The fact that his Yin-pole puppet could no longer hold out was not the only reason Han Zhan had been forced to wake from his recuperative state.
Another significant reason was that over these years, Luo Chen’s refinement of the Hunyuan Cauldron had grown ever deeper.
From merely scouring away impurities at the start, he had steadily mastered the arrays inscribed upon it, eventually delving into the very depths of the magical treasure.
As a consequence, the spatial restriction Qingshuang had placed upon it was affected as well.
Its repeated fluctuations had completely shattered any chance Han Zhan had of resting in peace.
For Han Zhan, this was an unfortunate turn.
For Luo Chen, however, it was an unvarnished blessing.
It signified that Luo Chen was not far from mastering the Hunyuan Cauldron to absolute perfection.
Luo Chen also took the opportunity to ask Han Zhan about the contingency measures Tianyezi had left behind on the Hunyuan Cauldron.
To this, Han Zhan gave an answer that took Luo Chen somewhat by surprise.
“It was merely a temporary trick. There is no need to fret over it.”
After a moment of astonishment, Luo Chen thought back carefully and began to understand.
Tianyezi’s artifact-crafting skills were indeed consummate.
Yet figures like Qingshuang and Youquan were hardly fools.
Had he planted too glaring a countermeasure within the Hunyuan Cauldron, they would have seen right through it.
Only a subtle, relatively weak, temporary trick stood any chance of escaping their notice.
This also explained why, when Tianyezi snatched the Hunyuan Cauldron from the Duzhen Hall dungeon on Mount Cangwu, he had still been unable to command it freely during his battle against the Thunder Prison Divine Roc.
He had merely laid contingencies at a few critical points.
Furthermore, those contingencies had dispersed the moment Tianyezi perished.
“No wonder my refinement has grown smoother and more natural these past few years!”
Having seen through the matter, Luo Chen could not help but laugh at himself.
He had truly been like someone once bitten by a snake, fearful of well ropes for ten years!
In his spare moments, he also asked Han Zhan about past events on Mount Cangwu, such as how he and Tianyezi had conspired to breach the dungeon’s restrictions.
Han Zhan held nothing back, explaining everything in detail.
“Those demon cultivators know how things work on the surface, but not why they work. Even if that Demon Emperor Qingluan touched upon the power of spatial laws in the Nascent Soul stage relying on her racial talent, her application of it to imprison inanimate objects was far too crude.”
“Tianyezi was a renowned grandmaster of arrays, and besides my puppet Dao, I also cultivated array methods. Otherwise, I would never have been able to control the Liangyi Five Elements Sword Formation.”
“Relying on the spatial restriction methods found in fundamental array theory, we tested and studied it repeatedly, gradually teasing out its flaws…”
“Truth be told, the one who profited most in the end was you!”
How had Luo Chen profited?
Naturally, it was with his lifebound magical treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron!
After Tianyezi and Han Zhan achieved modest success in their study of spatial restrictions, they asked Qingshuang to personally refine and perfect Luo Chen’s lifebound magical treasure to verify their theories.
Once that verification was complete, Luo Chen’s treasure gained the might to reach across space, seizing and suppressing its targets.
It even developed an internal mustard-seed space capable of housing living creatures, performing no worse than a finely crafted spirit beast pouch.
Even Han Zhan felt quite envious of this.
He frankly told Luo Chen that if he nurtured and refined it with care, the Hunyuan Cauldron would sooner or later ascend to the tier of a true artifact.
Speaking of true artifacts, Luo Chen asked a few more questions regarding how such armaments differed from ordinary magical treasures.
Han Zhan replied that a true artifact was an implement of a True Person. Bound in mind and spirit with a Nascent Soul cultivator, it provided a tremendous amplifying effect when unfurling one’s domain.
The so-called Nascent Soul domain involved absorbing and commanding heaven-and-earth spiritual energy of the corresponding attribute for that cultivator.
Yet a cultivator’s individual strength was limited, and in truth they could command only so much. Possessing a true artifact greatly magnified this effect.
Han Zhan had been a Nascent Soul cultivator for a century, yet he had never owned a single true artifact.
Luo Chen found this quite odd. Had there not been rumors that several true artifacts appeared in Bai Ye’s cave estate on Mount Thunder Accumulation?
“Those were relics left by a grand cultivator of the Mingyuan Sect. How could we possibly lay our hands on them? Once the experts from the Mingyuan Sect arrived, they took them all back. Otherwise, had this old man possessed a true artifact, would I have been driven into such a passive state during my battle against Wolf Emperor Ao Xiao?”
Through this, Luo Chen also learned a piece of common knowledge.
Though shapeshifting was exceedingly difficult for the demon race, once they succeeded, they could easily utilize certain parts of their own bodies or companion items to forge their own exclusive lifebound true artifacts.
This was why, within the same realm, low-tier demon beasts were entirely no match for human cultivators, yet at higher realms, the difference between them was virtually nonexistent. In fact, due to certain unique racial talents, high-tier demon beasts could even suppress human cultivators in battle.
Just as Ao Xiao had done to Han Zhan, and just as Qingshuang had single-handedly suppressed three late Nascent Soul grand cultivators.
Days flowed by peacefully like water.
Luo Chen was in no rush to demand what he wanted from Han Zhan.
For one, his current focus lay on refining large batches of True Flame Pills.
For another, Han Zhan was eager to study how to coexist with the Soul Refining Banner, seeking a safe haven to inhabit.
Even though Luo Chen did not press him, the worldly and experienced Han Zhan was naturally not stingy.
Once, while Luo Chen was devouring spirit beast flesh, Han Zhan took the initiative to offer the prescription for the Black Emperor Paste that Luo Chen had yearned for over so many years.
In Han Zhan’s words, this was the first step in their sincere cooperation.
Luo Chen provided him the Soul Refining Banner, and he reciprocated with the Black Emperor Paste prescription.
With a sound start, they might get along even better in the centuries to come.
On this day,
Inside the alchemy chamber.
Luo Chen stared intently at the hazy gray cauldron, continuously roasting it with green flames.
Under his control, the medicinal liquid within the cauldron churned ceaselessly like magma.
This was already his fifth year in the Northern Sea!
After years of refining the True Flame Pill, a Tier 3 pill, his proficiency had climbed higher and higher, having long reached the Grandmaster level.
Not only did he keep the success rate above fifty percent, but he had long ceased to limit himself to a single set of ingredients per furnace.
Under normal conditions, he could now process ten sets of ingredients in a single furnace.
If he threw caution to the wind, a hundred sets in one furnace was not out of the question!
However, the latter demanded an even more focused state and a far longer duration, making it difficult to pull away should something unexpected arise.
“None of these issues are truly problems.”
“Once my mastery of the True Flame Pill reaches Great Perfection, they will resolve themselves.”
“And the day of Great Perfection is today!”
Luo Chen remained completely focused, but his control over his source true fire grew even more nuanced.
Truth be told, an audacious feat like a hundred sets of ingredients in a single furnace was something Luo Chen had never dared contemplate in the past.
Ordinary alchemy implements were simply incapable of supporting such a refining method.
Only the Hunyuan Cauldron could!
Through repeated trials and exploration, Luo Chen had gradually approached the limits of this treasure.
Yet to his perception, even this did not seem to be the Hunyuan Cauldron’s ultimate limit.
As Han Zhan had put it: “An alchemy treasure like yours is qualified to serve as a sect-guarding treasure in a top-tier great sect.”
What constituted a sect-guarding treasure of the alchemy Dao?
It remained dormant until needed, but once activated, it mobilized the strength of an entire sect to refine pills!
Beneath blazing flames, countless rare flowers and strange herbs—hundreds upon thousands of medicinal ingredients—were cast within. Only then could it truly be called a sect-guarding treasure of the alchemy Dao!
Luo Chen had plans of his own.
Once he brought his True Flame Pill proficiency to Great Perfection, he would unleash his full might and attempt refining a hundred pills all at once!
It would be the perfect way to see if he possessed the mettle of an alchemy grandmaster!
Just as his mind was fully focused, his brow suddenly furrowed.
Without interrupting the motions of his hands, he tilted his head slightly, sending a voice transmission through the alchemy chamber’s isolation array into a side hall on Yaoyue Island shrouded in black fog.
“Senior Han, a guest has arrived. Please receive him on my behalf.”
Inside the side hall, the black fog roiled.
Faintly visible were over a hundred powerful ghost generals, and even a ghost king, all prostrating themselves before an illusory, ethereal, three-inch-tall miniature figure.
Han Zhan quietly extended his spiritual sense and discovered the newcomer as well.
After first praising Luo Chen’s vigilance, he remarked, “I have barely grasped the control of this Soul Refining Banner, but the visitor is at the sixth layer of the Golden Core stage—no weakling. Relying solely on this Tier 3 ghost king, I doubt I can stop him.”
From the distance, Luo Chen’s voice drifted over placidly.
“No matter. Delay him for a moment until I can free my hands.”
“Good, so long as you have a plan.”
Han Zhan smiled faintly, his hands weaving an incantation gesture.
Over a hundred Tier 2 ghost generals within the hall surged outward together.
Han Zhan slowly closed his eyes.
In the next instant!
The Tier 3 ghost king prostrating on the ground abruptly snapped its eyes open, vibrant with life.
It was none other than the puppetry technique of the Luoyun Sect!
A hint of human emotion surfaced on the ghost king’s face.
“Let this old man see what combat methods the cultivators of the Northern Sea possess.”
With a low murmur, swept up in a tide of black fog, the Tier 3 ghost king vanished from the side hall.
And across the sprawling Flying Swallow Archipelago, a great battle erupted without a word of explanation.
***
Rewinding to fifteen minutes earlier.
Above the boundless ocean.
A Daoist arrived riding the waves. As he passed a small island, he suddenly came to a halt.
“Come out, junior!”
The moment his words fell, a panicked voice called out from the island.
“This junior failed to welcome the Superior from afar. I deserve death!”
A burly, dark-faced man flew out from the island, landing nervously on the surface of the sea.
Wu Qi looked at the dark-faced man and gave a slight nod.
“Foundation Establishment Great Perfection…”
His gaze swept toward the submerged reefs near the island.
“A Tier 3 early-stage Black-scaled Flood Dragon.”
“You must be Kun Jiao, the chief of the Flying Swallow Archipelago’s Flood Dragon Gang!”
Kun Jiao’s heart trembled; the spirit beast he had concealed beneath the reef had been seen through at a glance.
He hastily nodded. “It is indeed this junior. The Superior has keen vision.”
Wu Qi shook his head and gave a light chuckle. “What keen vision is there to speak of? You were the one who reached out to my Moluo Sect to guide me here. If I didn't even know your background, wouldn't that make my Moluo Sect's intelligence network look utterly incompetent?”
Hearing the words “Moluo Sect,” a look of profound dread crossed Kun Jiao’s face.
This was one of the premier powers in the northern territory of the human race within the Sea of Demons!
It boasted countless Foundation Establishment disciples and numerous Golden Core superiors, and it even possessed several elusive Nascent Soul True Persons.
Furthermore, while the Canghai Alliance swept across the Northern Sea aiming to become a new sacred land, the Moluo Sect was one of the few formidable powers bold enough to contend against them.
He did not know whether inviting an expert from such a sect was a blessing or a curse.
“Yan Nantian of Laoyan Island was quite good at running, managing to flee all the way to this godforsaken corner,” Wu Qi said, gazing into the distance at the islands clustered in the shape of a sea swallow. “Is he still hiding there?”
Kun Jiao said awkwardly, “Yan Nantian is already dead.”
“Oh?”
Wu Qi’s brow furrowed. He had not anticipated this development.
He rarely accepted missions from the Moluo Sect, yet before he had even struck, his target was already dead.
This was indeed unexpected.
He cast two glances at Kun Jiao, then looked toward the shivering Black-scaled Flood Dragon beneath the island reef, his expression turning contemptuous.
“With the strength of you and that Tier 3 Black-scaled Flood Dragon, you could hardly have killed Yan Nantian. Speak. How did he die?”
Kun Jiao’s spirits lifted, and he immediately recounted the battle between Yan Nantian and Luo Chen in vivid detail.
“Demonic Lord Qingyang?”
Murmuring to himself, Wu Qi wore a look of half-doubt.
Before the Yuan Demon Sect fell, there had indeed been some inept Foundation Establishment disciples who enjoyed artificially cultivating Qingyang Demonic Fire.
However, that demonic fire possessed glaring flaws.
Rarely did any Yuan Demon Sect disciple treat it as their primary method and cultivate it to the Golden Core stage.
Now, a Golden Core cultivator adept in Qingyang Demonic Fire had emerged in the Flying Swallow Archipelago. If one claimed he was an expert from the Yuan Demon Sect, Wu Qi was hardly inclined to believe it.
High-tier cultivators of the Yuan Demon Sect were not so short-sighted!
Could he be an impostor?
Seeing his doubt, Kun Jiao steadied his nerves and, embellishing generously, recounted everything that had transpired in the Flying Swallow Archipelago over the past few years.
“Seizing the Tier 3 spiritual vein on Yaoyue Island is hardly surprising.”
“Offering a medium-tier core formation secret art… He does possess some foundation. Even my Wu family only has a single low-tier core formation secret art. Such generosity does carry the air of a great sect’s true disciple.”
“Heedlessly enslaving every clan to gather herbs for him, running the Flying Swallow Archipelago ragged in just four or five years. Heh, that truly carries the flair of a demon sect expert.”
“Wait, a Tier 3 alchemist?”
“At the early Golden Core stage?”
Wu Qi pursed his lips, his eyes darting as an eager restlessness surged within his chest.
Kun Jiao hurriedly confirmed both pieces of information.
“He is indeed in the early Golden Core stage, and the herbalists and alchemists sent by the various clans have all verified that Demonic Lord Qingyang can indeed refine Tier 3 pills. Moreover, low-tier pills come to him with absolute ease, and their quality is astonishingly high!”
Having said this, he looked anxiously at Wu Qi.
He desperately wanted this man to strike and slay Demonic Lord Qingyang!
Once the demon lord was dead, Wu Qi would surely look down on a petty place like the Flying Swallow Archipelago.
In that case, Kun Jiao could return to the archipelago, relying on his Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivation and a Tier 3 early-stage Black-scaled Flood Dragon to dominate the islands and become the master of the Flying Swallow Archipelago!
As the leader of a gang, he had spent these past years wandering abroad in disgrace.
With great difficulty, he had waited for Yan Nantian to die, only to be forced to fear a new demonic lord.
Kun Jiao had truly had enough!
Wu Qi of the Moluo Sect saw right through his thoughts.
Under normal circumstances, being used by a cultivator of a lower realm would have displeased him greatly. He might have struck the man down on the spot as a warning to others.
Yet an early Golden Core alchemist… no, the man clearly refined a wide variety of pills with consummate mastery, already worthy of being called a master of his generation.
If such a figure were brought under control,
his Wu family would inevitably rise.
And he, Wu Qi, could secure a prominent standing within the Moluo Sect, becoming part of the foremost tier beneath the True Persons!
This gamble was worth taking!
Glancing at Kun Jiao, who was looking at him with eager anticipation, Wu Qi said coldly, “Come with me. When the time comes, I shall deal with Demonic Lord Qingyang. You will help me suppress the rest, so those ants do not disturb me.”
Kun Jiao froze. He had to take action as well?
Yet the moment he thought of monopolizing the Flying Swallow Archipelago once the deed was done, any lingering hesitation was cast aside.
“This junior obeys the Superior’s command!”
“Let us go!”
Wu Qi’s expression turned stern. With a sweep of his broad sleeve, a monstrous wave surged up from the azure ocean, lifting his body as it rolled forward.
Wherever he passed, towering waves crashed and spray scattered violently.
From afar, it appeared as though a tsunami capable of swallowing everything was taking shape, bearing down upon the Flying Swallow Archipelago with crushing force.
Chapter 537