Chapter 293: Return to Luo Tian Society, Second Stage Foundation Establishment(I)

Xiao Huan Mountain.

Once the ancestral land of the Duan family, it now serves as the headquarters of the Luo Tian Society.

The tranquility and detached elegance that once defined the place had long since faded, replaced by a more vibrant, worldly atmosphere. Bustling voices, footsteps, and the clinking of cauldrons, all signs of life and growth, pulsed through the mountain now.

Since Luo Chen's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, the Luo Tian Society had risen swiftly in power and prestige, becoming the fifth major Foundation Establishment force in Dahe Market.

But unlike traditional cultivation clans, which are held together by bloodline to maintain unity, the Luo Tian Society was different, open, inclusive, and built upon shared goals rather than heritage. Because of this, it became an appealing haven for rogue cultivators, who had long wandered without a place to belong.

Over the past few years, Luo Tian Society's momentum has grown immensely. Its rising influence now mirrors the heights once reached by the Poshan Gang.

Moreover, unlike the disorganized mindset of the Poshan Gang, the presence of Luo Chen, a skilled alchemist, drew in many late stage Qi-Refining experts.

Even rogue cultivators at the ninth stage of Qi-Refining, three of them, had joined in recent years.

Given the circumstances, this flourishing of strength and talent was hardly surprising.

Anyone who could reach late Qi-Refining, or even the ninth stage, before the age of sixty likely still held hopes of achieving Foundation Establishment.

In most other sects or cultivation forces, such talents would tread carefully, wary of being suppressed by those already in power, higher-ups who feared being surpassed.

But the Luo Tian Society was different.

Its leader, Dan Chenzi, was known for his tolerance and generosity. Throughout his journey to power, he had always supported and elevated those around him, never hoarding opportunities for himself.

What made him even more appealing to cultivators was the fact that he was an alchemist. It was entirely possible, likely that one day he would refine Foundation Establishment pills.

Thus, joining the Luo Tian Society early was like standing by the river and being the first to draw from its waters [1].

The only thing that made people uneasy was that after Dan Chenzi had established his foundation, he had gone into seclusion to stabilize his realm. And now, three years have passed, still with no sign of him.

The Luo Tian Society's alchemy business had once come to a halt. Though it was eventually restarted, the only pills sold were low-grade Jade Essence pills.

But low-grade Jade Essence pills offered almost no profit, and the production volume was particularly limited.

Under such conditions, the Luo Tian Society's financial strain gradually increased.

Under the leadership of Sima Huiniang, the society's salary policy underwent a major shift. Gone were the days of guaranteed pay for all. Now, earnings were based on individual contributions.

The more one contributed, the more one earned.

The Battle Hall cultivators began taking jobs, hunting demonic beasts in the mountains, delivering goods, escorting caravans, and so on.

In contrast, work in the Medicine Hall and Alchemy Hall became far more desirable. It was safe, stable, and though it paid slightly less, it guaranteed security.

Along the streets of Dahe Market's outer district, Luo Chen drank wine and gnawed on freshly grilled demonic beast meat.

He nodded to a nearby early stage Qi-Refining rogue cultivator and handed over a low-grade spirit stone. The young man beamed with joy and hurried off.

All the above information had come from that man.

"So it seems... Huiniang has done a decent job," Luo Chen murmured to himself.

He tossed a few spirit coins onto the table, paid his bill, and turned to leave.

Of course, the full picture couldn't be pieced together from the words of a low-tier rogue cultivator. The finer details would have to wait until he returned to Xiao Huan Mountain.

As he exited the outer district of Dahe Market, Luo Chen raised a hand with a casual flick. In response, a cloud of condensed water vapor formed beneath his feet, swirling and solidifying into a platform of soft blue mist.

The moment he stepped onto it, the sensation beneath him was light, almost too light. Soft, gentle, and somewhat unstable.

"The Cloud-Riding in Foundation Establishment is... quite different from what I used in the Qi-Refining Realm."

The wind rushed past his face, brushing his robes and clearing the thoughts crowding his mind. For a moment, he felt truly still, adrift in the open sky.

"Maybe I should find time to study the Perfected Mastery Carefree Wind-Control and integrate it into my standard Cloud-Riding. If I succeed, my flying speed will surely increase drastically.

"Of course," he added with a small smirk, "if I could learn a proper Five Elements Evasion, that would be even better."

Unlike standard flight, the Five Elements Evasion was a true escape technique, drawing upon the natural elemental energy of the world to propel the cultivator with astonishing speed. They weren't just swift, they were nearly impossible to track.

It was one such technique that had once allowed Shan Xiu to escape from Mi Shuhua's pursuit. The only reason he'd survived at all was because he'd used a second-tier Water Evasion Talisman.

Among the Five Elemental methods, Earth Evasion and Water Evasion were widely regarded as the most practical.

This was because earth and water spirit energy could be found virtually anywhere in the natural world, allowing cultivators to use these techniques with great flexibility, regardless of the environment.

By contrast, Wood, Fire, and Gold Evasion were far more limited by location. Their activation often required specific elemental conditions, lush forests, intense heat, or dense mineral veins, not always available when one needed to flee.

Still, those three techniques each held profound mysteries of their own. They were typically of top-grade, far from what common cultivators could master.

With such thoughts drifting through his mind, Luo Chen soon appeared outside Xiao Huan Mountain.

He came to a stop at the base of the mountain, before the edge of a calm, sprawling lake.

Three years had passed, and instead of shrinking, the lake had grown, from a hundred zhang to a full li in breadth. Nearly twice its original size.

A boundary stele now stood tall beside the water, and upon it, two bold characters had been carved:

Feng Hai

To call such a modest lake a sea might have seemed to be a joke to an outsider.

Yet Luo Chen felt only a quiet warmth in his heart.

This must have been Duan Feng's doing.

Back then, under the shadow of Qinghe Mountain, a little blacksmith shop called Feng Hai Forge had closed quietly and without success.

But now... a "sea" had truly come to be.

As he stood there in silence, the lake began to churn.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

Before long, a long waterway parted open before him.

Luo Chen walked down the rippling, wave-formed steps, one steady step at a time.

At the end of the path, a bronze door awaited him.

Ka-ka-ka...

The bronze gate swung wide open.

Inside the cave, Wang Yuan greeted him with a rare smile.

You're back."

Luo Chen smiled in return. "Yeah. I'm back."

As he looked at Luo Chen, a hint of surprise slowly appeared at the corner of Wang Yuan's mouth.

The sharp edge that had once surrounded Luo Chen, when he first broke through, was gone. There was no longer any unstable or restless fluctuation of spirit power.

What remained was harmony, composure, and an unadorned, effortless presence.

He stood there, calm and understated, without the slightest trace of worldly aura, carrying with him an air that felt distinctly immortal.

Such a stark transformation could only mean one thing...

Wang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "You've stabilized your realm?"

"Hehe, that's right." Luo Chen strolled through the newly renovated cave residence. "Not only that, I've even taken a small step forward."

He had done more than just stabilize his realm. Luo Chen had broken through to the second stage of Foundation Establishment, now a true early-stage cultivator of the realm.

Wang Yuan shook his head repeatedly, full of emotion.

"Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.

"You were just at the third stage of Qi-Refining a few years ago, and now you've reached Foundation Establishment. You've even surpassed me."

If one judged the cultivation realm alone, Wang Yuan had just stepped into the second stage of Physical Refinement, roughly equivalent to Luo Chen's current stage.

But in the current cultivation world, it was all about immortality.

And in that regard, Wang Yuan lagged far behind.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Luo Chen didn't seem to care, and instead said, "Brother Wang, your Qi-Refining Realm also seems far more refined now, gone is that earlier restlessness."

Wang Yuan gave a light grunt. "Three years of effort, and that's about all I got for it."

Luo Chen came to a stop, eyes scanning the cave.

It was clear someone had gone out of their way to renovate this lakeside retreat for Wang Yuan. The outside now had a boundary stele, and a bronze gate stood at the entrance.

Inside, the floors were laid with green brick and white jade, accented with moonlight stones that cast soft, luminous light, banishing the gloom.

"So," Luo Chen asked, "what's happened in the Luo Tian Society over the past three years? Anything major?"

Wang Yuan hesitated a moment, then said, "That second-tier Explosive Ape you enslaved... it escaped."

Hmm?

Luo Chen raised a brow.

Little Red was a genuine second-tier demonic beast, not something that could be kept in a spirit beast pouch long-term.

The ghost city hadn't been suitable for it to fight in, so before entering, Luo Chen had released it and left it in the care of the Luo Tian Society's cultivators. And yet... it had still managed to run away?

"Without your continual suppression, its restraints weakened. On a full moon night, it took that little bloodline offspring of its and slipped away quietly.

"After all, it was your contracted beast. No one dared treat it too harshly, so..."

After hearing the explanation, Luo Chen simply shook his head.

He had gained a Ghost General and a defensive enchanted treasure... but lost a second-tier demonic beast companion in the process.

With one gain and one loss, Luo Chen wasn't sure how to weigh it all.

"Forget it, for now. If the chance comes, I'll go find it again."

The

Myriad Beast Sutra

's approach to beast-taming never focused on brute-force subjugation, but rather on gradual, harmonious control.

In fact, the best form of enslavement wasn't casting a Spirit Enslavement, but spending time, day after day, earning the beast's loyalty.

"Anything else important happen?"

"Nothing more," Wang Yuan replied.

"Oh?" Luo Chen raised a brow. "Then I suppose that's a good thing."

"After all," Wang Yuan added with a smirk, "your name carries weight now. Who would dare tug a tiger's whiskers?"

Hearing that, Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh.

When had he earned such status in the world?

Times change... truly, it was something to sigh over.

After his laughter faded, Luo Chen went straight to the point.

"I've found a way to remove Duan Qiankun's lingering soul from you."

"For real?!"

Wang Yuan's eyes lit up instantly.

Under his gaze, Luo Chen retrieved a black flag, its surface inky, exuding a chilling ghostly energy.

1. 近水楼台先得月 (jin shui lou tai xian de yue) is a Chinese idiom that literally means "The pavilion closest to the water enjoys the moon first." It suggests that those in close proximity to power, opportunity, or advantage are the first to benefit. Often used to describe situations where someone gains favor or reward due to their closeness, either physically, relationally, or socially. It's similar in meaning to the English saying "being in the right place at the right time." ☜