"The Cheng clan shall temporarily serve as the lord of Flying Swallow and take charge of the pass token for Yaoyue Island's grand formation!"
Once these words were spoken, a buzz of discussion immediately broke out in the grand hall.
Among the clamor of voices, the underlying sentiment boiled down to a single question:
"On what grounds?"
Her Cheng clan had done plenty of work for the Demonic Lord, but the other clans had also contributed significantly. Was it solely because proximity brought early favor?
Besides, to be the master of a region required sufficient strength!
Whether to suppress the clans within or repel powerful foes from without.
Without strength, it was nothing more than a joke!
Some of the older and more prudent figures kept their thoughts hidden without uttering a word, merely observing Demonic Lord Qingyang's expression in secret.
Seeing him remain silent and calm, letting the people below chatter away with an air of laissez-faire indifference, they wondered:
Did he truly not care at all?
Did he really think his words were inviolable law, and that everyone would continue to obey them after he left?
As they pondered the deeper meaning behind the Demonic Lord's words, some gradually caught on.
The last sentence of that first matter—"until the first native Golden Core cultivator is born!"
Enlightenment dawned in the eyes of many.
So that was it.
The Demonic Lord was not arrogantly declaring that the Cheng clan would rule Flying Swallow forever; it was merely "temporary."
If a Golden Core cultivator were to arise from the thirty-two Flying Swallow Islands, then beyond a shadow of a doubt, that person would become the true master of Flying Swallow.
The authority over Yaoyue Island's grand formation temporarily held by the Cheng clan would naturally be surrendered.
Having realized this, the leaders of the strongest clans exchanged glances, and the smaller clans allied with them promptly fell quiet.
However, these cultivators still held doubts.
If the Cheng clan controlled Yaoyue Island and forbade outsiders from entering, it would be immensely difficult for a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator to break through to the Golden Core stage without a Tier 3 spiritual vein.
Had Demonic Lord Qingyang taken this into account?
Seeing the discussion cease, Luo Chen gave an inward sneer.
Sure enough, these minor clans had colluded with one another at some point.
Fortunately, he had taken the initiative to act ahead of time; otherwise, once he departed, the destruction of the Cheng clan would have happened in the blink of an eye.
The corners of his lips curved slightly as he said in an echoing tone, "The second matter is related to the first. Regardless of who among you ascends to the Golden Core stage, you shall not oppress the Cheng clan without cause. Furthermore, whenever a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator of the Cheng clan wishes to borrow the spiritual land to break through to the Golden Core stage, it must be provided free of charge, with no conditions attached and no foul play behind the scenes.
"Naturally, if any of you wish to borrow the spiritual land, Cheng Haixin will arrange matters one by one according to the circumstances.
"Of those present, I imagine quite a few have already exchanged for my Core Formation secret technique and cultivated it for some time!"
Under Luo Chen's sweeping gaze, several late Foundation Establishment great cultivators lowered their heads.
Standing at the very front, Cheng Haixin's lips trembled, her eyes brimming with tender emotion.
She had never imagined that the Master would be so thorough before departing, arranging everything so meticulously for her Cheng clan.
He had even placed immense power squarely into her hands.
With this, all future Foundation Establishment great cultivators of the Flying Swallow Archipelago would have to curry favor with her.
Her precarious situation was overturned in an instant.
The woman's gaze quietly swept across the few great cultivators she feared the most; presumably, their moods were not very pleasant right now!
And all of this had been decided by a single thought from the Master.
Thinking of this, Cheng Haixin felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude.
Luo Chen did not wait for their thoughts to settle before smoothly stating the third matter:
"From now on, you will no longer need to gather medicinal herbs for me. The Flying Swallow Caravan may be retained for your clans to trade with the outside and earn profits."
All three matters had been laid out.
If the first two conditions had left many feeling somewhat indignant, the final one brought immense relief to everyone.
The Demonic Lord's demands had been insatiable.
In less than twenty years, the strength of each clan had dwindled drastically.
The cultivation progress of several Foundation Establishment cultivators had even been forced to a halt.
Now that Demonic Lord Qingyang would demand nothing more, the shackles were finally cast off.
Consequently, their resentment toward the first two matters was dampened considerably.
Of course, it was only suppressed for the time being!
Who could say for certain what the future would hold?
Once the master departed, tea grew cold. The so-called pacts and vows would be nothing but empty words; who would actually adhere to them...
"Do you all agree?"
The man's low voice echoed throughout the hall.
Without hesitation, the cultivators shouted in unison, "We agree!"
Luo Chen grinned. "Good. Since you agree, let us establish the covenant!"
Everyone froze. Establish a covenant?
Immediately afterward, a scroll of silk paper that looked neither purely metallic nor purely fabric flew from Demonic Lord Qingyang's hand, hovering within the hall.
Upon it, crisp, striking lines of writing outlined the exact three matters the Master had just proclaimed.
"Each of you, squeeze out a drop of your natal blood essence. I shall establish this Flying Swallow Blood Covenant for you. Should anyone violate it, so long as the bloodline of any covenant signer endures, the transgressor will suffer the backlash of the collective power."
At these words, everyone's expressions changed drastically!
Instinctively, some wanted to object.
Yet a tremendous spiritual pressure erupted from the young man above, blanketing the entire hall and weighing down upon everyone until they could barely breathe.
Under that deep, fathomless gaze, the cultivators ultimately endured the heartache and forced out a precious drop of their natal blood essence.
Watching the dark drops of blood seep into the covenant scroll until Cheng Haixin's blood essence was also absorbed, Luo Chen waved his sleeve and recalled the document.
Before everyone's eyes, his hands formed a series of incantation gestures.
The covenant scroll, which had reeked intensely of blood, instantly turned ordinary, devoid of any strange phenomena.
In fact, without careful inspection, one could hardly even perceive its presence.
Having finished all this, Luo Chen waved his sleeve with a hint of impatience.
"Dismissed!"
In an instant, as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders, the crowd surged out like receding tide waters.
Only Cheng Haixin remained. Looking back at Luo Chen with every few steps, she ultimately shut the heavy doors of Qingyang Hall herself.
After everyone had left, Han Zhan's voice echoed through the hall:
"Though a blood covenant established with my method binds everyone's divine souls and carries tremendous restraining power, its greatest flaw is its distance limitation. If you take the covenant scroll with you, they probably won't suffer much backlash even if they breach it. And if you leave it behind and someone finds it, destroying it is quite simple. Luo Chen, what do you intend to do?"
"That's simple," Luo Chen smiled nonchalantly. "Won't it suffice to find a hidden place to conceal it?"
He produced a jade box from his storage ring and placed the covenant scroll inside.
Then, Luo Chen pointed a finger into the empty air toward the hall's floor.
*Crack! Crack!*
Instantly, the floor split open, revealing a rift.
With a casual wave of his hand, the jade box dropped into the fissure.
As the floor closed back up, it vanished without a trace.
"Burying it under the hall... Ah, you hid it inside the Tier 3 spiritual vein beneath Yaoyue Island! That is indeed a clever method. Unless someone destroys the spiritual vein, they truly won't be able to retrieve the covenant."
Han Zhan realized the truth, then let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"This old man thought you would excavate the raw high-grade spirit stone ore of this Tier 3 spiritual vein before leaving. You certainly have a generous nature, leaving behind the root of the spiritual vein for others."
Luo Chen's eyes flashed, catching the sliver of information revealed in the other's words.
Raw high-grade spirit stone ore!
Regarding blessed lands like spiritual veins, Luo Chen had learned a great deal back in his Qi Refinement days, and later learned even more inside details when trading for the mountain-moving method with Meng Changshou, the Medicine King Sect elder skilled in alchemy.
In the Mountain Sea Realm, spiritual veins were generally classified from Tier 1 to Tier 5.
Each tier corresponded to a cultivation realm from Qi Refinement to Soul Formation. Cultivators of a corresponding realm achieved twice the result with half the effort by cultivating in a spiritual land of matching rank.
If one's cultivation realm was high while the spiritual vein's tier was low, one's cultivation speed would be severely hindered.
Conversely, if one's realm was low while the vein's tier was high, it would impose a natural suppression upon the cultivator. Not only would cultivation progress crawl, but one could easily burst and die from being overwhelmed by the massive amount of worldly spiritual qi.
Aside from certain bizarre and elusive principles, the primary reason was tied to the raw spirit stone ore beneath each tier of spiritual vein!
In a Tier 1 spiritual vein, the raw ore was mostly low-grade.
Tier 2, mid-grade.
Tier 3, high-grade.
Upon reaching a Tier 4 spiritual vein, it possessed raw top-grade spirit stone ore within, making such blessed lands the prime choice for Nascent Soul superior sects!
In his earlier years, Luo Chen had obtained a piece of raw spirit stone ore excavated from the miniature Tier 1 spiritual vein beneath Crescent Moon Valley, which remained stored in his storage ring to this day.
However, beyond absorbing the pure spiritual qi contained within, Luo Chen had never been able to process it into standard low-grade spirit stones.
Now that Han Zhan brought it up, a thought surfaced in his mind, though he said aloud, "It's not that I'm generous. I would have loved to dig out this raw spirit stone deposit, but I don't know the method of crafting spirit stones. Even if I took it, I couldn't produce high-grade spirit stones. A bit of worldly spiritual qi severed from the earth vein is like water without a source; for my mid Golden Core realm, it would be a drop in the ocean."
At this point, he probed, "I've heard that the Nascent Soul superior sects of the Eastern Desolation all possess methods for crafting standard spirit stones. Senior Han, your Luoyun Sect was also a Nascent Soul superior sect, so you should..."
"Don't entertain that notion. Until the opening war is won and the status of a superior sect is confirmed, the Sacred Land will not bestow the method for crafting spirit stones. Besides..." Han Zhan sneered, "even if I had it, I wouldn't dare pass it to you. That is a technique bestowed by a Soul Formation Sacred Land; how could it be casually shared with outsiders?"
Luo Chen was speechless.
Fine!
Before that fleeting idea in his mind could even take shape, it was thoroughly squashed.
He had envisioned obtaining the method, then relying on his formidable strength and concealment arts to visit deserted overseas islands, seek out Tier 2 spiritual veins, and mine them on a massive scale.
Then he would refine vast quantities of mid-grade spirit stones to lavishly purchase resources in the cultivation world.
What was such behavior called?
Counterfeiting currency?
"Never mind. It was merely a passing thought. I'm not lacking in ways to earn money anyway; I wouldn't care to go mining in the first place."
Curling his lip, Luo Chen quietly left Qingyang Hall and fled far beyond the island, heading toward the uninhabited open sea.
With departure imminent, certain preparations still had to be made to ensure he possessed sufficient strength.
His cultivation realm could not surge overnight.
Yet Luo Chen's means of increasing his strength were not limited to Qi Refinement.
After reaching Grand Completion in *Convergence of Myriad Paths* and advancing to the late stage of Desolate Ancient Tier 3, his physical body had unlocked numerous wonders.
Although his previous battle against Jin Ao had been thoroughly exhilarating, he had sensed that he had yet to push the power of this physique to its absolute limit.
He was still not familiar enough with it!
Therefore, over the next three months, he needed to make the most of his time to familiarize himself with its subtleties.
...
Three months slipped by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, the eve of departure.
After bathing and burning incense, Cheng Haixin arrived on Yaoyue Island alone, carrying a tray.
Seeing the three Daoist robes of different colors on the tray, Luo Chen was somewhat surprised.
Keeping her head bowed, Cheng Haixin said softly, "The Master is about to embark on a distant journey, and this concubine has no worthy gift to offer. Having noticed that the Master usually prefers red, black, and white, I specially prepared three robes of differing colors."
She was indeed an observant woman.
After years at his side, she had picked up on several patterns in Luo Chen's daily life.
During ordinary days, alchemy, and rest, he mostly wore white garments—loose, simple, natural, and elegant.
When venturing out to practice spells or embarking on long journeys, he liked wearing crisp, spirited black attire.
As for red... Touching that red feather robe, Luo Chen fell into a momentary daze.
The last time he had worn a red Daoist robe was on the Mount Thunder Accumulation battlefield in the Jade Cauldron Domain.
In the battle of Xiankong Valley, that top-grade Red Cloud Daoist robe had been destroyed by a sword strike from the Golden Core cultivator Di Wanyun.
Ever since then, Luo Chen had rarely worn red.
To tell the truth, red had been his most frequent attire during battles in his Foundation Establishment days.
There had been no special meaning to it—only that he specialized in fire arts, and whenever he cast spells, flames blanketed the ground and red clouds surged to the sky, allowing red garments to better conceal his figure.
Since coming to the Northern Sea, he had never worn red, sticking mostly to plain black and white clothes.
He had not expected Cheng Haixin to notice this detail.
Seeing Luo Chen fall silent, Cheng Haixin bit her lip gently.
"Although they are only high-grade dharma artifact robes, they were crafted from the down feathers of my clan's mutated black swans. They possess unique qualities in repelling dust, calming the mind, and riding the wind and waves.
"They may not be of much help in battle, but they can serve as spare garments.
"I hope the Master will not look down on them."
Meeting her expectant gaze, Luo Chen gave a slight nod.
"Then this seat shall accept them. Coincidentally, I was in need of some suitable robes."
He was telling the truth.
Constantly unleashing the Heavenly Roc Transformation took the greatest toll on clothing.
Of the top-grade robes he had purchased in the Jade Cauldron Domain, aside from the one gifted by Gu Caiyi, the rest had been destroyed respectively at Mount Thunder Accumulation's Xiankong Valley, the Sky Drum Plain battlefield, and Xuanyan Island.
What he wore now were merely ordinary mid-grade robes.
Seeing Luo Chen accept, delight flashed across the woman's face. Gathering her courage, she looked up and said, "Whether they fit or not can only be known by trying them on. Please permit this concubine to dress the Master."
Did robes even need to be tried on?
Though somewhat puzzled, Luo Chen did not refuse.
He generously spread his arms, allowing her to remove the old garment imbued with the scent of pill fumes and herbs.
Cheng Haixin folded it neatly and set it aside, then picked up a white feather robe and slowly slipped it onto Luo Chen.
Watching Luo Chen's open and completely composed demeanor, the woman thought to herself, *Master Qingyang must have been a lord of a territory in the past, with servants attending to him. Ordinary cultivators pursue simplicity and would never be so accustomed to being waited on by others.*
With this thought in mind, she bit her rosy lip, her hands quietly wrapping around the man's waist.
The woman's fresh fragrance, like orchid and musk, mingled with the fierce, blazing masculine aura before her.
Within the quiet chamber, an ambiguous, intoxicating warmth rippled in the air.
Feeling the soft fullness against his back, Luo Chen's brow furrowed slightly.
"Have you thought this through?"
"Before coming here, this concubine had already made up her mind."
"Once I leave, I may never return. With your chaste body, you could easily find a suitable Dao companion to pursue the Great Dao together. But if you give yourself to me... heh, I am somewhat fastidious about such things."
Pressing against the man's broad, firm back, the woman's cheeks flushed crimson, her dazed expression carrying a sliver of resolve.
"The Master need not worry. This concubine is entirely willing and will never regret it."
"Never regret it?"
Hearing a soft laugh beside her ear, the woman looked at the man's face before her eyes, fluttered her long eyelashes, and slowly closed her eyes.
That night, spring rain fell into the lake, and the sound of the sea roared on.
Chapter 565