"I actually survived?"
Old Daoist Jiyuan, who had once appeared as transcendent and sage-like as an ancient immortal from popular legends, was now in tattered robes with disheveled hair and beard, thoroughly battered.
Yet he truly had survived!
That black cauldron was clearly no ordinary object.
At the very least, it was a formidable entity at the level of a spirit treasure.
The self-detonation of such a treasure unleashed power that no Nascent Soul cultivator could possibly withstand.
Even so, Old Daoist Jiyuan had indeed survived.
In fact, not only him—even the other Nascent Soul experts on Cloud Sea Square had survived.
Just as wild joy at his sheer luck welled up within him, a murmur reached his ears.
"Of course you were fortunate. It was only because we blocked the detonation of the Heaven Refining Cauldron for you!"
Old Daoist Jiyuan froze. Looking up, he saw a woman descending gracefully from midair, watching him with a faint, enigmatic smile.
A nightmare!
Old Daoist Jiyuan shuddered all over. "Moon Hermit, you..."
"Spare me your pleas for mercy. I’ve heard them far too many times from the lips of Penglai disciples." Moon Hermit’s smile remained, but the murderous intent in her eyes burned ever hotter.
Right at that moment, Fairy Feileng moved over, placing herself between Moon Hermit and Jiyuan.
Seeing her, Moon Hermit’s smile gradually faded.
"Little Sister, what are you doing? I am avenging you!"
Fairy Feileng bit her lip, unmoved.
Moon Hermit’s expression grew dark and grim. "Have you forgotten how the Penglai Immortal Sect abandoned us back then, even leaving you to become a cultivation vessel for an elder of the Yuan Demon Sect?"
"Elder Sister, say no more. That man treated me well and helped me reach the Nascent Soul realm. Besides, he is already dead." Fairy Feileng’s face was slightly pale, and her body trembled subconsciously as she stood before Moon Hermit.
Moon Hermit’s face darkened even further. "He may be dead and the Yuan Demon Sect ruined, but the Penglai Immortal Sect still stands! I swore an oath to slaughter every remnant of the Yuan Demon Sect and every disciple of Penglai!"
Fairy Feileng’s lips trembled as she slowly raised the scroll in her hands.
"I’m sorry. Before setting out, we swore a Dao oath. I cannot abandon Senior Brother Jiyuan."
"Very well!"
Moon Hermit’s gaze turned fierce. An ink-wash scroll rose behind her, upon which wild beasts seemed to roar and birds of prey circled.
"Since you remain obstinate, I will kill Jiyuan first, then take you back and discipline you properly!"
……
High in the sky.
Luo Chen gazed at the quiet gray light and noticed its aura seemed somewhat dimmed.
*Did the Heaven Refining Cauldron’s spirit discover I cultivate Monarch Qixia’s art, defying the Demon Lord’s orders and detonating the cauldron just to destroy this gray light?*
He fell deep into thought.
Sweeping his gaze over his surroundings, he gave a slight nod.
As an exalted Heavenly Spirit Treasure, no matter how dilapidated the Heaven Refining Cauldron had become, the might of its self-detonation was certainly not something ordinary cultivators could resist.
The reason the explosion had not completely destroyed Mingzhao Heaven was clearly that other parties had intervened.
The ink scroll Moon Hermit possessed was likely the spirit treasure Myriad Beasts Chart.
In addition, the glowing Light Hall and Dark Hall were also having formidable auras gradually recede into latency.
If his guess was correct, there were spirit treasures holding down the fort inside them as well.
Perhaps they were even the formidable entities the cauldron spirit had mentioned before—the Black Demon Jar and the True Sun Crown, which shared the rank of Heavenly Spirit Treasure.
It was precisely because these entities possessing artifact spirits had acted together that most of the self-detonation’s destructive force had been absorbed.
Yet this also meant those meddlesome people had survived as well.
For instance, the one right before his eyes!
The clouds and wind swirled as a figure bounded atop the cloud sea, glaring predatorily at Luo Chen.
"Junior, out of the way!"
Luo Chen smiled.
"You know full well the power of my punch was no weaker than a strike from a Nascent Soul expert, yet you still address me as 'junior.' Fellow Daoist, isn't that a bit overconfident?"
Feiyunzi raised a brow, his gaze toward Luo Chen growing wary.
However, under the instinctive allure of that flickering gray light behind Luo Chen, he threw caution to the wind.
Because!
Within a shattered round mirror on the Weapon Realm's Mountain of Armaments, a scene showing the birth of this gray light had faintly appeared!
It was something manifested personally by Demonic Lord Liantian!
If he could obtain it, it might well be the greatest opportunity of this expedition!
"Golden Core junior, I will say this one last time: move!" Feiyunzi barked coldly. A one-inch sword glint flickered at his fingertips, its piercing sharpness tearing through the wind and sundering clouds.
Just as Luo Chen was about to speak, a shrill screech cut him off.
"Demonic Lord Qingyang, give me your life!"
Looking over, an old woman in human form was charging straight toward Luo Chen, her wrinkled face twisted in pure venom.
"Ah, Haijiao Tianmu!"
Luo Chen smiled.
Seeing this, Feiyunzi’s brows knitted.
Pincer-attacked by two Nascent Soul-level entities, this man could still smile?
What reliance did he possess?
Then, the action of another person explained everything.
A black-robed figure barred Haijiao Tianmu’s path.
"So you have a helper. No wonder you’re so fearless," Feiyunzi realized.
Luo Chen glanced at Han Zhan. Though he had no idea where Han Zhan had acquired a Nascent Soul-stage puppet to serve as a temporary physical body, it had indeed done him a tremendous favor.
Afterward, he drew back his attention, focusing entirely on the man before him.
"Your name?"
"A dying man has no need to know my name!"
Before his words had faded, Feiyunzi struck first.
The sword glint in his hand suddenly erupted, bursting into myriad beams of sword qi.
Ten thousand sword qi beams were formless and invisible, perceptible only when they tore through wind and cloud.
Faced with this imposing sword momentum, Luo Chen remained fearless and pressed forward.
Thrusting a palm, the Qingyang Great Handprint reappeared in the mortal realm!
Empowered by magic power, the majestic handprint swept forward with a rumbling roar.
Yet having unleashed this palm strike, Luo Chen frowned slightly.
His magic power... seemed to have diminished by ninety percent out of nowhere?
Had he consumed too much magic power during his physical body’s nirvanic rebirth?
At this moment, inside his body, the second primal core had already vanished, destroyed when the Nine Refined Beacon Fire detonated.
Only his natal Golden Core still floated within his reshaped qi sea.
He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now he realized his magic power was far below its peak.
As a result, the Qingyang Great Handprint had the form but lacked the true might.
The moment it collided with the formless sword qi, it shattered to pieces.
*Chi! Chi! Chi!*
In an instant, horrifying sword qi rained down upon Luo Chen.
Faced with such peril, Luo Chen remained composed in the face of danger. Activating the Xuanchen Armor, layers of defensive qi armor radiated outward from within.
However, visible to the naked eye, these qi armors collapsed instantly beneath the formless sword qi.
*Sword qi specifically designed to pierce protective qi barriers? Could this man be a pure sword cultivator?*
Thoughts flashed through Luo Chen's mind as he formed an incantation gesture with one hand.
Instantly!
His frame began to swell and expand wildly.
Boundless vital blood surged, bones lengthened abruptly, and terrifying cords of muscle twisted and spread like ancient tree roots until they encased his entire body.
Thick, cuticle-like hide covered his jade-translucent skin.
Both hands and feet expanded proportionally, their palm lines and veins resembling those of an ancient giant.
The black armor expanded wildly along with his body, enveloping Luo Chen entirely.
*Whoosh!*
A pair of crimson wings unfurled from behind his back, blotting out the sky.
In barely a breath, a nine-zhang-tall giant stood atop the sea of clouds, stepping on the mist like a primordial deity.
The formless sword qi poured down like a torrential storm.
Yet it merely stirred faint ripples across his terrifying physique.
Not a single disturbance remained!
Such an extraordinary spectacle naturally drew gazes from all around.
Concealed beneath his black robes, Han Zhan was slightly startled. *Luo Chen's body refinement arts seem to have undergone another transformation I knew nothing of, reaching such a terrifying level.*
Blood Hermit, currently hunting down Blood Nightmare Moluo, paused his steps and narrowed his eyes at Luo Chen.
"I had no idea brat Qingyang possessed such a physical body. It’s remarkably well-suited for refining into a Blood God Child!"
Moon Hermit, who was forcefully suppressing Fairy Feileng and Old Daoist Jiyuan all by herself, couldn't help glancing over as well.
Intense curiosity surfaced in her peach-blossom eyes.
*This boy emerged from the Alchemy Hall, so he must have obtained Demonic Lord Liantian's alchemy legacy. Yet the Heaven Refining Cauldron, an exalted Heavenly Spirit Treasure, chose to self-detonate rather than voluntarily recognize him as master like the Myriad Beasts Chart did. Something unexpected must have occurred.*
*Still, if an individual who obtained the alchemy legacy of a Void Refining True Monarch could be put to use by me, he might become the greatest assistance on my path to the Soul Formation realm!*
*I must finish off Old Daoist Jiyuan quickly, then claim this boy before Blood Hermit can.*
With her keen wit, she had naturally noticed Blood Hermit staring at Luo Chen.
Word had it that three of Blood Hermit’s four Blood God Children had already been destroyed, leaving only one; he had likely set his sights on refining Luo Chen into a Blood God Child.
To have such brilliant talent reduced to an ignorant, savage beast would truly be a pity.
Aside from these three, the rest had no spare attention to pay to Luo Chen.
The reason was simple: they were essentially being pummeled by these three, leaving them zero energy to watch Luo Chen.
Feiyunzi, however, was an exception.
"Is this where your confidence comes from?"
Feiyunzi’s expression shifted slightly. Opening his mouth, he spat out a platinum sword pill that whirled into the air.
A sword cultivator!
No one could have guessed that the master of Flying Cloud Gorge, renowned across the Canghai Righteous Dao Alliance for his artifact refinement, was also an orthodox sword cultivator!
Perhaps this alone explained why he dared to venture into the Sunken Sea without helpers of the same realm.
Because a sword cultivator was a symbol of sheer might!
As the sword pill emerged, threads of sword qi unraveled from it.
Feiyunzi flicked his finger!
The sword pill ripped through the void, setting off sonic booms wherever it passed.
Moreover, his fingers rapidly formed incantation seals without pause.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Arriving before Luo Chen, the sword pill’s trajectory abruptly turned erratic, darting left and right, rising and plunging.
With every turn, beams of sword qi burst forth.
Striking the nine-zhang-tall giant, the sword qi actually battered the black armor into a pitted mess, leaving crater after dent across its surface.
As if refusing to take the beating passively, the giant charged toward Feiyunzi.
"Trying to close the distance?"
"Hmph!"
Feiyunzi sneered. Transforming into sword light, he soared into the sky, his speed not falling behind the nine-zhang-tall giant’s strides in the least.
Sword cultivators had always been famed for their blistering escape speed!
Maintaining a distance of several li from Luo Chen, he manipulated the sword pill to unleash volleys of sword qi.
Wounds began to appear across Luo Chen’s body.
Even though these injuries were negligible against his mighty physique, a multitude of small cracks would eventually topple a grand edifice.
Yet Feiyunzi was still not satisfied.
Suddenly!
He paused in midair and stood suspended, forming seals with both hands.
"Sword formation, rise!"
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
A terrifying sword ring resounded across heaven and earth.
The sword qi that had erupted earlier and supposedly vanished now reappeared abruptly in the void, crossing and interlocking like glowing threads to weave into a web.
Without anyone noticing, he had laid down a grand sword qi formation!
"Sword formation, unleash!"
Feiyunzi paused his hand seals, then pulled his hands apart across the void.
In the distance, a vast net of sword qi opened in response, closing in on the nine-zhang-tall giant from all directions.
"If you had kept your smaller human stature, my Heaven Cloud Sword Net might have taken more effort to trap you. But now, your colossal size has delivered you straight into the snare!"
Sneering repeatedly, a sword net swept down toward Luo Chen.
The interlocking sword qi seemed to possess the power to sever all creation.
Luo Chen did not dare endure it with his bare flesh, retreating hastily.
Yet another sword net emerged behind him.
At this moment, above and below, heaven and earth seemed completely blanketed in nets!
*Ssshhh...*
The sword nets swept across one another.
After just a single crossing, countless fracture lines spiderwebbed across Luo Chen's high-grade defensive magic treasure, the Xuanchen Armor.
As a second round of sword nets materialized, Luo Chen's expression turned solemn, and a wisp of azure flame erupted from his body.
Looking closely, golden gleams could be seen threading through the azure fire.
Under this azure flame, the second wave of sword nets evaporated into nothingness.
Seeing this, Feiyunzi’s face grew slightly serious.
"A Tier 4 true fire?"
He murmured under his breath, showing no surprise.
For someone who had passed the trials of the Alchemy Realm, it would be strange if he lacked a handy, potent source true fire.
And he had one as well!
*Phew...*
Exhaling gently, a wisp of golden flame drifted forth.
It was none other than the Platinum Xin Fire, harvested from the essences of metals and ore, supreme at melting gold and forging iron!
Through years of weapon casting, Feiyunzi’s utilization of his source true fire had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
Instead of crudely using this Platinum Xin Fire to attack his enemy directly, he coated the sword pill with it, imbuing it into the sword nets.
Sure enough!
Webs of sword qi suffused with platinum-gold flames descended once more upon Luo Chen. This time, they did not melt away on contact.
Though their cutting speed slowed considerably, they thoroughly restricted his high-speed movement.
Striking while the iron was hot, Feiyunzi repeatedly formed incantations, causing more and more sword nets to manifest.
Before long.
Within the sword formation, the giant's silhouette turned hazy and indistinct, leaving only azure-gold flames and platinum-gold sword nets clashing and rising against each other.
"A turtle in a jar—now watch me cleave you with one strike!"
Sensing an opening during his foe’s breath transition, Feiyunzi grasped empty air.
A longsword abruptly materialized.
Transforming into a beam of light, he plunged into the formation and cleaved downward toward the giant's head!
This strike was poised for certain victory!
Two stern shouts rang out from afar.
"Stop!"
"Spare his life!"
Feiyunzi ignored them completely.
All he knew was that he had failed the Weapon Realm’s trials and missed out on the Weapon Hall’s legacy.
Whereas this Golden Core junior, guilty of bearing a jade treasure, had lucked out and obtained the Alchemy Hall’s legacy.
Taking his place was only right and natural!
*Swish!*
The sword light was biting and sharp, capable of severing all things.
Yet right when Feiyunzi was certain of his kill, he realized the strike seemed to have sunk into a quagmire.
Though it continued to advance, its speed grew slower and slower.
Spiritual brilliance burst from his eyes, allowing him to perceive the truth through the crisscrossing sword qi.
A colossal hand held fast to the greatsword formed from the sword pill’s true body.
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot—overestimating your own strength!"
Feiyunzi roared, unleashing his boundless magic power to its limit.
This time, the sharp blade cut through all resistance like a knife through bean curd, cleaving the giant’s arm in half and slashing directly toward his massive torso.
Seeing this, Feiyunzi should have been elated.
However.
The bizarre sight meeting his eyes made his expression change drastically.
Along that arm sliced in two, countless cords of flesh wriggled like living pythons, surging upstream along the blade toward his physical body!
Writhing aggressively, they bore the horrifying posture of devouring everything in their path.
"Something's wrong!"
Feiyunzi’s mind shook violently, and he tried to withdraw his sword and pull back.
Yet entering was easy; leaving was far from simple.
Within the sword formation, Luo Chen’s cold laughter thundered.
"Stay right here!"
Out of nowhere, an enormous claw reached down from the clouds.
Unable to dodge in time, Feiyunzi was struck head-on by the swipe.
Luo Chen frowned. Having taken a direct hit from the Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw he had held in reserve for so long, the man's momentum hadn't plummeted.
*Does he have some formidable defensive magic treasure?*
He murmured under his breath, then looked at the sword nets binding him on all sides.
He raised a leg and stomped down!
*Boom!*
The void exploded with a sonic roar as his body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
When he reappeared, even drenched in blood, the tables of attack and defense had turned!
A peculiar power diffused through him. His severed left arm began to mend continuously, and the countless small wounds across his body were rapidly closing.
Luo Chen paid no heed to these changes, his expression frigid as he glared at the madly retreating Feiyunzi.
His wings quivered behind him like galloping thunderbolts, detonating explosions across the atmosphere.
Thunder Kick!
A giant foot kicked down like a thunderous tempest.
Before the minuscule Feiyunzi, sword nets unfolded layer upon layer, but in his haste, they could not withstand the blow.
*Boom!*
With just that single kick, he plummeted toward the white jade square beneath the cloud sea.
Dense plumes of cloud and mist billowed and scattered in all directions.
Luo Chen kicked again!
The giant descended from the heavens.
*Boom!*
Feiyunzi dodged the foot by a hair's breadth. Looking at the shockingly massive footprint, he fled backward for his life. Furthermore, as he ran, he pulled out precious magic treasures from his personal collection.
Having lost the initiative, how could Luo Chen let him open the distance again?
Press the advantage and pursue the routed foe!
The Moon-Breaking Wings, enhanced by Ninety Thousand Li, burst into peak speed again and again.
Mid-flight, his palms rained down continuous attacks.
Mountain Breaker Stance!
A punch smashed an incoming trident to pieces.
Mountain Ramming Stance!
He smashed directly into an abruptly summoned colossal mountain, pulverizing it into fine powder.
Amid the billowing dust and smoke, Luo Chen stomped with Skyburst Step, his gaze locking straight into Feiyunzi’s eyes.
"Where do you think you're running?"
"Do you truly think you have me at your mercy?!"
Feiyunzi’s face twisted in fury. Clasping his hands tightly together into a Lotus Seal, an illusory golden bell flickered atop his head.
Luo Chen closed in aggressively.
"Is this the contraption that saved your life?"
With a fierce shout, Luo Chen slammed a palm onto the golden bell's phantom.
The immense counterforce nearly fractured his bones and tore his arm open.
A defensive treasure of the True Artifact rank!
A ruthless expression flashed across Luo Chen's face. Refusing to grant the other man another chance to pull away, he sprinted around the golden bell, leaving an array of afterimages.
Between his hands, attacks lashed out relentlessly.
Snapping fingers, slapping palms, alternating punches and claw strikes, slapping and grasping—countless exquisite martial techniques erupted in quick succession.
Along with these motions, origin power surged throughout his body, thoroughly seeping into the golden bell and staining it crimson.
Abruptly!
Luo Chen slammed both palms against the golden bell phantom, his ten fingers sinking into the illusory bell like fingers plunging into damp clay and stone.
Overlord Sheds Armor!
"Break for me!"
Under Feiyunzi’s incredulous gaze, the indestructible golden bell phantom shattered like a dream.
The Lotus Seal he held instantly unraveled, and his mind suffered violent backlash.
*Pfft!*
Spurting a mouthful of blood, Feiyunzi felt as if struck by lightning, teetering on the verge of fainting.
Yet he knew there was no room for hesitation at the threshold of life and death.
Seeing the giant hand clasping toward his body, Feiyunzi gritted his teeth and made a decision contrary to his desires.
*Whoosh!*
Luo Chen's hand paused as he saw a streak of golden light shoot through the gaps between his fingers.
Glancing down, nothing remained in his palm but an empty physical shell.
As for that golden light...
A three-inch infant, holding the sword pill in its mouth and clutching a cracked, archaic golden bell, floated in midair, glaring at him with a face brimming with hatred.
"If not for withstanding that storm and damaging my True Artifact golden bell, how could you ever have breached my defense?!"
Luo Chen grinned broadly.
"With the breath to spout such venom, do you honestly think you're safe right now?"
As he spoke, a cauldron rose from atop his head.
Five-colored brilliance swirled incessantly!
Chapter 699