What was Black King's current condition?
After several months of meticulous examination, Luo Chen had arrived at a clear understanding.
His physical body had suffered catastrophic damage, to the point where it was practically impossible to reconstruct.
His demon core was shattered. The demonic power cultivated over hundreds of bitter years had either dissipated outward or fused into his broken bones.
His soul was on the verge of fading into absolute silence, flickering like a dying flame tottering in the wind.
In the eyes of anyone else, injuries of this magnitude were indistinguishable from death itself.
In truth, sustained trauma like this was only to be expected.
Even with the layers of defensive formations in the Alchemy Hall drastically blunting the blast of a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure's detonation, the residual shockwaves were not something Black King could face head-on.
Had it not been for his solid foundation, having soaked in the Spirit Molding Holy Spring, and Luo Chen shielding him slightly after completing his own bodily nirvana, Black King likely would have perished right then and there inside the Alchemy Hall.
Following his grievous injuries, Black King had instinctively entered a state of hibernation using the secret art of the cliff serpents.
This had preserved his soul, which otherwise could have snuffed out at any moment.
Yet that was all it could do.
Recovery was utterly beyond his personal ability.
Under these circumstances, all of Luo Chen's medical arts combined had merely patched up a negligible fraction of his external wounds.
From the perspective of the watching Tianxuan, even if Luo Chen managed to save Black King's life, he would be nothing more than a cripple.
Nothing else could be expected!
His demon core was shattered; the path to the Great Dao was entirely severed.
Still, if it came down to abandoning him, how could Tianxuan bear it? The two beasts had entered Luo Chen's tutelage one after the other, and though their relationship was hardly harmonious, they were comrades through thick and thin.
Luo Chen had also weighed many factors.
Black King was a capable assistant, and he had poured immense resources into nurturing him beforehand.
Casting him aside now would be a true waste.
Above all, the loyalty Black King had demonstrated at that final moment...
"Let us build the blood pool first!"
Luo Chen murmured, having made his resolve.
Saving Black King would have been impossible for the old him; the overall trauma was far too profound.
However, after receiving the heritage of the Alchemy Hall and scouring the ancient texts for three months, he had genuinely unearthed a viable method.
Beyond the Heaven Refining Cauldron, the Alchemy Hall's legacy held seventy-two volumes of alchemy scriptures, thirty-six pill recipes, and the three sealed, miraculous formulas: Spirit Stabilizing, Void Discerning, and Dao Combining.
Among them, the seventy-two volumes of scriptures and recipes bore no restrictions or seals.
Through a cursory glance over them, Luo Chen had formed a general picture.
These alchemy texts and recipes spanned the three great races: humans, demons, and fiends!
While there were subtle subdivisions among them, the differences were primarily in grade and rank.
Take the twelve pill recipes concerning humanity, for instance. They ranged from Qi Refinement to Nascent Soul, with three variations for each realm. The recipe for the Spirit Root Pill from the Alchemy Realm's trial was among them as well, only far more complete.
And the three recipes for each realm served distinctly different purposes.
There were realm-breaking pills, cultivation pills, and a third type covering auxiliary functions: healing, life-preserving, barrier-piercing, mind-calming, spirit-stabilizing, and even toxic pills.
This held true for humanity, and the twelve demon recipes followed the exact same structure.
Among them lay a rank-four blood pill method that boasted the miraculous efficacy of reconstructing the flesh, healing grave wounds, and exchanging one's blood.
However, before concocting such a pill, the absolute prerequisite was constructing a blood pool!
As for how to build it, Luo Chen already had a solid concept in mind.
***
Three days later.
Sang Jinghe stared with deep heartache at a massive pit measuring ten zhang in length and width.
This was one of the precious few areas of rank-four spiritual soil on Longyuan Island!
He had planned to divide it up, charting it into individual spiritual fields specifically intended for cultivating rare medicinal herbs.
Yet now, Demonic Lord Qingyang had thoroughly melted and refined it using true fire, incorporating various mineral ores to forge a pool as smooth and pristine as colored glaze.
What was this pool even supposed to be used for?
Luo Chen looked down silently at the basin beneath his feet before speaking out of nowhere:
"Jinghe, were you not troubled by those omnipresent dragon earthworms interfering with your transplanting of the dragon saliva grass?"
Sang Jinghe froze for an instant before nodding reflexively.
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "That works out well. Today, I shall resolve that annoyance for you!"
Sang Jinghe was surprised. Had Senior Luo already devised an isolation array?
Yet in the very next breath, Luo Chen's actions sent a chill running through his marrow.
Luo Chen ceased suppressing his aura and unleashed it in full.
An aura akin to a primordial savage beast erupted in an instant, surging outward in all directions.
Within the blink of an eye, it engulfed nearly half the island.
Not stopping there, Luo Chen stomped his foot down!
*Boom!*
Layers of colossal force vibrated deep into the earth's veins.
Like a sudden earthquake, Longyuan Island began to shake violently.
Under the combined assault of this suffocating aura and seismic tremor, the countless dragon earthworms burrowed beneath the island felt as though the apocalypse had arrived. Unable to remain buried in the soil and rock strata, they squirmed out from the earth one after another.
*Rustle, rustle...*
*Rustle, rustle...*
Everywhere the eye could see, gray worms slithered across the ground in blind panic.
The sight was enough to turn the stomach and induce visceral nausea!
Yet Luo Chen's expression remained calm.
He raised both hands!
A tiny spark of blue-gold light slowly materialized behind his back, fluttering with flame as branches unfurled.
In a flash, a tree of verdant azure fire took shape, hovering in midair.
Dreamlike and ethereal, it glowed with radiant splendor.
The might of this azure fire tree was thoroughly restrained. It emitted no scorching heat, nor was there any of the turbulent frenzy common to open flame.
Yet the moment it appeared, the countless dragon earthworms erupted into a frenzied panic, desperately fleeing toward the shores of Longyuan Island.
It was an instinctual terror rooted in the depths of their souls!
However, it was already too late.
With a single thought from Luo Chen, the fire tree drifted into the high heavens as if alive. Its branches stretched wide, scattering clouds of sparks like drifting willow catkins.
Every dragon earthworm brushed by those sparks froze motionless on the spot.
Seeing this, Luo Chen offered a satisfied smile.
Without him even realizing it, the Wither-Bloom Fire had grown to such a terrifying extent.
A wondrous fire taking form, giving birth to a true spiritual entity!
Had Luo Chen not deliberately suppressed it, the spirit of this fire would have developed its own independent will in an instant, just like those sourceless fire spirits inside the Blazing Purgatory.
For the time being, however, Luo Chen had no intention of allowing that.
He had yet to advance to the Nascent Soul realm. If his own true fire developed an independent consciousness, the servant might usurp the master.
It was better to wait!
Wait until he broke through to the Nascent Soul realm!
Once he attained Nascent Soul, he could loosen the restraints on this flame. Combined with its terrifying foundation, it would undoubtedly become one of his greatest killing moves!
Even as it stood, the power of the Wither-Bloom Fire was sufficient to threaten Nascent Soul cultivators. Subduing these hundreds of thousands of low-rank dragon earthworms was a simple matter.
"Tianxuan, Jinghe, go and bring back all the dragon earthworms suppressed by my true fire."
"Understood!"
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, the two flew off, combing across Longyuan Island to retrieve the still-living dragon earthworms.
They had merely been immobilized by the sparks of the Wither-Bloom Fire; they were not dead.
This alone demonstrated how superb Luo Chen's flame-control techniques had become—effortlessly yielding to his will with microscopic precision!
At first, they did not comprehend Luo Chen's intentions.
Only when they saw Luo Chen slaughtering the dragon earthworms one by one and pouring their murky blood into the glazed pool did they vaguely understand.
Even if hundreds of thousands of dragon earthworms were lined up helplessly to be slaughtered, the task would exhaust an ordinary man to near collapse.
Yet with the three of them joining forces, the slaughter was completed in mere days.
A foul, stench-ridden pool of blood took shape before their eyes.
"What a sheer waste. If these dragon earthworms were utilized properly, they would be enough to bring prosperity to an entire sect," Sang Jinghe remarked with deep regret. He had never imagined Luo Chen's solution to the dragon earthworm problem would not be an array, but rather eliminating the root of the problem itself.
Tianxuan was unfazed. "Longyuan Island is vast, harboring tens of millions of low-rank dragon earthworms. This was merely a few hundred thousand."
Luo Chen said nothing, tossing miscellaneous medicinal ingredients into the pool.
Then, right before their eyes, he cast the dormant body of Black King into the pool as well.
The murky blood bubbled and frothed, submerging Black King completely.
Tianxuan could not help asking, "Master, will soaking like this truly cure Black King?"
"It is not enough!"
Luo Chen shook his head.
"Black King's injuries are far too severe. These materials alone are still insufficient to heal him. From now on, in your spare time, hunt more rank-two dragon earthworms, extract their blood, and pour it into the pool. Furthermore, once your own wounds have healed, sweep the surrounding waters. If you encounter any rank-three demon kings, slay them and bring their corpses back."
Tianxuan did not refuse, though she worried about her lack of strength.
Currently in the Middle Golden Core realm, she dared to trade blows with great demon kings relying on her high-grade magic treasure, the Nine Winds Plantain Fan. But slaying one and retrieving its corpse was asking a bit much.
Luo Chen had anticipated this long ago.
"Take these flames with you!"
Luo Chen tapped his finger, and three azure fire seeds detached from the fire tree, sinking gently into Tianxuan's brow.
"If you encounter a foe you cannot overpower, simply ignite these flames."
"Enough. You may both withdraw!"
With those words, Luo Chen dismissed them.
Once they had departed, Luo Chen sat cross-legged before the glazed blood pool, his expression resolute.
He lightly bit the tip of his tongue.
A drop of blood essence drifted forth from the tip of his tongue.
*Drip!*
The crimson drop plummeted into the blood pool.
Instantly, like water hitting boiling oil, crackling explosions erupted from the quiet pool.
Black King's body flickered in and out of sight amid the detonations.
When the violent rejection gradually subsided, the murky hue caused by blending countless dragon earthworms transformed into a brilliant, vivid crimson.
"For a mere spiritual pet, you truly are willing to squander your vitality."
Unnoticed, a figure had come to stand quietly beside Luo Chen.
The man looked pale, hovering between life and death, bearing some resemblance to Han Zhan's original appearance.
"Why did you come?"
Han Zhan let out a soft chuckle. "You caused such an uproar earlier. How could I not come?"
Luo Chen slowly rose to his feet and looked at 'Han Zhan'.
"How well have you adapted to this body?"
Han Zhan stretched his limbs and smacked his lips.
"Far from it. Feiyunzi had a different realm than me, and his spirit root attributes differed as well. Most importantly, through years of cultivation, the pathways of his meridians and the number of unblocked acupoints are entirely dissimilar. Right now, my Nascent Soul is merely squatting within his purple mansion; this is nowhere near a perfect soul snatching. By my estimation, it will take at least a decade or so to properly adapt to this body and bring forth the strength of my prime."
As he spoke, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough about me. You went to all this trouble to construct this Four Spirits Blood Pool—can it truly bring Black King back?"
Luo Chen answered in a low voice, "One step at a time. First, resolve his physical injuries, then deal with the rest. When it comes to his divine soul, I may have to trouble Senior when the time comes."
"That does not matter to me." Han Zhan moved to stroke a beard that was no longer there, froze awkwardly, then dropped his hand behind his back. "As for you, your next priority should be preparing to break through to the ninth layer of Golden Core, followed by charging at the Nascent Soul realm!"
"Indeed."
"If that is the case, you squeezed out heart's blood before, and now you have drained your vitality to extract tongue-tip blood essence. Are you truly not afraid of destabilizing your foundation?"
To this, Luo Chen simply smiled faintly.
"Senior need not worry. Since I dared to do so, I naturally have the confidence that it will not hinder my cultivation."
Luo Chen truly possessed that confidence!
A cultivator's blood essence was forged from the fusion of magic power and bodily blood, laced with dense vitality.
Ordinary people dared not waste blood essence recklessly.
Yet Luo Chen bore no such concern.
After he consumed the main body of Taisui, the sheer vitality within it was terrifying beyond measure. Even after completing his bodily nirvana, he had not fully digested it all.
Wasting a few mere drops of blood essence now slightly depleted his magic power, but it could not meaningfully shake his core foundation.
Moreover, this Four Spirits Blood Pool genuinely required formidable blood as its primary ingredient.
Looking across the resources at his disposal, only the blood essence produced by his own body—which rivaled that of a savage beast—could truly be called formidable.
"Very well, as long as you know what you are doing." Han Zhan shrugged awkwardly and began walking down the mountain.
Watching his departing figure, Luo Chen furrowed his brow.
First, Han Zhan's hand had halted midair reaching for an absent beard, followed by that unnatural shrug; it was clear his control over the physical vessel was far from smooth. Yet was possessing a body truly so arduous?
Feiyunzi's Nascent Soul had already been crushed by Luo Chen.
It was merely an empty husk. With Han Zhan's capabilities, could several months still not allow him to control it naturally?
Luo Chen pondered for a moment before finally activating the formation to conceal the blood pool, returning alone to the thatched cottage in the abyss.
Sensing the pure spiritual energy purified by the formation, Luo Chen revealed a satisfied smile.
This was the core vein of a rank-four spirit vein!
The spiritual energy here was exceedingly abundant.
At least according to Luo Chen's experience, it was an entirely textbook, rank-four low-grade spirit vein.
Logically, a Golden Core cultivator would never dare cultivate in such an excessively rich environment.
It was like a human needing water: a moderate amount quenched thirst, an ample supply allowed one to swim freely, but beneath the crushing pressure of the deep sea, let alone swimming, one could not even open one's mouth.
Yet all those rules were shattered when applied to Luo Chen.
A physical body rivaling a savage beast!
A Fire Spirit Body that, after being reshaped, could accommodate fire-attribute spiritual energy on a massive scale!
Plus the Grandmaster-level *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*!
With these three foundational pillars, Luo Chen had no qualms sitting in a rank-four spirit vein for extended cultivation despite being only in the Golden Core realm.
In fact, supported by these combined conditions, Luo Chen's cultivation speed had reached an all-time peak!
By his estimate, it was at least three times faster than before he left Penghu Lake!
Such an earth-shattering transformation was beyond the imagination of outsiders.
Yet compared to everything Luo Chen had sacrificed to attain this cultivation speed, it was only natural.
Whether it was the savage beast physique, the Fire Spirit Body, or the Grandmaster-level *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*, who in this world could achieve even one or two of them?
Not to mention that a rank-four spirit vein was something a Golden Core cultivator could never hope to enjoy all to themselves.
In Han Zhan's eyes, now that Luo Chen possessed such lavish internal and external circumstances, he should naturally advance with fierce vigor, focusing wholly on his cultivation to attempt an assault on the Nascent Soul realm.
Yet Luo Chen held a different view!
"Back in the Land of the Fallen Demon, I soaked in that... Spirit Molding Holy Spring, and my realm shot up from the sixth layer of Golden Core straight to the eighth layer. At first glance, my foundation appears rock-solid without any flimsiness. Yet in my heart, I feel as if perched atop a castle in the sky, unsteady and ill at ease."
Luo Chen had learned the name of that miraculous spring from the alchemy texts left behind by the Heaven Refining Demon Lord.
He was naturally awestruck by its myriad wondrous effects.
Had the Heaven Refining Demon Lord not failed to leave behind the recipe for crafting that spiritual spring, Luo Chen might have even sought an opportunity to recreate it in the future.
He was getting ahead of himself.
Returning to the matter at hand.
The explosive surge in realm left Luo Chen feeling unsettled.
This had nothing to do with the cultivation realm itself, but rather a psychological disconnect in his state of mind.
Thus, even with such an opulent cultivation environment, Luo Chen reined in the urge to charge forward with reckless abandon.
"Let me temper myself a bit further!"
Luo Chen murmured softly, circulating his natal cultivation method and sinking into deep cultivation.
***
The tempering he spoke of was far more than merely sitting in meditation.
One crucial element was refining the purity of his magic power!
His second primal core was shattered.
Yet Luo Chen had long grown accustomed to a life with double the normal reserves of magic power.
Owing to his Five Elements spirit root constitution, his magic power was already several times that of peers at the same realm; bolstered by two golden cores, the gap exceeded tenfold!
This was one of the key foundations that previously allowed Luo Chen to cast wide-area destructive spells at will, slay enemies across realms, and even challenge Nascent Soul True Lords.
Now, stripped of his second primal core, Luo Chen felt completely out of his element.
Yet such was life; once something was lost, one had to adapt.
If he could not find a way forward through quantity, he would make his mark through quality!
In his earlier years, because he was cultivating two cores concurrently, his magic power had appeared purer than that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators, but it had never truly reached his personal ceiling.
Now, he would temper and refine it bit by bit, honing it until it reached an unsurpassable peak!
A red golden core hovered within his sea of qi.
Beneath it, the branches of the Wither-Bloom Fire Tree spread luxuriantly, steadily scorching the core.
Occasionally, minute 'impurities' were purged—magic power belonging to other elements.
Under this persistent scorching, the golden core grew increasingly vermilion, resembling a cinnabar fruit!
In truth, the core's intrinsic five-colored nature was gradually receding into concealment.
***
Half a year later.
Within the abyss, a powerful aura surged and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze held both delight and helplessness.
"Ninth layer of Golden Core..."
He had intended to thoroughly polish his foundation, but the lavish conditions both inside and out had ultimately pushed him into the ninth layer of Golden Core without him even noticing.
This had not been his intent, yet now that it had come, he could only accept it.
He could hardly wear a scowl when his realm had advanced!
Luo Chen let out a sigh and summoned his attribute panel.
[Lifespan: 186/900]
[Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Constitution: Fire Spirit Body (Five Spirits Dao Body concealed)]
[Realm: Golden Core Layer 9 (1/100), Primordial Rank-4 (35/100)]
[Cultivation Methods: Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture Grandmaster (650/1000), Convergence of Myriad Paths Great Circle, Myriad Beast Scripture Grandmaster (510/1000)]
Lines of text flickered across the rippling attribute panel.
Luo Chen ignored the other attributes, focusing solely on the first five major entries.
The explosive increase in lifespan was within expectations.
Not only had he broken through three sub-realms in succession, but after his bodily nirvana, his physical body had also leapt to the middle stage of Primordial Rank-4.
Gaining an extra century of life was entirely normal.
Luo Chen even felt that once he thoroughly absorbed all the remaining power of Taisui within him, his maximum lifespan would surge once more!
After a quick glance, Luo Chen paid it no further heed.
For the time being, he was completely free of any pressure regarding his lifespan. Over nine hundred years was already immense longevity; certain Nascent Soul True Lords who had suffered severe injuries possessed only about that much life. Luo Chen was merely at the Golden Core realm, so what was there to rush?
His attention settled primarily on the newly added entry.
[Constitution: Fire Spirit Body (Five Spirits Dao Body concealed)]
He understood the Fire Spirit Body; it was the constitution he had transformed into following his nirvana to adapt to the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*.
Yet what was this '(Five Spirits Dao Body concealed)' all about?
"Could it be that my Five Spirits Dao Body never vanished? It was merely obscured by the Fire Spirit Body, preventing it from manifesting?"
Luo Chen was quite perplexed.
He attempted to circulate the *Yimu Medicine King Scripture* he had practiced in his earlier years, but after running it for barely half a minor heavenly cycle, he felt his magic power become sluggish, accompanied by a faint stinging pain in his meridians.
Evidently, this was not how the Five Spirits Dao Body was supposed to behave.
According to ancient records, the Five Spirits Dao Body allowed one to cultivate all methods simultaneously; how could there be such sluggish friction?
Yet the panel unambiguously displayed it as such.
After pondering deeply and testing it for half a day, he still arrived at no conclusion.
Reluctant though he was, Luo Chen ultimately let it go.
His gaze shifted downward, sweeping past the changes in his realm, and settled on his cultivation methods.
First was the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*!
From the initial entry into Grandmaster rank back in the Blazing Purgatory to the current progress of 650, it had shot up by a full one hundred and fifty points of proficiency!
The cause behind this change...
"It must stem from that bodily nirvana!"
That transformation had brought not merely changes to his body, but a profound metamorphosis to his cultivation method as well.
Luo Chen could sense that when he circulated his natal cultivation method now, his efficiency in absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy far exceeded the past.
Not only that, but when outputting magic power to cast spells, he was faster by a fraction of a breath.
One should not underestimate this slight improvement.
Most of Luo Chen's spells were already at the Great Circle.
Some had even been optimized and refined past the Great Circle to an unsurpassable extreme.
To see further progress upon such a foundation naturally astonished Luo Chen.
"It seems this Fire Spirit Body is indeed far more suited to practicing the *Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*. Subsequent proficiency gains should be significantly faster."
"Perhaps I may have the chance to train it to the Great Circle even before reaching the Nascent Soul realm!"
This was evidently another piece of great news following his increased lifespan, realm breakthrough, and the preservation of his Five Spirits Dao Body.
Luo Chen smiled, only to let out an inexplicable sigh an instant later.
"Alas..."
His gaze came to rest upon *Convergence of Myriad Paths*.
This self-created technique, which had once drawn widely from various schools of thought, had finally reached its limit.
He had sensed this long ago.
His body refinement progress had grown slower and slower, prompting him to continually seek external methods and exchange for countless ancient body refinement arts from the Demon Hunting Department of the Myriad Immortals Association.
Relying on those patchwork additions, he had managed to cultivate his way to Primordial Rank-4.
Yet that was where it ended.
After advancing to Primordial Rank-4 at Penghu Lake, he had distinctly perceived that his body refinement had hit a ceiling!
This ceiling stemmed from *Convergence of Myriad Paths*, and it also stemmed from himself!
Traced back to its absolute root, it originated from the body refinement art known as the *Heavenly Roc Transformation*!
In his early years, Luo Chen and Wang Yuan had purchased the *Heavenly Roc Transformation* at the Dahe Mill black market.
It had been a piece of beast hide, accompanied by the pleasant surprise of the *Emperor Flowing Liquid* recipe.
Yet at the time, the *Heavenly Roc Transformation* was an incomplete rank-three method. Practicing it required integrating the blood essence of a roc-type demon beast into one's body.
Wang Yuan had passed on it, merely adopting certain merits to patch his own shortcomings.
Using it as a blueprint, Luo Chen had utilized the system inside the grotto-abode of the Soul Formation grandmaster Bai Ye to complete the technique in a moment of crisis, creating *Convergence of Myriad Paths*.
Over the years, through extensive study and vast learning, Luo Chen had gradually pushed this body refinement art to rank-four.
And then, it had reached its limit.
The foundation of the *Heavenly Roc Transformation* was simply too shallow and intrinsically fragmented.
Furthermore, the roc blood essence Luo Chen had absorbed into his body back then came from a mere rank-two blazing cloud roc.
With both factors compounded, the fact that it had helped him cultivate to Primordial Rank-4 was already a stroke of immense fortune.
Without the main body of Taisui and that wisp of Nirvana Holy Fire, it would have been impossible for Luo Chen to attain the cultivation of middle-stage Primordial Rank-4.
Sighing, Luo Chen gradually composed his thoughts.
"Let it rest like this for now!"
"The path of body refinement has an obscure road ahead with countless branches. It serves well as a guarantee of martial might, but can hardly serve as a hope for longevity."
"Abandoning it is naturally out of the question, but in the future, I must seek higher-grade techniques. Whether switching paths, drawing inspiration, or creating an entirely new art from scratch, all are viable."
"For now, however, the pressing priority remains Qi Refinement."
Now that he was at the ninth layer of Golden Core, he had to consider the matter of Nascent Soul formation.
Before that, however, Luo Chen had one minor task to attend to.
Namely, taking inventory of his gains from the trip to the Land of the Fallen Demon.
After braving life and death, he could hardly remain oblivious to what he had gained and what he had lost!
With a thought, he waved his hand.
Streaks of flowing light hovered into the air inside the wooden cottage.
Gazing upon those treasures, Luo Chen broke into a knowing smile.
"This trip was not made in vain after all."
Chapter 707