Halfway up the mountainside.
Luo Chen returned outside the platform of his former cave abode, and Chu Kui, his interest piqued, followed him down.
While they waited for Min Longyu to complete his Foundation Establishment and emerge from seclusion, Chu Kui brought up past events.
"The months following an auction are often the period when Tianlan Peak produces the most Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"After all, Foundation Establishment Pills are precious. Once rogue Qi Refinement cultivators get their hands on one, they don't dare flaunt it out in the open."
"As such!"
"Practically all of them will rent a cave abode on Tianlan Peak and only dare to leave once they have thoroughly established their foundation."
"However, having two people establish their foundations simultaneously like today is still relatively rare."
Luo Chen came to an understanding.
Chu Kui chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "This subordinate of yours seems to be a descendant of the Min family?"
Luo Chen raised a brow. He had inadvertently mentioned Min Longyu's name earlier, never expecting Chu Kui to take note of it.
"And what if he is?"
"Once his Foundation Establishment succeeds, could you introduce me?" Chu Kui asked.
This only made Luo Chen more curious. "Even if he succeeds, he will merely be a fledgling Foundation Establishment cultivator. Why are you so interested in him, Fellow Daoist Chu?"
"That's a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Min family! He is bound to be well versed in the Dao of Arrays!"
Chu Kui's eyes gleamed. "Among rogue cultivators, someone like that is every bit as popular as an alchemist like you—if not even more so!"
All right, then!
Luo Chen resignedly agreed to make the introduction.
A rogue array master truly was even more popular than a Tier 2 alchemist like him.
After all, a Tier 2 alchemist was usually truly proficient at concocting only a handful of medicinal pills. Among their peers, their means of amassing wealth might be impressive, but the assistance they could offer others fell far short of the monumental aid provided by a Tier 3 or Tier 4 alchemist.
Array masters, however, were an entirely different matter!
On a smaller scale, they could set up defensive arrays for rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators and cultivation clans.
On a larger scale, when it came to forming teams to explore ruins and seize treasures, an array master was indispensable!
Those ancient secret realms that had survived to the present day were practically all protected by arrays.
Worn down by the passage of time, arrays from hundreds or even thousands of years ago had weakened substantially. A Tier 2 array master like Min Longyu would have vast room to work his trade.
Whether laying, identifying, cracking, or evading arrays, no matter how formidable an ordinary cultivator's combat prowess might be, ignorance was ignorance—they had to rely on an array master's assistance.
Every trade had its specialization, after all!
And the reason Chu Kui was so eager was linked to his usual line of work.
Take another's coin, eliminate their troubles.
A solitary figure roaming unhindered.
Yet whenever he ran into troublesome foes, danger still abounded.
If he had an array expert like Min Longyu to help him lay ambush formations in advance and cover his retreat with arrays, he could truly come and go without a trace, elusive as a divine dragon in the clouds.
As the two conversed, time slipped by.
Cultivators who noticed the commotion of two Foundation Establishment breakthroughs on Tianlan Peak reflexively projected their spiritual senses over to investigate.
Luo Chen didn't know what was happening at the other location, but at least on his side, with Chu Kui standing by, those Foundation Establishment spiritual senses pulled back the moment they touched.
During this time, Nangong Jin came by once.
He was still renting a nearby cave abode and hadn't terminated his lease outright like Li Yixian.
After all, only two or three stragglers were left of the Nangong family now. Their savings had originally been meager, but with nearly the entire clan dead, they had actually ended up quite well-off.
Luo Chen spared some time to chat with him.
He asked after his son, Nangong Qin, only to learn that his lower body was paralyzed and beyond repair, meaning he likely would never achieve Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. Nangong Jin was fretting over him now, hoping to arrange a marriage so their bloodline could carry on.
For a former prodigy of Dahe Market to fall to such a state was truly lamentable.
Luo Chen also inquired a bit about the Lianyun Merchant Alliance.
With the newly appointed elders Li Yixian and Nangong Jin counted in, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance now had only seven Foundation Establishment cultivators remaining. Among them, only the Great Elder was at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
The grand days of three late Foundation Establishment experts and more than a dozen Foundation Establishment True Cultivators were gone.
The market businesses under their banner had also suffered heavy blows. At present, Li Yixian and Nangong Jin were helping garrison two nearby markets to ensure the merchant alliance could survive.
"What does the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect have to say about it?"
"Nothing much. They never made a move personally from the start; it was merely their vassal factions taking action. On the surface, they claimed to be venting frustration on the Sword Sect's behalf, but in truth, they just had their eyes on the Lianyun Merchant Alliance's businesses."
"Was there no follow-up?"
"The follow-up was that after the former Second and Third Elders died, the Great Elder pinned the crime of colluding with the Luoyun Sect on them. With them dead, the Sword Sect's vassals no longer had an excuse to cause trouble, and the matter simply fizzled out."
After chatting for a while, the aura of Min Longyu's breakthrough grew increasingly condensed, indicating that he had already passed the two stages of turning his dantian into a sea and liquefying his spiritual energy.
In other words, he had succeeded.
Nangong Jin offered Luo Chen an envious word of congratulations, then took his leave.
Rumble!
As the dragon-severing boulder slowly rose, a figure, stripped of all worldly pretense, stepped out.
Cupping his fists toward Luo Chen, he declared, "President, Longyu did not let you down!"
In that instant, Luo Chen was momentarily dazed.
It was not the phrase "I hesitated," but instead had become "did not let you down!"
Sure enough, the simulation in the Heart-Interrogation Mirror was merely a simulation.
He, Luo Chen, possessed the power to change the future!
And through this, Luo Chen also gained the confidence to alter that future of taking three hundred and thirty years to reach Foundation Establishment completion.
"Good! Very good!"
Two successive praises laid bare the joy in Luo Chen's heart.
Chu Kui seized the opportunity to add, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist! My heartfelt congratulations!"
"And this is...?" Min Longyu looked at him in curiosity.
"This is Chu Kui!"
There was no further introduction, but the moment the name "Chu Kui" was spoken, Min Longyu's expression turned solemn.
The man's reputation rang far and wide throughout Tianlan Immortal City. He was far beyond what a newly ascended Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself could compare to.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Chu!"
Seeing that Chu Kui seemed eager to get closer to Min Longyu, Luo Chen said helplessly, "Let's find somewhere else to talk."
"Come to my cave abode. We can talk through the night and share insights on our cultivation."
"Splendid! Splendid!" Chu Kui didn't decline.
Min Longyu naturally had no objection to Luo Chen's words.
In the past, he would at most have obeyed Luo Chen's instructions, rather than respecting him from the bottom of his heart as he did now.
Yet after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he finally understood the profound intent behind Luo Chen's "heart interrogation" back then.
During that breakthrough process, one step was the most perilous, yet also the most vital.
Shattering the dantian!
This was not something an ordinary person dared to do.
For if the dantian was shattered, the absorbed and transformed spiritual energy would have nowhere to be stored. With that, one's Grand Dao would lose its foundational bedrock, making further progress completely out of the question.
Yet breakthroughs to Foundation Establishment required undergoing precisely this trial.
Without destruction, there could be no creation!
Shatter first, then rebuild!
Only by enduring the agonizing pain, pressing forward with unwavering resolve, and shattering the dantian could one proceed with the process of transforming the dantian into a sea upon the original foundation.
Had it been the Min Longyu of the past, buffeted by the immense surge of spiritual energy from the Foundation Establishment Pill, he likely would have hesitated at this very stage.
For his life, or for the Grand Dao?
And once hesitation took hold, it was all too easy to miss the crucial moment.
It was Luo Chen's timely interrogation of his heart that had helped him reclaim his youthful aspiration. Only then had he been able to smash through his dantian without a second thought or a shred of hesitation, gather his spiritual energy, and reconstruct his qi sea.
Such benevolence was no less profound than the debt owed to parents who raised him or a master who imparted the Dao.
Luo Chen could sense Min Longyu's reverence toward him. This was readily apparent from how the first words out of Min Longyu's mouth upon exiting seclusion were to bring him the good news.
Luo Chen didn't mind either way.
Bound by the Grand Dao oath, it had been clear from the start that they were using each other. Whether their relationship grew closer or remained distant wasn't all that important now.
The three rode the clouds, soaring toward the higher reaches of Tianlan Peak.
As they passed a certain spot halfway up the mountain, an escape light shot outward with a whoosh.
"Huh?"
The three paused.
Chu Kui frowned. "Isn't that the other person who just successfully established their foundation? His realm hasn't even stabilized yet, so why is he in such a hurry to leave?"
Watching the retreating light, Luo Chen stroked his chin, surprise flashing in his eyes.
It was him!
The scarred cultivator.
It was from that very man that Luo Chen had obtained the three damaged magic treasures, while the man had received a sum of spirit stones that was nothing short of enormous for a Qi Refinement cultivator.
From Sima Huiniang, Luo Chen had learned that two rogue cultivators had won Foundation Establishment Pills at the auction, and this scarred man was one of them.
He hadn't expected the man to actually succeed in establishing his foundation.
Still, why was he rushing out so late at night?
The three paused only for a moment before paying it no further mind and returning together to Luo Chen's cave abode.
The fruits and snacks from earlier were still there.
This time, Chu Kui generously brought out more Taibai wine!
His desire to befriend Min Longyu was even stronger than his desire to befriend Luo Chen had been back then!
They talked through the night, delighting both guests and host.
Chu Kui and Min Longyu exchanged ways to stay in touch before Chu Kui departed in satisfaction.
Once he had left, Luo Chen took out a damaged compass right before Min Longyu.
"President, what is this?"
Looking at the damaged array disk pushed in front of him, Min Longyu was somewhat astonished.
"Even an outsider like Chu Kui could bring out fine wine to celebrate your breakthrough. You call me President, so how could I not show some token of appreciation?"
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "It's nothing grand, merely an incomplete magic treasure. Congratulations on establishing the foundation of your Grand Dao."
A Foundation Establishment gift?
Min Longyu was about to say it was unnecessary, that Luo Chen had already helped him immensely in achieving Foundation Establishment.
Yet the moment his hand touched the compass, his eyes lit up.
"This is an array-path magic treasure?"
"Yes."
Acknowledging it, Luo Chen added with a trace of regret, "Unfortunately, the array disk is severely damaged. It can only activate a concealment array on par with a top-grade magical tool, which is of little use to Foundation Establishment True Cultivators like us. I'm giving it to you thinking it might serve as a reference for your future study of arrays."
However, Min Longyu waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, no!"
"This array disk only appears damaged! Its core array mechanisms are remarkably well preserved!"
As he spoke, he took out several mid-grade spirit stones and slotted them into the indentations on the broken array disk.
Next, he swiftly cast one restriction after another.
Once the restrictions sank into the compass, wisps of dim light surfaced.
Each glow showed signs of expanding outward, yet as they proceeded, they met with resistance and could not sustain themselves. Only the dim light representing the concealment array successfully spread open.
"Heavens! To think such a wondrous array disk exists!"
"It accommodates hundreds of thousands of restrictions and integrates eighteen core array mechanisms into one, with transformations guided purely by intent!"
"President, this is no mere damaged magic treasure!"
"If we find a master artificer to restore the missing parts, this treasure could unleash at least seventy percent of its peak power!"
Hearing this, Luo Chen was utterly dumbfounded.
He had only spent ten thousand spirit stones on the thing—equivalent to the price of a top-grade defensive magical tool.
From Min Longyu's words, the array disk could actually be repaired, and once repaired, it could display over half of its full power.
"Did I truly strike gold?"
Strictly speaking, the Ghost-God Heart-Interrogation Mirror had not been a lucky bargain. Thirty thousand spirit stones was standard pricing for a magic treasure. Furthermore, he hadn't even enjoyed its intended function of simulating Core Formation. One could only say that spending thirty thousand spirit stones to slightly enhance his soul foundation and give him a few insights into the future was barely getting his money's worth.
This array disk, however, was an absolute steal!
The pity was that he had already given it away.
The words had already left his mouth just moments ago. Luo Chen could hardly take it back now.
His mouth opened and closed before he finally chuckled wryly.
"It seems my eyes failed me!"
"Ah well, take it and study it well. You can also have Duan Feng try to repair parts of it for you. If that doesn't work, there are three master artificers in Tianlan Immortal City."
Min Longyu cradled the array disk like an incomparable treasure, nodding repeatedly at Luo Chen's words.
After chatting a bit more, Min Longyu reluctantly returned to the cave abode Luo Chen had previously rented.
There were still a few days left before the lease expired. Min Longyu planned to spend some spirit stones to rent it for himself. For the foreseeable future, he would be staying there long-term.
Studying the array disk was secondary; stabilizing his cultivation realm was paramount.
Unlike Duan Feng, who could stabilize his realm through weapon forging, Min Longyu had to cultivate in quiet seclusion, purifying the spiritual energy in his body into spiritual liquid and thoroughly completing the process of liquefying spiritual energy before his realm could be deemed stable.
This would take anywhere from several months to several years.
However, with the aid of a Tier 2 cave abode and the Taibai wine Chu Kui had brought out earlier, it shouldn't take too long.
For now, the Luotian Association had Duan Feng holding the fort regularly, so they didn't need Min Longyu's help just yet.
On the contrary, once his realm stabilized, that would be when he truly began shining and contributing to the Luotian Association.
With his Foundation Establishment cultivation coupled with his expertise as an array master, he would be of tremendous help to the Luotian Association.
Whether assisting Duan Feng in artifact forging, repairing Danxia Peak's defensive grand array, or even setting up targeted minor arrays to facilitate herb growth across the hundreds of spiritual fields controlled by the Medicine Hall, his skills would be invaluable.
After he departed, Luo Chen went to the quiet room to cultivate for two hours.
Seeing that the hour of Mao had arrived, he brought his cultivation to a halt.
Having reached the second realm of body refinement, his entire body was subtly undergoing a metamorphosis under the inundation of blood qi.
This transformation was very slow, showing no dramatic shift in the short term, but there were undoubtedly benefits!
At the very least, Luo Chen discovered that his maximum lifespan had increased by another ten years.
It had reached 190!
This change filled Luo Chen with excitement.
Outsiders might not understand why he was so thrilled, but only he knew what it signified.
For ordinary cultivators, their lifespan surged dramatically upon reaching Foundation Establishment! Even in early Foundation Establishment, they could live for over two hundred years.
This was starkly different from Luo Chen, whose maximum lifespan had only been 150 years when he first broke through to Foundation Establishment.
By nature, he had possessed a much shorter lifespan than others.
That had been a bad thing!
Yet by the same token, it was also a good thing!
Because he discovered that as his realm advanced, his lifespan cap changed alongside it.
From 150 at the first layer of Foundation Establishment to 160 at the second layer.
Not only that, reaching minor mastery in the Clear Source Wondrous Elixir Art had granted him five additional years to his maximum lifespan.
Reaching grandmaster level in the Yimu Medicine King Scripture had converted his spiritual power to wood attribute, which washed through his entire body and increased his maximum lifespan by another five years.
Upon breaking through to the third layer of Foundation Establishment, his maximum lifespan had reached 180 years!
Now, with his physical prowess reaching the second realm of body refinement, another 10 years had been added, bringing it to 190!
All of this meant that while his starting point had been low, his ceiling was far higher than anyone else's!
Whether this was due to the system, his special nature as a transmigrator, or because the techniques he cultivated genuinely possessed lifespan-extending properties, he couldn't say for sure.
In any case, Luo Chen held an optimistic outlook toward the future.
After glancing at the lifespan cap on the attribute panel, Luo Chen reflexively checked his realm progress.
[Foundation Establishment Layer 3: 12/100]
In half a month, it had gained another two points of progress.
An extraordinarily fast cultivation speed!
Just as Luo Chen was about to close the panel, his gaze suddenly froze.
Under the realm column, an entry was slowly coming into being.
[Realm: Foundation Establishment Layer 3: 12/100, Body Refinement Realm 2...]
Chapter 266