Three months later.
Inside the main hall of the Jia-3 Immortal's Cave.
Luo Chen stared at the sparse, pitiful pile of resources before him, feeling completely dumbfounded.
"Don't tell me this is the entire net worth of an esteemed Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator?"
Pills: none!
Magical tools: not a single one!
Spirit stones: only one high-grade spirit stone and four hundred mid-grade spirit stones, amounting to roughly fifty thousand in total.
There were, however, two top-grade dharma robes, presumably meant to be rotated for daily wear.
As for talismans, there was a single Tier 3 Black Armor Talisman. Yet it wasn't an instant-cast talisman; it required time to charge beforehand, and it was single-use, making it rather lackluster. Its only merit was probably that its defensive power far surpassed ordinary Wutu or Jiamu Talismans.
In terms of magic treasures, aside from the Flowing Fire Fan that Zheng Xian had frequently used during his life, there was also a low-grade fire-attribute flying sword treasure. Its quality was decent, and it came with a built-in lethal technique.
There were two formation arrays: a spirit gathering formation and a concealment formation, though their exact efficacy remained to be seen.
There was, however, a massive pile of materials.
Iron crystals, copper crystals, quicksand gold essence, scarlet flame iron, molten fire ash...
From Tier 1 to Tier 4, virtually everything was present.
Moreover, the vast majority were fire-attributed ores and minerals.
There was even a piece of Tier 4 ore that Luo Chen was familiar with: Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal.
Altogether, these items barely matched the net worth of an ordinary Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
Yet they utterly failed to match Zheng Xian's status!
He had been at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment!
A figure second only to Golden Core Revered Masters!
Luo Chen took inventory of these resources with disappointment, but gradually, he came to accept the reality.
In truth, this was only logical.
What kind of person had Zheng Xian been?
An outcast of the Yan Alliance, expelled from the sect back in the mid Foundation Establishment stage, reduced to a mere rogue cultivator.
For him to cultivate to late Foundation Establishment after that had already been no easy feat.
To reach the Great Perfection stage, he must have poured every last scrap of his wealth and resources into the endeavor.
Furthermore, once one reached perfection in cultivation, ordinary pills and low-grade magical tools became useless to him; he would have certainly disposed of them as convenience dictated.
Even his spoils from the battlefield had likely all been liquidated and exchanged for resources he could use for cultivation.
What remained in this storage bag was precisely what best suited his actual circumstances.
Spare robes, magic treasures tempered over many years, mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones that could be drawn upon in battle... Every single item was something he had an immediate use for.
As for that pile of materials, judging by their attributes, quantities, and unique properties, it was obvious that Zheng Xian had been preparing in advance to forge his natal magic treasure once he formed his core.
After all, he hailed from a great artifact-refining sect.
He was naturally well-versed in conventional weapon-forging theory.
Planning the refinement of a natal magic treasure in advance according to his own needs and concepts was entirely standard practice—a prudent measure to prepare for a rainy day.
"What a pity. This blind box can only be called mediocre."
Luo Chen sorted the various resources into separate storage bags.
He kept all the spirit stones.
He already possessed three top-grade dharma robes, which was plenty to rotate through. These two extra robes could be sent to the Luotian Association to serve as exchange resources for members who reached Foundation Establishment.
The Tier 3 Black Armor Talisman he kept for the time being. Flawed though it was, its defensive power was genuine, capable of withstanding several attacks even from a Golden Core cultivator.
The Flowing Fire Fan and the flying sword magic treasures suited Luo Chen well.
Unfortunately, refining and binding magic treasures was far too time-consuming. Luo Chen was quite fond of his Profound Fire Sword, which he had tempered for many years, and had no intention of swapping it out for now.
Thus, he packed them into a storage bag as well, waiting for someone to take them back to the Luotian Association.
Whether kept for internal use or sold off to convert into spirit stones, they had their purposes, saving Luo Chen the headache.
He kept the concealment formation; it would prove extremely useful whenever he traveled outside.
As for the spirit gathering formation, it encompassed well over a hundred formation flags and compasses, clearly making it an ultra-large-scale array, perfectly suited for the Luotian Association's use.
From the pile of minerals, Luo Chen kept the high-tier materials, such as the Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal.
"Though I haven't formed my core yet, it doesn't hurt to start considering how to forge my future natal magic treasure.
"I'll store these materials away for now in case an opportunity arises to use them."
After finishing his tidying, only a few slender books remained on the floor.
Luo Chen picked them up and skimmed through them.
*He's Pill Treatise*, the core-formation insights of a Golden Core Revered Master.
*Fiend Mastery Art*, a secret art for manipulating fiend qi, straddling the line between a cultivation method and a spell technique.
*Zheng Xian's Dao Interpretations*, Zheng Xian's cultivation notes from the Foundation Establishment stage, which only recorded from the first to the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, leaving everything after the ninth layer entirely blank. Presumably, after reaching the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, he had not had the time to organize and complete it.
"For the Luotian Association, the greatest gain is that Tier 3 ultra-large spirit gathering formation.
"For me, these few books are actually the greatest harvest."
Taking advantage of his free time, Luo Chen flipped through them once more.
He paid particular attention to the *Fiend Mastery Art*, as it was the most worn, clearly having been studied often by Zheng Xian during his lifetime.
After browsing through it, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.
He recalled the brief clash between himself and Zheng Xian.
Back then, he had concealed himself within the eruption of earth fire, launching a sudden, violent strike.
With such abruptness, almost any Foundation Establishment cultivator would have found it difficult to react, even someone like Xuan Yu of Peach Mountain at the False Core realm.
After all, under such circumstances, magic treasures could not be mobilized in time, escaping with sheer speed was impossible, and defensive measures were limited at best to triggering innate dharma robes, whose effect against his ferocious assault was practically nonexistent.
Yet against all odds!
Zheng Xian had survived.
At that crucial moment, he had spat out a blast of violent qi, forcefully driving Luo Chen back at the cost of only a single arm.
Reflecting on it now, wasn't that violent qi a specialized type of fiend qi?
"Perhaps I can try dabbling in this *Fiend Mastery Art*."
Luo Chen was no stranger to fiend qi.
Whether Earth Fire Fiend or Underworld Yin Fiend, he had frequently come into contact with both.
Using them to refine pills or temper the body yielded extraordinary results.
Yet this *Fiend Mastery Art* nurtured fiend qi within oneself to wield as a combat technique.
It was only because Luo Chen had possessed a powerful physique at the time, and had himself undergone baptism in fiend qi, that he hadn't been blasted to death by Zheng Xian's breath.
Furthermore, when it came to fiend qi, he actually had quite a lot on hand!
He had acquired batches from Yanleizi, Zheng Tianfang, and several inner sect disciples of the Yan Alliance.
"If I fuse it into the Blazing Fire Miasma, I wonder what the effect will be?"
The sudden thought stirred Luo Chen's interest.
Upon transforming into his Heavenly Roc True Form, he could not only unleash the Cloud-Probing Divine Claw, but also deploy the Blazing Fire Miasma.
However, the latter was fueled by spiritual energy, substituting for the demonic qi of a fire-attribute demonic roc.
Luo Chen's fire-attribute spiritual energy could only be described as ordinary in quality.
It was merely on par with that of a typical Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
If he integrated Earth Fire Fiend into it, he would gain yet another formidable, high-powered technique.
Just as Luo Chen was indulging his imagination, his eyelids twitched. He beckoned toward the outside, and a voice transmission talisman flew in from outside the cave abode.
Upon activating it, Min Longyu's voice emerged.
...
Before long, Min Longyu entered the main hall.
Luo Chen had not restrained his aura; there was no need for such caution inside his own home.
Sensing the powerful aura radiating from him, Min Longyu's brow twitched.
"Association Leader, what realm are you at now?"
"Can't you tell?"
"It's strange. You clearly appear to be only at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, yet you give me an impression stronger than a great cultivator at the ninth layer—almost approaching someone at the Great Perfection."
Seeing Min Longyu's bewildered expression, Luo Chen couldn't help but smile.
He had noticed this phenomenon back when he was still in the Qi Refinement stage.
Due to his Five Spiritual Roots aptitude, his cultivation speed lagged far behind others.
Breaking through each minor boundary required four to five times more spiritual energy than an ordinary cultivator, and after Foundation Establishment, that requirement grew even vaster!
Yet beneath this drawback lay an immense benefit.
His spiritual energy capacity far exceeded that of cultivators at the same realm!
Though he was currently at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, the sheer volume of spiritual energy in his body was not inferior to a veteran ninth-layer cultivator, and faintly rivaled even Zheng Xian at the Great Perfection.
It was precisely because of this vast ocean of spiritual energy that he had the confidence to fight above his cultivation level, even battling enemies with spells that consumed the most energy.
"You've recovered quite well. Your spirit and qi are fully replenished, and while your realm hasn't advanced, your foundation feels far more solid than before," Luo Chen remarked after openly examining Min Longyu's condition.
Min Longyu smiled naturally. "I benefited greatly from that battle a year ago."
That brief sentence conveyed the full extent of his gains.
Luo Chen nodded.
In that battle, Min Longyu had contributed the most effort and slain the most enemies.
Just before his strength gave out at the end, he had even unleashed a Golden Core-level strike in an attempt to assassinate Qin Tairan.
Fighting at such high intensity naturally exposed more of one's own weaknesses; surviving and addressing them one by one had naturally fortified his foundation.
"By the way, here are the formation fundamentals and detailed restriction guides you requested, Association Leader—four books in total. Aside from the Min family's heritage and commentaries from other masters, my own insights are included inside."
"Good. Thank you for your trouble."
Luo Chen accepted them with solemn care.
Curious, Min Longyu asked, "Association Leader, do you intend to take up the path of formations as a secondary discipline?"
"I have that intention, but I won't put it into practice right away. I plan to read through the relevant texts first and build up some theoretical knowledge," Luo Chen said, looking down at the books.
Min Longyu nodded. "If that is the case, then you could actually try your hand at arts like calligraphy and painting, Association Leader."
"Oh? How so?" Luo Chen looked up.
He wore an expression of attentive listening, resembling a student consulting a teacher.
Min Longyu smiled faintly. "The fundamental principle of the Dao of Formations lies in perceiving the flow of mountains and rivers across heaven and earth, thereby borrowing the power of the world to create advantageous circumstances of timing and terrain..."
Listening to him explain step by step from the most elementary principles, Luo Chen felt several of his lingering doubts gradually resolve.
Heaven and earth possessed mighty power, formed entirely of nature!
Even without human invocation, certain grand forces of heaven and earth were more than sufficient to effortlessly obliterate living beings.
Raging floods, collapsing mountains, erupting volcanoes, shifting earth dragons...
Those were the grand manifestations.
On a smaller scale, there were natural labyrinths, mist illusions, heavenly thunder strikes, and more.
The Dao of Formations was the art of utilizing various resources to simulate these worldly powers.
For instance, common Five Elements formations simulated the cyclical rotation of the Five Elements in nature.
The Violent Thunder Wild Surge Formation that Luo Chen had handled personally was akin to catalyzing the birth of thunderclouds.
On Danxia Peak, the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Array built along the mountain slope drew upon the terrain and the power of clouds and sunset glow...
Thus, talent in the Dao of Formations was not merely reflected in common aptitudes like divine soul, spiritual energy, discernment, and experience.
A far more crucial talent was one's observation of the natural world.
Exceptional observational ability was the true mark of a formation master!
Min Longyu's observational skills were extraordinarily sharp—not just in observing nature, but also in reading human affairs and worldly dynamics.
Otherwise, he would not have abandoned the darkness for the light, throwing his lot in with Luo Chen so early on.
In the mortal world, certain remarkably talented individuals who knew nothing of cultivation could still arrange simple tactical formations by exploiting their geographical surroundings.
Aside from observational talent, there was also the talent for imitation.
One began by copying calligraphy and paintings, gradually transitioned to tracing formation patterns, and upon reaching mastery, imitated the contours of nature.
Once a cultivator mastered mighty power and comprehended heaven and earth, they could even set up formations directly by borrowing the forces of nature!
Mountains, great rivers, myriad atmospheric phenomena—nothing could not be turned into a formation!
Min Longyu was perceptive; he had realized that Luo Chen's talent for formations was rather ordinary.
Yet a minor talent like imitation could be honed through practice.
"If you wish to lay a solid foundation, merely reading this knowledge will only teach you what is done, not why it is done.
"Once you become familiar with the arts of calligraphy and painting, you can appropriately trace and depict patterns, which will be of immense help in laying formations!" Min Longyu explained slowly.
Luo Chen felt as though enlightened by a sudden burst of wisdom. He had felt that despite reading extensively, his progress had been exceedingly slow.
Even carving restrictions with his spiritual sense had been sluggish.
Thinking back now, it was because he possessed no foundation in calligraphy and painting!
Of course!
Reflecting on it at this moment, weren't the paths of restrictions and the patterns of formations simply intricate, interwoven threads that ultimately formed a single "painting"?
"Listening to your words is truly worth ten years of study!"
Luo Chen cupped his hands. "Master Min, you possess great talent!"
Min Longyu chuckled wryly. "Why has the Association Leader suddenly turned so scholarly?"
Luo Chen grinned. "In the past, I assumed formation masters and geomancers were essentially one and the same. Looking at it now, I see that formation masters and talisman makers actually share profound commonalities."
Min Longyu shrugged, conceding the point.
In fact, in his eyes, the Dao of Formations was the very foundation upon which the entire world was constructed.
Hence, the path of formations could integrate seamlessly with many of the hundred immortal arts.
Talisman crafting, geomancy, weapon forging, puppetry, and even the most common spiritual plant farming all involved formations.
The hundreds of spiritual fields that once graced Danxia Peak had flourished so well not solely because of the Agriculture Hall; Min Longyu had poured tremendous effort into them during the early stages as well!
"Right, I have a Tier 3 ultra-large spirit gathering formation here. Take it back with you!"
Luo Chen produced several storage bags filled with sorted resources that he had no use for.
He pointed one out specifically.
Min Longyu's eyes lit up. "An ultra-large spirit gathering formation? I've been researching these large-scale arrays for years. To think I'd be handed a pillow just as I was dozing off!"
Luo Chen nodded. "Yes. Take it back and set it up on Danxia Peak to see if it can boost the spiritual energy concentration a bit."
Min Longyu accepted it with delight.
At the same time, he remarked offhandedly, "If an array like this is paired with the immortal dwelling architecture of Mount Ailao, the results will only be better. As it happens, Mount Ailao is currently on rotation overseeing the immortal city. I can pay them a visit to consult on the matter."
Architecture influenced geomantic patterns.
Geomantic patterns influenced the operation of formations.
Though it sounded like mortal theory, buildings in the cultivation world were by no means simple decorations.
For Mount Ailao to establish a foothold in the Jade Cauldron Domain relying on this single craft, they naturally possessed unique expertise.
From small personal cultivation dwellings, alchemy chambers, and forging rooms, to immortal cities and the headquarters of major sects, the shadow of Mount Ailao could be seen everywhere.
At the mention of Mount Ailao, Luo Chen's heart stirred.
"Perhaps you could invite Elder Fei Ming, who is stationed in Tianlan, to visit our Danxia Peak and provide some guidance."
Min Longyu paused in surprise. "Would we be able to invite him?"
"It doesn't hurt to try!" Luo Chen smiled faintly. "Perhaps he will grant me that bit of face."
Min Longyu looked half-convinced.
Still, recalling that the elder had intervened during the Battle of Luotian, there might genuinely be a chance.
If a Golden Core elder of Mount Ailao could help redesign Danxia Peak, it would be an immense stroke of fortune!
After leaving behind the resources specially brought for Luo Chen, Min Longyu took his leave.
Resealing the cave abode, Luo Chen inspected the two pouches Min Longyu had delivered.
One contained various processed medicinal herbs meant for refining Jade Dew Pills, Nether-Passage Pills, and Spirit-Nurturing Pellets.
The other was a spirit beast pouch housing several live, small-sized spirit beasts meant for training his divine soul secret arts.
After taking inventory, Luo Chen stepped into the alchemy chamber.
Igniting the flame and opening the cauldron, he began refining pills.
...
Half a month later, word arrived from the Luotian Association.
Min Longyu had genuinely succeeded in securing Elder Fei Ming's services for a fee of one hundred thousand spirit stones.
Though it sounded like a hefty sum, for a Golden Core Revered Master, it was remarkably inexpensive.
The fact that they had managed to hire him at all sent waves of astonishment through many figures in the immortal city.
The Luotian Association's prestige was truly formidable!
Luo Chen knew this was likely connected to the century-old thunder blossom essence he had previously offered.
With a Mount Ailao Golden Core cultivator stepping in personally, the work was naturally done with utmost care rather than a perfunctory effort.
After inspecting Danxia Peak for half a day, Fei Ming presented a comprehensive reconstruction blueprint.
In the past, the Luotian Association's buildings had been too scattered, lacking coherent planning.
They were neither aesthetically pleasing nor suitable for cultivation, and some structures had severely impeded the circulation of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.
Under his blueprint, the crucial Nine Luotian Halls were completely reorganized.
The Luotian Main Hall, reserved exclusively for Luo Chen, was slated to be rebuilt atop the mountain summit.
First, this would showcase authority and majesty; second, it could serve as the central hub of Danxia Peak's grand array.
Furthermore, under his design, the spiritual energy concentration within the Luotian Main Hall would reach the peak level, matching at least a low-grade Tier 2 cave abode.
That way, the Foundation Establishment True Cultivators stationed at Danxia on a regular basis would have a proper environment in which to cultivate.
One could only say that when an expert made a move, the difference was immediately apparent!
Armed with the new blueprint, the Luotian Association threw itself into fervent reconstruction.
Numerous buildings were torn down, and new structures rose from the ground.
In merely a few months' time, Danxia Peak—once a chaotic dwelling for rogue cultivators—took on the towering, dignified grandeur of an immortal sect.
White jade paved the paths, bordered by groves of spiritual trees.
Birds and spirit eagles wheeled overhead amid swelling mists and shimmering sunset hues.
Stately buildings loomed half-hidden within the rolling clouds.
At a glance, it looked entirely like the mountain gate of a major sect.
And during those few months, Luo Chen had finally found time to unravel the storage bag left behind by Xuan Yu.
Inside the cave abode.
Luo Chen held a high-grade Wave-Swallowing Sea-Ingesting Pot, his expression grave beyond measure.
An overpoweringly rich fragrance wafted out, nauseating in its intensity.
Boundless illusions surged into his mind, as if countless souls were wailing in agonizing torment, spitting venomous curses.
Luo Chen gave his head a sharp shake.
The *Convergence of Myriad Paths* surged into motion, and the spirit-preserving method derived from *Bright Spirit Fiend Breaking* restored absolute clarity to his mind.
Looking upon the vast amount of cultivators' vital essence blood contained within, Luo Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
"This Xuan Yu committed an unfathomable slaughter!"
Chapter 414