamboo charcoal inside, then looked at the sky and said, "Speaking of alchemy furnaces, Fellow Daoist Zhao, I have a friend who has secretly kept a top-quality furnace artifact. It can be used for both combat and alchemy, but unfortunately, he doesn't know how to refine pills, so it's a waste."

"Oh, where is it?"

"My friend is always away hunting demons; I wonder if he's home today. Although it's evening, it's still early before midnight. Shall I go with Fellow Daoist Zhao to check on him?"

"Tsk, forget it."

Li Jieqing felt that Old Liu's friend was most likely not at home, and that after some things happened, he would end up going out to look for him.

One trap leads to another; once someone takes the bait, there's no fear of them falling for it.

Perhaps he guessed wrong, but Li Jieqing was too lazy to gamble on whether Old Liu had good intentions.

After six months of alchemy, I've accumulated quite a bit of wealth. It's about time it attracted the covetous eyes of those with ulterior motives again. How can I get out of here?

After carefully storing the blood bamboo charcoal for the subsequent alchemy, Li Jieqing did not hand over spirit stones, but instead gave over a few mid-grade Investiture Pills.

"Fellow Daoist, you have been studying diligently behind closed doors, and your alchemy skills have become increasingly refined. No wonder you are unwilling to accept the offers from the alchemy workshops."

The invitation fell through, but Old Liu didn't seem unusual. He casually opened a bottle of Fengxin Pills, smelled it, and nodded in satisfaction.

Fengxin Pills don't have much trouble selling. Even cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining who don't focus on physical cultivation will buy some as supplementary cultivation materials to avoid becoming mortals when their magical power is insufficient.

Because it sells so well, even though Danfang and this Zhao fellow had some disagreements, he was still willing to do business with them.

It's just the same old trick from the alchemy workshop, trying to recruit casual alchemists cheaply.

"After these few pills settle the debt for the blood bamboo charcoal, Fellow Daoist Liu, please remember to prepare a few feet of chicken blood vine for me as usual... Hmm, I don't need the twenty-year-old kind. Don't talk about having superb skills; if you can't refine a top-grade Fengxin Pill, it's a real waste."

Li Jieqing scratched his charred, frizzy hair, looking utterly dismayed.

Because he wanted to try refining a high-grade elixir, he used the small black cauldron to refine the twenty-year-old chicken blood vine at full power. However, after several hours, the chicken blood vine had not been refined, and the small black cauldron could not withstand the pressure and exploded.

Li Jieqing could only say that he was fortunate to have mastered alchemy and had excellent control over his magical power, otherwise he would have been roasted into a dried-up corpse by the surging fire.

It's okay if the hair is a little burnt right now; with the physique of a vampire, it will grow back in a little while.

I'll change my clothes and go buy a new alchemy furnace later.

"High-grade pills are harder to obtain..."

Old Liu agreed for a couple of minutes, noted down the materials Li Jieqing wanted, and inevitably mentioned that because the beast tide was raging, some materials would be more expensive.

"By the way, the blood of demonic beasts is getting cheaper and cheaper these days. Fresh white tiger essence blood is only 30% of what it used to be. Would Fellow Daoist Li like to order some?"

"Thirty percent?"

Li Jieqing's expression turned serious; the situation regarding this beast tide seemed quite dire.

It should be known that demonic beasts are fierce and have a savage physique. Even ordinary first-order demonic beasts can only be defeated by rogue cultivators who are in the late stage of Qi Refining and work together.

The price of monster materials has been driven down so much, which shows how many cultivators are dying in the process.

"It's just that those big white-haired worms have gone a bit crazy," Old Liu explained.

The beast tide started half a year ago and has only intensified since then. Monsters come to our door every day, forcing independent cultivators to be extremely careful when they go out, and making a living has become increasingly difficult.

A large part of the demonic beasts were the White Tigers that had migrated from there.

"Forget about demon blood, its medicinal properties are too strong to handle. Just find me a few bottles of cultivator's blood instead."

Li Jieqing still refused.

Tiger blood is nowhere near as good as your own blood.

"I have heard that alchemists have different techniques..." Old Liu was disappointed that he hadn't made a sale on the tiger blood, but he perked up again: "Fellow Daoist, you are also fortunate to have the blood of cultivators. With the beast tide, it is difficult for fellow cultivators to make a living. I just happened to bring over a few bottles, all made by cultivators in the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

"Blood from mid-stage Qi Refining? I've never used that before."

The situation is dire; even mid-stage Qi Refining experts are selling their blood. Li Jieqing, also a mid-stage Qi Refining expert, couldn't help but lament.

Amidst their lamentations, they couldn't help but click their tongues in delight, eager to give it a try.

"Give me a few bottles!"

"No problem, no problem. Five spirit crystals per bottle is fine, it's definitely not expensive."

It was still handed over in a porcelain bottle, and Old Liu was satisfied and finished his work.

As he was about to close the door and go inside, Li Jieqing's eyes darted around, and he remembered something else.

"Fellow Daoist Li, do you still remember the Yu family member who died in Wangyue Valley that we mentioned the other day?"

"Oh, how is it?"

Upon hearing the name of an old acquaintance, Li Jieqing, who was about to close the door after putting away the blood of a cultivator, paused.