*Rustle, rustle...*
A mountain breeze swept through the hall, setting the red paper fluttering briskly.
Inside the grand hall where Luo Chen crafted talismans, sheets upon sheets of talismans hung pasted across wooden racks.
Stirring in the wind, the terrifying power sealed within them left Qu Jiu feeling deeply unsettled.
He could not help but glance at the talismans. There were over a hundred of them, every single one painstakingly crafted by Grandmaster Luo Chen over the past few days.
Most of them were Blazing Sun Talismans!
As they swayed, it felt as if a scorching sun were on the verge of crashing down. If all of them were detonated at once, even a Golden Core cultivator would likely be blasted into dust!
"Xiao Jiu, your mind is restless."
A gentle voice reached his ears. Qu Jiu turned to look, only to find that Luo Chen was still entirely engrossed in crafting a talisman, not glancing toward him at all.
Tensing his jaw, Qu Jiu managed an awkward smile.
"It is my state of mind that is lacking."
Without looking up from his work, Luo Chen continued drawing the talisman, though his voice remained calm and even. "I know your upbringing was turbulent, and to this day you still harbor resentment toward your father. Because of this, your temperament leans toward extremes, rarely finding peace. Such a disposition is detrimental to cultivation, even more so to talisman crafting, and it is precisely what has kept you from drawing second-tier talismans for so long."
Qu Jiu fell silent.
The path of talisman crafting was not as simple as it appeared from the outside; it required talent and had its own threshold.
And the most crucial talent was having an undivided mind—the composure to watch a thousand mountains crumble before oneself without a change in countenance.
Without the ability to govern one's emotions, it was all too easy for one's mind to waver during the drawing process. At best, the talisman strokes would veer off course, wasting all prior effort; at worst, an erratic surge of spiritual power would trigger the talisman on the spot, causing it to backlash against the maker.
In the past, he had only dabbled in talisman crafting without practicing it in depth.
Recently, under Luo Chen's tutelage, his technique had advanced by leaps and bounds, yet he remained stymied at the threshold of second-tier talismans.
The fundamental cause was that his mental cultivation was simply too weak!
"Have you ever practiced the *Microdust Primordial Art*?"
"Not yet. That art places exceptionally high demands on the soul. Even after Elder Wang modified it, one still needs to be at least at the late Foundation Establishment stage to barely practice it."
"In that case, I will impart *Calming the Tempest* to you. Practice it first to learn how to sever stray thoughts and remain unmoved by external disturbances. Once your realm advances in the future, you can seamlessly transition to the *Microdust Primordial Art*!"
Qu Jiu was taken aback. His grandmaster was imparting a secret art to him?
Just at that moment, a voice requesting an audience rumbled from outside the hall, echoing through the mountains.
"Jiuling Yuanjun requests an audience with the Dan Patriarch!"
At that moment, Qu Jiu's expression shifted drastically.
Jiuling Yuanjun was a figure of immense renown across the Five Domains of Lingtian, and indeed throughout the entire Eastern Desolation.
A mid Nascent Soul cultivation was already considered profound, yet this man possessed an unfathomably vast reservoir of spiritual power!
Rumors had long circulated that Jiuling Yuanjun's spiritual power was not inferior even to that of a great cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage.
This alone placed Jiuling Yuanjun high above ordinary Nascent Soul True Persons. In the Five Domains of Lingtian today, only Castellan Lingtian and the secluded Perfected Shenyuan could hold sway over him.
Other mid Nascent Soul peers, such as Fairy Fenghua and True Person Jinling, fell short of Jiuling Yuanjun in sheer depth of spiritual power.
Back when the Nine Spirits Domain was attacked by the demon race, three Demon Sovereigns had joined forces to besiege him, yet even they had failed to keep him there. That alone proved his prowess!
Why would such a mighty figure pay a visit to his grandmaster at this time in such an open, even brazen manner? What were his intentions?
Qu Jiu could not help but glance worriedly at Luo Chen.
Yet the white-robed Daoist remained utterly unperturbed, still focused on his talisman.
Only when the final stroke of the talisman pattern was completed did he slowly raise his eyes.
*Whoosh...*
Exhaling softly, Luo Chen looked down with immense satisfaction at the green-and-red talisman in his hand.
A third-tier Qingyang Talisman!
It was inscribed with the Qingyang Great Handprint, the signature spell he had taken the greatest pride in during his Golden Core stage!
After drawing lower-tier talismans over a thousand times, he could finally craft third-tier talismans with ease.
From this day forward, he was truly worthy of the title of third-tier talisman master!
With a casual flick, he tossed the Qingyang Talisman before Qu Jiu.
Because the terrifying aura of spiritual power within the talisman had not yet fully subsided, Qu Jiu scrambled in a fluster to catch it, terrified that he might accidentally trigger it.
"This one is a gift to you."
"As for all the other first-tier and second-tier talismans, go find the sect master and have him dispatch people to inventory and store them in the treasury for wartime use."
"This is the jade slip containing *Calming the Tempest*, along with my personal insights from cultivating it. Take it and study it well."
After giving these instructions, Luo Chen dusted off his spotless white robe and walked out of the hall with a faint smile.
...
Under countless gazes from the shadows and in plain sight, Jiuling Yuanjun stood quietly outside the mountain gate of the Luotian Sect, waiting patiently.
Time ticked away, minute by minute.
In secret, this stirred no small amount of discussion.
That Dan Patriarch Luo Chen certainly put on immense airs!
How formidable was Jiuling Yuanjun? For him to set aside his pride and politely announce his visit, only to be left waiting for so long without an audience!
Some onlookers were even eagerly anticipating the spectacle of Jiuling Yuanjun storming off in fury.
Unfortunately for them, after roughly half the time it took to finish a cup of tea, movement finally came from Mount Daqing.
"'Is it not a delight to have friends visit from afar?'"
"Forgive me for keeping Fellow Daoist waiting."
"Please!"
Clouds and winds coalesced as a divine rainbow arched across the sky, bridging a distance of a hundred li to land right at the guest's feet.
With this single move, Luo Chen displayed his profound mastery over magical arts.
Jiuling Yuanjun glanced down at the rainbow bridge beneath him, his gaze narrowing slightly before a smile spread across his face. He stepped onto the bridge and entered the mountain.
With that, the countless disciples within the Luotian Sect who had been craning their necks returned to their routines. Dust returned to dust, earth to earth, and all clamor subsided.
By contrast, the onlookers outside the mountain exchanged bewildered glances.
Did Dan Patriarch Luo Chen truly possess such weight?
To leave the illustrious Jiuling Yuanjun waiting outside for half a day, only for the man to step inside quite contentedly anyway?
For a moment, everyone could not help but reevaluate Luo Chen's standing in the Eastern Desolation.
Though he had returned in haste, was only in the early Nascent Soul stage, and lacked centuries of local foundation... his status was already no lower than that of veteran powerhouses like Jiuling Yuanjun.
...
"Fellow Daoist Luo, we meet again."
"After half a year apart, Fellow Daoist Jiuling's bearing remains as magnificent as ever. Luo has been expecting you for some time."
"Oh? You knew I would return to seek you out?"
"Heheh, during the grand ceremony, aside from Elder Fu and Fellow Daoist Lingfengzi, you were the one who showed the greatest interest in my alchemy skills. The only thing that surprised me was that you arrived before Lingfengzi."
"Fellow Daoist is indeed brilliant! I do indeed have a request: I hope you can refine a furnace of pills for me."
"That is easily discussed. So long as the price is right, Luo has always accommodated requests!"
Having obtained Luo Chen's verbal agreement, Jiuling Yuanjun finally let out a long sigh of relief.
His earlier willingness to discard face and pay his respects so humbly before the public had finally yielded a return.
He understood Luo Chen's motives completely!
It was nothing more than using the pretext of refining pills for others to build renown and secure a foothold in the Eastern Desolation.
And Jiuling Yuanjun happened to have a need of his own.
Since that was the case, he was happy to cater to Luo Chen's desires, lending his own prestige accumulated over many years to elevate the man's status.
Even if the other party intentionally left him waiting for a short while, he did not care in the slightest, provided Luo Chen could truly concoct what he needed!
He wanted the substance; Luo Chen wanted the prestige. It was as simple as that.
"Fellow Daoist Luo, the price is not an issue. I can offer you twenty strands of Crimson Firmament Qi, ten strands of Scarlet Firmament Qi, and ten strands of Purple Firmament Qi. Furthermore, I have varying amounts of the other six types of firmament qi. If you desire them, we can discuss that as well."
Luo Chen was slightly taken aback.
The other party actually had so much firmament qi on hand?
He even had reserves of the other six kinds?
Most importantly, this man seemed remarkably well-informed about the uses of the nine firmament qis. Luo Chen had previously only asked for Crimson Firmament Qi, yet Jiuling Yuanjun had taken the initiative to offer Scarlet and Purple Firmament Qi.
According to the sword scripture, Luo Chen could indeed refine all three types simultaneously!
The reason was that Scarlet Firmament Qi and Purple Firmament Qi also possessed fire attributes.
Jiuling Yuanjun clearly knew this, which was why he had specifically singled them out.
Luo Chen did a quick calculation. If he obtained forty strands of the three types from Jiuling Yuanjun, added to the ten strands he already possessed, he would be halfway to the hundred strands required for the intermediate mastery of the *Thousand Firmaments Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture*.
This transaction was well worth doing!
"The price is fair, and I can take the job. However, the specifics will depend on what pill you wish to refine. If it demands excessive time and effort, Luo will have no choice but to raise the price."
Without hesitating any further, he asked directly about the man's requirements.
Seeing that Luo Chen had agreed, Jiuling Yuanjun grew apprehensive instead.
"I wish to refine a fourth-tier pill known as the Jiuli Pill. I wonder if you are capable of it?"
Luo Chen gave a helpless smile. "Knowing only its name and nothing of its true composition is far too vague. Even with the skill of a grandmaster, I cannot give you an answer!"
After a moment of contemplation, Jiuling Yuanjun solemnly brought out an object.
Luo Chen looked closely and saw a brass statuette.
The statuette was rather bizarre. Its appearance and physique resembled an ordinary person sitting cross-legged, yet strange tumors protruded from its eyes, ears, wide mouth, breasts, and the two scrotal sacs below.
Altogether, there were exactly nine tumors.
The statuette suddenly flipped over, revealing its brass back.
"What is recorded on the back is the specific formula for the Jiuli Pill. The formula is obscure and difficult to decipher, and due to the peculiar nature of this treasure, it cannot be copied onto a jade slip. Therefore, Fellow Daoist can only examine it in person,"
Jiuling Yuanjun explained.
Luo Chen gave an acknowledging hum, shifting his attention away from the tumors and fixing his gaze onto the pill formula inscribed on the back.
The moment he looked, his brow furrowed.
Seeing his reaction, Jiuling Yuanjun grew anxious. "Fellow Daoist Luo..."
"It is fine. It is just that some of the herb names are rather obscure."
Luo Chen smiled, giving him a reassuring look.
Yet inwardly, he could not stop murmuring in astonishment.
*These medicinal herb names follow the naming conventions of the demon race!*
Ever since acquiring the alchemical legacy of the Heaven Refining Demon Lord, Luo Chen had occasionally browsed those alchemical texts, memorizing numerous herbs he had never heard of before.
The Heaven Refining Demon Lord was vastly experienced and knowledgeable, even going so far as to label certain spiritual herbs found in both the mortal and demon realms with their respective names.
Reading through it now, he could understand about seventy to eighty percent of it.
Time ticked away, minute by minute, as Luo Chen committed the formula to memory while pondering the taboos and restrictions of its refinement.
It was not until the dead of night that he finally came back to his senses.
Throughout the entire process, Jiuling Yuanjun had remained by his side without moving a single step, watching his every reaction closely.
"Fellow Daoist Luo, can it be refined?"
Luo Chen first nodded, filling the man with immense delight.
Then he shook his head vigorously, leaving the man completely dumbfounded.
"What do you mean by this? I do not understand."
Luo Chen pointed at the formula and said, "It can be refined, but there are a few issues."
"Speak freely!"
"The herbs. Do you have the ingredients listed on this formula? I have no spares on hand here."
*So that was it!*
Jiuling Yuanjun breathed a sigh of relief. "The herbs on the formula are indeed obscure; even my Nine Spirits Sect has been unable to gather all of them. However, through continuous exploration across generations, our sect's predecessors managed to find suitable substitutes. I have barely managed to scrape together a few sets here."
"Oh?" Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Let me see."
Jiuling Yuanjun immediately handed Luo Chen a storage pouch.
Taking it in hand, Luo Chen probed it with his divine sense, occasionally withdrawing an item to examine it while nodding inwardly.
"Using Glare Sunflower in place of the demon realm's Voidless Seed—the medicinal properties are indeed similar."
"Cedar Jade in exchange for Blood Jade Boulder? There is even such a method of substitution? Clearly... oh, it relies on their similar stony-jade properties. The predecessors of the Nine Spirits Sect certainly had some skill."
"And how is this Silver Soul Stone substituted? Is it through combining these two herbs?"
...
After an exhaustive inventory, Luo Chen's mind felt somewhat muddy, but he now knew that the materials Jiuling Yuanjun had brought out genuinely stood a chance of refining the Jiuli Pill recorded on the formula.
If he were to refine it conventionally, it would take half a year of deciphering the formula followed by dozens or hundreds of detailed trials before he could successfully concoct it.
However, doing so would consume far too much time, which hardly befitted the grand reputation of the "Dan Patriarch."
Still, Luo Chen was not worried. It was ultimately a fourth-tier pill formula, well within his capabilities.
Spending ten achievement points to directly acquire the basic proficiency would save him both time and effort.
As dawn broke, Luo Chen posed his second question.
"This pill is related to your cultivation, correct?"
Jiuling Yuanjun knew he could not hide it from Luo Chen, as the formula explicitly stated that it required the essence blood of the consumer's Nascent Soul.
He candidly nodded in confirmation.
Luo Chen asked again, "Then do you know from which part of the Nascent Soul the essence blood must be drawn?"
Jiuling Yuanjun froze, looking utterly bewildered.
Luo Chen wore a look that said *just as I thought*. The text of the Jiuli Pill formula was far too obscure for ordinary cultivators to decipher.
Even an ordinary human fourth-tier alchemist would likely be baffled upon a first glance.
Only someone like him, who had inherited the Heaven Refining Demon Lord's comprehensive alchemical legacy spanning humans, demons, and spirits, could understand it so swiftly.
Luo Chen pointed a finger at the brass statuette. "The essence blood must be drawn from these nine tumors on the Nascent Soul. Fellow Daoist Jiuling, does your Nascent Soul bear these nine tumors?"
The moment these words were spoken, the middle-aged man before him reacted like a cat whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way, his expression instantly changing.
A majestic aura surged forth like the waves of an ocean.
*Boom!*
Standing right before him, Luo Chen's hair fluttered and his white robe whipped in the gale.
He knew this explosive reaction was because he had bluntly exposed a secret peculiarity of the man's cultivation, touching upon a taboo.
Yet Luo Chen's expression remained tranquil as he said softly:
"In refining pills for fellow Daoists, it is only natural for Luo to learn some secrets of various sects and clans, and I will not speak of them outside. If you do not wish to refine this pill, or if you cannot trust Luo, then let us end the matter right here!"
Jiuling Yuanjun stared deeply at Luo Chen before slowly reeling in his surging aura.
"Jiuling never places blind trust in others, but this pill involves a major method of mine and concerns my path to the late Nascent Soul stage. Therefore, I can only choose to trust you this once."
"Dan Patriarch, do not disappoint me."
As he spoke, he slowly closed his eyes.
Luo Chen twitched his lips. This fellow's spiritual power was unexpectedly profound!
Rumor had it that his realm was only at the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul, comparable to Jinling, yet the sheer depth of his spiritual power was scarcely inferior to that of the Moon Hermit back then.
He remembered that the Moon Hermit had concealed his true realm, having actually reached the early stages of late Nascent Soul.
In other words, Jiuling Yuanjun's spiritual power was nearly as vast as that of a late Nascent Soul cultivator.
Luo Chen had always prided himself on his immense spiritual power; even against True Person Jinling, who was two minor realms above him, he was confident he could hold his own.
Yet the aura Jiuling Yuanjun had just released had completely overwhelmed him.
*Just how did he cultivate that?*
While he was lost in thought, a grotesque creature suddenly emerged from Jiuling Yuanjun's crown.
It was an infant.
A cultivator's Nascent Soul.
Yet at this moment, fleshy tumors grew across the infant's eyes, ears, mouth, breasts, and the two scrotal sacs below.
Taken as a whole, it was an utterly horrifying sight.
The infant fixed its gaze on Luo Chen and spoke slowly.
"I cultivated our founding ancestor's method of Nine Spirits Attaining Sanctity, absorbing the spiritual essences of the nine firmaments into my body to obtain supreme spiritual power."
"I require this Jiuli Pill to help me separate the nine essences and form the nine great spiritual infants."
"Dan Patriarch, if you need to draw the essence blood, do so now!"
Chapter 795