From Luotian to Lingtian, and then to Shangyou—it sounded like a lengthy trek, yet in a daze, it passed in mere moments.
In the brief time the young boy kept his eyes closed, heaven and earth had already shifted.
"You may open your eyes now."
A gentle voice sounded beside his ear, and Luo Lingxi opened his eyes.
Looking out, he saw cultivators clad in black robes with grim, murderous expressions staring directly at them.
Subconsciously, he tightened his grip on the large hand holding his own.
"It is fine."
In the next breath, those cultivators bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle Ye!"
Castellan Lingtian waved with a smile and pointed toward Luo Chen, who had just stepped out of the teleportation array.
"This is the renowned Alchemy Grandmaster of the Eastern Desolation, who in the future will also be the Alchemy Grandmaster of our Mingyuan Sect."
Startled, the cultivators turned toward Luo Chen and bowed respectfully once more.
"Greetings, Alchemy Grandmaster!"
With this bow, Luo Lingxi felt the immense pressure bearing down from their gazes vanish into thin air.
He tilted his head back to look at his youthful father, whose expression remained entirely calm, as though he had long grown accustomed to such scenes.
Luo Chen merely gave a slight nod, offering no further words.
Seeing this, Castellan Lingtian invited, "Let us be on our way. We shall stay in Shangyou City for half a day. Once the sect arranges a ferryman, we can enter Mingyuan."
Holding Luo Lingxi's hand, Luo Chen walked all the way out of this heavily guarded teleportation hall.
When he glanced back, he happened to meet several sweeping spiritual senses probing in their direction.
Tracing the spiritual senses back to their origins, Luo Chen quickly identified their sources and nodded slightly to himself.
"Truly worthy of a sacred land!"
"A mere teleportation hall is not only garrisoned around the clock by a host of Core Formation cultivators, but is even overseen by three Nascent Soul True Persons."
Castellan Lingtian chuckled. "The teleportation hall may be a small matter, but the gateway to Mingyuan is of paramount importance. Were we to lose Shangyou City, enemies could bottle up the Mingyuan Sect right at our front door. Thus, this much manpower must be spared. Furthermore, this is only during peacetime. Had it been a decade or two ago during the war between humans and demons, there would have been far more Mingyuan True Persons in Shangyou City."
Luo Chen agreed that this made eminent sense.
A sect's gateway could brook no error.
Take the Yuan Demon Sect, for instance. Though he had never visited their true mountain gate, the Arctic Yama Heavens, he had viewed their gateway, Taohai Immortal City, from afar.
At that time, the colossal immortal city had already been reduced to ruins.
Yet upon the foundation of those ruins, grandmasters of the Dao of Formations had laid down countless arrays, sealing the Arctic Yama Heavens tight.
As a result, the Northern Sea demon army had been trapped inside the Yuan Demon Sect for a whole century.
Had the Yuan Demon Sect not lost Taohai Immortal City back then, could they have avoided being trapped and battered at their own gates?
And had the Northern Sea demons deployed forces to secure Taohai Immortal City before invading, would they have escaped much sooner?
There were no "what-ifs" to such questions.
Led warmly by Castellan Lingtian, Luo Chen took in the bustling, prosperous sights of Shangyou City at a leisurely pace.
The three figures gradually faded into the crowd.
Meanwhile, in the palace complex near the teleportation hall, the three spiritual senses that had probed earlier slowly retreated to their masters.
"What keen divine sense perception, and what an immense soul foundation! Is that the Luo Chen Senior Brother Chongxuan spoke of, who forced back a Grand Demon Emperor with a single finger?"
"Even after shielding a young boy at the end of the teleportation, why could I not fathom the depths of his cultivation realm despite focusing my full attention?"
"The Alchemy Grandmaster has arrived. Make haste and inform the family head!"
***
Within the Mingyuan Sacred Land.
On a secluded islet, the glow of a formation suddenly flared up, barring a visitor from entering directly.
A gentle, graceful woman stepped out of the alchemy chamber with a displeased expression and summoned her disciple.
"Did I not say that this century is a crucial juncture in my alchemical research, and that I would receive no visitors? Which fellow disciple is so discourteous as to force their way onto my Liuyu Island?"
The disciple replied in trepidation, "Reporting to Master, it is Martial Uncle Lu!"
The woman frowned, murmuring in a low voice, "Senior Brother Lu Chun?"
Right at that moment, a figure had already appeared in the distance, flying toward them deceptively fast.
"Junior Sister Chu, working behind closed doors will yield nothing. Why be so unwelcoming to your senior brother?"
Chu Yu took a deep breath, cast a Cleansing Art upon herself to clear away the complex alchemical vapors clinging to her, and quietly waited for the arrival.
With a few flashes, the figure crossed a hundred li and touched down before Chu Yu.
His posture was dashing, his bearing composed.
Chu Yu said flatly, "Senior Brother's escape art is exquisite, disregarding the arrays of my Liuyu Island. It seems your cultivation has advanced yet again!"
Lu Chun laughed heartily, his fourth-tier Nascent Soul realm laid bare without reservation.
He had indeed broken through the early Nascent Soul stage, which counted as substantial progress.
Yet...
"Rather than praising my advancement in cultivation, I would much prefer you to praise my alchemical accomplishments, Junior Sister."
Chu Yu curled the corners of her lips. "Unless one breaks through to Soul Formation, even the late Nascent Soul stage makes little difference compared to early Nascent Soul for an alchemist like us."
"Not so!"
Lu Chun clearly held a different view.
"Have you not noticed, Junior Sister, that the Alchemy Saint Hall tests more than just our alchemical skill—it also places demands on one's cultivation realm?"
Chu Yu sneered. "So is that why, after mastering the recipes for only three Tier 4 pills and earning the title of Lesser Grandmaster, you ceased dedicating yourself to research and shifted your focus entirely to cultivation?"
Lu Chun's face flushed slightly, yet he made no hypocritical attempt to hide it.
He admitted openly, "That was indeed my thought."
Chu Yu shook her head. "Then you have strayed down the wrong path. If profound cultivation and a superficial dabbling in alchemy were enough to claim the Alchemy Saint Legacy, would the three ancestors have begrudged spending a bit of time trying their hand at concocting pills and brewing elixirs?"
Lu Chun opened his mouth to retort, but found no words.
For Soul Formation figures, their lifespans far exceeded ordinary cultivators.
With their mighty souls and profound dharmic powers, should they wish to dabble in any cultivation art, spending a bit of time and effort would invariably bring modest success.
Reaching the pinnacle of divine perfection might be difficult, but achieving the Lesser Grandmaster level capable of founding a school was by no means out of reach.
His ambition to carve out a new path by raising his cultivation realm to compensate for deficiencies in alchemy was an utter laughingstock when compared to them.
Had he truly strayed down the wrong path?
This thought echoed repeatedly in the mind of Lu Chun, who had only recently broken through, causing his face to turn alternating shades of pale and red, and his dharmic fluctuations grew erratic.
Chu Yu frowned and barked softly, "Senior Brother!"
Startled back to his senses, Lu Chun immediately realized his slip and stammered, "Junior Sister, I..."
Chu Yu sighed, showing no intention of mocking him.
Compared to his discourtesy in forcing his way onto the island, what she saw more clearly was their close relationship.
Her Chu family was hardly a prominent clan in the Mingyuan Sect. Prior to the emergence of their unwed Alchemy Saint ancestor, they had produced only a single forebear at the early Nascent Soul stage.
Only when the Alchemy Saint Chu Yan burst onto the scene did the Chu family begin to prosper.
Yet following Ancestor Chu Yan's departure, the Chu family—having developed for fewer than several centuries—faced suppression from other factions within the sect.
That she, an alchemical grandmaster, was relegated to small Liuyu Island spoke volumes about the Chu family's present dire straits.
And over all these years, the only clan to extend goodwill toward the Chu family was the Lu family!
Though many claimed the Lu family did so merely to steal the Chu family's alchemical arts—and indeed had groomed Lu Chun into a Lesser Grandmaster through those arts—it was still a sorrow to possess precious resources while others dared not come near.
Senior Brother Lu Chun's genuine demeanor before her was an important reason Chu Yu tolerated his minor discourtesies.
"Senior Brother, tell me why you came."
With this diversion, Lu Chun no longer dwelled on his earlier misgivings, burying them deep in his heart as he explained to Chu Yu:
"The Alchemy Grandmaster is entering Mingyuan!"
"The Alchemy Grandmaster?" Chu Yu looked bewildered at first, but her eyes brightened immediately. "That Alchemy Grandmaster?"
The myriad cultivation arts all connected to the Great Dao.
Those who attained the sublime were revered as saints; those who founded a school were hailed as grandmasters; and those who achieved true mastery were titled masters.
Yet these designations were usually unspoken acknowledgments; rare was anyone who referred to themselves in such fashion—unless universally recognized by the world! Just like Ancestor Chu Yan's title of Alchemy Saint.
Beneath the Alchemy Saint, alchemist grandmasters were by no means scarce in the contemporary world.
Within the Mingyuan Sect, Tianyuan Dao Sect, Yuan Demon Sect... and even among the demon race, there were capable alchemists.
Yet only Luo Chen claimed the title of "Alchemy Grandmaster" all to himself, an act of sheer audacity.
Lu Chun nodded. "None other than Luo Chen!"
Chu Yu thought for a moment and said as if it were only natural, "Counting the days, it is indeed time for him to arrive. What is there to be surprised about?"
"Naturally, that is not strange. But Junior Sister, you must realize he comes here to take charge of the Alchemy Saint Hall. And the prerequisite for taking charge of the Alchemy Saint Hall is acquiring the Alchemy Saint Legacy. Junior Sister..."
Before he could finish, he was cut off by the woman's ringing voice: "No! The Alchemy Saint Legacy belongs to me!"
The woman, who had always maintained a gentle demeanor, displayed an uncompromising resolve at this moment.
To others, the Alchemy Saint Legacy was merely an inheritance.
But to her, acquiring it was the remedy to restore the Chu family's glory and resolve the endless suspicion from sect cultivators that had plagued them for centuries.
And it was the only remedy!
Lu Chun nodded in agreement. "The Alchemy Saint Legacy could belong to you, or to me; even if Chen Mozi or Xin Yisheng were to obtain it, I could pinch my nose and accept it, for they have served the Mingyuan Sect for centuries. But Luo Chen? On what grounds?"
"He has rendered no service to our sect, nor has he ever lifted a finger for us. His alchemical skills are merely praised in the hearsay of others, without proven mettle."
"If such a petty upstart steals the Alchemy Saint Legacy, I fear the entire world will mock our Mingyuan for having no true talent!"
Chu Yu's expression turned chilly; she agreed with half of what her senior brother said, and disagreed with the other half.
Great fame is never entirely unearned; Luo Chen could not possibly be as worthless as described.
Yet the matter of the legacy could not be permitted to fall into an outsider's hands!
Lu Chun continued indignantly, "Though we both think so, we cannot overturn the ancestors' decree. Who knows what the ancestors are thinking, to actually plan on promising the Alchemy Saint Hall to a rogue of wild origins like Luo Chen rather than to us, who have painstakingly studied the alchemical path for so many years."
"I care not what inside story lies behind this, but for Luo Chen to take charge of the Alchemy Saint Hall without a hitch is utterly impossible!"
Chu Yu looked at Lu Chun. "Can you defy the ancestors' decree, Senior Brother? Besides, the prerequisite for presiding over the Alchemy Saint Hall is obtaining the legacy and gaining my ancestor's recognition. In the end, a winner must be decided through alchemy."
"That is merely the final hurdle!" Lu Chun glanced at the woman and declared with supreme confidence, "Before that, he must reach the Alchemy Saint Hall first."
"Hmm?"
"Regardless of whether he possesses real ability, his towering fame and soaring momentum cannot be faked. It was precisely on the strength of this reputation that the ancestors agreed to open the centennial Alchemy Saint Hall legacy trial early for him, disrupting our preparations. Today, I shall give him a sharp wake-up call to blunt his edge! When that happens, the sect's powerhouses will see past the halo above his head, and the centennial legacy trial might not be opened in such haste." Lu Chun spoke with absolute confidence, as if everything lay firmly within his grasp.
Chu Yu furrowed her brow slightly. "Yet these are ultimately underhanded tricks outside the alchemical path."
"Methods are neither noble nor base; results alone matter!"
Dharmic power surged around Lu Chun as he prepared to depart.
"Junior Sister, care to accompany me and watch a fine show of sinking into Mingyuan?"
Chu Yu intended to refuse, but another voice in her mind kept whispering temptations to her.
Why did her ancestor distrust her own descendants, preferring instead to place faith in an outright stranger?
And just what sort of person was this Luo Chen?
In the end, she followed Lu Chun away from Liuyu Island, heading toward the shores of Mingyuan.
Upon arriving, her mind remained in turmoil.
Part of her hoped he would prove utterly pathetic, an empty fraud whose unworthiness would ensure the Alchemy Saint Legacy stayed within the clan; yet another part hoped he possessed genuine prowess and grand capability, proving that her ancestor had not misjudged him.
While she was torn in conflict, Lu Chun whispered beside her:
"Chen Mozi and Xin Yisheng have come as well!"
***
Almost every sacred land possessed a natural barrier!
This was no mere rumor, but established fact.
For the five great sacred lands of the Mountain Sea Realm had slaughtered their way through the demon race, seizing spiritual mountains and lands to establish their gates.
To guard against demon counterattacks, they had specifically chosen perils endowed with natural barriers when initially founding their sects.
The Arctic Yama Heavens of the Northern Sea's Yuan Demon Sect, the Life and Death Gate of the Southern Border's Life and Death Gate, the Verdant Mist Screen of the Western Desert's Hanging Temple, and the Nether Abyss of the Eastern Desolation's Mingyuan Sect!
This was Luo Chen's first time facing the Nether Abyss directly!
A pitch-black chasm—limitless in span, unfathomable in depth, its waters showing no sign of motion—lay sprawled beneath his feet.
It resembled the gaping maw of some colossal beast, waiting at any moment for living beings to wander blindly into its depths before swallowing them whole.
Even with the confidence born of his recent breakthroughs in strength, he dared not force his way into it.
He felt only that the danger lurking within was by no means inferior to the Sunken Sea.
"What lurks inside?"
Even as vigilance rose within him, Luo Chen shifted his attention toward the sky above.
Golden light flickered in his eyes.
Only after a good while did he withdraw his gaze, lingering fear in his heart.
"Such an aerial restriction formation is unheard of and unseen!"
Beside him, Castellan Lingtian wore a proud, honored expression as he praised it profusely: "This grand formation was established by the joint efforts of the Mingyuan founding patriarchs, anchored upon Mingyuan's Tier 5 spirit vein as its foundation and the Nether Abyss as its formation eye. It is on par with Severing Heaven and Earth at Central Plains' Heaven and Earth Peak; even Soul Formation mighty figures would not dare fly across it."
"Not only that, over the three millennia since the ancient era, our sect's mighty figures have continuously repaired and supplemented it, integrating numerous slaughter formations."
"Most notably, a thousand years ago, Patriarch Bai Ye integrated his proudest technique, the Nine Heavens Universal Primordial Grand Thunder Art, into the array. Should anyone attempt to force their way through, it will provoke the wrath of the nine heavens and summon heavenly thunder tribulations, blasting intruders into fine powder."
Talk of formation foundations and formation eyes was mere general phrasing, offering no glimpse into the array's true workings.
Yet utilizing human power to summon the heavenly thunder tribulation was a feat capable of striking terror into any Nascent Soul cultivator who had weathered a tribulation.
Luo Chen recalled his own experience in the Medicine King Domain, using a Shapeshifting Thunder Beast to summon a heavenly tribulation; compared to this, his past deed seemed like child's play.
He also thought of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks that had stood for a thousand years in the Jade Cauldron Domain—how over a millennium, the nine peaks had never vanished, but crackled ceaselessly with thunder, possessing power capable of wiping out all living things.
Luo Chen blinked. "Patriarch Bai Ye? Could he be the one in the Jade Cauldron Domain who..."
Castellan Lingtian's expression dimmed. Just as he was about to explain, down within the Nether Abyss, land suddenly heaved.
Luo Lingxi grasped Luo Chen's large hand, his eyes shining as he pointed into the abyss:
"A monster!"
Chapter 894