Chapter 663: Luo Chen Emerges from Seclusion (II)

During their last brief meeting, Luo Chen had handed over all his remaining savings of three million spirit stones along with several million more in valuable materials to Sima Huiniang. Together with the Luo Tian Society's profits, that sum was barely enough to support the next ten years of rent. But what then? What about when those ten years ran out?

Luo Chen turned the iron ring on his thumb in silent thought. This was no mere finger decoration, but a storage item, and an enchanted treasure at that—one that had once belonged to Qin Tairan of the Flame Alliance! As the Law Enforcement Elder, the man had effectively become the leader of the Flame Alliance after its great calamity. Surely, the ring he left behind contained a considerable inheritance, and that inheritance ought to be put to good use.

With that in mind, Luo Chen's plans for the next nine years became clear and straightforward.

The first and most crucial task was to temper and stabilize his power. Given the commotion during his Core Formation, once he finished refining the vast reserves of spirit energy within his body, he would shoot straight to the peak of the first stage. It was exactly as Chu Kui had once said: Upper Path methods were immensely difficult to use, yet their rewards were equally great. One advantage was that the process of forming the core was smoother; another was that cultivation in the early stages progressed far more rapidly. After all, even before forming his core, Luo Chen had already delved into Golden Core–level cultivation. His spirit power and divine soul had long begun to fuse, placing him well ahead of ordinary first-stage Adepts.

The second task was to erase Qin Tairan's divine consciousness imprint from the ring. Luo Chen was already well-versed in such matters; this was hardly his first time dealing with such a thing. In fact, he still had several storage pouches taken from a couple of Initiates that he had yet to open. He planned to open those mystery boxes together; perhaps he would once more find a treasure trove that would ease his current financial predicament.

As for the third matter, it concerned the two cultivation methods he had personally created: Myriad Path Convergence and the Fine Dust Primordial Art.

The former held limitless potential to begin with, but it had to be revised and reverted to the original fire-element principle. The latter had been rated by the system panel as "Supreme Path," a level that Luo Chen had never even dreamed of obtaining back in the day, let alone thought of improving upon. Still, as he formed his core, Luo Chen had still sensed some flaws within it. Now, while the insights of that experience remained vivid in his mind, he intended to truly refine and perfect it.

***

Beyond the walls of seclusion, the outside world was already in motion. In the Jade Cauldron Domain, the long-awaited Frontier War had begun. Although a fifty-year preparation period had been agreed upon, it was impossible for every faction to wait precisely until that deadline. As all twenty-seven sects assembled their forces, certain operations were already set into motion ahead of schedule.

They started by purging the demonic beasts entrenched throughout the domain, then cleared and opened several routes leading toward the Howling Moon Mountain Range. Outside the Howling Moon Mountain Range, temporary strongholds were established to serve as fortresses for the coming war. Scouts gifted with keen spirit senses were dispatched into the mountains ahead of time, surveying terrain and mapping the concentrations of demonic beast forces.

With these measures in place, and under the combined efforts of countless cultivators and vast resources, the coalition led by the Falling Cloud Sect finally began to move.

And as the easternmost part of the realm grew increasingly fervent, Luo Chen emerged from seclusion!

The mist that veiled the entrance to Cave Residence Jia Three dispersed, and its gate opened wide. Luo Chen stood quietly at the threshold, as though waiting for someone. Before long, a streak of light flew over from a distance. When the glow of mana faded, an Adept from the Falling Cloud Sect came into view.

Luo Chen clasped his fist and greeted him, "Fellow Daoist Qu, it has been a few years. I trust you have been well."

Qu Xibai smiled faintly and was about to speak, but when his gaze met Luo Chen's, a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes. He exclaimed, "You are truly no ordinary man! Barely ten years since your Core Formation, yet your mana is so restrained, and your vital essence, qi, and spirit are merged. You've reached the first stage?"

Luo Chen nodded and replied, "I have."

The answer was as Qu Xibai had expected, yet he still felt a jolt of astonishment. Ordinary cultivators who had entered the Golden Core Realm often spent several years stabilizing their foundation. Yes, just to stabilize it. To progress from the threshold to the first stage usually required thirty to forty years of slow and meticulous cultivation.

Yet Luo Chen had gone through that entire process in only ten years; not only was his foundation simply titanic, but he was already solidly within the first stage. Such a cultivation pace....

Qu Xibai shook his head with a sigh. "Even with an Upper Path Core Formation art, no one advances this quickly. It seems your foundation is even more profound than I imagined."

Luo Chen could only smile faintly. It was true that his advancement to the first stage of the Golden Core Realm had been swift. And indeed, that speed came from years of accumulation bursting forth all at once rather than just his Core Formation art.

The cultivation that followed had proven far more troublesome. His foundation was already extraordinarily deep, and with his dual-element cultivation, the difficulty of further progress only multiplied. In fact, when he first realized how much slower his pace had grown upon reaching the first stage, he had felt a faint trace of regret. If he had chosen the single-element Flourishing Azure Unified Heart, his cultivation would have most certainly advanced faster.

Yet that moment of regret had quickly faded. Compared to the disadvantage in speed, the advantages of Wood Ignition were far greater. His mana had become even more powerful, and his control over his primordial true fire increasingly precise. Moreover, he had completed the revision and refinement of Myriad Path Convergence. From now on, he could begin refining his physique using the Withering-Flourishing Fire!

After exchanging a few brief words on their cultivation insights, the two men returned to the matter at hand.

"Is there truly no way to continue renting Jia Three?" Luo Chen asked.

"I would help you if I could. But for the next fifty years, at the very least, that decision will no longer be mine to make."

"Hm?"

As Luo Chen looked on in confusion, Qu Xibai raised a hand and pointed toward the far east. That single gesture made Luo Chen understand. The Frontier War had already begun while he was still in seclusion!

As a Golden Core cultivator of the Falling Cloud Sect, Qu Xibai had no reason to remain stationed in the Tianlan Immortal City, especially since it was not their own Thousand Leaves Immortal City but one jointly built by the Seven Sects back when they were still seven.

"Actually, you wouldn't know this, but we reached an agreement with the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect regarding Tianlan Immortal City. They paid a massive price to reclaim full control over the city. So it's not only the Falling Cloud Sect, but even the Ice Fortress that you are affiliated with, along with Green Pill Valley, Ailao Mountain, and the Hundred Flowers Palace. After the final ten-year rotation, none of us will have any right to this city again," Qu Xibai explained.

Hearing Qu Xibai's calm explanation, Luo Chen's eyebrows shot up. Just what kind of "massive price" had the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect paid to regain Tianlan Immortal City's control? And whatever that price was, from this day forth, all the profits of the city would belong solely to the Sword Sect; they would no longer be shared among the Six Sects.

Even so, certain details puzzled him. From what he knew, though this campaign was proclaimed as "The Twenty-Seven Sects' Joint Campaign Against Howling Moon", both Green Pill Valley and Ailao Mountain had contributed only manpower and supplies. Even if the Howling Moon Mountain Range were eventually conquered, neither planned to relocate their sects there. Moreover, after Ice Torrent's failed attempt to reach Nascent Soul, the Ice Fortress would certainly not consider relocating its base to the Great Snowy Mountains. In other words, these sects would still have to make their living within the Jade Cauldron Domain. So would they truly be willing to give up a solid long-term source of profit for a one-time payment from the Sword Sect?

No one could answer Luo Chen's doubts, and Qu Xibai certainly would not. His visit today was not only to inspect the cave residence but also to bid farewell. "Our sect is about to launch a full-scale assault on the Howling Moon Mountain Range. I cannot remain here for long. At most three months from now, once the Sword Sect's cultivators arrive, I'll hand over the remaining matters and depart for the battlefield."

Luo Chen nodded and offered his blessings for the campaign.

Before leaving, Qu Xibai gave him a final word of advice. "Spending vast sums of spirit stones to rent a cave residence in an immortal city is not a long-term path. You would do better to join a Nascent Soul sect and enjoy a proper third-tier spirit vein, or take part in the Frontier War and take one for yourself. The Great Million Mountains are vast, and high-tier spirit lands are numerous beyond counting. Fellow Daoist, do not let your vision remain confined to this small corner of the Jade Cauldron Domain."