Chapter 006 - True Qi Flame Chen Xiang cultivated with the [Azure Dragon Divine Exercise], which was a wood attributed exercise. Azure Dragon True Qi contained a massive amount of elemental life force and, thus, was very helpful for growing spirit herbs. There was even a particular exercise called the [Dragon Saliva Exercise] which provided assistance in planting and growing herbs. Upon casting the [Dragon Saliva Exercise] a mystical liquid would be created from his Azure Dragon True Qi, which, when applied to spirit herbs, accelerated their growth. Practicing the [Vermillion Bird Divine Exercises] could allow one to create and release a flame. This flame was essential in alchemy. The [Divine Exercise of Four Symbols] was a very multifaceted exercise, and there were many fierce exercises in it, but, because Chen Xiang’s strength was not high enough, he could not practice most of them. At the moment, Chen Xiang has 3000 large spirit coins, equivalent to 300,000 small spirit coins, but it is still not enough for him to buy a middle-grade Mortal Level ‘Baptising Marrow Dan’. Due to their price, ordinary martial artists cannot normally afford to buy dans, as even the cheapest of them are very expensive. [TLN: I prefer using Dan (丹) instead of dan, I will use dan instead of using dan. For Eg: – I’ll use ‘Baptizing Marrow Dan’ as opposed to using ‘Baptizing Marrow Pill’.] In the entirety of Wohu city, there is only one place that specializes in selling dans, and that is the Spirit Dan Hall. It was a four-story building and, although not very large, the things sold inside were rather expensive. Moreover, sixteen and a half acres behind the Spirit Dan Hall was a big manor where they grew spirit herbs. Although the Spirit Dan Hall was not associated with any clans, it was not weak as they had many experts inside. One can even find alchemy masters inside the Spirit Dan Halls, who were highly respected for their work. After all, dans were very rare and their benefits were great, allowing martial artists to increase their strength. As Chen Xiang walked inside the Spirit Dan Hall, he smelled a herbal aroma wafting through the hall, creating a soothing sensation in all who breathed it in.There were many counters, each counter selling different kinds of dans and herbs. Before coming here, Su Meiyao told Chen Xiang to start practicing with low-rank dans, thus, he intended to refine the Mortal Level low-grade dan ‘Quenching Body Dan’. It was cheap and easy to sell, one dan can sell for around 700 spirit coins, and anyone below the 4th level of the Mortal Martial Realm can get a significant boost from consuming one. “Young master, spirit dans are sold there, this stand is specialized in selling spirit herbs!” The speaker was a beautiful girl standing behind the counter. There were not many people inside the Spirit Dan Hall, so Chen Xiang was very conspicuous, but, even if she saw Chen Xiang wearing a shabby outfit, she didn’t underestimate him, because she knew that hidden experts sometimes came to the Spirit Dan Hall. “Ah, yes. I would like to buy seedlings of the spirit herbs required for refining the ‘Quenching Body Dan’. Do you sell them here?” Chen Xiang asked as he walked over to the beautiful girl. Very few people came to buy seedlings, as few have the ability to grow them. Those who were able to grow them were generally affiliated with big forces and are responsible for handling herb gardens, furthermore, they are generally quite proficient in alchemy. They are treated as treasures by those forces and are rarely allowed to come out for a walk. That girl was slightly surprised but still spoke with a sweet smile, “Of course, to refine the ‘Quenching Body Dan’ you will need four herbs. The prices are the same for all seedlings. They are quite cheap, only 100 large spirit coins for each seedling.” The herbs needed for ‘Quenching body dan’ are the ‘Azure Spirit Grass’, ‘Blood Element Flower’, ‘Profound Bright Flower’, and the ‘Spirit Leaf Grass’. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 Chen Xiang thought for a moment, then said, “Give me five of each.” 400 spirit coins for one set makes it 2000 for five. Chen Tianhu only gave him 3000 large spirit coins. Now more than half his fortune is gone. It seems that even the most basic of dans were too expensive to be consumed by ordinary martial artists. The girl was surprised, as she didn’t know of anyone his age in Wohu city that could practice alchemy techniques and grow herbs. “I’ll go fetch it for you, so please wait for a moment.” The girl did not think that Chen Xiang was messing around with her because people who messed around with the Spirit Dan Hall generally ended up regretting it. “Well, what do we have here?“ A handsome teenager, wearing a magnificent and expensive white robe and holding a fan, was coming down the stairs and looking at Chen Xiang with disdain. The upper floors of the Spirit Dan Hall sold higher ranked dans, and people that can go up are all distinguished guests. “Are your eyes behind your back? Shut your fucking mouth! Why is it that every time you open your mouth, bullshit comes out.” Chen Xiang, curling his lips, replied. That teenager is Chen Zhenhua and he and Chen Xiang are of similar age. He is also extremely intelligent. At a young age, he managed to enter the 4th level of the Mortal martial realm and is now just a step away from 5th level. Chen Zhenhua’s face turned green, ”Chen Xiang, I admit that you were very formidable when we were younger, but you do not have a spiritual vein, so now I could beat you with a hand tied behind my back!” Chen Xiang, being at the 5th level of the Mortal Martial Realm, could only laugh at these words. No matter how strong someone at the 4th level is, they were definitely not his match. “This is Chen Xiang? The current Chen Family Patriarch’s grandson? I heard that he doesn’t have a spiritual vein and is forever stuck at the 3rd level of the Mortal Martial Realm, it seems he is here for some dans!” A beautiful girl walked out from behind Chen Zhenhua and gave Chen Xiang a disdainful look. Chen Xiang recognized this girl, she was the daughter of the governor of Wohu City. “It seems that birds of the same feather really do flock together! I did not expect the governor’s daughter to be so superficial, being willing to be seen with such a fellow.” Chen Xiang said, then no longer paid them any attention, though he suffered and was humiliated by them, now he was much stronger than them, had worked diligently to obtain strength. Therefore, his mind was much more mature than the two in front of him. Seeing that Chen Xiang was no longer paying any attention to them, Chen Zhenhua the girl became angry. Chen Zhenhua wanted to show-off in front of the governor’s daughter, so he walked towards Chen Xiang. “Young master, here are you spirit herbs seedlings you requested.” The girl returned with his order, pulling seedlings out from a storage pouch. Chen Zhenhua was surprised that Chen Xiang was here to buy seedlings! This was a surprise for Chen Zhenhua, but he laughed scornfully and said, “Chen Xiang, you do not even have a spiritual vein, are you really thinking of planting spirit herbs. Don’t tell me you want to become an alchemy master? This is hilarious!” Because there were not many people in the Spirit Dan Hall, it’s usually very quiet inside, thus, when everyone heard someone loudly speak about someone not having a spiritual vein and wanting to become an alchemy master, they could not help but stop and stare. Chen Xiang was well known in the city, after all, his grandfather was the Chen family Patriarch, his father was a well-known figure, and he did not have a spiritual vein. Most people, when talking about the Chen family Patriarch and Chen Tianhu, always ended up sighing. Chen Xiang silently paid the money and received the spirit herb seedlings. He chose to ignore everyone gazes. Just as he was about to leave, Chen Zhenhua, with a sneer, said, “A waste of a person, wasting so many spirit herbs.” Chen Xiang’s brow wrinkled. When Chen Zhenhua said he did not have a spiritual vein, he chose to ignore it. He had been ridiculed before, but he could not tolerate being called a waste. When everyone saw the Chen family children fighting, they were happy inside their hearts, because they knew it would be an interesting show to watch! Chen Xiang turned around a looked at the arrogant Chen Zhenhua. Suddenly a palm-shaped flame surged out from his palm, making many people begin to feel like they were in a sauna. Inside the Spirit Dan Hall, there are many people who had excellent insight, so they were well aware that this flame was not a normal flame, but actually an alchemical flame! “Chen Zhenhua, I dare you to try to face this True Qi flame, made by a ‘waste’.” Chen Xiang spoke with a dark and emotionless tone. Only those with special talent and rare cultivation exercises can create True Qi flames. They have to be born with this type of talent and were able to understand the minute changes inside the True Qi flames. Because Chen Zhenhua was very close to Chen Xiang, his whole body was covered in sweat. The beautiful girl behind the counter was also in the same state, making her thin clothes become soaked with fragrant perspiration, making her seductive curves stand out. This fierce flame made everyone in the Spirit Dan Hall stand still, dumb as wooden chickens. [TLN: “Dumb as a wooden rooster” it comes from a Chinese story, for the story you can visit here, basically petrified]