Chapter 67: The Stick and the Carrot

Chen Xian sat cross-legged, the alchemical cauldron standing before him. He closed his eyes and, following the method recorded in the Mortal Level Alchemical Canon, formed a sword gesture with his hands, moving them along a mysterious trajectory. Wisps of spiritual energy shot forth from his sword fingers, entering the Danyang Treasure Cauldron.

A low hum resonated from the cauldron, its mottled and dim inscriptions suddenly brightening, shining like stars kindled in the night sky. The heavy cauldron, compelled by an enigmatic force, rose and floated in midair.

Soon, all the inscriptions upon the cauldron’s surface writhed and stirred as if alive, converging into nine swirling vortices that slowly rotated, emanating a pull. At this moment, Chen Xian distinctly sensed the scarce spiritual energy in the world being drawn toward the cauldron; he no longer needed to inject his own energy.

A minute later, accompanied by explosive bursts, the nine inscription vortices gathered at the base of the cauldron, transforming into nine mysterious spiritual flames that roasted the vessel.

His eyelashes quivered; Chen Xian abruptly opened his eyes and pointed a sword gesture at the cauldron, prompting the heavy lid to open on its own. He then cast in the main and auxiliary ingredients for the Spirit Gathering Powder, including aged mountain ginseng.

The cauldron lid thundered shut, and the nine flames at its base continued absorbing the sparse spiritual energy from the world, spinning rapidly as they did.

Chen Xian closed his eyes once more and used the power of his spiritual sense to probe the state within the cauldron.

Early next morning, within the secret room of the courtyard, Chen Xian opened his eyes. The nine clusters of fire beneath the alchemical cauldron had ceased their rotation, and from the gap in the lid wafted an intoxicating fragrance of medicine.

“At last, the first batch of Spirit Gathering Powder is complete!” The corners of Chen Xian’s mouth lifted in a slight smile as he murmured to himself.

With these words, he closed his eyes, extending his spiritual sense toward the cauldron. The lid opened, and pill after pill, carved like jade, flew out from within and landed precisely in an empty porcelain bottle nearby.

These green pills were indeed Spirit Gathering Powder, and of the highest grade.

If other alchemists on Blue Star knew that Chen Xian could so casually refine top-grade pills, their jaws would surely drop in astonishment.

Medicinal pills are categorized into four grades—low, middle, high, and supreme—according to the concentration and purity of their medicinal power. As the names suggest, low-grade pills have the weakest effects and purity, middle-grade are somewhat better, and supreme-grade pills possess the most potent effects and the highest purity.

On Blue Star, the success rate for alchemy is extremely low. Even those experienced and with profound spiritual cultivation—master-level alchemists—achieve less than fifty percent success, and most of their products are low-grade pills.

Having collected the first batch, Chen Xian immediately began refining a second.

Five days later.

Chen Xian opened his eyes and gazed at the ten porcelain bottles stacked before him, unable to suppress the smile that crept onto his face.

All ten bottles contained Spirit Gathering Powder.

He did not immediately refine them but, with a thought, activated the storage ring on his little finger, which emitted a ghostly light, absorbing all ten bottles.

After refining so much Spirit Gathering Powder, Chen Xian discovered that the more he practiced, the faster his process became. Moreover, from the third batch onwards, all pills produced were of the supreme grade.

Knock, knock, knock!

At this moment, a knock sounded at the door.

“Grandmaster Chen, this is Ma Tian. May I come in?” The voice of a middle-aged man came from outside.

Chen Xian replied calmly, “Come in.”

The door opened, and Ma Tian, dressed in a sharp suit, entered and respectfully saluted the Grandmaster.

“What is it?” Chen Xian asked.

“Reporting to Grandmaster Chen, the matter of absorbing the Xiong Group is nearly complete. The board meeting is scheduled for ten o’clock this morning, and I would like to invite you to preside over it,” Ma Tian stated respectfully.

Chen Xian nodded. “Very well, let’s set out now.”

...

By eleven thirty, the group meeting had concluded.

“Grandmaster Chen, we may adjourn now,” Ma Tian said with a smile from the side.

Chen Xian raised his hand. “No hurry. Next, I shall reward those who contributed to the struggle against the Xiong family.”

Ma Tian, Ma He, and the other core members of the Ma family all looked at Grandmaster Chen with curiosity, wondering what reward he would bestow—perhaps shares in the company?

Chen Xian lifted a small leather case he had prepared beforehand and placed it on the meeting table. With a click, the case opened, revealing neat rows of pristine porcelain bottles.

This box of pills was spoils taken from Mr. Zhao.

Everyone gazed at the bottles with curiosity.

Chen Xian swept his eyes over the crowd, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Ma Tian!”

“Yes!” Ma Tian responded quickly.

Chen Xian took out two bottles and handed them to him. “These are two bottles of True Qi Pills. They are greatly beneficial for Martial Artists of Bright and Dark Strength. Take them.”

Ma Tian’s eyes widened in astonishment, his gaze filled with shock as he stood there, stunned.

“My goodness, these... these are True Qi Pills!” A young woman present covered her mouth in excitement.

Because alchemists are rare in the martial world and the success rate for pill refinement is low, medicinal pills in the market are exceedingly scarce, let alone precious True Qi Pills.

Usually, ordinary Bright or Dark Strength martial artists can hardly obtain even a single True Qi Pill, much less two bottles.

At this moment, everyone present was shocked by Chen Xian’s words.

“What’s wrong, you don’t want them?” He looked at Ma Tian, amused.

Though True Qi Pills are precious, to Chen Xian they are of little value—now that he had Spirit Gathering Powder, True Qi Pills were no better than junk. Thus, he handed them to his subordinates to help them advance in cultivation.

Ma Tian came to his senses, trembling as he knelt before Chen Xian and solemnly accepted the two bottles, his voice choked with emotion:

“Thank you, Grandmaster Chen. With these two bottles of True Qi Pills, I am certain to break through to the pinnacle of Dark Strength!”

“Rise. Serve me well, and the realm of grandmaster is within reach in the future!” Chen Xian extended a hand to help Ma Tian up.

The head of the Ma family was overwhelmed with excitement, tears streaming down his face.

A grandmaster is a legendary figure standing atop the martial world’s pyramid. Ma Tian had never even dared to dream of reaching such a realm. Now, Grandmaster Chen had given him hope—how could he not be moved to tears?

In the following moments, Chen Xian awarded Ma He two bottles of True Qi Pills as well, leaving him equally elated.

After rewarding the two Ma family elders, the other core members received pills such as True Qi Pills and Body Refining Pills.

Of course, not a full bottle—just a few pills each.

Even so, the Ma clan’s core members were overjoyed.

After the rewards, Chen Xian assigned Ma Tian and Ma He a new task: to seek materials for setting up small Spirit Gathering Arrays.

...

“Grandmaster Chen, we pledge our lives to serve you!”

As Chen Xian stepped out of the meeting room, all the Ma family’s core members knelt and voiced their heartfelt loyalty.

To govern subordinates is nothing more than the balance of reward and authority!

Put simply: the stick and the carrot.

At this moment, Chen Xian felt this truth keenly.

He glanced back at the crowd, said nothing more, picked up his case, and left—inside, a few bottles of pills yet remained.