Interrupted mid-sentence, Dan Yuanzi didn't even have time to grow angry before his attention was seized by the name Luo Chen had spoken.
"Who?"
"Fellow Daoist Li Jinhuang, of course!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly.
Dan Yuanzi's expression changed drastically. "Impossible! We investigated thoroughly. His vital aura was severed, his divine soul extinguished. It has been a full seven days—he couldn't be any deader!"
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily darted toward the distant, slowly departing coffin.
Yet Luo Chen merely smiled and drew a yellowed jade slip from his robes.
The jade slip drifted upward, hovering before his chest.
Holding the umbrella in one hand, he began rapidly forming hand seals with the other.
Single-handed seal casting!
In merely a single breath, the seal was formed, and light erupted!
A deep, eerie light flared from the yellowed jade slip, as though some terrifying entity were about to break through its seal.
Dan Yuanzi's face filled with utter disbelief!
Then, as if realizing what was happening, he pounced straight toward Luo Chen, his surging spiritual power cresting to its peak in an instant.
Faced with Dan Yuanzi's assault, Luo Chen held his umbrella, not moving an inch.
In his mind, he recalled the scene in the underwater mansion beneath the Qinhua River, when Li Jinhuang had called out to stop him one final time.
"I possess a secret art of the third rank. It can sever a strand of a cultivator's vitality and briefly seal it within an object."
"It cannot remain in this world for long—nineteen days at most."
"Counting from the first day, this strand of vitality will steadily grow. The longer it remains sealed, the more powerful it becomes. If delayed until the nineteenth day, this single strand can rival the cultivator's peak strength."
"However, once unsealed, this vitality will rapidly dissipate."
"Do you wish to learn it?"
Luo Chen's eyes flashed. "And the price?"
Li Jinhuang sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his eyes ancient and weary.
"The price is that the cultivator permanently loses ten percent of their peak lifespan."
If a Foundation Establishment cultivator extracted such a strand of vitality, they would lose over twenty years of lifespan.
If a Golden Core cultivator did so, they would likely sacrifice over fifty years.
Yet the extracted vitality could only be preserved for nineteen days at most.
The technique was heaven-defying, but its flaw was immense!
Thus, it was ranked merely at the third tier.
Luo Chen vaguely understood his intention, yet still felt puzzled.
"You had very little lifespan remaining to begin with. Can the technique still work?"
"Naturally!" Li Jinhuang stroked his beard and smiled. "The cost is simply that, while I might have lived for another half a year, casting this art means I may pass away tomorrow."
Luo Chen frowned.
"Is there truly a need to be so resolute?"
"This is my final strength. Rather than waiting for danger to arrive, it is better to detonate the crisis in advance. At the very least, I can still exert all my might and make one final strike!"
Li Jinhuang gazed intently at Luo Chen.
"Fellow Daoist, will you help me?"
Would he?
Of course he would!
Luo Chen was exceptionally interested in this secret art known as the Life-Severing Finger!
Extracting a cultivator's vitality to let it remain in the world for nineteen days...
And it was not limited to the one whose life was drawn; the caster could also make use of that strand of vitality.
At a critical moment, this technique could serve as Luo Chen's trump card to defy heaven and alter fate!
Just like right now!
"Sever life and cut the threads, a soul faint and dim.
Seven cycles pass the flame, nineteen days to walk among the living!"
Amid his murmur, the yellowed jade slip snapped open.
An eerie light stepped forth from within, instantly transforming into a yin soul.
As soon as he emerged, scorching sunlight threatened to pour down upon him.
Yet every beam was completely blocked by the oiled paper umbrella Luo Chen held above.
Ten paces away, Dan Yuanzi was both shocked and enraged.
"Bastard!"
He struck down with a palm.
Facing Dan Yuanzi's palm, the yin soul ruthlessly struck out a palm of his own.
"Dan Yuanzi!"
Boom!
Furious gales surged, and spiritual energy detonated.
Dan Yuanzi was blasted back dozens of yards, an unnatural flush rising to his cheeks as his venomous eyes glared at the yin soul.
"Li Jinhuang!"
Almost the instant Li Jinhuang's yin soul manifested, a massive uproar erupted along both banks of the Qinhua River.
"Heavens above, he isn't dead!"
"What kind of technique is this?"
"Did he conceal his divine soul within that jade slip?"
Countless people stared at Li Jinhuang in utter disbelief.
He was clearly dead as could be.
Back then, numerous rogue cultivators had watched him pass away.
During the seven days his body lay in state, quite a few Foundation Establishment True Cultivators had secretly inspected the condition of his corpse.
Not a trace of divine soul or vitality remained in the mortal realm.
That corpse was utterly drained of life aura and vital blood.
No one expected that he would still be "alive"!
The moment he appeared, the three Hu brothers retreated together in unison, terrified of drawing his attention.
Li Jinhuang did not look at the Hu brothers, nor at Dan Yuanzi.
Instead, he looked at Luo Chen, who was holding the umbrella for an old codger like him.
"A pity. It was only nurtured for seven days; my condition is far from its peak."
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "Seven days was already the limit. Any longer, and your Li clan would have been wiped out."
Li Jinhuang turned his head.
The funeral procession had long since halted.
Countless members of the Li clan were staring at him in shock and excitement.
Over these past seven days, the probing attacks against the Li clan had never ceased.
Mortals had been slaughtered, cultivators abducted, and enemies frequently breached the Li clan grounds.
In just that short span, one-third of the Li clan's low-tier Qi Refining cultivators had perished.
Just as Luo Chen had said, they truly could not delay any further.
Yet it didn't matter!
As long as the primary enemies were eliminated once and for all, everything was worth it.
"Seven days... This state is enough for me to kill Dan Yuanzi."
Li Jinhuang took a deep breath and beckoned with his hand.
In the next moment!
The lid of the coffin carried by Yuan Dongsheng and the Li clansmen was thrown wide open, and a pale, rigid corpse flew out, soaring straight toward Li Jinhuang.
Luo Chen folded the oiled paper umbrella in good time, gripping it in his hand.
It was no longer needed.
Yin soul and corpse merged in an instant.
Whoosh!
Li Jinhuang snapped his eyes open and glared at Dan Yuanzi.
His originally feeble aura began climbing frantically.
Heaven knew what preparations he had made within the corpse, but as the divine soul fused with it, a massive surge of spiritual power rolled outward like a tidal wave!
"You shouldn't have come, Dan Yuanzi!"
Dan Yuanzi gritted his teeth. "There is no 'should' or 'shouldn't'! A blessed land belongs to whoever is destined for it!"
Li Jinhuang shook his head. "Words are useless. Let our hands decide!"
He soared into the sky, barking, "Sword, come!"
The Chilong Sword cradled in Li Yingzhang's hands transformed into a horned dragon, flying toward him.
Dan Yuanzi's face tightened; the other man had unleashed a magical treasure without the slightest hesitation!
Before the watching eyes of the crowd, he turned and fled in an instant!
Yet how could Li Jinhuang let him escape? Merging man and blade, the Chilong sword light struck late but arrived first, enveloping him as he gave chase after Dan Yuanzi.
The battle raged downstream along the Qinhua River, explosions sounding continuously.
Between the blasts came Dan Yuanzi's agonizing shrieks.
Li Jinhuang had spoken the truth. Even though the strand of vitality he had severed was nurtured for only seven days, it was more than enough to kill Dan Yuanzi.
At his peak, he had been a fifth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. Now, he had no need to spare his vitality or foundation, pouring everything into wielding his magical treasure without reserve.
Countless pairs of eyes chased after the distant clash.
Until a sharp shout rang out.
"What audacity!"
Exposed in their approach, Hu Changxi's steps paused, a fierce scowl surfacing on his face.
"Stop putting on airs! Li Jinhuang is clearly in poor shape; he can only deal with Dan Yuanzi alone."
"What trump cards do you have left, Luo Chen?"
Luo Chen's eyes were calm as he looked at the three Hu brothers, as if gazing upon ants.
"To kill the likes of you, what trump cards would I need?"
"Insolent fool!"
"Arrogant!"
"Hand over your life!"
This time, the three Hu brothers hesitated no longer, lunging at Luo Chen in unison.
They had no intention of holding back any longer.
If they delayed any further, this blessed land of the Li clan would completely slip through their fingers.
Then everything they had done would be in vain.
Luo Chen watched them coldly.
Tossing the oiled paper umbrella into the Qinhua River, his left hand formed a seal, and surging spiritual power erupted at once.
In the next instant, the Qinhua River churned into raging billows, waves crashing violently against the shore.
A massive wave over a hundred feet wide surged into the sky, crashing down over the three brothers like a collapsing heaven.
"A mere first-rank Billowing Waves Art dares show off before me!"
Hu Changle sneered. A talisman appeared in his hand, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto it.
The talisman ignited without wind, burning half to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Then, a colossal white spiritual fox bolted out from within, hurtling head-on into the crashing wave.
"A talisman treasure?" Luo Chen murmured, reaching out with his right hand toward the distance.
Surging spiritual power billowed once more.
To the sheer horror of the countless cultivators lining both banks, a small hill was actually ripped up from the earth!
With a rumbling roar, it crashed down toward the three brothers to suppress them.
This sight stunned everyone present.
"Is that the Earth Mountain Art?"
"How is that possible!"
"Are you joking? Whose Earth Mountain Art can uproot an actual mountain?"
Amid the crowd's shock, a deafening crash reverberated.
The previous giant wave had been shattered by the spiritual fox conjured from the talisman treasure.
Yet as one wave subsided, another crested!
"Hiss!"
"A first-rank Billowing Waves Art has this kind of might?"
"It looks as though the entire Qinhua River is at his disposal! With a mere sliver of spiritual energy, he can command an endless torrent of river water, turning it into colossal waves to batter his foes."
"The Master of the Luotian Association possesses such terrifying methods! A mere first-rank spell, effortlessly summoned at his fingertips, yet its might is so monstrously bizarre and immense!"
Outcries of awe erupted continuously from both shores.
What they did not know was that after Luo Chen had brought these two spells to Great Perfection, mutations had emerged just like with his Fireball Art.
The Billowing Waves Art, in any place with water, could borrow and command the surrounding water.
As for the Earth Mountain Art, it did not require spiritual power to conjure a towering peak—that was far too wasteful of spiritual energy. Instead, it could draw upon local materials, uprooting actual hills and hurling mountains!
Luo Chen was not surprised by these two mutations.
They were similar to the transformation when Fireball Art reached the Grandmaster level, primarily serving to economize spiritual power expenditure.
One part effort, ten parts effect!
And now!
Directly facing Luo Chen's two offensive spells, the expressions of the three Hu brothers had completely shifted.
Hu Changle controlled the spiritual fox to battle the waves continually crashing underfoot, already struggling to keep pace.
He had only entered Foundation Establishment a few years ago and had barely stabilized his realm.
How could he compare to Luo Chen, who cast a Great Perfection Billowing Waves Art with the foundation of the third layer of Foundation Establishment?
Seeing a genuine small hill crashing down overhead, Hu Changnu stepped in.
"Leave it to me!"
Both hands pushed toward the heavens, his gauntlets flaring with brilliant light as he caught and braced against the crushing weight of the mountain.
"Nothing... more than this!"
Exhaling with a roar, he forcefully heaved the mountain higher and higher.
Beneath the mountain's shadow, Hu Changxi drove a top-grade flying sword straight toward Luo Chen.
Watching the incoming blade, Luo Chen's eyes remained completely placid.
He had learned the methods of these foes thoroughly from Li Jinhuang before the elder passed away.
The Hu family was wealthy—wealthy enough to cultivate three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
The Hu family was also impoverished—impoverished to the point where, after producing three Foundation Establishment cultivators, their cultivation resources had run completely dry.
Under such circumstances, they naturally couldn't afford magical treasures.
Every resource had gone into cultivation, so their combat armaments were far from superior.
Their sole formidable trump card was likely the talisman treasure held by the youngest, Hu Changle!
It was an heirloom left behind by their late father.
Watching the flying sword streak toward him, Luo Chen remained as steady as a mountain.
He merely formed a single hand seal.
A surge of water branched from the Qinhua River, transforming into a lustrous curtain of light that shielded him like glazed crystal.
A second-rank defensive art—Glazed Canopy.
Chhh!
Hu Changxi exerted all his strength to drive the flying sword forward. Though it seemed to advance inch by inch, it felt as though it remained thousands of miles away from Luo Chen.
Luo Chen shook his head.
"Why are you so weak? You aren't even qualified to make me use an artifact."
Before his words finished fading, he raised both hands upward.
A blazing sun rose steadily from his hands.
At the sight of that blazing sun, Hu Changxi's expression contorted in terror, and he retreated frantically.
A second-rank spell—the Blazing Sun Art!
When Luo Chen had first arrived in Tianlan, he had defeated three fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single strike.
Now, his cultivation was several times greater than back then, and this Blazing Sun Art, continuously optimized from the Great Perfection Fireball Art, was also several times more potent than before.
Even without charging it for an extended period, it was more than enough to obliterate these men.
"Go!"
With a quiet shout, the orb of blazing sunlight shot forth.
Hu Changle and Hu Changnu, who had barely freed themselves from the giant wave and the falling mountain, had no chance of escaping the incoming magical assault.
In almost a single instant, they were swallowed up by the immense explosion.
Scorching heat rippled outward in all directions.
One could well imagine the fate of the two engulfed within.
Their chances of survival were next to none!
"You deserve to die!"
Before the explosion had even died down, a roar brimming with boundless hatred erupted.
Hu Changxi drove his flying sword, charging toward him in a frenzy.
Murderous intent blazed in his eyes.
Spiritual power trembled erratically and violently across his body.
Yet fury alone could not elevate a person's strength by much.
"An ant trying to shake a giant tree—overestimating your own strength!"
Luo Chen let out a cold sneer and flicked his sleeve, scattering over a dozen small black specks.
One after another, the black specks flew toward Hu Changxi.
One of the specks grazed past Hu Changxi. Feeling no threat from it, he froze in momentary bewilderment.
"Those are... seeds?"
Amid his astonishment, the skins of twelve seeds suddenly burst open. Vines bristling with vicious thorns snaked outward like venomous serpents.
In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around him from all sides.
Hu Changxi forced himself to a halt, wildly swinging his sword to sever the vines.
Yet no matter how he slashed with the top-grade flying sword, the vines proved extraordinarily resilient. Even when severed, they sprouted anew and surged toward him in a frantic tangle.
In the distance, Luo Chen stood on the riverbank, his hands constantly shifting through seals.
Ever since his Yimu Medicine King Scripture had attained the Grandmaster level, his continuous experimentation had revealed that his purified spiritual power granted an immensely potent amplification to wood-attribute spells.
It far surpassed his execution of spells from other elements.
However, among wood-attribute spells, few were suited for direct offense.
Most were auxiliary arts such as the Healing Art and the Entanglement Art.
Under such circumstances, he certainly had no wish to squander the innate advantage of his spiritual power.
Thus, he had constantly sought to improve his combat methods.
Later on, it was Yuan Dongsheng tending the fields before his cave dwelling that had provided the inspiration.
"The spiritual farming arts we spiritual farmers master can also be used in battle."
"Back when my grandmother fought Min Longyu in Crescent Moon Valley, she used a technique called the Grass-Mowing Geng Metal Sword Art. By using spiritual farming arts to stimulate the crops she planted, she unleashed brilliant sword light. If I recall correctly, Min Longyu was severely wounded and spat blood from her strike back then."
"President, if you wish to improve your wood-attribute spells, perhaps you could try pairing them with certain wood-attribute plants."
After that, Luo Chen brainstormed with Yuan Dongsheng from time to time.
In the end, upon the latter's recommendation, he purchased a batch of second-rank thornflower seeds from the Hundred Herbs Hall.
Processed in advance and nurtured with wood-attribute spiritual power, they could sprout and mature in an instant.
Vines forcibly stimulated in this manner had short lifespans, ephemeral as blooming night cereus.
However, they were entirely covered in vicious thorns, possessing terrifying lethality.
In this way, the Entanglement Art, which seemed suited only for battlefield support, gained immense offensive lethality!
Watching Hu Changxi lash out like a trapped beast under the siege of the dancing vines, Luo Chen sneered with disdain.
"Nothing more than a futile struggle!"
His hand seal shifted, and the twelve thick vines shuddered violently.
Countless bone-like thorns transformed into a sky full of plumage, shooting straight toward Hu Changxi.
Hu Changxi was scared out of his wits, hurriedly activating his defensive magical artifact.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A dense barrage of collisions rang out incessantly.
Just as the defensive artifact's light began to dim, it finally managed to withstand the storm of thorns.
"Pant, pant... That was too close..."
Before relief could fully wash over him, a vine thick as a giant python tightly constricted around his waist and abdomen.
His expression shifted, and he swung his sword on instinct.
Yet his hand had barely lifted when it froze in place.
Another vine had coiled around his arm without him noticing.
One, two, three, four...
Amid his despairing gaze, twelve massive vines completely bound him within their coils.
In the distance, Luo Chen's clenched fist suddenly opened wide.
Like a flower blooming.
From within the python-like coils came a faint pop.
As though some defensive artifact had finally shattered.
Then, a flower of crimson blood blossomed atop the coiled brambles.
Chapter 283