Tao Wan took her leave.
As the leader of a sect, she had a multitude of responsibilities to attend to. The sect had provided her with a spiritual ground, aided her Core Formation, and even prepared her natal magic treasure in advance. None of this came without a price. Managing all manner of mundane sect affairs for Azure Pill Valley was the cost she had to bear.
Naturally, this cut heavily into her cultivation time. Yet cause and effect demanded their due; she had to pay an appropriate price. She deeply envied her Eldest Senior Brother, Danyangzi, who could currently devote himself wholly to quiet cultivation and the study of the Dao of Alchemy. At the same time, she harbored a sense of shared sympathy for Luo Chen, who haggled over every copper and bustled about to form an alliance.
Without power, influence, or the backing of elders, some people were simply destined for a life of ceaseless toil. By comparison, her life was vastly more comfortable than Luo Chen's. That was why she occasionally revealed an expression of admiration toward him. If someone like her, shielded beneath a sect's wing, already found handling such affairs troublesome, then how much harder must it have been for a mere rogue cultivator like him to reach this point?
Luo Chen himself was not indulging in self-pity. He was riding high on success, brimming with pride and ambition. Although he had been personally receiving one Golden Core cultivator after another lately, carefully weighing every word in conversation, he had long grown accustomed to such dealings. Reaching the Golden Core stage truly granted him immense confidence. At the very least, he no longer had to bow with profound deference or address every single Golden Core cultivator as "Master."
Sure enough, no sooner had he seen off Tao Wan than he found himself surrounded by words of praise once again.
"Brother Luo, you really became a Golden Core cultivator! If my grandfather knew from beyond the grave, his eyes would pop out in shock."
In the small mountain courtyard, Chen Shuyi looked at Luo Chen with an expression of pure worship. The grandfather she spoke of was, of course, Old Daoist Chen, who had set up a stall alongside Luo Chen all those years ago.
He had passed away fifty years prior, having exhausted his lifespan at the age of ninety. For a Qi Refinement cultivator, that was considered quite a short life. Yet it had not been entirely unexpected. In his early years, he had made a living through talisman crafting, and to earn more spirit stones to support his granddaughter's cultivation, he had also taken up the craft of treating talisman pelts. Those talisman pelts were not made of paper or bark, but beast hides! Spending decades in such an environment, how could his life not be shortened?
Back at Dahe Mill, he had already appeared decrepit and withered in his sixties. Later, after much upheaval, he had traveled tens of thousands of li to the Divine Talisman Domain. Once there, he had set up a stall of his own and resumed his old trade. Ultimately, he had reached the end of his lifespan and perished. Perhaps to him, the sole comfort before his death had been witnessing his granddaughter successfully establish her foundation.
Thinking of his old acquaintance, Luo Chen felt a tinge of melancholy. For a fleeting moment, the noisy scenes of them setting up stalls side by side seemed to replay right before his eyes.
He shook his head and offered a jade bottle.
"What is this?" Chen Shuyi asked curiously as she took it.
Luo Chen smiled. "A bottle of Jade Dew Pills. It might help you break through the third layer of Foundation Establishment and step into the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."
Chen Shuyi's eyes lit up, and she instantly hugged the jade bottle tightly against her chest.
Seeing her reaction, Luo Chen was puzzled. "The Divine Talisman Sect is a superior Nascent Soul sect after all. Are medicinal pills in such short supply?"
Beside them, Fu Xiuxiu let out a sigh. "It is precisely because it is a superior Nascent Soul sect that there are so many disciples! The internal competition is fierce, and making a name for oneself is unimaginably difficult. Little Shuyi established her foundation in her forties, which would be outstanding for a rogue cultivator, but within the sect, it is barely ordinary. She receives no special treatment."
"Doesn't she also inherit Old Daoist Chen's talisman craft? Surely she can..."
Before finishing his sentence, Luo Chen stopped himself. Talisman craft? What the Divine Talisman Sect lacked least was talisman craftsmanship. In fact, within the Divine Talisman Domain, virtually all businesses related to talismans were monopolized by the Divine Talisman Sect and the various clans within it. There was simply no room for Chen Shuyi. Factoring in the time she had to spend on rotating regional business duties and tending to sect properties after establishing her foundation, the fact that she had managed to cultivate to the peak of the third layer was already a testament to her immense effort.
That was how cultivation worked in top-tier great sects. Resources were limited and opportunities were scarce, yet competition was boundless.
Luo Chen cast an affectionate look at the descendant of his old friend, then turned toward Fu Xiuxiu. "Sister Xiuxiu, you have done quite well for yourself. You are already a grand cultivator of the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment."
She had left Dahe Mill over eighty years ago and was barely over a hundred years old now. To possess such cultivation at her age meant the Golden Core stage was well within reach!
Fu Xiuxiu shook her head. "I merely took advantage of my constitution. Furthermore, because I succeeded in Foundation Establishment in my second year after entering the sect, Elder Ye took notice of me and accepted me under his tutelage. That is the only reason I achieved this level. Compared to you, it amounts to nothing at all."
She made it sound effortless, but the hardship involved had surely been immense.
With Luo Chen's current breadth of knowledge, he naturally understood Fu Xiuxiu's constitution. It was the rare Descending Marsh Physique. Though inferior to Li Yingzhang's Nine-Bend Circuitous Physique, her spiritual power in daily cultivation resembled the pure lake water at the edge of a great marsh—remarkably refined. That was why she had dared to force a breakthrough into Foundation Establishment back then without a Foundation Establishment Pill; even in failure, she had been assured of preserving her life.
Just as before, Luo Chen took out a bottle of superior-grade Jade Dew Pills and offered it to her.
Fu Xiuxiu felt embarrassed to accept it. "We didn't even bring a congratulatory gift for your Core Formation, so how could I take your present?"
"It is not a gift, merely a token of my regard. Besides, bringing Fellow Daoist Ye Xiang along to congratulate me and elevate the prestige of my Luotian Sect was already a grand gift in itself!"
"Master was merely passing through Tianlan on his way elsewhere. When I mentioned you, he came by out of curiosity to take a look, that's all."
Seeing Fu Xiuxiu decline, Luo Chen's expression turned serious. "Back then, when you gave me that Moonlit Grass, I accepted it without hesitation. Now it is merely a bottle of pills. To a grandmaster alchemist renowned across the cultivation world, this is entirely negligible. Sister Xiuxiu, do you still intend to refuse?"
Fu Xiuxiu parted her lips, unable to protest further, and accepted it.
Watching her stroke the jade bottle, Luo Chen sighed internally. The demeanors of both women differed greatly from years past. Clearly, life within the Divine Talisman Sect required treading on thin ice and was far from easy.
Their subsequent conversation only reinforced this realization once he learned of their reason for coming.
A war of expansion carried great risks, but also great opportunities. Those with substantial wealth naturally had no desire to take such risks. Only those lacking deep foundations, like Fu Xiuxiu and Chen Shuyi, would volunteer to come to the front lines to earn cultivation resources. Chen Shuyi, in particular, had only secured a spot by riding on Fu Xiuxiu's coattails.
Indeed, even going to the battlefield required an allocated quota!
From this alone, one could see how cutthroat the competition within the sect was.
"It seems we share the same plight after all," Luo Chen said with a smile.
Fu Xiuxiu looked at him with curiosity. "Do you also plan to participate in the war of expansion?"
Luo Chen nodded.
Chen Shuyi was bewildered. "Brother Luo, you are already a renowned alchemist with countless people flattering you. Why take such risks?"
Luo Chen sighed but offered no elaborate explanation.
Fu Xiuxiu gave Chen Shuyi's hand a gentle squeeze, stopping her from questioning further. She understood that beneath any brilliant exterior lay unspoken tribulations. If nothing else, Danxia Peak beneath their feet was a mere Tier 1 spiritual ground, utterly unworthy of Luo Chen's cultivation stage. His ambitions were vast; compared to the tangible progress of one's cultivation, the vanity of public prestige paled in significance.
After a pleasant conversation, Luo Chen took his leave. Before departing, he pulled aside Gu Caiyi, who had been reminiscing alongside them, and sent her a quiet voice transmission.
"Select two high-quality, low-grade magic treasures from the warehouse and present them before they depart tomorrow."
Gu Caiyi was puzzled. "Could they be lacking magic treasures?"
"They are!"
With Luo Chen's acute divine sense, he could easily tell that Chen Shuyi carried no aura of a magic treasure. Furthermore, he understood clearly that the Jade Cauldron Domain was entirely different from the Divine Talisman Domain—or rather, distinct from most other cultivation domains. It was the behind-the-scenes manipulation by Tianfan City that had led to the proliferation of inferior magic treasures across the Jade Cauldron Domain. Other cultivation domains were governed by their own regional overlords, who would never permit Tianfan City to run amok in such a manner.
Even an inferior magic treasure possessed destructive power far exceeding that of a top-grade magical tool. To a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, it was an indisputable lethal trump card.
In fact, it was highly probable that Tianfan City had fanned the flames behind this war of expansion that now swept across twenty-seven sects. After all, given the durability of magical tools and magic treasures, they could be used for a century, handed down for another, and patched up for yet another century. Without war, how could they be consumed? How could they be replaced?
Without damage and destruction, how could a supreme artifact-crafting sect like Tianfan City profit?
As his cultivation advanced, Luo Chen's horizon broadened considerably; several earlier speculations had now turned into certainties in his mind.
In his view, the Falling Cloud Sect's sudden assault on the Yan Alliance years ago, just as the regional war was about to wind down, had most likely been instigated by Tianfan City. Tianfan City was well-informed and knew that the emergence of the Soul Formation ruin would inevitably draw cultivators from the sacred ground of the Mingyuan Sect. Once the powerhouses of the sacred ground arrived, an internal war within the Jade Cauldron Domain would be forbidden to continue. Under the sacred ground's mediation, human conflict would inevitably be redirected outward into a war of expansion. Thus, eliminating the Yan Alliance in advance—a rival artifact-crafting sect—cleared the board for Tianfan City to reap even greater profits later on.
To Luo Chen, this speculation was nine parts out of ten the truth! Otherwise, there was no explaining why the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had refrained from rescuing the Yan Alliance and instead turned around to attack Azure Pill Valley. Both sides had clearly fought a coordinated war of unspoken understanding, each eliminating the faction that posed a threat to itself. This mutual understanding existed not only between the Falling Cloud Sect and the Sword Sect, but also between the Sword Sect and Tianfan City.
Having attained his current standing, Luo Chen could already catch glimpses of the grand picture and decipher the strategic maneuvers of great sects and superior sects. The only aspect that still eluded his comprehension was the immense scale of this war of expansion.
Although the Howling Moon Mountain Range was vast, far surpassing the Jade Cauldron Domain, it hardly warranted mobilizing the might of twenty-seven sects. Previously, he had assumed that Master Canglong of the Ice Fort was plotting something. But since Master Canglong had failed to form a Nascent Soul, she naturally could not raise her own banner and launch an independent war of expansion at the same time.
It was precisely this lingering doubt that had led Luo Chen to form a tripartite alliance! With too many monks and too little porridge, carving out a share without sufficient strength was impossible. He even felt that the Luotian Alliance was somewhat lacking in power, which was why he continued to maintain cordial relations with Golden Core sects like the Ice Fort and Azure Pill Valley just in case.
***
During the half-month wait leading up to the tripartite covenant, Luo Chen did not remain idle. He spent the time studying the iron slip Tao Wan had given him.
Perhaps because of his reputation for keeping his word, or perhaps due to his deep ties with Azure Pill Valley, the valley had been exceptionally generous in this collaboration. Even before Luo Chen had actually stepped forward to help refine the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, Tao Wan had handed over the iron slip detailing the natal magic treasure in advance.
Where a natal magic treasure was concerned, Luo Chen was naturally meticulous.
Inside his cultivation cave, Luo Chen looked at the blank iron slip in his hands, stroking it as he extended his divine sense to cover its surface. Soon after, archaic characters surfaced one by one.
"The Hunyuan Cauldron..."
According to Tao Wan, Azure Pill Valley possessed crafting methods for three types of cauldron-type natal magic treasures: the Hunyuan Cauldron, the Liangyi Cauldron, and the Glazed Cauldron.
The Azure Sky Glazed Cauldron, currently renowned throughout Azure Pill Valley, had been forged using the Glazed Cauldron method by their founding ancestor, who had nurtured it to the high-grade magic treasure rank before passing away. Over countless years, through constant refining by successive generations of disciples, its grade had remained intact while its might had grown even more formidable.
Each of the three cauldrons had its unique virtues. The Glazed Cauldron, once crafted, enhanced the grade of medicinal pills. In the hands of its master, it often produced miraculous effects, frequently allowing one to refine pills above one's current grade. For an alchemist, it was undeniably an extraordinary choice! Azure Pill Valley naturally could not bear to part with the crafting method for such a treasure.
Even so, the Hunyuan Cauldron was exceedingly remarkable in its own right.
Hunyuan—chaos unified as one, the origin of primordial qi! It encompassed all things, lacking nothing.
The conceptual premise sounded loftily grand. The literal claim was naturally impossible; not even Nascent Soul True Lords or Soul Formation experts could make such boastful assertions. When grounded in practical reality, however, the description proved quite fair.
The advantage of the Hunyuan Cauldron lay in the fact that if an alchemist used it as their natal magic treasure, it could be applied to refining virtually any type of pill. The cultivation world held countless pills, and naturally countless refining methods. Many pills imposed drastically different requirements on the refining apparatus used. Mainstream pills typically relied on ordinary cauldrons, but certain formidable pills demanded exceedingly strict specifications.
Some required an apparatus of a single, unadulterated attribute—for instance, a furnace crafted exclusively from metal-attribute materials without a trace of any other element. Others forbade any metallic substances entirely, requiring innate or companion materials to encase the concoction. There was even the so-called "living refining method," which used a living creature as a vessel to refine pills. Such requirements were exceptionally rigorous.
Luo Chen had not encountered these issues previously only because his cultivation had been insufficient and the variety of pills he refined had been limited. But as his realm advanced, continuing down the Dao of Alchemy would almost certainly bring him face-to-face with such predicaments. The Hunyuan Cauldron could resolve this very problem! So long as the demands were not utterly perverse, the Hunyuan Cauldron could satisfy nearly all of them.
In other words, if Luo Chen truly forged the Hunyuan Cauldron, he would never need to carry any other refining apparatus in the future.
Moreover, the Hunyuan Cauldron possessed secondary effects, such as suppression and defense. These were bonus traits.
Finally, there was a shared advantage among Azure Pill Valley's three cauldrons: they could advance in rank through the absorption of pill qi!
Cultivators who refined pills year-round carried faint traces of pill qi on their persons. In reality, far more residual pill qi clung to the refining apparatus itself! Alchemists typically purged this residual qi, as an excessive accumulation of mixed, impure pill qi would contaminate subsequent batches. That was why Luo Chen had always instructed his subordinates to thoroughly cleanse his cauldron after every refinement session.
Pill qi was harmful!
Yet the three cauldrons of Azure Pill Valley did the exact opposite, absorbing all manner of residual pill qi to facilitate the magic treasure's advancement. It sounded almost miraculous, but Azure Pill Valley had indeed achieved it. The reason their sect-protecting treasure, the Azure Sky Glazed Cauldron, had maintained its grade over so many generations was that it was regularly brought out for alchemists of all ranks across the valley to use, nurturing the precious cauldron with the residual pill qi they left behind!
"If I adopt the Hunyuan Cauldron as my natal magic treasure, combining daily alchemical flame tempering with my high frequency of pill refinement, I will surely be able to raise its grade rapidly.
"Such an advantage truly outstrips other magic treasures by far."
No wonder it was said that an alchemist's natal magic treasure was best chosen from among alchemical apparatuses. Setting aside offensive and defensive capabilities, the merits of rapid tempering and rapid grade advancement were more than enough to offset any shortcomings.
After merely perusing the iron slip a few times, Luo Chen had already decided to make this treasure his natal magic treasure! The descriptions on it were simply too enticing.
"However, the materials required to craft this thing are far too numerous," Luo Chen murmured.
For the Hunyuan Cauldron to accommodate the refinement of most pills and even provide suppression and defensive effects, it naturally could not be forged from ordinary materials. As Luo Chen scanned the text line by line, the names of the rare materials made his eyelids twitch.
Geng Metal, Black Sinking Wood, Cold Marrow, Fire Spirit Diamond, Origin-Tracing Clay.
The five primary materials all started at Tier 3 at minimum! Moreover, from the attributes of these primary materials, one could see why the treasure was named the "Hunyuan Cauldron." Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were all present—a complete, unified whole!
Beyond that, the list of auxiliary materials was staggering.
Black Iron, Ink Lead, Quicksand Refined Gold, Soft Thunder Sand, Xuanluo Gold, Copper Essence...
Finally, the iron slip noted that it would be best if one could incorporate heavenly materials and earthly treasures, along with mineral ores of various attributes such as wind, lightning, ice, and darkness. Upon studying it carefully, Luo Chen understood why it suggested that the more rare ores added, the better: it was all to achieve that intended harmony of "Hunyuan."
"An ordinary Golden Core cultivator would likely fail to gather all of these in an entire lifetime.
"Only someone of immense personal wealth could possibly pull this off.
"It truly is a natal magic treasure tailored specifically for alchemists!"
Alchemists were, after all, notoriously flush with wealth. As a renowned alchemist who had also claimed spoils from numerous battles, Luo Chen was naturally quite affluent himself. Even though he had few spirit stones on hand at the moment, back during Foundation Establishment he had already considered the need to craft a natal magic treasure upon forming his core, so he had forbidden the Luotian Association from selling off any mineral-related resources.
Cross-referencing the Hunyuan Cauldron's material manifest, he took inventory one item at a time.
Among the five primary materials:
Geng Metal—he had one piece.
Black Sinking Wood—lacking.
Cold Marrow—he had two bottles of Ice Soul Cold Marrow, presented to him by Fairy Jueqing on behalf of the Ice Fort during his Core Formation Grand Ceremony. It satisfied the water-attribute requirement while also carrying the ice attribute.
Fire Spirit Diamond—lacking.
Origin-Tracing Clay—he actually had three jin on him, obtained from Fei Ming in a trade back when he had sought to treat Murong Qinglian's severed arm. Treating her had only required two liang of Origin-Tracing Clay, so after gifting her four liang, a great deal still remained, which was more than enough to meet the Hunyuan Cauldron's requirements.
"So for the primary materials, I only lack Black Sinking Wood and Fire Spirit Diamond. Also, the amount of Geng Metal is somewhat meager; I must find a way to gather more.
"As for auxiliary materials, although there is a vast variety, given my years of accumulation, I am not missing many. Any shortfalls can be collected by having the Luotian Sect cultivators keep an eye out for them.
"Heavenly materials, earthly treasures, wind, lightning, ice, darkness... these are likely meant to supplement the attributes beyond the Five Elements.
"I have accumulated a substantial amount of Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal. As a Tier 4 ore, it is inherently suited for crafting magic treasures and can count as a heavenly material. Earthly treasures, though... where am I to find an earthly treasure?"
The "heavenly materials and earthly treasures" recorded in the iron slip did not refer to conventional precious resources in the casual sense; they literally meant materials from the heavens and treasures of the earth. Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal was a renowned heavenly material in the cultivation world. It could reconcile materials of differing attributes, enabling their mystical properties to interconnect harmoniously. Not only that, but Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal even possessed a trace of growth potential. Incorporating it as a primary material in forging a natal magic treasure would raise the treasure's upper limit!
Additionally, as a Tier 4 mineral, Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal held numerous wondrous uses: conducting qi, fusing substances, accommodating spiritual power, neutralizing impurities, and more. That was precisely why it was dubbed a "Heavenly Crystal." Years ago, Fei Changqiu of the Divine Craft Sect had offered a piece of Tongxuan Heavenly Crystal as payment to persuade Zuo Song of the Iron Sword Hall to fight on his behalf. That crystal had ultimately fallen into Luo Chen's hands. Over the years, through various spoils of war, Luo Chen had gradually accumulated quite a bit more.
"I'll take it one step at a time. At least for lightning-attribute materials, I possess eighteen Thousand-Year Thunder Essences. On that point alone, I surpass ninety-nine percent of Golden Core cultivators."
He had the diagram for the natal magic treasure. Most of the auxiliary materials could be gathered. Once all five primary materials were assembled, he could proceed with the forging. The remaining rare materials were merely the icing on the cake, meant to elevate its ceiling.
Furthermore, crafting the Hunyuan Cauldron required mastering several formations in addition to gathering the materials. Otherwise, even if the materials were melted together, they would amount to nothing more than a magic treasure embryo. Regarding the formations, Luo Chen planned to transcribe them for Min Longyu to study, though he would examine them himself as well. On top of that, he intended to seek out Duan Feng to learn artifact crafting, even if only to master the rudiments. Otherwise, when the time came to use the Wither-Bloom Fire to forge the magic treasure embryo, grave errors would surely occur.
Weighing all these considerations, Luo Chen could not help but let out a long sigh.
"So many matters to attend to!
"Though this war of expansion is an opportunity for me, it consumes an enormous amount of time. I only hope it ends as soon as possible."
Regarding the war of expansion, Luo Chen did not harbor extravagant hopes of stumbling upon a Nascent Soul opportunity. All he sought was a large Tier 3 spiritual vein to serve as his cultivation grounds and provide a habitat for the Luotian Sect.
***
Luo Chen transcribed the formations required to forge the Hunyuan Cauldron and handed them over to Min Longyu to study. He also paid a visit to Duan Feng to learn the basics of artifact crafting.
Given his current realm, picking up the rudiments of a new craft was remarkably simple. In truth, for most high-stage cultivators, learning the basics of common cultivation crafts from scratch was not difficult at all. The real difficulty lay in the constraints of natural talent, which prevented one from advancing as far or delving as deeply as those gifted in the craft. Combined with the pressure of limited lifespans, high-stage cultivators typically specialized in only one or two arts.
Luo Chen harbored no ambitions of achieving greatness in artifact crafting. He merely wished to understand basic ore treatment and how to harmonize different material properties. Duan Feng naturally had no reason to refuse his request. Not only did he impart everything he knew without reservation, but he also made rubbings of the various artifact-crafting manuals he had collected over the years and presented them to Luo Chen.
In addition, Luo Chen handed the manifest of required mineral ores to Sima Huiniang, instructing her to have the Luotian Sect cultivators gather them as best they could. Even if they encountered items they could not afford to purchase, they were to keep track of their locations.
In this manner, half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, five Golden Core cultivators gathered atop Danxia Peak!
Arriving side by side were Diwu Qi and Jiang Yu, while Cen Qiusheng led the cultivators of the Cen Clan. The three of them instantly focused their attention on the red-faced middle-aged man standing there.
Fu Jiusheng!
A rare rogue Golden Core cultivator in the world of cultivation, hailing from the Medicine King Domain. He had previously been a herb gatherer of considerable renown. Diwu Qi and Cen Qiusheng had met him earlier at Luo Chen's Core Formation Grand Ceremony, where they had exchanged introductions. What did his presence at the covenant meeting signify?
"Does Fellow Daoist Fu also intend to join the Luotian Alliance?" Diwu Qi could not help asking.
Fu Jiusheng looked toward Luo Chen.
Luo Chen stood tall and smiled candidly. "Fellow Daoist Fu is now a guest elder of my Luotian Sect. Naturally, he has a share in this alliance meeting!"
At these words, Diwu Qi, Jiang Yu, and Cen Qiusheng exchanged glances. Although Luo Chen was the primary figure in this alliance—to the point where it bore the name "Luotian"—they had mostly intended to leverage his reputation as a grandmaster alchemist. After all, the cultivation world held great reverence for grandmaster alchemists; in times of conflict, others would usually yield some ground out of respect.
Borrowing his name was one thing, but Diwu Qi and his companions had still wished to hold the dominant sway. Yet now, with the addition of the Golden Core guest elder Fu Jiusheng, the Luotian Sect stood on equal footing with Wind Rain Manor. As for the question of dominance...
While they hesitated, Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What? Are the three of you unwilling to welcome Fellow Daoist Fu into our ranks?"
Chapter 465