Half a month later.
Atop Danxia Peak.
A squad of one hundred cultivators stood with solemn expressions, armed and waiting in full readiness.
Before them loomed the Luotian Great Hall.
Inside, Luo Chen looked at the three figures standing before him.
Wang Yuan, Duan Feng, and Xu Huanzhen.
By cultivation base alone, Xu Huanzhen was the highest at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment.
Yet for this deployment, Wang Yuan was the one chosen to lead.
"My apologies for disturbing your quiet cultivation," Luo Chen said.
Wang Yuan shook his head and replied calmly, "This is what I ought to do as a member of the Luotian Association. You have nothing to feel guilty about."
"Besides!"
Here, a rare look of fanaticism crossed his face.
"If one cannot test what one has learned against others, it amounts to nothing more than working behind closed doors. The path I walk is different from all of yours—it demands a great deal of real combat between life and death. These past years, my hands have been itching for a fight!"
Seeing his warmongering demeanor, Luo Chen could not help but frown.
"Don't go looking for trouble. The assignment I secured is relatively safe. Take these people with you, and just bring back as many of them as you can."
Wang Yuan shrugged and did not contradict him.
Unlike himself, Luo Chen cared more about the lives of the Luotian Association's cultivators, whereas he cared about progressing in his cultivation. Even so, recalling the vast sea of sect experts Luo Chen had repeatedly warned him about, he suppressed his fervor as best he could.
In this world, there were always higher mountains and greater people beyond.
He, Wang Yuan, truly was not invincible.
Luo Chen shook his head and walked up to Xu Huanzhen.
Before he could speak, Xu Huanzhen broke into a wry smile.
"I joined the Luotian Association to earn spirit stones. Never did I imagine I'd have to take the battlefield."
Luo Chen said helplessly, "There was no other way. Tantai Jin specifically asked for you. Your beast-taming skills will be invaluable for logistics and communications."
Xu Huanzhen's wry smile lingered.
Had he remained a rogue cultivator, Tantai Jin naturally could not have conscripted him. But having joined the Luotian Association, he was bound to serve it for ten years. Otherwise, drawing the highest compensation in the association second only to President Sima Huiniang without doing anything in return would be utterly indefensible.
"There isn't much else to say except to wish you safe return," Luo Chen said. "Additionally, this beast-taming manual is my compensation to you as association president. If you have energy to spare, please look out for the Qi Refinement cultivators of the War Hall."
As he spoke, Luo Chen handed over an ancient tome.
Xu Huanzhen blinked in surprise and accepted it.
*The Myriad Beast Scripture.*
"Its grade isn't high, but it should be of some help to you."
Xu Huanzhen's interest was piqued. In his life, his greatest passion had always been dealing with demonic beasts, and most of what he had mastered pertained to beast control. Luo Chen had catered directly to his inclinations, which dispelled much of his gloomy irritation over heading to the battlefield.
Seeing him begin to leaf through the manual, Luo Chen stepped over to Duan Feng.
"Do you still remember what I told you before?"
Duan Feng nodded. "I remember. Avoid fighting and competition, set up an artifact repair shop in the Quicksand Wasteland, earn merits, and hone my smithing craft."
"Exactly!" Luo Chen smiled. "Though the location is different, it's just like the scramble over the Golden Core ruins in the Guyuan Mountain Range back then. While they fight to the death, we reap the profits. The principle is the same. If you could manage it on Mount Qinghe, you can manage it out in the Quicksand Wasteland."
Having said this, Luo Chen produced a storage bag and three jade vials before the three of them.
Solemnly, he placed a jade vial into each of their hands.
"Inside are top-grade Blood Burning Pills I concocted myself, three for each of you. They might save your lives at a critical moment. As for their specific usage, Brother Wang knows and will explain it to you. And this storage bag contains a large supply of superior-grade Blood Burning Pills. Brother Wang, take it and distribute them to the War Hall cultivators when you set out. Remember, your objective isn't merits—it's survival!"
The three accepted them immediately.
Under ordinary circumstances, Luo Chen was never one to fret or ramble like an anxious elder. Yet they could all feel the deep sincerity in his heart.
Coming back alive was the greatest success of all!
Beyond that, there was nothing left to say.
Luo Chen led the three out of the great hall.
Looking upon the hundred-odd late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators standing before him, his expression turned complicated.
For this war, the Luotian Association ultimately had to contribute men.
It was not that the resources he offered Fairy Jueqing were lacking; rather, the disciples of the Jueqing lineage were simply too few, and their subordinate forces were likewise limited. Thus, every single subordinate faction had received a draft notice.
They had to send people!
Even so, his efforts had not been in vain.
From an initial blanket conscription of all members at Qi Refinement Layer 7 and above, it had been reduced to just three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators and a hundred-odd late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. That alone was a major change.
Moreover, Luo Chen had secured relatively light duties from Fairy Jueqing.
The Luotian Association's cultivators would not be assigned to the most perilous front lines. Instead, they would be tasked with logistics, communications, garrisoning, and defense. The exact assignments would be decided by Ice Fort once they reached the Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks battlefield.
Sweeping his gaze over the assembled crowd, Luo Chen began to speak slowly.
"Among you, there are veterans who have followed me from humble beginnings all the way from Dahe Market, and there are rogue cultivators who sought a living in Tianlan Immortal City. Gathered here today, you all share a single goal: the Great Dao of Foundation Establishment!
"Yet our Luotian Association is no great, orthodox sect. With my strength alone, I cannot procure many Foundation Establishment Pills for you.
"Now, an opportunity has presented itself!"
He raised a hand and pointed into the distance.
"On the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield, completing missions earns merit. The great sects have put forth countless Foundation Establishment Pills. So long as you strive, every one of you will have a chance at Foundation Establishment!
"For this campaign, Scripture Transmission Hall Master Wang Yuan will lead the force. All of you are to obey his commands.
"Go forth, slay enemies, achieve merits, and fulfill your tasks to exchange for the Foundation Establishment opportunity you desire!"
As his words fell, a surge of fanaticism swept through the hundred-odd Battle Hall cultivators.
Under the lead of Wang Yuan and the others, they mounted flying eagles and soared into the sky, flying beyond Danxia Peak.
Watching their receding backs, Luo Chen lowered his eyes.
What he had told them was entirely different from what he had told Wang Yuan's group. It was not born of malice or deception, but rather the reality that exaggerating danger would only induce paralyzing fear. It was far better to motivate them with gain, giving them initiative and purpose. Driven by self-interest, they could at least carry hope with them.
With a sigh, Luo Chen stepped forward and flew out from Danxia Peak as well.
Midair, he spotted a massive top-grade flying boat anchored outside the peak. Figures moved indistinctly across its decks, showing that many cultivators had already gathered aboard.
At the prow stood Sima Huiniang, her skirt fluttering in the wind, speaking with a female cultivator.
Upon seeing the Luotian Association cultivators approach, Ice Fort cultivators immediately stepped forward to arrange their quarters.
The leading female Foundation Establishment cultivator looked up toward Luo Chen. Their eyes met for a fleeting second, and both exchanged a tacit nod.
Soon, Sima Huiniang flew over from the vessel and landed beside Luo Chen.
"What did Tantai Jin say?"
"She didn't reveal much, only that she would do her best to arrange relatively safe tasks for us."
Sima Huiniang sighed.
Relatively safe?
Luo Chen silently turned over that piece of information, taking whatever comfort he could from it.
*Buzz...*
A low drone resounded as radiant spiritual light flared across the massive vessel. The behemoth slowly set into motion, turning its prow around.
Sima Huiniang suddenly asked, "President, when will this war end?"
Luo Chen replied with a wistful expression, "How could I know? Neither its start nor its conclusion is something low-tier cultivators like us can decide."
Foundation Establishment True Cultivators who could dominate an entire region in the cultivation world were, from Luo Chen's lips, reduced to mere 'low-tier cultivators.'
Yet Sima Huiniang nodded in deep agreement.
Compared to the Nascent Soul True Lords who ignited such wars, how could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator be anything other than low-tier?
Never mind the few members of the Luotian Association—even if their numbers were multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or ten-thousandfold, a Nascent Soul True Lord likely wouldn't spare a thought for what they felt.
Since ancient times, heaven's will had been unfathomable.
And here in the Jade Cauldron Domain, Nascent Soul True Lords were 'Heaven'!
***
After seeing off the Luotian battle cultivators, Luo Chen returned to Tianlan Peak.
His days were far from as leisurely as the subordinates imagined; in fact, he was much busier than before.
Aside from regular daily cultivation and treating Gu Caiyi's body, his days consisted of endless pill concoction!
Just as he had told Master Jueqing, supplying pills on a massive scale was something he could never accomplish entirely on his own. He still needed numerous low-tier Luotian Association cultivators to gather medicinal herbs and process the ingredients in advance before he could produce the finished pills.
The only good news was that the two primary pills he was refining had already reached the Great Perfection tier. Consequently, concocting them took minimal effort.
Indeed, providing one hundred bottles of Jade Dew Pills a year brought him a tremendous sum of spirit stones.
The agreed selling price between Luo Chen and Fairy Jueqing for superior-grade Jade Dew Pills was two thousand spirit stones per bottle.
This price was extraordinarily low!
If word got out, cultivators across the entire Jade Cauldron Domain would probably find it unbelievable. Tier 2 superior-grade pills could no longer be measured in simple spirit stone value. In the hands of the major sects, they were strategic-grade resources!
Even on Tao Wan's side, she could only provide Luo Chen with thirty to forty bottles of superior-grade Soaring Dragon Pills a year at most, and that quantity fluctuated. Furthermore, the price remained fixed at two thousand five hundred spirit stones per bottle.
Compared to Soaring Dragon Pills, Jade Dew Pills—which held a unique supplemental benefit for female cultivators—were virtually impossible to find on the open market. Even if offered at three thousand spirit stones per bottle, it would not be the least bit unreasonable! Moreover, Luo Chen would only sell them to those with proper connections or in exchange for additional concessions.
The reason Luo Chen offered such a steep discount was precisely to negotiate a reduction in the Luotian Association's troop quota.
Even for top-grade Blood Burning Pills, his price was remarkably low—merely four hundred spirit stones per bottle.
Only by making such significant concessions had he secured the condition that the Luotian Association need only send one hundred battle cultivators and three Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
*Still, it's all worth it.*
Luo Chen ran the numbers.
Even at these low prices, he still turned a profit. After all, he possessed not only a high rate of finished batches, but also an extraordinary pill yield per furnace. That allowed him to compress costs to the absolute minimum.
It lowered the casualty risk for the Luotian Association's cultivators while earning him extra spirit stones—what was there not to like?
Moreover, large-scale alchemy allowed him to level up several newly acquired alchemical arts.
The primary ingredient of the Jade Dew Pill was blue smoke jade. Previously, Luo Chen had always used the Folding Jade Hand to process it. The Star Plucking Hand was considered an advanced art derived from the Folding Jade Hand, so it could naturally be used on blue smoke jade as well. Through ceaseless refining, his proficiency with the Star Plucking Hand soared rapidly.
Perhaps the only drawback was the sheer amount of time it consumed!
Earlier, Luo Chen had hoped to spend time raising several spells that had not yet reached Great Perfection, but lately he had no spare moments for that. Plans could never keep up with changes—unless his realm grew high enough to keep those changes firmly within his control.
"Cultivation realm..."
Having just finished a batch of Jade Dew Pills, Luo Chen muttered the words aloud in the alchemy chamber.
***
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Half a year later.
Inside Cave Dwelling B-17 on Danxia Peak, Luo Chen looked at the realm entry on his attribute panel.
[Foundation Establishment Layer 6: 10/100]
He nodded in satisfaction.
Concocting pills daily, casting his Great Perfection Healing Art at all times to repair Gu Caiyi's meridians, and polishing his foundation over half a year had finally allowed him to stabilize his realm.
Moreover, after refining the lingering clumps of spiritual qi he had absorbed and hoarded from Qingyun Peak, his cultivation had even advanced slightly.
Nine points on the progress bar in half a year was much faster than his regular cultivation speed. However, his future progress likely would not maintain such a pace.
Composing his thoughts, Luo Chen exited the cultivation chamber.
Sweeping his spiritual sense through the cave dwelling, a faint smile touched the corners of his mouth, and he walked outside.
The morning light was hazy as the mist slowly dispersed. Dense, fragrant spiritual qi drifted across Tianlan Peak. In the background, the thunderous roar of the waterfall crashing against the front face of Tianlan Peak faintly echoed.
Yet at this moment, Luo Chen's gaze settled upon a slender, graceful figure dancing lightly in the distance.
Beyond the spiritual fields lay a protruding boulder.
Gu Caiyi was dancing atop it.
Or rather, it was not dancing at all; it was simply that the movements of her fist technique appeared exceptionally graceful thanks to her slender, supple figure.
Luo Chen watched for a moment, then casually flicked a beam of spiritual qi from his finger.
It struck her directly at the Shanzhong acupoint.
*Pfft!*
Gu Caiyi's body paused briefly, but the next moment, her swinging arms carried noticeably more force.
Standing behind her, Luo Chen said in a low voice, "When cultivators refine qi, the spiritual qi nourishes the physical body in return. Thus, even without practicing body refinement arts, cultivators of our generation accumulate a vast reservoir of vital energy and blood. This Five Viscera Health-Nourishing Fist can mobilize the body's vital blood to nourish the five viscera. Practicing the fist is simultaneously circulating vital blood. Do not subconsciously channel your natal cultivation method; stretch and move your body according to the principles of body refinement."
Though Luo Chen's attainments in body refinement could not compare to Wang Yuan's, he was already outstanding among ordinary cultivators. Ever since the *Wang Clan Secret Manual* reached Master level, it had remained largely stagnant. The reason was that his primary technique, the Five Viscera Health-Nourishing Fist, was already fully mastered. Along with it, his body refinement realm had reached [Blood River Realm: 50/100]. To advance further, he would need to open acupoints and master the four distinct forces—obvious, hidden, transformative, and pelletizing.
Luo Chen did not have the leisure for that right now. But using his current understanding to guide Gu Caiyi was more than sufficient.
Ahead of him, clad in a form-fitting white practice robe, Gu Caiyi listened intently to Luo Chen's guidance, concentrating wholeheartedly on practicing the Five Viscera Health-Nourishing Fist developed by Wang Yuan.
With every session, she could feel her body growing stronger.
The plight of half a year ago—paralyzed in bed with atrophied muscles—felt like nothing more than a dream.
A nightmare!
And now, it was as if she were living inside a beautiful dream.
After a long while, as the sun slowly climbed into the sky, Gu Caiyi stopped her movements.
She turned around and jogged over to Luo Chen.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Luo Chen watched her run over without moving.
In the next instant, Gu Caiyi threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck and clinging to him like a koala.
Luo Chen reached out to support her and said helplessly, "How come I never noticed you were this clingy before?"
Gu Caiyi wrinkled her nose and breathed in his scent.
"I'm afraid the dream will end. Only when I'm holding you does everything feel real."
A refreshing fragrance emanated from her embrace.
Luo Chen gently patted her smooth back.
"Once you achieve Foundation Establishment, everything will be real."
"Whether I reach Foundation Establishment or not doesn't even matter anymore. If I can hold you like this every day, even if I grow old and die in your arms a century from now, it will be enough for me," Gu Caiyi murmured, nuzzling against his chin.
Hearing those words, a sudden pang struck Luo Chen's heart.
He, too, had once experienced a long, endless dream!
In that dream, he had lived through over two hundred years.
It held countless scenes that were vivid and nearly indistinguishable from reality.
Some of those dreams he had changed in reality—such as Min Longyu's failure to establish his foundation, or his own inability to find high-grade pills, leaving him stranded in late-stage Foundation Establishment.
Yet others had led to different outcomes because of his own proactive choices.
For instance, in the dream, Gu Caiyi had smoothly succeeded in her Foundation Establishment on her very first try. Yet in reality, his good intentions had instead caused her to suffer catastrophic injuries that nearly destroyed her cultivation and life.
Still, of all those dreams, two were etched most deeply into Luo Chen's memory.
One was falling into madness and failing Core Formation.
The other was sitting motionless atop Danxia Peak for ten days in the glow of the setting sun and scattered clouds, clutching the deceased Gu Caiyi in his arms.
Because of the former, upon waking from the dream, he had pursued cultivation resources far more proactively.
Because of the latter, upon waking from the dream, he had intentionally distanced himself from Gu Caiyi.
The affairs of the world were fickle, and now lovers had finally found their way to each other—or so it seemed!
Yet he would never allow himself to watch the woman he loved die in his arms a second time.
Just like right now—this was not a setting sun, but the dawn of a rising purple sun!
"Come down."
"Hmm?"
Gu Caiyi slid down from Luo Chen's embrace. Drenched in fragrant sweat from her practice, she looked at him in confusion.
Beneath her gaze, Luo Chen slowly opened his hand, revealing a medicinal pill.
"A Tier 3 Rebirth Pill. It reshapes the dantian and repairs the meridians.
"Your path—I will mend it for you!"
Chapter 355