The void swayed, and vision warped.
Unable to tell whether it was a change in the outside world or an illusion of his own senses, Luo Chen was teleported from that stone house to a new realm.
The second trial!
Before Luo Chen could even gain a firm footing, he subconsciously swept his divine sense into his storage ring.
Those precious bamboo slips could not be taken away, but what about the surplus Spiritual Root Pills and other medicines he had personally refined?
Probing with his divine sense, Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, they are all here!"
These three medicines were not particularly high in grade—merely Tier 1 and Tier 2.
However, the secondary materials required to concoct them were exceedingly difficult to find within the Mountain Sea Realm.
Several among them were ingredients Luo Chen had never heard of before, having only learned of them through the bamboo slips within the Alchemy Realm.
In other words, even after leaving the Land of the Fallen Demon, replicating and refining these pills in the outside world would prove exceptionally difficult unless he expended immense effort to modify their formulas.
Relieved as he was, Luo Chen also felt an increasing sense of regret.
"If these pills could spread across the Mountain Sea Realm, I might very well overturn the world's established order!"
The Mountain Sea Realm was dominated by immortal cultivators.
Yet what constituted the overwhelming majority of its population was an incalculable multitude of mortals.
In the Eastern Desolation, these mortals were kept by great sects like livestock to help gather basic materials and supply logistics for fresh seedlings of cultivation. In the Northern Sea, their utilization rate was somewhat higher, but they were still merely consumable resources assisting various factions with menial chores.
Yet if this massive mortal populace could cultivate by means of the Spiritual Root Pill—even if they only reached the early or mid stages of Qi Refinement—it would bring about earth-shaking changes to the world of immortal cultivation.
By that time, all could cultivate, and every person could become like a dragon. Such a prospect...
"I am probably overthinking it. Even if it truly were possible, there wouldn't be enough resources to supply them all for cultivation."
Luo Chen sighed with emotion and turned his attention to the new domain where he had just found his footing.
"Is this the second trial?"
He walked forward at an unhurried pace, his gaze falling upon the exotic flowers and rare herbs blanketing the ground below him.
Just like the first trial, it was filled with medicinal materials of all kinds.
The difference lay in the fact that the spiritual energy contained within the herbs below was far stronger than in the first trial.
By his estimate, their overall maturity had stepped up a tier from five hundred years or less; though still short of a millennium, the finest among them had reached around seven or eight hundred years.
Higher-grade medicinal ingredients meant that the spiritual pills concocted from them would also be of higher grade.
This was well within Luo Chen's expectations.
It was only natural that the second trial would be more difficult than the first, wasn't it?
Beyond relying on his eyes, Luo Chen continuously spread his divine sense outward, as if attempting to search for someone.
In the end, when he arrived at a stone house identical to the one in the first trial, his divine sense still had not detected a second person besides himself.
Confronted with this outcome, Luo Chen was unsure whether to feel relieved or anxious.
Relief naturally came from not encountering a competitor, thereby avoiding a potential battle.
Anxiety, on the other hand, stemmed from the clear likelihood that the other person was ahead of him, having not only cleared the first trial, but perhaps already crossed the second as well.
Calculating the days, it had been about four years since Luo Chen entered the Land of the Fallen Demon.
Liwang Heaven and the Five Elements Heaven had taken him two years, while concocting pills in the Alchemy Realm of Mingzhao Heaven had consumed another two years.
Yet in reality, the Land of the Fallen Demon had already been open for five years!
Luo Chen had been delayed by a full year before setting foot here.
This meant the predecessor had spent anywhere from two to four or five years in the legacy grounds.
To conquer two trials in such a short time spoke volumes of the person's extraordinary alchemy attainments!
Consequently, Luo Chen had to consider a pressing possibility: would that person stay one step ahead of him, pass every assessment in advance, and claim the alchemical legacy of the Heaven Refining Demon Lord?
Faced with this scenario, a formless sense of urgency hung over his heart.
"Forget it. I should look at the question first!"
*Buzz...*
The red-robed Daoist pushed open the pair of stone doors. A stone path and three rooms—alchemy, study, and dispensary—met his eyes.
The identical layout meant that the ensuing trial followed the same pattern, differing only in its assigned question.
...
[Man is the spirit of all creation; beasts are the true quintessence of heaven and earth.
Yet man and beast tread different paths. A brief lifespan endows humanity with keen intellect, while long ages leave the demonic beasts crude and dull. In the same cultivation realm, demonic beasts are by no means a match for humans.
In my view, the gap between them lies not only in the utilization of external tools, but far more in the divergence of their cultivation paths.
We alchemists... concoct the appropriate pills to bridge the divide between man and beast.]
At an identical mahogany desk, Luo Chen held the jade slip and slowly read the question inscribed upon it.
Yet after reading it, his face filled with perplexity.
In his view, the gap between man and demon beast truly did lie in the utilization of external tools!
When Qi Refinement cultivators faced Tier 1 demon beasts, Foundation Establishment True Cultivators faced Tier 2 demon beasts, or even Golden Core cultivators confronted Tier 3 Demon Kings, the reason they held the advantage was precisely because of external aids like dharma artifacts, magic treasures, formations, and talismans.
How was he supposed to concoct a specific pill to level this disparity?
Shouldn't the answer be to teach low-tier demon beasts how to skillfully wield external tools?
Confusion was written all over his face.
Yet at the very least, Luo Chen vaguely discerned a pattern.
In the first trial, the Heaven Refining Demon Lord required him to bridge the gulf between mortal and immortal, targeting humanity.
In the second trial, the so-called divide between man and beast placed its emphasis squarely on the demon race.
According to what Taisui said—presuming he had not lied—the Heaven Refining Demon Lord had a peculiar background, belonging neither to human, demon, nor devil, yet possessing traits of all three.
That was because he was a "hybrid" carrying the three bloodlines of human, demon, and devil all in one body.
Stating it that way was perhaps somewhat disrespectful, but such was the truth.
If so, with the first two trials focusing on humans and demons respectively, the third trial would very likely center on the devil race.
With that, a problem presented itself.
Luo Chen was well acquainted with humans and demons.
Yet devils...
"I am looking too far ahead. I should focus on the present!"
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen picked up the jade slip again and pondered it repeatedly.
How could one erase the disparity in combat prowess between human and demon beast at the same realm?
Only by grasping the essence of the problem could he prescribe the right remedy and refine a targeted pill.
...
Time slipped quietly by. Several days later, Luo Chen finally caught the glimmer of an idea.
The distinction between human and demon did not actually lie in physical constitution, but in wisdom and the soul.
Humans were born with fleeting lifespans.
To seek longevity, they had no choice but to rack their brains and delve into the Great Dao.
The utilization of external tools was, in essence, a derivative of intellect.
Demonic beasts were different. The vast lifespans most were born with left them without any urgent need to cultivate.
Thus, from the very beginning, the demon race's path of cultivation was never aimed at the divine soul, but at accumulating raw power itself.
It was precisely this disparity at the starting line that caused the cultivation paths of the two races to drift further and further apart.
Though humans refined qi, they placed greater emphasis on the divine soul. At higher realms, physical body and dharmic power were both secondary to the divine soul. Han Zhan, for example, could endure long in the world even with his physical body destroyed.
Demonic beasts, on the other hand, relied on their massive bodies to accumulate terrifying quantities of spiritual energy, and could even condense a demon core at Tier 2, ahead of humans.
One had to remember that humans could only condense a Golden Core upon reaching the Golden Core stage.
If one compared power to physical labor, demonic beasts were actually using the tool purely by instinct from the very start.
"My initial intuitive impression was wrong."
"Because of their innate physical advantages, demonic beasts instinctively relied on external strength from the outset and neglected the essential tempering of their divine souls, causing them to fall behind one step, and then every step thereafter."
"And power requires the intellect of the divine soul to harness it. Possessing vast demonic power without being able to command it freely, or even utilize tools to multiply its output, is why they cannot best humans of the same tier."
"To solve this problem, all that is needed is to strengthen the divine soul."
Having sorted this out, Luo Chen gradually drew a thread out of the tangled web of ideas.
Being able to break down the question so quickly was thanks to his long-standing dealings with the Black King and Tianxuan.
Tianxuan in particular—Luo Chen had personally examined her body and tailored a cultivation technique specifically for her.
One could say that among contemporary human immortal cultivators, Luo Chen ranked at the very forefront in his understanding of demonic beasts.
Now that he had deciphered the question, solving it was simple.
He truly knew how to concoct pills that strengthened the divine soul—in fact, he had one on hand right now!
With a flash of spiritual light, a Tier 2 supreme-grade Nether-Passage Pill appeared in his hand.
Luo Chen watched his surroundings closely.
Nothing changed.
"Hm?"
"Could it be that the trial's evaluation must take place inside the alchemy room?"
Hesitating for a moment, Luo Chen made his way to the alchemy room.
Yet even after he brought out the Nether-Passage Pill there, nothing changed.
That faintly discernible, hopelessly frail voice did not speak.
"What is the meaning of this?" Luo Chen's expression darkened.
Surely bringing his own ready-made answer didn't disqualify it?
The Nether-Passage Pill was not meant exclusively for immortal cultivators; he had tested it on Tianxuan before, and it was undeniably effective!
Agitated, Luo Chen returned to the study.
His gaze swept across the bookshelves, hesitated, and finally settled back before the jade slip on the desk.
Sending his divine sense into it, the trial question echoed in his ears once more.
"Could it be that I strayed off-topic?"
...
Unable to find an answer, Luo Chen spent another day in deep contemplation before deciding to start over from scratch.
What did starting from scratch entail?
Naturally, reading the bamboo slips upon the shelves in the study.
Compared to the first trial, the bamboo slips in this second trial were far fewer in number.
There were not tens of thousands, but merely a little over a thousand scrolls.
Furthermore, their contents no longer consisted purely of records detailing medicinal herbs. To Luo Chen's delight, he discovered several unique alchemy arts recorded among them.
Yes, alchemy arts!
Just like Luo Chen's early arts, such as the Pure Heart Hand and the Folding Jade Hand.
Unlike comprehensive alchemy methods, arts were minor disciplines that focused more heavily on processing medicinal herbs.
Different alchemy arts targeted different herbs.
For instance, the Pure Heart Hand excelled at handling wood-attribute herbs, particularly those that could not touch the earth or be tainted by dust.
The Folding Jade Hand and Star Plucking Hand specialized in earth-attribute and mineral materials, which were essential for pills utilizing jade as an ingredient.
Luo Chen had learned many basic alchemy arts in his earlier years, but as time went on, such foundational arts became increasingly scarce to come by.
The last time he had acquired a new alchemy art was the Burning Crane Hand, taught to him by Mu Yunyan of the Luoyun Sect during their exchange.
This time, the several alchemy arts Luo Chen obtained brought him immense pleasant surprise.
The Qi Manipulation Art was designed specifically for handling various "spiritual qi" herbs.
What were spiritual qi herbs?
Certain pills did not rely solely on the physical ingredients themselves; before the concoction was completed, massive quantities of specialized spiritual qi had to be channeled into them.
Yet spiritual qi throughout the world was chaotic and mixed; rarely were there places as singularly pure as the Five Elements Heaven.
The only alternative would be items containing vast reserves of a single type of spiritual qi, such as supreme-grade spiritual stones.
Obviously, no alchemist could bear to squander supreme-grade spiritual stones on pill concoction.
In such circumstances, one could only guide external spiritual qi inward, using formations to filter and screen it so that a specific qi could be introduced in isolation.
Yet no matter how fine a formation was, there would always be oversights.
It was just like an immortal cultivator's practice: even someone with a singular Heavenly Spiritual Root would passively absorb qi of other attributes into their body during cultivation. This circumstance had its pros and cons; the advantage was that someone with a single spiritual root could still cast spells of other attributes, while the disadvantage was that it hindered cultivation speed.
Returning to the matter at hand, the Qi Manipulation Art was plainly an alchemy art capable of precisely distinguishing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and plucking it to serve as medicine.
If he could master this art, it would represent a qualitative leap forward for Luo Chen's alchemy attainments.
It would even offer no small benefit to his personal cultivation.
Beyond the Qi Manipulation Art, there were other arts that struck Luo Chen as profoundly enigmatic, such as the Light Ingestion Method and the Formless Hand.
According to the bamboo slips, the Light Ingestion Method could capture various rays of natural light to use as medicine—a technique exceedingly esoteric and profound.
The Formless Hand was hailed as controlling the void without form, capable of refining intangible, incorporeal existences into medicine. As for what counted as intangible existences?
The bamboo slips briefly listed several: the seven emotions and six desires, hatred and parting, and the like.
Reading these descriptions fascinated Luo Chen to no end, broadening his horizons tremendously.
Could even human emotions serve as herbs to concoct pills?
Naturally, such unimaginable alchemy arts possessed exceedingly high cultivation requirements; Luo Chen could not learn them in the short term and could only commit them firmly to memory.
It was amidst this process of perusing the various texts that Luo Chen gradually developed a new understanding of the question left by the Heaven Refining Demon Lord.
On this day, Luo Chen sat quietly before the desk for a long while before finally raising his brush.
He penned down the names of several medicinal herbs.
"I fell into a misconception before, believing that bridging the divide between man and beast merely required strengthening the divine soul."
"In reality, due to their immense lifespans and the accumulation of long ages, the divine soul foundation of a demon beast is not in the least inferior to that of a human expert of the same tier."
"The reason they are weaker lies not in quantity, but in quality!"
"Those vast divine souls, weathered by the vicissitudes of time, have become thoroughly turbid. Vast as they are, they lack the refined purity of a human's divine soul."
"Therefore, to resolve this problem, the key is not strengthening the soul, but purifying it."
"According to the bamboo slips in the study, Soul Purifying Grass possesses the efficacy of scouring the divine soul and clearing the mind. Using it as the primary ingredient, I might be able to concoct a corresponding soul-cleansing pill. As for secondary ingredients, Scarlet Cloud Flower, Rotten Ghost Vine, and others should serve... If this pill can be completed, perhaps even I will benefit somewhat from it."
"Yet purifying the soul alone is insufficient. Demon cultivation methods have always been crude. The reason they possess a vast foundation of divine soul yet remain fragile also lies in the impurity of their dharmic power. Therefore, one must also refine a demon cultivator's dharmic power. In this regard, I have the Spirit Purifying Pill commonly used by immortal cultivators as a blueprint, and can create an original formula dedicated to purifying demonic power for the demon race."
...
"Cleansing qi, purifying the soul—these two pills are the answer I present for this trial!"
One year later.
Inside the alchemy room, Luo Chen cupped two pills, one black and one white, in his hands and announced them in a clear voice.
This time, that weak voice echoed faintly once more.
"Qi Cleansing Pill: Tier 3 low-grade. Capable of helping demon cultivators purify their dharmic power."
"Soul Purifying Pill: Tier 3 low-grade. Capable of helping demon cultivators settle their minds, fix their nature, and scour their divine souls."
"Trial result: Superior High. Passed!"
Having planned everything with complete confidence, Luo Chen smiled faintly and clenched his fist around the two pills.
The scenery before him began to warp and collapse.
Between illusions and reality, his figure gradually emerged atop a mountain peak.
At the foot of the mountain, an old woman holding a herb basket was diligently harvesting spiritual fruits.
In an instant, their gazes met.
Looking down from above, Luo Chen cupped his hands in greeting. "Demonic Lord Qingyang greets Fellow Daoist!"
The old woman slowly straightened her back. "This old woman, Haijiao Tianmu, greets Fellow Daoist!"
Chapter 686