At the summit.
Luo Chen closed the wooden door of the thatched cottage with his own hands.
"Xiaohong, shrink!"
The exploding ape was obedient. Right before Luo Chen's eyes, its body rapidly diminished.
In the blink of an eye, it stood only fifteen feet tall.
Maintaining such a colossal frame was a considerable burden for it as well.
Tossing over a pile of spirit fruits brimming with spiritual energy, Luo Chen ordered it to stand guard here.
Afterward, he called for Feng Xia to accompany him down the mountain.
Duan Feng was strapped to Feng Xia's back. Even after taking numerous pills, he remained unconscious.
Even if his cousin Duan Rui lacked combat prowess, his cultivation was genuinely at the late Qi Refinement perfection—there was no faking that.
Though Duan Feng had slain him, he had naturally paid a heavy price.
Before long, the three of them reached the mountainside.
Without delaying, Luo Chen handed the two over to Granny Yuan, who was skilled in medicine, and continued descending alone.
No one came to disturb him.
Everyone knew that while Luo Chen appeared not to have exerted any effort in the early stages of the battle, he had personally orchestrated everything from initiating the conflict to devising the battle plans. In the final cleanup, it was his earth-shattering strike that had secured total victory.
It had been a brutal fight.
Though many cultivators from the Luotian Association had survived, their losses were steep. In such circumstances, if the rogue cultivators of Dahe Market had been incited by anyone to charge up the mountain, the association would not have only failed to secure their spoils—they likely would have faced total annihilation.
Only Luo Chen, who had preserved his full combat strength, could step forward and intimidate the crowd.
Not only that, but no one else in the Luotian Association could have withstood the pressure from the Foundation Establishment factions either. It had taken Luo Chen personally stepping in, promising numerous benefits and commitments, to strike a balance.
Walking along the mountain path with no one following him, Luo Chen's face only now paled slightly.
Unleashing that Blazing Sun Art had completely surpassed the realm of Qi Refinement. Even early Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle to execute an attack of that caliber.
Only because he had continually refined his Fireball Art to the pinnacle of perfection, mastering the key techniques of delayed detonation and rapid fusion, had he barely managed to pull it off.
Even so, he had achieved that crowning strike only after constantly casting fireballs and consuming qi-replenishing pills, concentrating power for a long time. Were he to attempt it again, he could not guarantee success.
*Yet even after that, Duan Qiankun actually survived.*
*A defensive dharma treasure... what a pity...*
The Marsh Country Gui Chart had already been given to Nangong Jin, so sighing over it was pointless.
Luo Chen's footsteps halted outside the deep crater.
Then, he leaped!
Gale-force winds whipped around him as he plunged into the depths of the massive crater like an eagle diving toward the earth.
As he advanced, the flames parted before him.
Eventually, he arrived outside an opening sealed by crimson chains.
Upon his arrival, the crimson chains seemed to sense him and rattled as they pulled away.
He descended slowly into the subterranean cave.
Within his line of sight, an eye-catching blood-red cocoon appeared before him.
Activating his Spirit Eye Art, Luo Chen peered through the dense vital blood and beheld the scene inside the cocoon.
Duan Qiankun wore a grotesque expression, his limbs bound by tiny serpents of blood. Facing him sat Wang Yuan cross-legged, the bloody serpents extending from his own body.
Moreover, a blood python had bored deep into Duan Qiankun's lower abdomen, probing straight into his dantian.
Massive torrents of spiritual energy vented outward continuously. Most of it was absorbed by Wang Yuan through the blood serpents, while a small portion leaked out, merging with Wang Yuan's vital blood to form the cocoon.
Watching this scene, Luo Chen's pupils contracted.
"Is this the Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing Formation?"
"No, this is the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation, which I modified and merged," Wang Yuan's voice echoed faintly from within the cocoon.
Accompanying it were Duan Qiankun's agonizing wails, rising one after another.
Luo Chen felt his scalp go numb, a chill creeping through his entire body.
What a Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation!
Even though Wang Yuan had discussed this matter with him before, he still found it hard to believe such a secret technique existed in the world. Yet Wang Yuan truly dared to use it!
The origin of the matter could be traced back to the Dao Discussion Platform, where Wang Yuan had slain the blood cultivator Xiao Wuyan.
From the spoils left behind by his opponent, he had obtained numerous things: a blood path cultivation technique, a second-tier pill recipe, and several blood path secret arts.
If that had been all, it would have ended there. But later, Wang Yuan had taken part in the struggle over the Golden Core ruins.
At that time, everyone else's attention had been fixed on the heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and the storage ring of the Ghost God Valley Supreme Elder. Only Wang Yuan had claimed the Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing Formation that guarded the ruins.
The formation's design was archaic and natural, bold and unconstrained, plundering ambient spiritual energy from the world to sustain itself as an endlessly circulating grand array.
Wang Yuan did not know how to set up arrays, so he had combined this formation with Xiao Wuyan's blood path secret arts to forge a brand-new secret technique: the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation.
This array went against nature and violated the Great Dao. Consequently, it had severe restrictions, such as being usable only three times. Yet its single effect was impossible to ignore: it could seize a cultivator's cultivation.
This "cultivation" encompassed spiritual energy, the soul, and even the Dao foundation!
The Dao foundation was the foundation of the Great Dao. When one established a foundation, it was this intangible entity that was built.
Shifting from plundering worldly spiritual energy to plundering an enemy's cultivation was undeniably a reduction in scale, but concentrating it entirely onto a single person produced an immense boost. It meant opening up a new path to Foundation Establishment beyond the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The reason Wang Yuan had agreed to attack Mount Xiaohuan and act as the vanguard, battling Duan Qiankun head-on, was precisely to claim the Dao foundation of this aged Foundation Establishment cultivator.
With Luo Chen's assistance, he had now achieved the first step of his objective.
Duan Qiankun was not dead; he was under Wang Yuan's control, being plundered. Once successful, Wang Yuan would ascend to the heavens in a single leap, becoming a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator!
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen said softly, "Is there anything you need my help with?"
Wang Yuan's steady voice drifted from within the cocoon. "No need. Everything depends on me alone."
Nodding, Luo Chen turned and left.
Once out of the cave, he used the Earth Peak Technique to thoroughly seal the entrance. Furthermore, he stationed guards all around, forbidding anyone from approaching the crater.
By now, the flames had gradually subsided. Without fuel, fire could never burn for long.
The steady spring rain fell, quickly collecting into small puddles within the crater. Given enough time, this place might become a small lake.
Such a method of altering the terrain was indeed beyond the capability of a Qi Refinement cultivator. It proved that Luo Chen's Blazing Sun Art was genuinely a Foundation Establishment method, one that surpassed even the standard attacks of most Foundation Establishment cultivators.
After emerging, Luo Chen strolled along the mountainside, watching Sima Huiniang and Murong Qinglian lead others in handling post-battle affairs.
He did not interrupt much, merely remaining there as their leader to steady everyone's morale.
It had to be said that with him present, anyone who saw him felt far more at ease.
In the less than one year since the Luotian Association's founding, it had undergone two or three major battles, every one of them ending in victory. This brought Luo Chen immense prestige.
During this time, Qin Liangchen approached Luo Chen.
"The Duan family has a group of surviving mortals?"
"Yes, and five early Qi Refinement cultivators among them. Do we need to kill them?"
Hearing this news, Luo Chen fell silent.
He did not immediately respond to Qin Liangchen's murderous proposal.
Qin Liangchen looked at him and said, "Handling this is simple enough. Leave it to me."
He did not want to put Luo Chen in a difficult position and was willing to do the dirty work himself.
Yet Luo Chen shook his head gently.
"The overall situation is settled. A group of weaklings cannot stir up any waves. For those early Qi Refinement cultivators, simply cripple their cultivation. As for the mortals... once Duan Feng wakes up, let him decide for himself!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve, turned, and headed up the mountain.
Qin Liangchen remained where he was, letting out a sigh.
*This little brother of mine... in the end, he's still too soft-hearted.*
***
Was Luo Chen soft-hearted?
That had to be viewed dialectically.
Toward close friends, he could indeed be considered benevolent. Toward enemies, however, benevolence was entirely out of the question.
Even toward the mid- and low-level cultivators of the Luotian Association, he made it clear that their relationship was one of mutual utility. Normally, he supported them with generous stipends; at critical moments, they had to step up and hold the line. In this battle, the Duan family had been nearly wiped out, but the Luotian Association had also suffered losses. The fallen Luotian Association cultivators certainly had not experienced any benevolence from Luo Chen.
Yet in Luo Chen's eyes, all of it was worthwhile.
The survivors of this battle had reaped abundant rewards.
Nangong Jin had obtained his most coveted dharma treasure, the Marsh Country Gui Chart.
Wang Yuan had captured the Foundation Establishment cultivator Duan Qiankun and might ascend to the heavens in a single leap using the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation.
As for himself...
*From now on, the Luotian Association has firmly established its foothold in Dahe Market.*
This was an enormous harvest.
It meant that he, Luo Chen, had finally secured the space and time to develop freely—not by relying on others, not by borrowing someone else's authority, but through his own strength.
And another massive harvest rested upon the spiritual spring before him.
"Nature's creations are truly miraculous. To think that a terrain where yin and yang run parallel, where water and fire complement each other, could appear atop such a mountain peak."
Luo Chen marveled repeatedly.
Circling the spiritual spring shaped like a yin-yang fish, his eyes flickered with thought.
A plan naturally surfaced in his mind.
*Emperor Flowing Liquid...*
Ever since Pang Renxiong's death, the inner city of Dahe had turned into a ghost domain. The Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion was no more, and formal auctions could no longer be held. Consequently, the rogue cultivators of Dahe Market had lost their normal avenue for acquiring Foundation Establishment Pills.
Luo Chen had worried over this for a time.
Later, he had established a partnership with Tianxingzi and received a promise of three Foundation Establishment Pills. Only then had he found a grounded direction for his cultivation.
However, until Tianxingzi departed last month, Luo Chen had not seen even a shadow of those three pills.
Although the man had sworn that he would send someone to deliver them, who knew how long that would take? He could hardly wait until they were delivered to his grave a century later!
Ever since then, Luo Chen had been searching for methods to break through to Foundation Establishment.
The simpler approach was to travel to other markets, or even Tianlan Immortal City, and purchase one at high prices from an auction.
Yet the problem remained the same as before: as a stranger in an unfamiliar place, he could not participate in the internal division of resources among high-level cultivators. Relying solely on the one or two quotas available to rogue cultivators could never satisfy his needs.
A more complex approach was the method Wang Yuan had provided: the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation, taking the blood path to Foundation Establishment.
Yet this route required sufficiently high attainment in body cultivation and the blood path, along with a physique strong enough to barely endure it. Even then, not even Wang Yuan could guarantee success. Furthermore, it demanded a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator at one's mercy! The difficulty was no less daunting than launching another campaign against the Duan family.
Naturally, Luo Chen would not choose it.
There was yet another method: the soul path to Foundation Establishment.
Luo Chen possessed this method, and the conditions were already met: a robust foundation of divine soul, along with a sufficient number of late Qi Refinement cultivator souls.
For the former, supported by the Nether Penetration Pill, he had ample confidence. For the latter, there were tens of thousands of ghosts in Dahe Market; leave alone late Qi Refinement souls, there was at least one ghost general on par with Foundation Establishment.
However, the terrifying side effects of the soul path made Luo Chen avoid it like the plague.
Thus, after pondering back and forth, he placed his hopes on the Emperor Flowing Liquid.
Through many days of study, he had already analyzed this pill recipe thoroughly.
The medicinal properties aimed to enhance a spirit beast's foundation and accelerate its cultivation speed. If used on flora-based entities or intelligent beasts, the effects were even better.
Logically speaking, this medicine was developed specifically for spirit beasts. However, several herbs added to it made it applicable to a small subset of humans. In other words, it could elevate a human's foundation.
Did that not imply it also carried some effect toward Foundation Establishment?
*Pill path Foundation Establishment makes it hard to find a Foundation Establishment Pill.*
*Blood path Foundation Establishment makes materials difficult to procure.*
*Soul path Foundation Establishment brings terrifying side effects and cannot be chosen.*
*Only this beast path Foundation Establishment can serve as a contingency plan!*
Luo Chen did not intend to pin his hopes solely on Tianxingzi's conscience.
The conscience of high-level cultivators was never reliable. He had already seen right through that.
In everything, he could only rely on himself!
Moreover, he had already gathered all the conditions required to concoct Emperor Flowing Liquid.
As for auxiliary ingredients, before Tianxingzi left, he had already purchased a portion through Wang Yanchang, and later supplemented the rest through the Lianyun Merchant Alliance.
As for the main ingredient, he possessed the corpse of a second-tier Blazing Cloud Peng—bones, flesh, and blood intact, with even the beast core preserved. This single carcass was enough for ten concoctions.
As for the concoction technique, it required the water method. He had a set of the Falling Cloud Smoke Technique, sufficient to handle second-tier pills.
Next, he only needed to spend time honing his familiarity with it before putting it into practice.
And as for the spiritual spring required by the Falling Cloud Smoke Technique, there was one right beneath his feet!
*Everything is ready, save for the east wind.*
Luo Chen took a deep breath and cast his gaze upon the status panel he brought up.
The east wind, naturally, was initiation!
If he could not initiate it, then given the grade of a second-tier pill, Luo Chen, as a mere first-tier alchemist, would likely need thousands or tens of thousands of attempts before succeeding once. That was a cost he could not bear. He lacked the spirit stones and time to prepare so many raw materials.
As long as the system could initiate it, nothing would be an issue.
The question was: could it be initiated?
[Emperor Flowing Liquid, complete Tier 2 pill recipe]
[Initiate?]
This time, Luo Chen did not hesitate.
"Initiate!"
Under his gaze, the entry for Emperor Flowing Liquid slowly surfaced on the system panel.
[Emperor Flowing Liquid — Progress: 30/100]
Luo Chen froze, finding it hard to believe. Could investing ten achievement points only yield this much progress? He was still short by a full seventy points from initiation!
Just as disappointment welled up, the entry began to change gradually.
31... 35... 40... 50... 60... 70.
Finally, the progress bar halted at 70/100.
Watching this gradual transformation, Luo Chen grew thoughtful.
The initial thirty points had likely come from the achievement points he invested. The subsequent changes must have stemmed from his familiarity with the pill recipe and his own alchemy attainments, which led the system to determine that he inherently possessed the potential to successfully concoct it.
*Still short thirty points of progress to achieve initiation?*
Luo Chen pursed his lips, his eyes shifting to his remaining achievement points.
He had eighteen left.
Without hesitation, he began allocating them one by one.
In the end, the progress bar settled at [88/100].
A very auspicious number!
*To initiate a second-tier pill, does one achievement point provide only one point of progress?*
*If I had no familiarity with the recipe and zero alchemy attainment, would I have started with only ten points of progress?*
*Crossing tiers in alchemy is truly this arduous.*
Luo Chen sighed.
Then, he rallied his confidence.
He was not disappointed; this was an outcome he had foreseen long ago. In fact, having eighty-eight points of progress presented in such a quantified, visual manner brought him immense confidence instead.
*It's only twelve achievement points short, after all.*
*That isn't difficult!*
Achievement points came from advancing the proficiency of cultivation arts, spells, alchemy techniques, and pill concoction skills. Every time a skill increased by one mastery level, it provided one achievement point.
He had long since grown well accustomed to this.
Twelve achievement points meant he only needed to advance his proficiency levels twelve times.
*In that case, I only need to select the entries closest to a breakthrough and practice them diligently.*
*That's the fastest way to earn achievement points.*
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen looked down at the lengthy status panel.
[Cultivation: 9th Level Qi Refinement: 28/100]
[Cultivation Arts: Eternal Spring Art (Great Perfection); Bright Spirit Fiend Breaking (Initiated: 91/100); Ten Thousand Beasts Scripture (Initiated: 10/100)]
[Spells: Fireball Art (Great Perfection); Carefree Wind Riding (Great Perfection); Traction Art (Great Perfection); Breath Concealment Spirit Art (Great Perfection); Spirit Eye Art (Great Perfection); Entanglement Art (Grandmaster: 810/1000); Cleansing Art (Grandmaster: 775/1000); Healing Art (Flawless: 485/500); Earth Peak Technique (Flawless: 315/500); Surging Waves Technique (Flawless: 309/500); Sound Isolation Art (Initiated: 81/100); Soul Intimidation Art (Initiated: 92/100)]
[Alchemy Arts: Folding Jade Hand (Grandmaster: 700/1000); Pure Heart Hand (Flawless: 390/500); Washing Brook Hand (Initiated: 79/100); Cloud Transformation Hand (Initiated: 65/100)]
[Martial Arts: Mountain-Cleaving Stele-Shattering Palm (Grandmaster: 880/1000); Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers (Flawless: 357/500)]
[Skills: Tier 1 Alchemist: Fasting Powder (Great Perfection); Myriad Wonders Pill (Grandmaster: 830/1000); Jade Marrow Pill (Grandmaster: 910/1000); Blood Burning Pill (Adept: 150/200); Nether Penetration Pill (Initiated: 7/100); Emperor Flowing Liquid (Uninitiated - Click to view detailed progress...)]
[Achievement Points: 0]
Scanning the lines rapidly, Luo Chen quickly formed a plan in his mind.
At full throttle, he would need about two years to reach late Qi Refinement perfection. Only then would he need to rely on Emperor Flowing Liquid to establish his foundation.
Therefore, these two years were the window he would use to grind achievement points.
The most suitable skills for grinding points were undoubtedly the four spells: Entanglement Art, Cleansing Art, Sound Isolation Art, and Soul Intimidation Art, along with three alchemy techniques.
As for martial arts, grinding them was equally straightforward.
In terms of pills, whether Myriad Wonders Pills or Jade Marrow Pills, he had long been capable of concocting high-grade versions. It was only because he had needed to conceal his alchemy attainment before that he deliberately restricted producing such high-grade pills.
Now, having conquered the Duan family and struck a certain balance with several factions, he had ushered in a relatively peaceful environment for cultivation.
So long as he ensured the pills did not leak to the outside, he could swiftly grind the proficiencies of these pills to Great Perfection. That would yield several more achievement points.
*Speaking of which, I'm quite curious to see what kind of effects supreme-grade Myriad Wonders Pills and supreme-grade Jade Marrow Pills will have.*
Luo Chen smiled faintly.
He felt neither lost nor tormented by the hardships of the road ahead. He only knew that he was walking the correct path, and that was enough.
No matter how many trials and tribulations lay ahead, they were nothing more than a little wind and frost!
Chapter 184