Aboard the Six Imperial Flying Cloud Carriage.
Beneath the emerald jade curtains, Luo Chen held a jade slip in his hands, studying it intently.
At times deep in thought, at times furrowing his brow, expressions of astonishment surfaced repeatedly across his face.
Only after quite a while did he lower the jade slip, clicking his tongue in marvel.
"To think such an array formation exists in the world. It appears to merely link topography, but in truth, it relies on the principle of circulating and exchanging earth qi. Centered on a single island, it continuously expands to connect surrounding spirit veins. Moreover, in this process, every island brought into the fold can be treated as a new focal point, radiating outward... In this way, over time, even the most fragmented islands with small spirit veins can rely upon one another and grow stronger together."
"As for its guiding principles, defense is secondary; what is truly astounding is how it connects earth veins and nurtures spiritual qi."
"As expected of an array personally imparted by a Soul Formation grandmaster of array dao!"
Indeed, the jade slip in Luo Chen's hand contained none other than the "Island-Linking Array," the most renowned array formation in the Northern Sea cultivation world over the past two hundred years!
After the Xu clan's Third Elder joined the Canghai Righteous Alliance, an expert from the alliance had bestowed this array upon him.
The relevant array plates, array flags, and full set of array implements had naturally been taken away by the Third Elder.
Yet out of regard for the friendship between the Xu and Cheng families, he had left the array diagram behind for Cheng Haixin.
The Flying Swallow Archipelago did not lack spirit veins; out of over thirty islands, ninety percent could sustain cultivation.
However, because the spirit veins were scattered and the islands lay fragmented across the sea like scattered stars, the archipelago as a whole had never coalesced into something greater.
If this array were used to link the archipelago, within a hundred years, the Flying Swallow Archipelago might become fully interconnected, acquiring denser, richer earth and water veins to become a cultivation ground genuinely suited for Gold Core cultivators.
With such a foundation, any defensive array built upon it would naturally be far more formidable.
As long as it did not encounter enemies at the level of a Demon Emperor or Great Demon King, it would be more than enough for self-preservation.
Now, Luo Chen was an exalted Nascent Soul True Person. When he departed this time, Cheng Haixin had no weighty gifts to offer, so she had made a copy of the Island-Linking Array method and presented it to him.
With Luo Chen's breadth of knowledge and vision, he could see that as long as this array was utilized properly, small islands could expand, scattered territories could be unified, and third-rank spirit veins that already possessed decent foundation might even have the chance to be nurtured into fourth-rank spirit veins over time!
That almighty Li Canghai truly possessed immense magnanimity, willing to unreservedly bestow upon the Northern Sea cultivation world an array that could serve as the core heritage of an entire sect!
Indeed, in Luo Chen's eyes, Li Canghai's gesture was not merely a bestowal upon his Canghai Righteous Alliance subordinates.
So long as any powerful figure set their mind to it, they could easily obtain the array from the discord-ridden Canghai Alliance and pass it down to their own subordinate factions.
At the very least, the Moluo Stream had surely harbored such thoughts, and perhaps had already done so long ago.
"For me, it's a blessing!"
"Years ago, I obtained the Mountain Moving Method from the Five Elements Divine Sect, and now I have Black King's innate talent to passively attract ambient spiritual qi. If I combine those with this array, cultivating a fifth-rank spirit vein in the future will be far easier."
"Mm, and if I can also get my hands on Azure Pill Valley's Five Peaks Valley-Enclosing Fengshui Array, it will be truly foolproof!"
As Luo Chen mused to himself, his brow suddenly twitched.
"Tianxuan, slow down."
"Yes, Master!"
Though Tianxuan did not comprehend Luo Chen's intention, she still steered the Six Imperial Flying Cloud Carriage to slow its pace.
She merely wondered inwardly: there were still several days' journey to Lengguang Island, so why slow down now?
Just then, a colossal flying vessel came rumbling from the north through the clouds, heading south.
Upon its deck stood pavilions, towers, artificial rockeries, and flowing water, exquisitely crafted.
Banners fluttered, figures bustled about, and a chilling aura of slaughter permeated the sky.
By comparison, though the Six Imperial Flying Cloud Carriage was the personal transport of Baizao Mountain's sect master and exceedingly luxurious, its sheer scale fell somewhat short.
With just a single glance, Tianxuan realized what kind of being was worthy of traveling in such grand style.
A Nascent Soul True Person!
Right at that moment, a mellow, resonant male voice carried over from the massive flying vessel.
"This poor Daoist is Mei Yiqi of Mount Langya. Might I ask which immortal sect expert travels ahead?"
Introducing oneself first made the intention self-evident.
Luo Chen smiled faintly, pondered for a moment, and called out in a clear voice, "I am merely a wandering recluse; how could I be an immortal sect cultivator? I have long heard of True Person Langya's great name. This humble one is the Desolate Hermit. Greetings, Fellow Daoist."
Aboard the Langxuan Cloud Crossing, True Person Langya, attired in Daoist robes, subconsciously furrowed his brow.
A rogue cultivator?
And in the Nascent Soul realm, no less?
Such beings were exceedingly rare in the world.
He had heard of the Mad Hermit, the Blood Hermit, and the Moon Hermit, but never had he heard of any "Desolate Hermit"!
A disciple serving at his side whispered cautiously, "Master, beware of an ambush by the Moluo Stream!"
True Person Langya shook his head. "Our journey itself is undertaken in the spirit of armistice; what talk could there be of an ambush? Furthermore, this person's divine sense is remarkably strong. He slowed down before we did and waited courteously. To my knowledge, there are only a handful of such beings in the Moluo Stream, and none match him."
The disciple realized, then hesitated. "Then we..."
"No matter. Though his divine sense is formidable, his dharmic fluctuations are fiercely blazing, suggesting he has not broken through to the Nascent Soul stage long ago. Your master prides himself on having a few tricks up his sleeve and does not fear him." True Person Langya stroked his beard and smiled. "Let us invite him aboard for a chat!"
...
"Master, are these really cultivators from Mount Langya?"
"Did you not see the blue blossom emblem on the vessel? When we boarded Mount Langya's merchant ship to Giant Whale Port back then, that ship bore this very emblem."
Beneath Mount Langya, myriad flowers bloomed year-round, most famous among them a delicate flower of understated hue but extraordinary fragrance—the azure blossom.
Thus, the emblem representing Mount Langya was that very flower.
Tianxuan realized at once. Back then, she had been gravely injured and had no leisure to pay attention during the journey.
Reflecting on it now, she did have a faint impression.
Just then, the elder's mellow voice carried over once more from the flying vessel.
"Desolate Hermit, seeing you here, could it be that you also wish to head to Molan Court to attend the Righteous-Demonic Armistice Conference?"
Luo Chen frowned.
The Righteous-Demonic Armistice Conference? What was that?
And the name "Molan Court" caused his heart to leap violently.
If he remembered correctly, Molan Court was Blood Nightmare Moluo's stronghold within the Moluo Stream!
Aboard the vessel, True Person Langya continued, "If so, why not come aboard for a conversation? This poor Daoist would also like to make the acquaintance of a new fellow daoist."
Luo Chen took a deep breath and stepped out of the carriage.
Meeting the worried gazes of Tianxuan and Sang Jinghe behind him, he waved a hand with a smile.
"No matter!"
With that, he drifted upward toward the vessel, devoid of any worldly haste or trace.
He rode no clouds, summoned no mist, nor was he visibly buoyed by a gust of wind.
With this display alone, the hundred or so Langya disciples aboard the Langxuan Cloud Crossing felt a chill of awe in their hearts.
This was indeed the skill of a True Person!
Silently and invisibly, manipulating the world's spiritual qi to propel his flight.
Or rather, it had become almost instinctual!
The moment he boarded, Luo Chen glanced around and nodded slightly.
Mount Langya was certainly well run; the hundred or so individuals present were all Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, and the auras of several Gold Core cultivators flickered faintly within the interior of the vessel.
And this was merely their traveling entourage.
One could well imagine that at peak strength, Mount Langya was by no means inferior to any ordinary upper-tier Nascent Soul sect.
"Fellow Daoist, this way, please!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly and strode toward the palace at the vessel's center, which resembled a Daoist abbey.
Upon entering, he saw a Daoist with white hair, a long beard, and a ruddy complexion greeting him with a formal bow.
"This poor Daoist is Mei Yiqi. Greetings, Fellow Daoist."
Luo Chen smiled faintly and returned the bow in kind. "This humble one is Luo Chen. Greetings, Fellow Daoist."
After exchanging names, Luo Chen took his seat.
As the aroma of tea drifted between them, True Person Langya studied Luo Chen closely. After a long moment, he shook his head and sighed. "The Desolate Hermit looks so remarkably young, without the slightest weathered mark of time, yet your cultivation realm is comparable to mine. Tsk, the cultivation world is truly crouching tigers and hidden dragons!"
Luo Chen chuckled softly. "It is merely quiet cultivation in the wilderness, spared the buffeting winds and waves of the cultivation world, which leaves me looking somewhat young. You overpraise me, True Person!"
In just a few brief words, subtle probing lay concealed.
Luo Chen had indeed answered, yet his response was deliberately evasive.
Changing the subject, he cut straight to the point.
"This hermit has been cultivating in seclusion in the demon seas for years and has long been away from worldly affairs. May I ask what this Righteous-Demonic Armistice Conference is all about?"
True Person Langya chuckled. "Ceasing arms means a truce. The century-long righteous-demonic war has reached a stalemate, and now that the Northern Sea Demon Coalition is invading our human territories en masse, it is high time to bring this war between righteous and demonic paths to an end."
"Has the demon menace grown so severe?" Luo Chen frowned.
True Person Langya continued to smile, though this time with a tinge of bitterness.
"Fellow Daoist lives carefree in the demon seas, so how could you know that the demon beasts have grown so powerful that they can hardly be contained? Thirty years ago, the desolate beast Ghost Immortal Tower breached Almighty Li's demon-sealing array and barged into the Arctic Yama Heavens. Harnessing the remnant power of the Sunken Sea anomaly, it forcibly tore a breach in the Myriad Soul Demon-Locking Array laid by Yuan Demon Sect's Soul Refining Patriarch before his death. An ant hole can cause a dike of a thousand li to collapse; through that single breach, the countless formidable demon beasts sealed within the Yama Heavens were set entirely free."
"I hear that Great Sage Beili now presides over the Yama Heavens, and the Sea Emperor Whale has emerged from seclusion to confront our human race's Almighty Li Canghai, locked in a stalemate."
"Logically, that should have produced a balance. Yet wherever that desolate beast Ghost Immortal Tower goes, not a single foe can withstand it for even a single exchange!"
"The Myriad Immortals Association was breached, Shenyuan City is besieged, the Penglai Immortal Sect has fled, and our Canghai Righteous Alliance is attacked from both front and rear. This righteous-demonic war simply cannot be fought any longer."
One piece of news after another exploded in Luo Chen's ears like popping beans, shattering the composure of his calm expression.
He had never imagined the situation could have deteriorated to such a degree.
Even if numerous demon beasts had been sealed in the Arctic Yama Heavens, after the war between demons and the Yuan Demon Sect, with the Yuan Demon Sect's profound foundation and dying counterattack, they should have dragged down most of the demon elites with them.
To his surprise, the demon coalition still maintained such overwhelming combat power.
And that desolate beast Ghost Immortal Tower, which he had caught only a fleeting glimpse of years ago—was it truly so terrifying that even human Nascent Soul experts could not withstand it?
The news that the Myriad Immortals Association had fallen was shocking at first glance, but still within reason.
Yet the siege of Shenyuan City was utterly mind-boggling.
One had to remember that the power backing Shenyuan City was the Central Plains' Tianyuan Dao Sect!
Luo Chen took a deep breath and asked about another matter.
"Is the Moluo Stream willing to agree to a truce?"
True Person Langya poured Luo Chen a cup of tea, then replied, "Why wouldn't they be? Their ally, the Penglai Immortal Sect, has fled, and their own strength is inferior to our Canghai Alliance. Calling a truce is the only sensible move."
Luo Chen asked in puzzlement, "Yet I recall that the Moluo Stream's Stream Master Blood Nightmare is a man who loves nothing more than chaos and strife. Would he truly be willing to join hands with you to resist the demon race? And even surrender his cultivation ground to serve as the venue for this armistice conference?"
"Heh, you speak of Blood Nightmare Moluo!"
At this, True Person Langya looked at Luo Chen with a half-smile.
"It seems Fellow Daoist has not been cultivating in the demon seas for very long!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly and did not argue.
Blood Nightmare Moluo's temperament had only become widely known later on.
The ambush and slaying of Mulan Gaoxiong, a high-ranking elder of the Canghai Alliance, which formally sparked the righteous-demonic war, had taken place eighty or ninety years ago.
Since Luo Chen was familiar with his methods, it proved he had still been in the Northern Sea cultivation world back then.
True Person Langya, having gauged a bit of Luo Chen's background, appeared quite pleased.
Then, his tone turned solemn.
"After Blood Nightmare Moluo emerged from the Sunken Sea, the Blood Hermit hunted him relentlessly, hounding him like a stray dog. He barely had time to hide, let alone dare return to the Moluo Stream."
"Worse still, the fact that he refined all the Yuan Demon Sect disciples and members he recruited in those early years into Blood God Children was exposed."
"With such demonic atrocities, there is no longer any place for him in the Northern Sea cultivation world!"
Luo Chen was stunned.
The man was an elder of a demonic sect to begin with; what was so surprising about committing demonic deeds?
Yet almost immediately, he realized the crux of the issue.
Refining Blood God Children was inherently abhorrent and against human nature.
More damning still, he had used the Yuan Demon Sect remnants he had recruited in the early years to refine them.
One had to know that when Blood Nightmare Moluo established the Moluo Stream, his banner had been to take in Yuan Demon Sect survivors and restore the sect to its former glory.
His actions were tantamount to destroying his own credibility!
Credibility, reputation, righteous cause—Luo Chen understood the immense power of these things all too well.
Years ago, his mere Daoist title of Fire Spirit Lord had allowed many strangers to trust him immediately; such was the benefit of reputation.
The founding principle of the Moluo Stream was likewise to restore the glory of the Yuan Demon Sect.
Setting aside whether the true founder was that great late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator behind the scenes or Blood Nightmare Moluo as a demonic sect elder, the banner they raised had now been torn down by their own hands, stripping them of any moral high ground.
Thus, when True Person Langya said there was no longer any place for Blood Nightmare Moluo in the Northern Sea, he was not mistaken.
The Moluo Stream would be the first not to spare Blood Nightmare Moluo!
To say nothing of the Canghai Righteous Alliance.
As for the Myriad Immortals Association, formerly one of the three hegemons, it had already scattered like wind and clouds.
And if one added the Blood Hermit's relentless pursuit...
Luo Chen shook his head and sighed. "No wonder Molan Court, the cultivation domain of a demonic titan, has been reduced to the venue for righteous and demonic factions to negotiate a truce."
"The ways of the world are impermanent. Who could have known things would turn out like this? However..."
True Person Langya lamented for a moment before a smile returned to his face.
"However, this presents us with an opportunity."
"An opportunity?" Luo Chen asked curiously.
True Person Langya nodded. "Indeed! Previously, during the fierce war between righteous and demonic factions, all contact between the two sides was severed, and trade in cultivation resources was suspended. For instance, a certain material required for one of my secret arts is produced exclusively under Stream Master Split-Sky of the Moluo Stream. Now that the war is halting, I can purchase that material once more and resume cultivating the secret art that had stalled. This Righteous-Demonic Armistice Conference serves not only for peace negotiations, but also as an exceptional opportunity for us Nascent Soul True Persons to interact and trade."
Luo Chen came to an understanding. So that was why!
Mount Langya had not originally been part of the Canghai Alliance, but had been forced to join later after the righteous-demonic war erupted.
Once they sided with the Canghai Alliance, the Moluo Stream certainly refused to trade relevant resources with them.
Now, it truly was an opportunity.
Thinking of this, Luo Chen suddenly asked, "I have heard that the Yuan Demon Sect once passed down a method for producing Soul Essence, and most factions possessing this technique now reside within the Moluo Stream. I wonder, do they still continue to produce Soul Essence?"
The moment these words left his mouth, the atmosphere within the hall abruptly froze.
True Person Langya pinched his grizzled beard, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at Luo Chen.
"Soul Essence?"
"Desolate Hermit, could you also be a remnant of the Yuan Demon Sect?"
Chapter 720