Outside, the heavens had overturned and the earth had shattered, yet within the blessed land, time passed in tranquil peace.
Yet the moment those four condemning words—"leading a wolf inside"—were spoken, a chilling, murderous atmosphere spread irrepressibly.
Luo Chen lifted his gaze and said in a heavy voice, "Patriarch, you speak too severely."
Patriarch Heize bared his teeth in a grin, his battered, broken frame radiating an intense aura of danger.
"I would never mistake it!"
"Back then at Mount Cangwu, it was these golden flames. Just now outside, it was these same golden flames. And now... how will you explain yourself?"
Without waiting for Luo Chen to answer, Patriarch Heize gave a sinister chuckle. "I wondered how that demon phoenix could pinpoint Mount Yanfu in an instant and even shatter our formation hub with a single palm strike. It turns out you, a traitor, were acting in concert with her from within."
He cast his eyes around, his gaze falling upon the formation flags.
"With such mastery of formations, how could the world ever guess that Luo Chen, a grandmaster of alchemy, is simultaneously a brilliant grandmaster of formations?"
Luo Chen spoke once more: "Patriarch Heize, you are overthinking."
Patriarch Heize shook his head. "Am I overthinking? If I had thought enough, I wouldn't have watched helplessly as Mount Cangwu flew away back then, let alone invited you—the demon phoenix's hound—into the Mingyuan Sect."
Luo Chen sighed and slowly rose to his feet.
Many things could not be explained, nor was it easy to explain them.
What he displayed outwardly was Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, yet what showed itself at this moment was Nirvana Holy Fire.
Hiding it so deliberately, who would believe he harbored no malicious intent?
Especially now, when the sect had suffered disaster and catastrophic losses.
Yet clearly, everything had begun when this elder took the initiative to provoke Mount Cangwu in the first place!
He could see that Patriarch Heize had never regretted provoking Mount Cangwu; his only regret was letting Mount Cangwu escape instead of capturing it.
He regretted Luo Chen leading Monarch Qixia in, rather than losing at her hands.
With the Nether Abyss Great Array to rely upon, the geographic advantage of Mount Yanfu, and the united might of three Almighty existences and countless Mingyuan cultivators, who in this realm could have forcefully breached the Mingyuan Sect?
Collapse often began from within.
It was Luo Chen, this piece on the board, who had caused an explosion from the core and forced them onto the defensive.
As Luo Chen stood up, majestic surges of magic power roared forth.
His Nascent Soul domain unfolded as well, drawing upon the fire-attribute spiritual qi within the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
Thanks to Monarch Qixia, some of the Nirvana Holy Fire had seeped in earlier, leaving this pocket realm's fire-attribute spiritual qi exceptionally abundant.
Now merging into Luo Chen's domain, a truly terrifying spiritual pressure rippled outward.
Watching this, Patriarch Heize could not help showing a flicker of admiration in his eyes.
"Only at the fifth tier of the Nascent Soul realm, yet your magic power fluctuations rival those of any late-stage Nascent Soul grand cultivator. As for the intensity of this domain's spiritual pressure, even if Chongxuan and Hanyang were still alive, I fear they could not match you."
Yet the more remarkable Luo Chen proved to be, the darker the fury grew on Heize's face.
"Though we knew you were entangled with Mount Cangwu, we still wanted to give you a chance. Time reveals a person's true heart, and we thought that if you performed well, we would aid you in attaining the Soul Formation realm in the future.
"Yet of all the things you shouldn't have done, you chose to betray your master!
"Putting on such airs now—do you actually dare strike at me?"
Luo Chen slowly raised his right hand, pressing his fingers together like a sword as wisps of worldly origin qi gathered at his fingertips.
He calmly asked in return, "Heize, what kind of performance counts as good? What would satisfy you? As for betraying a master, did I join the Mingyuan Sect of my own free will? And lastly, how would this junior dare strike at a Soul Formation Almighty? I seek nothing more than self-preservation."
"Hahaha!"
Hearing those words, Patriarch Heize burst into laughter.
Yet mid-laugh, uncontrollable coughing choked the sound in his throat.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
His steps did not halt; he continued advancing toward Luo Chen, step by step.
His eyes were fixed on Luo Chen's fingers, sensing the true intent of laws.
"That flame is the Nirvana Holy Fire, and this true intent of laws is so strikingly similar to Monarch Qixia's true intent of nirvana. When you said you had received guidance from her, you truly weren't lying."
"I, Luo, have always treated others with sincerity!"
"Even with my spirit treasure destroyed, my mind injured, and having fled Monarch Qixia's pursuit in poor condition, do you truly believe you are my match?"
Luo Chen stared at the black-robed elder's battered body, leaking magic power like a tattered sack.
Yet at the same time, even more worldly origin qi steadily converged toward him.
Luo Chen understood that the patriarch was indulging him in gathering power for a divine ability only because Heize was also recovering his own strength.
To kill Luo Chen might require only a single blow.
Yet how could Luo Chen sit and await death!
Golden light flashed in his eyes. Before the Wither-Bloom Dao Finger could strike, cyan-white flame burst outward with Luo Chen at its center, turning into a fiery surge that swept toward his foe.
Facing this move, Patriarch Heize neither dodged nor evaded; a black halo merely rose from his body.
When the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire crashed against that black halo, it was like ocean waves slamming into solid reef—able to wash past, but unable to break it.
Braving the surging waves of flame, Patriarch Heize advanced step by step, drawing closer and closer to Luo Chen.
"This trump card of yours might pose some threat to any other Soul Formation Almighty, but it was your misfortune to run into me—the greatest counter to fire."
Luo Chen's expression turned grim at once.
On the surface he had been gathering power for a divine ability, but in reality his greatest lethal card was the Tier 5 Wither-Bloom Divine Fire.
Yet just as the old man said, in the absence of an overwhelming disparity in power, fire was countered by water.
This was the most fundamental principle of the five elements' mutual overcoming.
And at this moment, it was demonstrated to utter perfection!
The old man came to a halt one zhang away from Luo Chen.
"It is over!
"After you die, your son will go down to accompany you, and every last member of the Luotian Sect will join you as well.
"Across the entire Eastern Desolation, anyone entangled with you will suffer dearly!
"Tianyi..."
Patriarch Heize thrust forward his clenched right fist, opening his fingers slowly midair.
He murmured under his breath:
"Engenders Water!"
In the next instant!
A black halo of the same origin as Patriarch Heize's surged from Luo Chen's body.
Like a spring of water, it began to gurgle and bubble violently.
And Luo Chen's physical body, as though corroded, began to melt in a flash.
Having done this, Patriarch Heize let out a breath of relief.
It seemed that triggering the divine ability planted on Luo Chen had cost him great effort in his current state.
The gathered worldly origin qi in the surroundings began to slowly recede. He dared not let it linger long, lest his weakened state trigger an inevitable backlash, leaving him assimilated by heaven and earth.
"Everything has ended."
As he spoke, a profound weariness washed over his disillusioned frame.
What did killing Luo Chen change?
It was nothing more than venting his wrath.
The Mingyuan Sect, after all, had suffered a devastating blow.
Post-war reconstruction was inevitable, but whether it could ever return to its peak was another matter entirely.
Furthermore, left so weakened, the Mingyuan Sect could hardly avoid drawing covetous eyes from the Tianyuan Dao Sect.
He lowered his heavy head and looked toward the ground.
"Fortunately, this blessed land remains. At least it preserves a seed for the Mingyuan Sect."
Right at that moment!
A figure stepped out like a ghost from that black halo that dissolved like melting snow, fingers pressed together like a blade, thrusting forward in a single strike.
Within arm's reach, a single man rivaled an entire nation!
Caught off guard, Patriarch Heize instinctively channeled what little magic power he had left, billowing his robes outward like an inflated balloon.
Yet!
The matchlessly sharp tip of the blade pierced straight into his flesh without resistance, tearing through like shears through silk.
Pfft!
His ballooning body deflated.
Patriarch Heize looked up in disbelief, meeting Luo Chen's crimson-and-gold pupils.
"How did you break free of my divine ability's control?"
Luo Chen did not answer him; only madness burned in his eyes.
A sword tip, extending from his fingertips, wreaked frantic destruction within Patriarch Heize's body, plunging through the barrier of his Purple Mansion and piercing his frail, battered Primordial Spirit.
"A Death-Substitute Puppet!"
Thoughts raced through Patriarch Heize's mind; he instantly recognized Luo Chen's ploy.
There was no time to ponder, only a furious roar:
"Get away!"
His surging magic power hurled Luo Chen backward.
Tumbling across the earth like a fallen gourd, Luo Chen smashed through boulders and shattered stone.
Yet even as Luo Chen was repelled, the piercing agony tearing through the patriarch's Primordial Spirit showed not the slightest sign of abating—it grew only more excruciating.
Patriarch Heize looked down and saw a blood sword plunged into his chest.
He reached out with a trembling hand, trying to wrench the blood sword free.
Yet everything was already too late!
A bloodthirsty, mad will burst violently from within the blade, sweeping toward the Primordial Spirit inside his Purple Mansion and swallowing it whole.
It was the Yuantu sword spirit!
Cultivators refined qi and spirit; upon reaching the Soul Formation realm, the Nascent Soul and divine soul fused into one, creating a mighty Primordial Spirit.
In that state, even if the physical body was destroyed, as long as the Primordial Spirit survived, one's Grand Dao remained intact.
Yet once the Primordial Spirit was annihilated, all was lost.
And slaying a Soul Formation Almighty was by no means a first for the Yuantu Sword.
It was just that the last one to die beneath its blade was Ancestor Blood Sea of the Yuan Demon Sect.
This time, it had merely become Patriarch Heize of the Mingyuan Sect.
Having drunk its fill of fresh blood and a Primordial Spirit, the Yuantu sword spirit let out a piercing hum, as if rejoicing, or perhaps letting out a satisfied burp after gorging itself.
Patriarch Heize stood frozen in place, eyes wide open, like a wooden idol or clay sculpture.
"Patriarch!!!"
A shrill, grief-stricken cry abruptly rang out.
Shielded within the circle of fire, Ye Ruoli had previously been suppressed by Luo Chen's domain, unable to speak.
Only now, after this brief yet perilous battle concluded, could she find her voice.
She could not believe, nor was she willing to believe, that the revered sect patriarch had died right before her eyes, his aura utterly extinguished.
In the distance.
A tall figure struggled out from the rubble.
Under Ye Ruoli's terrified gaze, he walked toward Patriarch Heize, step by step.
"Hall Master Alchemy Saint, don't!"
"The patriarch cannot die!"
Luo Chen came to a halt, traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, his aura violently disarrayed.
"If he didn't die, I would."
Hearing this, the young woman stumbled, nearly touching the ring of fire beside her; fortunately, Luo Lingxi caught her hand.
"Sister Ruoli, Father had no choice."
As Luo Lingxi spoke, Patriarch Heize's words before attempting to kill Luo Chen echoed in his mind.
Everyone connected to Luo Chen would die!
Father was not in the wrong!
Ye Ruoli was pale, her lips trembling uncontrollably. "But... but..."
There were no "buts."
Luo Chen walked up to Patriarch Heize and reached out to draw the sword.
As early as the battle in the Blade Dominance Domain, he had realized the bloodthirsty nature of the Yuantu sword spirit.
Later, during the great clash in the Medicine King Domain, he had paid the price of his own origin blood to undo the Yuantu Sword's third seal, releasing the sword spirit completely.
Yet against Qingshuang, who arrived afterward, the Yuantu sword spirit had found no purchase.
Qingshuang wielded spatial divine abilities with such profound mastery that the Yuantu Sword had found no opening to strike her down.
Yet this time!
This was an unprecedented, flawless opportunity!
A severely wounded Soul Formation Almighty, within inches of reach.
To land this single thrust, he had used the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, the Death-Substitute Puppet, and even the divine ability Wither-Bloom Dao Finger as feints, ultimately yielding this unexpected triumph.
And now...
Luo Chen gripped the hilt, slowly drawing it out inch by inch.
From within, the sword spirit broadcast frenzied thoughts, as though eager to slaughter all existence.
As the blade slid free, boundless blood light spilled outward like bolts of red silk, carving ravines of varying depths across the earth.
Luo Chen's face hardened with fierce resolve. "Now that you have acknowledged me as master, do you still dare attempt a backlash?"
As he spoke, Wither-Bloom Divine Fire directly engulfed the Yuantu Sword.
His stance declared that at the slightest disobedience, he would refine the sword on the spot.
Under the threat of the Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, the Yuantu sword spirit vibrated unwillingly a few times before finally submitting.
The stone weighing on Luo Chen's heart finally lifted.
This was the flaw of nurturing the Yuantu Sword within the acupoints of his arm.
The connection with his mind was not intimate enough, and the blade possessed too strong an independent consciousness.
Unlike the Wither-Bloom fire spirit, which willingly submitted to Luo Chen's command even after reaching Tier 5, requiring only vast amounts of magic power.
Having withdrawn the Yuantu Sword, Luo Chen held it before him, looking at the gleaming blade with satisfaction in his eyes.
Once known across Lengguang Island as the God-Slashing Blood Sword, it had grown ever more peerless in power.
Once it digested Patriarch Heize's Primordial Spirit, it might take that final step, shedding the shackles of a pseudo-spirit treasure to become a true spirit treasure.
When that day came, Luo Chen would possess a lethal weapon of slaughter truly his own!
"Go and recuperate well!"
With a flash of bloody light, the Yuantu Sword vanished.
And Patriarch Heize's shell collapsed heavily to the ground, kicking up a plume of dust.
Not far away, sobbing could be heard.
Ye Ruoli wept between broken sobs: "Why... why..."
She did not understand why everything had changed.
In a single night, a flourishing sect had been swallowed by the flames of war.
And the patriarch she revered above all had fallen beneath the blade of Hall Master Alchemy Saint.
For one raised in the Mingyuan Sect from childhood under the sheltering wings of her clan elders, the shock was simply too overwhelming.
Luo Chen glanced over, meeting Ye Ruoli's eyes.
A flash of venomous malice flickered across them.
Luo Chen acted as if he had seen nothing, lowering his gaze to Patriarch Heize's corpse.
Why?
Perhaps simply because the man hadn't respected him enough?
To the lofty Almighties of the Mingyuan Sect, all cultivators across the Eastern Desolation were playthings to take from at will, ordered about as they pleased.
Had he led the wolf into the house?
No!
They had simply brought the demon phoenix upon themselves.
A mere Nascent Soul True Person like him was nothing more than a piece to be moved at their whim before a Soul Formation Almighty.
"A True Person is not true, and an Almighty is not almighty. If one wishes for carefree longevity, there is only one path: to become an immortal."
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen released a wisp of Nirvana Holy Fire, reducing Patriarch Heize's corpse to ash.
This way, even if the powerhouses of the Mingyuan Sect inquired, he could claim the patriarch was slain by Monarch Qixia.
In truth, Patriarch Heize's fate today was indeed courtesy of Monarch Qixia.
Luo Chen's sword strike was merely the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Having done all this, Luo Chen flicked his sleeve toward the rear.
Thud!
Luo Lingxi stared blankly as the woman before him slumped to the ground at his side, the warmth of her hand still lingering in his grasp.
He looked at the fallen, lifeless Ye Ruoli, then turned dazedly toward the tall man whose back was turned to him.
"Father, why?"
"That is not a question you should ask."
Luo Chen did not turn to look at his son. He merely gave his left shoulder a shake, and a little dragon flew out, circling before him.
"Protect Lingxi. I will return shortly."
"Yes, Master!" Black King answered with rare promptness, fear shining in his eyes.
Luo Chen reached out to summon the token from the ground. Channelling magic power into it, he was wrapped in clouds and mist, vanishing from the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
Within the vast Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, silence reigned.
Only the black dragon lay coiled on the ground; only the golden ring of fire burned slowly.
Within it, the boy sat slumped, keeping vigil over the woman's steadily cooling shell.
Chapter 911