The old shopkeeper appeared utterly unremarkable, but in truth, his cultivation was formidable—he was at the Golden Core stage.
Out in the wider world, low-ranking cultivators would respectfully address him as "Venerable Senior."
Naturally, his discernment was far from lacking!
After obtaining the *Soul Intake and Essence Extraction Art* from the grey-robed man, he flipped through it for only a moment before instantly realizing its extraordinary nature!
Inscribed upon its pages was a secret art capable of extracting essence from the souls of living beings.
Souls—a trait unique to sentient creatures.
Seemingly formless and insubstantial, they were nonetheless very real.
Furthermore, they possessed countless uses and were arguably the single most important element in the path of cultivation!
Cultivating immortality was, on the surface, the refining of qi, but in reality, it was the refining of the spirit.
From the mortal soul to the development of spiritual consciousness, and then to transforming into divine sense after the Golden Core stage to influence the outside world—this was a complete path of transformation.
If one could achieve the Nascent Soul realm, the nascent soul could even serve as a temporary second vessel for the soul.
Rumor had it that the Soul Formation realm was called "Transforming the Spirit" precisely because the nascent soul could transform into a primordial spirit.
At that realm, the soul and the nascent soul completely merged. Even if the physical body was destroyed, a cultivator could survive solely on the primordial spirit, no longer fearing assimilation by heaven and earth or celestial calamities and earthly tribulations.
Why had it been said since ancient times that only those in the Soul Formation realm could ascend?
It was precisely because of the primordial spirit's existence. During the ascension process, a powerful primordial spirit could lock onto the guiding spiritual luminescence to ascend to the Immortal Realm.
That was digressing.
Back to the *Soul Intake and Essence Extraction Art*!
This secret art could refine soul essence from living beings. It worked not only on high-ranking existences with developed souls, but could even extract the frail, elusive soul essence from low-ranking creatures.
It was truly venomous beyond compare—a wicked demonic path!
Even as the old man questioned the grey-robed cultivator, he eagerly flipped through the latter pages.
The tattered little booklet appeared ancient, an artifact from who knew how many years ago.
Yet the secret art recorded within was remarkably complete; it even gave detailed instructions on crafting the "Soul Beckoning Banner," the tool required for refining soul essence.
The old man quickly grasped the immense importance of this technique.
According to the text, soul essence was extraordinary. It could be used in cultivation to augment the foundation of one's soul, or to practice certain sinister soul-dao secret arts.
As long as one could produce it, buyers would never be lacking!
It might even become the prized heirloom of his shop!
As for the greatest hurdle in extracting soul essence, it was neither the difficulty of practicing the art nor the crafting of the Soul Beckoning Banner, but the acquisition of raw materials.
Yet at this very moment, that issue was no issue at all.
What time was it now?
A grand war between humans and demons, a clash of races!
The fiercest, most direct collision between the human cultivators—the hegemons of the Eastern Desolation—and the demon race, which had been amassing its strength for three millennia.
Every day, countless lives were extinguished, and untold numbers of souls dissolved into nothingness.
Those were all the finest raw materials!
Facing the old man's pressing inquiries, the grey-robed cultivator extended his hand with a wary expression.
"Are you trading or not? If not, give it back!"
The old man instantly tightened his grip on the battered beast-hide booklet. Flattering him with a smile, he said, "Why be so nervous? I was merely asking a few questions. What if you took this secret technique from some prestigious great sect? Wouldn't taking it off your hands bring me endless trouble?"
A look of realization dawned on the grey-robed cultivator, and he explained, "You needn't worry about that. I obtained this book from an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling. I assure you there are no loose ends."
An ancient cultivator's cave dwelling?
The old man closely inspected the beast-hide parchment and the handwriting upon it, nodding involuntarily.
It certainly appeared ancient.
Judging by the value of this art, let alone trading for a stalk of Clear Blood Grass worth three thousand spirit stones, it would be well worth it even at a tenfold or hundredfold markup!
This Foundation Establishment junior truly didn't know what he had!
In that case...
"It's a deal!"
***
Having obtained the Clear Blood Grass, the grey-robed man looked overjoyed. The moment he stepped out the door, the small shop behind him slammed shut with a thud, and even the small window beside the door was shuttered tight.
It was as if the shopkeeper feared he might regret the exchange.
Yet the grey-robed man didn't mind in the slightest, the smile on his face gradually fading.
He casually tossed the Clear Blood Grass—which he had seemingly valued so much moments before—into his storage bag, turned around, and headed into another dim street.
There were countless secluded trading markets like this within Lingtian Pass.
The transactions conducted inside mostly involved resources that could not see the light of day.
There were herbs harvested by daring souls who had ventured into demon territory, ores mined in secret, and even stolen goods seized through robbery and murder amidst the chaos.
In the past, these deals had been conducted underground. Only recently, due to the initiatives of the Dongyang Sect's Nascent Soul elder, had they peeked out into the open.
Guided by the information gathered along the way, the grey-robed cultivator slipped in and out of those secluded shops throughout Lingtian Pass.
For the vast majority of the transactions, he opted for bartering.
Among the items he frequently offered was that tattered beast-hide booklet.
In just a day or two, dozens of copies of the *Soul Intake and Essence Extraction Art* were disseminated through his hands!
All of this remained undetected for the time being.
And what if someone did find out?
Inside the Pill Sovereign's cave dwelling in the West City, the calm grey-robed man activated the defensive formation, blocking out all outside detection.
Then, the bones throughout his body popped and crackled as his frame rapidly elongated.
His originally sallow complexion turned fair and clear.
His facial features shifted, finally settling into Luo Chen's youthful and handsome face.
Glancing at the remaining beast-hide booklets in his storage ring, he dismissed the thought of continuing to spread the soul-refining secret art.
"That should be enough."
"For a secret art like this to truly work, it needs a large number of hands to produce results."
"They will help me spread it further."
This was the groundwork Luo Chen was laying for his future cultivation of the *Soul Splitting Art*.
Severing split souls compromised the strength of his main soul, plunging him into a weakened state.
Yet there was another shortcoming that made him suppress the urge to increase the number of split souls.
Namely, the Great Soul Pill!
Lacking the complete method of the *Soul Splitting Art*, he could not rapidly advance the realm of his split souls and had to rely on Great Soul Pills for assistance.
And refining Great Soul Pills required precious soul essence.
At present, the soul essence in his possession was more than enough to sustain the cultivation of his main soul and two split souls.
However, if the number of split souls increased—to three, four, five...
By then, he would merely have a horde of split souls whose overall quality could not be raised, becoming a burden to him instead.
One could already see clues of this from Han Zhan.
Han Zhan had begun practicing the *Soul Splitting Art* at the Foundation Establishment stage. Over a century after stepping into the Nascent Soul realm, he had cultivated nine major split souls.
It had seemed extraordinarily powerful, yet in truth, it was fragile.
As Luo Chen's cultivation climbed, his understanding of Han Zhan's nine split souls grew clearer. Each had seemed to possess the power of the early Nascent Soul stage, yet under his Dragon Slaying Art, they had fallen one after another without offering any real resistance.
Evidently, the strength of those split souls could hardly compare to that of genuine Nascent Soul spirits.
They were even less comparable to the two split souls Luo Chen was currently nurturing with meticulous care.
In light of this, Luo Chen chose to plan ahead.
He would disseminate the Yuan Demon Sect's method of crafting soul essence—obtained from Fu Chaosheng—and leverage the grand environment of war so those desperate rogues would produce soul essence on his behalf.
Once large quantities of soul essence were produced, people would inevitably sell it.
Many high-ranking cultivators might be interested in soul essence, but they lacked the proper method to utilize it.
When the time came, Luo Chen could reap the harvest openly.
As for why Luo Chen had gone in disguise to do this personally instead of delegating it to cultivators of the Luotian Sect?
And why had he gone through the trouble of imitating the Master of Baizao Mountain, using artifact refinement techniques to artificially age the beast-hide books?
The reason was simple: the *Soul Intake and Essence Extraction Art* was, after all, a demonic secret art!
Using the souls of living beings as raw materials was atrocious and exceedingly venomous.
Even the Yuan Demon Sect back then had relegated such deeds to their subordinate forces rather than doing it themselves, which proved its hazardous nature.
Compared to the Yuan Demon Sect, the Luotian Sect was exceedingly fragile.
If subordinates were sent to do this and got caught, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Even the reputation Luo Chen had worked so hard to cultivate would be tarnished with a black mark.
"It is somewhat beneath me, but for the sake of longevity, it is negligible."
Luo Chen smiled faintly and set the matter aside for the moment.
His attention shifted to the forging of the Heart-Interrogation Mirror.
Opening his attribute panel, he spent ten achievement points with a mere thought to instantly master the basics!
Vaguely, a host of new insights and experiences welled up within him.
"I ought to take advantage of this free time to forge this item. As for the required materials..."
Luo Chen narrowed his eyes, making some calculations in his heart.
***
Sometimes, when one felt drowsy, someone would offer a pillow.
And as luck would have it, many people were eager to hand him pillows right now!
On this day.
Fairy Jueqing, having just seen off a Golden Core cultivator, walked back holding a calling card.
A look of helplessness lingered between her brows.
It was yet another card sent by the disciples of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Over the past five years, such cards had been plentiful, and not a few came from figures she could not easily afford to offend.
Especially the one today.
"True Person Lu of the Dongyang Sect explicitly stated that he has ties with him and came specifically to invite him. But since he is in seclusion, I cannot readily accept on his behalf."
Just as Fairy Jueqing was vexed, the mists shrouding the mountain suddenly parted.
She froze for a moment, then realized what was happening and immediately mounted a cloud to fly up.
***
Inside the cave dwelling, Luo Chen flipped through the stack of calling cards.
*"To the Esteemed Supreme Pill Sovereign of Luotian: I have long heard of your renowned name and your consummate mastery in the art of alchemy... If you have leisure, I hope we may meet so I can seek your guidance. Respectfully, Yao Ping, Head of Red Elixir Peak, Seven Caves Mountain."*
Seven Caves Mountain had been an early Nascent Soul upper sect in the thirty-six domains of the Eastern Desolation.
Its founding roughly coincided with that of the Dongyang Sect, and it had participated in the ancient war between humans and demons.
By now, however, it had long declined, no longer possessing the grand spectacle of having Nascent Soul cultivators presiding over all seven of its peaks.
Yet this Yao Ping, the Head of Red Elixir Peak, did possess some skill in alchemy and was respectfully addressed as Mr. Yao.
While this card ostensibly sought Luo Chen's advice on alchemy, the tone between the lines was far from pleasant.
It heaped excessive praise upon Luo Chen while subtly hinting at a desire to measure their skills against each other.
Luo Chen cast only two glances at it before putting it aside.
With his current status and renown, he had no interest in competing with others in alchemy.
Winning would be expected, while losing would only elevate the reputation of the declining Seven Caves Mountain.
He opened another calling card.
This one was familiar: a faction wished to hire Luo Chen to refine a lost cultivation pill of their sect.
Luo Chen generally declined such requests.
Cultivation pills rarely required just one or two cauldrons.
They demanded a large, steady supply, which consumed far too much of his time.
This was true even though the faction was willing to offer substantial spirit stones along with the Crimson Firmament Qi he needed.
Still, Luo Chen read through the card carefully, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression.
Firmament Qi was a resource that only Nascent Soul True Persons could gather, making it extraordinarily precious, but it seemed it was not as rare as he had once thought.
Most Nascent Soul True Persons could produce a wisp or two.
Later, he had even discovered that Nine Spirits Yuanjun's formidable technique—that river of light—was in fact the crystallization of nine types of Firmament Qi fused with Dharmic power.
That was why the technique was so domineering, capable of grinding away the physical body of the Thunder Prison Divine Peng alive.
The Nine Spirits Sect where Nine Spirits Yuanjun belonged was not particularly ancient. If their foundation allowed them to amass enough Firmament Qi for Nine Spirits Yuanjun to master such a technique—with enough left over to trade a portion to Luo Chen—what about older sects like Seven Caves Mountain, the Dongyang Sect, or even the Soul Formation sacred grounds?
Had the circle of friends he cultivated in the past been somewhat limited?
As Luo Chen pondered, he asked offhandedly, "Wasn't Xu Xiaoliu usually in charge of delivering cards while you received the visitors? Why did you come to deliver it yourself today?"
Although Fairy Jueqing had joined the Luotian Sect and accepted the reversal of their statuses, she still subconsciously avoided meeting him most of the time.
It was awkward!
Delivering the card personally today was rather unusual.
To his surprise, upon hearing this, a complicated expression surfaced on Fairy Jueqing's cold face.
She said softly, "He has passed away."
Luo Chen froze, his hands stiffening for a fraction of an instant.
"When?"
"In the third year of your seclusion. He died peacefully of old age, sent off by his wife and daughter. His remains were buried in Baili Qingchuan. Sect Master Li made an exception to enshrine his spirit tablet in the Luotian Sect's ancestral hall under the title of an elder."
Luo Chen parted his lips, but in the end, he only let out a faint sigh.
Five years, to someone at his realm, was merely an insignificant bout of quiet cultivation.
Moreover, the purpose had not even been general advancement, but simply breaking through the bottleneck between the third and fourth layers of the Nascent Soul.
Yet during that brief span, someone close to him had quietly reached the end of his lifespan and sat in meditation until death.
If breaking through major realms in the future would take decades or even centuries, how many familiar faces would still be around to celebrate with him when he emerged from seclusion next time?
Shaking his head, Luo Chen quietly picked up the next calling card.
And this one was precisely the pillow he needed.
"Dongyang Sect, True Person Lu!"
Fairy Jueqing explained from the side, "He claimed to have ties with you, so even though his card merely invites you to a gathering, I picked it out."
Luo Chen hummed in acknowledgment.
True Person Lu did indeed have a prior acquaintance with him, though it had only been a single meeting.
Back when he had used the teleportation formation in the Dongyang Domain to reach the White Crane Domain, Gu Zuokai, acting as the intermediary, had sought out True Person Lu of the Dongyang Sect.
At the time, Luo Chen had deliberately gifted the man a bottle of high-quality fourth-tier Hongyuan Pills.
He still remembered that True Person Lu had been quite tempted back then, repeatedly asking if Luo Chen had any intention of continuing to sell such pills.
"The Dongyang Sect shares deep origins with the Mingyuan Sect and can even be considered a direct subordinate force of theirs."
"Because of this, the moment Elder Lu arrived at Lingtian Pass, he received the full support of Castellan Lingtian and met with no obstacles in anything he did."
"He spearheaded the formation of the Lingtian Fair, established its rules, and dispatched personnel to maintain order, earning an excellent reputation among low-ranking cultivators. Not only that, he frequently organizes exchange gatherings for Golden Core and Nascent Soul True Persons in the name of the Dongyang Sect."
"He very much wishes for you to attend in person!"
As Fairy Jueqing explained the details, Luo Chen grasped the full picture.
Such exchange gatherings were the ideal venue for high-ranking cultivators to trade resources and supply each other's needs.
Without hesitation, Luo Chen immediately asked:
"When is the next gathering?"
"Three days from now!"
"Good! Reply on my behalf. Tell him Luo will attend on time."
Chapter 823