Above the vast, hazy sea, a figure plunged straight down like a falling meteor.
Just as he reached the water's surface, he halted abruptly, churning up heavy waves.
"I really need to polish this realm further. Such crude control over my magic power is definitely not my usual style."
The Daoist muttered to himself, got his bearings, and pressed eastward without hesitation.
Before long, an opulent grand carriage appeared in his line of sight. With a few bounds, Luo Chen landed lightly upon the carriage's deck.
"True Person?"
Standing on the flying vessel, Zhang Jingqing was the first to spot Luo Chen's silhouette. Still uncertain, she offered a tentative greeting.
Luo Chen nodded. As he passed her, he smiled gently. "Your cultivation has improved. It seems you haven't slacked off lately!"
Pleased by the praise, Zhang Jingqing beamed, though she replied modestly, "It's all thanks to Uncle Long."
The Uncle Long she referred to was none other than Black King.
Her statement was not without reason. Whenever Black King engaged in normal cultivation and breathing exercises, he gathered a massive amount of worldly spiritual energy into one place, creating a concentration of spiritual energy comparable to a third-rank lower-grade immortal's cave.
That was precisely why Luo Chen had grumbled about Black King clinging to him, yet never truly driven him away. Ever since that fellow had swallowed the soul of the desolate beast Stone Dragon, he had become practically a living spiritual gathering array, drawing a horde of ambient spiritual energy wherever he went.
Naturally, Black King could not yet bring his innate talent to bear fully; he was incapable of spontaneously generating a spiritual environment of the fourth rank or higher out of thin air like the desolate beast Stone Dragon. He still required the aid of earth qi and spirit veins! Only if provided with a high-grade spirit vein could Black King's gift be displayed to its fullest extent.
Luo Chen continued forward. Hearing the commotion, Tianxuan and Sang Jinghe also emerged. Upon seeing that it was Luo Chen, they breathed sighs of relief.
"Master, you've returned!"
"Greetings, True Person!"
Luo Chen waved a hand, feeling slightly reassured to see everyone safe and sound.
"Did anything happen during this past half year?"
Tianxuan shook her head. "Nothing major, really. We ran into some cultivators along the way, but thanks to the Star Gate Guest Elder token you left behind, they didn't make things difficult for us."
"Good. Keep moving forward!"
After giving the instruction, Luo Chen hurried into the carriage's interior.
Curled up on the floor pretending to sleep, Black King immediately woke upon sensing Luo Chen's aura.
"Go back to sleep."
Leaving behind only that remark, Luo Chen paid Black King no further attention.
Thick-skinned as ever, Black King shrank his body and slithered over. Though he dared not climb onto Luo Chen's arm, he prostrated himself at his feet. Sleeping like this seemed to give him greater peace of mind.
Yet before two months had passed, Black King snapped awake from his dreams like a startled cat. He opened his eyes and looked up.
Clad in white robes, Luo Chen sat cross-legged on a soft couch, a blood sword steeped in murderous intent resting across his knees. Strands of crimson sword qi flickered incessantly over the blade like the spitting tongues of vipers. That very sword qi was what sent pricks of sharp pain through him!
Swallowing hard, Black King felt uneasy and bewildered. *Is Master practicing some terrifying secret technique again?*
Over his years of following Luo Chen, he had witnessed Luo Chen cultivating new secret arts countless times. Often, Luo Chen would even use him to test out moves. But this time, Black King inwardly prayed that he would not be chosen as a training dummy.
That sword was already terrifying beyond measure, and now who knew what wicked thing had been attached to it. Merely drawing close made his entire body sting. If a blow actually struck him, tearing skin and flesh would be the best-case scenario; at worst, he might be forced to trigger his Undying Body talent.
To Black King's relief, Luo Chen never looked his way, remaining entirely absorbed in the blood sword resting before his knees.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Luo Chen exhaled softly.
"Finally made the initial breakthrough!"
He had never expected that mastering the fundamentals of this sword scripture would prove so arduous. He had long practiced *Calming the Tempest*, possessing a wise heart capable of severing worldly desires, and had even manifested sword light back in the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven. Reason dictated that with such a foundation, learning the basics of the *Thousand Heavens Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture* would not be terribly difficult.
Yet unexpectedly, an anomaly had arisen when he attempted to refine the Crimson Firmament Qi and integrate it into Yuan Tu. The unnamed sword spirit, dormant within the blade for so long, had instinctively resisted the Crimson Firmament Qi.
That had complicated matters considerably.
To grasp the essentials of the *Thousand Heavens Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture*, one had to find a medium to refine the firmament qi—whether a sword pill or a flying sword. Luo Chen had favored Yuan Tu, yet the sword had rebelled vehemently!
Left with no choice, Luo Chen had abandoned his attempt to reach the breakthrough on his own, instead spending the achievement points he had hoarded over the years to force a breakthrough. Once he had crossed that threshold, he realized where his error lay.
The sword originally possessed a sword spirit. Lacking sword intent to communicate with it, forcibly refining the Crimson Firmament Qi into the blade would damage the spirit's innate spirituality. That was why reaching the breakthrough had proved so challenging before.
Once the cause became clear, resolving it was straightforward. Since he could not break through the third seal on Yuan Tu to refine the sword spirit anyway, he simply laid down three additional restrictions outside the third seal! One was a source blood restriction, another a magic power restriction, and the last a divine soul restriction.
With triple security and triple isolation, the sword spirit finally ceased resisting the Crimson Firmament Qi. Only then did Luo Chen proceed step-by-step to draw a strand of Crimson Firmament Qi into the sword body.
Now, staring at the blood sword with its constantly flickering sword qi, Luo Chen fell into contemplation.
*The Crimson Firmament Sword Qi must be nurtured day and night so that it can be wielded as effortlessly as one's own limbs.*
*According to the scripture, nurturing it within the Purple Mansion is best!*
*However, this sword already possesses a spirit, and that sword spirit has not submitted to me like the Kurong Fire Spirit. Placing it inside the Purple Mansion would be far too dangerous if anything went awry.*
After pondering for a while, Luo Chen suddenly joined the fingers of his left hand like a sword and pressed them against his bare, smooth right forearm.
He slashed down firmly!
*Squelch...*
His remarkably tough flesh parted as smoothly as congealed fat. With a thought, the blood sword instantly shrank, transforming into a streak of crimson light that sank into his forearm. The spot it entered sat precisely along the line connecting the three acupoints: Tianshi, Dishi, and Renshi.
Calmly, Luo Chen swept his hand over his right arm. The wound immediately closed, the skin as smooth as before, with only a faint red line visible beneath his fair, delicate flesh.
*Nourishing it with the magic power of these three acupoints will also achieve the effect of day-and-night cultivation. When facing an enemy, drawing the sword will be quite convenient as well.*
With Yuan Tu's lodging settled, Luo Chen retrieved another strand of Crimson Firmament Qi from the Hunyuan Cauldron and began slowly refining it. Once it was refined to the proper degree, he would simply merge it into Yuan Tu as well.
Another month passed.
In the misty hours of early dawn, the Six Imperials Flying Cloud Carriage came to a halt at the edge of a sea where blue and black waters met.
"Come on up!"
"Oh."
Black King cheerfully climbed onto Luo Chen's left arm, turning into a dragon pattern coiled around the Xuanchen Armor. He had no desire whatsoever to go near the right arm; he intensely disliked that sword!
Having settled Black King, Luo Chen stepped out of the chamber to find Tianxuan and the others already waiting.
Unhurriedly, Luo Chen walked to the edge of the deck and peered down at the sea below. The clear water was normal seawater, while the black water was the rumored Ming Water.
Supposedly, this Ming Water was drawn from the Ming Abyss that guarded the Mingyuan Sect. If a cultivator touched it in the slightest, their magical robes and treasures would be defiled. Even protective barriers would disperse without cause. Furthermore, Ming Water clung like maggots to bone; once tainted by it, ridding oneself of it was near impossible.
*It looks somewhat similar to the seawater of the Sunken Sea, but its properties are entirely different. One specializes in defilement, the other in corrosion. By arranging it along the coastline, the Mingyuan Sect ensures that neither sea beasts nor travelers from outer continents can easily slip in beneath the waves.*
Just then, a squad of cultivators flew over from the coast aboard a flying vessel, upon which a black banner fluttered. Wherever it passed, the banner shone with brilliant light, causing the Ming Water to part. Soon, it arrived near the carriage.
"Who goes there?"
Standing behind Luo Chen, Sang Jinghe stepped forward at once and tossed over a travel pass. The young cultivator leading the squad caught the jade slip and swept it with his divine sense.
"People from the Tianyuan Commerce Alliance?"
"Indeed. We are alliance cultivators preparing to conduct trade in the Eastern Desolation," Sang Jinghe replied.
The young cultivator's brows furrowed slightly. "Alliance cultivators? From which Central Plains clan? Or are you disciples of the Tianyuan Sect?"
Sang Jinghe was caught in a bind. Was the scrutiny truly this tight?
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "We belong to neither a Central Plains clan nor the Tianyuan disciples, but are Guest Elders of the Star Gate."
The young cultivator had already noticed that the true master of the carriage was this white-robed Daoist, whose sharp aura stood tall like a sword piercing the firmament. Hearing him speak, the young man's pupils constricted.
"A Star Gate Guest Elder? Someone from Tiandi Peak?"
"Indeed. I am Luo Chen."
As he spoke, an identity token floated out slowly. The cultivator caught it with great care. It was indeed one of the emblems his sect had instructed him to remember well. That being the case, the cultivation realm of the white-robed man before him went without saying.
"Forgive me. I was remiss in greeting Senior."
The Golden Core cultivator's expression turned deferential. Waving the grand banner aboard his vessel, he parted the sea's Ming Water to open a passage.
Luo Chen nodded. Without any visible effort from him, the carriage beneath their feet glided smoothly into the gap. In that instant, he distinctly felt a suppressive force divide along with the parting Ming Water.
*They even deployed a suppression-type array?*
While Luo Chen pondered this, the carriage drew alongside the Mingyuan flying vessel. The cultivator from before flew across to join them.
"Junior Chi Zhong greets True Person Luo!"
*Chi Zhong? As in steady and prudent? Quite a good name.*
Luo Chen nodded and asked, "Are you an inner disciple of the Mingyuan Sect?"
Chi Zhong replied with a hint of pride, "True Person has keen eyes. Junior is indeed an inner disciple of the Mingyuan Sect, on patrol duty here."
It was not that Luo Chen possessed extraordinary insight; rather, having encountered so many disciples of the sacred grounds, he had grown accustomed to the haughtiness that naturally seeped from them. Whether the Yuan Demon remnants of the Northern Sea or the true disciples of the Tianyuan Dao Sect, all were the same. Moreover, that arrogance differed greatly from that of ordinary Nascent Soul upper sect disciples; it was a genuine, fearless disdain that looked down upon all creation! The deference Chi Zhong displayed before Luo Chen was merely superficial courtesy.
Luo Chen did not mind, however, and asked about the others instead. "Those people shouldn't be from your Mingyuan Sect, right?"
"Indeed not. They are disciples of the Dongyang Sect."
"The Dongyang Sect?" Luo Chen murmured, looking pensive.
The Eastern Desolation of the past had claimed thirty-six domains and thirty-six Nascent Soul upper sects! Each sect governed a domain, and each domain was named after its sect. Luo Chen was most familiar with the Far Eastern Six Domains near the Million Mountains, but he had also heard of an extraordinarily powerful sect on the far western edge of the Eastern Desolation known as the Dongyang Sect.
Within it, there were no fewer than five Nascent Soul True Persons! It was a mighty upper sect comparable to the Ice Polar Sect he had briefly glimpsed in the Northern Sea.
Logically, since the sun rose in the east, a sect situated in the west should not have been named Dongyang—Rising Sun of the East. Yet when viewed from outside the Eastern Desolation, the sun rose directly over the Dongyang Sect. Geographically, therefore, the Dongyang Sect served as the gateway to the Eastern Desolation, looking out toward the Central Plains and projecting its reach across the Southern Border and Northern Sea.
There was also good reason why the Mingyuan Sect, a Soul Formation sacred ground of its generation, would entrust such a vital gateway to the Dongyang Sect. The founding ancestor of the Dongyang Sect had been the biological brother of a Soul Formation grand cultivator from the Mingyuan Sect, and much of the Dongyang Sect's subsequent rise had owed to the Mingyuan Sect's backing. For Chi Zhong, a Mingyuan disciple, to command these Dongyang Sect disciples on patrol duty was only natural; between the two sects, peers routinely addressed each other as martial brothers.
Understanding the connection, Luo Chen asked no further on that subject, turning to another matter that concerned him. "Where is the Tianyuan Commerce Alliance's headquarters in the Dongyang Domain located?"
Without hesitation, Chi Zhong answered, "In Shenyuan Immortal City."
"Heh." Luo Chen could not help but chuckle. *Shenyuan City again?*
Soon, however, his smile faded.
In the Northern Sea, the Tianyuan Commerce Alliance had established its own city, opened a port, and traded in all directions. Here in the Eastern Desolation, by contrast, it was confined within the Dongyang Domain under the watchful eye of the Dongyang Sect. From this alone, one could see the vast difference between the Yuan Demon Sect's hold over the Northern Sea and the Mingyuan Sect's control over the Eastern Desolation.
That raised a question. The Yuan Demon Sect had lacked firm control over the Northern Sea, which was why it had been forced to face the Northern Sea Demon Alliance's army alone, bearing the brunt of the hordes with a single sect's strength. Its tragic defeat had been entirely understandable. Yet with the Mingyuan Sect possessing such ironclad control over the Eastern Desolation—second only to the Tianyuan Dao Sect, which completely dominated an entire continent—why had it remained so slow to mount a forceful response against the Eastern Desolation demon race's century-long assault?
*Perhaps the Eastern Desolation I am returning to is a quagmire of turmoil,* Luo Chen sighed inwardly.
The vessel beneath their feet did not pause, speeding toward Dongyang Port. Looking up, he saw the thin mist and thick clouds suddenly scatter as a blazing sun leaped into the sky.
A fine omen! The sun rising in the east was far better than the blood-drenched stars when he had first set foot in the Central Plains!
"Master, I feel a bit uncomfortable," Tianxuan suddenly transmitted her voice as they reached the port.
Luo Chen instantly located the source of her discomfort: a bright mirror hanging high upon the port's decorative archway.
*A Demon-Revealing Mirror?*
To think the Eastern Desolation guarded against the demon race so stringently. Setting aside the questioning and the Ming Water barrier, they had even placed a magic treasure at the port's entrance.
Luo Chen's expression remained calm as he comforted her, "Don't worry. With the power of this mirror, it cannot reveal your true form."
Reassured, Tianxuan circulated her magic power around her demon core, keeping it as tightly contained as possible.
In truth, Luo Chen felt that even if a little leaked out, it would not matter. Tianxuan had lived in human form for a century, and her magic power was majestic and grand, entirely distinct from the sinister, eerie nature of typical demonic qi. An artifact like Fu Chaosheng's True Spirit Treasure Mirror might have seen through her, but a mere magic treasure-grade Demon-Revealing Mirror unattended by any formidable figure stood no chance of piercing her true form. Besides, even if she were exposed, it was no great issue—what powerful cultivator these days did not possess a mount for travel?
As the Six Imperials Flying Cloud Carriage entered the port, nothing happened to the high-hanging Demon-Revealing Mirror.
Seeing this, Chi Zhong and the others following behind felt completely at ease.
"True Person, I still have duties to attend to and will not accompany you further. The location of Shenyuan Immortal City is recorded in this jade slip; you need only follow the directions."
As he spoke, Chi Zhong handed over two jade slips: one a map marking Shenyuan Immortal City, and the other their verified travel pass.
Luo Chen took them without inspecting them closely, offering Chi Zhong a faint smile. "My thanks, young friend. Until we meet again."
The Six Imperials Flying Cloud Carriage ascended slowly, passing over the bustling Dongyang Port and flying toward the depths of the Dongyang Domain.
After he departed, the junior brother beside Chi Zhong marveled, "That True Person possessed such a sharp edge that one hardly dared look him in the eye from afar. Yet you were able to chat and laugh with him so easily, Senior Brother Chi! Such composure truly befits an heir of a sacred ground!"
Flattered, Chi Zhong gave a wry chuckle and put on a show of modesty. "It had nothing to do with me. That senior was probably practicing some extraordinary secret art! He's actually quite easy to get along with—not frightening at all like you make him out to be."
Then he waved a hand.
"Continue your patrol. I must go report to Martial Uncle Lu that a Nascent Soul True Person has arrived from the Central Plains. By the way, his name was Luo Chen, wasn't it?"
"Yes, he called himself Luo Chen, a Guest Elder of the Star Gate!"
Chapter 773