[Lifespan: 146/500]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Golden Core Fifth Layer 30/100, Primordial Desolation Tier 3 75/100]
[Cultivation Methods: Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture (Mastery 201/300), Convergence of Myriad Paths (Grand Perfection), Myriad Beast Scripture (Perfection 375/500)]
[Spells: Tier 4: Dragon Slaying Art (Grand Perfection), Origin Core Art (Perfection 375/500); Tier 3: Sevenfold Blazing Heaven Rings (Grandmaster 700/1000), Life-Severing Finger (Initiation 15/100)]
[Martial Arts: Air Burst Steps (Grandmaster 575/1000)]
[Grand Perfection Spells (Click to expand details)]
After many years, the streamlined attribute panel once again appeared before his eyes.
Even with the state of mind Luo Chen maintained—still as water in an ancient well—slight ripples could not help but stir within him.
After taking up residence at Penghu Lake, it had taken him merely two years, with every advantage and resource pushed to the maximum, to leap straight from halfway through the fourth layer of Golden Core into the fifth layer. Over the next three years, his cultivation speed had not slowed in the slightest; advancing at a pace of ten percent per year, he had surged all the way to thirty percent.
He was now only six or seven years away from the sixth layer of Golden Core.
Such sheer velocity would be considered utterly astounding anywhere in the Mountain Sea Realm.
Yet Luo Chen knew that this was, in fact, his proper cultivation speed!
Being "comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root" was not merely an empty boast.
According to legend, a cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root achieved Foundation Establishment in ten years, formed a Golden Core in a century, and birthed a Nascent Soul in two hundred years. The further they progressed, the faster their cultivation became, virtually free of bottlenecks.
Behind such an exaggerated reputation lay a series of hidden conditions unknown to outsiders.
Suitable cultivation methods, spiritual grounds, guidance from renowned masters, corresponding supplementary resources, and so forth.
Previously, Luo Chen had borne the reputation of possessing cultivation speed comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root, but his actual pace had merely equaled that of an ordinary dual-spiritual-root cultivator.
The greatest limiting factor had been the spiritual ground itself.
The eight hundred li of Penghu Lake, with its converging spiritual veins elevated in rank, had resolved this restriction.
Only then had his cultivation been able to surge forward with unstoppable momentum!
Naturally, throughout this process, the assistance of numerous pills and the growing mastery of his natal cultivation method had played crucial roles.
Especially the latter!
"The Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture is truly profound. Not only has it improved my spiritual root aptitude, but the magic power it produces is so pure and virtually devoid of impurities that it spares me a tremendous amount of wasted effort refining and purifying it."
Amid his reflections, Luo Chen could not help but wonder about the origins of this method.
Could it really be a human cultivation method meant for the Phoenix clan after taking human form?
Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain such miraculous effects.
And this was merely the Golden Core chapter. What world-defying divine principles and dao truths might be recorded in the Nascent Soul chapter, the Soul Formation chapter, or the complete manual?
Shaking his head, Luo Chen stopped dwelling on it.
His attention shifted to his physical progress.
[Primordial Desolation Tier 3 75/100]
With his self-created Convergence of Myriad Paths reaching Grand Perfection, his efficiency in body refinement had reached its peak, especially with the aid of Black Emperor Paste, a miraculous medicine designed for puppet-style body tempering.
Over these past few years of wandering and rushing about, his immortal cultivation speed had fallen behind somewhat, but his body refinement progress had hardly paused.
In a single unbroken momentum, he had reached seventy-five percent on the progress bar, seemingly only a step away from Tier 4.
Yet that single step was plainly not so easy to cross.
Luo Chen could already faintly sense that ordinary Tier 3 Black Emperor Paste no longer had any effect on him.
Even if taken in large quantities, his progress crept along like a turtle.
Still, that was no great issue.
In his storage ring, Luo Chen possessed a large batch of Tier 4 Black Emperor Paste!
Back then, he had hunted down more than a dozen Tier 3 Demon Crab Kings and refined the paste from their carapaces into Tier 4 Black Emperor Paste.
With this batch of spiritual medicine to assist him, as long as he persevered in his cultivation, attaining a Tier 4 Primordial Desolation physique was only a matter of time!
Glancing downward, Luo Chen fell into contemplation upon seeing the sparse spells column.
"Dragon Slaying Art at Grand Perfection..."
Murmuring to himself, he raised his fingers, pressing them together like a sword as if about to strike downward.
In the end, however, he reined in the urge.
Certain spells developed additional special effects once they reached Grand Perfection.
This happened either because they pushed human ability to its utmost limit, or because the spell's potential had not yet been exhausted and a higher-tier replacement existed.
Just like the Fireball Art he had learned earliest: having reached a point where it could advance no further, it had naturally gained a "fusion" effect, transforming into what was known as the Blazing Sun Art.
Over the years, Luo Chen had learned countless spells of every tier and variety.
Yet those that acquired special effects were few and far between.
The most recent had been the illusion art, Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
He had not expected that the Dragon Slaying Art, which he had sought out specifically to remove foreign magic power for Chu Kui, would bring an unexpected pleasant surprise upon reaching Grand Perfection.
Strictly speaking, the Dragon Slaying Art's attainment of Grand Perfection dated back to the journey aboard the Langya on its way to Giant Whale Port.
The catalyst that had brought it to perfection had been purging the baleful miasma from Han Zhan's Soul Nourishing Wood.
That baleful miasma was no ordinary aura.
It was a lingering trace left by one of this realm's paramount experts.
To purge such a substance with Luo Chen's Dragon Slaying Art, which had only been at the Grandmaster level at the time, had been like the Foolish Old Man moving mountains—exceedingly difficult.
Yet after succeeding, without Han Zhan's knowledge, Luo Chen had reaped two distinct benefits.
The first was an advancement in his illusion techniques!
With a thought, various wondrous phenomena seemed to emerge within Luo Chen's deep eyes, eventually coalescing into a terrifying vista of thronging specters and eerie, towering pavilions.
He had integrated into Mirror Flower, Water Moon the dreadful illusions triggered when the baleful miasma had surged into his sea of consciousness.
It was precisely by relying on this move that he had ensnared the true disciple of the Soul Refining Lineage from the renowned Yuan Demon Sect.
Back then, the optimization of that technique had still been in the experimental stage.
With his secret cultivation over these past few years, the power of Mirror Flower, Water Moon had grown increasingly unfathomable.
Luo Chen was confident that once unleashed, even a late Golden Core cultivator would find it difficult to resist.
The second harvest was also something Han Zhan knew nothing about.
It was the mutation that occurred when the Dragon Slaying Art reached Grand Perfection.
It slew dragons, severed qi, and severed the soul!
"That baleful miasma was not merely an aura, but the lingering remnant of an expert's divine soul power! By severing it repeatedly, I unconsciously caused the perfected Dragon Slaying Art to acquire this effect of severing spiritual soul influence."
Though it was a gain, it had little practical utility.
Luo Chen could sense that the casting range for this soul-severing effect was far too narrow.
It could not leave his body at all and could only be executed within himself or inside his sea of consciousness.
This was likely due to his realm being insufficient, or perhaps related to the fact that the illusions caused by the baleful miasma had only manifested in his sea of consciousness.
Regardless, it was truly an unexpected surprise.
Who knew when it might produce unforeseen results?
Luo Chen took a deep breath, looking at his progress in the Origin Core Art, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
In the end, without relying on the system, he had mastered this Tier 4 secret art of the Falling Cloud Sect!
The grain of Hidden Dust Sand had now transformed into an Origin Core nestled within his sea of qi.
Not only did it automatically ingest and exhale the world's spiritual energy as he circulated his natal cultivation method, but it also accumulated a massive reservoir of pure magic power within itself, ready for emergencies.
One could say that Luo Chen's magic power was now more than double what it had been before.
His magic power had already been stronger than that of peers at the same cultivation stage, superior in both quality and quantity.
Now, doubled out of nowhere, its vastness was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary late Golden Core great cultivator.
With more magic power came natural benefits.
Luo Chen could feel that whether manipulating magic treasures or unleashing large-scale destructive spells, he could do so with ample ease.
He would no longer find himself in the awkward predicament of having exhausted his magic power after a fierce battle, unable to make bricks without straw.
Evidently, Luo Chen's gains over these past few years did not end there.
Opening his palm, a wisp of deep bluish flame flared up.
The Wither-Bloom Fire!
Its quality was even higher than before.
This change had not come from cultivation.
It had come from devouring.
During the battle at the Quyang defense line, he had reversed the Blue Fire Pearl released by the white-robed cultivator, reaping a large quantity of high-grade Qingyang Demonic Fire.
Old Angler had not uttered a single word about this spoil of war even after they returned to Longyuan Immortal City.
After moving to Penghu Lake, Luo Chen had spent his leisure time studying this demonic fire, said to be artificially refined from the blood essence of living beings.
His ultimate conclusion was that it was inferior to his Wither-Bloom Fire.
Keeping it around had felt rather useless.
Yet during one of his artifact-crafting sessions, on a sudden whim, he had tried using the Wither-Bloom Fire to refine the Qingyang Demonic Fire—and surprisingly, it had succeeded.
At the time, his thought had been simple: since it was reputed to be a demonic fire refined from living blood essence, and his Wither-Bloom Fire could incinerate living creatures to extract their vitality, could fire not incinerate fire as well?
To his surprise, the outcome had exceeded his expectations.
The Blue Fire Pearl had been completely swallowed by his Wither-Bloom Fire.
This had made Luo Chen's source true fire considerably more potent.
Not only did it enhance his fire-attributed spells, but it also brought substantial improvements to his alchemy and artifact crafting.
With a thought,
the attribute panel unfolded once more.
[Professions]
[Tier 2 Artifact Craftsman]
[Crafting Arts: Iron Smelting Art (Consummation), Quenching Art (Consummation), Hundredfold Forging Technique (Consummation), Flowing Fire Hammer Art (Grandmaster 678/1000), Iron Refining Hand (Perfection 400/500), Metal Shearing Art (Perfection 366/500), Snow Blowing Technique (Initiation 79/100)]
[Magical Artifacts: Low-grade artifact: Azure Fire Sword; Mid-grade artifacts: Peerless Rings, Jasper Mother-and-Child Blades; High-grade artifacts: Nine Dragons True Fire Shroud, Meteor Fire Ring, Flame Dragon Whip]
[Magic Treasures: Uninitiated]
Looking at this craft panel, Luo Chen felt a momentary daze, as if returning to the first time he had laid eyes on his alchemy attribute panel.
Only this time, it was replaced by Artifact Crafting.
Although the two crafts were not closely related, all techniques returned to the same fundamental principle, sharing roughly similar forms.
Just as an alchemist needed to master foundational pill arts and a physician treating patients needed medical arts, an artifact craftsman possessed unique trade skills.
The crafting techniques Luo Chen had acquired came from rather varied sources.
There were techniques evolved over three centuries by the Duan family of the Eastern Desolation, as well as common, foundational crafting methods circulating outside Tianfan City.
There were even foundational crafting arts from Azure Pill Valley and low-tier puppet-crafting methods from the Falling Cloud Sect.
Beyond that, the higher-end techniques among them came from Lianfeng Firm and Baizao Mountain on Lengguang Island in the Northern Sea cultivation world!
He had claimed the storage bag belonging to the second brother of the Wu family from Lianfeng Firm, as well as those of the burly man and the elderly woman from Baizao Mountain.
Among their remains, he had found few cultivation manuals, but he had gathered a vast collection of texts related to artifact crafting.
This was easy to understand.
High-tier cultivators had long committed their natal cultivation methods to memory; unless they had not yet practiced them or had recorded them specifically to pass down to descendants, they rarely carried such manuals on their person.
However, texts related to crafts were frequently kept at hand.
On one hand, there was always something new to glean from re-reading them; on the other, high-tier cultivators had ample time and often practiced secondary arts, requiring constant study.
Thus, Luo Chen had ultimately reaped the benefit.
One could say that his rapid advancement in artifact crafting over just a few years—to the point where rogue cultivators at Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment had begun calling him Crafting Master Qingyang—was entirely thanks to these spoils.
Even Han Zhan had not contributed much to this.
By integrating the foundational crafting techniques of the Eastern Desolation and the Northern Sea cultivation worlds, combining them with blueprints for magical artifacts and magic treasures, and drawing upon years of continuous formation practice, Luo Chen had been able to maintain both high output and high quality in his crafting.
Yet Luo Chen knew very well
that attempting to refine the Demon Sovereign's remains with his current level of attainment was nothing short of wishful thinking.
He did not fear failure.
What he feared was squandering the Dark Rock Armor.
"I still need to temper myself!"
Luo Chen sighed and put away the attribute panel.
As for the alchemy, medicine, and formation panels, he did not bother looking closely.
He had spent little effort on the first two over the years, and aside from becoming more solidly grounded, they had seen no advancement.
The formation panel he consulted regularly, so its details were already engraved in his mind.
In fact, he had already begun studying the high-tier formations required to refine the Dark Rock Armor.
Just before closing the attribute panel completely, Luo Chen glanced at his Achievement Points.
[Achievement Points: 207]
An unprecedentedly massive sum!
At this, Luo Chen merely smiled a knowing smile.
With his current vision, extraordinary intellect, and cultivation attainment, ordinary methods and secret arts no longer required Achievement Points to reach initiation.
Unless it was a technique, secret art, or high-tier pill recipe completely beyond his current realm, he had no need for this vast sum of points.
"I'll save them. The more, the better."
Chuckling softly, Luo Chen turned and entered the main hall where he cultivated.
Unlike the simple, quiet cave dwellings ordinary people imagined, the main hall where Luo Chen stayed was exceptionally splendid.
Above his head were the stars of the heavens, which on closer inspection were luminous pearls representing all five elements.
Beneath his feet lay pure white profound jade, giving off what seemed like rising jade vapors.
Massive pillars fashioned from ancient wood centuries or millennia old propped up heaven and earth, traversing the entire hall.
Wisps of golden lines spread across the jade, pillars, ceiling, and pearls, forming distinct formation patterns.
Moreover, the hall was furnished with folding screens, meditation cushions, potted landscapes, and miniature rockeries with flowing water.
Such grandeur carried both the imposing majesty of a mortal imperial court and the magnificent wonder of an immortal family, leaving anyone who stepped inside momentarily entranced.
This was not because Luo Chen craved luxury.
In truth, this arrangement held profound mystery!
Luo Chen had invested a full million spirit stones into this single hall.
The spreading formation lines did not merely occupy this Constellation Palace; they extended across the entire eight hundred li of Penghu Lake.
At this moment, if someone were to sweep their divine sense across all of Penghu Lake, they would find formation banners of various sizes planted in more than three thousand six hundred corners.
This was the Vein-Gathering Rank-Ascension Array Han Zhan had arranged for him.
A technique of the Falling Cloud Sect, and an even more profound secret art of the Mingyuan Sect!
Only thus had this Constellation Palace on Peng Island been forged into a Tier 3 top-grade spiritual ground!
All to aid Luo Chen in cultivating at full speed!
Upon entering, Luo Chen removed his tall crown, drew out the jade hairpin binding his hair, and shed his white robe.
He let his long black hair drape loosely behind him.
Lighting a stick of sandalwood incense that cleared the mind and focused the spirit, he leisurely sat cross-legged upon a golden cushion.
First, he smeared the black ointment over his body, then held a high-grade True Flame Pill in his mouth and circulated his natal cultivation method.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, massive quantities of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy gathered from across the eight hundred li of Penghu Lake toward the Constellation Palace, eventually condensing into a white dragon of qi that Luo Chen swallowed whole.
Had the formation not concealed it, such a sight would have provoked an uproar.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator forming a Golden Core caused no greater spectacle than this.
Luo Chen's mind remained as still as water in an ancient well, as though the agonizing pain brought by the Black Emperor Paste did not exist.
Refining pills a thousand times, forging artifacts in a hundred ways—all were external things. Only cultivation was the true essence.
Such a high-grade spiritual ground was only the second he had possessed in his century of cultivation.
He had no desire to waste a single day.
...
Meanwhile, within the rugged ravines of the Dragon Taming Mountain Range, atop a towering peak piercing the clouds.
A magnificent cloud carriage broke through the mists and slowly descended upon the summit.
Cave Master Moyun stepped out from the carriage, but before he could receive the respectful greetings of his subordinate cultivators, his brow furrowed.
"He hasn't left yet?"
The next instant, a man wearing cloud shoes woven with gold and a purple Daoist robe strode out from the mist.
His eyes shone with piercing vitality, gleaming with an arresting brilliance.
Catching sight of Cave Master Moyun, he bowed with clasped hands.
"Fellow Daoist Moyun, on this trip to Penghu Lake, did you see that master of the eight hundred li of Penghu?"
Chapter 604