The Heritage Hall of the Luotian Association stood deep within Danxia Peak.
It was a newly constructed "ancient hall."
Though it looked antique at first glance, the youth of its building materials made it obvious that it lacked true history.
Yet that did not diminish its importance to the Luotian Association in the slightest.
When Luo Chen arrived, the first person he saw was not Wang Yuan, but Min Longyu, who was busily occupied on the white jade plaza outside the hall.
Luo Chen landed on the white jade plaza and pressed down slightly with his foot—a motion that immediately caught Min Longyu's eye.
Min Longyu shouted in alarm, "President, don't!"
"I only just set up the restriction for the Minor Spirit Gathering Formation under there! If you ruin it, I won't even have a shoulder to cry on!"
Luo Chen chuckled and lifted his foot, surveying the small plaza that was nearly the size of a soccer field.
Paved entirely with tier-one spirit-conducting jade, it presented a magnificent sight.
The cost had not been trivial either; this expanse of white jade alone was worth at least ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Compared to the training grounds of major sects, it could not hold a candle, of course.
Yet once Min Longyu finished laying down the Spirit Gathering Formation, it could certainly be counted as a prime cultivation site on Danxia Peak—especially for young cultivators below the late Qi Refining stage!
Min Longyu walked over. "If the Luotian Association can recruit disciples on a regular basis, this white jade terrace will truly come into its own."
"When that time comes, senior cultivators from the Heritage Hall can lecture from above."
"The younger disciples will gather below to listen."
"Spirit eagles circling, immortal cranes dancing, clouds billowing and mist gathering, radiant light shimmering across the sky..."
"That would truly be the splendor of an immortal sect!"
The splendor of an immortal sect?
Luo Chen could not help feeling a sense of longing as well.
"By the way, have you chosen disciples to pass down your mantle?"
"I have—two of them!"
Luo Chen asked in surprise, "Two?"
Min Longyu replied with satisfaction, "Indeed! One is a young man who has followed the Luotian Association since the Dahe Market days. He has been apprenticed in the Forging Hall and learned a great deal about formations from Brother Duan; his foundation in formations is quite solid."
"As for the other... she is a young girl of my Min family who ended up wandering outside."
"After I wiped out the Geng family and breached the Divine Craft Sect, word of my name spread, and her family came looking for me."
"By blood, I am her maternal uncle."
A maternal uncle?
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. That meant she did not belong to the direct lineage of the Min family, but was the offspring of a Min woman who had married out.
Even so, the Danxia Min family had long scattered to the winds, with not a single member of the main lineage remaining.
To finally have a descendant now, even if she carried only a trace of their lineage, meant Min blood still flowed!
No wonder such a gratified look graced his face.
Just as Luo Chen was about to ask for more details, he noticed Wang Yuan on the second floor of the Heritage Hall, dressed in coarse hemp robes and watching the two of them quietly.
"Keep up the good work; I'll head inside first!"
Leaving behind a casual remark, Luo Chen entered the Heritage Hall.
***
"What do you need?"
"Fire-attribute cultivation methods, fire-control secret techniques—any texts related to the element of fire, I want them all!"
"Then wait a moment."
Wang Yuan turned and walked into the newly constructed library tower.
Having nothing else to do, Luo Chen followed him inside.
The library was currently divided into three stories.
The ground floor held mortal martial arts, travelogues, and compendiums of lore from the cultivation world.
Works Luo Chen knew well, such as *Carefree Wandering*, *Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers*, and even the *Record of Customs Across the Six Domains*, were prominently displayed among them.
There were over a hundred varied, miscellaneous volumes in total.
The second floor housed cultivation methods and manuals at the Qi Refining level.
The third floor, naturally, held texts for the Foundation Establishment stage.
Beyond those, there was a secret vault storing various insights on Qi Refining, insights on Foundation Establishment, talisman crafting, detailed explanations of spiritual herb cultivation, and forging manuals...
A wide array of cultivation arts was represented. Should any exceptionally talented members emerge in the Luotian Association, they might use these to cultivate a specialized skill.
All these disparate materials were kept piled within the secret vault.
Once Luo Chen finished reading the alchemy texts in his possession, he would also place them back into the library.
Some of these texts were priceless, while others held little worth.
Yet gathered together, they formed the heritage of the Luotian Association!
"All of this is the family estate we've amassed through years of hard struggle!" Luo Chen remarked with deep emotion, his fingers brushing over an exceptionally rare Qi Refining metal-attribute cultivation method.
Wang Yuan was busy picking out suitable methods for him.
Glancing at Luo Chen's actions, Wang Yuan said calmly, "Right now they are only arranged loosely. Later, Min Longyu will find time to set small restrictions on each one to prevent theft. In the future, cultivators within the association who wish to borrow them will have to redeem them with merit points."
"In addition, I plan to spend the time to transcribe every single one onto bamboo slips. The original manuals will be stored away separately."
Listening to the future plans, Luo Chen nodded repeatedly.
These were precisely the measures an enduring sect ought to take.
Even this library tower had been named Tianyi Tower.
Heaven generates water from the number one, which prevents fire from catching.
Books—even those of the cultivation world—feared accidental fires above all else.
The two chatted as they walked upstairs.
After half a day, Wang Yuan had retrieved all the texts Luo Chen might need.
"Seven tier-one fire-attribute methods, three tier-two methods, and three secret techniques spanning forging, alchemy, and spiritual farming."
"Aside from those, there is also a blood flame secret technique from my private collection, driven by the power of vital blood."
"You may examine them all; perhaps they will be of help to you."
Hearing this, Luo Chen could not hide his excitement.
With so many methods and texts, he might very well find the solution to his current alchemy bottleneck.
Learning that Wang Yuan had even brought out a secret technique from his personal collection moved Luo Chen all the more.
Unable to wait, he opened a tier-one Qi Refining manual titled *Three Cremations Blazing Flame Incantation*.
His expression grew completely absorbed.
Not wishing to disturb him, Wang Yuan set down the remaining scrolls, gently pulled the door shut, and departed.
For a time, the spacious chamber fell utterly silent, save for the rustling of turning pages.
***
"Man harbors the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, also known as the three defilements and three fires. Incinerating them yields boundless power, transforming into blazing flames to cleanse the mortal world..."
"It sounds lofty and mysterious, but in truth, it merely channels a fierce, resolute resolve to absorb loose fire-attribute spiritual energy from the surroundings."
"This method is useless to me."
Setting aside the *Three Cremations Blazing Flame Incantation*, Luo Chen picked up another text, the *Black Prison Flame-Suppressing Art*.
It was also tier one.
Its core teaching involved absorbing spiritual energy in scorching environments through immense perseverance.
This approach shared a certain likeness with the calming of the mind in the *Eternal Spring Art*.
Yet its profundity was far too shallow.
Several hours later, Luo Chen shook his head and continued browsing the other texts.
Time slipped away as he read on.
One day.
Two days.
Before he knew it, half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
With a body that had undergone tendon transformation and marrow cleansing, a cultivator could easily sustain themselves on morning mist and practice basic inedia.
Furthermore, because he was not actively cultivating his spiritual energy, Luo Chen did not feel particularly fatigued.
He had undergone extended periods without sleep or rest a few times before, during closed-door retreats to break through realms.
He had now finished reading all seven tier-one methods.
His gains were modest, and none offered any real help in resolving his present difficulty.
The sole benefit was that he had gained a thorough grasp of the various cultivation paths, techniques, and combat experiences of fire-spiritual-root cultivators.
That knowledge still held value.
Luo Chen felt that if he were to cast Fireball Art, Flying Fireflies, Blazing Sun Art, or Landslide again, his execution would be thirty percent more refined than before.
In addition to the tier-one methods, he had also studied the blood flame technique Wang Yuan had shared.
Its effect differed little from Foundation Establishment True Fire.
The only distinction lay in replacing an eruption of spiritual liquid with an instantaneous burst of vital blood to generate potent energy.
Its chief merit was that the blood flame converted from vital blood proved far easier to control than Foundation Establishment True Fire.
After all, using the body's primordial essence blood as a primer was a quasi-self-harming method.
It could produce miraculous effects when used in battle or during an escape.
Luo Chen learned the basics of it.
It could serve as another trump card.
After all, his physical body was genuinely in the Blood River Realm, brimming with potent vital blood.
It was always wise to keep something in reserve!
After studying Wang Yuan's blood flame technique, Luo Chen looked into the three secret techniques.
The fire-attribute spiritual farming technique was somewhat amusing.
Named the *Bing Fire Land-Clearing Art*, it was a tier-two spell.
Its primary purpose was to elevate the grade of spiritual fields.
After reviewing it, Luo Chen deemed it of no use to his current problem.
The alchemy technique was the Flame Manipulation Art, in which Luo Chen was already highly proficient.
He had frequently used it during alchemy in the past to regulate the intensity of his fire.
As for the forging technique, Luo Chen found it somewhat difficult to fathom.
"What does 'Fire Fusion' mean?"
"Using fire to fuse qi, smelting metal and refining iron—is it a method to catalyze and elevate the fire's intensity?"
Luo Chen transcribed a copy of this secret technique, titled *Fire Fusion*, on the spot, intending to take it back for thorough study.
Next, he turned his attention to the three tier-two fire-attribute methods.
The *Ding Fire Single Qi Method* came from the Duan family.
The *Blazing Sun True Scripture* had been found among Huo Hu's belongings and was very likely a core cultivation method for inner disciples of the Core Formation sect, the Yan Alliance.
The *Cyan Sun Art* had been obtained during the battle of Gaoling Plain from the hands of an independent Qi Refining cultivator.
Tier-two methods were visibly far more profound and intricate than tier-one methods.
With just a brief glance, Luo Chen knew they would require extensive study.
Without hesitation, he stored the original copies of all three methods directly into his storage bag.
Stepping out of the chamber, he found Wang Yuan outside, engrossed in transcribing manuals.
Luo Chen rubbed his weary eyes.
"Did you find a solution to your problem?" Wang Yuan asked, pausing his work with concern.
Luo Chen shook his head. "Not yet. But I feel I have found a direction."
His direction stemmed from the forging technique, *Fire Fusion*.
Hearing that he had found a direction, Wang Yuan stopped worrying and resumed his work.
Before leaving, Luo Chen asked casually, "Why not have cultivators from the Heritage Hall handle such tedious tasks? Isn't this wasting your cultivation time?"
Without looking up, Wang Yuan replied, "It's hardly a waste. In transcribing them, the contents of these methods are committed to memory. For my path of body refinement, stones from other hills may serve to polish jade."
A photographic memory?
Luo Chen was taken aback; he had never heard of Wang Yuan possessing such a gift.
Yet upon reflection, Wang Yuan had relied almost entirely on self-exploration in his early days of body refinement.
Having such a talent made sense.
Of course, once a cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, their divine soul expanded greatly.
Even if they could not claim true photographic memory, their retention far surpassed that of mortals.
Such a gift merely appeared extraordinary at lower realms.
Not wishing to disturb Wang Yuan any further, Luo Chen mentioned that he was taking those manuals with him and took his leave.
***
Upon returning to Tianlan Peak, Luo Chen first had a good night's sleep.
Waking early the next morning, he circulated his cultivation method for the first time in a while. Watching the progress bar slowly advance to [4/100], the guilt that had weighed on him from neglecting his cultivation for half a month finally dissipated.
"Researching methods is fine, but I must not become so absorbed that I forget fundamental cultivation."
Luo Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Walking out of his immortal's cave, he settled beneath the Warm Sun Wood as usual.
The canopy was lush, and spiritual energy drifted gently.
He opened the three tier-two fire-attribute methods he had brought back and began reading them slowly.
The sun rose and the moon drifted; time flowed by like water once more.
In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
Luo Chen rolled up the bamboo slips containing the *Cyan Sun Art*.
He had identified where his problem lay.
The Dao of Alchemy was inextricably linked to the element of fire.
In the past, he had always overlooked this.
Or rather, his former self had believed he possessed virtually no shortcomings in that regard.
Yet viewing it now, this path was profound and boundless as an ocean.
With his current level of attainment, he had merely crossed the threshold.
If one were to establish ranks, mastery over pill fire in the Dao of Alchemy ought to be divided into four levels: Fire Control, Fire Fusion, Fire Absorption, and Fire Transformation.
These ranks did not come from any single cultivation method or secret technique.
Rather, Luo Chen had deduced them himself by synthesizing various alchemy treatises and notes, including the *Qingyuan Alchemy Exposition*, *Qinhua Alchemy Exposition*, and *Shanghu Alchemy Exposition*.
The final rank, which he termed Soul-Manifested Fire, belonged to the realm of legends.
Even in ancient texts, it was mentioned only in passing.
At his current level, it was entirely out of reach.
Yet for the first three ranks, he had found corresponding methods within these texts.
If the *Flame Manipulation Incantation* enhanced the technique of directing flames—which was Fire Control—then the Fire Fusion secret technique and the Single Qi Penetrating Flame within the *Ding Fire Single Qi Method* served to elevate the quality and power of flames under perfect control—which was Fire Fusion!
Meanwhile, the *Blazing Sun True Scripture* and *Cyan Sun Art* directly proposed incorporating sourceless fire into one's body to cultivate primordial true fire.
After feverishly reading through all manner of cultivation methods, texts, and alchemy treatises, Luo Chen, much like Wang Yuan, had uncharacteristically synthesized his own understanding.
He had even demarcated corresponding ranks based on his own insights.
With that, the road ahead instantly cleared.
Once this realization dawned, Luo Chen momentarily understood Wang Yuan's ascetic lifestyle of studying a hundred schools to forge the method best suited to himself.
It was genuinely exhausting.
Yet once the result emerged, the satisfaction was equally immense!
With Luo Chen's current foundation, he could not yet invent methods from scratch to resolve his difficulties.
However, now that he had a direction, he could draw upon the techniques of predecessors, adopting their strengths to mend his weaknesses, and advance step by step.
He was no longer a headless fly wandering in the dark!
"Right now, I clearly sit at great attainment in the first stage—complete mastery of Fire Control!"
"What I must do next is Fire Fusion and Fire Absorption."
The former was not difficult.
Duan Feng was exceptionally skilled in that area; the heat required for artifact forging was far higher than that for alchemy.
If Duan Feng could do it, Luo Chen could as well.
Rather than practicing both the Fire Fusion technique and Single Qi Penetrating Flame, he decided to focus solely on Fire Fusion for the time being.
Not because Single Qi Penetrating Flame was inferior, but because if he encountered difficulties with Fire Fusion, he could consult Duan Feng at any time and avoid many detours.
As for the secret techniques required for Fire Absorption, two distinct methods were recorded in the *Blazing Sun True Scripture* and the *Cyan Sun Art*.
He planned to practice one of them once he had time, preparing for the future.
"For now, I shall begin practicing the Fire Fusion technique!"
Luo Chen rose to his feet and headed straight for the alchemy chamber.
Chapter 307