On Tianlan Peak, within the Jia-3 Immortal's Cave.
As one of only three Tier 3 cave abodes in this artificial Tier 3 spirit ground, the moment Luo Chen stepped inside, he felt dense spiritual energy that was not inferior to a Tier 2 spirit ground.
And this was merely the central hall.
Had it been the quiet meditation chamber dedicated specifically to cultivation, it would undoubtedly be even better!
Letting his gaze wander, he noticed several rooms sealed off by formation arrays.
Those were places he was not permitted to enter.
Although he had permission to use the cave abode left behind by Haoran Zi, it did not mean he was entirely free to roam anywhere he pleased.
Luo Chen walked through the residence, feeling his mind gradually settle.
In total, there were only three rooms he was allowed to use: the cultivation chamber, the earth fire chamber, and a small study.
If one included the main hall, there were barely four.
He was already more than satisfied with this!
After all, wasn't his primary goal the cultivation chamber? Everything else was merely secondary.
Luo Chen went to the earth fire chamber first and took a cauldron out from his storage bag.
It was neither quite a pot nor quite an urn.
This was none other than the Shangshu Cauldron given to him by Fairy Jueqing years ago—a damaged alchemical vessel originally of Dharma treasure grade.
Its offensive and defensive powers had long been lost, leaving only its pill-refining function intact.
Over the past few years, whenever he had had occasion to refine pills, he had ceased using the Ice Emperor Tripod and turned to this vessel instead.
Through repeated experiments, he had already grown thoroughly familiar with it.
Setting down the pill cauldron, Luo Chen made his way to the study.
The empty study contained nothing.
With a flick of his hand, beams of spiritual light flashed out, arranging books onto the empty shelves.
There were paper tomes, secret scriptures written on beast parchment, bamboo slips, and jade slips.
Recorded on a wide variety of materials, the contents covered a vast array of subjects.
Not stopping there, Luo Chen thought for a moment and spread open a cloth sack he had carried up with him.
Before his eyes lay a dense cluster of storage bags.
Every sort of storage bag was present, emblazoned with diverse patterns and emblems.
This indicated that they all came from vastly different origins.
Luo Chen’s gaze swept across them. Coiled around the bags were lingering traces of bloody reek, baleful aura, and spiritual energy, which also reflected the status and fates of their previous owners.
None of these storage bags could have belonged to the weak.
At the very least, their former masters had been cultivators at the mid Foundation Establishment stage!
Some hailed from the Sword Sect, some from the Yan Alliance, and there were even a few from the Four-Sect Alliance.
All of these were the spoils of war Luo Chen had amassed in recent years.
Because time had been tight, he had never found the opportunity to crack their restrictions.
Now that the Luotian Association was short on spirit stones and he himself was in need of resources, unsealing them during his leisure would serve as a fine supplement!
"Quite a few of these belonged to true disciples of major sects. The haul shouldn't be small."
Having put those away, Luo Chen returned to the main hall. With a thought, he unclasped a spirit beast pouch.
Several relatively small demon beasts were released and promptly corralled inside a formation array prepared beforehand.
"My methods concerning the soul are still too few."
"The Soul Intimidation Art and Spirit-Befuddling Technique I currently know both require living targets for practice."
"This batch of demon beasts is still not enough. I'll have Huiniang help me gather another batch later."
Tossing a few Spirit-Nurturing Pellets inside, Luo Chen closed the formation.
"The basic preparations are done. What follows is step-by-step cultivation."
Straightening his robes, Luo Chen calmly pushed open the door to the cultivation chamber.
A turbulent surge of spiritual energy rushed out to meet him.
Furrowing his brows slightly, Luo Chen stepped firmly inside.
Now that his physique had reached the Primeval Tier 3 level, a pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground, which once would have exerted tremendous pressure on him, was no longer a burden.
In fact, he felt he could easily withstand even a true Tier 3 spirit ground.
However, cultivation was a matter of gradual accumulation; taking unnecessary risks served no purpose.
A pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground was more than sufficient for his current needs.
Closing the chamber door, Luo Chen initially intended to take out his personal prayer mat, only to find one already laid out inside.
"It seems Haoran Zi did leave something behind for me after all!"
He inspected the prayer mat and found it was remarkably of Dharma treasure grade.
Its design was archaic, plainly showing significant age and not something crafted in recent years.
Perhaps Haoran Zi had simply forgotten about it when clearing out the abode?
Luo Chen shook his head, examining the treasure-grade prayer mat thoroughly. Once certain there was nothing amiss, he sat down upon it.
Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he returned to an emotional state calm as an unruffled well.
Gradually, the Ageless Evergreen Scripture began to circulate on its own.
His formidable soul, already at the level of Foundation Establishment Level 9, manifested as an externalized spiritual sense leaping out of his sea of consciousness, actively gathering and capturing spiritual energy from the surrounding air.
Furthermore, Luo Chen’s lips parted slightly from time to time, drawing long, slender currents of spiritual light into his body like miniature dragons.
This was the Qi-ingestion technique from Myriad Dao Convergence, capable of refining both the physical body and spiritual Qi.
Now, with a three-pronged approach, Luo Chen's efficiency in absorbing and refining spiritual energy instantly multiplied!
Time flowed slowly by.
……
Ten days later.
Luo Chen slowly awoke from his deep meditation.
Feeling the condition inside his body, he let out a comfortable, long exhale.
The difference that a powerful physique brought to cultivation was not noticeable under ordinary circumstances, but inside this pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground, its true potential had fully erupted!
Back when he spent that year in the Dao Child Hall of Azure Pill Valley, his utilization of a pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground had been far from complete.
The boost to his cultivation efficiency had only been seven or eightfold.
This time, however, he had achieved a full tenfold increase!
"This truly makes up for my deficiency in cultivation pills."
A harsh reality had once confronted Luo Chen: relying on Soaring Dragon Pills to cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment Level 7 had caused him to develop drug resistance.
Even when he took top-grade Soaring Dragon Pills from Level 5 to Level 7, the medicinal efficacy had been mediocre at best.
Once he reached the seventh level, Soaring Dragon Pills ceased to have any effect on him whatsoever.
At the time, powerful enemies had pressed close on all sides, leaving him no leisure to consider alternative cultivation pills for the future.
Now, with the support of a cave abode in a pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground, he could temporarily cultivate without relying on pills.
His current cultivation speed was already exceptionally fast!
With a thought, Luo Chen brought up the status panel.
The light screen cascaded down like water.
[Lifespan: 53/260]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 7 (2/100), Primeval Tier 3 (5/100)]
[Cultivation Methods: Ageless Evergreen Scripture (Grandmaster 680/1000), Myriad Dao Convergence (Proficient 250/300), Myriad Beast Scripture (10/100)]
[Spells:
Tier 3: Ninety Thousand Miles (Grandmaster 501/1000), Mirror Flower Water Moon (Adept 107/200), Life-Severing Finger (Initiate 1/100)
Tier 2: Water Mirror Art (Grandmaster 577/1000), Flower Fairy (Adept 150/200), Spirit-Befuddling Technique (Adept 189/200), Grass-Mowing Geng Metal Sword Art (Adept 125/200), Five Elements Viscera Restoration Art (Initiate 75/100)
Tier 1: Soul Intimidation Art (Grandmaster 509/1000), Bone Restoration Art (Proficient 239/300)
Consummate Spells (Click to view details)]
[Alchemy Arts: Pure Origin Subtle Pill Method (Grandmaster 970/1000), Primordial Nurturing Hand (Perfection 412/500), Scale Turning Hand (Initiate 45/100), Star-Plucking Hand (Perfection 344/500). Consummate Alchemy Arts (Click to view details)]
[Martial Arts: Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw (Proficient 271/300), Blazing Fire Miasma (Initiate 75/100), Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers (Grandmaster 571/1000), Mountain-Splitting Stele-Breaking Palm (Consummation)]
[Professions: Tier 2 Alchemist, Tier 2 Physician
Tier 2 Pills: Dust Descending Pill (Initiate 10/100), Emperor's Flowing Syrup (Initiate 9/100)
Tier 1 Pills: Blood Burning Pill (Consummation), Spirit-Nurturing Pellet (Adept 180/200), Consummate Pills (Click to view details)]
[Achievement Points: 29]
At first glance, Luo Chen's eyes fell straight upon the Realm column.
He barely even paid attention to the increase in his maximum lifespan following his advancement.
Looking at the progress bar, a satisfied smile touched his lips.
Ten days!
By diligently cultivating in a pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground for ten days, his progress had advanced by one point.
In other words, give him a thousand days—less than three years—and he could complete his cultivation of Foundation Establishment Level 7 and advance to Level 8!
Such was the might of a Tier 3 spirit ground!
Even if it were merely a sub-tier, pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground, its amplification of cultivation was terrifying.
Without such a spirit ground, even if he managed to find medicinal pills comparable to top-grade Soaring Dragon Pills, traversing this minor stage would take at least twenty to thirty years.
No wonder when he saw Tao Wan last time, he noticed she was already approaching the Foundation Establishment Consummation stage.
Her supply of resources and spirit grounds was not inferior to his in the slightest; having such progress was only natural.
"If I could permanently possess a pseudo-Tier 3 spirit ground, I might reach Foundation Establishment Consummation in merely several decades."
"Unfortunately, this cave abode was only temporarily lent to me by Haoran Zi."
"If he were to die in..."
Irrepressibly, a somewhat dark thought surfaced in Luo Chen's mind.
Yet he swiftly brushed it aside.
Haoran Zi was a decent man; cursing him to meet an untimely death was truly uncalled for.
Besides, with his current vast lifespan and steady, methodical cultivation, he was bound to reach Foundation Establishment Consummation well before his years ran dry. Why covet this single Tier 3 cave abode?
Compared to that, the obscure secrets of cultivation that the knowledgeable Haoran Zi occasionally shared were undoubtedly of greater value.
It was better for him to stay alive!
It was rare enough to know a kindhearted Golden Core Superior.
His progress in Qi refinement satisfied Luo Chen greatly.
However, his progress in body refinement left him somewhat dissatisfied.
Three years had elapsed, yet the progress bar had advanced by a meager five points.
And this was during the earliest phase, when progress was supposed to be fastest!
Once he reached the later stages, it would inevitably slow even further.
Reaching Primeval Tier 4 might take three to five centuries, or even longer!
Such slow progress was linked to the body-refining art he had developed himself, Myriad Dao Convergence.
This technique had been born from Luo Chen's vast accumulation of knowledge.
Yet precisely because that foundation was so extensive, the technique turned out relatively complex and diverse.
Every minor realm and phase of physical cultivation contained finely delineated tempering methods, requiring matched resources such as pills, medicinal herbs, ores, and baleful energies.
Unless Luo Chen abandoned his cultivation of the Immortal Dao to focus solely on it, the tedious, labyrinthine steps would simply overwhelm him.
"Never mind!"
"Strengthening my physique was originally intended to serve my pursuit of the Immortal Dao. I cannot put the cart before the horse."
Luo Chen set aside the thought of pushing his body refinement further for now.
For one thing, the path ahead was shrouded in fog and could only be charted by his own groping. In contrast, the path of Qi refinement had long been pioneered by countless forebears; there was no need to bash his head against an unfamiliar road.
For another, Myriad Dao Convergence clearly took the path of refining a human form into a demonic beast body.
While primeval demon beasts possessed tremendous physiques, that strength was accumulated across vast stretches of time.
Their natural lifespans spanned thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
Even if he shortened each phase tenfold, it would still require hundreds or thousands of years.
It was simply too slow!
It was not even as straightforward as the path of Qi and blood walked by Wang Yuan.
His current powerful physique was already sufficient to carry him through the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core realms.
As for whether he would need a larger vessel in the future, that was a matter for later.
Glancing further down the panel, there was little change in his spells.
Ninety Thousand Miles, a Tier 3 movement spell integrating multiple arts, had reached the Grandmaster level; upon assuming his Heavenly Roc True Form, its power would double.
Mirror Flower Water Moon had reached the Adept level, yet it remained unfit for real combat.
The Water Mirror Art was at Grandmaster level, having advanced quickly. After all, the technique was simple, and its progression scaled directly with the depth of the cultivator's soul.
Two new spells had appeared: the Five Elements Viscera Restoration Art and the Bone Restoration Art.
He could practice them more in the future; should anything go awry with his cultivation, he would be capable of saving himself.
Under the Martial Arts column, two new entries had surfaced: the Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw and Blazing Fire Miasma.
These had been secondary abilities attached to the Heavenly Roc Transformation.
Now that he could assume the Heavenly Roc True Form, using them came naturally.
They functioned somewhat like the innate divine abilities of demon beasts.
As for alchemy, setting aside lesser matters, the Pure Origin Subtle Pill Method that Luo Chen cared about most was stuck at [Grandmaster 970/1000].
The slow progress of this technique defied imagination.
How many years had passed? What happened to reaching consummation within a decade?
He had mastered it to a high degree, yet that final step toward absolute perfection refused to yield no matter what.
He even suspected that Huo Hu had exaggerated its ease and concealed details when selling it all those years ago.
Without him noticing, his Achievement Points had reached 29, once again approaching the threshold of 30.
After reviewing the panel, Luo Chen gained a clearer understanding of his current state.
Much of the haze obscuring his future path was swept away.
"What I need to do moving forward doesn't differ much from my prior plans."
"Reach Foundation Establishment Level 8 as soon as possible!"
"Refine a large quantity of supreme-grade Secluded Nether Pills for Chu Kui and myself to prepare for the Curtain of Locked Pearls secret art. I also need to craft Jade Dew Pills from time to time to maintain ties with Ice Fort, which remains one of my vital sources of wealth."
"The Soul Intimidation Art and Spirit-Befuddling Technique must both be elevated to the Consummation stage. Not only will this bolster my soul-based combat methods, but it might also aid the Curtain of Locked Pearls."
"Crack open those storage bags as soon as possible. With my soul strength at Foundation Establishment Level 9, combined with the formation lore Min Longyu provided, I should be able to save a substantial amount of time."
Luo Chen had accumulated a substantial collection of storage bags belonging to mid- and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Inside lay the bulk of the wealth those cultivators had gathered throughout their lifetimes!
If he could thoroughly digest them, he could reverse the destitute state brought on by the Battle of Luotian and use the materials to reinforce the foundations of the Luotian Association.
Having determined his future tasks, Luo Chen began allocating his time.
Cultivating, refining pills, practicing spells, reading, and unsealing storage bags.
Every day, every minute, and every second was packed to the brim.
……
Time flew like a shuttle; days passed like a white colt leaping across a crevice.
One year later.
Inside the main hall, Luo Chen sat with eyes closed before a storage bag.
His externalized spiritual sense acted like a delicate hand, deftly manipulating the cramped compartments within the storage bag.
At the same time, the fingers of both his hands continuously formed spiritual hand seals.
Looking closely, his gestures were identical to the restriction-casting methods employed by formation masters laying out an array.
Suddenly!
A clattering sound rang out, like a stack of wooden blocks collapsing.
Triggered by a chain reaction, the previously stable spiritual sense imprint on the storage bag dissolved layer by layer in an instant.
With a thought, Luo Chen's spiritual sense plunged inside.
"Out!"
With a loud rustle, a small mountain of goods piled up within the main hall.
Opening his eyes, Luo Chen did not look at his spoils of war right away.
Instead, he happily rotated his wrists.
This was the third storage bag belonging to a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator that he had cracked open.
His greatest harvest was neither the tens of thousands of spirit stones nor the various resources inside, but his growth in understanding restrictions!
To deal with the spiritual sense imprints on these bags, Luo Chen had borrowed a large number of formation texts from Min Longyu.
He had no intention of relying on clumsy, grinding effort to force them open as he had in the past.
Instead, he decided to study formation theory first and then crack the spiritual sense imprints methodically.
He had done similar things passively over the past few decades.
This time, the initiative was his own.
And surprisingly, he had made tangible progress.
"Low-tier formation masters construct grand arrays with the aid of tools, spirit stones, and terrain."
"High-tier formation masters, as their cultivation deepens, integrate their souls into their craft, allowing them to lay, control, and dismantle formations using restrictions alone."
"To achieve great results with modest means—this is precisely the principle."
"Now that I have mastered over a hundred common minor restrictions, cracking these storage bags has become effortless."
"I might even attempt laying out formations myself."
The formidable reputation of formation masters was widely known across the cultivation world.
Pills, formations, artifacts, and talismans—formations ranked second, which spoke volumes.
Luo Chen had personally heard of and witnessed many mighty formations.
The Heavenly Work Spirit Seizing Formation of Ghost-God Valley had endured for centuries.
The Ten Thousand Swords Killing Formation of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect struck terror into gods and ghosts alike.
Tianlan Immortal City possessed the Heaven One Generates Water Grand Formation within, and the Tianlan Grand Formation without, safeguarding an entire region.
Even if these had little direct connection to Luo Chen, Min Longyu’s repeatedly miraculous performances were living proof that the rumors were true.
Whether during their hostile days in the breaking of Crescent Moon Valley and the battle of Gaoling Plain, or later under his command with the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Formation, the Nine Revolutions Flaming Dragon Formation, and the Violent Thunder and Raging Surges grand formation—every one of them was a powerful formation capable of fighting foes well above the user's realm once prepared!
It was fair to say that so long as a formation master had sufficient time to prepare, they could forge miracles.
Whether facing multiple opponents alone or overcoming a stronger foe from a position of weakness, they inspired supreme confidence.
After all, they could craft an entire battlefield environment where favorable timing, geographical advantage, and harmony among people belonged entirely to them!
"Perhaps I should consider studying formations on the side?"
Standing before the mountain of spoils, Luo Chen fell into contemplation.
It was not that he envied Min Longyu or the sheer prowess of formation masters.
Rather, he realized he genuinely possessed the foundational qualities needed to become a qualified formation master.
First was abundant resources!
The entire wealth of the Luotian Association was at his disposal.
Second was the profound depth of his soul, which surpassed even Min Longyu’s.
Third, he possessed spirit eyes nurtured over many years, granting him mastery in the art of Qi observation to perceive the flow of spiritual energy and vitality. With some study of geomancy and feng shui, he could easily qualify as a geomancer.
Formation masters and geomancers were often inextricably linked.
Finally, he had Min Longyu as a teacher!
Wang Yuan had once known nothing of formations either.
Yet under the guidance of Duan Feng and Min Longyu, hadn't he learned one or two formations as well?
If Wang Yuan could manage it, there was no reason Luo Chen could not!
Over the years, the only secondary craft Luo Chen had formally cultivated was alchemy.
His medical knowledge had merely developed as a byproduct of practicing spells and tempering his physique, requiring virtually no focused effort.
He had acquired treatises on talisman crafting and artifact forging before, yet had never entertained the idea of pursuing them.
Learning crafts was meant for earning cultivation resources, and alchemy alone was more than enough for him.
Formations, however, were different. Even if unused for earning resources, their utility in battle and in aiding cultivation was immense.
Yet after careful consideration, Luo Chen suppressed his restless impulse.
"I cannot rush!"
"Alchemy alone consumes an immense amount of my energy. Taking on formations now would divide my attention far too much."
Luo Chen had always known when to hold on and when to let go.
Even with body refinement being exceptionally strong, he could weigh priorities and pause it when appropriate.
Studying formations could remain a long-term plan for the future.
For now, it was not worth mounting a major effort to learn.
He could dabble and accumulate knowledge, but he would leave serious study until after he formed a Golden Core.
Forming a Core meant not only an explosive leap in strength and cultivation realm, but also an expansive lifespan.
Only a vast lifespan provided a cultivator the confidence to branch out into other pursuits!
Formidable high-tier cultivators often practiced multiple arts.
Fairy Jueqing, whom Luo Chen knew best, had clearly studied talisman crafting on the side.
Her Black Ice Talismans were certainly not something an ordinary talisman master could create.
Having calmed his thoughts, Luo Chen's gaze swept over the pile, and he swiftly and deftly selected the items he needed.
First were spirit stones totaling seventy thousand in value.
Most were low-grade, with only about two hundred mid-grade spirit stones and not a single high-grade one.
Luo Chen was unfazed.
High-grade spirit stones were rare, typically circulating only among Golden Core Superiors.
Over all these years, he had accumulated only three high-grade spirit stones in total, and all of them had been consumed during the Battle of Luotian.
Next were medicinal pills. After inspecting the bottles and jars, he found only two bottles of top-grade Qi-Gathering Pills; the rest held little value for him.
Finally, there were miscellaneous resources.
Luo Chen plucked out two Tier 2 defensive talismans and a spare peak-grade defensive magical artifact.
The rest was swept into a separate storage bag in one go.
In a couple of days, someone would come to collect these items and dispose of them.
"I'll take it slow. I still have plenty of storage bags on hand."
"Honing my soul techniques and mastering restrictions while extracting the resources I need—with occasional unexpected windfalls—feels just like opening blind boxes."
A smile played at the corner of Luo Chen's mouth.
This could be counted as a rare pleasure amid his austere cultivation.
The peak-grade defensive magical artifact obtained this time was a small bell, which would make a fine gift for someone.
Turning his thoughts to the remaining bags, he placed two at the very front of the line.
One had belonged to Xuan Yu of Peach Mountain, the central figure in the Blood Demon legend of the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield.
The other had belonged to Zheng Xian, the renegade disciple of the Yan Alliance and commander of the forces in the Battle of Luotian.
These two were bound to hold extraordinary treasures.
After all, one was a Pseudo-Core cultivator, and the other was at Foundation Establishment Consummation; the fortunes they carried could hardly be meager.
Chapter 413