The Divine Sect's three newly ascended Nascent Souls were none other than the true disciples Sect Master Shenhuo had painstakingly handpicked years ago.
Backed by the Five Elements Divine Sect's full resources, and bestowed with the five elements spirit marrow and the Nayuan Divine Art by the Supreme Elder, their cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Even though seven out of the ten had failed, for three to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in a few short decades was nothing short of miraculous anywhere in the cultivation world.
Luo Chen's earlier praise of their "deep heritage" had been entirely sincere.
His own Luotian Sect had existed for three hundred years now, yet apart from himself, not a single bona fide Nascent Soul powerhouse had naturally emerged.
Bai Meiling was a ghost cultivator blessed with unique opportunities of her own.
Wang Yuan possessed Nascent Soul combat strength, but he was a fourth-rank body cultivator rather than an orthodox cultivator.
Lingfengzi was an outsider, and the black dragon went without saying.
Even Junior Sister Canglong, who had made her breakthrough not long ago, had only succeeded in one fell swoop with Luo Chen's help after hundreds of years of bitter cultivation in the Ice Fort.
Perhaps comparing them to the Luotian Sect was unfair, but the gap became glaringly obvious when looking at the Divine Talisman Sect, which had been founded around the same time as the Five Elements Divine Sect.
Old Fu had exhausted mind and soul, pondering the sect's future even on the verge of his death. Yet in the end, he had still failed to nurture a single new Nascent Soul True Person, forced instead to pin his hopes on his good friend Luo Chen.
The Five Elements Divine Sect was genuinely worthy of newfound respect.
Yet the moment their clash began, doubt surged abruptly in Luo Chen's heart.
"Die!"
The unfamiliar male cultivator waved his grand banner, sending torrents of brown cyclones rolling forward.
Standing amidst them, Luo Chen did not budge in the slightest. His wide sleeves merely fluttered as he gave them a light wave, and the cyclones unraveled on their own.
The sight left the male cultivator dumbfounded.
A strip of silver silk descended from above, dazzling like the Milky Way cascading from the highest heavens. Luo Chen gave a cold snort, and the silver ribbon instantly went limp, shorn of every ounce of threat.
Yao Hong stumbled into view, her face pale.
*Clang!*
A sword cry rang by his ear.
Without shifting an inch, Luo Chen flicked a finger.
*Ping!*
In the blink of an eye, fine cracks spread across every inch of the flying sword. Connected to it by mind and soul, its owner, Qi Emei, coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Yet she possessed ample combat experience, having already prepared a spell that now surged forth: a colossal palm print thrusting horizontally through the air.
The Innate Primordial Qi Great Handprint!
At the sight of this spell, Luo Chen's eyes lit up for a rare moment—only for a moment, however. He pointed a single finger, and the great handprint abruptly crumbled.
It took many words to describe, but the entire exchange had unfolded within mere breaths. The trio had clearly forged seamless coordination in battle.
Yet it had achieved nothing!
Suspended in midair with his robes billowing, Luo Chen looked down at the three cultivators leaning on one another and shook his head in sheer disapproval.
"Do you three even count as Nascent Souls? You have not advanced your natal treasures to the level of True Artifacts, and you cannot even draw upon heaven-and-earth spiritual qi to empower your spells. You possess only the realm, with none of the strength to match. I truly cannot fathom how you managed to reach the Nascent Soul realm everyone dreams of."
His words made Qi Emei and her companions flush crimson with shame. They wanted to argue, yet had no words to offer.
Three Nascent Souls had joined forces, yet they had failed to graze so much as the corner of his robes or a single strand of hair. Even granting Luo Chen's immense fame and terrifying strength, the gap should never have been this vast!
Suddenly, an explosive bellow erupted from the side.
"Activate the sect-protecting array!"
It was Sect Master Shenhuo.
Taking advantage of the brief moment the trio had bought, he had already directed the cultivators of the Five Elements Divine Sect to initiate their grand defensive formation.
Amidst a flurry of figures, beams of formation light flared to life. Spreading at terrifying speed, they stretched across a hundred li, then a thousand li, until they enveloped the entire Five Elements Divine Sect.
Once the protective array of a top-tier Nascent Soul upper sect was fully activated, not even a drop of water or a tiny fly could slip through from without. Though its suppression within the perimeter was far weaker, it still possessed considerable killing and binding power.
Luo Chen did not bother in the least with Sect Master Shenhuo's movements. He had already scouted the Five Elements Divine Sect's protective array in secret before slipping inside; otherwise, he could never have reached the sect's heartlands without alerting anyone. If he wished to leave, this array could never hold him!
For now, Luo Chen merely looked down at the trio with genuine pity.
He had some memory of Qi Emei. He recalled that when he first returned to the Eastern Desolation, she had clashed with Zeng Yilong. Back then, that young woman had only been at the early Golden Core stage, hadn't she?
The great war between humans and demons had spanned two centuries, and it had taken her roughly a hundred years to advance from early Golden Core to the Nascent Soul stage. While the miracle of forming a Nascent Soul in a century had occurred with Luo Chen as well, not everyone was Luo Chen. For her and her two fellow disciples to replicate such a miracle within such a short window, they had inevitably taken shortcuts.
That was why this awkward predicament had arisen: possessing the realm, yet lacking the power to back it up.
"Good seedlings, ruined by being pulled upward to help them grow," Luo Chen sighed.
Luo Chen raised his hands slightly, then thrust a single palm forward in a motion that seemed leisurely yet was blindingly swift. The preparatory stance and the hand seal he formed struck Qi Emei with a faint sense of familiarity.
Wasn't that the Innate Primordial Qi Great Handprint she had just unleashed?
The next instant, a colossal azure palm print coalesced into being, understated and calm. Yet the immense power coiled tightly within made everyone's expressions change drastically.
Luo Chen chuckled heartily. "This spell was adapted from your sect's Innate Primordial Qi Great Handprint. Can you withstand it?"
The Qingyang Great Handprint thrust outward!
Wherever it passed, heaven-and-earth spiritual qi converged upon it, swelling the palm print ever larger as its restrained might erupted unceasingly.
Watching each other's backs, the three Nascent Souls struck simultaneously, unleashing their attacks. Yet beneath that single palm, the banner tore apart, the red sleeves shattered, and the fissures on the flying sword raced forward before exploding into fragments.
*Boom!*
With a single palm strike, the three Nascent Souls were sent flying like ragdolls. The colossal handprint surged onward unabated, sweeping forward across eight hundred li. Only after sending ripples across the surrounding protective array did its power finally disperse.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Three heavy thuds sounded as Qi Emei and her companions crashed to the ground. Their auras sank to their lowest ebb, their faces masks of utter defeat.
Their combined assault had failed to scratch him, while a single strike from Luo Chen had left them utterly helpless. Anyone with eyes could see the insurmountable chasm between them.
If he wanted their lives, a single sword qi or spell would suffice. When Luo Chen had claimed they were seeking their own deaths, it had not been an exaggeration in the slightest!
"Do you have anything left?" Luo Chen surveyed his surroundings, feeling a sudden pang of loneliness. In this vast Divine Sect, there was not a single worthy foe.
"Shenyuan, are you still refusing to show yourself?"
His demand echoed across the wilderness once more, the rolling sound waves carrying his vast divine sense over hundreds and thousands of li. Those of lower cultivation were knocked unconscious on the spot. Even a seasoned Nascent Soul powerhouse like Sect Master Shenhuo felt his blood churning and stars flashing before his eyes.
Only now did they truly realize how terrifying the gap between them and Luo Chen was. Whether in dharmic power, divine sense, combat experience, or even the spellcraft the Five Elements Divine Sect took the greatest pride in, this man completely outclassed them all.
Unless the Supreme Elder stepped forth, who in this vast Divine Sect could possibly stop him?
Suddenly, Luo Chen's gaze sharpened, locking onto the depths beneath the shattered Shenyuan Peak.
"Found you!"
With a fierce smile, he reached out with a claw.
Through the clouds, the Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw manifested, ripping through layers of rock and soil as it seized toward that subterranean spot.
*Hiss...*
The Cloud-Seeking Divine Claw unraveled without cause.
A figure cloaked in black robes slowly emerged, staring toward Luo Chen from afar before speaking in a raspy, sinister voice.
"To pursue this old man with such persistence shows your thirst for vengeance is deep indeed. Why spare them, then?"
Luo Chen sneered. "I bear no grievance against them, so why should I be ruthless? Today's matter is nothing more than a settlement between the two of us!"
"Well said—drawing a clear line between grievance and gratitude!" Perfected Shenyuan offered praise, then swept his gaze over the surroundings: his heavily injured junior brother Shenhuo, the three collapsed figures of Qi Emei and her companions, and the tens of thousands of disciples cowering behind the protective formation.
"A bunch of useless trash!"
With that curse, Perfected Shenyuan moved!
The instant he struck, he formed the exact same hand seals, yet at blinding speed that bordered on instantaneous.
The Innate Primordial Qi Great Handprint!
Five-colored light swirled as five-element dharmic power flooded forth, drawing upon the stray spiritual qi drifting between heaven and earth. This was far more than a single primordial qi—it was five primordial qis coalesced!
Luo Chen's expression grew solemn. Repeating his previous move, he unleashed the Qingyang Great Handprint once more.
The two colossal handprints collided in midair.
With a single clash—
*Rumble!*
Terrifying force erupted beyond restraint. Shenyuan Peak, already fractured by Luo Chen, suffered another devastating blow. Countless boulders pulverized into dust, and the spirit vein buried deep underground ruptured, releasing a deluge of spiritual qi.
Amidst the churning dust, two silhouettes closed the distance in an instant, only to separate just as quickly.
Looking at the distinct five-fingered handprint stamped upon his chest, Perfected Shenyuan brushed away the dust and chuckled softly. "Sixth-layer Nascent Soul? To think that after not seeing you for so short a time, you have broken through again!"
In an all-out battle, Luo Chen could no longer conceal his true cultivation realm. Having obtained the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, aided by the Alchemy Saint Blessed Land, and ultimately comprehending the origin of fire to seize a vast mass of origin qi from the sea of primordial qi, these favorable circumstances had indeed propelled him to the sixth layer of the Nascent Soul stage.
Yet Luo Chen felt no arrogance over this. He was merely relieved that he had arrived at the perfect time!
Slowly raising his right hand, recalling the sensation of their brief contact, he murmured, "Long ago, I noticed you were different from ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. With every movement, heaven and earth seemed to answer you.
"During the battle in the Bikong Region, Tianduzi told me you were capable of moving freely amidst the shockwaves of a Soul Formation grandmaster's clash.
"When reclaiming the Motian Domain, we exchanged only a single blow, yet in that strike, you commanded the origin qi of heaven and earth!
"Thus, you must have embarked long ago on that extreme path to Soul Formation—using your Nascent Soul to commune directly with heaven and earth!
"That path ends in either reaching Soul Formation or dying outright, with the latter being vastly more likely.
"Had you perished along the way to Soul Formation, I would have had no one left to claim my vengeance from!"
Few cultivators ever came into contact with methods of achieving Soul Formation, yet Nascent Soul True Persons generally possessed a basic understanding of them. Broadly speaking, there were three paths.
The first was a shortcut and the easiest to succeed with: comprehending the true meaning of laws in advance. Yet easy as it sounded, without absolute, unrivaled talent, doing so was utterly impossible.
The second was the orthodox path: accumulating dharmic power, expanding the foundation of the divine soul, and gradually transforming the Nascent Soul into a primordial spirit, finally taking the steady step into Soul Formation. As for the true meaning of laws? That was a matter for after reaching Soul Formation. By then, a powerful primordial spirit and peerless divine consciousness would allow an early Soul Formation powerhouse to seek out the laws suited to them between heaven and earth.
And the third path?
Many knew of it, yet none dared attempt it.
Throwing wide the purple mansion barrier, allowing the Nascent Soul to echo heaven and earth, communing and merging with it at every moment, drawing the origin qi of heaven and earth into the body to become one with the entire world. The moment one achieved the state where the world was oneself and oneself was the world, Soul Formation would follow in a single thought.
Yet anyone could see the lethal danger lurking within. The purple mansion barrier was cultivated precisely to prevent assimilation by heaven and earth. If that barrier were cast open, leaving the Nascent Soul constantly exposed, would one become the world, or would the world assimilate them? Throughout that process, cultivators found it nearly impossible to preserve their original heart; nine times out of ten, they would be assimilated, lose their will, and watch their Nascent Soul gradually dissipate, reducing a lifetime of cultivation to smoke and ash!
Hearing Luo Chen lay bare the true nature of his cultivation, Perfected Shenyuan laughed bitterly.
"Do you think this old man wished for this? Without the aid of a fifth-rank spirit vein, the Nascent Soul stage is the hard limit in this world for those of us with five-element spirit roots! Advancing any further is impossible!
"Reaching the late Nascent Soul stage alone took more effort and scheme than I can count.
"I originally intended to complete the Mingyuan Sect's assignment and enter Mount Yanfu to cultivate. But during the expedition to Mount Cangwu, my physical body was destroyed by the demon phoenix holy fire, and my purple mansion barrier was lost with it!
"To make matters worse, the Mingyuan Sect burned the bridge after crossing it, refusing to honor their promise. I had no other choice!"
His bitter laughter carried a tragic despair.
Luo Chen shook his head. "I sympathize with what you endured, but your designs on my physical body infuriate me!"
Perfected Shenyuan's greedy gaze locked onto Luo Chen.
"Indeed! With your body in my hands, every problem would be solved!
"Though I know not how you transformed your five-element spirit root constitution into a pure Fire Spirit Body, that sturdy purple mansion barrier of yours must still exist.
"Once I take your body, I can discard this treacherous path and tread the orthodox way anew!"
As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, and a five-colored miniature pagoda flew out, spinning rapidly. Bands of light streamed from the pagoda, surging toward Luo Chen.
No matter how even-tempered Luo Chen might be, fury surfaced on his face.
He could tolerate others prizing his strength and using him as a blade. He could endure others admiring his alchemy and hiring him to concoct pills. But when someone dared covet his physical body, he showed no quarter!
This body was no longer the vessel he had arrived in when he crossed over. It was a perfect physique forged through endless hardship and relentless cultivation, having undergone physical nirvana and complete reconstitution!
Anyone who dared covet it deserved nothing less than death!
So it had been with Han Zhan, and so it was with Shenyuan!
In his towering rage, Luo Chen opened his mouth and spat.
A small gray cauldron emerged, swelling with the wind until it expanded into a hundred-zhang colossus that hurtled toward the five-colored pagoda. What was more, crimson chains rattled forth from the massive gray cauldron, tangling and clashing violently with the ribbons of light.
Each collision between pagoda and cauldron unleashed a thunderous boom. Each clash between ribbon and chain obliterated boundless dharmic power in their wake.
After a simple probing exchange of spells, Luo Chen and Shenyuan had launched directly into a clash of natal treasures. This was combat at its rawest and most perilous; reaching a fever pitch in an instant, it meant neither would rest until the other was dead!
"What a magnificent cauldron! Truly worthy of this old man's choice!"
Amidst Perfected Shenyuan's sinister laughter, a translucent miniature flying sword shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
Reining in his anger and severing all stray thoughts, Luo Chen's mind settled instantly into the calm of an undisturbed well. He flung his hands wide, robes billowing as five sword pellets took up positions in the five cardinal directions.
"Old scoundrel, today is the day you die!"
Chapter 930