The Shouyang Discourse Conference had drawn to a close.
When the attendees arrived, dozens of traveling lights had converged like streaming stars.
Now, departing by twos and threes, they scattered with the wind.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Luo Chen stood atop the summit of Mount Shouyang. He gazed out toward those receding beams of light, his expression no longer holding the calm, self-assured confidence of before, but tinged with gloom instead.
Behind him, Canglong and Gu Caiyi looked upon his tall silhouette with eyes full of reverence.
The roster of conference attendees was currently in Canglong's grasp.
"Thirteen upper sects, plus the rogue cultivator Bo Hanjun—twenty-five people in all. Every single one who signed has agreed to assist you this time, Senior Brother.
"In addition, there are four Nascent Soul True Masters of the Dongyang Sect who remained behind at their mountain gate. Grand Elder Dongyang promised he will bring them along when the time comes.
"Senior Brother, we will definitely succeed this time, won't we?"
Luo Chen did not answer. He merely paced slowly along the edge of the sheer precipice.
Gu Caiyi was exceptionally adept at reading expressions. Catching a glimpse of Luo Chen's somber profile, she felt a wave of perplexity.
"Husband, why do you look unhappy after bringing this matter together? Could there be some unforeseen variable?"
A variable?
Luo Chen paused in his tracks and let out a soft sigh.
Of course there were variables!
What truly convinced everyone to agree to this scheme was the presence of two Soul Formation existences.
Whether it was Deng Taiyue's brazen slaughter of the two Dao Sect True Masters as a pledge of allegiance, the formidable alliance between the human and demon races of the Eastern Desolation, or the allure of the Empowerment Pill offering a chance at Soul Formation—all of them were merely catalysts in the end.
Li Canghai of the Northern Sea and Qingshuang of Mount Cangwu—the participation of those two was the true reassurance in everyone's hearts.
A human Soul Formation sovereign and a demon Tier 5 ancient demon. In sheer numbers, that was already on par with the Tianyuan Dao Sect, which currently possessed only a single Soul Formation mighty figure.
It was precisely this direct comparison that had instantly tipped the scales in the minds of the wavering crowd.
And yet!
*Li Canghai and I are mere nodding acquaintances. Any so-called tacit understanding depends entirely on his own willingness.*
*As for Qingshuang... she never gave me a direct answer on whether she would actually intervene.*
*In the end, I must rely on myself!* Luo Chen thought to himself.
Out loud, however, he voiced none of this.
Instead, he turned around, looking at the two women with a gentle gaze.
"Canglong, how goes your refinement of that White Tiger puppet?"
Canglong smiled faintly. "I have mastered it completely. Although the puppet's construction is exceedingly ingenious, the control method leans heavily toward the style of the Luoyun Sect. Years ago, I shared a solid friendship with Han Zhan and received guidance from him. A century has been more than enough for me to refine and master it to perfection."
Luo Chen let out an affirmative grunt and said, not without surprise, "With your current mid Nascent Soul cultivation, commanding this puppet should allow you to sustain prolonged combat. In addition, I will grant you fifty fourth-tier talismans. When a critical juncture arrives, simply unleash them."
Luo Chen actually possessed a formidable reserve of resources: an immense quantity of fourth-tier talismans.
They were byproducts from when he had used talisman crafting in the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land to comprehend the true meaning of the law of fire—mostly the two fourth-tier spells, Flaming Phoenix Prairie Blaze and Flame Dragon Descent. Kept stored away in his hands all this time, they had found no opportunity for use.
These talismans were by no means inferior goods; they were the absolute finest of the fine.
One had to remember that Luo Chen had cultivated both spells to the Great Perfection level. Their might could be called unmatched beneath the Soul Formation stage; ordinary Nascent Soul True Masters could not even withstand a single talisman.
The Ice Fort excelled in crafting and deploying talismans, a fact Luo Chen had known since his early years through Fairy Jueqing.
He was confident that armed with this batch of talismans and a late Nascent Soul White Tiger puppet, Canglong's combat prowess would be second to none among Great Cultivators.
Gu Caiyi, standing to the side, was taken aback as she listened. "You've reached mid Nascent Soul?"
Canglong dipped her head with a smile toward Luo Chen. "This is all thanks to Senior Brother's gift. What you left inside my body back then—I spent a hundred years refining the greater part of it. Advancing to mid Nascent Soul was merely a matter of course."
Gu Caiyi's eyes went wide. What did she mean by "what you left inside my body"?
Luo Chen coughed awkwardly and explained in detail, "It was a portion of heaven-and-earth essence along with converted water-attribute origin magic power. Back then, eager for rapid success in comprehending the origin of water, I triggered a clash between the origins of water and fire, which briefly brought about a heavenly anomaly. You should know of this, Caiyi. The situation was perilous in the extreme. Although I relied on a secret technique to avert disaster, my body was flooded with too much heaven-and-earth essence. It was Canglong who sacrificed her chastity, employing her special physique in concert with dual cultivation methods to save my life. After the crisis was resolved, I left a portion of the surplus essence within her heart acupoint. That is roughly the gist of it."
With this explanation, Gu Caiyi finally understood how Canglong had made such astonishing progress in a mere century, leaping from newly ascended Nascent Soul directly to the mid Nascent Soul realm.
At the same time, she felt grateful that Canglong had sacrificed her chastity... to save her husband.
Wait, sacrificed her chastity? Dual cultivation methods? What was that about?
Gu Caiyi suddenly came to her senses. No wonder ever since reuniting with her husband, Canglong had stayed constantly by his side, accompanying them without the slightest hint of avoidance.
Even during the Shouyang Discourse Conference, she had sat directly behind him.
To display magnanimity and poise, Gu Caiyi had not made a fuss, assuming her husband merely kept her there for the sake of appearances.
Thinking back now, during the century she had spent quietly secluding herself to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, she had unknowingly overlooked quite a lot!
Facing Gu Caiyi's faintly resentful sidelong glance, Luo Chen pretended not to notice. Instead, he opened his mouth and spat out a radiant five-colored orb of light.
With a rub of his hand, the five-colored glow separated into five individual sword pellets.
A single glance was enough to make Canglong cry out in astonishment.
"Are these the sword pellets you forged using heavenly thunder when I underwent my tribulation, Senior Brother?"
Luo Chen nodded lightly, then looked gravely toward Gu Caiyi.
"These are the Five Elements sword pellets. Every one of them belongs to the rank of True Artifact, painstakingly forged by my own hands.
"Separated, their sharpness is peerless; united, their might is immense. Furthermore, they can form the Great Five Elements Sword Formation, sufficient to sweep through the Nascent Soul realm without hindrance!
"Caiyi, you have only recently formed your Nascent Soul. The foundation of your internal treasures is insufficient, and they have not been tempered by tribulation lightning into True Artifacts, offering little aid to your combat strength right now. I will temporarily grant you these five sword pellets, along with a formation diagram and a large infusion of magic power. When the time comes, you can forcefully activate the Great Five Elements Sword Formation to handle any enemy!"
Hesitation surfaced on Gu Caiyi's face, and she did not reach out to take them.
Looking at Luo Chen with confusion, she asked, "A treasure of such vast might would surely be far more formidable in your hands, Husband. Why give it to me?"
Luo Chen smiled gently. "Do you remember that old man who came to the Luotian Sect?"
Gu Caiyi answered instinctively, "Zhou Yunshen?"
Luo Chen smiled, speaking in a reminiscent tone. "Yes. He is the ancestor of the Central Continent's Zhou family. When I first met him, it was even before I went to the Central Continent, back when their family still resided in the Northern Sea. I entered into a secret partnership with him. Once I launch an offensive against the Central Continent, the Zhou family will inevitably be caught in the fallout. Therefore, I need you to do something for me: while we attack the Dongyuan Continent, you must travel to the Tiannan Continent, extract the core members of the Zhou family, and bring them back to the Eastern Desolation."
Gu Caiyi nodded subconsciously and reached out for the five-colored sword pellets.
Yet the moment her fingers closed around the razor-sharp pellets, she snapped her head up.
"Husband, are you deliberately sending me away because you don't want me on the front lines?"
Luo Chen shook his head with a chuckle. "How could you think that? This matter is a promise I made. If the Zhou family comes to harm, wouldn't I be breaking faith? Furthermore, Zhou Yunshen traveled tens of thousands of li to visit the Luotian Sect just before his lifespan reached its end, which shows just how vital this matter is. There are very few people I can trust completely. Caiyi, you won't let me down, will you?"
Gu Caiyi tucked away the sword pellets, half-convinced and half-suspicious. "I will carry this out flawlessly and not disappoint you, Husband."
"Good. Then seize this time to perform a preliminary refinement of these five sword pellets and this formation diagram. There are still three years left, which should be barely enough."
Gu Caiyi accepted a formation diagram from Luo Chen's hands and departed in haste.
Canglong stood to the side, a trace of envy in her eyes.
She could sense Luo Chen's partiality toward Gu Caiyi—a tender affection distinct from what existed between herself and Luo Chen.
It was something she had never seen between Luo Chen and Sima Huiniang, either. Toward Sima Huiniang, what Luo Chen displayed was mostly responsibility.
Yet regarding that formation diagram, Canglong felt another pang of familiarity.
The Great Five Elements Sword Formation?
Coupled with the heavy Luoyun Sect puppet-handling style on the White Tiger puppet from earlier...
Canglong brought up Han Zhan at an awkward moment.
"Senior Brother, what happened between you and Han Zhan?"
Luo Chen answered candidly, "There were indeed some grievances and entanglements between us. It is a long story."
Canglong said thoughtfully, "In that case, you need not speak of it."
"No matter, there is no harm in telling you." Luo Chen's gaze drifted far away as he recounted past events.
From their joint imprisonment on Mount Cangwu, to the Northern Sea, and finally to their life-and-death struggle on Longyuan Island in the Monster Sea.
Bit by bit, detail by detail, by the time his words came to an end, the moon had already climbed to mid-sky.
The more Canglong listened, the more silent she became. That former good friend of hers had actually been such a calculating, treacherous schemer.
At last, Canglong let out a soft sigh. "One may know a person's face, but not their heart. I never imagined such things had transpired."
Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively. "The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be battered by the wind. Some sought to exploit my alchemy, some coveted my physical body, and others eyed my remarkable combat strength. I have grown used to it—truly used to it."
He took a step forward, standing poised over the sheer precipice. Facing the mountain gale, his robes snapped loudly in the wind.
"Yet after this battle, no one will ever dare disrespect me again!"
Gazing at that tall, stalwart figure that seemed capable of propping up the heavens and earth, the woman's eyes filled with boundless veneration.
***
Once everyone inside the Shouyang Hall had agreed to aid Luo Chen, the discourse conference was formally brought to an end.
To prevent word from leaking, all present swore a Great Dao Oath together.
Only after the affair was concluded would they be permitted to disclose the truth to the outside world.
Before launching the offensive against the Central Continent, Luo Chen granted everyone two years.
During these two years, they were to return to their respective sects and settle all affairs, great and small, lest any of them perish on the battlefield and leave their sect leaderless and thrown into chaos.
Furthermore, Luo Chen made a significant promise.
Beyond the Empowerment Pills, should anyone fall in this battle and cause their sect's strength to suffer grievous losses, he and the Luotian Sect would shelter that sect.
This promise extended across all thirteen Nascent Soul upper sects and would last for a thousand years.
So long as Luo Chen remained, and so long as the Luotian Sect endured!
Only then did everyone lay down their worries, departing Mount Shouyang filled with soaring resolve.
With the return of these figures, certain vital pieces of news concerning the discourse conference spread across every corner of the Eastern Desolation.
Under Danzong's vigorous promotion, the human and demon races had finally concluded an armistice treaty!
The human-demon war, which had lasted two centuries with a century of lull in between, was slowly drawing its curtain. Ahead lay a millennium of sustained peace for the Eastern Desolation cultivation world.
A thousand years was an immensely long stretch of time for any being.
Even for exalted Nascent Soul True Masters, a full lifespan was merely a thousand years or so.
Therefore, no one bothered to ponder what might happen a millennium later; people only knew they no longer had to fear sudden onslaughts from massive monster beast hordes, and could finally live in peace.
Danzong's renown surged once more because of this.
It climbed to an unimaginable height!
Whether it was Grand Elder Dongyang, reputed to be at the Great Circle of Nascent Soul, Tianduzi with his transcendent mastery of formations, or even Jiuling Yuanjun with her peerless combat strength, none could stand shoulder to shoulder with Luo Chen.
The entire Eastern Desolation sang praises of Luo Chen's glorious name and his deeds, both great and small.
Yet while the Eastern Desolation cultivation world rejoiced over the armistice, Luo Chen had already crossed the seas, setting foot once again in the "Central Continent."
Only this time, it was no longer the Tiannan Continent, but the ancestral grounds of the Dao Sect—the Dongyuan Continent!
This territory was hardly unfamiliar to him.
In the past, he had participated in the Grotto-Heaven Tournament precisely within the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven beneath Tiandi Peak. And following the Shi River upriver from Tiandi Peak led straight to the Lanke Mountain Range.
Later, when he left the Central Continent to return to the Eastern Desolation, he had also departed by way of the Dongyuan Continent.
Now, he was merely retracing his past steps.
Infiltrating the Dongyuan Continent was not difficult for Luo Chen; he had always excelled at methods of concealment and breath containment.
Moreover, the Dongyuan Continent happened to be hosting the Jiazi Tournament after an interval of one hundred and sixty years, making it all the easier for him to slip in.
Luo Chen found a Foundation Establishment cultivator from an impoverished clan and assumed his identity.
Through his meticulous physical cultivation, he altered his appearance to match the man's. Taking the cultivator's cultivation technique, he practiced it briefly, attaining flawless Grandmaster-level proficiency, matching his magic power aura down to the finest detail.
In this manner, after two years, Luo Chen finally stepped into the Dao Sect's ancestral grounds: the Lanke Mountain Range!
The Jiazi Tournament was underway in full swing!
One hundred and sixty years had passed since the last five-hundred-year Grotto-Heaven Tournament.
Under normal circumstances, the next tournament should have been held after a century, but the great calamity of the Central Continent had delayed it. Only after another sixty years had passed was it convened once more.
Under these circumstances, the Dao Sect attached immense importance to this tournament.
It served both to select fine seeds and to bolster the sect's cohesion.
Through trials of martial prowess, they intended to demonstrate that the Tianyuan Dao Sect remained mighty—still the foremost human sacred land in the world!
Therefore, from start to finish, the Tianyuan Dao Sect strove for perfection in this tournament.
From Qi Refining, to Foundation Establishment, and on to Golden Core, it proceeded across three major stages.
These three major stages were divided across the three continents—Dongyuan, Tiannan, and Libei—to conduct selection tournaments for outstanding disciples.
Each continent selected ten people for each realm.
Ultimately, only the peak ninety individuals were permitted to compete within the Lanke Mountain Range.
The victors would receive handsome rewards.
Luo Chen cared nothing for the rankings; he cared about only one person.
The white-robed man on the combat arena who had just decisively defeated an opponent: Zhou Fuyou.
This was the first time Luo Chen had laid eyes on his avatar.
His appearance was completely different from Luo Chen's, his temperament bore no resemblance to what Little White had reported, and even his magic power was so vast and profound that it surpassed Luo Chen's own at the same realm back then.
The only slight similarity lay perhaps in his exceptional mastery of spells!
*A pity he is only at the ninth level of Golden Core, having not yet reached the Nascent Soul realm after all.* Luo Chen sighed inwardly.
Yet he knew he could not ask for too much.
At a generous estimate, Zhou Fuyou was not even a hundred years old.
For an ordinary cultivator, forming a core before the age of a hundred was already the mark of a peerless genius. How could anyone form a Nascent Soul before a hundred?
Shaking his head in secret, he paid no heed to the upper echelons of the Tianyuan Dao Sect perched above, and quietly withdrew from the Lanke Mountain Range.
Walking alone to the banks of the eastward-rushing Shi River, he waited in silence.
After an unknown interval, a silhouette appeared behind him.
"You've come."
"Yes, I've come."
"I thought Senior might not show."
"Why must you be so impatient, young friend? There is still one year before the grand formation is activated. When that time comes, Liancheng will be stretched too thin to intervene, and the Nascent Soul experts of the Tianyuan Dao Sect will have to guard the various formation nodes. That will be the prime moment for us to strike."
As he spoke, the owner of the weathered voice walked up beside Luo Chen, gazing alongside him at the surging waters of the Shi River tumbling eastward at their feet.
It was none other than the mighty figure of the Northern Sea, Li Canghai!
Chapter 1070