Outside, turmoil raged, yet the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land remained as tranquil as ever.
A figure streaked across the sky, halted abruptly, and landed beside a lake.
The white-robed man surveyed his surroundings with suspicion in his eyes.
A golden gleam flashed across his pupils, and his brow twitched slightly in surprise.
With a slight flick of his fingertips, he cast incantation seals into empty air. Array flags flew from his sleeves one after another, sinking into the lake.
At his actions, ripples began to spread across the tranquil lake surface.
Once all preparations were complete, the white-robed man gave a low shout:
"Open!"
The next moment, the calm lake surface that mirrored the blue sky and white clouds slowly revealed its true appearance.
Black lotus seedpods came into view, one after another.
They bloomed across the crystal-clear water, bathed in vapor, breathing in and exhaling incomparably pure water-attribute spiritual qi.
As if sensing an outsider, the black lotus seedpods dipped beneath the surface in unison.
Brimming with spirituality!
Beholding this sight, Luo Chen showed a look of pleasant surprise.
"Obsidian Lotus Seedpods!"
"To think such high-grade spirit medicines exist in this realm!"
"No wonder when I passed by just now, I felt the ambient spiritual qi here was different from everywhere else."
The Obsidian Lotus Seedpod was a high-grade spirit medicine recorded in the seventy-two volumes of alchemy manuals by Demonic Lord Liantian.
Where it grew, no filth could exist.
It took in and exhaled spiritual qi, discarding impurities and refining essence.
It could be said that wherever such a spirit medicine grew, the surrounding area would naturally be nurtured into a spiritual land.
Yet its true purpose was as an ingredient in medicine, possessing immense nourishing effects for a cultivator's Nascent Soul. It could consolidate a cultivator's Nascent Soul, shielding it from external demons.
Many water-path Soul Formation experts would even cultivate this medicinal ingredient to temper their Primordial Spirits.
"The token earlier made no mention of this herb, did it?"
Luo Chen murmured to himself, puzzled why the Alchemy Saint would conceal something like this.
Then, a possibility gradually dawned on him.
The medicinal herbs specifically noted by the Alchemy Saint were likely left behind by her personally.
Meanwhile, these concealed high-grade spirit medicines were probably cultivated specifically for someone else.
As an inheritor who had received the Alchemy Saint's insights, taking what she had left was only natural, but things entrusted here by others were another matter entirely.
"Then who is the true owner of these Obsidian Lotus Seedpods?"
The answer was self-evident.
In the entire Mingyuan Sect, only those three founding ancestors possessed enough standing to make Alchemy Saint Chu Yan go through the immense effort of arranging a spiritual land and erecting arrays solely to nurture medicinal herbs for them.
Among the three mighty experts, Ancestor Yuming primarily practiced wind-path cultivation arts.
Therefore, the owner of these Obsidian Lotus Seedpods could only be Ancestor Tianyuan or Heize.
Luo Chen leaned toward the latter.
Ancestor Tianyuan had attained Soul Formation earlier, his Primordial Spirit already stable and firm.
Only Ancestor Heize had reached Soul Formation relatively recently; his Primordial Spirit was not yet strong enough and required external assistance.
This was evident enough from how the Yuantu Sword had devoured his Primordial Spirit.
Luo Chen looked once more at the seemingly empty lake surface and retrieved the array flags he had planted.
Without any disruption, the formation concealing this area activated once more.
Luo Chen's sharp eyes remained fixed on the lake until, after a long while, those highly sentient black lotus seedpods surfaced once again.
He turned and walked away!
It was not that he had no way of taking these Obsidian Lotus Seedpods, nor that he lacked relevant pill recipes, but rather that the time was not yet right to use them.
Though Luo Chen frequently borrowed from his future to boost his short-term strength, he usually did so only when forced by circumstance.
By nature, he was someone who planned for the long term.
It was just that most of the time, circumstances compelled him to focus on the immediate present.
Now that no one was forcing his hand, and this Alchemy Saint Blessed Land was quite safe, why waste these Obsidian Lotus Seedpods?
When he attained Soul Formation in the future, refining a batch of pills to stabilize his Primordial Spirit would save him several centuries of painstaking effort!
That would be the best time to use them.
Luo Chen drove his escape light, roving through the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land—a place neither small, nor exceedingly large for a cultivator of his caliber.
Following the guidance on the token, Luo Chen located the various spiritual plots where herbs were grown.
In particular, he found the place where the Vast Spirit Grass required for his cultivation grew.
They thrived in prime condition, boasting considerable age—the highest quality batch of Vast Spirit Grass Luo Chen had ever seen.
This time, Luo Chen harvested them without hesitation!
Refining pills with these would surely yield a large haul of top-grade and even supreme-grade Hongyuan Pills, greatly accelerating his cultivation efficiency.
Considering that he would soon have to force his way across the Netherworld Abyss, he could afford no shortcomings in his mana.
Naturally, Luo Chen would not let this opportunity go to waste.
Of course, he also left seed stock for the nursery, replanting the scattered, immature Vast Spirit Grass seedlings.
Luo Chen was reasonably well-versed in the craft of a spirit plant cultivator.
After harvesting the Vast Spirit Grass, Luo Chen carried a medicinal basket larger than himself and headed back toward his cave dwelling.
At this moment, Luo Chen missed the Penglai Octagonal Pavilion.
Freshly harvested Vast Spirit Grass was not suited to being stored inside a storage ring; only a spatial storage treasure at the True Artifact grade like the Penglai Octagonal Pavilion, which could commune with heaven and earth's spiritual qi, would not diminish the herbs' potency.
"I really must make a trip back to the Luotian Sect."
***
Deep in a great mountain range, a colossal dragon several hundred zhang long glided slowly.
Seeming to sense an aura, it slithered up along the mountain ridge to a peak and said "gently" to a young boy, "Little Master, Master has returned."
Luo Lingxi stopped his movements and looked into the distance in the direction Black King indicated.
Though he had not cultivated immortal methods, Luo Lingxi's eyesight far surpassed that of an ordinary mortal now.
This was credited to Luo Chen frequently administering diluted Jade Sovereign Clear Pupil Liquid to him.
In his sight, his youthful-looking father carried a medicine basket on his back, walking back in the glow of the setting sun like an old farmer returning from hard labor in the fields.
Delight showed on his face, but he pursed his lips and reined in his smile, throwing himself back into a boxing routine.
The punches whipped up gusting wind, executed with clear discipline and precision.
Luo Chen moved with tremendous speed; his brief pause earlier had only been to observe the Nirvana Holy Fire's feeding process.
Upon his return, seeing his son's movements, he could not help but frown.
"Did you teach him that?"
His eyes were on Luo Lingxi, but the question was directed at Black King.
His tone was calm, yet carried an undertone of reprimand.
Black King drew in his neck. "I taught him."
Luo Lingxi stopped his movements and nervously explained, "Black King saw how exhausting it was for me to hike up and down the mountain, so he taught me this crude climbing and traversing method. It's not some profound cultivation technique."
Luo Chen's lips twitched. This was no crude climbing technique.
It contained elements of the body-refining essentials he had practiced back at the eight-hundred-li Penghu Lake under the Myriad Immortals Association, merely stripped of the requirement for mana.
If Luo Lingxi possessed mighty physical power and executed this technique, the explosive force unleashed would likely be unimaginable.
Luo Chen glanced at Black King and said softly, "You've put thought into this."
It was unclear whether he was praising Black King for thoughtfully modifying his technique or noting that the dragon had deliberately taught it to Luo Lingxi.
The single remark left Black King feeling quite nervous.
Yet Luo Chen had already carried the medicine basket into the cave dwelling, leaving only a sentence behind: "Come back early for dinner."
Once he was gone, both the dragon and the boy let out a breath of relief.
Luo Lingxi smiled. "Big Black, see? I told you Father wouldn't scold you."
Black King sighed helplessly. "You don't understand. There are many things your father doesn't say out loud, but keeps in his heart. Who knows if he'll reprimand me later down the road? From now on, you'd better not beg me to teach you anything."
Luo Lingxi's eyelashes fluttered, a trace of despondence flickering in his lively eyes.
His father truly was someone who never showed joy or anger on his face.
Amid the somber atmosphere, Black King went down the mountain, and the boy resumed practicing the boxing routine.
It truly was more than just a technique for climbing and traversing.
With every punch and kick, wind roared around him. Though the youth possessed only an ordinary mortal physique, he struck with enough force to kick up sand and rocks, a startling display.
Only when he completed the entire routine did a voice call out from afar, prompting him to jog back into the cave dwelling.
"Dinner's ready."
Luo Chen said simply, then took a seat on a chair.
On the table sat a single, simple dish—just stir-fried wild greens, the most ordinary kind found in the blessed land—and even the grain in their bowls was plain millet.
It was rather bland.
Yet there was no other way.
Luo Lingxi was merely a mortal; he could not handle potent tonics, nor could he take Fasting Pills in excess. Thus, Luo Chen had to personally cook meals for him from time to time.
Such chores were not troublesome for Luo Chen.
Across two lifetimes, he had spent most of his days alone; cooking was something he was thoroughly accustomed to.
It was only during these three hundred years of cultivation that he had neglected the craft.
Father and son quietly ate their dinner in the bright cave dwelling.
A mouthful of greens, a mouthful of rice.
Because there was only one dish and the boy ate voraciously, their chopsticks occasionally clicked against each other.
After polishing off three bowls of rice in one go, the boy set down his bamboo chopsticks.
"Father, I'm full."
Luo Chen gave an acknowledging hum. "Once you're full, go wash up and sleep. Don't stay up too late reading the travelogues I wrote."
Luo Lingxi nodded obediently, but before leaving, he hesitated and said, "Actually, Father, you don't need to cook for me every day. It takes too much time away from your cultivation. I can cook for myself, and Black King will help me find ingredients."
Luo Chen stopped his chopsticks mid-reach and looked at Luo Lingxi.
The boy bit his lip and insisted, "I'm already sixteen. I'm grown up!"
In the ensuing silence, Luo Chen merely nodded.
"Then cook for yourself. When I have free time, I will cook for you."
Relieved of a heavy burden, Luo Lingxi returned to his room.
After he left, Luo Chen fell into a slight daze.
Sixteen already?
That little dumpling of flesh from before had now grown into an adult.
Aside from being slightly shorter than himself, he was healthy in every regard.
This also meant nearly six years had passed since their arrival at the Mingyuan Sect, and they had spent a full year inside the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
In the past, he had never realized how quickly time slipped away.
Often, a single deep secluded retreat or a breakthrough would consume years or even decades.
Yet seeing a child grow before his very eyes made the passage of time feel so palpable.
"Perhaps, as Lingxi said, I truly cannot keep delaying."
Luo Chen cleared the table and returned to his room.
He did not begin cultivating immediately. Instead, he processed the freshly harvested batch of Vast Spirit Grass for use in pill refinement over the coming days.
Only when dawn broke did he sit down to meditate and cultivate his qi.
***
Across the mountain wilderness, the youth bounded like a tiger or leopard.
Spotting a tall tree, he charged straight up its trunk, gauged his direction, and dived like an eagle into a ravine.
Before long, he emerged clutching a hare.
"Big Black, see? I told you, even without you releasing your aura to suppress these beasts, I can catch them on my own!"
Black King slowly slithered out.
The live hare took a single glance at him and fainted dead away.
Black King sighed helplessly. "Too much trouble."
Luo Lingxi stuck to his view. "It's no trouble at all. In the future, I'll hunt tigers and leopards, and shoot down flying birds."
Black King asked curiously, "Is this a way for you to train yourself?"
Luo Lingxi nodded instinctively, then shook his head. "No. It's just that Father has stir-fried nothing but greens for a whole year. It's too bland."
Black King was stunned.
It was natural for cultivators to prefer light, bland food.
Even when they consumed meat, it was mostly for the abundant spiritual qi contained within monster beast meat.
Had Master somewhat overlooked his son's dietary desires?
Suddenly, Black King lifted his head and gazed into the distance.
"What is it?" Luo Lingxi asked curiously.
Black King said in a somewhat unnerved tone, "Master's new source true fire seems to be fully formed."
Luo Lingxi unconsciously tightened his grip on the hare's ears.
Had Father mastered another grand divine ability?
Even as powerful as he was, he was constantly improving, never resting!
Could his own insignificant training ever hope to keep pace with his father's footsteps?
***
Amid a volcano churning with molten magma, Luo Chen stood atop the peak, letting the heat waves wash over his face.
His gaze burned intently as he watched a golden firebird soaring with spread wings through the sea of magma.
The more he looked, the stronger his sense of deja vu became.
"A phoenix!"
"How similar it is to the dharma idol Monarch Qixia briefly revealed when she stormed Mount Yanfu!"
"Was I right or wrong to let the fire spirit devour the Nirvana Holy Fire she left behind?"
As he murmured, the golden firebird flew back. After circling Luo Chen a few times, it shrank in size and perched affectionately upon his shoulder, preening its golden fiery plumage with its sharp beak.
Luo Chen could offer no definitive answer to his doubts.
Yet the fire spirit's affectionate behavior seemed an answer in itself.
All he knew was that he could now attempt to leave the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land and head toward the Eastern Desolation cultivation world.
***
That evening, father and son gathered at the dining table once more.
Only this time, unlike their usual single dish, there was also a bowl of soup and a dish of rabbit meat stir-fried with heavy oil and salt.
"Father, try my cooking?" Luo Lingxi offered with a hint of boastful pride.
Luo Chen took a couple of bites and nodded with a smile.
"Very good. The flavor is almost catching up to your mother's cooking."
"Really?" Luo Lingxi beamed at his father's approval, but soon his expression dimmed. "It's been a long time since I last saw Mother."
Luo Chen set down his chopsticks and said solemnly, "Soon, you will see her."
Luo Lingxi asked in surprise, "Are we going out?"
Luo Chen shook his head gently. "I am going out."
The boy froze.
Luo Chen did not explain, only instructing, "I will leave Black King behind. You two wait for me here—a few months at the shortest, several years at the longest. If I don't... I will return."
With that, he walked out of the hall.
Luo Lingxi bit his lip. His father had taken only a bite of the dish he had prepared so painstakingly.
Above all, why wouldn't Father take him along? Did he view him as a burden?
The sky was clear, the moon bright, and a night breeze blew gently.
Black King asked curiously, "Master, why not take me along? The Netherworld Abyss is perilous; at least Xiao Hei could carry you for part of the journey."
Luo Chen sighed. "You know it's perilous too! Even I only have a seventy to eighty percent certainty of making it out safely this time. If you were to perish in there as well, who would look after Lingxi?"
Black King was silent. That was indeed true.
Luo Chen's voice drifted with the night breeze.
"Furthermore, I need you to stay in the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land to guard the entrance, lest some powerful ghost creature breaks inside."
As he spoke, a token fell before Black King.
Black King knew this was the key to the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land.
After putting it away solemnly, he asked, "Master, when do we depart?"
Luo Chen's expression turned solemn.
"Tomorrow morning!"
***
In the abyss where dark currents surged, ghostly beings drifted back and forth.
Suddenly, sword light erupted from the gloom, silently slaying the demons and monsters.
Only after clearing the ghosts outside the blessed land did a white-robed figure gradually emerge.
Luo Chen took a deep breath. With his scarlet eyes and golden pupils fixed firmly in a certain direction, he departed composedly.
Chapter 913