A streak of escape light sped from west to east, cutting through the sky.
Wherever it passed, wind and clouds churned, leaving behind faint rifts in the air.
Upon passing a cloud-shrouded, towering mountain, it suddenly vanished.
Three days later, the escape light reappeared, now a dim, indistinct gray that was difficult to detect as it flew slowly, skimming the surface of the sea.
"No one followed."
Luo Chen spread his divine sense in all directions, confirming that the Old Angler and the others had not complicated matters by tailing him, and the heavy stone weighing on his heart finally fell away.
This mission had been brought about single-handedly by the Old Angler, whose aim was Blood Hermit's Nascent Soul breakthrough insights. The destination Luo Chen was heading to next was likewise for Nascent Soul breakthrough resources.
There was no difference between the two; neither wished for unexpected trouble to erupt at their flanks.
Stowing the Broken Moon Wings, Luo Chen pinched an incantation gesture, fully activating the Yinwei Formation once inscribed upon his body.
Instantly, Luo Chen's aura was concealed to the absolute limit.
Even when low-tier demon beasts darted through the sea beneath his feet, they failed to detect the slightest trace of him.
In this manner, his travel toward Purple Spirit Island might be considerably slower, but secrecy and safety were undoubtedly maximized.
***
Two months later.
Suddenly, over the boundless sea, a sudden gust buffeted against him, churning layers of rolling waves.
As the stiff wind abated, a figure flew slowly, holding a brand-new map to discern his bearings.
Due to the battle at Withered Wood Ridge, Luo Chen had gained a clearer, more intuitive understanding of a Nascent Soul True Monarch's power. Currently hurrying on his way, the red-faced man's brow was deeply furrowed, his eyes clouded with worry.
Only now did Luo Chen have the time to review that clash at Withered Wood Ridge.
What he could not let go of was that close-up view of a Nascent Soul battle!
In truth, there was not much to review. During that fight, aside from Huangfu Song with his lesser combat experience, none of the five Golden Core cultivators had revealed their trump cards—Luo Chen included.
Under such circumstances, no matter how dazzling Envoy Gouxing's starlight arts were, or how domineering Dao Lan's Golden Suanni Saber was, neither could truly shake Luo Chen's mind.
The duel between the Blood God Child and the Vine King, however, had battered the entire Withered Wood Ridge into ruins, upending even the subterranean earth veins.
In particular, the final scene where all vitality across Withered Wood Ridge drained away was etched deepest in Luo Chen's memory.
Recalling it now, the Blood God Child's various tactics had clearly been aimed at whittling down the Vine King's forces step by step, compelling it to draw back all the life force scattered throughout Withered Wood Ridge so he could subdue it in one fell swoop.
Such was the might of a Nascent Soul!
Between the two combatants, one was a sentient plant spirit, while the other was an external avatar; neither was an orthodox Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Yet, those were not even true Nascent Soul methods.
Precisely because of their imperfection, Luo Chen felt an even greater reverence for what a True Monarch could do.
And under such conditions, the shockwaves radiating from their clash had still left the five Golden Core cultivators trembling like walking on thin ice.
"If even an avatar and a spirit at the Nascent Soul stage are this terrifying, then when I visit the Sunken Sea ancient cultivator ruins in the future, if Nascent Soul experts run rampant, where will that leave me?"
"Thinking it over carefully now, perhaps I shouldn't take the risk—or at least, shouldn't take it so soon?"
Even though Ding Yi had previously explained that their entry points were different and the treasures sought by Nascent Soul True Monarchs differed from those sought by Golden Core cultivators, making direct conflict unlikely, Luo Chen hardly dared believe it now.
What if!
What if an overarching power decided to clear the field and casually wiped them out? Could he protect himself?
Could Han Zhan, who had recovered seventy to eighty percent of his strength, truly keep him safe?
After all, even at his peak, Han Zhan had merely been someone newly entered into the Nascent Soul realm. Furthermore, the Two Instruments Five Elements Sword Formation and the Nascent Soul puppet he had relied on most were either lost or destroyed.
Could a damaged Nascent Soul truly ensure Luo Chen's safety?
Luo Chen asked himself, yet found not the slightest shred of confidence!
Perhaps with everything he had, Han Zhan could save Luo Chen's life, but would Han Zhan truly risk his all for him?
"Earlier, perhaps because I had crafted a supreme treasure and years of effort bore fruit overnight, I became lightheaded with triumph, lured by Ding Yi using the herbs I prioritize and charmed by his sweet words."
Luo Chen examined himself. He was only just over a hundred years old, still far from the lifespan limit of the Golden Core realm, nowhere near the point of needing to gamble his life in a secret realm.
"The Five Elements Lotus Platform—if I get it, that is my fortune; if not, that is my fate. Why rush?"
At worst, if he truly could not find one in the future, he could venture into the Sunken Sea then.
Ding Yi had also mentioned that the ancient cultivator ruins in the Sunken Sea did not open only once. Though the timing was irregular, openings had been quite frequent over the past millennium. He could completely afford to wait until he was fully prepared before going.
By then, Luo Chen's cultivation would surely have reached a new realm, making a foray into the Sunken Sea far safer.
"Only, doing this makes it rather difficult to explain things to Ding Yi."
Luo Chen's thoughts were somewhat disordered, yet faintly, he seemed to have made up his mind.
In any case, he would finish the matter at hand first!
"There were three places the Black King detoured around: one was Withered Wood Ridge, another a channel with surging undercurrents, and the last a giant island of dense ancient trees."
"According to him, either there are beings there he fears from the bottom of his heart, or troublesome, formidable demon kings."
"I have already bypassed all these places. Next, the way ahead is smooth sailing."
"With the Black King leading the way, Lord Lushan and the others should be arriving at Purple Spirit Island soon. I need to speed up a bit on my end as well."
Luo Chen muttered, his escape speed quickening by a fraction.
***
Luo Chen exhaled a breath of turbid air, the tension of many days easing slightly.
Stowing the map, his gaze fell upon several indistinct islands ahead.
There were not many—only seven.
Nor were they large; each was roughly the size of the inner city of Dahe Market from years past.
Strung together, they resembled a dipper.
"Beyond the Seven Star Islands should be the Purple Spirit Sea shrouded in purple mist."
With a faint smile, Luo Chen stepped over the waves.
He did not choose to fly across, choosing instead to travel on foot.
This was solely because the Black King had mentioned that the unique terrain of these seven aligned islands formed a natural labyrinth formation.
Flying high above made it exceptionally easy to lose one's bearings.
Conversely, if one kept their feet on the ground and traversed island by island, it took merely a few days to reach the waters of Purple Spirit Island.
It was precisely because the Seven Star Islands stood guard that Purple Spirit Island, blanketed in Purple Monkey Flowers, had remained undiscovered by high-realm humans and demon beasts for countless years.
Only a handful of low-tier beasts and mortals, crossing through the Seven Star blockade in ignorance, ever reached that island steeped in purple toxic mists.
The rogue cultivator who had discovered it back then had also managed to slip through purely by luck owing to his low realm.
The reasoning was quite simple.
High-realm cultivators flew whenever they could rather than running, and ran whenever they could rather than walking; who would willingly spend two or three days trudging slowly on foot?
Luo Chen, however, did not mind.
Even without flying high in the air, once he unleashed Carefree Wandering, his speed was not necessarily slower than a Foundation Establishment cultivator or even someone newly entered into the Golden Core stage.
After entering the first of the Seven Star islands, Luo Chen opened his spirit eyes wide.
As he sped along, he observed this so-called natural array formed by heaven and earth.
When any formation master first studied the craft, whether through teachers or ancient texts, they were taught that formations were fundamentally manifestations of the principles of heaven and earth.
One captured the contours of mountains and rivers, the patterns of shifting winds and clouds, and the intent of the vast sea of stars, thereby deducing corresponding arrays that mortals could construct.
And this was the first time Luo Chen had witnessed a purely natural formation.
"Is it a labyrinth array because the seven islands look so remarkably similar?"
"Yet such a formation shouldn't pose an obstacle to a Golden Core cultivator who possesses divine sense."
A Golden Core cultivator's divine sense could span vast distances.
By using it as a reference line and picking a concrete landmark, deviation in direction should simply be impossible.
The further Luo Chen went, the more puzzled he became.
Suddenly, his steps paused, and he froze in place.
Closing his eyes, he opened them slowly only after a long moment.
"Am I moving?"
"No! It's the land beneath my feet that is moving!"
With a shift of thought, his vast divine sense spread outward completely, enveloping the entirety of this small first island.
Under his meticulous scrutiny, the island was indeed shifting slowly at a rate virtually undetectable to the naked eye.
Realizing this, Luo Chen felt a slight jolt of surprise.
If the island was in motion, any fixed reference point chosen by a cultivator would likewise move.
Even if the drift was sluggish, a cultivator traveled so swiftly that a tiny error of a hairsbreadth would result in being a thousand li off course.
This was the secret of the labyrinth!
The longer one spent inside, the greater the deviation from one's destination.
What about high in the sky?
Luo Chen looked up. As the clouds rolled and dispersed, those white mists seemed to shift like revolving stars!
Observing this phenomenon, Luo Chen could not help but marvel inward.
"Not only do these Seven Star Islands drift like living creatures, but even the surrounding clouds, currents, and wind directions shift alongside them."
"Is this truly the uncanny craftsmanship of nature?"
Amid his wonder, Luo Chen flicked his wrist, and a sheet of white silk paper floated before him.
While continuing his sprint, he dipped a brush in ink to trace intricate lines across the silk.
A maze array born naturally from heaven and earth was truly miraculous.
He intended to record it so that when he returned, he could deduce its workings in his leisure and perhaps lay down a similar formation himself.
Given the right terrain or implements, recreating the deceptive power of the Seven Star Islands was entirely within reach.
Deploying it around an immortal's cave, a temporary residence, or a secluded cultivation ground would make for a stellar defensive array.
It had to be said that during these years of dedicated artifact forging, Luo Chen's mastery of formations had grown increasingly profound.
Now, seized by sudden inspiration, he had conceived the idea of emulating the ancient formation masters who deduced cosmic principles into arrays, and he immediately put it into practice.
Time flowed slowly by.
By nightfall, Luo Chen had already set foot on the second island.
The white silk paper before him was covered in dense lines; though he had yet to glimpse the complete picture, it already captured some of the essence of the Seven Star Islands' labyrinth array.
Yet the solemnity on Luo Chen's face only deepened.
The ink falling from his brush grew sparser and sparser.
"Something isn't right!"
"According to my understanding, the circulation of earth qi and the shifting of water veins ought to conform to the imagery of the Kun Trigram—bearing all things through profound virtue, moving incessantly without bounds. The flow should be seamless. Why does it fracture layer by layer halfway through, as if running contrary to itself?"
As doubts multiplied, his swift flight ground to an abrupt halt.
Standing in the center of an open clearing, Luo Chen's eyes blazed with sharp light as he stared ahead at the pitch-black forest, gaping like the bloody maw of a ferocious beast.
Gripping the silk paper tightly, he murmured, "This natural formation born of heaven and earth... seems to have been modified by someone."
Even as he spoke, he drew back without hesitation.
Wings sprouted from his back, his speed bursting forth like thunder and lightning!
At that very moment, the lush forest sprang to life.
Massive ancient trees shifted, blocking his path of retreat.
From the empty air, a sigh of regret drifted faintly: "A pity. You stopped at the second island."
Luo Chen's expression turned frigid. Without any visible movement, his wings trembled, and streaks of flying blades shot through the air.
With the Broken Moon Cleave, ancient trees centuries or millennia old were severed cleanly at the waist.
In an instant, moonlight cascaded down, opening up the field of view.
On a distant peak, bathed in the moonlight, a figure stood gazing down at him with cold detachment.
"Demonic Lord Qingyang, you have finally come!"
Whoosh!
With a flap of his wings, Luo Chen rose slowly into the air until his gaze was level with the emaciated, ascetic old man on the knoll.
With just a single glance, despite having met only once before, Luo Chen immediately recognized his identity.
"The Master of Baizao Mountain!"
"To think you still remember this defeated opponent of yours," Liang Baizao said with a self-deprecating smile.
"A defeated opponent? Heh."
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. In the eyes of the world, Luo Chen had blasted the Master of Baizao Mountain over the horizon with a single strike, but only he knew that after that blow, his own strength and qi had been nearly exhausted. Had Han Zhan and Tianxuan not carried him away, he likely would have been captured on Lengguang Island long ago.
Naturally, on the brink of battle, he was not about to explain any of that and weaken his own momentum.
He glanced around and found no helpers in sight. Relieved, he recalled the first words the man had uttered upon appearing.
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The information regarding the Purple Monkey Flower... did you intentionally leak it to me?"
Liang Baizao admitted it frankly. "Indeed."
Luo Chen frowned. "Yet I investigated that Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator thoroughly; he showed no signs of deceit."
"He was genuine, of course. It was merely that I arranged his fortuitous encounter."
"That still doesn't add up. I examined that miscellaneous tome myself; both the aging of the paper and the ink stains were over a century old."
"This old man knows of your reputation as an artifact-forging master within the Myriad Immortals Association, but my forging skills surpass yours. A trivial art of forging ancient antiquities is nothing to me."
Looking at the old man speaking with such calm confidence, Luo Chen fell silent.
In a craft where he had achieved modest mastery, someone had dug a pit for him, making a mockery of his earlier complacency.
Still...
"Why bother?"
Luo Chen watched the old man's aura swell steadily.
"I did kill two Golden Core cultivators from your Baizao Mountain, but only after your people ambushed me first. There was no original enmity between you and me; why plot for years just to seek revenge?"
At this point, he let out a sigh.
"A full twenty years have passed, yet your cultivation has not advanced at all—in fact, it has slightly regressed. You have worn yourself down into such haggard decrepitude; what are you after?"
"Do you think this old man wanted this!"
A low roar ripped from the ascetic old man's mouth, exposing his white teeth, his expression twisting with rage.
"Had Blood Nightmare Moluo not issued a compulsory command, do you think I would willingly squander twenty years of my life, abandon my ruined sect, halt my already arduous cultivation, and wait for you in the Myriad Immortals Association for all these years?"
"Especially since you holed up in the Dragon Taming Mountain Range like a turtle, barely stepping a single foot outside! You gave me no opening whatsoever, forcing me to slowly reel you out using the news of the Purple Monkey Flower!"
"The order of a True Monarch weighs like a mountain; I cannot defy it in the slightest!"
Luo Chen's brow furrowed. Blood Nightmare Moluo's order?
He recalled the final clash before fleeing Lengguang Island.
Facing He Yuan, who was possessed by Blood Nightmare Moluo, he and Han Zhan had joined forces to deliver a soul strike to the entity.
To think that a being as august as a Nascent Soul True Monarch would hold such a petty grudge against a junior like him!
The ferocity on Liang Baizao's face gradually faded. "Fortunately, after tonight, I can finally end these twenty years of wandering. Demonic Lord Qingyang, I give you two choices. First, allow me to place restrictions upon you and come back obediently to make humble apology before Blood Nightmare Moluo; that way, you might avoid the destruction of your body and Dao. Second, die here on the Seven Star Islands, and I shall carry your corpse back."
Luo Chen stared at him, his magical power surging forth like waves.
"Do you truly think you have me at your mercy?"
"It seems you have chosen the second path." The old man raised both hands, and behind him, gleams of treasure light appeared. Looking closely, they were all swords!
Luo Chen's gaze turned sharp, and his body shot straight into the sky.
"If I wish to leave, every direction is an open road!"
His speed was astonishing, bursting forth like rolling thunder.
At such velocity, covering hundreds or thousands of li in the blink of an eye seemed effortless.
Yet Liang Baizao made no move to stop him.
He merely manipulated the seven precious swords behind him, their sword lights swimming around his flanks like darting fish.
"After this battle, I wonder how many will remain intact," he muttered, looking up at the sky once more.
Just as he had anticipated, the red-robed Daoist's ascent grew slower and slower, until finally it slowed to a crawl.
"Do not waste your energy. You made quite a display during the battle at Lengguang Island; did you think I would come without advance preparation? You cannot escape this battle."
High in the heavens, Luo Chen's expression darkened.
He halted his futile struggle and began to descend slowly.
As he lowered his altitude, that terrifying suppressive force gradually weakened as well.
He looked upward.
Beneath the deep shroud of night, a towering mountain loomed faintly at the edge of the sky, scattering strands of flowing light like chains that linked firmly to the seven islands beneath his feet.
Chapter 634