Inside Zhoukong Hall.
A tall, slender figure looked helplessly at her visitor.
"Why have you been disturbing me so frequently of late?"
Youquan seemed entirely oblivious, paying no heed to Qingshuang's exasperation.
She said earnestly, "It's time for you to lend a hand."
Qingshuang froze, subconsciously looking in a certain direction.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through the thick stone walls and across the great distance, coming to rest upon that top-grade third-tier cave estate.
"Has he begun?"
"Yes. Luo Chen has remarkable comprehension; he grasped the crux of the First Nirvana Realm on his own. However, the cultivation technique left behind by the Primordial Monarch only mentioned the Three Nirvanas, without detailing the corresponding Nine Tribulations. I'm afraid he might not hold out, so you'll need to watch the situation and step in to help."
Understanding dawned on Qingshuang.
She gave a gentle nod.
"Rest assured. If anything goes awry, I will intervene immediately."
Even as she spoke, a strand of formidable divine sense settled upon Luo Chen without him noticing in the slightest.
Just then, Qingshuang's brows knitted tightly.
"The Qi Sea Tribulation has already begun."
Almost the moment the words left her mouth, Luo Chen's body shuddered violently inside the cave estate.
His qi sea, vast as an ocean, erupted into a roaring blaze in an instant.
It seemed as though it were terraforming the very environment of the qi sea, transforming it into a boundless domain of fire.
At the same moment, Qingshuang's expression changed slightly.
"No, this person's foundation is far too profound! His qi sea was expanded according to the most standard five spiritual roots qualification. His Qi Sea Tribulation is accompanied by a Spiritual Root Tribulation!"
Before her voice had faded, Luo Chen, far off in his cave, let out a stifled grunt.
His golden core whirled rapidly, unleashing an extraordinarily immense force that swept aside the coils of Wither-Bloom True Fire encasing it.
As the golden core spun, the rich heaven-and-earth spiritual energy within the cave estate surged toward him in a torrential flood of the five elements.
No distinction between self and other, no distinction of attribute—a perfect balance of the five elements!
Under the reinforcement of these five streams of spiritual energy, the process of converting wood to fire, which had been progressing flawlessly, suddenly cracked.
Although fire-attributed magic power still held dominance, the other four elements, bolstered by the ambient spiritual energy of their respective attributes, managed to fight fire to a standstill.
Youquan looked as though she had anticipated this all along.
"The *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* conceals spiritual roots to allow fire to reign supreme, creating the illusion of cultivating as a pseudo-heavenly spiritual root. Naturally, it brings with it a Spiritual Root Tribulation.
"Moreover, five spiritual roots are inherently no weaker than a heavenly spiritual root, so the backlash is all the more terrifying.
"That is precisely why I asked you to keep an eye on him, lest something go wrong."
Catching the implication in her words, Qingshuang shot her a glance.
"Do you need me to isolate him from the ambient spiritual energy now?"
Youquan waved a wing. "No need at all! The fiercer the external spiritual energy, the better. As long as he survives this tribulation, the converted fire magic power will not only be exceptionally pure, but also vast in quantity, ensuring his magic power's profundity is in no way inferior to his previous five-element state."
*She wants it all!*
Qingshuang shook her head. "Isn't that being too greedy?"
"Greedy? No, Xiao Qing, you underestimate Luo Chen." Youquan cackled. "Just look at his physique."
Qingshuang reflexively extended her divine sense, using a technique that was as gentle as a silent spring rain yet pervasive and inescapable, infiltrating every inch of Luo Chen's body.
Gradually, the more she observed, the more astonished she became.
"Strange. Why is his physical body so remarkably similar to our demon race?"
This time, Youquan offered no explanation.
Under the uninterrupted gaze of the two, the transformation within Luo Chen's body progressed steadily.
Time slipped by, and the qi sea gradually reformed into a sea of fire, far better suited for storing and tempering fire-attributed magic power.
Far from overwhelming the fire magic, the vast torrents of five-element spiritual energy rushing in from outside were refined by the operation of the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* into surging waves of magic power, coursing through the boundless realm of fire.
From the look of it, the Qi Sea Tribulation and Spiritual Root Tribulation were about to be overcome.
"Then the last one should be the Golden Core Tribulation," Qingshuang murmured. Yet she instinctively shook her head. "Though that might actually turn out to be the easiest tribulation to pass."
When a cultivator advanced from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, even without external tribulations, they had already undergone an internal trial.
Consequently, the transformation of the golden core was familiar territory for Luo Chen.
As the final wisp of wood-attributed magic power was thoroughly converted and he circulated the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* once more, not a single trace of impure magic power remained within his body—only impeccably pure fire magic power.
Not only that, but even the originally multicolored, five-hued golden core whirled continuously until the other four colors gradually faded away, leaving behind a solitary, crimson core.
Within that boundless sea of fire, it hung like a newly risen morning sun.
Brilliant and mighty!
"The Three Tribulations have passed; Ultimate Nirvana is achieved. From this day forth, Luo Chen remains a five-element golden core in essence, but his cultivation speed is now fully equal to that of a cultivator with a heavenly spiritual root." Youquan spoke with strange excitement, chattering incessantly.
Qingshuang, on the other hand, showed a hint of regret on her face.
"A physique comparable to primeval demonic beasts, and a spiritual root aptitude in complete, five-element balance. Even without switching to the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*, his future achievements would have been boundless. Now, his path has narrowed."
Youquan sneered. "Xiao Qing, you think too much. Leaving aside the fact that him cultivating all five elements offers us no benefit whatsoever, the thin spiritual energy in the Mountain Sea Realm alone would never support him cultivating all five elements to Soul Formation and ascension."
Qingshuang was puzzled.
"With spiritual energy as abundant as it is in the Mountain Sea Realm, how can that be considered thin?"
Youquan made a humanlike shrugging motion.
"For those of ordinary talent, it is indeed very dense, ranking among the very top across many minor realms. But for an aptitude like the five spiritual roots... I've searched the souls of captives: in the Eastern Desolation, there was a cultivator with five spiritual roots who ultimately stalled at the seventh layer of Nascent Soul and hasn't broken through to this day."
Qingshuang's lips parted slightly, and in the end she gave an impassive nod, conceding to Youquan's reasoning.
Looked at that way, switching to fire cultivation was, in the long run, truly a blessing for Luo Chen.
***
As to whether it was a good thing for the distant future, Luo Chen could not yet see that far ahead.
For the present, however, it was an immense blessing!
Inside the cave estate, Luo Chen kept his eyes closed. He had long ceased circulating the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*.
Yet the spiritual energy from all directions continued to gather toward him, passively drawn into his body.
The reason lay in that crimson golden core within his qi sea!
Even without active channeling, his golden core was revolving entirely on its own!
With the golden core at the center, ambient spiritual energy gathered continuously, refined and purified by the Wither-Bloom True Fire in the qi sea, before finally transforming into wisps of pure magic power that merged into the core.
*As expected of the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, hailed by Youquan as the progenitor of all fire arts!*
*After cultivating it, even when not actively circulating the technique, as long as I am in a suitable spiritual land, I can cultivate passively. This speed is practically comparable to my full-effort cultivation back in a low-grade third-tier cave estate!*
*And what if I circulate it actively?*
With a thought, the surrounding heaven-and-earth spiritual energy surged in like a raging river breaching its banks!
The sensation was intoxicating!
If the heavens and earth were likened to an ocean and spiritual energy to water, then the spiritual veins of various tiers and grades were rivers, lakes, and streams bearing that water.
In past cultivation, one was at most hauling buckets of water with great difficulty from a mighty river, carrying them into one's body, and refining them into one's own.
This was the so-called "gathering supreme power unto oneself."
Now, however, the mighty river poured directly in!
The difference between the two was night and day!
Under the quantification of his system panel, Luo Chen could see the concrete difference with even greater clarity.
By his estimate, his current cultivation speed was more than fifteen times faster than when he first entered the Core Formation stage!
Factoring in the magic power automatically absorbed and converted while he was not actively cultivating, that speed surged even higher.
He truly rivaled a cultivator with a heavenly spiritual root!
In fact, because his meridians and acupoints had been extensively developed in his earlier years, they were far tougher and sturdier than those of other heavenly spiritual root cultivators, allowing him to push at full throttle and cultivate without reservation.
*At this rate, breaking through to the third layer of Core Formation will take no more than two or three years.*
*And traversing the entire Core Formation stage to reach the Great Perfection required to condense a Nascent Soul will take a century at most!*
*Sure enough, my choice was the right one.*
Amidst this wave of excitement, the circulation of his natal technique came to a halt on its own.
Clearly, the pleasant surprises did not end there.
Over the next few days, as Luo Chen explored further, he discovered numerous other benefits.
First and foremost was his control over the Wither-Bloom Fire, which had grown increasingly deft.
Ingenious ideas surfaced in his mind from time to time, giving him the strong sense that he could apply this source true fire to all manner of pursuits.
Alchemy went without saying.
Artifact crafting, combat, infusing it into spells, tempering his physical body, and more.
With a thousand threads to unravel, Luo Chen hardly knew where to begin.
It was a dilemma born of an excess of good fortune.
Another obvious surprise was the accelerated nurturing and maturation of the Broken Moon Wings inside him.
The Broken Moon Wings were inherently a pure fire-attributed magic treasure. Now nourished by the purest fire magic power, they transformed by the day.
The same held true for the Profound Fire Sword.
The sole drawback was that the might of the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel and the Three Soul Breaking Nails had fallen dramatically.
Having lost the other four elemental magic powers, Luo Chen could no longer maintain balanced development across the five elements, leaving his repertoire with clear shortcomings.
However, his strengths had grown considerably more pronounced.
Luo Chen felt only a fleeting twinge of regret, but no true remorse.
One could only say that every gain and loss was ordained by fate.
The final surprise lay in his self-created body refinement technique, *Convergence of Myriad Paths*.
Though the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* was a demon qi cultivation method, it incorporated parts of the demon race's body tempering techniques.
The predecessor to *Convergence of Myriad Paths* was the *Heavenly Roc Transformation*, which also mimicked demonic forms.
The underlying concepts shared similarities.
Luo Chen sensed that if he could integrate the methods from the nirvana scripture into *Convergence of Myriad Paths*, it might accelerate his body refinement.
*Unfortunately, living under someone else's roof means that while I seem to have plenty of time, my actions are not my own.*
*Otherwise, thoroughly working through these insights at my leisure would yield endless benefits.*
*For now, having been in secluded cultivation for so long, they're probably growing anxious for me to concoct pills outside.*
Luo Chen had little choice; he understood what took priority.
They hadn't given him such an exceptional cultivation technique for free.
Wasn't it simply so he would toil harder on their behalf?
He understood the game.
Thus, after a single day of brief adjustment, he appeared on Mount Cangwu as usual and began concocting Emperor's Flowing Syrup for the local avian tribes.
The batches he had refined earlier were already being consumed.
The effects, naturally, had become apparent.
A number of peak first-tier birds had begun advancing to the second tier one after another after taking the syrup.
***
No sun or moon marks time in the mountains, while a thousand years pass in the mortal realm.
Living as someone else's tool was inevitably exhausting and numbing.
As a cultivator, Luo Chen could not truly be called exhausted; in fact, the skyrocketing speed of his cultivation brought him closer to the third layer of Core Formation each day, giving him a measure of genuine enjoyment.
Yet the passage of time was unavoidable.
A year drifted by in the blink of an eye.
Over the course of that year, he had left his footprints across Mount Cangwu, and many demon beasts had come to know him.
Those of gentler temperament addressed him as Danchenzi.
Those who had received his alchemy pointers and begun exploring the Dao of Alchemy respectfully called him Master Luo.
As for those with vile tempers who looked down on humanity, they either called him "human" with every breath or barked his name outright.
Luo Chen paid none of it any mind.
He maintained a quiet, secluded routine, doing only three things each day: processing medicinal ingredients, concocting pills, and cultivating.
Through this monotonous labor, his proficiency with Emperor's Flowing Syrup had long reached the Great Perfection tier.
Even without aiming for peak-grade syrup, he could achieve a fifty-percent success rate when refining top-grade batches alone!
Such progress was terrifying!
His mastery over the Wither-Bloom True Fire had likewise reached an astounding level.
Once, while handling a third-tier demon beast that was not yet fully dead and seeing no one around, Luo Chen quietly incinerated and refined it using the true fire.
The process took merely fifteen minutes to refine the carcass completely.
Upon finishing, he felt a surging wave of vitality flood his body.
He opened his attribute panel on the spot.
Under the lifespan column, his maximum lifespan had increased by exactly one year!
A single third-tier demon beast could extend his lifespan by a year! The discovery left Luo Chen both startled and overjoyed.
If he could let loose and hunt third-tier beasts with abandon, forcefully refining and devouring them, wouldn't longevity be well within reach?
Clearly, he could not act with such abandon.
He had no choice but to suppress the thought deep within his heart.
Throughout this process, as his fire manipulation progressed by leaps and bounds, his alchemy improved tremendously as well.
Everyone saw it.
Consequently, certain matters naturally found their way to his doorstep.
***
Inside Duzhen Hall.
Luo Chen stared at the thin pill recipe in his hands, his fingers trembling slightly.
The black crow paced briskly along the black jade steps of the hall.
One wing was held behind its back, mimicking a human walking with hands clasped behind.
The bizarre, shrill cadence of its voice echoed continuously, grating on Luo Chen's ears.
"Ever since the demon race of the Mountain Sea Realm was defeated by human cultivators in ancient times, they learned from their painful lesson and resolved to change their path of cultivation.
"No longer did they follow the old school of natural shedding and slow growth. Instead, they emulated cultivators, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, forcefully swallowing the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, and treading the humanoid path of demon cultivation.
"Thus arose the distinction between primeval beasts and demon cultivators or ancient demons.
"To become a demon cultivator, one begins forming a core at the second tier and refining the transverse bone, causing the demon body to gradually approach the human form. Particularly at the transition from the third tier to the fourth, under the Lightning Tribulation of Creation, one assumes human form, generating meridians, acupoints, a purple mansion, and a qi sea. Only then can they practice the accelerated methods of humanity and raise their cultivation realms more rapidly.
"There was no choice. Demon beasts possess naturally long lifespans, but their advancement is equally sluggish.
"Only through transformation can we barely keep pace with humans.
"You might call it learning the ways of the foe to overcome the foe."
Abruptly, Youquan halted. She shot a glance at Luo Chen's grim face, then turned and paced in the opposite direction.
"Yet it is still too slow.
"After all, the territory available for our demon race to inhabit grows ever smaller, and fourth-tier beasts capable of transformation grow ever fewer. Some, like that Heqingzi, even grew enamored with human orthodoxy after transforming and willingly defected.
"To address this, demon grandmasters painstakingly studied bloodline inheritances and human texts, striving to find a solution.
"Whether others found one, I do not know. But Primordial Monarch Qixia of our Mount Cangwu was blessed by fortune and comprehended a pill recipe.
"Emulating the principles of human alchemy, drawing on complementary strengths, and shaping the form through like forms, it is called the Transformation Pill!
"It is the very recipe in your hands!"
The paper in Luo Chen's hands suddenly felt heavier than lead.
In a strained voice, he said, "According to the description, as long as a third-tier demon beast consumes this pill, they can take human form and practice your reformed demon cultivation techniques?"
Youquan cackled. "Precisely as you think! That way, the bottleneck that normally takes a demon beast over a millennium to cross can be shortened to match humans—requiring merely four to five centuries to form a Nascent Soul and become a fourth-tier beast!"
The smugness in her laughter was unrestrained.
Evidently, she possessed supreme confidence in this recipe.
And from Luo Chen's understanding of the Dao of Alchemy, the recipe was indeed grand, archaic, and virtually flawless.
It was genuinely feasible!
Yet if that came to pass, wouldn't it mean that demon beasts would retain their naturally vast lifespans while gaining the rapid cultivation speed of human cultivators?
If this continued, the balance of power in the Mountain Sea Realm would inevitably tilt.
And he, Luo Chen, would be the primary culprit!
Luo Chen shuddered, putting on a bitter expression. "Hall Master Youquan, aren't you overestimating me? The Transformation Pill is a fourth-tier pill. I am merely a third-tier alchemist; I fear I cannot concoct it."
"No, you can!"
"I..."
"Are you saying you cannot?"
Youquan froze in her tracks, fixing Luo Chen with a piercing glare.
As their gazes collided, Luo Chen let out a muffled grunt.
The third-tier illusion technique, Mirror Flower, Water Moon, which he had been running as a safeguard, was shattered in an instant. Under her pervasive soul attack, he blurted out instinctively, "I... might be able to try."
Youquan blinked, and Luo Chen instantly snapped back to his senses.
He had regained clarity, but his expression grew darker still.
Youquan's ability to exert soul influence and force truth from someone's lips was something his current cultivation could not withstand once she deployed it actively, even with prior preparation.
"Put away those petty schemes of yours.
"The *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* was not given to you for nothing.
"Now you possess a fourth-tier true fire, your fire manipulation skills have reached the pinnacle, and you have the full backing of Mount Cangwu. Refining a fourth-tier pill will by no means be an impossible feat. Moreover, the Primordial Monarch stated that this recipe is not particularly difficult. With your solid alchemical foundation, a few attempts will surely yield success!
"Luo Chen, do not disappoint me!"
Luo Chen's lips twitched, unable to voice any objection.
He merely said he needed time to study it thoroughly, then walked out of Duzhen Hall with a despondent air.
Once outside, he raised the recipe once more.
*Transformation Pill*
*[Main Ingredients: Cultivator's Nascent Soul, Cultivator's Essence Blood]*
Just those two lines were chilling to behold.
He had assumed all along that herbs and demon beast materials would be used, but this time, human cultivators were the ingredients.
And a Nascent Soul, no less!
That was the crystallization of a cultivator's lifelong path, rightly called their Dao fruit.
Concocting pills from such things—how did that differ from falling into the demonic path?
"Then again, it is an ancient demon recipe to begin with. Using humans as the main ingredients is no different from me refining pills with the flesh and blood of demon beasts in the past," Luo Chen murmured.
He tilted his head upward, looking at the azure sky.
Not a cloud for ten thousand li; the sky was as clear as washed jade.
It should have been a sight to gladden the heart, yet he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper, drained of strength, as though he would never break free in this lifetime.
Right at that moment, a familiar, tall figure suddenly manifested against the horizon.
Luo Chen was taken aback.
*Qingshuang!*
What was she coming out for?
The next instant, Qingshuang tightened her fist and struck downward toward empty space.
*Boom!*
The punch landed, sending space trembling and ripples cascading across the air.
Spiritual light erupted between heaven and earth.
A gossamer-like magic treasure shattered into pieces.
Beneath the hazy veil, three unshielded figures were laid bare before Mount Cangwu.
With a single glance, Luo Chen's face lit up with wild joy.
Yet before he could dash outward, a gust of black wind billowed from Duzhen Hall, sweeping him up and pulling him deep into the hall's interior.
At the same time, the black crow flashed past him, rocketing out of Duzhen Hall.
As their paths crossed, a voice transmitted via divine sense echoed in Luo Chen's ears:
"Stay put and don't cause trouble. Three mere late Nascent Soul cultivators cannot breach my Mount Cangwu!"
Simultaneously, three thunderous voices boomed like claps of thunder across the clear sky.
"Ancestor Hehuan seeks Fellow Daoist's guidance!"
"Five Elements Shenyuan seeks Fellow Daoist's guidance!"
"Tianji Huiping seeks Fellow Daoist's guidance!"
Chapter 515