"Junior Brother Qu, aren't you going to see your father?"
Halfway up Mount Daqing, several figures stood together, looking from afar toward the courtyard where the sect master handled daily affairs.
Two figures walked inside side by side.
Yuan Yijun looked quizzically at Qu Jiu. He was staring into the distance, his lips tightly pursed and his facial muscles taut in sharp relief.
Qu Jiu spat out two cold words.
"I won't!"
Yuan Yijun could not understand. He was his father after all—why go so far as to cut him out of his life completely?
Deep down, she worshipped the figure of a "father."
Her mother had died young, and it was her father, Yuan Dongsheng, who had raised her bit by bit, showing her every tenderness.
Even though Yuan Dongsheng had been dead for many years, she still often missed her father's broad shoulders.
Thus, she could not fathom why, when Junior Brother Qu's father had clearly returned, he refused to take the initiative to see him.
Could it be because of the woman who had returned with Qu Lingjun?
***
Drawing near, Qu Lingjun paused his steps and turned back to the woman. "Qin'er, wait for me here a moment."
Meng Qin'er nodded, speaking with encouragement, "Relax a little. Since your master took the initiative to welcome you back into the sect, it means he has let bygones be bygones."
Qu Lingjun smiled; he thought so as well.
Just as he was about to enter, a tall figure walked out of the room.
Qu Lingjun's eyes lit up. "Yilong!"
Zeng Yilong started for a moment before breaking into a surprised grin, grabbing Qu Lingjun by the arm. "Senior Brother, you're finally back!"
Qu Lingjun laughed heartily. "Yes, I'm back! In the future, whatever pills you lack, just come find me at the Pill Court."
Within immortal sects, forms of address and seniority were often based on realm, emphasizing that strength was supreme.
Yet there were occasional exceptions.
Take Qu Lingjun, for instance: his realm was merely Foundation Establishment, inferior to Zeng Yilong's third tier of body refinement. But because Qu Lingjun held a high status in the Luotian Sect as Supreme Elder Luo Chen's sole personal disciple, even those with better aptitude whose cultivation had climbed faster still maintained their old habits when addressing him.
At the words "Pill Court," Zeng Yilong's expression turned slightly odd.
Qu Lingjun failed to notice and asked curiously, "Where are you headed?"
Zeng Yilong coughed dryly and pointed toward the mountainside.
"The sect master gave me a task: go to the Supreme Elder of the Divine Talisman Sect to receive a shipment of talisman skins. And while I'm at it, take those juniors out to see the world."
"Our sect's juniors came up through slaughter; they saw the world long..."
Qu Lingjun had been speaking cheerily, but following the direction of Zeng Yilong's finger, he caught a glimpse of a dark, aloof face.
It was sixty or seventy percent similar to his own.
The remaining thirty percent looked just like the face in his memories.
"It's Little Jiu!"
He was his son. Even if they had not spent much time together under one roof, he could never be a stranger.
"Yilong, please look after Qu Jiu."
Zeng Yilong patted his robust chest. "No need for Senior Brother to ask; that's my duty. I'll be off now, and we'll catch up when I return!"
"Yes, we'll talk when you get back!"
Qu Lingjun offered a slight smile, but as his gaze followed Zeng Yilong toward the mountainside, Qu Jiu merely cast him a cold glance, utterly devoid of warmth.
Qu Lingjun's smile gradually faded, yet he felt not the slightest anger at the cold shoulder.
Qu Jiu was the son of him and Mi Li; even his name had been derived from fermenting yeast and rice into wine.
Back then, he had abandoned his wife and son to join Fenghua Palace, failing in his duties as a father. It was only natural that the boy resented him.
"Husband, Sect Master Li is calling you."
A soft, melodious female voice sounded behind him.
Qu Lingjun sighed, lifted his robe, and walked into the room.
"Lingjun, you're back..."
Li Yingzhang greeted him with a smile, showing not the slightest distance.
Qu Lingjun forced a smile in return.
"It was about time I came back. At this ripe old age, I could never find peace out there. Returning lets me contribute a little heat and light to the sect. I hear the sect is short on funds right now; my alchemical skills have improved considerably, so I can lead the Pill Court to open up a source of revenue for our Luotian Sect."
Li Yingzhang waved his hand. "No hurry on that."
He looked outside. "What's the situation with Fellow Daoist Meng?"
At the mention of Meng Qin'er, a tender look appeared on Qu Lingjun's face.
"She was unwilling to divorce me. After pleading with the Grand Palace Master, she accompanied me back to the Luotian Sect. Once I reach the natural end of my life in forty or fifty years, she will return to Fenghua Palace. I hope you will grant permission for this."
Li Yingzhang came to an understanding and sighed with admiration at their deep marital devotion.
At the same time, he could not help but feel secretly delighted.
Meng Qin'er was considered quite talented among the younger generation of Fenghua Palace, having attained the Golden Core stage at a young age. Now that she had accompanied Qu Lingjun to the Luotian Sect, even if only for forty or fifty years, it was enough to bolster the sect's prestige.
With Sima Wenjie crippled, only eight of the Luotian Sect's nine Golden Core cultivators remained.
Didn't Meng Qin'er's arrival fill that vacancy right up?
Naturally, he would not refuse, readily agreeing to Qu Lingjun's request.
That his Dao companion could stay allowed Qu Lingjun to breathe a sigh of relief. He then asked curiously, "Where is my master?"
Li Yingzhang replied, "The Supreme Elder is preparing to refine Nascent Soul Formation Pills. He has been very busy lately and likely won't have time to see you."
Qu Lingjun's eyes lit up. "Master is refining pills? I hear refining the Nascent Soul Formation Pill is extraordinarily complex. Back then, Azure Pill Valley mobilized the strength of the entire sect and specially invited my master to assist, yet it still unfortunately ended in failure. My return is timely—I can go help Master right away."
He spoke swiftly and urgently, yet not without confidence and pride!
His alchemical skills were now sufficient to refine third-rank pills, completely on par with some of the elders from Azure Pill Valley back in the day.
He was confident he had the ability to assist his master.
However...
"That won't be necessary. Qi Yi has already gone to help the Supreme Elder."
"I can also..."
Qu Lingjun looked at Li Yingzhang's profoundly inscrutable eyes, and the words to ask if he could go along somehow caught in his throat.
He ventured tentatively, "Since Qi Yi has gone to help, the Pill Court must lack hands to oversee it. I can go to the Pill Court and help manage things."
This time, unlike when he had encountered Zeng Yilong earlier, he did not presumptuously treat the Pill Court as his personal domain.
For he faintly sensed that something was amiss.
Sure enough!
Li Yingzhang coughed lightly and shook his head. "There is no need for you to go to the Pill Court either. The sect has already arranged an immortal cave for your cultivation. Go and devote yourself to seclusion."
Qu Lingjun was somewhat incredulous.
"Is this your intention, or Master's?"
Li Yingzhang did not answer, merely handing him a storage bag.
With his current status, there was no need to speak in circles.
Since he evaded the question like this, the answer had to be...
Qu Lingjun's face gradually turned pale.
***
Baili Qingchuan was not large, but it possessed a fairly solid third-rank spirit vein.
Only by relying on this decent spirit vein could the hundred li of medicinal fields be nurtured.
After arriving, the Luotian Sect had carved out five immortal caves with third-rank spiritual energy density for the Golden Core cultivators' daily practice.
With eight or nine Golden Core cultivators squeezing together and rotating turns, they could just barely manage.
Upon his return, Luo Chen did not choose a third-rank cave.
He merely selected a spot with fine scenery on Mount Daqing as a temporary abode.
He was currently in the midst of consolidating his realm, his body filled with large amounts of unrefined magic power—primordial qi bestowed upon him by the world when he comprehended the true meaning of wither-bloom.
Moreover, he carried a vast hoard of high-grade Hongyuan Pills he had previously refined, so he was in no immediate need of spiritual energy replenishment.
At that moment, inside the immortal cave, two figures were busy at work.
"Little Qi, use the alchemy techniques I passed down to you to refine the Purple Monkey Flowers once more. These Purple Monkey Flowers sent by the Divine Talisman Sect have sat for too long, and their medicinal potency isn't condensed enough."
"Right away!"
Qi Yi walked over to the shelf holding the Purple Monkey Flowers and took them down one by one.
After making preparations, he suddenly asked, "Supreme Elder, why didn't you let Qu Lingjun come help you? I hear his alchemical skills have entered the higher halls, no worse than some third-rank alchemists."
Cutting the Five Elements Lotus Platform, Luo Chen asked without looking up, "What, do you think you can't manage?"
Qi Yi hastily shook his head. Having this chance to assist Luo Chen in alchemy and observe the refinement of a Nascent Soul Formation Pill was something he could only dream of.
How could he forfeit this opportunity over a lack of confidence?
He hesitated briefly before saying, "I only thought having one more person would shoulder a bit more of the burden for you, Elder. That way, the success rate for refining the Nascent Soul Formation Pill would also be slightly higher."
"No need to worry; refining the Nascent Soul Formation Pill poses no real pressure on me. Don't overthink it, and just concentrate on doing the preparatory work well! This experience will benefit you immensely."
"Understood."
Qi Yi asked no further questions, focusing his mind on processing the Purple Monkey Flowers.
The small knife in Luo Chen's hand swept back and forth across the Five Elements Lotus Platform, cutting off pieces of the lotus base where apertures connected.
Yet in his heart, he had long held the answer to Qi Yi's question.
*Lingjun has poor aptitude, and over the years he depleted far too much vitality refining pills for Fenghua Palace, such that at his ripe old age, his cultivation still hasn't entered late Foundation Establishment.*
*Now that he has returned, I cannot let him be distracted again.*
*If he chooses a spiritual ground and cultivates bitterly for fifty years, perhaps before his lifespan runs out, he might still have a shot at Golden Core. If he succeeds, his lifespan will double, and endless possibilities will open up to him.*
*I hope he can understand my intentions and not be blinded by other pursuits.*
Sighing inwardly, Luo Chen continued cutting the Five Elements Lotus Platform.
Elder Fu had given him two Five Elements Lotus Platforms at the time, neither of which bore lotus seeds. With his alchemical mastery, they were enough to open twenty cauldrons to refine Nascent Soul Formation Pills.
Yet having had prior successful precedent, he could easily save one Five Elements Lotus Platform for his own use.
As for the wondrous utility of this item, Han Zhan had explained it to him back in the Land of the Fallen Demon.
The Five Elements Lotus Platform was not actually an alchemical ingredient.
The lotus seeds condensed the essence of the five elements in an overly extreme manner, making them more suitable for artifact crafting.
The lotus base itself was exceptionally clear and unobstructed, capable of filtering impurities from heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, and was often used by Nascent Soul True Persons as an auxiliary tool for daily seated meditation.
Back in the Blazing Purgatory, Luo Chen had briefly borrowed that supreme-grade lotus platform to cultivate for a period, which had advanced his cultivation by leaps and bounds.
After experiencing that effect, he had never forgotten it.
Although the two platforms given by Elder Fu were not of particularly high quality, they were barely adequate for use.
***
Several days later.
Luo Chen sat cross-legged upon the lotus platform he had withheld, resting with eyes closed and mind quiet, taking a breather before the pill refinement.
Yet his thoughts were quite active.
*At present, miscellaneous affairs are tangled. Though not insurmountable, they are quite troublesome.*
*Even if I can attend to multiple things at once, I cannot be in two places at the same time.*
*However, I have condensed two divided souls. If I can send them out to handle tasks, they might save me considerable time and accelerate progress on all fronts.*
At this thought, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes.
Divided souls could not remain outside for long; they required vessels to inhabit.
With Han Zhan's precedent before him, he could emulate that approach.
*I need two puppets!*
As for puppets, he had them!
Inside his storage ring rested a white tiger puppet.
Yet that construct was of too high a rank and housed a spiritual soul inside, not something his current divided souls could control.
From his years of research, Luo Chen had some twenty or thirty percent certainty of subduing it, but his own realm was insufficient. Forcibly controlling it ran the risk of backlash; in the end, it was too hazardous.
*I'll have Yuanjiang come over!*
With a shift of thought, Luo Chen transmitted a message through divine sense.
Before long, Qin Yuanjiang arrived at Luo Chen's immortal cave.
When Luo Chen stated that he wanted two puppets, Qin Yuanjiang did not hesitate in the slightest, pulling out a large pile of puppets from his storage bag.
Looking at the dazzling array lined up in a row, Luo Chen was slightly taken aback.
"So many?"
Qin Yuanjiang smiled faintly. "They're crude, slapdash things meant to be detonated right in battle."
Luo Chen realized the truth. These puppets indeed could not be considered fine works; none of them even possessed a humanoid form.
In that case, there was even less need to be polite.
He casually picked out a red dog puppet and a black ape puppet.
Once he had made his selection, Qin Yuanjiang put the remaining puppets away, then looked at Luo Chen inquisitively.
"Elder, are you also versed in the art of puppetry?"
"I can hardly claim mastery, only a passing acquaintance. Moreover, my method of controlling puppets..."
As Luo Chen spoke, he closed his eyes right in front of Qin Yuanjiang.
The next instant, two beams of eerie light flashed from the crown of his head, plunging straight into the bodies of the red dog and black ape.
*Clack, clack!*
*Clack, clack!*
The red dog opened its eyes, and the black ape snapped its gaze wide.
Qin Yuanjiang's heart trembled. This eerie scene was unmistakably the Soul Division technique recorded in the Luoyun Sect's archives.
With his former status, he had not been privy to such methods.
Yet not long ago, among the three volumes of classical texts Luo Chen had given him, the *Soul Splitting Art* was recorded, granting him a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of such means.
Upon the lotus platform, Luo Chen's true body slowly opened its eyes.
"Yuanjiang, do you understand my puppetry now?"
Qin Yuanjiang drew a deep breath and slowly nodded.
Evidently, the Supreme Elder had acquired certain arts of the Luoyun Sect and cultivated them to an exceedingly profound level, which was why he could divide two divine souls.
And displaying this so openly before him was an even greater sign of trust.
"Your parents and I were close friends; naturally, I must look after you."
"Now that you have entered the Luotian Sect, there is no need to worry about your future path. Whatever the Luoyun Sect could teach you, I can teach you as well."
"Go cultivate those puppetry arts without worry. Perhaps in the future, you may establish a lineage of puppetry within the Luotian Sect."
Luo Chen spoke with earnest encouragement in his eyes.
Luo Chen did not possess the complete Three Arts and Two Techniques of the Luoyun Sect.
Yet he had the *Micromote Origin Art*, which integrated *Locking the Beaded Curtain*; the Kai Mao Art passed down by Han Zhan; and the *Soul Splitting Art*. Linked together, these three arts formed a complete path for cultivating the divine soul.
There might be some deficiencies, but when paired with Luo Chen's Nether-Passage Pills and Great Soul Pills, they were virtually flawless.
If Qin Yuanjiang cultivated this set of arts in its entirety and delved deeply into the craft of fashioning and controlling puppets, he might well revive the formidable might of the Luoyun Sect's puppetry.
Faced with Luo Chen's earnest gaze, Qin Yuanjiang bowed respectfully.
"Yuanjiang will certainly not disappoint your expectations, Elder!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly and dismissed him.
After Qin Yuanjiang departed, Luo Chen's gaze fell upon the two puppets.
They housed his two divided souls. Even the weaker of the two had reached the Nascent Soul level after consuming large quantities of Great Soul Pills.
Furthermore, because they stemmed from the same main soul, their minds were connected; whatever they did, learned, and gained was completely clear to Luo Chen's main body.
The only defect was likely the lack of an "energy source."
*In the end, they are not true external incarnations—they possess neither Nascent Souls nor magic power.*
For some reason, Luo Chen recalled the fleeting glimpse he had caught in the Mirage Dragon Grotto-Heaven of Shi Ju's Lightning Dao clone.
That was an external incarnation possessing a flesh-and-blood body and housing a secondary Nascent Soul, endowed with vast magic power and immense capability!
It was thousands of times better than these puppet avatars he had hastily cobbled together.
Shaking his head, he knew such things could not be envied.
Luo Chen raised his hands and released two bursts of spiritual light, sending dozens of high-grade spirit stones sinking into the puppets' bodies to serve as their operational energy.
Not only that, he opened his mouth and exhaled, sending a wisp of Wither-Bloom True Fire drifting out.
The red dog puppet simultaneously opened its mouth and absorbed it inside.
"Black Ape, go study the dao of talismans. Master the theory and familiarize yourself with the methods of drawing them."
"Red Dog, refine pills with me!"
No further words were needed; with their minds intertwined, the two puppets sprang into action.
Chapter 792