"We have been master and servant for some time. It is not that I do not trust you, but simply a precaution against the unforeseen."
"I have already removed the origin blood restriction, as that would hinder your normal cultivation. However, a slave seal is something I must implant, lest you be manipulated by someone at a critical juncture and turn to stab me in the back."
"Surrender your soul blood!"
Aboard a carriage shrouded to conceal its spiritual glow, Luo Chen spoke calmly to Black King, who was coiled beneath his seat.
His words were not spoken without reason.
The cautionary tale of Han Zhan was right before his eyes.
Black King's innate demon art, aside from swallowing and digesting, shared an uncanny similarity to the Nascent Soul-capturing ability of Luo Chen's natal treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron. If unleashed in a sudden sneak attack from behind, even Luo Chen would suffer dearly.
Yet desolate beasts, beings wielding immense, colossal might, had low intellect and weak souls, making them exceptionally susceptible to control by soul-path masters.
Black King was particularly disadvantaged in this regard.
Though far from dim-witted, his time cultivating had ultimately been too brief; even with his rapid breakthroughs in realm, he could not temper his soul's foundation through the accumulation of ages.
Unlike Luo Chen, who, despite his short cultivation years, had always possessed a profound soul foundation and had long since shored up this shortcoming.
Luo Chen had not brought this up before because he had been preoccupied with bitter cultivation, and Black King had only recently broken through—extracting soul blood back then would have impeded his cultivation.
Now that they had left Longyuan Island and were once more facing the trials and tribulations of the cultivation world, Luo Chen had to plan ahead.
A betrayal by someone at his side must never happen again!
He watched the hesitating Black King without pressing him.
The beast's loyalty was beyond doubt; the hesitation stemmed from the fact that once the soul blood was surrendered, life and death would hinge solely on Luo Chen's whim—something any living creature would find hard to willingly accept.
Ahead, Sang Jinghe steered the Liuyu Flying Cloud Carriage, eyes fixed straight ahead as if paying no attention whatsoever, though beneath his robe, his body was taut with tension.
Tianxuan stood to the side, gazing at Black King with anxious concern.
She wanted to speak, but before Luo Chen's serene, imposing presence, she could not bring herself to utter a word.
Outside the carriage, fierce winds blew and white clouds drifted.
After a long while, Black King spoke in a muffled, rumbling voice: "I am willing to serve once more as master's spiritual pet!"
A drop of crimson essence blood slowly floated out from his crown. Vaguely visible within was a lifelike black-scaled jiaolong, twisting and leaping with long whiskers and four claws.
This was Black King's soul blood.
Luo Chen took it into his sea of consciousness with satisfaction, then placed his own Spirit Servitude Seal upon Black King.
From then on, Black King's life and death lay entirely at his mercy with a single thought.
Seeing Black King lower his head dejectedly, Luo Chen smiled and rubbed the beast's cool, smooth head.
"Do not worry. If the day comes when this seat ascends, I shall grant you your freedom."
"Furthermore, I can make you a promise. When you prepare to break through to the fifth rank, I will return your soul blood to you and restore your soul to wholeness!"
With these two promises, Black King's downcast mood recovered somewhat.
Thanks to Luo Chen's smile, the tension inside the carriage eased, and Tianxuan could finally speak.
She glanced at Black King, then said to Luo Chen, "Master, what about me? My slave seal was also dispelled in the Alchemy Hall of Mingzhao Heaven. Shouldn't I..."
"Forget it. With your current strength, even if someone took control of you, you couldn't threaten me. Just cultivate diligently and work hard for me!" Luo Chen said with a chuckle.
Tianxuan let out a soft "oh," feeling somewhat rueful.
Her strength was so lacking that she did not even qualify to be her master's spiritual pet!
Sang Jinghe, on the other hand, breathed a complete sigh of relief upon hearing that Luo Chen had no interest in Tianxuan's soul blood.
He even mocked himself internally: *What was I thinking? With the Master's magnanimity, he can easily tolerate a mere Golden Core cultivator like me.*
Right then, an order sounded in his ears.
"Change direction!"
He asked in confusion, "Master, aren't we heading north?"
"Head southeast first. I have a matter to attend to," Luo Chen said calmly.
Sang Jinghe nodded and steered the carriage away from its original course.
Luo Chen held a jade slip containing the geography of the Northern Sea, his divine sense resting on an archipelago shaped like a flying swallow.
It was small and remote, yet it had been his very first landing place upon arriving in the Northern Sea.
In his eyes lingered a conflicted mix of anticipation and apprehension.
The carriage sped southeast, avoiding human territory.
Yet along the way, hardly any formidable demon beasts blocked their path.
While part of this was due to Luo Chen's concealment spells shielding the carriage's aura, it was also a fact that the demon beast population in the demon sea had dwindled.
Faced with such an abnormal sight, an oppressive feeling of an impending storm hung over everyone's hearts.
One day, the Liuyu Flying Cloud Carriage came to a stop above a stretch of sea.
Suddenly, a dark silhouette darted out from within and plunged straight into the waters below.
The colossal body and uncanny aura instantly evoked terror in the hearts of many demons.
Cries of panic erupted across island beaches, but beneath an earth-shaking dragon roar, all clamor sank into silence.
Soon, the dark silhouette returned.
*Thump!*
A third-rank demon king, forced to shrink in size, knelt trembling on the carriage deck.
Salty seawater oozed continuously from its carapace, its expression filled with sheer terror.
"Answer whatever my master asks, understand?!"
The Red Rock Crab shuddered violently and instinctively looked up at the man seated upon the soft couch.
A single glance sent it reeling into a dreamlike daze.
"I remember there used to be five royal demon crab clans in the Xuanyan Sea Region. Why is it that under my divine sense, only your Red Rock Crab clan remains, while the others are scarcely to be seen?"
The Red Rock Crab Demon King stammered, "A hundred years ago, during the battle of Xuanyan, the five royal demon crab clans suffered heavy losses. Later, the Overlord Crab clan attempted to unify Xuanyan, but Zhu Xiang, patriarch of the Demon Spider Crab clan, colluded with demons from the outer seas to launch a counterattack. After a civil war, the Overlord Crab clan was destroyed. Their new patriarch, Great Demon King Jin Jia, also died in that battle. However, Great Demon King Jin Ao, though having lost an arm, fought his way out of the encirclement and fled into the vast demon sea."
"And the remaining four clans—the Azure Emperor Crabs, Demon Spider Crabs, Nine-Clawed Poison King Crabs, and your Red Rock Crabs?"
The Red Rock Crab Demon King continued, "They were summoned by the Demon Emperor to join the Northern Sea Demon Coalition and are launching massive attacks on the human heartlands. My strength is meager, so I was left behind..."
This Red Rock Crab was indeed not very strong, appearing to have only recently advanced to demon king.
Luo Chen frowned. "Demon Coalition?"
"It is the Northern Sea Demon Coalition Army, led by Great Sage Beili and Lord Sea Emperor Whale. It is said to be composed of dozens of major clans and thousands of minor ones, possessing immense strength—nine-tenths of what they wielded when attacking the Yuan Demon Sect back then!"
Luo Chen inhaled sharply, shock flashing repeatedly in his eyes.
He had certainly heard of Great Sage Beili and the Sea Emperor Whale.
They were two renowned Soul Formation ancient demons of the Northern Sea!
Back then, it was under their call to arms that an army of hundreds of millions of demon beasts had marched into the Arctic Yama Heavens.
By all reasoning, they should have been trapped within Yama Heaven. How could they have formed a Demon Coalition now?
He wanted to pry for more information.
For instance, when did they break the seal and escape, and what was the current status of the war?
Yet this minor demon king, dwelling in a secluded corner, knew none of these inner details.
In the end, Luo Chen simply waved his hand and tossed the bewildered demon king back into the sea.
The Liuyu Flying Cloud Carriage set off once more, now piloted by Tianxuan.
She and Sang Jinghe took turns along the way, conserving strength while maintaining speed day and night.
From aboard the carriage came Black King's questioning rumble:
"Master, why not slaughter them? Back then, those fellows chased us relentlessly."
"We were the ones hunting their kin first. How can you turn around and blame them?"
"Uh... in any case, seeing those pincer-waving fellows annoys me. Their shells are rock-hard and give me a stomachache."
"Enough. Since we have no need for their resources, why incur needless slaughter? Speaking of which, you are all demonkind; why are you so murderous toward your own race?"
"Who's of the same race as them! 'Demon' is just what human cultivators call all non-human beasts. In truth, we aren't of the same family at all. Speaking of which, what race do I count as now? Master, do you know?"
"Heh, that actually stumps me."
What race Black King belonged to now was indeed difficult for Luo Chen to judge.
He had started out as a black-scaled giant serpent wallowing in the mud.
Later, secret methods were used to force his growth into a black-scaled jiaolong. But back then, Black King could hardly be called a true jiaolong; at most, he was a jiao serpent.
Even after devouring the remains of the cliff snake, his metamorphosis remained incomplete.
Afterward, he absorbed the blood of millions of dragon earthworms, along with Luo Chen's essence blood, and was further influenced by the remnant soul of the desolate beast Stone Dragon.
Throughout this process, Emperor's Flowing Syrup, that sacred medicine of the demon race capable of tapping into deep-seated bloodline potential, also continuously exerted its effects.
By now, strictly speaking, neither Black King's bloodline nor his soul could be categorized under any single type. Only in his physical form did he slightly resemble the Yinglong described in ancient texts.
Yet he lacked wings!
*Better to just generalize him as a jiaolong!*
Luo Chen could not be bothered with such trivialities and swiftly passed beyond the Xuanyan Sea Region.
This place, upon which he had once pinned high hopes as a backup location for his Nascent Soul breakthrough, now appeared dreadfully barren of spiritual energy to his current eyes.
In particular, Xuanyan Island had not been well maintained. A century had passed, yet its grade had not recovered to the fourth rank, remaining at the third rank.
This sea region likely would not produce a Demon Emperor for eight hundred or a thousand years.
The carriage continued forward. Wherever they passed, Luo Chen's divine sense quietly swept out.
He found that overall, things had not changed much from his memories, yet several islands were missing.
For instance, there had been a large island inhabited by humans, where a Golden Core sect had resided, but now, both the people and the island were gone without a trace.
This was bizarre.
Even if destroyed in battle, ruins should have remained.
Moreover, Luo Chen remembered that the immortal island was arrayed with the island-linking formation method passed down by the Canghai Alliance; ordinary demon beasts could never have overrun it.
Yet such strange occurrences paled in comparison to another discovery.
And that was the disappearance of Broken Soul Cliff!
Traveling east from Longyuan Island across tens of millions of li, Luo Chen had cautiously approached the Yellow Springs Sea Region where Broken Soul Cliff was located in his memory.
Yet there was nothing!
Indeed, the sky was clear, the sea azure, devoid of any muddy yellow springs or terrifying sights that broke the soul and scattered the spirit.
Even flying along the outer perimeter of the demon sea, he found not the slightest trace of Broken Soul Cliff or the Yellow Springs Sea.
*Did it flee?*
*Could that stretch of sea be a living entity?*
This speculation once again surfaced in his mind.
Luo Chen remembered that before the puppet—imbued with his split soul via the Grass-Clearing Art taught by Han Zhan—perished, it had vaguely transmitted back a scene.
Boundless Yellow Springs washing through the void.
A raging sea, and the sound of gnawing and chewing drilling into the mind.
If one were to explain the bizarre disappearance of the Yellow Springs Sea, perhaps the only answer was that the sea itself was a living creature.
A month later.
Albatrosses circled above, and sal trees rustled in the breeze.
Luo Chen quietly descended from the carriage.
"Go ahead to the Feiyan Archipelago and wait for me. Barring any accidents, I shall join you shortly."
Tianxuan was somewhat puzzled. This sea region where albatrosses circled again?
She recalled that back when they returned from the Xuanyan Sea Region, her master had also stopped here and sent her ahead to scout the Feiyan Archipelago.
At that time, she assumed her master was guarding against an ambush at the Feiyan Archipelago.
Yet now, her master was an esteemed Nascent Soul true person; why stop here again?
Still, her master's order permitted no questioning.
"Yes, Master!"
Watching the magnificent carriage depart into the distance, Luo Chen took a deep breath and cast his gaze upon the few islands scattered across the Xintian Sea Region.
He did not project his divine sense, relying solely on memory to search for his destination.
Soon, he spotted a familiar low mountain.
"Back then, I passed this mountain without entering. This time, I must finally face it."
With a flick of his sleeves, Luo Chen flew forward at an unhurried pace.
Reaching the foot of the mountain, he ascended on foot.
Wherever he passed, lush vines parted on their own as if possessing awareness.
Soon, full of trepidation, Luo Chen stood before a cave concealed tightly by natural vegetation.
"Let's go in."
Luo Chen parted the vines and stepped into the darkness.
Standing before an ancient, unadorned formation, Luo Chen pressed his lips tight.
His hand brushed against a corner of the array runes, visibly trembling.
It had been repaired!
This formation had been repaired!
He remembered with absolute clarity that when he arrived in the Northern Sea via the teleportation array at Mount Cangwu, he had severed a corner of this array upon waking to prevent pursuit by the Mount Cangwu demon cultivators.
Now, the ancient formation bore pristine array markings, without a speck of dust upon them.
Clearly, it had not been repaired long ago—twenty to thirty years at most.
Who was it?
Demon Emperor Qingshuang, or Vice Hall Master Youquan of Duzhen Hall?
Or was it that person...
A certain name churned in his mind, yet felt like a taboo.
What drove Luo Chen here was both his nostalgia for his homeland in the Eastern Desolation and the grievances between the Heaven Refining Demon Lord and Monarch Qixia in the Land of the Fallen Demon.
And he practiced Monarch Qixia's technique while also possessing the Heaven Refining legacy.
Therefore, he wanted to see the condition of this array that led directly to Mount Cangwu. If Mount Cangwu had fallen beneath the assault of the Mingyuan Sect's Soul Formation mighty figure, they would naturally have no spare energy to repair this teleportation array. In that case, there would be fewer hidden perils when he returned to the Eastern Desolation. If it had been repaired, he would have to face the risk that his past alchemy for the demon race might be exposed by them.
The moment he saw it restored, the conflicting emotions in Luo Chen's heart dissolved completely.
Almost like resigning himself to fate.
A repaired array meant that Mount Cangwu still stood, and even had the leeway to travel tens of thousands of li to the Northern Sea to fix this teleportation array.
They had not even bothered to relocate it, entirely unconcerned about him, the one who knew of it.
"In some matters, blind avoidance is useless. One must face them in the end."
Luo Chen's eyes flickered, the churning emotions within his chest gradually settling.
"Han Zhan is dead. Aside from those demon beasts of Mount Cangwu, no one knows what I did there; all the human powerhouses perished in the fallout of the Nirvana Holy Fire."
"Now that I have formed my Nascent Soul, as long as I adamantly deny having done those things, no one should question me except for the Soul Formation holy grounds."
"Even if the Mingyuan Sect investigates, I have the alchemy skills capable of refining fifth-rank divine pills to rely on; I can try to negotiate."
"I must return to the Eastern Desolation!"
"However, this teleportation array cannot be taken."
Luo Chen shook his head and turned to leave.
He would not take this array, firstly because he did not dare, and secondly because without a Green Luan feather for protection, he could not activate the array on his own.
Right then, a sudden stirring arose in Luo Chen's heart.
He instinctively touched his lower abdomen.
Within his purple palace, the Wither-Bloom Fire Spirit was eager to act.
Luo Chen was surprised. "You can activate this array?"
Immediately, he realized the crux of the matter.
The Wither-Bloom True Fire had once swallowed a wisp of the Nirvana Holy Fire. Even if only a wisp, it had granted it a rudimentary semblance of the holy fire.
Demon Emperor Qingshuang might have been able to construct a super-large teleportation array using the laws of space, but she had neither the wealth nor the need to do so; her primary purpose in establishing this array was likely for Monarch Qixia's use.
Monarch Qixia wielded the Nirvana Holy Fire, which might also serve as one of the keys to activating this teleportation array.
That was why his Wither-Bloom Fire Spirit felt that resonance.
"No matter. Even without this array, I can find another way back to the Eastern Desolation."
Luo Chen shook his head and walked out of the cave.
Without causing any further damage, leaving everything just as it was, Luo Chen departed from the Xintian Sea Region.
There was no need to retread the path by which he had come.
Now that he had attained the Nascent Soul realm, he was confident he could blaze his own grand path to the heavens!
Chapter 718