Black Emperor Paste!
A gradeless pill medicine!
It sounded surprising, but in truth, it was not unusual.
In the cultivation world, many rare and wondrous pills belonged to the gradeless tier.
Of course, this did not mean Black Emperor Paste was low-grade or inferior; rather, its tier was not fixed.
What tier the medicine reached depended not on the formula itself, but on the limitations of its primary ingredients!
In other words, the better the primary ingredients, the higher the tier of Black Emperor Paste produced.
According to the formula provided by Han Zhan, Tier 1 primary ingredients could yield Tier 2 Black Emperor Paste, and Tier 2 ingredients could yield Tier 3 paste. As for Tier 4 Black Emperor Paste, it required primary ingredients of at least Tier 3 to be refined successfully.
As for the primary ingredient of Black Emperor Paste, what was it?
This was remarkably flexible: scales, carapaces, molted husks, and thick hides—virtually any hard exterior part of a demonic beast could serve as medicine.
It was precisely this extraction of hardness and solidity that made the puppets of the Luoyun Sect far superior to those of any other sect in the cultivation world of the Eastern Desolation.
Yet they succeeded by Black Emperor Paste and were limited by it as well.
Tier 4 Black Emperor Paste was exceedingly difficult to obtain, after all requiring the scales and carapaces of Tier 3 demonic beasts as primary ingredients. Consequently, the Black Emperor Paste commonly used by the Luoyun Sect was only of Tier 2 or Tier 3 quality, refined from Tier 1 or Tier 2 beast materials. Even stock of the Tier 3 variety was extraordinarily scarce.
Back when Luo Chen had been injured on the Tiangu Plain battlefield, the jar of Black Emperor Paste Han Zhan bestowed upon him had merely been Tier 3.
As an auspicious beginning to their cooperation, Han Zhan gave the formula for Black Emperor Paste to Luo Chen.
Upon obtaining it, Luo Chen immediately began his research.
The recipe was not complicated.
It was, after all, a gradeless medicine.
After studying it several times, he conducted a few test batches using readily available materials from the Flying Swallow Archipelago.
There were failures, but also successes.
And from those attempts came many insights.
He discovered that this medicinal paste was best refined using "living shells"; only then could its medicinal potency be maximized!
However, while the sea waters around the Flying Swallow Archipelago were teeming with marine beasts, they were not known for having sturdy shells or impenetrable scales. As for refining them alive, the local environment offered no such opportunity.
Therefore, after inquiring with Cheng Haixin and others, he narrowed down several candidate destinations.
One was the Xuanyan Sea Domain, where crab-type demonic beasts ran rampant and possessed exceptionally tough carapaces.
Another was the Tianxia Sea Domain, teeming with countless shrimp-type beasts, where descendants of desolate beasts had even been spotted.
Yet another was the renowned Sunken Sea, where a great many turtle-type demonic beasts inheriting the bloodline of ancient black tortoises were said to have dwelled in earlier eras.
Among these potential destinations, Luo Chen swiftly made his choice.
The Sunken Sea was too distant, and the Tianxia Sea Domain was too hazardous.
By comparison, the Xuanyan Sea Domain was both close and relatively safe, making it the obvious choice.
After making all necessary preparations, he set off without delay.
To avoid losing his way, he specifically brought along Cheng Ji, the Cheng family's most experienced master navigator, having him helm the beast-hunting ship to see him on his way.
At this moment, aboard the beast-hunting ship.
Luo Chen held the concise formula transcribed by Han Zhan, poring over it again and again to ensure that once he reached his destination, slaughtering beasts, gathering materials, refining the medicine, and tempering his body could all be accomplished in one smooth, unbroken sequence.
He could not afford to get stuck on the most basic step upon arriving.
His storage ring was packed to the brim with all the supplementary materials required for Black Emperor Paste; when the time came, he would only need to harvest the primary materials and refine them alive.
As he studied, a voice transmission entered his ears.
With a shift in thought, Luo Chen drew a blood-red token from his storage ring.
"Is there a problem with this?"
From across him, Han Zhan's voice drifted languidly out of the Myriad Soul Banner.
"There is nothing wrong with the token itself, but any keepsake from a Nascent Soul Perfected Person invariably bears some means of tracking. If you do not wish for someone to come knocking directly at your door, you had best attend to it."
Luo Chen furrowed his brow slightly. "Even a storage ring cannot isolate that connection?"
Han Zhan smiled faintly. "If it were a specialized storage ring, perhaps it could. But as for yours..."
Luo Chen looked down at the black ring on his finger.
The Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring, obtained from the ruins of the almighty Bai Ye.
Its material itself was nothing extraordinary, serving merely as a storage vessel meant to hold Thunder Essence. Only through the passage of ages had it barely advanced to the magic treasure grade.
To say it possessed any special ability to conceal qi or sever spiritual senses would be giving it far too much credit.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked directly, "What should be done?"
"Give the token to me."
Without hesitation, Luo Chen handed over the Blood Nightmare Token.
From the soul banner, wisps of black qi drifted out, winding around the Blood Nightmare Token several times along peculiar trajectories.
Gradually, the crimson hue faded away.
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Just that simple?"
Han Zhan chuckled softly. "Given my attainments in the soul realm, an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could never trace this token's imprint. Of course, if you still feel uneasy, you can add a few extra safeguards."
"Oh? Senior, please enlighten me!" Luo Chen inquired humbly.
"It is simple. Are you not adept at the Yinwei Formation? Inscribe the formation onto this ring using your divine sense. If you feel that is not enough, inscribe several more layers." Han Zhan paused, his voice tinged with a faint trace of marvel. "I have never seen anyone take a mundane formation like the Yinwei Formation and master it to your level. If you deploy it yourself, layered over my own methods, then even if the master of this Blood Nightmare Token—the Blood Nightmare Mara himself—came looking in person, he would surely fail to find you."
Since things had been put that way, Luo Chen naturally had no objections.
It was merely inscribing formations with divine sense!
Having opened countless storage pouches over the years, he had long grown familiar with the process.
Compared to the spiritual sense of the Foundation Establishment stage, the transformed divine sense of the Gold Core realm was far more formidable.
In just a few breaths, Luo Chen inscribed five layers of the Yinwei Formation onto his storage ring.
Focusing his gaze upon it now, even he felt an instinctive urge to overlook the ring.
'This is fine too. Most Gold Core cultivators still use storage pouches. Remaining low-profile whenever possible is always for the best.'
Luo Chen smiled to himself and stored the Blood Nightmare Token Wu Qi had given him into a storage pouch.
With that finished, he walked onto the deck.
Beholding the seamless blue of the boundless sea meeting the sky, his spirits broadened and eased.
With a slight stir of his divine sense, he transmitted:
"Return!"
Shortly after the message went out, undercurrents surged beneath the ocean surface.
Immediately!
"Roar!"
Beneath the sunlight, a massive black-scaled serpent soared from the sea, kicking up countless sprays of water.
Atop its head sat a short, sharp horn.
It was none other than the Tier 3 black-scaled flood dragon belonging to Kun Jiao of the Flood Dragon Gang.
After obtaining it, Luo Chen had spent considerable effort using the Myriad Beast Scripture to enslave it completely.
Because of this, the black-scaled flood dragon's vitality had been severely depleted.
A while back, whenever it looked upon the five Blue-Ringed Giant-Fanged Sea Snakes, its mouth had watered, eager to devour them to nourish itself.
Now back in the open ocean, the beast was like a fish in water, thoroughly at ease.
It scouted ahead on guard while catching fish, shrimp, and crabs to restore its vitality.
"According to the sea chart, at the beast-hunting ship's speed, reaching the Xuanyan Sea Domain will take at least a month. This month should be enough for it to recover to its peak state!"
Luo Chen estimated the journey time and calculated the flood dragon's recovery progress.
At full strength, the black-scaled flood dragon possessed Tier 3 early-stage power. While it had little chance of victory against a human Gold Core cultivator, it held an overwhelming advantage against low-tier demonic beasts.
Having such a beast to assist him would undoubtedly prove of great use in the upcoming operation.
The legacy left behind by Kun Jiao was not limited to this demonic beast.
Inside his storage pouch was quite a tidy sum.
In spirit stones alone, there were a good two hundred thousand—a lavish fortune for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The other materials were not especially diverse, but they were of high value.
The reason was that most of them were auxiliary resources gathered in preparation for core formation.
While useless to Luo Chen himself, they would fetch a fine price in trade or serve well as rewards for subordinates.
"Master, what are your orders?"
Lying flat upon the deck, the black-scaled flood dragon asked in a gruff voice.
Luo Chen shook his head and casually tossed out a handful of Spirit-Nurturing Pellets.
"Continue patrolling the perimeter. If you encounter any powerful demonic beasts, sound an alert."
The black-scaled flood dragon inhaled, drawing the handful of Spirit-Nurturing Pellets straight into its jaws.
Swallowing with satisfaction, it bowed respectfully before plunging back into the sea.
As it went under, the nearby Blue-Ringed Giant-Fanged Sea Snakes trembled in terror, deliberately keeping their distance.
Among demonic beasts, disparities of realm were stark and hierarchy was rigid—even more so than among humans!
...
One month later.
A scarred and battered beast-hunting ship came to a halt outside a stretch of sea bristling with jagged reefs.
Luo Chen gazed into the distance, a flicker of vigilance in his eyes.
Beside him, the elderly man said cautiously, "The Xuanyan Sea Domain is overrun by crab beasts, with countless varieties among their ranks. Foremost among them are the Five Royal Crab Clans: the Overlord Crabs, Azure Emperor Crabs, Red Rock Crabs, Demon Spider Crabs, and Nine-Clawed Poison King Crabs...
"Apart from the crab clans, many other beast races thrive here as well.
"And those capable of living peacefully in an environment where crab beasts band together in swarms are certainly not weaklings either. Ring-Necked Turtles, Sea King Squids, Hidden Dust Sand... and more.
"Exalted One, you must take care and by no means be careless!"
The speaker was Cheng Ji—the Foundation Establishment elder aboard the Cheng family's beast-hunting ship whom Luo Chen had saved when he first arrived in the Northern Sea.
An experienced master navigator, Cheng Ji was proficient in helmsmanship, appraising treasures, and various other crafts, making him an invaluable top-tier talent of the Cheng family.
Had Luo Chen not requested it, he would never have traveled such a great distance to escort him personally.
Even though much of what Cheng Ji shared was information Luo Chen had already learned from books, he still listened patiently.
Sure enough, he gleaned some little-known new intelligence from the elder's words.
For instance, ancient texts recorded seven Royal Crab Clans in the Xuanyan Sea Domain.
Now, only five survived.
This alone allowed Luo Chen to make more thorough preparations.
Having attentively heard the elder's cautions, Luo Chen withdrew his pensive gaze.
"I have troubled you, Elder Cheng."
Cheng Ji waved his hands in haste. "This junior does not deserve such courtesy from the Exalted One; you flatter me far too much."
Luo Chen smiled faintly and raised a beckoning hand.
Immediately, five colossal silhouettes surfaced upon the water. White-bodied with blue rings and brandishing giant fangs, they were the five Blue-Ringed Giant-Fanged Sea Snakes, each rivaling a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"The journey back is long and fraught with unforeseen dangers. Let these five beasts serve as your escorts!"
Cheng Ji hesitated briefly, but ultimately did not refuse.
Doubtless he knew all too well how hazardous it was for a lone Foundation Establishment cultivator to make the long voyage back.
With five Tier 2 sea snakes as guardians, paired with his extensive experience, his chances of survival would be vastly higher.
"My deepest gratitude for the Exalted One's gracious gift!"
"Go on, return now!"
Luo Chen waved his hand. Once Cheng Ji had steered the ship into the distance, his eyes, filled with ambition and resolve, fixed upon the unfamiliar sea domain before him.
The Xuanyan Sea Domain had treacherous terrain, cluttered with sunken reefs and studded with a thousand craggy islands.
Within it, crab beasts proliferated amidst dense marine growth.
Ordinary cultivators dared not enter lightly!
Even Gold Core cultivators were advised not to linger long.
Evidently, traveling thousands of li to this place, Luo Chen had no intention of merely making a quick strike and fleeing.
With a thought, the thirty-zhang-long black-scaled flood dragon swam over.
Luo Chen frowned. "Shrink your body!"
The flood dragon gave Luo Chen an aggrieved look, but had no choice but to shrink its frame until it was two zhang long—its absolute limit.
Among demonic beasts, bigness was prized and length was beauty.
Shrunk to such a size, if it did not actively project its Tier 3 aura, blind shrimp soldiers and crab generals might swarm over trying to devour it as it swam along.
"Guide the way ahead. If you encounter enemies, do not act on your own; follow my command in everything."
The black-scaled flood dragon hissed and quietly plunged beneath the surface.
Luo Chen pinched an incantation gesture, and wisps of black patterns emerged across his body before sinking beneath his skin.
The Yinwei Formations inscribed upon him were fully engaged.
Moreover, closing and snapping his eyes open, a brilliant spiritual light flared.
His Spirit Eyes gazed out across a thousand li.
"Let us go!"
Luo Chen vaulted into the air, transforming into a hazy cluster of spiritual light that drifted through the sky.
As he flew, he surveyed his surroundings.
Back when the Spirit Eye Art had reached Grand Perfection, it had already gained the ability to peer into the earth and seek out spiritual veins; driven to its fullest, it could even perceive the flow of vital essence and deathly qi.
Activating his Spirit Eyes now, Luo Chen sought a suitable foothold.
After flying for roughly half an incense stick's time, Luo Chen paused and sent a transmission, directing the black-scaled flood dragon toward a large island in the distance.
He saw clearly that surging, vigorous fluctuations of spiritual energy emanated from that island.
Even without the containment of an array, it approached the Tier 3 high-grade level—an exceptional, naturally gifted land.
Yet just as the black-scaled flood dragon was about to swim ashore, Luo Chen urgently shouted to halt it:
"Retreat at once!"
He himself turned and departed in a different direction without a second thought.
The reason for this sudden change was simple: just moments ago, several formidable auras had emanated from the island.
In terms of realm, they surpassed even Luo Chen himself.
Waves of nauseating, rancid stench even wafted outward in gusts.
Only after traveling over a thousand li away did Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.
'My luck is somewhat poor. Right after arriving, I nearly barged into the lair of the Nine-Clawed Poison King Crabs.'
Crabs typically possessed eight claws, but the Nine-Clawed Poison King Crab was an ancient mutant, rumored to be the offspring of a venom dragon and an Azure Emperor Crab. Its venom was tyrannical; even Nascent Soul cultivators were loath to come into contact with it.
Luo Chen certainly had no desire to encounter one.
Besides, that monstrosity was not within the scope of his hunting targets.
'Time to find another place!'
...
Time flowed on.
The stars shifted as days and nights rolled on.
After nearly half a month, man and beast finally set foot upon a seemingly unremarkable little island.
The moment they landed, Luo Chen planted the Myriad Soul Banner straight into the ground without a word.
"Senior, I must trouble you to hold the rear."
Inside the banner, Han Zhan teased, "It is merely an early-stage Tier 3 Tianxuan Battle Gull. Is there any need to make such a fuss?"
Luo Chen's expression remained grave; he did not think he was making a fuss at all.
The Tianxuan Battle Gull was a renowned avian demonic beast in the Northern Sea.
It was ferocious by nature, relished fighting, and possessed blinding speed.
To hold a nesting island in the crab-dominated Xuanyan Sea Domain, its strength was bound to be formidable.
No amount of caution could be excessive.
Furthermore, Luo Chen did not wish to cause a massive commotion.
He wanted to slip in unnoticed without alerting anyone, for he planned to stay in this region for several years.
"Blackscale, go lure out that battle gull. Do not let it flee."
The black-scaled flood dragon gave Luo Chen an aggrieved look. Did its master not know that the Tianxuan Battle Gull was among the natural predators of black-scaled flood dragons?
Yet under the enslavement of the Myriad Beast Scripture, it had no choice but to set out and play the bait.
In reality, it did not even need to try hard.
As soon as it expanded to its massive size and slithered across the brush-covered islet, a piercing avian screech rang out.
Next, a magnificent azure bird with a wingspan of over ten zhang vaulted from the thicket and swooped downward.
A pair of razor-sharp talons spread wide, gleaming like tempered steel.
Facing a mortal enemy, the black-scaled flood dragon coiled into a tight ring. Every scale bristled, and its forked tongue flickered with wild hisses.
Moreover, the horn on its brow radiated intense black light, attempting to frighten the foe away.
The battle gull cared nothing for such displays, wheeling around the flood dragon with keen delight.
Flapping its wings now and then, it unleashed volleys of wind blades.
Judging from its posture, it intended to wear down the flood dragon before striking the decisive blow.
Just as one attacked and the other defended, still testing each other, the black-scaled flood dragon suddenly exposed a flaw.
Its mountain-like body abruptly uncoiled.
Seeing this, the Tianxuan Battle Gull revealed a human-like look of delight.
Its wings flared outward, instantly whipping up a gigantic vortex over the island that engulfed the flood dragon.
Not stopping there, it plunged down, sinking both claws straight into the thick body of the beast.
The black-scaled flood dragon whipped its head around to bite.
The Tianxuan Battle Gull pecked viciously in return.
Dragon and gull clashed upon the sandy beach, instantly drawing blood.
It was precisely at this moment.
A piercing whistle suddenly rang through the air.
The Tianxuan Battle Gull whipped its head back, only to see a sword light tearing across the void.
Eyes glaring in fury, it ignored the great serpent beneath it and snapped its wings shut.
*Hum...*
A vortex of wind materialized in midair, forcibly deflecting the greatsword's trajectory.
Before it could breathe a sigh of relief, an explosive boom detonated through the surrounding air.
In a flash, a figure appeared overhead as if out of thin air.
Reaching out, he clawed down!
The Tianxuan Battle Gull attempted to resist, but beneath it, the black-scaled flood dragon coiled its tail around the bird, pinning its body fast to prevent its escape.
The demonic beast panicked.
Its two enormous wings unleashed dense swarms of wind blades, hurtling toward the descending hand.
Facing this, the hand's owner paid no heed. His thick right hand seized downward like a divine roc sweeping across seas of clouds, locking directly onto the Tianxuan Battle Gull's neck.
"Submit, or die!"
Chilling words entered the battle gull's ears.
It shuddered, followed by blazing fury.
Just as it was about to resist, its eyes met the man's gaze, and its will wavered.
"I..."
...
By the time night fell upon Tianxuan Island, Luo Chen was sitting cross-legged.
The sleeve on his right arm was tattered and scored with bloody gashes—injuries suffered when executing the Grand Perfection Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw against the desperate burst of wind blades from the Tianxuan Battle Gull.
True to its combative reputation, the beast retained the strength for a lethal counterattack even in such dire straits, managing to injure Luo Chen's peerlessly tempered body.
Yet such a risky strike yielded rich rewards.
In the sky, a magnificent azure bird wheeled in flight.
Now and then, it peered down at the man on the island, its eyes brimming with conflicted resentment and helplessness.
In the end, it had submitted to Luo Chen. Branded with the Spirit-Controlling Seal, its soul was governed by him.
Unless it advanced to Tier 4 in short order, it could not resist Luo Chen's commands in the slightest.
"Was an early-stage Tier 3 battle gull worth such great trouble?" Han Zhan asked via voice transmission from within the soul banner.
Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes, a faint trace of fatigue visible on his face.
After simultaneously enslaving two Tier 3 demonic beasts—the black-scaled flood dragon and the Tianxuan Battle Gull—he felt a subtle burden.
It was a burden upon his soul.
He could not tell whether his soul foundation was insufficient or whether the beast-controlling art, the Myriad Beast Scripture, was of too low a grade.
Rubbing the space between his brows, he replied earnestly, "If this bird simply vanished, it might draw inquiries from other beasts in the Xuanyan Sea Domain, startling the snake in the grass. Furthermore, with such a beast coordinating with the black-scaled flood dragon, I now have eyes and ears in both the sea and the sky. Moving forward, whether fighting or retreating, I will have ample room to maneuver."
After hearing this explanation, Han Zhan fell somewhat silent.
He knew well that this had not been pre-planned; it was undoubtedly a spur-of-the-moment decision made after Luo Chen detected the small Tier 3 spiritual vein on Tianxuan Island and caught sight of the Tianxuan Battle Gull.
Yet however hasty the choice had been, it was indisputably flawless.
And astoundingly, he had actually succeeded in capturing a flying Tier 3 demonic beast alive!
Recalling the explosive assault that had unfolded with lightning speed—whether the burst of acceleration over that short distance or that unstoppable claw tearing through the void...
"Now I understand why you were so bent on refining Black Emperor Paste. You truly intend to press farther and farther along the path of body refinement!"
Luo Chen smiled freely, offering no rebuttal.
When his realm had been low, constrained by resources and lifespan, he had not dared to divert too much energy into body refinement.
Now, however, he was already at the Gold Core stage, and his current cultivation pace would easily allow him to reach Grand Perfection of the Gold Core realm within his lifespan.
The surplus time naturally could not be squandered.
The path of body refinement could be resumed!
Most importantly, after years of cultivation, his Convergence of Myriad Paths was approaching Grand Perfection. Coupled with Black Emperor Paste, he would certainly be able to advance his physical realm rapidly in short order.
In doing so, he would once again wield a lethal trump card surpassing the Gold Core stage among his conventional means!
Luo Chen was no fool; he never did futile work.
Standing up from the ground, he dusted the sand off his seat.
Luo Chen glanced left and right, his gaze finally settling deep into the earth.
"Time to build a temporary cave dwelling!"
Chapter 542