In the Luotian Association of the past, Wang Yuan had served as the inner substance with his peerless combat prowess, while Luo Chen had been the public face.
Under normal circumstances, when traveling abroad, outsiders would look upon the cultivators of the Luotian Association with greater respect—and even offer slight courtesies—solely on account of Luo Chen's standing as an alchemist.
Whenever trouble arose that demanded battle, Wang Yuan was the main fighting force.
Yet as Luo Chen grew stronger and the enemies the Luotian Association faced grew correspondingly formidable, that dynamic began to shift.
By the late Foundation Establishment stage, Luo Chen had effectively become the sole iconic figure of the Luotian Association.
Especially after his successful Core Formation!
Elevated by his dual identity as a Golden Core cultivator and a Grandmaster Alchemist, the rise, fall, honor, and disgrace of the newly established Luotian Sect rested almost entirely upon his shoulders alone.
For Luo Chen, this did not feel like much of a burden in daily life.
For the sect's long-term development, however, it posed a grave vulnerability.
If any misfortune were to befall Luo Chen, the Luotian Sect would lose both face and substance in an instant. The consequences would mirror... the Lianyun Merchant Alliance!
Through multiple major battles and devastating losses, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance had managed to cling to life only because Great Elder Lianyun remained alive.
Yet the moment Great Elder Lianyun fell, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance teetered straight on the brink of collapse.
Its assets were drained of marrow and picked clean by the surrounding powers of Tianlan Immortal City.
The Luotian Sect had been one of the scavengers, seizing the initiative under Luo Chen's lead to secure the prime shop alongside several well-established trade routes.
If the Luotian Sect wished to avoid meeting the same fate in the future, early plans had to be made to nurture the next generation.
Among the older generation, figures like Wang Yuan, Chu Kui, Sima Huiniang, and Gu Caiyi could all hold their own.
Yet in the younger generation, aside from Qu Lingjun possessing a modest reputation, the rest had lived far too comfortably under the shelter of Luo Chen and the others.
That was why he wished to push Zeng Yilong, the son of his late friend, to the forefront.
If Zeng Yilong grew well, then even if the powerful vanguard of Luo Chen, Wang Yuan, and Chu Kui were to perish, he would be capable of safeguarding the sect.
Moreover, he possessed the potential.
Aptitude, resources, and cultivation techniques had all been firmly established by his forebears. All he lacked was combat experience to round out his shortcomings.
His father, Zeng Wen, had possessed remarkable martial instincts, and Wang Yuan had personally mentored him for years. Translating theory and latent talent into reality through actual combat would make him well-rounded.
Without realizing it, Luo Chen's mentality had diverged from a rogue cultivator's disregard for whatever deluge might follow his death, steadily shifting toward that of a great sect founder planning for posterity.
Or perhaps this was the true meaning of "inheritance"—not bound by superficial forms, but an inheritance of spirit.
***
After Jiang Yu departed with the ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Luotian Alliance carried on as though nothing had happened, continuing their daily routines as before.
Yet it only *seemed* that way.
In truth, subtle shifts were already quietly taking place.
The surviving disciples of the Myriad Manifestations Sect huddled even closer together, growing increasingly guarded against outsiders. Their Eldest Senior Brother and two capable Foundation Establishment True Cultivators had been sent off this time; who could say who would be dispatched next?
Living beneath another's roof, one had no choice but to lower one's head.
Yet if they kept their heads bowed for too long, the Myriad Manifestations Sect would eventually be carved up and absorbed by the alliance's three primary factions.
Over at Wind and Rain Villa, Diwu Qi kept a low profile and rarely stepped outside. Having acquired a natural Tier 3 spirit vein proved immensely beneficial to his cultivation, and he seemed intent on seizing this opportunity to sprint toward the mid Golden Core realm.
Cen Qiusheng took the opposite path.
He spent a fortune to hire Fu Jiusheng and Min Longyu to remodel the low-grade Tier 3 cave estate on Huimeng Ridge into two pseudo–Tier 3 cave estates.
He did not move into either of them himself.
Instead, he arranged for two clan members at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment to cultivate within: Cen Guangyi and Cen Guanghui.
In other words, he had abandoned his own cultivation progress, pinning all his hopes on the younger generation of his clan.
These developments were invisible on the surface, but a man of Luo Chen's acumen easily pieced them together through reports from subordinates and his own keen perception.
*This works out fine. Though everyone harbors their own designs, they are at least strengthening the alliance's overall power.*
*As long as I stand here, this alliance will not make waves.*
So Luo Chen reasoned.
Of course, he did not remain idle either.
If Diwu Qi broke through to the fourth layer of Golden Core, the alliance's balance of leadership would likely be thrown into question.
Consequently, he did not slacken his own cultivation in the slightest.
If anything, he applied himself even more diligently than before!
Previously, he had lacked proper conditions, leaving his Golden Core Layer 1 progress stagnant for years. Now that he possessed both a spiritual ground and an abundance of medicinal pills, he had no reason to sit around.
Aside from studying formations and practicing secret arts, he poured all his energy into cultivating.
Under these conditions, his cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds, progressing day after day.
***
Two years later.
Inside the cave estate.
Luo Chen stared into the empty air before him, sinking into contemplation.
[Lifespan: 115/402]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Golden Core Layer 1 (58/100), Desolate Ancient Tier 3 (25/100)]
[Cultivation Methods: Burning Wood True Art (Perfection 395/500), Convergence of Myriad Paths (Grandmaster 517/1000), Myriad Beast Scripture (15/100)]
[Spells:
Tier 4: Dragon Severing Art (Proficient 175/200)
Tier 3: Innate Primordial Great Handprint (Grandmaster 627/1000), Mirror Flower, Water Moon (Grandmaster 521/1000), Micromote Origin Art (Perfection 457/500), Life-Severing Finger (Initiation 15/100)
Tier 2: Flower Fairy (Great Circle), Spirit-Befuddling Technique (Great Circle), Grass-Mowing Geng Metal Sword Art (Great Circle), Five Elements Viscera-Restoring Art (Great Circle)
Tier 1: Limb Reattachment Art (Great Circle)]
[Martial Arts: Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw (Grandmaster 590/1000), Blazing Fire Miasma (Grandmaster 521/1000)]
Great Circle Spells (Click to expand)
[Alchemy Arts: Scale Turning Hand (Perfection 417/500), Great Circle Alchemy Arts (Click to expand)]
[Professions: Tier 3 Alchemist, Tier 2 Physician
Tier 3 Pills: Fanxing Pill (Great Circle), Nether Origin Pill (Initiation 6/100)
Tier 2 Pills: Emperor's Flowing Syrup (Initiation 99/100)
Great Circle Pills (Click to expand)]
[Tier 1 Formation Master:
Tier 3 Formations: Yinwei Formation (Great Circle)
Tier 1 Formations: Spirit-Gathering Formation (Initiation 5/100), Sharp Metal Formation (Initiation 1/100), Jia Wood Formation (Initiation 5/100), Cangyuan Formation (Initiation 3/100), Fire-Gathering Formation (Initiation 5/100), Armor-Solidifying Formation (Initiation 1/100)]
[Achievement Points: 75]
Upon reaching the Golden Core stage, a cultivator's divine soul underwent a profound metamorphosis, granting acute senses and near-photographic memory.
Whether his raw wisdom had increased was difficult to say, but he could process complex, tedious information far more rapidly.
With just a single sweep of his eyes, Luo Chen formed a clear grasp of what his cultivation efforts had yielded over these past years.
A century to form his core, followed by ten years consolidating the realm to step firmly into Golden Core Layer 1.
For the two years after that, he had made virtually no progress.
Yet once he settled down in the Howling Moon Mountain Range and gathered all the necessary external conditions, his cultivation speed erupted like a volcano.
Three years!
In merely three years, he had pushed his Golden Core Layer 1 progress past the halfway mark.
Moreover, he had ground the proficiency of the Burning Wood True Art to Perfection, placing it not far from Grandmaster.
At this pace, another three years would give him immense confidence in breaking through to Golden Core Layer 2.
*I wonder how Diwu Qi's cultivation is progressing?*
*His aptitude is solid, but he only has a low-grade Tier 3 cave estate, and for medicinal pills he relies solely on the low-grade Fanxing Pills I supplied, which cannot compare to my top-grade Fanxing Pills.*
*Even if his aptitude outstrips mine, in terms of cultivation speed, he is bound to fall far behind.*
Of course, such blistering progress came at an exorbitant price.
In just two years, his expenditure on medicinal pills had reached a staggering 1.5 million spirit stones.
All the spirit stones the Luotian Sect generated for him had been poured into this pursuit.
Even that had fallen short, requiring supplementary payments from the goods he sold to other Golden Core cultivators.
One could say that among Golden Core cultivators whose net worth was counted in millions of spirit stones, Luo Chen's expenditure on cultivation resources placed him among the most extravagant.
Such rapid progress was sustained entirely by heaps of resources!
What Luo Chen prioritized above all was his cultivation realm.
As for the other entries on the panel, he paid them little heed.
His Tier 1 and Tier 2 spells had reached Great Circle one after another, which was entirely within expectations.
With his vast pool of spiritual power and no need to worry about training space, grinding proficiency for these low-tier spells was a swift, straightforward matter.
Tier 3 spells were considerably harder. Mirror Flower, Water Moon in particular progressed sluggishly despite being one of his primary focuses.
Still, it was moving forward step by step.
On the alchemy front, it had been quite some time since he acquired new alchemical texts or techniques.
Even among pills, the only one he concocted on a regular basis was the Tier 3 Fanxing Pill.
Barely worth mentioning was the Tier 2 recipe for Emperor's Flowing Syrup, used for Foundation Establishment.
In the midst of an opening war, beast flesh was never in short supply.
Whenever intact beast carcasses became available, he would personally take them to concoct batches of Emperor's Flowing Syrup.
At his standing, keeping one or two realm-breaking secret arts or pills for the sect's internal use was standard practice.
As long as they were not sold externally, major alchemical sects like the Medicine King Sect would turn a blind eye.
Luo Chen had refined several dozen portions of Emperor's Flowing Syrup with the sect's future in mind.
Now that they possessed spiritual ground, the sect had the opportunity to rise. Yet at the level of their core pillar—Foundation Establishment True Cultivators—their numbers remained insufficient.
If the Luotian Sect truly aimed to ascend to the status of a great sect, then beyond the hard requirement of three Golden Core cultivators, it would need around a hundred Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
Otherwise, their commercial operations would never expand.
Presently, the twenty-odd Foundation Establishment members of the Luotian Sect strained just to support Luo Chen alone.
If three Golden Cores truly coexisted in the future, they would bleed the sect completely dry.
After reviewing these entries, Luo Chen's gaze settled upon the newly unlocked row.
Formation Master!
Tier 1.
Yet surprisingly, an eye-catching entry was inscribed right above it: [Tier 3 Formation: Yinwei Formation (Great Circle)]!
"This is another fruit of my cultivation over these past years,"
Luo Chen smiled faintly.
As for why he remained a mere Tier 1 Formation Master despite knowing how to lay a Tier 3 formation, he had long understood the reason.
His foundations were not solid.
Among Tier 1 formations, he had only learned the most rudimentary Spirit-Gathering Formation, along with five elemental formations studied for the future crafting of his natal magic treasure. What was more, he had only reached Initiation in them, never practicing them deeply.
Under such circumstances, even after grinding the Yinwei Formation to Great Circle, he remained nothing more than an unranked Tier 1 Formation Master.
"Still, this is plenty."
"A Great Circle Yinwei Formation should inscribe seamlessly onto my flesh without any mishaps."
Glancing at his reserve of seventy-five achievement points, Luo Chen closed the attribute panel with a casual thought.
Then, he retrieved a large batch of materials from his storage ring.
Looking over them, Luo Chen nodded almost imperceptibly.
These were materials Min Longyu had prepared for him well in advance over the years, specifically meant for inscribing a formation upon the body!
The quantities provided were several times what was needed, ensuring that if Luo Chen expended too much during the process, he could quickly replenish the stock.
"Inscribing a formation upon the flesh..."
Luo Chen murmured softly. His loose Daoist robe slid from his shoulders and pooled onto the table, revealing a lean, impeccably sculpted physique!
It did not boast the boiling, torrential vitality of Wang Yuan, who resembled a roaring furnace.
Nor did it resemble Zeng Yilong's delicate face paired with sinewy, knotty muscles like some demonic iron brute.
By contrast, Luo Chen, who had practiced pure body refinement, possessed remarkably sleek and fluid muscular contours.
The impression he gave... was akin to a roc spreading its wings to soar across the boundless sky.
Handsome and valiant, yet far from grotesque.
As he stretched his limbs and joints, a crisp crackle echoed through the chamber like clashing steel.
With his body cleared of all adornments, Luo Chen raised both hands. A batch of mineral ores flew into the Shangshu Cauldron.
Roasting beneath his source true fire, they melted into a shimmering pool of multicolored liquid.
When the final black Tier 4 mineral dissolved within, the multicolored brew abruptly collapsed into an ink-black mass.
Ink?
Staring at the dense fluid, Luo Chen took a deep breath. Channeling his power, he guided an upper-grade magic tool Jinzhu brush to dip into the thick ink.
Once it was thoroughly saturated, he maneuvered the Jinzhu brush to trace formation runes across his skin.
Chest, back, limbs, facial features.
Even the soles of his feet and the crown of his skull were not spared.
To ensure complete coverage, Luo Chen had even sheared away his lustrous black hair without hesitation.
Composed of countless obscure prohibitions, the Yinwei Formation ranked firmly at Tier 3!
Having replicated and refined it to the Great Circle, Luo Chen had eliminated virtually all flaws, rendering its performance comparable to a Tier 4 formation.
When Luo Chen had set it up once before, Min Longyu had been left dumbfounded in admiration, asserting that such a Yinwei Formation might even conceal him from Nascent Soul True Monarchs!
To allow this formation to exert its full power, not a single corner of the body could be neglected during the inscription.
Even if the ink did not coat every inch of skin, the intersecting formation runes had to weave across every fine contour and junction.
Before long, Luo Chen had traced the complete Yinwei Formation across his body.
"Now, I just wait for my flesh to absorb these runes."
A smile touched Luo Chen's lips. He hovered naked in midair, letting his body absorb the heavy ink.
Yet as time ticked away, the expression on Luo Chen's face darkened until it looked as gloomy as the ink itself.
He looked down at his palms. The thick ink clung stubbornly to the surface, showing not the slightest inclination to seep into his flesh.
*It won't integrate?*
*What is going on?*
Frowning in uncertainty, Luo Chen began searching for the cause.
First, he had mastered the formation completely.
Second, the materials were correct, and their proportions had been precisely prepared by Min Longyu.
Which meant...
"The problem can only lie with this Desolate Ancient Tier 3 body of mine!"
Luo Chen drew a sharp breath, faintly discerning the truth.
The most improbable cause was often the precise one!
He had never imagined that the beast-grade physique he had relied upon as a trump card during Foundation Establishment would become the primary barrier preventing him from inscribing the formation.
In recent years, especially after refining the Convergence of Myriad Paths upon forming his core, he had frequently tempered his flesh with source true fire, causing his physique to grow increasingly formidable.
What had been a blessing had now turned into an obstacle.
Truly, made by the body, undone by the body!
Yet while Luo Chen was no stranger to setbacks, he had never once resigned himself to defeat.
"If a magic tool Jinzhu brush won't cut it, what about a magic treasure flying sword?"
A fierce glint flashed in Luo Chen's eyes. The Profound Fire Sword dropped before him.
This time, the sword tip pointed not outward, but inward!
As the blade sliced across his chest, opening a bloody gash, a muffled groan slipped past Luo Chen's lips.
Being slashed by someone else was an entirely different matter from cutting oneself.
Even with prior mental preparation, Luo Chen still found it hard to stomach.
"Seeping blood will disrupt the formation runes."
"Burn it!"
With a thought, source true fire swirled over Luo Chen's skin, instantly scorching away the newly welling blood.
As the dense ink seeped into exposed flesh and bone, a searing, bone-deep agony ripped across his entire body.
"Damn it!"
"Slow absorption and forced inscription are on entirely different planes of agony!"
Luo Chen growled through gritted teeth, but his hands did not pause for an instant.
The Profound Fire Sword quivered continuously, slicing open fresh paths as ink poured in. Luo Chen even divided his focus further, forming continuous hand seals to cast obscure prohibitions woven from spiritual power.
Gradually, beneath the gruesome lacerations, black lines crawled across Luo Chen's body like writhing earthworms.
Seen from afar, the sight was terrifying to behold!
Chapter 493