Meeting Ding Yi once again, Luo Chen was greeted by that familiar physique and familiar warmth.
Yet Luo Chen could not help but knit his brows.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, Luo Chen couldn't resist asking, "Fellow Daoist Ding, how is it that you haven't shed any of that flesh yet?"
Ding Yi let out a hearty laugh. "Qingyangzi, you are quite observant!"
"I only feared my Dust-Settling Pill had been ineffective and worried you might come asking for an after-sales guarantee," Luo Chen said helplessly.
Ding Yi waved a hand. "You worry too much. Back then, goods and payment were settled clean and clear; how could I possibly hold you accountable after the fact? What's more, the Dust-Settling Pill was indeed effective for me."
If it was effective, how had he still not shed this layer of fat?
Luo Chen cast a surprised glance at him, but did not press further.
Perhaps the man practiced some secret art that required maintaining such a build.
Much like Luo Chen himself, who had earned the moniker 'Red-Faced Daoist' in the outside world simply because consuming the True Flame Pill during his cultivation kept the skin of his face perpetually flushed red.
It was best merely to touch upon such matters; prying too deeply would only cause displeasure.
Potbellied, Ding Yi strolled across Peng Island, his gaze wandering around from time to time. He clicked his tongue in frequent admiration, punctuated occasionally by sighs of regret.
"In less than twenty short years, this vast Penghu Lake has been managed into such splendid shape. Any ordinary rogue cultivator would turn green with envy looking upon it.
"It's just a pity that some areas are still not managed thoroughly enough. Otherwise, how many more spirit stones could you earn each year?"
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "You flatter me, Fellow Daoist."
Over these years, his focus had never been on managing spiritual ground.
Achieving this scale was already the result of Tianxuan and the Zhang family doing their utmost.
If he had personally taken the reins over nearly twenty years, Penghu Lake would have undergone earth-shaking changes long ago.
At the very least, there wouldn't be so few people!
Although the spiritual veins here were dispersed, they were numerous and of no small quality.
It was an ideal cradle for establishing a sect or faction.
Only with enough manpower could one expand sufficient industries.
These were insights born of experience.
Luo Chen naturally understood this, and had even operated in such a fashion before; his ambitions simply lay elsewhere at present.
"Back during the battle of Lengguang Island, you were quite the awe-inspiring figure, Qingyangzi! If the eyes of the world hadn't all been drawn to the clash between Nascent Soul masters, the one truly made famous by that battle would have been you—Demonic Lord... Qingyang."
"Fellow Daoist overpraises me. I merely taught a few Golden Core cultivators a lesson; it hardly qualifies as awe-inspiring."
"Tsk, tsk. Among the crowd besieging you back then, the others were nothing special—even Qian Ting was mediocre at best. But that Mountain Master of Baizao Mountain is no pushover. Even I would have to expend no small effort against him. Yet under such a siege, you managed to depart with composure and even counter-killed several adversaries. My praise is not in the least overstated."
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. He knew better than anyone just how formidable the Mountain Master of Baizao Mountain was.
Had he not seized the opportunity to strike with the surging weight of a heavenly roc and blast him far into the distance, being entangled by him would have made life or death unpredictable unless Han Zhan intervened.
However, though Ding Yi spoke with apparent modesty, his tone retained the confidence of being able to defeat the Mountain Master of Baizao Mountain, which came as quite a surprise.
Luo Chen examined the fat man closely.
The other made no effort to conceal anything, allowing his magic power fluctuations to ripple outward gently.
Luo Chen's brows twitched.
Ninth layer of the Golden Core!
Previously, this man had concealed himself deeply indeed, revealing an outward cultivation resembling only the mid Golden Core stage.
Now unmasked, the sheer depth of his cultivation was as unfathomable as an abyss.
Among all the people Luo Chen had encountered in his life, within the Golden Core stage, only Diaosou surpassed him slightly. Empress Zi and that Ghost Spirit Boy he had met in passing once or twice both fell short of Ding Yi.
No, there was another person who could firmly suppress Ding Yi!
Master Canglong, the Supreme Elder of Ice Fort!
Back then, Luo Chen had still been at the Foundation Establishment stage, incapable of gauging the exact strength of Golden Core cultivators. In daily life before him, Master Canglong had restrained her spiritual pressure exceptionally well.
Recalling it now with the insight of a Golden Core cultivator, that had clearly been a sign of the Great Circle, where the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit had begun preliminary fusion!
"To think that you were the one hiding your true depth all along!"
Luo Chen sighed in admiration, coming to a halt beneath a weeping willow along the lake shore.
Ding Yi chuckled. "Fiends and monsters infest the Northern Sea. If one doesn't conceal a bit of cultivation and allows others to lay targeted traps, wouldn't that invite disaster? Besides, aren't you the same, Qingyangzi? With only the fourth layer of the Golden Core... Huh?!"
Ding Yi's voice caught in his throat. The magic power radiating from the white-robed man by the lakeside grew steadily more intense, revealing a genuine sixth layer Golden Core cultivation.
Moreover!
Because of that pure and domineering magic power, the spiritual pressure was formidable enough to compel Ding Yi to involuntarily muster his own magic power to resist.
The clash between the two spiritual pressures vanished as swiftly as it struck, yielding no clear victor.
Ding Yi, however, was filled with both shock and delight.
"The sixth layer of Golden Core!"
"Fellow Daoist, your cultivation has advanced to such an extent!"
The domineering spiritual pressure receded smoothly back into Luo Chen's body like an ebbing tide.
Fixing Ding Yi with bright, piercing eyes, Luo Chen ensured he did not miss the slightest shift in his expression.
"Since you came to see me, why beat around the bush? We might as well get straight to the point!"
Ding Yi's smile widened. "I have always acknowledged your combat prowess, and seeing the cultivation realm you display today makes me even more pleased."
Luo Chen asked, "From what I know, you must have arrived at the Myriad Immortals Association long ago."
Ding Yi made no denial, nodding candidly. "Indeed. Fourteen years ago, I arrived at the Dragon Taming Mountain Range and requested Cave Master Moyun to craft a secret treasure for me."
"A secret treasure?"
"Yes. That secret treasure pertains to a perilous place I intend to visit. If the treasure could not be forged, I wouldn't go, nor would I come looking for you."
"Looking for me?" Luo Chen raised a brow, sensing that the conversation had finally reached its core. "Could it be that you wish to invite me along?"
"You are sharp as ever, Fellow Daoist!" Ding Yi openly acknowledged his intention.
Stepping up beside Luo Chen, the tall man and the portly man stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out over the tranquil, mirror-like expanse of the lake.
"That perilous place is exceedingly dangerous, surpassing the many perils of the Northern Sea, such as Wuzhong Valley and Soul-Severing Cliff. In fact, in my eyes, even the former Arctic Yama Heavens wasn't as perilous as that place."
Shock rippled through Luo Chen's heart.
Every name Ding Yi had mentioned was an infamous peril throughout the Northern Sea's cultivation world.
Wuzhong Valley, dubbed the Land from Which No Demon Returns, was a burial ground for demon beasts of Tier 3 and below; even Tier 4 Demon Emperors dared not venture into it lightly.
Soul-Severing Cliff was a forbidden zone deep within the Demon Sea. Discovered by a rogue cultivator in earlier days, the Yuan Demon Sect later assembled a contingent of Nascent Soul and Golden Core powerhouses to explore it, but more than half perished within, earning it the name 'Soul-Severing.'
And if those were still considered manageable, the Arctic Yama Heavens was in a class of its own.
It was the premier perilous land of the Northern Sea, backing onto the Sunken Sea that manifested once every millennium, flanked by naturally formed Metamagnetic Polar Light. Anyone who set foot there was doomed to perish in despair.
"If it's more dangerous than even those places, wouldn't going there be courting death?"
"Haha, how could it be courting death? Haven't you seen that even the Arctic Yama Heavens was conquered by the allied demon beast forces?"
Luo Chen chuckled dryly. "That was accomplished by almighty figures of the Northern Sea demon race rallying hundreds of millions of demon beasts to take it by storm. You and I are merely Golden Core cultivators; how can we compare?"
Ding Yi shook his head.
"That's not how one should look at it. Perilous lands exist to be conquered. Wuzhong Valley was breached by Master Yuling and became a blessed land for cultivation. The Arctic Yama Heavens was refashioned by the Yuan Demon Sect into their sect's grotto-heaven. As for the place I wish to visit, after so many years, its patterns have already been deduced. If those people can go, naturally, so can I."
Fair enough.
Seeing the resolute expression on the fat man's lean face, Luo Chen refrained from further dissuasion and asked directly for the location of the perilous land.
"The depths of the Sunken Sea!"
"Hmm?"
"I said, that place is in the depths of the Sunken Sea!" Ding Yi stared fixedly at Luo Chen, uttering each word deliberately.
Luo Chen felt a flicker of doubt and surprise. "Isn't the Sunken Sea basically the Yuan Demon Sect's backyard? Could there still be something in there that catches your eye?"
"Heh-heh. The world only knows that the Sunken Sea guarded the rear of the Arctic Yama Heavens, yet they do not know that its perils not only barred enemies, but also shut out the Yuan Demon Sect itself," Ding Yi said eloquently.
Luo Chen remained puzzled. "If there were truly good things inside, the Yuan Demon Sect would have swept them clean long ago. Why would anything be left for you?"
"Didn't I just say? The Sunken Sea blocked even the Yuan Demon Sect's cultivators. Besides, much of the experience in entering and exiting the Sunken Sea was pieced together bit by bit by Yuan Demon Sect disciples. They were actively exploring it themselves, only for the sect to be destroyed before they could fully develop that secret realm."
Put that way, it did sound somewhat reasonable.
Luo Chen nodded slightly, yet questions lingered in his heart.
"I know the Sunken Sea is perilous, but what on earth lies in its depths to make you so obsessed?"
This time, Ding Yi turned somewhat solemn and secretive.
"I don't know the full details either, but at the very least, there lies the ruins where an ancient cultivator passed away."
Ruins where an ancient cultivator had passed away?
Inexplicably, Luo Chen's mind went to Bai Ye's Traveling Palace within Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks.
A ruin that even the Yuan Demon Sect persistently sought to explore had to have been left by a Soul Transformation powerhouse at the very least.
Even the most minor remnant treasures inside would be priceless boons to Golden Core cultivators like them.
Just like the millennium thunder essence!
Seeing Luo Chen lost in thought, Ding Yi did not press him. There were too many entangled origins involved, and he could hardly explain everything at once.
Only once he was certain Luo Chen would participate would he divulge everything.
Yet after quite some time, Luo Chen still gave no answer. Recalling how Luo Chen had repeatedly phrased his questions around Ding Yi alone rather than both of them, Ding Yi began to feel anxious.
"Qingyangzi, are you truly not tempted?"
Luo Chen held his composure and remained silent.
Ding Yi pressed softly, "There are bound to be earth-shattering treasures inside. From my inquiries over the years, numerous high-level experts in the Northern Sea have been proactively exploring the Sunken Sea."
"Are there Nascent Soul True Persons?" Luo Chen asked.
Ding Yi answered without hesitation, "Of course there are. In fact, Nascent Soul True Persons are the main force!"
"If so, what scraps could possibly be left for you and me to scavenge?"
"Yet there are Golden Core cultivators who have walked out of there alive!"
"Who?"
Ding Yi uttered a name.
"Fairy Feileng!"
Seeing Luo Chen's skepticism, Ding Yi lowered his voice and said, "From what I know, Fairy Feileng back then was actually nothing more than a cauldron for a Nascent Soul elder of the Yuan Demon Sect. After being brought into the ancient cultivator's ruins deep within the Sunken Sea and returning, she broke through to the Nascent Soul stage. Only then did that Yuan Demon Sect elder bestow Feileng City upon her, freeing her from her status as a cauldron."
That aloof, unreachable Fairy Feileng had actually once been a mere cauldron?
Learning such a secret genuinely shocked Luo Chen.
What shocked him even more was that in the depths of the Sunken Sea lay an opportunity to achieve Nascent Soul!
The moment this dawned on him, he understood why Ding Yi was so set on going there.
He was seeking a chance to form a Nascent Soul!
Evidently, this information was something Ding Yi had deliberately disclosed to Luo Chen.
Having spoken, he watched Luo Chen with an air of complete confidence.
He didn't believe for a second that Luo Chen wouldn't be tempted!
Yet after a long wait, Luo Chen's expression shifted from shock to anticipation, then to hesitation, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he shook his head.
"My apologies. By nature, I am a prudent man, and I rarely undertake matters without certainty. After considering the secret realm you described, it is simply far too dangerous—hardly something within my reach."
Ding Yi's expression soured instantly.
He realized that this Demonic Lord Qingyang possessed none of the wild temperament expected of a demonic path powerhouse; his conduct was utterly cautious.
Not a shred of the overbearing grandeur he had shown during the battle of Lengguang Island, where he stood proudly against multiple experts of the same cultivation stage!
In reality, Luo Chen had weighed the matter thoroughly.
So what if there was an opportunity for Nascent Soul?
He had already comprehended a method for Nascent Soul formation and held the pill formula for the Nascent Soul Formation Pill in his hands. As long as he crafted the pill, what he lacked most was not some ethereal breakthrough opportunity, but merely a Tier 4 spiritual land.
Under such circumstances, why take such risks?
Merely for some unknown treasures?
Luo Chen had lived a life of prudence. He knew of several secret realms and ruins, yet whether it was the Ghost-God Valley Supreme Elder's ruins right before his eyes during his Qi Refinement days, or the Soul Transformation grotto-dwelling he stumbled into during Foundation Establishment, he had never actively sought to explore them.
It was precisely because of this cautious nature that he had survived to walk this far step by step.
He did not gamble on things he had no certainty in!
Seeing Ding Yi's displeasure, Luo Chen consoled him, "In the vast Myriad Immortals Association, there are plenty whose abilities surpass mine. Why must you insist on me, Fellow Daoist? In my view, Cave Master Moyun possesses numerous magic treasures and is quite formidable."
"He is already part of the expedition!"
"Uh... then others will do as well. The Ghost Spirit Boy's lifespan is drawing to a close; if he knew of such a chance, he would surely gamble his life on it. Diaosou is also an excellent candidate—the foremost of the three Eight-Star Demon Hunters, with capabilities superior even to mine. And there is also Huo Fang, the Vice City Lord of Longyuan..."
"The Ghost Spirit Boy is merely dried bones in a grave, unworthy of scheming with. Diaosou is a subordinate of the Blood Hermit; even without my invitation, nine times out of ten he will journey into the Sunken Sea anyway. As for Huo Fang? A sect dog—I cannot trust him!"
Each person Luo Chen suggested was rejected by Ding Yi one after another.
Hearing this, Luo Chen gradually caught on.
It wasn't that those candidates were incapable, but that they were difficult to control?
In comparison, his own combat strength was formidable while his displayed cultivation was relatively weaker, ensuring he would not usurp Ding Yi's leadership.
If that was truly Ding Yi's intention, then within the sprawling Myriad Immortals Association, Luo Chen truly was the most suitable companion for him.
Thinking it over, Cave Master Moyun seemed to satisfy the same condition.
Equipped with many magic treasures and outstanding methods, yet possessing merely a seventh layer Golden Core cultivation, he posed no threat to Ding Yi's command.
At that thought, Luo Chen's expression darkened as well.
Even when influenced by inner demons back then to take the initiative against the Yan Alliance, Luo Chen had served as the central coordinator, holding the dominant position.
The greater the danger, the more essential it was to hold command; otherwise, one wouldn't even know how one died.
Just as he prepared to show the guest out,
four words suddenly sounded by his ear:
"Five Elements Lotus Platform!"
"Hmm?" Luo Chen's eyes flashed with sharp brilliance as he glared fixedly at Ding Yi.
The latter chuckled slyly. "From what I know, you have been inquiring about news regarding the spirit medicine known as the Five Elements Lotus Platform all these years! Have you managed to collect even one or two?"
Luo Chen offered no reply, simply staring at him.
Ding Yi shrugged. "I won't hide it from you. Within those ancient cultivator ruins, there are Five Elements Lotus Platforms, and quite a few of them. I don't know what you want them for, but I know they are items used in cultivation by Nascent Soul True Persons, traded solely among Nascent Soul cultivators. If you harbor delusions of gathering Five Elements Lotus Platforms from low-level rogue cultivators, you could exhaust a lifetime and still fail to procure even two. But if you come with me to that place, any Five Elements Lotus Platforms we encounter will belong entirely to you."
Having said his piece, he gave a wink.
"Qingyangzi, will you truly not reconsider?"
This time, Luo Chen sank into a long silence.
Silence signified hesitation, and hesitation meant interest.
A smile returned to Ding Yi's face. He plucked a willow twig and waved it nonchalantly.
"I'll be over at Mount Moyun refining the secret treasure. Once you've made up your mind, come find me!
"Though I must warn you in advance: the opening window for that secret realm is unstable, so you must decide soon.
"Furthermore, the Sunken Sea itself is hazardous. Crossing it requires preparing suitable treasures.
"Decide early so I can teach you the method to refine the necessary treasure, lest you drag me down when the time comes."
His words trailed off, slowly stretching into the distance.
In Luo Chen's sight, the portly figure had already departed Peng Island, drifting farther and farther across the sky.
By the lakeside, Luo Chen stood motionless for a long time.
Until Tianxuan quietly approached.
"Master, the Black King has returned."
Chapter 627