Luo Chen had indeed been negligent.
Lately, he had been preoccupied with developing the soul technique Devils and Gods Disperse while worrying about various odds and ends, causing him to overlook a crucial fact.
Namely, that his retinue did not consist of merely five individuals!
Parasitizing Black King's body were upwards of a million dragon earthworms!
Furthermore, back on Sun Moon Island, Yu Ziyou had placed all his attention on Zhang Jingqing. Confident that his dual reinforcement of origin power and magic power could shepherd Zhang Jingqing safely through the teleportation array, Luo Chen had not given a single thought to the hidden danger lurking on Black King.
Nor had Black King brought it up!
In short, the moment they crossed over, this gruesome scene unfolded.
Overwhelmed by the crushing strain, Black King's origin power had been drained drastically, yet he had still failed to preserve the million dragon earthworms inhabiting him.
Under that colossal pressure, ninety-nine percent of the dragon earthworms had been pulverized into fine dust, and Black King had been unable to stop himself from violently vomiting up torrents of their crushed flesh and blood.
Right now, the subterranean palace was foul with an unbearable stench, resembling a slaughterhouse.
After hearing Luo Chen's explanation, Fu Chaosheng could not help pressing a hand to his forehead in a throbbing headache.
He, too, had forgotten that formidable desolate beasts frequently harbored parasites.
Had the number been small, it would have been manageable. Yet nobody could have imagined that Black King hosted such a staggering host of parasitic life.
When he heard they were dragon earthworm demon beasts, his heart ached even more with regret.
A million dragon earthworms, even if they were merely Tier 1 and Tier 2, were easily worth around a billion spirit stones.
To have them all destroyed in one stroke was truly heartbreaking.
Lindong Shanren and Lu Qiuzhen stared at Luo Chen in sheer shock, having never imagined that he harbored such immense latent wealth.
A million dragon earthworms could rightfully be considered a complete demon beast clan.
Heaven knew where he had obtained them. At such a young age, his personal fortune already eclipsed that of veteran Nascent Soul cultivators like them.
Now that everything was gone, the two onlookers felt a faint sense of balanced gratification in their hearts.
"Enough, enough. In the end, it is merely a trivial matter. What matters is that everyone arrived safely," Fu Chaosheng said, waving his hand to console Luo Chen. "Afterward, I will order my clan members to clean the subterranean palace of Star Island and pay a sum of spirit stones to compensate the sect."
He spoke lightly, but the pained wince on his face could deceive no one.
Luo Chen did not quite understand at first.
However, when he saw the Dao Sect disciples stationed on the island rushing over in a hurry, he immediately realized why Fu Chaosheng looked so pained.
An overloaded teleportation demanded an immense amount of spiritual energy!
Not only had it sucked dry several top-grade spirit stones kept on reserve in the underground palace in a single breath, but it had also drained an immense portion of spiritual energy from the island's Tier 4 spiritual vein, making it difficult to recover in the short term.
Consequently, the regular operation of Star Island's teleportation array was disrupted.
The compensation in spirit stones required of the Fu family would clearly be no small sum.
***
On Star Island, the four Nascent Soul True Persons checked the condition of their respective clan members and disciples to ensure none had suffered severe injuries.
Luo Chen withdrew his divine sense from Zhang Jingqing, looking satisfied.
With his origin power shielding her body and his magic power encasing her form, Zhang Jingqing had managed to endure the transit after all.
At this moment, she had suffered only minor damage to her internal organs.
To Luo Chen, such an injury was entirely negligible.
Shifting his magic power, he successively performed medical arts such as the Spring Wind and Rain Technique and the Five Viscera Returning to Origin Technique several times, and the pale hue on Zhang Jingqing's small face gradually turned rosy.
"My deepest thanks, True Person!"
After expressing her gratitude, her worried gaze fell upon Luo Chen's shoulder.
There, Black King lay curled in listless dejection.
Luo Chen waved his hand. "Go over to Tianxuan for now. Black King will be fine."
Once Zhang Jingqing left, Black King spoke up in a dispirited voice: "Master, Black King has committed an error."
Luo Chen shook his head. "You were indeed overestimating yourself. It took considerable effort for me just to protect Xiaoqing. Yet you foolishly presumed to shelter a million dragon earthworms through your own strength alone. Count yourself lucky that you didn't destroy yourself in the process."
"I originally thought that since they were hidden inside my body, they would be able to pull through with my robust physique resisting external pressure and my origin power guarding them. I never expected... that I would cause Master such a catastrophic loss."
Facing Black King's confession of fault, Luo Chen remained calm.
For him, this journey had indeed resulted in a heavy loss.
A million dragon earthworms were of immense value!
Originally, he had intended to bring them back to the Eastern Desolation to rejuvenate the Luotian Sect, yet now nearly all of them had perished here.
One could not say every single one was lost. Back in the day, Black King had absorbed a tremendous quantity of dragon earthworm blood, giving him a natural affinity with those crawlers and leading him to view them as his own brood. In the moment of peril, he had exerted immense strength to preserve several thousand Tier 2 dragon earthworms after all.
With these elite seeds preserved, the scale of the colony could be rebuilt more or less over time.
Most importantly, nothing grave had happened to Black King himself.
"Rest for now. I will go speak with Fu Chaosheng."
Black King murmured an acknowledgment and limply slithered into Luo Chen's sleeve.
Luo Chen summoned Fu Hongzhang, asked for Fu Chaosheng's location, and made his way over.
Upon arriving, he saw Fu Chaosheng conversing with several cultivators clad in black-and-white Daoist robes. Luo Chen did not interrupt, quietly waiting nearby.
After a while, Fu Chaosheng walked back with a crestfallen expression.
Seeing Luo Chen waiting, he opened his mouth, hesitating.
Understanding his dilemma, Luo Chen asked directly, "Is the compensation in spirit stones quite high?"
Since the window had been opened, it was best to speak plainly.
Fu Chaosheng sighed. "It is even more than I anticipated. I originally thought compensating them eight to ten million spirit stones would suffice. I never expected them to demand thirty million spirit stones outright, threatening to report the matter to the sect otherwise."
*Only thirty million?*
Luo Chen was taken aback, having thought it would be an astronomical figure.
Soon, however, he realized that this was indeed no small sum.
Though he possessed a net worth of hundreds of millions at a young age, those spirit stones had not been accumulated through ordinary business operations.
They had all come from killing enemies and seizing their treasures!
Back when Luo Chen had painstakingly run his businesses, his savings had never exceeded thirty million even at their peak.
Although he possessed immense wealth now, the top-grade and high-grade spirit stones among his reserves were strategic resources, not something to be casually spent as currency.
By contrast, though Fu Chaosheng appeared immensely wealthy, he had a massive clan below him to sustain, as well as an early Nascent Soul granddaughter requiring enormous resources to cultivate.
Parting with thirty million in one go was a severe blow even to him.
After pondering briefly, Luo Chen said plainly, "This matter arose because of me, so I should be the one responsible. I will cover this sum of spirit stones."
Fu Chaosheng was stunned. Even knowing Luo Chen possessed considerable wealth, he had not expected the man to be so upright and straightforward.
"That would hardly be appropriate. After all, you are a guest I invited..."
"There is nothing inappropriate about it. You and I are in a cooperative partnership. Aside from the terms of our cooperation, I have no wish to burden you excessively."
Fu Chaosheng nodded instinctively.
Soon, however, he grasped the underlying meaning.
Not wishing to burden him excessively also meant, in reverse, that Luo Chen did not want to be overly burdened by him outside the scope of their cooperation.
"How about this: you cover half the spirit stones, and this old man will cover the rest. Do not refuse. I share the blame for failing to remind you beforehand. Moreover, when my clan members come to clean the subterranean palace, the accumulated blood of the dragon earthworms can be salvaged and put to use, serving as a modest supplement."
Luo Chen gave Fu Chaosheng a surprised glance, but did not insist further.
Striking the right balance in their relationship was paramount. Splitting it half and half avoided souring goodwill while preventing entanglements from running too deep.
Yet as they left Star Island, Fu Chaosheng cast a subconscious backward glance toward the underground palace.
"A blood calamity right upon setting foot in the Central Plains... this omen is rather unsettling."
***
From the moment he took his first step onto the Central Plains, Luo Chen vaguely perceived the differences between this land and the Eastern Desolation or the Northern Sea.
First and foremost was the ubiquitous spiritual energy of heaven and earth!
Its abundance was such that even the desolate country paths they traversed possessed a Tier 1 density.
Wherever humans congregated, it reached Tier 2.
Tier 3 spiritual veins, which Luo Chen had once desperately sought and had even participated in the Pioneering War to obtain, were things he personally spotted more than a dozen of in a mere half-day journey!
One could well imagine that in such an environment, Tier 4 spiritual veins were hardly rare.
This discovery alone left Luo Chen, as well as Lindong Shanren and Lu Qiuzhen from the Northern Sea, utterly astonished.
All belonged to the Five Continents, yet was the disparity between the Central Plains and the other four truly this immense?
Aside from this, another peculiar phenomenon elicited Luo Chen's wonder.
Wherever his divine sense swept, he encountered numerous Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.
Unlike the guarded wariness displayed by cultivators in other continents, these people were relatively harmonious with one another, even when clearly hailing from different clans.
Luo Chen could only attribute this wondrous sight to the fact that the Central Plains had only a single sect—the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
There were other subtle differences, such as broadly similar clothing styles and an austere architectural aesthetic rooted in black and white tones, but compared to the first two points, these were hardly worth mentioning.
Aboard the Fu family flying vessel, Fu Chaosheng gave the three an overview of the basic situation in the Central Plains.
"Unlike the Eastern Desolation where sects co-rule divided immortal domains, or the Northern Sea where scattered islands foster countless rogue cultivators, the situation here in the Central Plains is exceedingly simple."
"Throughout the entire Central Plains, there are countless clans, but only one sect: our Tianyuan Dao Sect!"
"The Tianyuan Dao Sect is not only the sole sect of the Central Plains, but also the shared sovereign of every clan across this land. Looking across the entire world, it stands as the mightiest force!"
"If you can join the Star Gate, it is both our sect's generosity and your great honor!"
Unlike his customary beaming demeanor, Fu Chaosheng displayed a rare trace of arrogance at this moment.
It was the pride of an inheritor belonging to the world's foremost sacred ground.
This pride gave him an unflappable foundation of confidence whether confronting the orthodox and demonic factions of the Northern Sea, the late Nascent Soul Demon Monk Kongchan, or the three figures before him.
Ordinarily, because he traveled abroad conducting commerce, he remained genial toward everyone.
Now, however, he was no longer a merchant, but an inheritor of the Dao Sect; there was no need to walk on eggshells to preserve harmony for profit.
"The Star Gate is situated in the very center of the Central Plains, established atop Heaven and Earth Peak."
"Lindong Shanren, you hold Elder Shen's recommendation token, while Fellow Daoist Lu holds mine. Escorting your clan members and disciples, your passage there will be unimpeded. When the time comes, elders of the Star Gate will dispatch people to examine you."
"Fellow Daoist Luo, you shall accompany me back to the Fu clan. As for subsequent matters, this old man has his own arrangements."
Fu Chaosheng laid out the itinerary for their upcoming journey.
Luo Chen naturally raised no objection.
The other two exchanged a glance, expressing their gratitude to Fu Chaosheng before departing, thanking him for leading them on this journey.
Once they had left, the proud look on Fu Chaosheng's face vanished instantly, reverting to his former affable demeanor.
"Forgive me for that display."
Luo Chen shook his head. "It is no matter. After all, they do not walk the same path as us."
Indeed, they were not of the same path.
Those two were advanced in age and did not meet the requirements to enter the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven. Even proceeding ahead, their journey would end at Heaven and Earth Peak.
Luo Chen was different. He possessed the qualifications to serve as a Dao Protector for a Dao Sect disciple, entering the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven alongside them.
According to Fu Chaosheng, those who did so enjoyed a far higher likelihood of becoming consecrated retainers or even elders of Heaven and Earth Peak, even when joining through the same path.
Luo Chen was more curious about the observations he had made earlier, so he asked directly.
Fu Chaosheng did not hold back, clearing his doubts at once.
"The Central Plains is naturally the land where spiritual vigor flourishes most in this world, so an abundance of spiritual energy is only normal."
"Furthermore, because this continent is governed exclusively by our Dao Sect, spiritual veins are nurtured under a comprehensive plan. You will not find the reckless over-mining of spirit stone veins seen among rogue cultivators or rival sects in other continents."
"Finally, the Star Gate atop Heaven and Earth Peak opens wide to recruit Nascent Soul cultivators from across the world. While alive, these figures serve our sect; once they pass away, the vast magic power accumulated over their lifetimes feeds back into the heaven and earth of the Central Plains. This is another reason why our spiritual energy grows ever more vigorous."
Luo Chen nodded repeatedly as he listened, his lingering confusion resolving itself.
Cultivators attained formidable personal power through years of accumulated cultivation, but upon their demise, that immense reservoir of magic power did not simply vanish into nothingness; it returned to the world.
Fu Chaosheng had spent two hundred years in the Northern Sea, and upon returning, he brought back seven Nascent Soul True Persons in a single trip.
Even if that was an unusually large harvest, normally there would still be two or three defecting to the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
That was the tally for two centuries, yet the Tianyuan Business Alliance had been established since antiquity, existing for three thousand years!
Just how many Northern Sea Nascent Soul cultivators had been drawn here over that span?
What about the cultivation worlds of the Eastern Desolation, the Southern Border, and the Western Desert?
If one added the Nascent Soul True Persons nurtured by the Dao Sect itself, the sheer number...
Merely contemplating it inspired profound awe!
Ever since his youth, Luo Chen had heard legends of the Alchemy Saint from the Eastern Desolation journeying to the Central Plains to join the Tianyuan Dao Sect. Now, it seemed he was following in the footsteps of predecessors.
Beyond that Alchemy Saint, Luo Chen had also heard of powerhouses leaving the Southern Border to join the Central Plains' Tianyuan Dao Sect, attaining Soul Formation and even ascending to the upper realm.
All of this proved that the Tianyuan Dao Sect had pursued its initiative of recruiting talent from external continents for countless years.
Among so many, those who ascended were ultimately a rare few.
The vast majority of Nascent Soul True Persons, upon reaching the limit of their longevity, could only turn into a handful of yellow soil, adding brick and mortar to the flourishing might of the Central Plains.
*I certainly have no intention of lingering long. My so-called entry into the Tianyuan Dao Sect is merely to secure the status of a Star Gate guest elder so that I may return to the Eastern Desolation.*
Luo Chen smiled inwardly, harboring no desire to dedicate his life to the Central Plains.
As for how to return when the time came, Fu Chaosheng would naturally handle the arrangements.
Next, Luo Chen inquired about the strangely harmonious conduct among the cultivators here.
"Everyone honors the Dao Sect as their master, so they naturally will not fight to the death," Fu Chaosheng explained.
Soon, however, he shook his head.
"It is harmonious only on the surface. In reality, competition among the various clans is extraordinarily fierce."
"You should be familiar with the clan hierarchy of the Central Plains, yes?"
Luo Chen nodded. "I have heard a little. It seems clan strength is distinguished between Great Houses and Prestigious Clans."
"A bit crude. Allow this old man to explain it to you in detail!"
Fu Chaosheng waved his hand and softly chanted:
"There are twelve Great Houses, thirty-six Prestigious Clans.
Countless Humble Clans, together forging the Tianyuan Sect."
"This is the landscape of Central Plains clans: twelve Great Houses reigning supreme, millennium Prestigious Clans enjoying fleeting glory, and impoverished Humble Clans striving upward without exception."
The simple verse captured the Tianyuan Dao Sect's internal structure aptly.
Through his explanation, Luo Chen gained a deeper understanding of the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
This sacred ground of Soul Formation, dominating the Central Plains and watching over the realm, differed from traditional sects founded on master-disciple lineage; its internal framework relied primarily on clan inheritance.
While master-disciple lineages did exist in small numbers, the mainstream comprised the various clans distributed across the Central Plains.
A so-called Great House was a top-tier clan that had produced a Soul Formation Almighty.
A Prestigious Clan was a grand clan that had produced a Nascent Soul True Person.
A Humble Clan was judged by the number of Golden Core cultivators it possessed.
As for those below Humble Clans?
They did not even enter the Dao Sect's notice, yet could not be broadly labeled as rogue cultivators either; such small households usually existed as vassals under large clans, waiting until their cultivation bore fruit before deciding whether to establish an independent lineage.
Luo Chen was thoroughly shaken, blurting out, "Twelve Great Houses... does the Central Plains currently possess twelve Soul Formation Almighties?"
Fu Chaosheng was lost for words, correcting him gently, "They have *produced* them, not that twelve exist simultaneously today."
Luo Chen let out an embarrassed smile; rarely did he lose his composure like this.
In truth, the notion of twelve Almighties coexisting was simply too terrifying.
In the Northern Sea, the Yuan Demon Sect possessed only three Soul Formation Almighties in total. Even including the demon race's Great Sage Beili and the Sea Emperor Whale, there were merely five.
In the Eastern Desolation, the Mingyuan Sect was said to possess three Soul Formation Almighties. On the demon race's side, as far as he knew, there was an ancient demon named Ditian; even including Primordial Monarch Qixia, that made only five.
Perhaps there were other mighty beings lurking in those continents, but their numbers were definitely scarce.
If the Central Plains could produce twelve all at once, that would be truly frightening.
Suddenly, Fu Chaosheng lowered his voice: "If our sect truly wished it, maintaining a count across both hands of Almighties would not be impossible—perhaps even more."
Luo Chen's eyes widened sharply.
However, Fu Chaosheng showed no intention of elaborating further, shifting the topic instead.
"A ten-thousand-year Great House is ultimately not immortal, and a millennium Prestigious Clan will also decline. Within our sect, regular assessments are conducted for eminent clans."
"Leaving Great Houses aside for now, Prestigious Clans are evaluated every five hundred years, and Humble Clans every three hundred years."
"If a True Person passes away and their descendants prove unworthy, failing to produce a second Nascent Soul True Person within five hundred years, the title of Prestigious Clan is automatically stripped, and they fall into the ranks of Humble Clans. The evaluation for Humble Clans follows the same principle."
"To ensure clan heritage continues unbroken with successors in every generation, competition among clans for cultivation resources is exceptionally fierce!"
"This competition for resources is not confined to clan territories; it extends among the clan members who enter the Dao Sect."
"The centennial sect tournament is an open clash of real blades and true swords."
"And the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven tournament, held once every five hundred years, is the fiercest of them all!"
"My Fu family was fortunate that Qinglan stepped up just as I grew old and frail. Yet after her, will our luck hold? This old man does not know, nor do I dare gamble. Therefore, I must seize this opportunity to ensure Qinglan secures more resources and a higher standing within the Dao Sect!"
"Hence, I implore you, Fellow Daoist, to exert your utmost strength when the time comes to help Qinglan succeed!"
As he reached the end of his plea, Fu Chaosheng, whose ruddiness could not conceal the deep wrinkles on his face, fixed his burning gaze intently on Luo Chen.
Not only that, but with a wave of his hand, spiritual light flashed, and four jade bottles were set before Luo Chen.
Chapter 738