Once, Mount Yanfu had hung high in the ninth heaven, its full majesty rarely seen by mortal eyes.
Now that the immortal mountain had fallen, Luo Chen could finally behold its true form.
At first glance, it did not appear overwhelmingly grand, falling short of the Heaven and Earth Peak in the Central Plains that bridged heaven and earth.
Nor did it possess the sheer, precipitous oddity of Motian Cliff’s sudden, towering crags.
Yet as it sat silently in the abyss, the mountain exuded a profound, crushing weight, like a colossal beast crouching in slumber.
Moreover, Mount Yanfu remained entirely untainted by the Ming Water. Wisps and strands of spiritual energy from all directions still converged upon it, swallowed by the radiant glows of its formations.
It truly was a wondrous mountain!
Just then, shouts and cries echoed from the outskirts of Mount Yanfu.
A torrent of ghostly qi howled to and fro, sweeping across the surroundings as if the heavens had plunged into darkness and a hundred ghosts were roaming the night.
"Where did a junior like you come from, daring to contest an opportunity with me, Yan Qianji?"
"In learning there is no precedence, and attainment commands respect! We are both fourth-tier Ghost Emperors—what right do you have to flaunt your seniority?"
"I embarked on the ghost path three thousand years ago, when you did not even know where you were reincarnating! How dare you compare yourself to me?"
"Three thousand years indeed! I fear you spent those three thousand years sealing your soul and locking your po spirits, sleeping like an old turtle!"
The raspy cadence of an old man and the melodious voice of a woman rose and fell in turn, yet this was no simple exchange of words.
With every word uttered and unleashed, waves of soul-rending sonic blasts surged forth, directly assailing the opponent's soul origin in the most perilous manner.
A ghost cultivator’s physical body was destroyed, leaving them without a sea of consciousness to shield them from the outside world.
Their greatest strength lay in their soul, yet their greatest vulnerability was likewise that very soul, left entirely unprotected without a sea of consciousness!
Under the relentless battering, Bai Meiling, whose foundation was somewhat weaker, gradually began to flag.
The large banner she wielded seemed on the verge of faltering.
"Give up your life!"
With a furious roar, Yan Qianji unleashed his massive ghostly body to the fullest, slamming a palm down toward her.
Bai Meiling’s expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, she revealed her true form, turning into a hundred-zhang ghostly python that swept up the soul banner to flee.
Yet the colossal ghostly form blotted out the sky, and thick black fog enveloped the surroundings. No matter how she darted left and right, escape was impossible. It seemed she had no choice but to take the strike head-on.
*I shouldn't have disregarded Sect Master Li's words!* she thought with a pang of regret.
Yet a resolute decision formed in her mind.
She could die here, but the disciples she had brought out had to be returned safe and sound!
"Tianxuan, it's in your hands!"
After a divine sense transmission, she threw the Soul Refining Banner outward, sending it hurtling like an arrow loosed from a bowstring straight past the black fog.
Then Bai Meiling turned back, hurtling toward the gargantuan palm print in a desperate, suicidal charge.
Right at that moment, a spark abruptly blossomed, transforming into a soaring fire phoenix that met the ghostly palm an instant before Bai Meiling could.
*Boom!*
Amidst the violent shockwave, Bai Meiling pulled to a stop in stunned delight.
She watched as the soaring fire phoenix not only shattered the ghostly palm, but swept forward with boundless momentum like a raging wildfire, clearing away the dense ghostly fog and revealing a stretch of clear, untainted sky.
The vast bank of ghostly fog recoiled under the heavy blow, rapidly contracting until it finally unveiled Yan Qianji's true form.
It was a creature clad in a thick carapace, resembling a turtle.
However, both its head and tail merged directly with the shell formed from ghostly qi, making it look more like a softshell turtle or a giant terrapin.
With his lethal strike shattered, Yan Qianji was filled with shock and rage.
"Who is it?"
Amidst the Ming Water outside the mountain, a figure walked atop the glistening ripples under Bai Meiling’s expectant gaze, stepping into the water-free realm of Mount Yanfu.
Clad in black robes with dark hair falling loose, his eyes were as deep and cold as an abyss, yet bright as the sun, moon, and stars, mesmerizing anyone who beheld him.
It was none other than Luo Chen!
He spoke indifferently, "Fellow Daoist, since you call yourself a senior, why bully the weak?"
Yan Qianji snorted coldly. "The Mingyuan Sect suppressed me for thousands of years. Before their destruction, that kid Tianyuan even tried to drive us to do his killing for him! This Mount Yanfu is nothing more than meager compensation. This wench forgets her place and tries to snatch my opportunity—tell me, should I have struck or not?"
Bai Meiling said anxiously, "Master, we arrived first! Min Longyu and Tianxuan were the ones who cracked the remnant formations on the periphery. This shameless old thing not only tailed us inside, but now turns around and bites!"
*Master?*
Yan Qianji's brow furrowed as his powerful divine sense repeatedly swept over Luo Chen.
Bai Meiling was nothing special in his eyes, but she was still an esteemed fourth-tier ghost. For her to serve someone as a master...
Then this person had to be far more formidable than imagined!
Yet no matter how his divine sense scanned, he could not detect the slightest clue about Luo Chen.
This could only mean one thing: the black-robed man's soul foundation was a cut above his own!
After hearing Bai Meiling out, Luo Chen's expression remained unchanged as he turned to Yan Qianji.
"Fellow Daoist, in all things there is first come, first served. Wouldn't you agree?"
Yan Qianji sneered. "Words are useless. In the end, our hands must decide the victor."
Luo Chen nodded in agreement. "True enough. Opportunities belong to those with the fortune to claim them. And as for fortune... Little Bai, that is not how you use the Soul Refining Banner. Watch closely!"
Before his words even finished, the Soul Refining Banner gripped in Luo Chen's hand snapped open.
Ferocious ghosts roared out from within.
Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core... and toward the end, even a deer-headed, human-bodied Ghost Emperor came flying forth.
Facing these ghosts, Yan Qianji merely sneered, entirely unconcerned.
Ghosts refined by a soul banner had their minds dulled and their wits scattered; he feared them not in the least!
Yet in the very next instant...
Luo Chen formed an incantation gesture and gave a low shout: "Fuse!"
Right before Yan Qianji's disbelieving eyes, those ghosts, strong and weak alike, actually began to merge with one another, coalescing into a colossal, thousands-of-zhang-tall fierce ghost that lunged toward him.
*They are different ghosts with vast gaps in cultivation realm—how can they fuse together?*
No one answered him, and he had no time to ponder it.
The fierce ghost erupted with the terrifying might of the late fourth tier!
If it were only this, Yan Qianji might have held his ground for a time.
Yet with Luo Chen eyeing him like a tiger watching its prey from the side, how could he dare face the threat with peace of mind?
With a furious roar, Yan Qianji unleashed rolling soundwaves in all directions and charged straight toward the fused fierce ghost.
"Master, be careful! His soul-attack techniques are extremely formidable—do not let his soul sounds reach your ears!" Bai Meiling shouted in warning.
Bai Meiling had once launched a soul attack to ambush the Centipede Demon Emperor, possessing considerable attainments in this path herself.
For her to be so wary demonstrated the sheer power of Yan Qianji's soul sound.
Yet Luo Chen did not evade, allowing the rolling sonic waves to crash against him while his body remained entirely motionless.
A pair of golden pupils calmly fixed upon Yan Qianji.
*Boom!*
The two ghosts collided violently.
In a single breath, the powerful fierce ghost Luo Chen had fused together collapsed and disintegrated.
"Still lacking that final touch of refinement, eh?" Luo Chen murmured.
This soul-fusion method originated from what he had obtained in the Northern Sea.
It was originally handed down by disciples of the Yuan Demon Sect's soul-refining branch. After Luo Chen, Duan Li, and the others killed them, it had been cataloged in the Myriad Immortals Association.
Later, Luo Chen exchanged for it and cultivated it briefly.
Over many years of experience, he had rarely used the technique.
At the time, the Soul Refining Banner had lacked a powerful primary soul; even a fused fierce ghost king would only have reached the late Golden Core stage.
It was only during the battle at Baili Qingchuan, when Luo Chen used the banner to capture the soul of one of the three Lu brothers, that he met the true conditions required to execute the soul-fusion method.
From the looks of it, the technique’s power was indeed formidable.
The only missing element was likely his own lack of practice.
Still, it was enough!
In that single head-on clash, while the ghost king had crumbled, Yan Qianji had likewise been unable to withstand the backlash of countless malevolent ghost thoughts. His massive ghostly form shattered, dissolving into wisps of mist that drifted outward.
Bai Meiling realized what was happening and called out, "Master, he is feigning defeat to escape!"
Luo Chen had naturally noticed it long before, and pressed a palm down against the empty air.
The Qingyang Great Handprint manifested instantly, laced with wisps of Wither-Bloom True Fire.
*Thump!*
In an empty patch of space, a figure stumbled into view.
Upon his back was a deep palm print that had nearly shattered his condensed ghostly body.
He threw a terrified look at Luo Chen, then broke out of Mount Yanfu without looking back, vanishing into the boundless Nether Abyss.
"Master, should we pursue him?" Bai Meiling asked.
Luo Chen waved his hand. "Let him go. The Nether Abyss is no place for me to fight, after all. A direct battle is manageable, but chasing down an enemy makes it all too easy to fall into a trap."
One should not pursue a desperate foe. Besides, Luo Chen bore no life-and-death grudge against the creature, and had no wish to waste his energy.
With a flick of the Soul Refining Banner, several figures tumbled out in unison.
The moment they appeared, they bowed respectfully to Luo Chen.
"Master!"
"Supreme Elder!"
"Supreme Elder!"
Tianxuan, Min Longyu, and several familiar Foundation Establishment disciples were among them.
Luo Chen looked at the group and said in a heavy voice, "You all have quite the nerve!"
Bai Meiling took the initiative to shoulder the blame. "Master, it was my idea. Please do not blame them."
"Oh?" Luo Chen fixed his gaze on Bai Meiling.
Feeling an overwhelming, mountain-like pressure, she dropped to her knees, trembling. "The vitality inside the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land is too strong—for me, it is like a cage. By contrast, the Nether Abyss is filled with death qi, ghostly qi, and nether qi everywhere, making it the most suitable place for my cultivation. I could not resist and disobeyed Sect Master Li's orders, sneaking out. I brought Min Longyu and the others along thinking they could help me lay down formations to avoid being discovered by powerful entities and bringing trouble upon the Luotian Sect."
Luo Chen gave an internal nod. The Nether Abyss was indeed very well-suited for Bai Meiling’s cultivation.
Previously, he had only considered how to settle the Luotian Sect, overlooking the unique cultivation needs of certain members.
Outwardly, however, he kept his expression neutral and asked, "Then how do you explain this Mount Yanfu?"
Min Longyu took up the explanation. "I was the one who discovered it. The mountain's remnant formations can block the filth of the Ming Water, and it clearly seemed extraordinary at first glance, so I urged Elder Bai to venture inside and explore. However, the mountain's formations were simply too formidable. Even though most of the outer layers had already been broken, several powerful inner arrays were still active, trapping us at the foot of the mountain."
Luo Chen shook his head, gazing at the majestic mountain overhead.
"You have no idea what this place truly is. Barging in so rashly was utterly reckless!"
With that, he began explaining the mountain's origin to them.
It had emerged from the depths of the earth veins, rooted in the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, and hung high above the Mingyuan Sacred Land for three thousand years.
It was the sacred mountain of the Mingyuan Sacred Land!
Three grand ancestors had once dwelled and cultivated here, and all who came and went were Nascent Soul cultivators.
It could be said that the very essence of the entire Mingyuan Sect was concentrated within this single peak.
For a few Golden Core and Foundation Establishment juniors, accompanied only by a Nascent Soul-stage Ghost Emperor like Bai Meiling, to attempt to explore this mountain was nothing short of courting death!
Even Luo Chen himself would not dare venture deep into it.
After hearing this, Tianxuan suddenly spoke up: "Master, since this mountain is so important, if our Luotian Sect could claim it, wouldn't we obtain a vast portion of the Mingyuan Sect's heritage?"
Luo Chen's eyes flashed, and he gave Tianxuan a deep look.
"There is some truth to what you say, but now is not the time."
With a sweep of his broad sleeve, a surge of magic power enveloped the group, and he leisurely led them away from the mountain.
Roughly half a day after their departure...
Several figures materialized outside Mount Yanfu.
Each exuded an eerie ghostly aura, their soul fluctuations intensely turbulent.
"I wondered why Yan Qianji was fighting someone—turns out he discovered this mountain!"
"Mount Yanfu... the Ming Water Springhead of the Nether Abyss must be inside, right?"
"If the rumors are true, it certainly is!"
"The reason the Mingyuan Sect was able to suppress the Nether Abyss for three thousand years was entirely thanks to the Ming Water Springhead. When the three grand ancestors attempted to suppress and refine the Qinghe Immortal, they relied on it as well. If we obtain it, we could become the masters of the Nether Abyss!"
"If not now, when!"
"We should still be cautious. Since someone managed to batter an old monster like Yan Qianji to the point of fleeing with severe injuries, they must also be an old monster who has lurked in the Nether Abyss for millennia."
"Cautious? We have bided our time for so many years—are we going to keep hiding our heads like turtles?"
"Well said! Even that big softshell turtle Yan Qianji stuck his head out; there is no reason for us to be more cowardly than him."
"Let's go!"
After a brief discussion, the figures surged inside without hesitation.
Nor were they the only ones. As time passed, more and more ghost creatures gathered outside Mount Yanfu, and almost all of them flooded inside with barely any hesitation.
Yet most who entered never came back out.
A rumor gradually spread through the vast population of ghost cultivators within the Nether Abyss.
*Mount Yanfu has appeared, and the Ming Water Springhead has surfaced.*
*Whoever controls the Ming Water Springhead can become the Master of the Nether Abyss, replacing the Mingyuan Sect to rule over this vast watery expanse!*
***
Returning to the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, Luo Chen handed Bai Meiling and the other rule-breakers over to Li Yingzhang.
Those who deserved punishment were punished, and those who deserved confinement were confined.
However, Luo Chen still left an opening.
"Though the blessed land is fine, closed-door cultivation is ultimately working in isolation."
"Within the ruins of the Mingyuan Sect, a massive amount of residual resources from the Deity Transformation sacred land remain hidden. If we can secure even ten to twenty percent of it, our Luotian Sect will have a bright future."
"I will leave behind a method to command the black turtles, as well as a map of the Mingyuan Sacred Land. From now on, you will periodically dispatch people to explore the ruins around the blessed land and unearth resources useful to us."
"Every time an expedition sets out, have Bai Meiling lead the team. It will serve as tempering for our disciples as well."
"Finally, find a suitable place outside for Bai Meiling to cultivate. It will allow her to progress while serving as a second stronghold for our Luotian Sect in the Nether Abyss."
Though Li Yingzhang felt some concern, he acknowledged the wisdom in Luo Chen's words and respectfully accepted the order.
The Alchemy Saint Blessed Land was indeed wonderful, but it had only a single exit.
If the entrance were ever blockaded, the hundreds of cultivators in the Luotian Sect would become turtles trapped in a jar.
If they could establish a second or even a third stronghold, they would have room to maneuver, both in advance and retreat.
As for Mount Yanfu?
After discussing it for a time, he and Luo Chen both agreed it was not something the Luotian Sect could currently explore.
It was better to let those ghost cultivators venture inside first to test the waters.
Once some real results emerged, it would not be too late for the Luotian Sect to get involved.
***
After resolving these trivial matters, Luo Chen returned to his previous routine.
He consumed the Five Temples Immortal Brew to temper his internal organs, and persisted in applying two drops of Jade Sovereign Clear Pupil Liquid daily to enhance his Scarlet Eyes and Golden Pupils.
His cultivation did not lag behind either; he maintained his morning and evening sessions diligently, his magic power growing steadily.
Meanwhile, his talisman-crafting plan, which had previously been forced to a halt, was resumed after acquiring the large cache of high-tier talisman skins from Mount Hanyang.
As the days passed, the fourth-tier talismans Luo Chen crafted grew in number.
Correspondingly, on his attribute panel, his proficiency in high-tier fire spells, which had stagnated for years, began to climb rapidly.
Three years later!
One day, within his cave dwelling on the alchemy mountain.
Luo Chen was meticulously drawing the spell *Prairie Blaze of the Fire Phoenix* onto a talisman skin.
His movements were exceedingly gentle, his divine sense held in absolute focus.
His normally domineering fire-attribute magic power was now as obedient as a child, allowing him to channel it bit by bit into the talisman runes.
As the final stroke fell, Luo Chen let out a sigh of relief.
Lifting the talisman, which pulsed with boundless might, joy filled his eyes.
Another success!
Not only that, but the proficiency of Prairie Blaze of the Fire Phoenix on his panel, which had been stuck for over a century, had finally crossed the threshold into Grand Perfection.
Sure enough, his early conjecture had been correct!
Talisman crafting required profound attainments in spellcasting.
Conversely, crafting talismans in large quantities could also foster a cultivator's spell proficiency.
Complementing each other, even without deliberately releasing spells for training, he could push Prairie Blaze of the Fire Phoenix step by step to Grand Perfection.
After all, drawing a fire spell talisman with total concentration was far more difficult than merely casting the spell; such progress was only natural.
"Next is channeling heaven and earth spiritual energy into the talisman to replenish it."
Fourth-tier talismans were no longer like ordinary ones.
They contained not only the cultivator’s own magic power, but also blended in external spiritual energy.
Only in this way, once triggered by a cultivator, could the talisman reproduce a Nascent Soul cultivator's ability to draw upon heaven and earth spiritual energy for their own use.
Luo Chen smiled faintly, dispersing his divine sense and expanding his domain to draw vast quantities of fire-attribute spiritual energy into the talisman.
This process required care, lest the external energy overwhelm the internal foundation and ruin the hard-won, stable talisman.
Luo Chen had no fear, having already grown familiar with the procedure.
Yet this time, only a few moments in, Luo Chen sensed something peculiar.
*Why does drawing in external spiritual energy feel so much easier than before?*
Amidst his confusion, inspiration suddenly struck.
Channeling magic power into his eyes, source power flowed upward.
In an instant, blood vessels webbed his vision as his golden pupils flared with light.
His Scarlet Eyes and Golden Pupils fixed their gaze directly into the void.
Amidst the surging currents of air, a wisp of an extraordinary presence that ordinary cultivators could never detect was faintly drifting.
"That is... spiritual opportunity!"
Luo Chen suddenly realized what it was, quickly sat down cross-legged, and began circulating his natal cultivation technique to actively draw the spiritual opportunity into his body.
Within his sea of consciousness, the golden ocean began to seethe.
His vast soul merged fully into the Nascent Soul within the Purple Mansion, beginning to inhale and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Chapter 922