Inside the green thatch hut.
Two figures sat opposite each other, while a third was chained securely to an iron frame, cold metal links piercing through his collarbones.
That prisoner glared at the two figures with eyes full of venomous hatred.
Yet the moment Wang Yuan cast a cool, detached glance his way, he hung his head in sheer terror.
"You cannot kill me!"
"My grandfather is Huo Quan, my master is an elder of the Flame Alliance, and I am even a prospective true disciple of the Flame Alliance."
"You..."
His words choked off.
Under Wang Yuan's grim, unyielding gaze, he lapsed into stammering silence.
Luo Chen watched the scene with an easy smile, devoid of the slightest pity.
Those who kill must be prepared to be killed in turn.
Since this man had dared to strike at them back then, he should have anticipated the day his own life would be forfeit.
In this world, there was never any reason for one to merely stretch out their neck and await slaughter.
Withdrawing his gaze, Luo Chen looked seriously at Wang Yuan.
"Over these past few years, how has your research into the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation progressed?"
Wang Yuan replied with quiet confidence, "If this were two years ago, I would still have some worries. But over these last two years, with Min Longyu's help, I have completely perfected the array. I have even inscribed it across my back."
"This way, during the spirit-seizing process, I will achieve twice the result with half the effort!"
Seeing his confidence, Luo Chen felt somewhat relieved.
Even so, to guard against any unforeseen mishap, he pressed further.
"How many Nether-Passage Pills have you taken?"
"Every single one you sent over," Wang Yuan said, pointing to his head. "I can clearly feel that my divine soul's foundation has grown by nearly thirty percent. Even if a remnant soul like Duan Qiankun's were to cause trouble again, I am certain I could suppress it!"
Over the past few years, Luo Chen had not merely refined Jade Marrow Pills and Jade Dew Pills.
To increase his proficiency, he had regularly brewed batches of Nether-Passage Pills.
By now, his mastery of the Nether-Passage Pill had long moved past the novice stage and reached the practiced level, not far off from proficient.
Throughout that process, the numerous low-grade Nether-Passage Pills he produced were of no use to himself.
Yet for Qi Refinement cultivators, they were top-tier cultivation resources.
Small portions of that supply had gone to Sima Huiniang, Murong Qinglian, and a few others.
The vast majority, however, had been delivered straight to Wang Yuan.
Compared to Sima Huiniang and the rest, Wang Yuan undoubtedly had a much greater need to strengthen his soul's foundation.
The Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing process involved the target's essence blood, cultivation foundation, and soul.
Every single phase demanded Wang Yuan's undivided focus; the strain it placed on the spirit was exceptionally severe.
Back at Mount Xiaohuan, his first attempt at seizing a spirit had ended in failure.
While Duan Qiankun's solid foundation had certainly played a part, it was also true that Wang Yuan had rushed for quick success before his own foundation was sufficiently deep.
Nether-Passage Pills offered the perfect remedy for his predicament!
The only problem was that he, Sima Huiniang, and the others all shared the same drawback: after consuming the pills, their soul foundation surged rapidly.
Yet unlike Luo Chen, none of them had trained in the Soul Absorption Art.
As a result, they needed ample time to slowly temper and stabilize their unsettled souls.
Luo Chen had once attempted to have Wang Yuan learn the Soul Absorption Art, but Wang Yuan's talent in spell arts was genuinely ordinary.
Back then, even mastering the Soul Anchor Oath to an elementary level had taken him a very long time.
Consequently, over the past two years, Wang Yuan could only take a Nether-Passage Pill after long intervals.
Moreover, the more he took, the weaker the effects became.
Still, since Wang Yuan was so confident now, Luo Chen saw no need to borrow trouble.
"Very well. In that case, when do you plan to begin establishing your foundation?"
Wang Yuan turned his body, his gaze falling upon Huo Hu.
His voice was chillingly grim.
"As you said, if not now, then when? Why not today!"
Bound to the rack, Huo Hu felt his heart lurch.
From the undisguised words exchanged between the two, a dreadful premonition gripped him.
*If you want to establish your foundation, go ahead! Why are you looking at me?*
*And what on earth is that Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation?!*
Luo Chen paid him no mind at all, keeping his solemn gaze fixed on Wang Yuan.
"It is good that you are confident, but just in case, it would be best for me to stand guard beside you!"
Wang Yuan's brow twitched. He looked deeply into Luo Chen's resolute eyes.
After a long silence, he slowly nodded.
"In that case, I will trouble you to protect my path!"
...
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Bastards!"
"No, please, no... I was wrong! Spare me! I will have my family send spirit stones! Foundation Establishment Pills! Yes, I can get you Foundation Establishment Pills!"
"Magic treasures are fine too! My grandfather has a Primordial Yang Ruler—it is extraordinarily wondrous and immensely powerful..."
"Aaaah!"
"Wang Yuan, you will die a horrific death!"
Piercing, wretched howls echoed relentlessly through the thatch hut.
Yet the two men inside remained utterly unmoved, their faces masked in stone-cold detachment.
Frowning slightly, Luo Chen watched the scene unfolding before him.
Wang Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor.
His upper body was bare, cords of muscle bunched and intertwined like twisting, coiling dragons.
A dense surge of qi and blood erupted from the crown of his head, coalescing into a straight plume like a wolf-smoke beacon.
His bones shone like white jade, an ethereal luminescence nearly gleaming through his flesh.
If that had been all, it would merely have been impressive.
Yet on his back, carved across the undulating, dragon-like muscles, lay an ancient, austere formation diagram that looked as if it had been sculpted by the miraculous hands of nature itself.
This was the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation, adapted from Ghost Spirit Valley's Heavenly Craft Spirit Seizing Formation.
After years of research by Wang Yuan and refinements by Min Longyu, it had finally been inscribed onto this powerful physical body.
Only in this manner could it unleash its utmost might!
At this moment!
As Wang Yuan channeled his cultivation technique, the plume of qi and blood suddenly curved downward, pouring directly into the formation diagram on his back.
Visible to the naked eye, the diagram stirred to life!
*With the body as foundation, with blood as the wellspring.*
*Guided by qi, seized by the soul.*
"Blood Fiend, emerge!"
With a low bark, crimson threads unravelled from the formation diagram, engulfing and devouring one another as they swelled and took shape. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a writhing mass of countless blood serpents.
Every single blood serpent reeked of gory fiend energy, ravenous as though ready to tear a man to pieces!
Wang Yuan had his back turned toward Luo Chen.
Consequently, the blood serpents noticed Luo Chen the instant they formed.
For a brief second, Luo Chen felt his very soul shudder.
*This technique is far too sinister, a violation of the heavenly harmony! It is by no means an orthodox path of Foundation Establishment for cultivators like us! Brother Wang, just what kind of cultivation path have you chosen to walk?*
Even as the murmur echoed through his heart, those crimson vipers had already bared their fangs and shot forth, darting toward Huo Hu, who was suspended in midair.
Under Huo Hu's horrified gaze, snake after snake burrowed ecstatically into his flesh.
*Chii!*
It sounded as though a bite had been taken out of something.
"Aaaaargh!"
A shrill scream ripped from Huo Hu's throat.
Before he could even begin to curse, his entire frame began to convulse violently.
*Chii! Chii! Chii!...*
Countless identical sounds rang out within his body.
His face grew increasingly pale, turning an utter, ghostly white.
Suddenly!
A blood serpent wriggled out of Huo Hu's body. Unlike its previously slender form, it was now bathed in rich crimson light, having more than doubled in size.
It seemed gorged and sated.
"Blood Fiend, return!"
With a low command, the fully fed blood serpent reluctantly glided back to Wang Yuan's side.
It burrowed slowly back into the formation diagram across his back.
At that exact instant, Luo Chen sensed a shift in Wang Yuan's aura.
He had already begun breaking past the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement, advancing steadily toward the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Return!"
"Return!"
"Return!"
One blood serpent after another emerged from Huo Hu's body and streamed back into Wang Yuan.
His aura climbed ever higher.
In stark contrast, Huo Hu's body grew increasingly translucent and ethereal.
Floating in midair, he looked just like a thin, two-dimensional painting!
Luo Chen swallowed hard as a thread of dread rippled through the depths of his soul.
It felt as though, should those blood serpents burrow into his own body, they would plunder everything he possessed.
A cultivator's essence blood!
The vitality of flesh and bone!
The foundational core of the Great Dao!
And even...
"Seize the soul!"
Wang Yuan's eyes snapped open. Two beams of crimson light burst from his pupils, striking straight toward the "painting" suspended in the air.
In that moment, the painting came to life!
A phantom spirit, looking identical to Huo Hu, drifted out from the depiction.
At first, his eyes were blank and dazed.
Immediately after, an expression of boundless malice overtook his features, and he glared venomously at Wang Yuan.
"You... will die a horrific death!"
"No, I will live very well indeed," Wang Yuan sneered. "Come, lend me your life to forge my foundation for the Great Dao!"
The crimson light retracted.
The ghostly soul thrashed in sheer terror, yet nothing could halt what was to come.
The moment Huo Hu's soul was dragged into Wang Yuan's body, a burst of crimson radiance flared abruptly from Wang Yuan's back, forming a barrier of light that wrapped tightly around him.
It was not just one layer!
However many blood serpents had emerged earlier, that exact number of radiant beams now bloomed.
Layer after layer, like strands of silk, they enfolded Wang Yuan until a massive crimson cocoon took shape.
With this, the very first step was complete.
Yes!
This was merely the first step!
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen looked at the massive crimson cocoon before stepping out the front door.
He did not leave.
Instead, he produced a storage bag and began chipping away at its spiritual restrictions, all while keeping a close ear on the developments inside the hut.
*Last time Brother Wang seized Duan Qiankun's spirit, it took a full three months before it was completely finished.*
*I wonder how long it will take this time?*
*Still, it ought to go much smoother than before!*
Back then, Wang Yuan had only been at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, the Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation had been exceedingly crude, and his divine soul foundation had been entirely ordinary.
This time, through his own relentless efforts and Luo Chen's assistance, an earth-shattering transformation had taken place.
Furthermore, the subject of this spirit-seizing was not a veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator like Duan Qiankun.
It was Huo Hu, who had only recently established his foundation!
Under Wang Yuan's personal confinement over the past few years, Huo Hu's realm had not progressed in the slightest, remaining pinned at the level of the battle at Gaoling Plain.
The two situations were worlds apart.
Having already failed once, he had to succeed this time!
The Blood Fiend Spirit Seizing Formation granted only three chances in total, and once one embarked on this blood-path method of Foundation Establishment, no other method could be used.
Wang Yuan could not afford the consequences of another failure.
Nor did Luo Chen wish to witness such an outcome.
"I can only leave everything to time!"
Luo Chen sighed, doing his best to purge the scenes from the green thatch hut from his mind.
That was simply not a path to Foundation Establishment that an ordinary cultivator ought to tread.
...
One month later.
Deep beneath Danxia Peak.
In a moderately sized cave chamber, Qu Lingjun was personally directing his subordinates in pill refinement.
Attendants added herbs for him and tended the intensity of the flames.
All he needed to do was rely on his experience to judge the medicinal shifts within.
From time to time, he injected spiritual power to govern the blending and separation of the internal ingredients.
"Hah!"
With a wave of Qu Lingjun's hand, the Divine Wood Cauldron flared with light, and over thirty pills spun gracefully out into the open.
Attendants stepped forward immediately to collect the medicine.
Looking at those thirty-odd pills, the young man, his face now stubbled with a light beard, remained completely calm.
This furnace of Jade Marrow Pills had utilized two portions of raw ingredients.
The final yield was twenty-five medium-grade and eleven low-grade pills.
Stepping out of the refinement chamber, a warm compliment greeted him.
"Lingjun, your alchemy has grown increasingly formidable!"
The praise came from a dignified, smiling woman.
It was Sima Huiniang!
Qu Lingjun shook his head. "The Director-General flatters me."
"It amounts to little. Master produces pills with absolute stability, and every single one is superior-grade. Compared to him, I am merely a firefly before the radiant moon."
"The road I must walk is still very long!"
Sima Huiniang smiled softly. "The Association Master is an alchemical genius such as the world rarely sees; why must you compare yourself to him? To my eyes, you are already quite remarkable."
Indeed!
Qu Lingjun's current alchemy was genuinely impressive.
The substantial quantities of medium-grade Jade Marrow Pills he produced brought in thousands of spirit stones in profit for the Luotian Association every month.
And he was only in his early twenties.
It was difficult to fathom what heights he might reach in the future.
"It was still the Association Master's keen eye for talent that brought you under his wing at such a young age."
Qu Lingjun shook his head.
He was not trying to compete with his master—that would be far too disrespectful.
Rather, he looked to his master as the beacon guiding his path forward.
In this life, a person always needed the right direction to walk swifter and steadier.
"By the way, did the Director-General come to the Pill Hall for some matter?"
"Nothing major. I simply came to check on your recent pill production, and to see if you need any assistance in your daily lives."
Sima Huiniang said warmly, "With your master away, I must naturally look after you all."
"I am doing quite well."
As Qu Lingjun spoke, his gaze drifted toward another refinement chamber.
The door swung open.
A slender, graceful figure stepped out, delicate as a willow swaying in the breeze.
He hurried over.
"Sister Mili, how did it go today?"
Mili smiled faintly.
"Not bad. I succeeded with seven Myriad Wonders Pills—a modest harvest."
Qu Lingjun beamed with delight.
"It seems your alchemy has improved as well!"
"It is all thanks to the detailed explanation of Myriad Wonders Pill refinement that the Association Master bestowed upon me. Otherwise, I could never have progressed so quickly."
Standing nearby and watching the warm, lively interaction between the young man and woman, Sima Huiniang could not help but shake her head with an amused smile.
"It appears today brings double the joy."
"Aside from the Association Master, our Luotian Association now has two rising stars in the Dao of Alchemy!"
Mili blushed shyly.
Qu Lingjun scratched his head, letting out a foolish grin.
Curious, he asked, "Right, has my master entered seclusion again? I haven't seen him around this past month."
Sima Huiniang shook her head.
She knew where Luo Chen was and what he was doing.
However, there was no need to disclose such matters to others.
Her visit today had merely been a routine check and expression of care.
Since they lacked for nothing, she could take her leave; many other affairs still awaited her attention.
Just as she turned to depart, her expression shifted slightly.
A moment later, she soared outward, emerging onto the surface and gazing up toward the summit of Danxia Peak.
There,
a majestic, boundless aura was slowly rising.
A look of pleasant surprise surfaced on Sima Huiniang's face.
This aura was not unfamiliar to her.
Though she had interacted with him rarely, it undoubtedly belonged to Wang Yuan.
"From this day forth, our Luotian Association shall possess three Foundation Establishment cultivators!"
Nor was she the only one.
At this moment, every cultivator within the Luotian Association detected the stirring from the summit of Danxia Peak.
Innumerable streaks of light shot into the air across the mountain as cultivators gazed toward the distant skies above.
Chapter 250