Beside the great river.
The Daoist sat cross-legged upon the lotus platform, a treasured cauldron hovering above his head.
A hint of hesitation showed on his face.
His gaze fell upon the pristine white surface in the center of the platform, where five fist-sized lotus seeds were embedded, radiating pure five-element spiritual qi.
For a lotus platform to bear lotus seeds was only natural.
And the seeds condensed from this Five Elements Lotus Platform, just a single step away from Tier 5, were bound to be of extraordinary quality.
At that moment, Luo Chen tentatively placed his hand onto one of the crimson spheres—the Fire Lotus Seed.
If used in medicine, it could serve as the primary ingredient for Tier 4 pills.
If used in artifact crafting, the single-use dharma treasure made from it would likely be no less devastating than the Thunder Immortal Beads that had once flowed out of Bai Ye's cave dwelling on Mount Thunder Accumulation.
Luo Chen, however, had no suitable method on hand to utilize it.
After all, to refine a Nascent Soul Formation Pill, only the lotus platform itself was required.
Even in the Eastern Desolation, such items circulated exceedingly rarely, strictly controlled by the Mingyuan Sect.
Only on occasion would a meager amount trickle out.
Luo Chen applied a slight force with his hand, prying out the Fire Lotus Seed amidst the furious struggles of the Five Elements Lotus Platform.
Though this item was intended for Nascent Soul cultivators, in the hands of a Golden Core cultivator it was by no means utterly useless!
According to Han Zhan, the Five Elements Lotus Platform was an auxiliary cultivation treasure only Nascent Soul True Persons could normally utilize. One could harness its ability to draw in heaven-and-earth spiritual qi and automatically filter impurities to accelerate cultivation.
If a cultivator substituted a lotus seed with their golden core and complemented it with a spirit-confounding technique, the spirit of the lotus platform would treat the golden core as a seed nurtured within itself.
In this manner, it could serve as an aid to cultivation.
Furthermore, during this process, Luo Chen could also take the opportunity to "tame" the platform's spirit, curbing its resistance and struggle so he could easily bring it out of the Blazing Purgatory.
"Let's give it a try!"
Although he trusted Han Zhan, Luo Chen still hesitated to experiment with his natal golden core. What if something went wrong?
He opened his mouth and spat out a white core, which spun out smoothly.
It was not his natal golden core, but his depleted Second Primal Core!
With the Second Primal Core, there would be no danger.
Even if the worst happened, Luo Chen had enough power left to draw it back out.
The primal core settled into the lotus platform, taking the place of the seed.
As Luo Chen circulated the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, vast amounts of heaven-and-earth spiritual qi surged from all directions, from the rolling magma river beneath him, and from the Blazing Purgatory filled with dense fire spiritual qi.
Normally, Luo Chen would have had to carefully capture and refine such violent spiritual qi.
Now, however, he bypassed that step entirely.
In the next moment, that torrential spiritual qi poured straight into the Five Elements Lotus Platform.
Under his perception, the wild heaven-and-earth spiritual qi flooded into the entire platform, its impurities filtered away, while the essence surged through the meridians of the lotus platform toward the five seeds.
And because this was the Blazing Purgatory, where the overwhelming majority of spiritual qi was fire-aspected, streams of fire spiritual qi converged toward where the Fire Lotus Seed had been.
Suddenly, under this empowerment, the Second Primal Core was like a starving beast, refusing nothing and opening its maw to greedily devour it all.
Having received this influx of spiritual qi, the previously struggling Five Elements Lotus Platform quieted down slightly.
It was as though someone was "feeding" it.
Holding his breath and focusing his mind, Luo Chen attentively tracked every nuance of change within.
After circulating for one major heavenly cycle, he checked the Second Primal Core again; the spiritual qi contained within had already reached one or two percent of its capacity.
Gratifying progress!
"It really works. Han Zhan did not deceive me!"
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen fell into contemplation.
It was said that the reason Perfected Shenyuan of the Five Elements Divine Sect could cultivate all five elements simultaneously and reach the late Nascent Soul realm was thanks to the aid of a Five Elements Lotus Platform.
In all likelihood, the platform Perfected Shenyuan obtained was not even equal to the one before Luo Chen.
After all, Han Zhan himself had never cultivated with a Five Elements Lotus Platform; the tip he had passed on was merely hearsay gathered from conversations with fellow Daoists.
As Luo Chen rested, Han Zhan specially reminded him: "Remember to refine the spiritual qi within the primal core with your divine sense later on to fully convert it into your own dharmic power. You are only in the Golden Core realm, after all, and without a Nascent Soul to command heaven-and-earth spiritual qi, the qi you've absorbed technically does not bear your brand yet."
"Understood."
Luo Chen nodded slightly.
After a brief period of breath adjustment, he began circulating his cultivation technique once more.
Running one's natal cultivation method day and night without pause was something cultivators typically did only during deep seclusion, as it placed immense strain on the soul.
Even he had to stop and rest from time to time.
When another day of cultivation drew to an end, Luo Chen felt a faint weariness in his soul.
Moments later, he let out a long breath of turbid air as if relieved of a heavy burden.
Retrieving a Fasting Pill from his storage ring and swallowing it, feeling a mild sense of satiety, he turned his attention to the rushing magma river flowing beneath his feet.
In the magma river below, an azure fire tree stretched its branches, letting the red fish fire spirit scoop up waves of magma to pour over them.
The azure fire tree did not avoid it in the slightest; instead, it felt thoroughly refreshed.
Luo Chen had refined the Wither-Bloom True Fire for decades, nearly a century.
Having absorbed an immense amount of demonic beast vitality, its foundation was remarkably profound.
This time in the Blazing Purgatory, it had swallowed seven low-tier sourceless fires and one Tier 4 Heaven-Burning Fire, so in theory, its might should have grown even greater.
Yet because the assimilation had been rushed, he had not had time to fully master its power, leading to a lackluster performance during his clash with Merfolk Sovereign Liu Jun.
For now, the quantity and quality of sourceless fires the Wither-Bloom fire spirit could consume had reached their limit; pushing it any further would put it beyond his ability to control.
A red fish swam nearby.
Splash!
Before Luo Chen's eyes, the red fish leapt energetically from the river's surface, kicking up layers of crimson waves.
It was that Tier 4 fire spirit.
Perhaps because Luo Chen had saved the silver-white fire python, this red fish—a fellow fire spirit—had grown remarkably friendly toward him. Recently, it had taken to swimming over to his side every now and then, absorbing some of the pure fire spiritual qi leaking from the Five Elements Lotus Platform.
Watching the red fish, a thought stirred in Luo Chen's mind.
A wisp of green flame flickered onto his fingertip.
From time to time, he separated wisps of green flames to tease the red fish, prompting strange, delighted chortles from the creature.
With such intimacy, if Luo Chen were to take advantage of the moment to swallow and refine it, it would probably remain entirely oblivious!
Luo Chen, of course, would not do such a thing.
As he manipulated the Wither-Bloom True Fire to frolic with the red fish, Luo Chen conversed with Han Zhan through divine sense transmission.
The topic of their conversation was clearly what had been troubling Luo Chen for the past half month.
"It shouldn't have been like that."
"You didn't make any major mistakes in that battle," Han Zhan analyzed patiently for him. "Your spells were exquisite, your dharma treasures were used to perfection, and your grasp of combat opportunities and battlefield terrain was second to none..."
"Liu Jun is a Merfolk Sovereign whose most adept methods involve manipulating aquatic vapor."
"Even back when Blood Hermit, a master hailed as comparable to a late Nascent Soul grand cultivator, pursued him across the Sunken Sea, Liu Jun managed to escape."
"That alone proves his capability."
Seeing the melancholy weighing on Luo Chen's brow, Han Zhan said helplessly, "Why be so hard on yourself? Repelling a Nascent Soul True Person would cause a sensation throughout the cultivation world if word got out. Acting like this, how are those veteran Golden Core cultivators supposed to feel?"
Luo Chen gave a strained smile, his voice low. "I just feel I could have done better in that fight, but I don't know where the problem lies."
"Perhaps there was no problem at all?" Han Zhan countered seriously. "Liu Jun is no weakling. He survived the war between demons and devils. Even when my physical body was intact, if I had faced him, it is hard to say who would have emerged victorious. And on the open ocean, defeat would have been certain for me!"
These words were comforting, but they were also the truth.
Luo Chen curled his lips, murmuring only, "Senior is being overly modest," before falling silent.
Yet against an opponent who was injured and deprived of home-field advantage, he had still fallen into a disadvantage in direct combat, even being forced to resort to shedding a tail like a gecko.
Such an outcome was unacceptable to him.
Why had that happened?
He began to reflect on the battle against Merfolk Sovereign Liu Jun.
His eyes fixed upon his own hands, reflecting deep thought.
He pointed at himself.
"In the past, I treated body refinement as a hidden trump card, habitually relying on spells and dharma treasures in ordinary combat. I carried that habit into the fight against Merfolk Sovereign Liu Jun."
"Evidently, that habit has revealed its flaw."
"Yes, my spells are exquisite and my treasure control unmatched, but those are the methods of a Qi Refiner."
No matter how exquisite his spells were, they still could not bridge the chasm between Golden Core and Nascent Soul.
"Yet right now, my strongest asset is clearly body refinement."
When clashing with top-tier powerhouses, life and death hung by a thread; there was no room for a balanced, half-hearted approach.
To break the deadlock, only this powerful physique comparable to a desolate beast could suffice!
He arrived at a final conclusion.
"From now on, if I encounter a Nascent Soul-level enemy again, perhaps I should change my way of fighting."
He slowly lowered his right hand, keeping only his left hand hovering in front of him.
His left palm slowly clenched into a sandbag-sized fist, muscles tightening and knuckles bulging menacingly.
During this period, Luo Chen had sent Tianxuan out to scout for fire-attributed resources in the vicinity, instructing her to explore only safe locations and avoid provoking anything dangerous.
Suddenly, Luo Chen looked up as a streak of light flew toward him.
Whoosh!
With a howling wind, Tianxuan touched down.
It was Tianxuan.
Behind her came a black-robed cultivator radiating a formidable aura.
Noticing Luo Chen's presence, the black-robed cultivator halted abruptly, his gaze instantly locking onto the five-colored lotus platform beneath Luo Chen.
Stunned astonishment surfaced on his face.
His mouth fell open, turning into wild ecstasy.
"A supreme-grade Five Elements Lotus Platform!"
"This treasure belongs to me!"
"Master..."
"Reporting to Master, this man coveted a piece of Tier 4 amber lava I unearthed and has been hunting me all the way..."
Tianxuan was reporting the circumstances, but toward the end, she noticed Luo Chen seemed somewhat distracted.
Luo Chen raised his hand, cutting Tianxuan off, and looked coldly at the newcomer.
Luo Chen had anticipated meeting others in the Land of the Fallen Demon, but he hadn't expected that whether it was the Red Corpse group before or this Tier 8 Golden Core black-robed cultivator, they would all be so straightforward.
To seize another's property without even bothering to utter the hypocritical excuse, "This treasure has an affinity with me."
One could only say that the Land of the Fallen Demon, cut off from the world outside, magnified human baseness to the extreme; neither human nor demon cared to disguise their intentions.
Without any unnecessary pleasantries, cultivators plundering treasures was just that blunt and direct.
With that, he kicked the flying sword beneath his feet, unleashing a chilling murderous intent as it shot toward Luo Chen.
Facing the shrieking flying sword, Luo Chen's expression did not waver; he merely extended his left hand.
Seeing a mere sixth-layer Golden Core cultivator putting on such airs, the black-robed cultivator sneered.
"Courting death! My Taixuan Meridian-Severing Sword is forged from Juetian Fiend Qi and vast quantities of Gengjin. It is peerlessly sharp—even ordinary defensive dharma treasures can barely withstand it. An ignorant junior like you dares to be so arrogant as to catch it bare-handed... bare-handed?!"
"How can this be?!"
The black-robed cultivator roared inwardly, unable to believe his eyes.
For that jade-white left hand had pinched the tip of the sword with effortless ease.
No matter how the black-robed cultivator pushed his dharmic power, the Taixuan Meridian-Severing Sword remained motionless under the terrifying physical strength.
Clang!
The Taixuan Meridian-Severing Sword dropped to the ground.
Immediately afterward, the red-robed Daoist formed an incantation seal with his right hand and thrust his palm forward.
Rumble!
A single palm pushed out eight hundred zhang.
A massive azure palm print swept forward with a thunderous roar.
No longer caring to recall his natal dharma treasure, the black-robed cultivator hurriedly cast defensive arts, yet before that azure palm print, all defenses proved as fragile as nothingness.
Even when he finally produced a low-grade defensive dharma treasure, a wisp of azure flame attached to it, and under the cultivator's horrified gaze, the treasure's spiritual light dimmed as though it had lost all vitality.
The black-robed cultivator was sent tumbling through the air like a torn burlap sack amidst the violent dharmic power.
Tianxuan seized the opportunity to leap forward, waving the plantain fan vigorously to unleash several gusts of astral wind, obliterating him on the spot.
When the commotion settled, Tianxuan returned to Luo Chen's side carrying a storage bag.
In the distance, the pale-faced Cave Master Moyun watched this scene, terror gripping his heart.
A formidable Golden Core grand cultivator who clearly looked like trouble hadn't even lasted a single exchange under him—what kind of terrifying power was this?
"He's grown stronger again!"
Beside him, Taisui beamed broadly. "Stronger is good! The stronger, the better!"
Facing Cave Master Moyun's surprise, Taisui explained somewhat unnaturally, "What I mean is, the Land of the Fallen Demon is fraught with peril. The stronger he is, the safer we are, right?"
Cave Master Moyun accepted this reasoning.
Indeed, from what they had seen so far, the Land of the Fallen Demon was extraordinarily perilous.
Not only was there cutthroat strife among outside cultivators, but there were also powerful native entities born of this realm.
Those Tier 4 strange beasts, fire spirits, and regional overlords were by no means adversaries Golden Core cultivators like them could contend with.
To reap any harvest, only a powerhouse like Demonic Lord Qingyang, whose combat strength rivaled the Nascent Soul stage, could take the lead.
...
After a great battle, rest and recovery were inevitable.
Luo Chen cultivated beside the spiritually rich magma river, as did Cave Master Moyun, who found a quiet spot to heal in seclusion.
Luo Chen remained seated by the great river.
Taisui, on the other hand, was an anomaly.
Originally in poor shape, after the battle with the giant squid he had not only regained his plump, inflated balloon-like figure from his previous emaciated state, but his spirits had also improved considerably.
Instead of going into seclusion, he wandered freely around the Blazing Purgatory.
Time quietly slipped away.
Half a month later.
Taisui looked toward the sky and said, "How are you feeling? Are you ready to set off?"
Cave Master Moyun coughed twice and nodded slowly.
"That's good. I'll go ask Demonic Lord Qingyang and set a time to leave the Blazing Purgatory!"
He didn't want to stay in the Blazing Purgatory for another day.
One month later.
Atop a mountain peak.
Taisui leisurely descended the mountain.
None of the three hurried to set out on the road.
Including Luo Chen himself!
...
In a primordial forest exuding potent vitality, three figures faintly flickered.
The plump cultivator walked at the front, followed by an old man and a youth.
Their pace was neither fast nor slow, treading unevenly through the forest.
"A wood spirit?"
Ahead, a towering ancient tree dozens of zhang tall swung a massive branch across toward them.
"Hmph!"
The plump cultivator snorted coldly, and the branch came to an abrupt halt right before the three of them.
Taisui smiled faintly and gave a casual wave of his sleeve.
Instantly, the dark, ancient trees ahead shivered in unison, their branches and vines parting as if clearing a path.
He strode forward, and wherever he passed, withered vines and ancient trees yielded the way.
Cave Master Moyun watched this scene in astonishment, his gaze ultimately falling on the massive face formed on the ancient tree's trunk.
The spirit of the ancient tree gazed blankly at the three before its leaves rustled, and it slightly inclined its branches toward the plump cultivator as though bowing in salute.
"It seems you still remember this venerable one!"
"With me leading the way this time, you two are in luck."
Taisui looked back. "This Hundred Crows Ghost Forest is filled with countless wood spirits and dusk vine crows; it is truly the most dangerous place in the Five Elements Heavens. A Treant King and a Dusk Vine Crow Ancestor even make their homes within, both at the fifth tier. Their danger is not in the least inferior to the Iron-Devouring Beast of Thousand-Peak Mountain, the Heavensoil of the Shifting Sand Sea, or the Vermilion Bird fire spirit of the Blazing Purgatory."
"With them guarding this place, even Nascent Soul experts would not dare cross the Hundred Crows Ghost Forest lightly."
Cave Master Moyun was horrified. "There are actually two powerful beings comparable to Tier 5 here?"
"Furthermore, you've got one thing wrong—it's not two, but three."
"Once upon a time, I too was one of the Big Three of the Hundred Crows Ghost Forest!"
At this point, he paused, a look of pride surfacing on his face.
Having said this, Taisui burst into hearty laughter that echoed through the gloomy ancient forest, causing the trees to tremble and dusk vine crows to take flight one after another.
The three strode forward as if treading a level highway.
"Naturally, after all, the Hundred Crows Ghost Forest exists to guard the Mutian Plain!" Taisui pointed with his right hand across the distance, and an elevated plateau came into view. "That is the Mutian Plain, and it was once the spirit herb garden of Demonic Lord Liantian."
Luo Chen watched this calmly, his gaze ultimately turning toward that towering plateau enveloped by the endless ghost forest.
That was the fabled Mutian Plain!
And the destination toward which countless Northern Sea cultivators had advanced wave upon wave after entering the Sunken Sea!
Chapter 674