*Rustle!*
A fresh breeze swept past, rustling the forest canopy so that, from a distance, the leaves rolled like layered waves.
Luo Chen sat cross-legged upon a bluestone jutting from the mountainside, gazing down at the rising and falling sea of trees below. Then he looked toward the cave dwelling behind him, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.
*Is it the wind moving, or is she?*
Three or four months had already passed since Fu Qinglan began refining the mirage core in her cultivation.
Throughout this time, she had not taken a single step outside, and Luo Chen had remained equally steadfast, never leaving his guard outside the cave dwelling.
At first, everything had seemed ordinary enough, but gradually Luo Chen began to sense something unusual.
Inside the cave, Fu Qinglan’s cultivation seemed entirely defenseless.
Her Nascent Soul had emerged directly from her Purple Palace, gulping down the world’s spiritual energy in great swallows in its true form.
Under normal circumstances, such behavior was practically suicidal!
Without the protection of the Purple Palace, exposing the Nascent Soul to the open while entering deep cultivation was practically inviting the world to assimilate her.
Yet she practiced with utter abandon!
Then, Luo Chen recalled certain words Fu Chaosheng had spoken back then.
A supreme Great Desolation mirage dragon exhaled clouds and mist, conjured the sun, moon, and stars, and formed a grotto-heaven within its body. This world was virtually indistinguishable from the outside world, yet because of the isolation provided by the mirage dragon’s physical body, a unique barrier was created.
If a cultivator cultivated within it, they could avoid being assimilated by Heaven and Earth to the greatest extent possible.
Even when fusing one's spirit into Heaven and Earth, it remained true!
Thus, Luo Chen understood why Fu Qinglan was acting without restraint.
Yet another question arose!
Although spiritual energy was abundant in this world, it was diffuse and unconcentrated. If the only aim was to take advantage of avoiding assimilation by Heaven and Earth, was there any real need to enter this grotto-heaven specifically once every five hundred years?
Fu Qinglan’s subsequent changes gradually provided Luo Chen with an answer.
She was not cultivating her qi at all. Instead, she was using her Nascent Soul as an intermediary vessel to let her divine soul interact continuously with Heaven and Earth, attempting to comprehend something.
Luo Chen knew that something was the so-called law intent.
However, this mode of cultivation was usually practiced only by great cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage. For Fu Qinglan to begin this step so early seemed destined to be an exercise in futility.
Yet once the special resource of a fourth-rank mirage core was added into the equation, everything changed.
After persisting in her cultivation for several months, had she truly touched upon some form of law intent?
At present, Luo Chen kept an eye on external developments while also watching Fu Qinglan’s cultivation.
With several months gone by, he had pieced together the clues.
*No wonder the opportunity of the five-hundred-year grand competition wasn't given to older-generation great cultivators who were just a step away from the Soul Formation stage, but was instead reserved specifically for newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivators like Fu Qinglan.*
*No wonder that before entering the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven, aside from consolidating their realms, they were strictly ordered by sect elders not to over-cultivate.*
*It was all to preserve the state of having just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage!*
When a cultivator first steps into the Nascent Soul stage, they naturally feel an affinity with Heaven and Earth, with little separation between them.
Conversely, in subsequent cultivation, they continually reinforce the barrier of their Purple Palace to prevent being assimilated by Heaven and Earth.
In doing so, their cultivation realm steadily advances, and their safety is ensured.
Yet at the same time, they gradually grow estranged from Heaven and Earth, losing some of the Nascent Soul's innate instincts.
Put this way, it might sound abstruse and difficult to grasp. Take a human infant as an analogy!
Before birth, an infant resides in amniotic fluid, and at this stage, humans naturally know how to swim.
Yet during the process of growing up after birth, to avoid drowning, the instinct to swim is constantly suppressed. One grows increasingly wary of water, and gradually loses the ability to swim.
To reacquire this innate skill of swimming, one actually has to undergo learning and training later in life.
Compare the Nascent Soul to an infant, Heaven and Earth to water, and comprehending law intent to swimming—and suddenly, everything becomes simple and clear.
Such was the intention of the Tianyuan Dao Sect's ancient forebears.
While the Nascent Soul had not yet grown wary of Heaven and Earth and still retained its natural affinity, they wanted this new generation of Nascent Soul geniuses to master the ability to "swim freely" between Heaven and Earth.
And perhaps, in a single bound, truly grasp the law intent suited to them!
And in this process, that trace of spiritual opportunity within the fourth-rank mirage core served a function much like the umbilical cord providing oxygen to an infant in the womb.
*The ancient forebears of the Tianyuan Dao Sect truly put great care and profound foresight into this!*
Luo Chen was filled with emotion.
Such were the advantages of having a sect heritage.
Even methods for future cultivation, shortcuts to take, and ways to master immense power ahead of time were handed down to the junior generations in complete detail.
He could only envy it, without harboring any covetous thoughts.
It was quite simple: those methods undoubtedly held many secrets—such as how to harness the mirage dragon’s power, how to unseal the mirage core to absorb that trace of heavenly opportunity, and the associated techniques for using it to comprehend laws.
Most importantly, all mirage cores in the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven belonged to the disciples of the Tianyuan Dao Sect!
Dao Protectors like them could only watch; they could not use them!
If one truly tried to seize them by force, they would face dire consequences upon leaving.
To say nothing of the Soul Formation mighty figures, the sheer number of Nascent Soul True Persons in the Tianyuan Dao Sect—numbering over a hundred—was something Luo Chen would never dare to underestimate.
All he could do for now was swallow a few Hongyuan Pills prepared in advance to bolster his cultivation while standing guard.
In that sense, Luo Chen was far from idle.
Within the grotto-heaven, spiritual energy was scattered and diffuse, not particularly suited for Nascent Soul True Persons to cultivate, offering half the result for twice the effort.
Yet aided by top-grade Hongyuan Pills, Luo Chen's progress suffered no delay.
Added to the surge of origin qi bestowed by the Alchemy Saint upon her ascension, he felt that his breakthrough to the second layer of the Nascent Soul stage was already close at hand.
***
Another two months passed.
On this day, crisp footsteps echoed from within the cave dwelling.
Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the newcomer.
Fu Qinglan pursed her lips, looking thoroughly dejected.
"Did it fail?"
"Yes... I have disappointed Brother Luo."
"No matter. We will simply find another fourth-rank mirage core!"
Luo Chen replied calmly, rising to his feet as his white robe billowed gently.
Fu Qinglan parted her lips, but could only nod reluctantly in the end.
"I must trouble Brother Luo, then. Only, fourth-rank mirage beasts are exceedingly difficult to find. I fear we will have to wander far and wide, searching for one slowly."
To her surprise, Luo Chen merely smiled faintly, as though completely unbothered by the problem.
"Follow me!"
Puzzled, Fu Qinglan leapt into the air and followed him.
However, when she channeled the outside world's spiritual energy, she stumbled for a brief moment.
Luo Chen halted and turned to frown at her.
Fu Qinglan hurried to explain, "My Nascent Soul was outside for too long. Now that it has returned, communicating with the external spiritual energy is somewhat awkward. It is nothing serious."
Luo Chen nodded, accepting her explanation.
It was naturally second nature for the true Nascent Soul to manipulate worldly spiritual energy, but after remaining outside for an extended period, returning abruptly meant having the physical body in between once more, which inevitably led to clumsiness. It was completely normal.
Thinking of this, he also understood why this particular grand competition differed entirely from ordinary centennial tournaments and required the intervention of Dao Protectors.
At this moment, those like Fu Qinglan were at their most vulnerable. Wholly focused on seeking the Dao, they lacked the means to protect themselves and required others to guard them.
Yet because of this, he grew all the more curious as to how Shi Ju had dared to enter the grotto-heaven alone without bringing a Dao Protector at first. Although Shi Ju had later brought Qi Xiongcheng along when taking part in the competition, that initial decision showed that Shi Ju truly possessed the confidence to protect himself.
What had he relied upon?
***
Eighty li away from Fu Qinglan's cultivation cave.
There lay an expansive plain spanning ten li in length and width, roughly equivalent in size to a small town.
Yet from a visual perspective, the plain did not appear particularly vast.
Surrounding it were three towering mountains positioned in an encirclement, tightly enveloping it and leaving behind only a single exit.
The two of them came to a stop here.
Fu Qinglan looked around in confusion. "Is there a fourth-rank mirage beast here? Has it hidden itself so deeply that I didn't notice it even after coming right up to it?"
Luo Chen's expression was calm. He bent down and placed a hand on the grass-carpeted ground.
"There isn't one now, but before long, there will be."
A jade box lined with soft silk was placed on the ground before him.
Fu Qinglan's gaze hardened, her expression shifting slightly.
Within the jade box, a white pill radiated a rich, dazzling glow.
If she was not mistaken, that was one of the five pills personally concocted by the Alchemy Saint prior to her ascension.
Why was Luo Chen taking such a thing out now?
Shouldn't an item of such immense value be kept safely stored?
As her confusion mounted, she looked up just in time to see Luo Chen straightening his posture and looking back at her with an intriguing gaze.
Fu Qinglan started, then shook her head.
"Brother Luo, rest assured. This belongs to you; I harbor no covetous intentions whatsoever."
The corners of Luo Chen's lips twitched slightly, but he said nothing. Instead, he leapt into the air.
His fingers moved in a blur, shooting restriction after restriction into the three surrounding mountains.
Not only that, small triangular flags shot into the earth like sharp arrows.
Fu Qinglan blinked. Could it be that Luo Chen was also skilled in the art of formations?
Moreover, seeing how effortlessly and composedly he carried it out, it was evident he had already gained a thorough understanding of the terrain and earth veins of this area long before now.
Even so, could relying merely on these magical restrictions and an array laid with formation flags truly restrain a fourth-rank mirage beast that could form and disperse without form?
In the next instant, Fu Qinglan’s pupils constricted.
From the void, a small grey cauldron flew out, spinning rapidly.
The mouth of the cauldron overturned like a lid, covering this stretch of void.
The white-robed Daoist tapped a finger against the grey cauldron, and it immediately dissolved into the void, vanishing without a trace.
"Next, we simply wait for the hare to come to the tree," Luo Chen said from the sky.
Fu Qinglan's gaze shifted back and forth between him and the glowing open jade box on the ground, her face caught between belief and doubt.
***
One day.
Two days.
As time slipped by, the doubt on Fu Qinglan’s face grew thicker and thicker.
Finally, she could not help but seek out Luo Chen, who was meditating peacefully atop a mountain peak.
"Brother Luo, is this really going to work?"
Luo Chen opened his eyes and stared at her calmly.
He said nothing, merely staring until she felt a chill creep down her spine.
After a moment, Luo Chen suddenly sighed.
"Since we have nothing to do, why don't you tell me about cultivating in the Tianyuan Dao Sect? Having lived as an untamed cloud and wild crane since youth, I am quite curious about sect cultivation."
With a wave of his hand, a table and a prayer mat appeared before him.
Upon the table sat wine, dried meat, and fragrant beans.
Fu Qinglan hesitated for a moment, then sat down.
Luo Chen filled her cup with wine, and she began recounting anecdotes of cultivating within the sect, treating it as a way to satisfy his curiosity while killing time.
"When I was twelve, I was tested to have water-wood dual spiritual roots, passed the Dao Sect's examination, and entered the Lanke Mountain Range to cultivate. From then until now, it has been over two hundred years—nearing three hundred!"
"Cultivation within the sect is actually quite dull and monotonous."
"Every day consists of morning lessons, evening lessons, chanting scriptures, opening meridians, drawing in qi..."
"There are seventy-two famous peaks in the Lanke Mountain Range, basically each claimed by a Nascent Soul True Person for cultivation. And most of those True Persons hail from great aristocratic clans. We do not rely primarily on master-disciple lineages; aside from attending lectures by Dao Sect elders, ordinary cultivation is conducted individually."
"If there is anything genuinely interesting, it is probably the decade-competitions held within each family, followed by the sect-wide grand competition once every hundred years. When that happens, outstanding juniors from every family and across all realms gather to compete. Haha, we consider such things matters of paramount importance, but through Brother Luo's eyes, I imagine it must look like children playing house!"
"These beans are delicious... Are they bitter hazelnuts? To think they could be prepared so well, not at all inferior to the exquisite delicacies of our sect."
"It isn't as though everything has been smooth sailing, either. The sect periodically issues missions. While the Central Plains is devoid of demons, demon beasts still occupy areas bordering the Central Plains, and the sect regularly posts missions for us to handle them. In addition, there are various other tasks large and small, some even taking us as far as other continents..."
"Because the Tianyuan Dao Sect is largely structured around cultivation clans, internal factional strife within the sect itself isn't too severe, but the rivalries between families have never ceased. The reason my grandfather went to the Northern Sea to serve as a merchant alliance elder was to use that position to distance himself from clan conflicts, thereby buying me time to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage."
"In that regard, Grandfather truly protected me too well. If I have acted childishly at times, I ask that Brother Luo show me some tolerance."
***
Luo Chen sipped his wine as he listened to Fu Qinglan speak of cultivating within the sect.
She spoke with reasonable enthusiasm, but halfway through, Luo Chen found it rather dull.
Serene and tranquil, with few storms.
Occasional rivalries mostly stayed within the bounds of rules.
Even Fu Qinglan, bored by prolonged cultivation, had gradually sought pastimes like Go to while away the hours.
Yet toward the end, Luo Chen's attention sharpened once more.
He could not help but wonder: without large-scale battles to the death, after thousands of years of recuperation and growth, just how many cultivators across all realms had the Tianyuan Dao Sect accumulated?
And though the Central Plains was vast, could it truly accommodate so many cultivators carving up its resources?
Taking into account the recent events concerning the Penglai Immortal Sect in the Northern Sea and Ghost-God Valley in the Eastern Desolation, Luo Chen was forced to consider the worst-case scenario: was this coiled tiger that was the Central Plains already growing restless to break from its cage and extend its claws toward the other continents of the Mountain Sea Realm?
Suddenly, Luo Chen waved his hand, and the fine wine and snacks set between them vanished.
"It's here!"
He rose gracefully, and the surrounding spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth began converging toward him.
Following his gaze, Fu Qinglan looked into the distance.
Between the towering mountain ranges, a streak of white light tore through the air at lightning speed.
Without the slightest hesitation, it hurtled straight toward this ten-li plain!
She looked at Luo Chen in sheer amazement.
The formation he had set had amplified the medicinal aura of the Heavenly Mechanism Pill, broadcasting it across a radius of a thousand li, yet keeping it modulated to such a precise degree that only high-rank mirage beasts could detect it.
Now it seemed he truly had waited by the tree and caught his hare.
Luo Chen's soft chuckle further confirmed her thoughts.
"It really is a rabbit!"
The white light moved with startling speed, bounding along in great leaps that covered several li in a single bound.
Looking closely through the shifting clouds and mist, it had pointed ears and lively eyes, looking no different from a mortal rabbit.
The rabbit arrived swiftly, recklessly charging into the plain enclosed by the three mountains, heading straight for the jade box resting quietly on the ground.
At that exact moment, the jade box abruptly vanished.
The rabbit froze, then looked up toward the sky.
A gigantic fire phoenix spread its wings, screeching as it swooped down upon it.
The rabbit panicked.
Vast amounts of cloud qi converged, and its body began swelling madly.
Fifty feet, a hundred feet, five hundred feet, a thousand feet...
A colossal rabbit spanning a thousand feet lunged furiously at the fire phoenix.
Yet in Fu Qinglan's eyes, its fate seemed already sealed.
"Courting death, nothing more!"
*Boom!*
The giant rabbit and the fire phoenix collided.
Tremendous shockwaves of spiritual energy surged in all directions like tidal waves.
The fire phoenix gradually dissipated, while the giant rabbit was battered into a sky full of cloud mist.
Within that mist, a concentrated beam of white light flickered faintly.
Standing high in the void, Luo Chen watched this scene and nodded to himself.
Just as he had thought, the strength of a fourth-rank mirage beast was at most comparable to an early Nascent Soul cultivator who commanded no formidable techniques. Its only troublesome trait was its ability to form and disperse without fixed form, making it exceptionally difficult to slay.
And the Raging Fire Phoenix he had unleashed was enough to match the full-powered strike of an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator.
With prior preparation, dispersing its physical form was not difficult.
The truly difficult part lay in what came next.
"It wants to flee!" Fu Qinglan cried anxiously.
Luo Chen waved a hand. "It cannot escape."
Luo Chen clenched his hand in empty air!
In the next moment, a colossal cauldron descended from the void with a thunderous roar, completely blanketing this expanse of sky.
Not only that, sheets of radiant light erupted from the three surrounding mountains, locking down the ten-li plain on all sides.
Within, the white light darted left and right, clouds and mist dispersing only to gather, and gathering only to disperse.
After an impasse lasting the time it takes an incense stick to burn, it finally ran out of steam.
"Collect!"
The cauldron mouth gaped wide, dragging that mirage core inside. Then the Hunyuan Cauldron rapidly shrank, finally dropping into Luo Chen's hand.
Watching this, Fu Qinglan couldn't help but marvel, "Brother Luo, the suppressive and sealing power of your magic treasure is truly formidable. Even among True Artifacts, it must surely rank near the very top!"
"You flatter me. Compared to your sect's Lanke Chessboard, it is nothing more than the glow of a firefly," Luo Chen said, clasping the white rabbit mirage core in his hand.
Had Lin Jingtang been here to witness Luo Chen hunt down a fourth-rank mirage beast so effortlessly, his jaw surely would have dropped.
He had expended immense effort just to defeat the withered-tree mirage beast, only for its core to slip away.
Yet Luo Chen had accomplished it without breaking a sweat.
"Take it!"
With a flick of Luo Chen's hand, the mirage core landed in Fu Qinglan's grasp.
"With this, comprehending law intent should be somewhat easier for you."
Fu Qinglan gripped the core tightly with both hands and nodded heavily.
"I will not let Brother Luo down!"
The two returned to their dwelling, as though nothing had transpired at all.
Half a year later.
From the cave dwelling on the mountainside, Fu Qinglan emerged once more.
Her face was a picture of defeat.
Seeing her state, Luo Chen's brows knitted tightly into deep furrows.
"Still not enough?"
Chapter 753