As the morning sun crested the horizon, the crimson surge of Red Tide Port had gradually receded. Only warm, gentle rays of dawn bathed the sea's surface in shimmering pale gold and bright yellow.
The docks bustled with activity early in the morning.
With the great war between the orthodox and demonic factions growing fiercer by the day, trade routes everywhere were severed and maritime lanes grew precarious. Logically, it was hardly a time suited for commerce.
Yet, the rougher the wind and waves, the dearer the fish.
Under the current climate, prices for all manner of resources had skyrocketed. Completing even a single deal yielded staggering profits.
Consequently, as one of the regional transit hubs, several merchant vessels moored at Red Tide Port set sail at dawn, eager to reach destinations far and wide.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle, a small merchant vessel bearing a blue floral emblem lay moored placidly at the pier.
Though primed to depart, its leisurely demeanor exuded an easy, unhurried air.
Beneath the ship, an old man spoke intently with a sallow-faced young man.
"This ship is quite fast, but its endurance for long voyages is poor. Mount Langya generally only uses it for short-range transport.
"It's eight hundred li from Red Tide Port to Mount Langya; it will take about half a day.
"I've already arranged things on that end. Once you arrive, an elder of my clan will contact you and arrange a ship bound for Giant Whale Port.
"However, our Mount Langya caravans only venture as far as the Canghai Alliance's Giant Whale Port. If you wish to reach the Myriad Immortals Association, you'll have to find another way from there."
The stooped young man listened attentively, absorbing every detail and chiming in with questions from time to time.
Evidently, though, this shopkeeper of the Langya Herbal Shop was merely at the late Qi Refinement stage and had never traveled far in his life. Much of what he knew came from hearsay, leaving him unable to provide Luo Chen with more detailed answers.
After offering a lengthy series of reminders, the shopkeeper finally glanced at the woman standing behind Luo Chen.
Her face was utterly pale, bereft of color, and her figure was so frail that a gust of wind might blow her over.
Coupled with Luo Chen's sallow complexion and hunched posture, the shopkeeper sighed. "Honestly, given the state of master and servant, you're hardly fit for a long journey. Why not settle down in Red Tide Port and nurse your ailments back to health before moving on?"
Luo Chen shook his head and explained, "My maidservant's affliction cannot be cured by ordinary medicines; it requires top-tier herbs. Red Tide Port is a bit too sparse in that regard."
"True enough." The shopkeeper nodded. He glanced back at Mount Langya's cargo vessel. "Everything is packed. You may board."
Luo Chen acknowledged with a nod and beckoned to Tianxuan behind him.
"Let's go!"
Just before stepping away, he paused and turned back. "Shopkeeper Wang, I think I ought to offer you a word of caution."
Shopkeeper Wang blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Go on."
"Right now, Moluo Stream and the Penglai Immortal Sect have joined hands against the Canghai Alliance. On the surface, their momentum appears unstoppable, forcing the Canghai Alliance into passive retreat. But the Canghai Alliance is backed by a Deity Transformation powerhouse; the tide may well turn back and forth in the future. As a vital southeast stronghold, Lengguang Island will inevitably become a hotly contested focal point. Yet Mount Langya also straddles the southeast. I do not know what your Perfected Cultivator intends, but neutrality cannot be maintained forever—eventually, Mount Langya will have to take a side. When it is drawn into the war, Red Tide Port will know no peace. You should consider an escape route for yourself, Old Wang."
Having spoken his piece, Luo Chen turned and boarded the ship without lingering.
Shopkeeper Wang stood by the pier, staring blankly.
Only when the deckhands called out their farewells did he snap back to reality, a wry smile creeping onto his face.
If events truly unfolded like that, how could a mere late Qi Refinement cultivator like him stay out of the crossfire?
"Still, this Fellow Daoist Murong possesses remarkable foresight to see so far ahead."
Sighing, the shopkeeper clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the small town under the reverent gazes of mortal onlookers.
Those awed looks eased the heavy weight settling on his heart.
Let it change!
Let the future unfold however it pleased!
He didn't have many years left anyway; whether he would even live to see that day was anyone's guess.
***
After boarding the ship, Luo Chen fell silent.
Han Zhan's voice echoed in his mind.
"What's the matter? That cultivator was merely a business contact, hardly an acquaintance. You aren't usually one to speak so candidly to someone you barely know."
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched, a wistful air about him.
"I merely remembered some old matters."
"Old matters?"
"Yes. Back when I was still in Qi Refinement, I lived in a large market town. In those days, I spent my days scurrying around for cultivation resources and got to know many shopkeepers. Later, because of the conflict between the Luoyun Sect and the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, Dahe Mill was..."
At that point, Luo Chen suddenly grew intrigued.
"Speaking of which, all these years I've never really chatted with you about the Jade Cauldron Civil War. As the leader of one of the factions, you must know all the inside secrets. Interested in telling me about it?"
"What do you mean 'am I interested'? It's clearly you who's curious, brat!"
Han Zhan chided him with a laugh, then fell quiet.
After a while, he said in a low voice, "What do you want to know? Ask away! What I can tell, this old man will share."
Luo Chen licked his lips.
"First, in the Jade Cauldron Civil War, did Tianfan City really meddle?"
"Isn't that common knowledge? You still need to ask?"
"Tell me anyway, old man. It'll take half a day to reach Mount Langya; think of it as passing the time."
Han Zhan sighed helplessly. "Fine. As you suspected, Tianfan City did meddle. In fact, it was spearheaded by Tianfan City from the very beginning."
*Spearheaded by Tianfan City from the very beginning?*
Luo Chen was stunned.
Back in his Foundation Establishment days, he had pondered and analyzed the Jade Cauldron Civil War countless times.
After all, amidst such sweeping tides, if a minor figure failed to swim with the current, death was virtually guaranteed.
Thus, piecing together the flood of shoddy magic treasures in the Jade Cauldron Domain and Tianfan City's pre-prepared war artifacts, he had formed his own theories.
He had not imagined that reality went even deeper than his conjectures.
"How so?"
"How else? How do you think this old man reached the Nascent Soul realm?"
"Wasn't it the Nascent Soul Formation Pill?"
"I obtained a ready-made Nascent Soul Formation Pill and pill formula from an ancient ruin, but I had no spiritual land to break through! The sects of the Eastern Desolation have long been deeply entrenched. Without the backing of an upper sect, it is nigh impossible for a Core Formation cultivator to ascend to Nascent Soul. A Core Formation cultivator from Tianfan City who was exploring alongside me reported my acquisition of the pill to a Perfected Cultivator of Tianfan City. Their original intent was to seize it, but the Tianfan City Perfected Cultivator had a change of heart. Instead, they offered me a rank-four spirit vein to aid my breakthrough. The condition, of course, was that upon succeeding, I was to actively incite a civil war in the Jade Cauldron Domain so they could profit from it."
He summarized it in few words, yet the peril of that moment was easy to imagine.
A Core Formation cultivator from Tianfan City had shamelessly called upon his elders.
Unexpectedly, Han Zhan had turned calamity into fortune.
Of course, the consequence was that the Luoyun Sect behind him was dragged into the quagmire of war.
From this, Luo Chen roughly understood why the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had never dared to strike back with all its might despite the Luoyun Sect's relentless pressure.
They had feared Tianfan City all along!
"Second question: what was your relationship with Master Canglong of Ice Fort?"
"Er..."
Han Zhan was caught off guard; he hadn't anticipated Luo Chen asking this.
Luo Chen then recounted what he had seen and heard on the Great Snow Mountain, especially the scene where Han Zhan had guarded Canglong's ascension.
After a long pause, Han Zhan gave a wry smile. "We did have a connection. Didn't I mention before that Canglong and I were quite close? To tell the truth, we almost became Dao companions. However, because of her extraordinary talent, Ice Fort groomed her with utmost care and forbade her from marrying outside. Meanwhile, I had too much pride in my own talents to marry into Ice Fort as a matrilocal husband, so we parted ways."
"Just that? And that made you guard her ascension and battle the White Bone Mysterious Snake?"
"The entanglement between us is not as simple as you think. Still, romantic sentiment was secondary. What mattered most was that Canglong secretly let me use her sect's Ice Prison back then, enabling me to initiate cultivation in the Soul Splitting Classic. That debt of gratitude was immense, pivotal to my later success in surviving the Nascent Soul tribulation. Without repaying it, my Dao heart would never be at peace."
*The Ice Prison?*
Understanding dawned upon Luo Chen.
Speaking of which, he had cultivated in Ice Fort's Ice Prison as well.
It truly was an extraordinary place, one that had allowed him to subdue the rank-four Wither-Bloom Fire, granting him immense benefits across alchemy, spellcraft, Qi refinement, and body cultivation alike.
He hadn't realized that long before him, Han Zhan, another outsider, had already set foot there.
The *Soul Splitting Classic* was presumably one of the Luoyun Sect's Three Arts from their Three Arts and Two Techniques.
"What happened afterward? I heard Senior Sister Canglong failed her tribulation. How is she?"
"You call her Senior Sister?"
"Yes. Wasn't the Luotian Sect I founded a vassal of Ice Fort? Later, I became a guest elder of Ice Fort, so it was simply convenient to address her as Senior Sister."
"Her, ah..."
Han Zhan sighed, filled with boundless sorrow.
"Failing the tribulation devastated all three treasures—essence, qi, and spirit. I used a unique secret technique to restore her divine soul and relied on Ice Fort's treasure casket to stabilize her physical form, ultimately preserving her life. However, she must slumber for a century, perhaps even longer, before awakening. As for the grand Dao of Nascent Soul? Barring some supreme miracle elixir, she has virtually no hope in this lifetime."
Luo Chen opened his mouth, at a loss for words.
Canglong had been a genuinely good person.
Though he hadn't known her long, he had felt her sincerity.
Hearing her true fate now filled his heart with profound sorrow.
Was forming a Nascent Soul truly so difficult?
Back in Feileng City, when he had comprehended his method of Nascent Soul formation at the fourth layer of Core Formation, he had thought that as long as his preparations were thorough, success would be guaranteed.
Yet Canglong, backed by a major Core Formation sect and guarded by Han Zhan himself, had still failed.
What did that say about his own future?
A wave of discouragement welled up.
Whether it was because his injuries had not yet fully healed or because the desperate flight had worn down his edge, he had grown unusually sentimental of late.
Still, Luo Chen quickly adjusted his mindset.
The future could wait for the future.
For now, he had to take things one step at a time!
"Third question: regarding the Deity Transformation ruins on Mount Thunder Accumulation!"
"You mean Almighty Bai Ye's temporary palace?"
"Yes!" Luo Chen asked in confusion. "I heard that many treasures left behind by that Deity Transformation almighty remained inside, even several True Artifacts. But why, when the ruins opened, did both your sects only send Core Formation cultivators inside to compete, while you and Perfected Jade Cauldron never went in person? Were you truly unmoved by the legacy of a Deity Transformation almighty?"
This question had lingered in Luo Chen's mind for a very long time.
In the past, he had either lacked the time or felt his relationship with Han Zhan was not close enough to ask.
Yet over these years together—especially recently, when Han Zhan, upon discovering He Yuan, bided his time and ultimately struck out to aid Luo Chen—he felt their bond had deepened significantly.
Only now did he ask in earnest.
Han Zhan seemed unsurprised by the inquiry; perhaps he had heard similar questions many times before.
He then began explaining it to Luo Chen in detail.
However, this explanation took the better part of the day.
Starting from a cultivator's foundational cultivation and proceeding through the evolution of realms, he laid it all out clearly.
A cultivator's path began with Qi Refinement.
In the Qi Refinement realm, one breathed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, constantly purifying it until the intensely refined spiritual power transformed the dantian into a sea, laying the foundation of the Dao.
Upon Foundation Establishment, spiritual sense awakened, and the body underwent bone cleansing and marrow transformation, enabling it to withstand far more spiritual energy.
Throughout this process, the spiritual power within the body progressed from gas to liquid, and ultimately to a solid state upon reaching the Core Formation realm.
Yet the most critical aspect was not spiritual energy or magical power.
It was the divine soul!
From Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment and on to Core Formation, through the constant circulation of external spiritual energy, the cultivator's divine soul grew through ceaseless day-and-night tempering.
Until the Nascent Soul realm, when the Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown and the Five Qi Reverted to the Origin, the ethereal soul condensed into a tangible Nascent Soul!
The so-called sea of qi transformed into the Purple Mansion, serving as the dwelling of the Nascent Soul.
Upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm, a cultivator's path diverged drastically.
Refining magical power remained the timeless foundation, yet beyond that, the birth of the Nascent Soul domain allowed a cultivator to command external environmental spiritual energy aligned with their own affinity.
Only then did a Nascent Soul cultivator truly attain a measure of the might told in mortal legends—moving mountains, filling seas, chasing stars, and pursuing the moon.
"You've witnessed many high-level battles. You must know what that signifies!"
"Commanding the vast momentum of heaven and earth?"
"Correct. Manipulating external spiritual energy for one's own use, granting an inexhaustible reservoir of magic power." Han Zhan paused. "Yet that is merely the surface. What is the great momentum of heaven and earth? Is it nothing more than ethereal, drifting, scattered spiritual energy?"
"Laws?" Luo Chen ventured hesitantly.
"Indeed. You truly are a cultivation genius. Spells come naturally to you; in the future, your cultivation of laws will surely progress by leaps and bounds."
Han Zhan offered a word of praise before explaining earnestly, "A Nascent Soul cultivator's most vital practice is to comprehend the law power best suited to them through the constant manipulation of environmental spiritual energy. Once comprehended, advancing to Deity Transformation is merely a matter of time!"
Luo Chen frowned in puzzlement. "Yet I have never seen a Nascent Soul cultivator grasp law pow—well, there was one."
As he spoke, a tall, cold silhouette rose in Luo Chen's mind.
Standing atop Mount Cangwu, peerless and invincible!
Han Zhan knew whom he meant, but brushed past the topic for the moment.
"You are not wrong. Ninety-nine percent of Nascent Soul cultivators cannot comprehend law power. Typically, only upon advancing to Deity Transformation—when spiritual consciousness transmutes into divine thought, and divine thought acts in concert with one's domain—does one naturally comprehend the law suited to oneself.
"However, that process of cultivation can never be skipped!
"The reason Perfected Jade Cauldron and I did not enter the Deity Transformation ruins was that places where Deity Transformation powerhouses have fallen contain too much law power imbued by them in life. If we entered, our Dao paths would inevitably be influenced, snuffing out all hope of reaching Deity Transformation in the future!"
Luo Chen's head throbbed slightly from the revelation. Frowning deeply, he summarized with uncertainty, "Nascent Soul cultivators cannot enter Deity Transformation ruins?"
"Yes and no. The prerequisite is whether an almighty fell within. If it is an ordinary Deity Transformation ruin where no powerhouse died, we can enter freely."
Luo Chen pressed, "Is it truly that absolute?"
"Truly! Unless you can ensure you remain unaffected... though there are exceptions." Han Zhan seemed to recall someone.
Sensing Luo Chen's curiosity, he added, "If the path walked by the Nascent Soul cultivator is identical to that of the fallen Deity Transformation almighty, they can enter. They might even receive the predecessor's legacy and comprehend law power ahead of time while still in the Nascent Soul realm."
As everything became clear, Luo Chen etched these fundamentals of higher realms deeply into his memory, lest he wander into some almighty's ruins in the future and stray from his path.
While memorizing this, his thoughts branched out, prompting another question.
"What about ruins of even higher realms? For instance, beyond Deity Transformation—can you Nascent Soul cultivators enter those?"
Han Zhan was stumped.
After pondering for a long time, he could only answer helplessly, "The Mountain Sea Realm is, after all, merely a lower realm. That Deity Transformation cultivators can reside here and occasionally act is already proof of this realm's abundant spiritual energy. Entities of higher realms probably cannot even be accommodated here. A small shrine cannot house a great Buddha.
"So how would I know if one could enter?
"However, beings stronger than Deity Transformation have presumably reached profound depths in their comprehension of law power, perhaps even becoming the sovereign of a law. Such existences ought to pose no threat of straying to us.
"Just as Deity Transformation ruins have no such ill effect on Core Formation cultivators like you, we are not at that realm and cannot perceive such greater power at all, so we naturally wouldn't be swayed onto an errant path."
This time, Luo Chen listened with only a vague, hazy understanding.
Or rather, he couldn't comprehend it at all.
What the path of cultivation looked like for beings beyond Deity Transformation was unknown to all.
At least, with Luo Chen's and Han Zhan's current horizons, it was beyond conjecture.
"Enough, let's leave this question here. If you keep asking, this old man will embarrass himself," Han Zhan joked, devoid of any genuine irritation.
Truth be told, though he habitually referred to himself as an old man, his age was remarkably young among Nascent Soul cultivators.
Consequently, there was virtually no generation gap between him and Luo Chen.
Luo Chen smiled and posed his final question.
Yet this question plunged Han Zhan into a prolonged silence.
"How strong is Demon Emperor Qingshuang?"
After a long silence, Han Zhan replied bitterly, "Beyond the reach of our generation of Nascent Soul cultivators. Unmatched under heaven, unless a Deity Transformation emerges!"
Hearing that answer, Luo Chen's heart remained turbulent for a long time.
He knew Demon Emperor Qingshuang was extraordinarily powerful, but he hadn't expected her peers to hold her in such towering esteem.
Recalling that battle on Mount Cangwu: three late Nascent Soul great cultivators—one wounded, two repelled—ultimately provoking a Deity Transformation cultivator to intervene personally. That indeed matched Han Zhan's assessment perfectly.
After a while, Luo Chen sighed. "Beyond mountains lie mountains, and beyond people lie people. Our path of cultivation is truly like climbing peaks—one summit rising higher than the next!"
Han Zhan gave a soft affirmation.
Then he faded into silence.
It seemed their conversation had drawn to a close.
As dusk approached, Han Zhan suddenly spoke again.
"You didn't ask all that just to pass the time, did you?"
Luo Chen said calmly, "Matters of the world, whether past or present, tend to follow the same patterns. In essence, the Jade Cauldron Civil War was no different from the war between the two gangs back at Dahe Mill—both were struggles over interests. The righteous-demonic war in the Northern Sea today is far vaster in scale, but fundamentally, it likely differs little from the Jade Cauldron Civil War.
"Through the words of someone who lived through it, I can see the whole leopard from a single spot, arriving at a more accurate reading of the war's trajectory. That way, I can move with the tide and seek good fortune while avoiding calamity."
Han Zhan understood; it was just as he had thought.
Luo Chen rarely did anything without purpose.
As for what Luo Chen intended to do after learning these things?
He had already given that answer:
This region would know no peace. With no lingering attachments, it was best to slip away.
In the end, Han Zhan offered a reminder: "Luo Chen, sometimes you shouldn't presume to divine the schemes of higher realms solely through your own experience. Even if both strive for gains, if the nature of those gains differs, the means of contention will also differ.
"Be careful that cleverness does not outsmart itself!"
Luo Chen frowned slightly.
Though he didn't fully grasp the warning, it was an earnest and well-meaning caution, so he committed it to heart.
Right at that moment,
the vessel's rocking came to a halt.
Luo Chen stepped out of the cabin onto the deck.
A towering mountain shaped like a sharp wolf's fang greeted his eyes.
Langya, named for the wolf's fang.
"The first stop has arrived. May everything proceed smoothly from here!"
Chapter 588