Luo Chen still felt a lingering fear.
He had not expected the True Flame Pill's medicinal potency to be so tyrannical!
It was not merely its sheer volume.
What made it truly overbearing was the violent impact of its quality.
If the properties of the Fanxing Pill were like a sky full of stars waiting to be gathered at the consumer's leisure, then the True Flame Pill was a blazing sun—a solitary orb, yet shining so intensely that nowhere could escape its glare.
If ordinary cultivation pills were like a trickling stream, gently absorbed without harming a Golden Core cultivator's origin, then the True Flame Pill was a raging torrent, crashing heedlessly through the meridians and qi sea without the slightest regard for the consumer's condition.
All things considered, this True Flame Pill already exhibited some traits of a realm-breaking pill.
It was not characterized by mild, enduring potency suited for easy absorption.
Instead, it was renowned for violent power capable of forcibly jarring a cultivator's realm.
As was common knowledge in the cultivation world, while realm-breaking pills contained immense potency, they were the least suited for long-term cultivation assistance.
After all, while jarring a cultivator's realm was usually aimed at breaking through to a higher level, taking them over long periods could destabilize one's existing cultivation, frequently causing one's realm to plummet.
Through this, Luo Chen also resolved a question that had long weighed on his mind.
"No wonder few cultivators in the Yan Alliance use True Flame Pills for regular cultivation, yet they consistently maintain a small output of them. They are using this pill as a realm-breaking elixir!"
Amid his contemplation, Luo Chen could not help feeling a sense of relief.
Fortunately, his foundation was exceptionally solid!
Otherwise, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator would never dare take True Flame Pills in large quantities over the long term to aid their cultivation.
The reason was simple: during the Foundation Establishment stage, Luo Chen had laid an incomparably robust foundation across his meridians, acupoints, and even his qi sea.
Once he formed his Golden Core, that solid foundation had multiplied several times over.
Over prolonged years of cultivation, the benefits had only become more pronounced.
Furthermore, his physique—comparable to that of a demonic beast—was fully capable of withstanding the True Flame Pill's violent impact.
"Now let me see where that medicinal sha is hiding."
With a thought, Luo Chen spread his divine sense throughout his body, meticulously scouring every inch for the rumored fiery sha of the True Flame Pill.
After a long time, his expression shifted slightly.
"Found it. To think it was hidden so discreetly, clinging directly to my Golden Core!"
A cultivator's Golden Core was the most vital element of their being, yet ironically the easiest place to overlook.
Had Luo Chen not felt a slight sluggishness in the circulation of his magic power, he almost would not have noticed this anomaly.
It was precisely for this reason that he finally understood why the Yan Alliance cultivators, despite excelling in fire arts, dared not use True Flame Pills for long-term cultivation.
This fire-attribute medicinal sha actually adhered to the Golden Core.
Who would dare gamble with something like that?
Now that he had located it, however, things became much simpler!
Through experimentation, Luo Chen gradually identified three methods to eliminate the medicinal sha.
The first was to slowly grind it away with magic power. The speed was relatively slow; this was likely the common method Yan Alliance cultivators used to purge the sha after breaking through with a True Flame Pill.
The second was the Micromote Origin Art, which had integrated the Clear Source Wondrous Elixir Method. Running this art would passively scrape off a sliver of the medicinal sha from the Golden Core, but the effect was minimal.
"Sure enough, medicinal sha is not pill toxin. Methods for purging toxins yield negligible results."
Luo Chen had anticipated this.
After all, the fire-attribute medicinal sha left behind by the True Flame Pill was an inherent part of its medicinal properties; without this sha, it would lack that partial realm-breaking capability.
Fortunately, Luo Chen had one final technique.
In the quiet cultivation chamber, his hands moved in a flurry of hand seals. In a dazzling blur, a spell took shape following a specialized route of magic power circulation.
Then, slowly and with immense caution, he tapped his lower abdomen.
The next moment, a small blade blazing with fierce flames materialized within his qi sea.
The blade slashed down straight toward the Golden Core!
A wisp of faint vapor detached itself.
The Golden Core spun round and round, entirely unaware of fear.
Then, the blade struck again.
Stroke by stroke, more of the foreign vapor was stripped away.
Luo Chen held his breath, waiting until his face turned crimson and nearly purple before abruptly exhaling.
Chii...
A charred hole instantly sizzled into the ground.
At this sight, Luo Chen was both delighted and alarmed.
He was delighted that the Rank 4 Dragon Slaying Art was indeed effective at purging the medicinal sha—and exceptionally so!
What alarmed him was just how vicious the True Flame Pill's sha truly was.
While clinging to the Golden Core, its ferocity had remained mostly concealed, but once expelled, its searing malevolence was laid bare.
It was hard to imagine the horrific fate that would befall a consumer's Golden Core if they took the pill over a long period without cleansing the sha.
Gazing at the charred hole on the floor, Luo Chen fell silent.
Only after a long while did he nod slightly.
"Such medicinal sha is peerlessly vicious. Tainted by a wisp or two, one might gradually grind it away with time and patient effort.
"But if I collect hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of wisps and use them against my enemies..."
...
With the assistance of the eighteen "herb apprentices," the time Luo Chen previously spent processing medicinal ingredients was completely freed up.
As a result, his cultivation in other areas made tremendous strides, whether in defensive spells or the tempering of his physique.
Meanwhile, under day after day of nurturing and refinement, his natal magic treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron, began to glow with vitality. Its might grew increasingly apparent, and Luo Chen could wield it with ever greater ease.
Not only that, but the two martial arts that had remained stagnant for years were steadily approaching perfection as he occasionally found time to practice them in the nearby open seas.
His personal cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds!
Aided by a Rank 3 spiritual ground, he could cultivate without restraint.
A cultivation speed comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root!
Steadily rising proficiency in refining True Flame Pills, yielding batches of even higher grade.
And an ever-deepening comprehension of the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture.
Thanks to all these factors, after merely two or three years, Luo Chen could feel himself drawing closer and closer to the mid Golden Core stage.
Of course.
As noticeable as his progress was, its impact on the Flying Swallow Archipelago ran just as deep.
First was the Cheng family.
In order to redeem that Qingyang Pill Canon on Yaoyue Island, Cheng Dou had gone completely mad, gathering all manner of medicinal herbs for Luo Chen at any cost.
This included not only the raw ingredients needed for the True Flame Pill, but also a portion of the materials required to refine the Nascent Soul Formation Pill!
Just as Luo Chen had planned for core formation when he first entered Foundation Establishment, now that he was approaching the mid Golden Core stage, he naturally had to consider his future Nascent Soul breakthrough.
In his view, achieving the Nascent Soul stage required only three conditions: sufficient personal accumulation as the first, an appropriate Rank 4 spiritual vein as the second, and finally, a Nascent Soul Formation Pill to crown the achievement.
Especially since he could not return to the Eastern Desolation anytime soon, he simply used the hands of the Flying Swallow cultivators to help him gather the ingredients.
When the time came, by slowly fumbling through the process, he would surely succeed in refining it.
However, this made life miserable for the various clans of the Flying Swallow Archipelago.
The True Flame Pills alone cost a fortune, let alone the staggering quantity of ingredients demanded for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill.
While the smaller clans harbored misgivings, Cheng Dou disregarded everything.
Without Yan Nantian's suppression, even though he spent years traveling abroad, his cultivation had steadily pushed to perfection in the Foundation Establishment stage.
Core formation was within arm's reach!
Across the entire Flying Swallow Archipelago, not a single presentable secret method for core formation could be found; in the past, local cultivators had relied entirely on their own accumulation and the favor of heaven to form their cores.
Now that the Qingyang Pill Canon was available, how could Cheng Dou not stake everything on this chance?
Not just him—any clan among the thirty-six islands with a late Foundation Establishment cultivator of suitable age was gathering herbs for Luo Chen at any cost, desperate to redeem the Qingyang Pill Canon as early as possible.
Under these circumstances, this small cultivation world in a remote expanse of sea sank into a morbid frenzy.
The foundations, wealth, and manpower of every clan were continuously drained.
Everything consumed ultimately transformed into endless streams of medicinal herbs flowing toward the small island set within the ten-li tranquil lake.
The strength of each major clan showed no growth; instead, it stagnated.
Had there not been an absence of external enemies, coupled with Demonic Lord Qingyang reigning above them to prevent internal strife and civil conflict, their power would likely have declined rather than merely ground to a halt.
In such a bizarre atmosphere, those small clans with only one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators naturally trembled in fear.
Yet among them, discerning figures grasped the underlying truth.
Since Demonic Lord Qingyang dared to dangle a core formation method to drive the archipelago's cultivators, it proved he had the magnanimity to tolerate a Golden Core cultivator emerging beneath him.
And every clan was merely a Foundation Establishment clan.
The moment any clan produced a Golden Core cultivator first, they could instantly distinguish themselves and suppress all the others.
Even the Cheng family, who enjoyed the closest ties with Demonic Lord Qingyang, would lose the initiative if they fell a step behind.
This was a race!
With every clan competing, the ultimate beneficiary was none other than Demonic Lord Qingyang.
With just a single Qingyang Pill Canon, he had driven the originally tranquil thirty-six islands of Flying Swallow to utter exhaustion—truly worthy of a generational demonic lord!
...
Luo Chen knew nothing of the madness in the outside world or the slanders leveled against him; even had he known, he would have ignored them completely.
He immersed himself in his own little world, reveling in the constant feeling of growth—how thoroughly delightful it was!
Were it not for the constraints of lifespan, and were it not for his lingering attachments to Huiniang, Caiyi, Wang Yuan, and Duan Feng, Luo Chen might have wished to remain lost in this state for the rest of his days.
That sensation of feeling oneself grow with every passing moment was truly intoxicating.
Before he knew it, three years slipped by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, a streak of light flew back from the outer sea. After several flashes across the Flying Swallow Archipelago, it descended onto the island at the very center.
The clouds and mist parted. A tall woman stood by the palace entrance, smiling as she watched the figure approach step by step.
"Master, you seem to be in high spirits today!"
Luo Chen laughed heartily. "Naturally! I have brought another grand technique to perfection—how could my mood not be excellent?"
As he spoke, he strode into the great hall with a commanding, tiger-like gait.
Cheng Haixin followed behind, the reverence in her eyes deepening.
Over these three years, she had lived almost entirely on Yaoyue Island, handling all manner of mundane affairs for Luo Chen with utter devotion.
Whether it was receiving herbs delivered by the clans, providing blood food on a fixed schedule, or overseeing the paramount task of ingredient processing, she had essentially shouldered it all single-handedly.
In three years, the carefree "Fairy Haixin," who had known only cultivation under her family's protection, had vanished. In her place was the capable, astute, tall, and dignified "Fairy Yaoyue."
Yet before Luo Chen, her "dignity" amounted to nothing.
Over these three years, she had personally witnessed Luo Chen's cultivation deepen day by day.
He regularly made new gains. On the occasions when he took her out to sea to test spells and magic treasures, the spectacles were often world-shaking.
Such a rate of progress completely shattered her preconceived notions of a Golden Core Master.
Wasn't a Golden Core Master supposed to spend decades or even centuries mastering a prized divine ability or spell?
Yet her master made incremental gains in three to five days, leaped forward in seven or eight months, and achieved great success in a year or two.
Worse yet, what he practiced was not some quick-fix shortcut, but formidable methods built upon a steady, rock-solid foundation!
Perhaps this was simply what a generational demonic lord was like!
Under Cheng Haixin's admiring gaze, Luo Chen paused and narrowed his eyes as if sensing something.
Moments later, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Muxian has done well; he has already refined a Rank 1 mid-grade Water Condensing Pill."
Just then, he had caught a faint whiff of pill fragrance.
Sweeping his divine sense outward, he saw a young man gleefully collecting pills in a small pill chamber.
It was Xu Muxian.
Cheng Haixin smiled gently. "It is all thanks to Master's nurturing."
"It is also because Muxian possesses remarkable alchemy talent that he could make such progress."
Luo Chen offered a modest reply, though the pride on his face was barely concealed.
Without his patronage, where would Xu Muxian have obtained so many low-grade herbs to practice on?
Without his guidance, how could the youth have refined mid-grade pills in a mere three years?
With his current knowledge and capability, cultivating a gifted seedling into an alchemist was child's play.
What was more, it didn't even cost him his own resources!
"Here are ten bottles of supreme-grade Water Condensing Pills. Give them to Xu Muxian!"
Cheng Haixin was startled. "Master, reaching the sixth level of Qi Refinement in three years is already fast enough. Why give him supreme-grade pills? Regular high-grade ones are already an extravagance."
Luo Chen shook his head. "He counts as my registered disciple, after all; he ought to receive some perks. Besides, I refined these Water Condensing Pills out of boredom; keeping them serves little purpose. Oh, right."
As he spoke, Luo Chen retrieved several more jade bottles from his storage ring and pressed them into Cheng Haixin's arms.
"Jade Dew Pills. You've taken them before. These six bottles of high-grade pills should last you half a year."
Hearing this, Cheng Haixin's breath caught.
High-grade Jade Dew Pills!
Earlier, when Luo Chen had some spare time, he had refined various pills, among which were Jade Dew Pills.
Back then, Luo Chen had casually bestowed some upon Cheng Haixin, who had been slaving away on his behalf.
After consuming them, the woman had advanced to the first layer of Foundation Establishment that very day.
Later, relying on the remaining Jade Dew Pills alongside a Rank 2 high-grade immortal's cave allotted to her on Yaoyue Island, her cultivation speed had soared over three years, vaulting her straight into the mid Foundation Establishment stage!
Such progress had utterly stunned every cultivator in the thirty-six islands of Flying Swallow!
It was precisely because of this that she had earned the moniker Fairy Yaoyue.
Adopting the name of Yaoyue Island—Luo Chen's residence—as her Daoist title showed just how deeply favored she was by Luo Chen.
Cheng Haixin harbored no displeasure toward this and gladly accepted the title.
And this time, Luo Chen had given her high-grade Jade Dew Pills!
If used well, she might even advance to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment within this very year!
With dual spiritual roots, she had begun reading Daoist scriptures at age six, gathering qi and tempering her body to build a foundation. At twelve, she had officially begun cultivating, taking twenty-four years under her clan's nurturing to barely succeed in Foundation Establishment.
That was already lightning-fast.
If she reached the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment only five years after establishing her foundation, it would be downright unbelievable!
Her breathing quickened, her full bosom heaving noticeably.
The more she interacted with him, the more unfitting the title Demonic Lord Qingyang seemed!
How was this the behavior of the demonic path?
He was clearly a benevolent elder, a senior of the immortal path.
He rarely berated low-level cultivators, exemplifying the magnanimous grace of an expert guiding the younger generation.
The world had misunderstood him far too deeply.
Luo Chen glanced at her and started walking, while the woman followed in something of a daze.
"Furthermore, your Cheng family's contribution points are almost sufficient. You may notify your eldest brother to come receive the empowerment of the Qingyang Pill Canon beneath the Yaoyue Stele."
With that, Luo Chen vanished into the depths of the palace complex.
As if struck by lightning, the woman froze in place.
Only after a long while did she bow deeply.
"Thank you, Master!"
Without further delay, she hurried off the island and flew toward Black Swan Island.
...
On Yaoyue Island, Luo Chen watched the departing streak of light and shook his head with a quiet chuckle.
Over the past three or four years, pursuing the Qingyang Pill Canon had cost the Cheng family dearly.
What had seemingly been a quota of only five hundred thousand per clan had, with the smaller clans unable to contribute, fallen entirely upon the few major families ambitious enough to seek core formation.
Among them, the Cheng family had been the most zealous.
Consequently, they had paid the heaviest price.
Not only had they expended millions, but they had also completely halted the cultivation of their younger generation.
In recent years, all of the Cheng family's yields had gone into gathering and purchasing herbs.
Their beast-hunting ship had been deployed repeatedly, journeying far into deep oceanic waters to catch massive Rank 2 sea monsters.
Even so, their contribution points technically still fell short.
Luo Chen was simply cutting them some slack, seeing as Cheng Haixin had indeed served him diligently and been a tremendous help over the years.
"However, my Qingyang Pill Canon is by no means easy to cultivate!"
At the thought of Cheng Dou's somewhat impetuous—at times even frantic—temperament, Luo Chen curled his lip.
The Qingyang Pill Canon originated from the Micromote Origin Art.
Even though it was drastically simplified, the difficulty of cultivating it remained very high. He did not hold high hopes that this current batch of cultivators in the Flying Swallow Archipelago could successfully form a core through it.
Conversely, Cheng Haixin, who was influenced by his presence and occasionally received his pointers, stood a much better chance of forming a core.
"I wonder if, with my capabilities, I can nurture a cultivator with dual spiritual roots to the Golden Core stage within a hundred years?"
Luo Chen's lips curved slightly, as if conducting an experiment.
Once again, it wasn't as though he was expending his own resources!
Turning around, he entered his cultivation chamber.
The array activated, sealing off outside prying eyes while gathering ambient spiritual energy to the maximum extent within.
On his status panel, his Rank 1 Spirit Gathering Array had already reached Great Perfection!
Furthermore, supported by the major clans of the Flying Swallow Archipelago, a large Rank 2 Spirit Gathering Array had been established around Yaoyue Island to take in even more spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
As a result, although the island's spiritual vein remained Rank 3 low-grade, its spiritual energy density was now infinitely close to Rank 3 mid-grade.
This was another reason why his cultivation progressed day by day, bringing him closer to the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage.
Sitting cross-legged in meditation, Luo Chen opened his mouth and spat out a small cauldron. It grew with the wind, spinning into a one-zhang-tall vessel in an instant.
Looking at the Hunyuan Cauldron, whose mental connection with him grew tighter by the day, Luo Chen looked pleased.
Judged by the standards of the Foundation Establishment stage, his degree of refinement over this cauldron had already reached one hundred percent!
It was enough to unleash all of the treasure's potential to the limit.
Yet this was clearly not a true "limit."
A fine magic treasure could amplify a cultivator's strength—especially a natal magic treasure aligned with the cultivator's attributes!
Such an amplification could be doubled, tripled, or magnified several times over!
Clearly, the Hunyuan Cauldron was not yet capable of such amplification.
The issue stemmed from the refining process, during which more than a dozen untreated raw materials had been absorbed into it.
There were simply too many impurities!
"Time to keep refining it!"
Luo Chen sighed. Magic power surged forth, wrapped by his divine sense.
Not only that, he opened his mouth and spat out wisps of cyan flames, which took the shape of nine fire dragons that coiled around the small cauldron, spewing cyan fire.
He was emulating Min Longyu's Nine Transformations Flame Dragon Array to refine his natal magic treasure.
The only pity was that he lacked the array chart for the Nine Transformations Flame Dragon Array; his method possessed only the form, not the spirit.
Even so, it was vastly faster than ordinary refinement methods.
"I need to find time to search for the array chart of the Nine Transformations Flame Dragon Array."
Letting the thought pass, Luo Chen continued refining the treasure.
This was his daily routine. Only when his magic power was nearly exhausted would he stop, switch to cultivating his natal cultivation method to replenish his magic power, and advance his cultivation.
Through this cycle of expenditure and replenishment, his rapidly advancing realm grew ever more solid.
Over years of cultivation, Luo Chen had grasped the true essence of consolidating one's foundation.
Time trickled away.
Just as Luo Chen's magic power was waning and he prepared to withdraw the Wither-Bloom True Fire, his mind suddenly stirred.
The next moment, the cyan flames blazed fiercely, wrapping tightly around the Hunyuan Cauldron.
Nine dragon heads reached inward, glaring menacingly into the cauldron's interior space.
Luo Chen let out a soft sigh.
"Senior, now that you have awakened, why not meet openly rather than spy on Luo in secret?"
From within the cauldron came a faint, wry chuckle.
"Little friend, with an array like this facing me, how would this old man dare stick his head out rashly?"
Chapter 535