22: Chapter 22 Factions

Su Qing came at night.

Lu Chen had just finished refining a batch of peiyuan pills and was sitting in the small room behind the Pharmacy, holding the freshly made Medicinal Pill in his hand, not yet consumed. The door was pushed open; she didn't knock, just pushed it open. In the entire Danding Sect, only Su Qing would do this.

She was wearing a dark robe, her hair held up with a wooden hairpin, a few loose strands hanging by her ears. There was no makeup on her face, making her look a few years younger than during the day, like a girl of seventeen or eighteen. But when she walked in, her footsteps were steady, and her gaze was deep, not like someone of that age.

"You should knock," Lu Chen said.

"You should lock the door." Su Qing sat down opposite him and glanced at the Medicinal Pill in his hand. "peiyuan pill?"

"Mm."

"How many batches did you refine today?"

"Three batches. Two were successful, one was ruined."

"Was the ruined batch because the fire wasn't stable?"

"It was because someone tampered with the furnace." Lu Chen put the Medicinal Pill into his mouth and swallowed it. "The same as the day of the assessment. But this time it wasn't from the bottom of the furnace, it was from the furnace wall. The Spiritual Qi was very weak, as if done casually, not like they were seriously trying to destroy my pill."

Su Qing's expression changed slightly.

"Testing you?"

"Possibly," Lu Chen said. "To see if I could discover it."

"Did you discover it?"

"I did. But I didn't react," Lu Chen said. "Let them think I couldn't feel anything."

Su Qing looked at him for a few seconds, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she wanted to smile but held it back.

"You are more shrewd than I thought."

"It's not that I'm shrewd," Lu Chen said. "It's that I have nothing to lose. Only those who are not shrewd are afraid. I am not afraid, so I can pretend."

Su Qing didn't respond to that. She took a piece of paper from her sleeve and spread it on the table. The paper was large, and a diagram was drawn on it—not a map, but an organizational chart. Boxes, arrows, names, densely packed.

"What is this?" Lu Chen asked.

"The faction chart of the Danding Sect," Su Qing said. "Your current identity is an extra-cadre Inner Sect Disciple, a successor to the Vice Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall. This identity will make people target you. You need to know who is who."

Lu Chen looked down at the chart.

At the very top of the chart was a box— "Sect Head." Below it, three lines branched out, each extending into more boxes.

"The Danding Sect is divided into three factions," Su Qing said, pointing at the chart. "The Alchemy Hall, led by Elder Zhou. The Teaching Hall, led by Elder Zhao. The Law Enforcement Hall, led by Elder Sun."

"Elder Sun? What is her relationship with Sun Qian?"

"Aunt and nephew," Su Qing said. "Sun Qian is Elder Sun's nephew. He works as a deacon in the Outer Sect; that was Elder Sun's arrangement. Everything Sun Qian does is behind the scenes at Elder Sun's behest."

Lu Chen tapped his finger on the table.

"What about Vice Steward Wang?"

"He is from the Law Enforcement Hall," Su Qing said. "In name, he is the Vice Steward of the Pharmacy, but in reality, he is an informant planted in the Alchemy Hall by the Law Enforcement Hall. He urged you to hand over the bone fragment; that wasn't his intention, it was Elder Sun's intention."

"Does Elder Zhou know?"

"She knows," Su Qing said. "But she cannot move against Vice Steward Wang. The struggle between the Law Enforcement Hall and the Alchemy Hall has been going on for over a hundred years. Whoever makes the first move loses."

"Why?"

"Because the Sect Head is in the middle," Su Qing said, pointing to the top box. "The Sect Head was sent by the Xuantian Sect, not a local of the Danding Sect. His duty is not to manage the School, but to balance the three factions. Whoever sticks their head out, he suppresses. Whoever shows weakness, he supports. The three factions are deadlocked like this, neither able to consume the other."

Lu Chen looked at the chart for a while.

"What about the Teaching Hall?"

"Neutral," Su Qing said. "Elder Zhao helps no one and offends no one. The Teaching Hall only manages the Disciples, does not participate in resource allocation, and does not participate in personnel struggles. Their people are the safest, but also have the least future."

"What about you? Which faction are you in?"

Su Qing didn't answer immediately. She tapped her fingers on the table twice, as if hesitating, or perhaps organizing her words.

"I don't belong to any faction," she said. "I am the Sect Head's person."

Lu Chen looked at her.

Su Qing also looked at him.

"The Sect Head has no Foundation in the Danding Sect. He needs his own people. I joined the Danding Sect at fourteen, was selected by him, trained, and arranged as an undercover agent in the Alchemy Hall. Elder Zhou doesn't know my identity, and Elder Sun doesn't know either. In everyone's eyes, I am just an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple, with decent Alchemy talent, a bit of cleverness, and that's it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are the only person I can trust in the Danding Sect," Su Qing said. "You have a Grey Spirit Root; you are not part of any faction. You have no Foundation, no background, and no retreat. You won't betray me, because betraying me would bring you no benefit."

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

"You are wrong."

"Wrong where?"

"It's not that I won't betray you," Lu Chen said. "It's that I won't do things without benefit. Betraying you has no benefit, so I won't do it. But if one day betraying you could exchange for what I want—"

"You would sell me out?"

"Yes."

Su Qing stared at him for a long time.

Then she smiled.

Not the kind of smile where the corners of her mouth just moved, but a real smile. Her eyes curved, her lips curled upward, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

"You are a really interesting person," she said. "If someone else said such things, I wouldn't believe them. But you say it, and I believe it. Because you are exactly that kind of person."

"So do you still trust me?"

"I do," Su Qing said. "Because you won't lie to me. Lying to me has no benefit either."

Lu Chen did not refute.

She put away the chart, folded it, and put it back into her sleeve.

"Let's talk about business. Elder Zhou has made you a successor; Elder Sun's side will definitely take action. Vice Steward Wang urged you to hand over the bone fragment, and since you didn't, they will change their approach next. It might be enticement, it might be a threat, or it might be framing. You need to be prepared."

"What kind of preparation?"

"First, don't go to deserted places alone. Second, don't eat Medicinal Pills given by others. Third, don't believe anyone's 'good intentions'." Su Qing stood up, walked to the door, looked back at him, "Including mine."

"I shouldn't believe your good intentions either?"

"Not believing is the right thing to do," Su Qing said. "Because the five qi gathering pills I gave you weren't given for free. That was me using the information about the bone fragment to trade for my status with the Sect Head. I am not helping you; I am helping myself."

"I know."

"As long as you know."

She pushed the door open and walked out.

Her footsteps were light and quickly faded away.

Lu Chen sat in the small room, the door open, the wind blowing in, scattering the dregs of the Medicinal Pill on the table.

He swept the dregs together, wrapped them in paper, and threw them into the furnace.

Then he closed his eyes and began Qi Channeling.

Qi Refining Level 3.

There was about 30% of Spiritual Qi stored in his Dantian.

There was still 70% to go before Qi Refining Level 4.

The road was still long.

Early the next morning, Lu Chen met Vice Steward Wang in the Pharmacy.

The fat man stood before the herb cabinet, holding an account book, checking the inventory. Seeing Lu Chen enter, he raised his head, a smile plastered on his face.

"Lu Chen, you've come at the right time. Help me move this batch of newly arrived herbs into the warehouse."

Lu Chen walked over and looked at the herbs on the ground. Five sacks, each at least fifty pounds. He bent down, picked up a sack, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and walked toward the warehouse.

Vice Steward Wang followed behind, talking as he walked.

"I heard about yesterday. Elder Zhou taking you as a successor—congratulations, congratulations."

Lu Chen didn't respond.

"It's not easy for a Grey Spirit Root to get this far. You are a person of great perseverance," Vice Steward Wang's voice lowered. "But have you ever thought about why Elder Zhou took you?"

"I don't know."

"Because she needs a scapegoat," Vice Steward Wang said. "The fifth floor of the Inverted Tower—no one who has entered has come out alive. Elder Zhou dares not enter herself, so she found someone to enter for her. That person is you."

Lu Chen placed the sack on the floor of the warehouse and turned to look at Vice Steward Wang.

"Are you finished?"

"Finished."

"If you're finished, get out. I still have the rest to move."

The smile on Vice Steward Wang's face stiffened for a moment, but it quickly returned.

"Lu Chen, I am doing this for your own good. Think about it, what has Elder Zhou given you? An identity as an extra-cadre Disciple, a few Medicinal Pills, a few empty promises. Whatever she can give you, Elder Sun can also give, and even more."

"What does Elder Sun want?"

"The bone fragment," Vice Steward Wang said. "Information. What you saw in the Inverted Tower, what you heard, what you knew—tell it all to Elder Sun. In exchange, Elder Sun will give you the status of a formal Inner Sect Disciple, fifty Spirit Stones every month, and ten qi gathering pills. You can choose any Cultivation Technique, and resources are unlimited."

"What are the conditions?"

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

“The condition is—you cannot enter the fifth floor of the Inverted Tower.”

Lu Chen looked at Vice Steward Wang.

Vice Steward Wang also looked at him.

“Elder Sun doesn't want to know what's on the fifth floor?”

“She doesn't,” Vice Steward Wang said. “Some things are better left unknown. Elder Sun has lived longer than you and seen more. She knows what should be touched and what shouldn't.”

Lu Chen was silent for a few seconds.

“Go back and tell Elder Sun—her condition is very good, but I don't need it.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to enter the fifth floor of the Inverted Tower,” Lu Chen said. “Not for Elder Zhou, but because I want to know what's inside.”

Vice Steward Wang looked at him, his gaze changing. It was no longer that previous fake smile, but something colder, like a winter wind scraping painfully against the face.

“Do you know what you're saying?”

“I do.”

“You will die.”

“Possibly.”

“Not possibly. Definitely,” Vice Steward Wang said. “Li Gusheng went in and didn't come out. Old Zhou's Master went in and didn't come out. The Founding Ancestral Master went in and came out, but he was no longer human. Do you think you can be stronger than them?”

Lu Chen did not answer.

He turned and walked out of the warehouse, continuing to move the remaining sacks.

Vice Steward Wang stood at the warehouse entrance, watching his back. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he didn't.

He turned and left.

His footsteps were heavy, each step leaving a pit, as if venting something.

In the afternoon, Lu Chen was performing Alchemy.

Old Zhou watched from the side.

This batch was qi gathering pills—not the high-grade qi gathering pills Su Qing gave him, but low-grade ones. Old Zhou said to refine low-grade ones first, and then move up once he was skilled.

The medicinal ingredients had already been poured in. polygonatum, Lingzhi, poria, and angelica—four ingredients in a ratio of four to three to two to one. The heat had to be divided into four levels, each corresponding to an ingredient.

Lu Chen closed his eyes, his palm pressed against the furnace wall. His spiritual power split into four streams, controlling the temperature of the four areas.

The hardest was the angelica. angelica required the highest temperature, but it melted the fastest. If the fire was too high, it would char; if too low, it wouldn't melt. The window was very narrow, only a few breaths of time.

“The angelica is about to melt,” Old Zhou reminded from the side.

Lu Chen withdrew two-thirds of the spiritual power from the bottom of the furnace, and the fire suddenly surged up. The angelica tumbled in the high heat, its surface beginning to melt into a brown liquid, mixing with the other medicinal liquids.

“Withdraw.”

Lu Chen pressed the spiritual power back, and the fire lowered.

All four ingredients were completely melted and mixed together, becoming a mass of dark brown liquid slowly rotating at the bottom of the furnace.

“Condense the pill.”

Lu Chen increased the spiritual power on the furnace wall, the fire became smaller, and the temperature slowly dropped. The liquid began to solidify, changing from liquid to solid, from a mass of paste into a round sphere.

The fire went out.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and lifted the furnace lid.

A Medicinal Pill lay at the bottom. It was brown, not large, with a thin layer of light on the surface. The light was weak, but it was definitely there.

“Success,” Old Zhou said. “The quality is below average. To succeed on your first time refining a qi gathering pill is not bad.”

Lu Chen picked out the Medicinal Pill and placed it in his palm.

It was very small.

Smaller than he had thought.

But very heavy.

“How many Spirit Stones can this sell for?”

“A low-grade qi gathering pill has a market price of two Spirit Stones,” Old Zhou said. “The cost of ingredients is one Spirit Stone. A net profit of one.”

“How many batches can be refined in a day?”

“With your current skill, two batches a day. Once you're skilled, four batches a day.”

“That's one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones a month.”

“You can't calculate it like that,” Old Zhou said. “Your spiritual power will be consumed; you need to rest after refining one batch. Ingredients aren't in infinite supply; the ingredients in the warehouse have a quota. It'll be good if you can refine thirty in a month.”

“Thirty. A net profit of thirty Spirit Stones.”

“Plus your stipend. As an informal Inner Sect Disciple, you get ten Spirit Stones a month.”

“Forty.”

Old Zhou looked at him.

“Are you very short on Spirit Stones?”

“I am,” Lu Chen said. “Going from Qi Refining Level 3 to Level 4 Refining requires at least three hundred Spirit Stones' worth of resources. I have less than ten in my hand right now.”

“Three hundred?” Old Zhou frowned. “Who told you that?”

“I calculated it myself,” Lu Chen said. “Going from Level 1 Qi Refining to Level 2 took about a hundred Spirit Stones' worth of resources. From Level 2 to Level 3 took about two hundred. From Level 3 to Level 4, it doubles, so four hundred.”

“Your calculation is wrong,” Old Zhou said. “The Cultivation of a Grey Spirit Root isn't linear. From Level 1 to Level 2, you used blood essence pills and qi gathering pills. From Level 2 to Level 3, you used qi gathering pills and peiyuan pills. From Level 3 to Level 4, what's needed isn't just quantity, but quality. Ordinary qi gathering pills are no longer enough; you need more Advanced Medicinal Pills.”

“What Medicinal Pills?”

“A simplified version of the Foundation Establishment Pill—the small foundation establishment pill,” Old Zhou said. “The kind you refined during the assessment. Eating one small foundation establishment pill is worth ten qi gathering pills. But the ingredient cost for a small foundation establishment pill is five Spirit Stones, and the success rate is only fifty percent. If you refine two and succeed in one, the cost is ten Spirit Stones.”

Lu Chen calculated in his mind.

One small foundation establishment pill equals ten qi gathering pills, worth twenty Spirit Stones. The cost is ten Spirit Stones, a net profit of ten.

Refining ten a month would earn a hundred Spirit Stones.

Plus the stipend of ten.

One hundred and ten.

Qi Refining Level 3 to Level 4 requires four hundred Spirit Stones' worth of resources.

Four months.

“Four months,” Lu Chen spoke the number aloud.

“Four months to reach Level 4 Qi Refining?” Old Zhou shook her head. “You're too impatient. Cultivators with Spiritual Roots take a year to go from Level 3 to Level 4. With your Grey Spirit Root, it will take at least two years.”

“I can't wait two years.”

“Why?”

“Because of the bone fragment,” Lu Chen said. “Friendship is almost gone. After Friendship comes compassion. I don't know what comes after compassion. But if I haven't reached Level 4 Qi Refining before compassion is gone, I'll be too late.”

“Too late for what?”

“Too late to find the answer before losing myself.”

Old Zhou fell silent.

She looked at Lu Chen with something indescribable in her eyes—like heartache, yet also like fear. Not fear of death, but fear of ‘loss’. Because she also had a Grey Spirit Root. She knew what loss felt like.

“You're more ruthless than I was,” Old Zhou said. “When I reached Qi Refining Level 3 back then, I didn't dare go any further. I was afraid of losing Friendship. My best friend was named Li Gusheng. He died in the Inverted Tower, and I couldn't even find his body.”

“So you took a step back?”

“I did,” Old Zhou said. “I retreated to the Pharmacy to be a steward, refining pills and teaching Disciples. I stopped Cultivating, stopped making Breakthroughs. The price stopped.”

“The price stopped, but you also stopped.”

“Yes,” Old Zhou said. “I stopped at Qi Refining Level 3. I've been at Qi Refining Level 3 my whole life. I'll live to two hundred and die here.”

Lu Chen looked at her.

“Do you regret it?”

Old Zhou didn't answer immediately. She turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside. The sky was very blue, the clouds very white, and the wind blew from the mountains, carrying the scent of medicine.

“I do,” she said. “But regret is useless. Because I didn't dare.”

Lu Chen didn't ask further.

He put that qi gathering pill into his mouth and swallowed it.

Spiritual Qi surged into his Dantian.

It was very little.

But it did increase by a tiny bit.

At night, Lu Chen returned to his residence, closed the door, and thought through everything that happened today from beginning to end.

Vice Steward Wang's attempt to win him over.

Elder Sun's condition.

Elder Zhou's “successor” status.

Su Qing's status as the “Sect Head's person.”

Four powers, four cards. He was caught in the middle, each card wanting to use him.

“Then let them use me.”

Lu Chen untied the black thread from his wrist, placed it on the table, and stared at it for a long time.

The thread hadn't broken.

But the color had changed.

It was black before, but now it had turned into a very deep gray, as if it had been washed by something, losing a layer of color.

“Friendship is fading.”

It didn't disappear all at once, but faded bit by bit.

Forgetting one detail today, one image tomorrow, and the day after, not even being able to remember the name.

When he completely forgot Qin Wu—

Friendship would be gone.

Lu Chen tied the black thread back onto his wrist and tied three knots.

Then he closed his eyes and began Qi Channeling.

Spiritual Qi surged into his Dantian.

No matter what was lost.

He would not stop.

tianxuan calendar, Late Summer of the 18th Year of Taiping.

Lu Chen, Qi Refining Level 3, Grey Spirit Root.

Successor of Zhou Yuan, Deputy Head of the Alchemy Hall.

A pawn of four powers.

But he didn't care.

All he wanted was immortality.

Nothing else mattered.