Tao Yisheng's arrival was within Luo Chen's expectations.
Calculating the time, there were only a few months left before Azure Pill Valley's Dao Seed competition.
To take part in such a grand event, it was naturally out of the question to cut it close.
Although heroes always arrived at the final moment, it was blatantly obvious that Luo Chen was not the protagonist of this Dao Seed competition.
After offering some brief reassurance to Tao Yisheng and setting a departure date, Luo Chen set about attending to various minor matters before his impending departure.
After all, this was to be a long journey!
***
The first matter was to pay a visit to Tantai Jin.
Back when Sima Huiniang managed to obtain detailed intelligence regarding Azure Pill Valley's Dao Seed competition, much of the credit had gone to Shi Boying.
Yet for her to be willing to disclose such sect secrets was not merely out of consideration for Luo Chen's occasional bribes.
Tantai Jin had undoubtedly dropped hints behind the scenes!
"There are this many medium-grade Jade Dew Pills this time?"
Confronted with the quantity of pills Luo Chen produced prior to his departure, Tantai Jin was quite astonished.
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "My alchemy has progressed somewhat, so such a harvest is only natural."
Tantai Jin looked thoughtful.
Looking at Luo Chen, she did not hand over the corresponding spirit stones as she usually did.
Instead, after a brief silence, she took out a piece of "ice."
Curious, Luo Chen asked, "A Tier 4 spiritual material, Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice?"
"Yes!" Tantai Jin nodded.
Luo Chen frowned slightly. "To offset the spirit stones? But I have no need for—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Tantai Jin sent a strand of divine sense onto the palm-sized block of profound ice.
In an instant, an exceedingly dangerous, terrifying aura radiated outward.
Luo Chen's expression shifted drastically!
Whoosh!
With a wave of Tantai Jin's hand, that terrifying aura retreated back into the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice.
Looking at Luo Chen, she said calmly, "This contains the power of a single strike from my master. If you encounter someone you cannot overcome, you need only activate it."
"For me?" Luo Chen was somewhat surprised.
Tantai Jin nodded and casually tossed the profound ice to Luo Chen.
Luo Chen caught it gingerly, cradling it in his hands. A faint, bitterly cold force seemed to seep into his flesh and blood.
"If unleashing that single strike still fails to destroy the enemy, destroy this ice. It will manifest an ice-sealing technique to shield you. Upon sensing it, my master will personally come to rescue you."
A single-use magical treasure with both offensive and defensive capabilities?
For a moment, Luo Chen was utterly dazed.
Parting his lips, his mouth felt dry as he said, "My thanks to Daoist Tantai, and my thanks to Master Jueqing!"
He did not refuse in the slightest!
Nor could he possibly refuse!
Only a fool would push away a treasure like this.
"When you return, remember to give it back to me!" Tantai Jin said nonchalantly.
Luo Chen froze, momentarily caught off guard.
He had to return it?
Before long, Luo Chen took his leave.
Watching Luo Chen's receding figure, Tantai Jin felt an inexplicable ache of reluctance.
This block of profound ice had not been gifted to Luo Chen on her master's instructions.
Rather, it was a Dao-protecting treasure her master had personally bestowed upon her when she had just reached Foundation Establishment.
Under normal circumstances, she would never give it to an outsider.
Yet this time, on a sudden impulse, she had lent it to Luo Chen.
"As long as he comes back safe and sound, that is enough!"
She knew well that Luo Chen possessed extraordinary alchemy attainments and also controlled a high-grade pill like the Jade Dew Pill, which was remarkably beneficial to female cultivators!
Were it not for the constraints of their cooperation agreement, he could very well trade pills of this caliber with Tao Wan in exchange for corresponding high-grade pills.
Even if they were currently bound by that agreement, it was limited to a hundred years.
If Luo Chen defected to Azure Pill Valley a century from now for the sake of high-grade pills, her Jueqing lineage would suffer a tremendous loss.
"A short-term investment in exchange for long-term gains.
"I hope Luo Chen remembers my goodwill!"
***
Leaving Tianlan Peak, Luo Chen headed straight for Danxia Peak outside the city.
In Luotian Grand Hall, Sima Huiniang was the first to arrive.
"You already know about Hall Master Qin Liangchen's Foundation Establishment failure, right?"
Sima Huiniang looked rather grim; bringing this up seemed to cast a shadow over her countenance.
Luo Chen had naturally known for a while.
He had even made time to pay him a visit.
The Foundation Establishment attempt had failed.
The man was fine, however.
Firstly, the medicinal nature of Emperor Flowing Liquid was relatively gentle; secondly, with the superior-grade Yang Restoring Water Luo Chen had provided, he had enough time to soothe the surging spiritual energy after the failure.
Although he had suffered some injury, a few months of recuperation would allow him to recover.
It was just that in his current condition, he would likely never have another opportunity to attempt Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.
Seeing that Sima Huiniang was in low spirits, Luo Chen comforted her instead.
"Failure is common in cultivation. As long as he's unharmed, that is what matters."
Sima Huiniang sighed. "Ever since Duan Feng, Min Longyu, and the others achieved Foundation Establishment in succession, it feels as if our Luotian Association's fortune was completely exhausted with me."
Now that she mentioned it, it truly seemed so!
Back then, Foundation Establishment True Cultivators had emerged one after another within the Luotian Association, while externally they expanded in every direction, unmatched in their prominence.
Now, the Luotian Association was still advancing by leaps and bounds, developing at high speed.
Yet the pace of its cultivators achieving Foundation Establishment had abruptly ground to a halt.
Murong Qinglian, Bian Zhen, Sima Xian, and Qin Liangchen—four people had failed Foundation Establishment in succession.
Such a situation truly left Sima Huiniang, the one holding the reins of power, feeling quite dejected.
For a moment, Luo Chen did not know how to console her either.
Truth be told, aside from Sima Huiniang's success carrying a degree of luck, the other True Cultivators who had emerged from the Luotian Association followed fairly dependable patterns.
Duan Feng was originally a genius of the Duan family who had been groomed with great emphasis before Duan Rui, only to be cast aside later.
Min Longyu was also of Min family blood, having inherited the essence of the entire clan.
In contrast, he and Wang Yuan had both experienced Foundation Establishment failure more than once.
Only through arduous struggle had they finally broken through.
By comparison, the likes of Sima Xian and Qin Liangchen were advanced in years and possessed poor aptitude.
Among rogue cultivators, they might pass as standout figures of their era, but when placed before the threshold of Foundation Establishment, where even sect disciples frequently failed, they were truly nothing out of the ordinary.
One could only say that while success was hoped for, failure was also acceptable.
Luo Chen could only offer, "Our Luotian Association will surely see extreme adversity turn to prosperity!"
Sima Huiniang also noticed that she was not in the right headspace.
She forced a smile. "I'm making you worry."
"It's fine." Luo Chen shook his head. "You're thinking of the Luotian Association; I understand."
While the two were speaking, footsteps approached outside Luotian Grand Hall one after another.
Before long, Wang Yuan was the first to arrive at Luotian Hall.
He found a seat and sat down casually.
Then came Duan Feng and Min Longyu.
Finally, Xu Huanzhen of the Spirit Beast Hall also walked in at an unhurried pace.
Cupping his hands to Luo Chen, he took a seat with composure.
Luo Chen sat on the high dais.
Looking down at the five Foundation Establishment cultivators under his command, his mood, which had been somewhat gloomy over the four consecutive failures of Bian Zhen and the others, lifted considerably.
At the very least, with these people around, the Luotian Association remained, for now, that formidable and flourishing entity!
"What I have to say today is very simple.
"Starting soon, I will be leaving the Luotian Association for a time—a few months at the shortest, or a year at the longest.
"During this period, I will be relying on all of you to look after the Luotian Association's affairs."
Faced with this sudden announcement from Luo Chen, aside from Sima Huiniang, who already knew the inside details, the rest subconsciously revealed looks of astonishment.
Seeing their expressions, Luo Chen knew he had made the right decision to hold this meeting before departing.
After all these years, the Luotian Association from top to bottom had grown thoroughly accustomed to their president being constantly present, whether out in front or behind the scenes.
If his departure caused them to lose their anchor and scurry like headless flies whenever an issue arose, that would be laughable.
For an organization of this scale, it could not grind to a halt just because one person was missing.
Otherwise, it was a failure!
Luo Chen did not waste words, speaking to them about the upcoming arrangements.
There were no grand decisions—he merely instructed them to proceed step-by-step according to the existing plans.
Roughly four hours later, Wang Yuan and the others took their leave one after another.
Inside Luotian Hall, only Luo Chen and Sima Huiniang remained once more.
"Is there something else?"
The woman looked curiously at Luo Chen, who had kept only her behind.
"Nothing major. It's just that these Lingxi Gu can finally be used."
To Sima Huiniang's surprise, Luo Chen took out the Foundation Establishment congratulatory gift Chu Kui had presented to her back then.
After she accepted it back then, it had subsequently ended up in Luo Chen's hands.
Having studied it over these years and confirmed there was no problem with it, and with his upcoming long journey, Luo Chen had thought it best to put it to use.
Sima Huiniang could not help but smile. "The way you're handling things today makes it feel as if you're settling your posthumous affairs."
Luo Chen smiled as well.
The unease in his heart from having to travel far away on his own gradually dissipated within that smile.
Ever since his transmigration, he truly had never traveled far on his own.
After their laughter subsided, he peeled open the red wax coating, revealing two milky-white little insects nestled against each other inside.
"We each draw a drop of blood essence to bind them to us as their masters, and then guide them into our bodies."
These were immature Gu larvae and did not require complex control techniques.
The two followed the procedure.
Before long, having devoured their Foundation Establishment blood essence, the Lingxi Gu began to "melt."
With a thought, the melted white mist permeated into their respective bodies.
Flowing along their arms, it moved continuously forward until it finally settled and coiled between the chest and abdomen.
Once the Lingxi Gu entered her body, Sima Huiniang looked at Luo Chen in some surprise.
"It seems... I can feel something now?"
Luo Chen nodded. "To reach the point of true heart-to-heart communion, we would need to nourish them with each other's aura for decades and advance them to Tier 3 Gu insects.
"For now, it merely allows each of us to sense the other's general direction.
"All right. Now that this is settled, I can depart with peace of mind."
With that, Luo Chen rose to his feet.
He was about to leave, when Sima Huiniang quietly took hold of his sleeve.
"Aren't you staying tonight?"
Luo Chen froze for a second. Vaguely, he seemed to recall having said something similar before.
Back then, Sima Huiniang had not refused.
At this moment, he would not refuse either.
***
Early the next morning.
A flying boat was berthed at the docking terrace on Danxia Peak.
Only when an azure escape light flew out from Danxia Peak did the flying boat slowly start up and rise into the sky.
Finally, turning into a streak of light and shadow, it gradually vanished into the distant sky.
Atop Danxia Peak, Sima Huiniang quietly watched this scene, her heart feeling somewhat empty.
Watching the speck of light from the flying boat shrink into a tiny dot and disappear, she finally sighed and turned around.
"Oh?"
Without her realizing, Gu Caiyi had already come to stand behind her.
"When did you arrive?"
Gu Caiyi looked at her, her expression cool. "For a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator like you not to notice me with your divine sense, it seems the director-general's heart is truly devoted entirely to the president!"
These words had a barbed edge to them.
Sima Huiniang frowned slightly, not wishing to argue with her; she had a rough idea of what the woman was feeling.
Seeing that Sima Huiniang was about to leave, Gu Caiyi took a deep breath and called out to stop her.
"I, Gu Caiyi, Hall Master of the Luotian Association's Gold Hall, have attained Qi Refinement Great Perfection! By virtue of past merits, I hereby apply to the director-general for a Foundation Establishment Pill!"
Sima Huiniang whirled around abruptly.
Before the precipitous cliff edge, the slender woman, delicate as willow catkins, radiated powerful surges of spiritual power that rose and fell like rolling waves.
Chapter 325