Chapter 150: Expanding the Scale

Standing beside Aunt Hong, Tong Yin was also filled with dread. He was certain that if the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation were to attack him, he wouldn't even last ten seconds before being blasted to ashes!

"My master's skill in array formation is simply too profound—it's nothing short of a miracle!" Tong Yin murmured.

Fortunately, this astonishing heaven-shaking and earth-shattering phenomenon lasted for less than a minute. The terrifying phantoms of the Thunder God and Goddess of Lightning dissipated completely, and everything returned to normal, as if what had just transpired was merely an illusion.

However, those who witnessed the scene knew all too well that it was no illusion.

Inside the secret chamber.

Chen Xian released his spiritual consciousness, taking in the entire situation of the Spirit Mountain at a single glance.

"Although the power of the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation is already formidable enough to easily annihilate martial artists at the Grandmaster realm, it is still not enough to deal with existences at the Divine realm."

"However, it is currently winter, and thunderstorms are scarce. Once summer arrives, the season of frequent thunderstorms, the power of the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation will reach its absolute peak."

"Now, it is time to deploy the array disc that can link the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation and the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation together."

"In this way, when needed, the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation can borrow the power of the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation to unleash world-destroying thunderous might to eradicate enemies."

"However, the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation cannot borrow the thunderous power of the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation."

Chen Xian's mind raced as he made his decision and flicked a thought.

Swish!

The jade disc, densely covered with mysterious array patterns half-gold and half-white in color, flew toward the center between the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation and the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation, bursting forth with a dazzling golden-white radiance as it merged within.

With a solemn expression on his face, his hands formed mysterious finger incantations, weaving like butterflies among flowers to condense one hand seal after another...

Hum, hum, hum~~~

At that moment, the previously quieted Spirit Mountain trembled once more.

Rumble!

Rumble!

Lightning and the phantoms of the Thunder God and Goddess of Lightning flashed once again. Lightning emerged across the foundations of the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation, while the foundations of the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation manifested phantoms of vast oceans and towering ancient trees, emitting the sounds of raging waves crashing against the shore and trees swaying in the wind...

Chen Xian released his formidable spiritual consciousness, enveloping all the array foundations, and clearly perceived that the two formations were weaving countless intricate connections with one another.

This process lasted for half an hour before finally coming to an end, and the Spirit Mountain returned to its customary tranquility.

It was only at this moment that Chen Xian let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Connecting the divine connections of these two formations was indeed no easy feat; the slightest mishap would have reduced both arrays to utter ruin.

"It's finally a success!" Chen Xian muttered to himself.

He believed that even if a Divine realm expert were to trespass into the Spirit Mountain now, the Minor Gold-Thunder Formation—borrowing the energy of the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation—would make such an expert deeply regret it, even if they couldn't be slain outright.

Having finished all this, Chen Xian sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and circulated the Supreme Chaos Scripture, quietly absorbing the dense spiritual Qi to cultivate.

Half a day later, Chen Xian opened his eyes, all fatigue completely vanished.

He slightly raised his hand, and his storage ring flashed with a dim light, out of which flew various precious Chinese medicinal herbs such as ganoderma and ginseng. These were the materials for refining the Spirit-Gathering Powder.

The ganoderma and ginseng that had reached a century of age had been partly procured at a huge cost by Ma Tian and his associates, and partly plundered from the annexed Wu and Ke families.

Chen Xian glanced at the medicinal herbs, and with a flick of his thought, his storage ring flashed with dim light once more, releasing an antique, mottled bronze cauldron brimming with the vicissitudes of time—none other than the Dan Dan Cauldron.

For some reason, looking at the Dan Dan Cauldron always brought to mind the mysterious Zhao family standing behind Mr. Zhao.

Chen Xian had a vague premonition that he would inevitably have many entanglements with this Zhao family in the future, and that he would likely visit them in person. He felt certain that the Zhao family must possess vast stores of precious medicinal ingredients.

Of course, all of that was a matter for another day.

Chen Xian took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and once he achieved a state of utter serenity, he began refining the Spirit-Gathering Powder.

Ever since his battle with Xu Yirong, a grandmaster of the Nine Cauldrons wealthy Xu family, and learning that the family was backed by a Divine realm patriarch, Chen Xian had felt an increasingly urgent need to elevate his cultivation.

The Divine realm—bearing the word "Divine" within its name alone was enough to illustrate the terrifying nature of such experts; that title was not casually bestowed.

Chen Xian released his spiritual consciousness, causing the Dan Dan Cauldron to float before him out of thin air. He formed sword fingers with both hands, drawing out wisps of spiritual Qi from his spiritual wheel and directing them onto the cauldron.

Hum~~~

Accompanied by continuous humming sounds, the Dan Dan Cauldron trembled slightly, and the gray-white inscriptions upon it lit up one after another, like stars rising in the night sky...

A few days later.

The Dan Dan Cauldron had ceased its vibrations, and the inscriptions on its body had all dimmed, standing quietly before Chen Xian once more.

Chen Xian opened the heavy lid and retrieved the final batch of Spirit-Gathering Powder.

This time, he had obtained a total of twelve bottles of Spirit-Gathering Powder, all of which had reached the supreme grade in quality.

Had this feat been known to the alchemists of Blue Planet, it would undoubtedly have caused a massive earthquake.

Chen Xian put away the elixirs and stored the Dan Dan Cauldron back into his storage ring. For the time being, he intended to consume and refine these Spirit-Gathering Powders to advance his cultivation.

Right at that moment, his phone rang.

Chen Xian glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Ma Tian calling.

He answered the call: "Ma Tian, is something the matter?"

"Grandmaster Chen, a large number of wealthy tycoons and martial arts families from outside H Province have now rushed to the Ma Group, desperately looking to purchase Spiritual Water. Furthermore, they are offering a direct price of 500,000 per bottle and want to sign long-term supply contracts with us..."

Hearing Ma Tian's words, Chen Xian understood his intent: the Spiritual Water was currently in scorching demand, having established its reputation even outside H Province. Buyers were proactively offering more than double the price, and Ma Tian wished to expand production to make a massive profit.

Chen Xian pondered for a long moment before finally speaking:

"Starting today, increase the output of Spiritual Water to 2,000 bottles. Our wholesale price will be raised from 200,000 to 500,000 per bottle. Also, add a clause to the contracts stating that our Ma Group reserves the right to adjust prices at any time based on market supply and demand."

Now that Chen Xian had planted vast quantities of ginseng, ganoderma, and other herbs, his cultivation speed was guaranteed. Combined with the minimal amount of spiritual Qi absorbed by the Spiritual Water placed at the base of the mountain, Chen Xian finally agreed to scale up production.

"Very well, Grandmaster Chen!" Ma Tian said, sounding immensely pleased. "Grandmaster Chen, at this rate, our annual revenue from Spiritual Water alone will reach over 120 billion!!!"

Chen Xian nodded, his voice calm: "Alright, proceed as instructed. If there is nothing else, I am hanging up."

To ordinary martial artists, 120 billion might seem like a vast fortune, an astronomical and dizzying sum.

However, to Chen Xian, it was still far too scant. He did not know how many cultivation resources he would need to rapidly elevate his realm; right now, 120 billion probably wouldn't even be enough for him to purchase century-old ginseng and ganoderma to refine Spirit-Gathering Powder and awaken his fifth spiritual wheel.

"Grandmaster Chen, wait a moment," Ma Tian said.

"What else is there? Speak," Chen Xian said indifferently.

"Grandmaster Chen, do you remember those three invitation cards we obtained from your trip to the ancestral grounds of the Ma family, the Wu family, and the Ke family?"

Hearing this, Chen Xian's gaze shifted as he recalled: "Are you referring to the invitation cards for the Southeast Nine Provinces Martial Arts Tournament?"

[PS: Chapter Five, updated!]