Millennium Five Temples Immortal Brew, Tiandu Domain Boils

The Spirit Severing Domain! No! Back then, that territory was still known as the Blade Dominance Domain! Back when Luo Chen finished refining his magic power and thoroughly consolidated his realm, he had sought out a secluded place beyond the pass to test various techniques. Quite unintentionally, pushing his divine sense to its absolute limit, he had sensed some of what was happening within the Blade Dominance Domain. At that time, a sinister demon cultivator in white and another Great Demon Emperor had simultaneously detected his prying divine sense. Luo Chen had later learned that the other was Qi Xi, one of the Nine Great Commanders. Yet as for that demon cultivator in white, Luo Chen had never seen him appear again to this day, nor did he know his name or origin. Even so, he clearly remembered the feeling the entity had evoked in him—like facing a natural predator! That sensation of the Nascent Soul cowering and the divine soul trembling was something Luo Chen could not shake off, even across several thousand li. Evidently, it was an exceedingly perilous entity. Coupled with a certain rumor that had circulated among Nascent Soul powerhouses for over a century, and taken together with the succession of bizarre events unfolding now, Luo Chen began piecing the puzzle together. The drastic change in his expression immediately caught the eyes of the other two. True Person Jinling had still harbored some doubt, but seeing Luo Chen's reaction, he could not help asking directly, "Luo Chen, could it be you already know who is behind this?" Luo Chen looked up. "Jinling, surely you have an inkling as well!" Fairy Fengyue frowned in annoyance. "What riddles are you two playing at? Speak plainly!" Jinling wore a trace of dread. Taking a deep breath, he said slowly, "Do you know why Supreme Elder Perfected Shenyuan never made a move back when my Five Elements Divine Sect was destroyed?" "Was it not because Perfected Shenyuan was injured in the battle of Mount Cangwu, rendering him unable to act?" Fenghua Fairy replied, unconsciously casting a glance at Luo Chen. Jinling glanced over as well, but the answer he gave diverged slightly. "No matter how severe the injury, one would not simply stand by and watch one's sect disciples slaughtered, nor be forced to abandon a mountain base painstakingly built up over seven hundred years. The one Senior Brother Shenyuan truly feared was someone else!" "According to Senior Brother Shenyuan, some sinister entity was lurking in the shadows, watching him and giving off an immense sense of threat. Because the other did not move, neither did he. That was what led to the tragic outcome where of our Five Peaks' True Persons, two died and one was crippled." "And if I am not mistaken, the sinister entity Senior Brother Shenyuan described must be inextricably linked to the tragic demise of the True Persons from the two upper sects, Fenghua and Dieyun." "Perhaps it is the very same entity!" Disbelief flashed in Fenghua Fairy's eyes as she murmured, "What kind of entity could make even a Great Cultivator tremble in fear?" Luo Chen, however, looked rather skeptical. That thing had indeed felt like a thorn in his back and filled him with a sense of danger, but surely it wasn't enough to strip someone of even the courage to fight! Especially since that old thief Shenyuan was a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator! Jinling's claim sounded far too exaggerated. Suppressing his doubts, he cleared his throat and said, "In any case, there is something among the enemy specifically targeting the Nascent Souls of our kind. If we cross paths with it, everyone must be doubly cautious in battle." "The Alchemy Grandmaster speaks truly!" Fenghua Fairy agreed. The fury stirred up by her junior sister's death had also gradually cooled. Jinling gave a soft grunt of assent. Though not quite as confident as before, he had by no means lost his nerve. When all was said and done, like Luo Chen, he was a powerhouse who had slain same-tier Demon Emperors head-on. Before truly coming face-to-face with an unbeatable foe, there was no reason to shrink back before the fight even began! *** After a brief exchange, the three lingered no longer at the Dieyun Sect and resumed their pursuit toward the Seven Caverns Domain. However, unlike their initial breakneck rush, their flight speed had noticeably slackened. This allowed them to conserve magic power and maintain a relatively peak condition to meet any battle that might erupt at a moment's notice. Along the way, they exchanged no further words, instead spreading their divine senses to remain fully alert to their surroundings. Luo Chen felt a twinge of regret now. When setting out, he had been a little careless. Only with both divided souls brought along would he be in his absolute peak form; right now, he fell a step short. Fortunately, mending the fold after losing sheep was not too late—at the very least, he had swung by Baili Qingchuan and brought Black King along. With Black King aiding him, both traveling and fighting were far more manageable. In fact, there was even an unexpected bonus! "Master, eighty jars of spiritual wine in total. Among them, the Five Temples Immortal Brew you mentioned amounts to fifty jars, and most have been cellared for over a millennium. The rest of the spiritual wine jars are labeled with names, clearly none of them ordinary goods." Black King's voice transmitted into his ears. Luo Chen looked composed on the outside, but inwardly he was overjoyed. Back when they reached the Dieyun Sect, he had released Black King to investigate how the demons had shattered the formation. Black King possessed the Spirit Ingestion innate gift and naturally knew how to distinguish magic powers, which was why he could help Luo Chen clearly identify the Demon Emperor magic power auras lingering upon the broken formation bases. And during that investigation, Black King had discovered an underground cellar whose seal had ruptured amid the Dieyun Sect's destruction. Stored within was a vast cache of top-tier spiritual wine! These wines were not the cheap brews the Dieyun Sect put out to appease ordinary guests; they were tribute that even the Mingyuan Sect sent people to collect on a regular basis! The Five Temples Immortal Brew previously mentioned by Elder Lu of Shouyang Mountain was stored there in abundance. Though Luo Chen had not yet inspected the precise quality, going by what Black King described—with vintages exceeding a thousand years—they were bound to be peerless rarities among wines! With the Dieyun Sect's three True Persons slain, its decline was inevitable. Rather than letting these spiritual wines fall into someone else's hands, taking them along to aid his body refinement was far better. *If the chance arises in the future, I can look after the Dieyun Sect's cultivators a little as compensation,* Luo Chen thought, feeling not the slightest guilt. Such was the way of the world. If he didn't take them, others surely would. Possessing priceless treasures without the strength to protect them was nothing more than a child parading through a bustling market with gold—a crime of sheer possession. Taking them himself would spare them from inviting senseless calamity. Like three shooting stars, their escaping lights streaked across the sky, and a day later they crossed into the Seven Caverns Domain, where Seven Caverns Mountain was situated. Unlike the Dieyun Domain, where many small factions had been rushing toward the Dieyun Sect, the situation here was entirely reversed. A multitude of cultivators fled outward like a swarm of locusts, as if some horrifying catastrophe had struck from within. As for what could frighten them so? The answer was self-evident. Before a collapsed peak, the three figures gazed toward the ruins of six other peaks still raging with fierce flames in the distance, falling into silence. Only after a long while did Fenghua Fairy say in a hoarse voice, "If Master Yao were to see this, I fear his heart would turn to ash." These seven hollow, cavernous, serene, and pristine mountains were the very foundation of Seven Caverns Mountain. At its peak, each of the seven mountains boasted a True Person of its own, its renown matching ancient, venerable sects like the Dongyang Sect. Regrettably, with the passage of time, Seven Caverns Mountain gradually waned. Back then, Master Yao—named Yao Ping—had been a core disciple of Red Pill Peak, gifted with outstanding talent and bright prospects on the Grand Dao. In an effort to halt Seven Caverns Mountain's decline, he resolutely devoted himself to the path of alchemy, striving to use the power of pills to restore the sect's former glory. To that end, he was forced to slow his cultivation speed, only managing to break through to the Nascent Soul realm with great difficulty at an advanced age. Yet he had truly pushed himself to the utmost limits of his abilities! Relying on his attainments as a Tier 4 alchemist, internally he cultivated a newly ascended Nascent Soul True Person, while externally forging an extensive network of connections, even prompting powerhouses like Deng Taiyue to willingly do his bidding. Given enough time and his meticulous efforts, Seven Caverns Mountain might well have returned to the ranks of the Eastern Desolation's premier sects. Yet now, all of it lay in ruins! His limelight in the alchemical dao had already been stolen by the newly risen Luo Chen, and now even the seven mountains forming his sect's foundation were gone. Master Yao was already quite old; he would likely never live to see Seven Caverns Mountain rise again before he met his end. "Let's move on to the Tianji Domain!" Jinling said. Without pausing in the slightest, the three did not disturb even the surviving cultivators of Seven Caverns Mountain, hastening relentlessly toward the next domain. Luo Chen was rather interested in the various spiritual herbs Seven Caverns Mountain had amassed over the years, but now was hardly the time. *** The Tianji Domain was not particularly famous in the Eastern Desolation. Yet under another name, none failed to recognize it. The Tianji Chan Sect! Within this domain lay a Nascent Soul upper sect, not of the Daoist tradition, but a Buddhist faction. Its founder, the monk Huiping, was rumored to have been one of the 108 eminent monks of the Hanging Temple in the Western Desert. After departing the Hanging Temple to propagate the Dharma, Monk Huiping came alone to the Eastern Desolation. With the permission of the Mingyuan Sect, he laid claim to a small domain and founded the Tianji Chan Sect. Here, shaven-headed monks could be found everywhere. There were even female cultivators weary of the mortal world who turned to the Buddhist fold, establishing nunneries and becoming nuns. If things had proceeded according to Monk Huiping's vision—gradually promoting Buddhist tenets and spreading the Dharma—he would have gathered a vast multitude of believers across the Eastern Desolation sooner or later. Yet all of that depended on him remaining alive to hold down the region with the prowess of a Great Cultivator! In the battle of Mount Cangwu, Monk Huiping and Ancestor Hehuan were slain on the spot. Without his towering presence, the Tianji Chan Sect—already lacking deep foundation—was left completely leaderless, unable to field even a single Nascent Soul expert. Even though it remained under the protection of the Mingyuan Sect, keeping the domain named Tianji without other major powers muscling in, in reality it had long since degenerated into a cesspool. Many low-level cultivators, coveting the Chan Sect's resources, shaved their heads and feigned taking vows merely to take whatever they could. As for the Dharma? With men's hearts corrupted, what Buddhist heart could there be to speak of? By Jinling and the others' reckoning, a leaderless Tianji Domain would have had no way to withstand the invasion of Demon Emperors and would likely have been turned into a living hell. Yet after actually stepping into the Tianji Domain, what greeted their eyes and ears was a scene of peaceful tranquility, showing no signs that any great battle had taken place. Within a serene grove filled with birdsong and blooming flowers, three figures walked slowly. Spreading their divine senses, they glimpsed the interior of a monastic cell, where a pot-bellied monk had barred his door and was laboriously refining a blood-red monastic blade, while wraiths wailed around it from time to time. Fenghua Fairy withdrew her divine sense and sighed. "Where is the pure sanctuary of the Buddhist path in this? It is plainly a den of depravity!" Jinling sneered. "In this world, strength reigns supreme. When Tianji Huiping had the strength, he could spread his faith and propagate the Dharma. Now that he is dead, why would anyone believe in a Dharma that cannot even protect itself?" Fenghua Fairy nodded. "Fellow Daoist speaks the truth. Our kind seeks longevity by relying solely on the sword in our hands. If one were to follow the Buddhist ideal of being devoid of desire, the very act of cultivating for longevity would be the greatest greed of all. Such a self-contradictory faith is downright laughable!" Having said this, she looked toward the quiet Luo Chen. "Alchemy Grandmaster, wouldn't you agree?" Luo Chen looked up, his expression placid. "I am not adept at debating scripture, nor do I wish to critique the authenticity of beliefs. I only know that whatever aids my Grand Dao of longevity is a good thing." "Your principles are certainly flexible," Jinling said, the corner of his mouth twitching. Then, as if asking casually, he added, "During the great battle of Mount Cangwu, you were present as well. Did you witness the fighting with your own eyes? Just what kind of entity were the three Great Cultivators facing that resulted in two deaths and one injury?" *What kind of entity?* Luo Chen glanced at him, deflecting by claiming his cultivation back then was too meager to witness the true battle. In his heart, however, he could not help but think of the golden flames that had swept across the wilderness, incinerating all creation. Such domineering fire—even the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, which had ascended to Tier 5—still fell far short of it! Fenghua Fairy suggested: "Let us rest for a moment!" "Traveling for days on end has drained our magic power considerably." "Since the Tianji Chan Sect is untouched, it is clear that Jinxiuxian and her band of Demon Emperors have their true sights set on the Tiandu Sect. Battle may well arrive by tomorrow; we cannot afford to be lax." Luo Chen and Jinling had no objections. Concealing their auras, each sought out a spot rich in spiritual energy to begin recovering magic power. Inside a gilded, resplendent monastic room, Luo Chen cast a glance at a Core Formation monk who had been knocked unconscious, then assumed a posture to regulate his breathing. However, he did not genuinely enter meditation. While several days of full-speed travel had indeed consumed magic power, he routinely held a top-grade Hongyuan Pill under his tongue, so it had hardly affected him. This break was merely a respite before the impending battle. Inwardly, he pondered the true intent of Jinxiuxian and her detachment of Demon Emperors. As Fenghua Fairy had said, at first glance their objective appeared to be destroying all Nascent Soul forces along their path, but in truth it was not so. Their true target was surely the Tiandu Sect! The Tiandu Sect was the Eastern Desolation's premier grand sect of formations; even the great array of Lingtian Pass was presided over by its Supreme Elder, Tianduzi. If the Tiandu Sect were destroyed, how much heart would Tianduzi have left to defend Lingtian Pass? And the targets of the other two routes were likely similarly renowned top-tier sects as well. Such as the Void Emperor Sect, or the Dongyang Sect! As long as those objectives were brought down, panic would inevitably grip the cultivators at Lingtian Pass, shattering their resolve for prolonged warfare. "Truth be told, taking advantage of the various sects' experts rushing to reinforce Lingtian Pass and leaving their rear defenses empty to launch surprise raids—rather than resembling our raid on the Spirit Severing Domain back then, it is more like Deng Taiyue seizing the opportunity while the demonic beasts were deployed en masse to sweep into the Million Mountains and plunder resources." "Yet do they not fear the Mingyuan Sect taking action?" Regarding the forthcoming battle, Luo Chen and the others possessed some measure of confidence. This confidence rested not only on their own prowess, but also on Castellan Lingtian's assurance that the sacred ground would intervene. Otherwise, how could they dare embark on a reckless pursuit across ten thousand li? As long as this force of Demon Emperors halted its rampage, with three mid-Nascent Soul cultivators cutting off their retreat from behind and experts from the Mingyuan Sacred Ground closing in from the front, totally wiping them out was not out of the question. At the very least, they could drive these Demon Emperors out. After resting for a short while, Luo Chen quietly rose and stepped outside to regroup with Fenghua Fairy and Jinling, taking to the air toward the Tiandu Domain. Inside the monastic room, the monk stirred and woke, gazing around in sheer terror, yet found nothing. He had no inkling of what had just transpired. Only a pair of pale golden pupils seemed seared into the depths of his soul. "This blessed land may be fine, but anyone can come and go as they please!" "There's no staying in this Chan Sect any longer!" Overcome with fear, the monk packed his belongings and prepared to flee. *** What was a moment of life and death? What was the crumbling of a grand pillar? It was this very hour, this very moment! Within the Tiandu Sect, having received word from their Supreme Elder days ago, the four Nascent Soul True Persons had activated the mountain-protecting grand array at all costs. And what spectacle unfolded when a premier grand sect renowned throughout the world for formations engaged its full might? Radiating outward from Mount Tianzhu, a towering peak piercing the clouds, the light of the mountain-protecting grand array spilled across the land. Everywhere it passed, beams of formation light rose and fell in unbroken succession, calling to and echoing one another. Grand arrays enveloped smaller arrays, while small arrays assembled into grand arrays, stretching beyond the horizon with no end in sight. Boundless spiritual energy was dredged up from the earth veins by the gargantuan formations, throwing the entire Tiandu Domain across tens of thousands of li into a roiling ferment! It was a rare sight in this world! It was also the accrued foundation of the Tiandu Sect across thousands of years! Far more than mere defense, among the myriad formations lay countless slaughter arrays, manned and primed by hundreds of thousands of Tiandu Sect disciples standing in solemn readiness! Until seven figures stepped into the Tiandu Domain. The earth began to quake, and the heavens rumbled as boundless spiritual energy transformed into dreadful killing moves, surging toward the seven Demon Emperors wave after wave like an endless tide. Swatting away a giant wooden trunk with a wave of his hand, a Daoist clad in multi-colored robes with his hair tied in a gourd topknot wore an agonized expression. "Commander, this Tiandu Sect is even more troublesome than we imagined!" Behind him, two other Daoists similarly clad in variegated robes with gourd topknots were likewise furrowing their brows in distress. At their head stood a beautiful woman dressed in palace robes. Her expression remained calm; watching the relentless onslaught surging all around them, she betrayed no hint of surprise. "The Tiandu Sect also took part in the ancient war. Though not widely celebrated, its foundation runs exceedingly deep. Across three thousand years, they have naturally fortified this domain like an iron fortress, impregnable and secure." "You three brothers need not worry about these attacks; we will intercept them for you." "You have only one task: map the flow of this grand formation and find its array core!" "Make haste. Once the Tiandu Sect is destroyed, we can retreat."