Chapter 801: Rapid Advancement; Han Zhan Awakens (II)

Three years slipped by, as if in a daze.

One day, a streak of light flew in from the open sea. After flashing several times above the Flying Swallow Archipelago, it descended onto the central island. As the clouds and mist parted, a tall woman stood at the palace's entrance, smiling warmly as she watched the approaching figure draw nearer step by step.

"Devil Lord, you seem to be in quite a good mood today!"

Luo Chen laughed. "Of course! I've just perfected another major technique, how could I not be in a good mood?"

As he spoke, he strode into the grand hall with confident steps. Cheng Haixin followed closely behind, the reverence in her eyes growing ever deeper. For these past three years, she had lived almost entirely on Moon-Inviting Island, devoting herself wholeheartedly to managing Azure Yang's affairs. Whether it was receiving ingredients sent by the various families, providing bloodfood at regular intervals, or overseeing the most critical task of processing ingredients, nearly everything had fallen upon her alone.

Over the course of these three years, the carefree Fairy Haixin who had once cultivated without worry under her family's protection had long since vanished. In her place stood the capable, perceptive, and dignified "Moon-Inviting Fairy." Yet this dignity amounted to nothing before Luo Chen. For three years, she had personally witnessed his cultivation, and she'd seen it advance day by day. From time to time, he would gain new insights, and on occasion, he would even take her out to sea to test spells and enchanted treasures. Those scenes were often nothing short of earth-shaking.

Such a pace of progress far exceeded her previous understanding of Adepts. Weren't they supposed to spend decades, even centuries, mastering a technique? Yet the person before her would learn something in just a few days, become proficient in seven or eight months, and reach full mastery in one or two years. Moreover, what he practiced were not some unorthodox shortcuts and minor spells, but solid and formidable techniques that could clearly become the foundation of a powerhouse. Perhaps this was precisely what it meant to be a devil lord...

As Cheng Haixin followed behind in silent admiration, Luo Chen halted his steps and slightly narrowed his eyes, as though sensing something. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction. "Muxian is doing well. He just refined a mid-grade first-tier Water Condensing Pill. Pretty fast, I'd say."

Just moments ago, he had caught a faint trace of pill fragrance. When his divine consciousness spread out, he saw a young man joyfully collecting pills in a small alchemy room. That young man was none other than Xu Muxian.

Cheng Haixin smiled gently. "All of this is thanks to your guidance."

"Eh, not really. It's mainly Muxian's outstanding alchemy talent."

Luo Chen waved his hand and tried to sound modest, but the pride on his face was hardly concealed. Without him, where would Xu Muxian have found so many low-tier materials to practice with? Without his guidance, how could the young man have refined mid-grade pills in just three years? With Luo Chen's knowledge and experience, nurturing a talented person into an alchemist was now almost effortless, especially since he did not even need to provide the resources himself.

"These are ten bottles of supreme-grade Water-Condensing Pills. Give them to Xu Muxian."

"Devil Lord, he's already reached the sixth stage of Qi Refinement in just three years. That's fast enough as it is. There's no need for supreme-grade Condensing Water Pills. Even just top-grade ones would be excessively generous."

Luo Chen shook his head. "He is technically my disciple, after all. He ought to get something. Besides, those are just something I casually refined in my spare time. What am I supposed to do with them? Oh, right, speaking of that..."

As he spoke, Luo Chen took several jade bottles from his storage ring and placed them in Cheng Haixin's hands. "Herr, some Jade Dew Pills. You have used them before. These six bottles of top-grade ones will last you half a year."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Haixin's breathing quickened.

Top-grade Jade Dew Pills!

Luo Chen still refined random pills every now and then, and Jade Dew Pills were among them. A while back, he had casually rewarded Cheng Haixin for her tireless service. After consuming one, her cultivation finally stabilized at the first stage of Foundation Establishment, on that very day. Later, relying on the remaining Jade Dew Pills and a second-tier top-grade cave residence allocated to her on Moon Inviting Island, her cultivation speed skyrocketed; within the incredibly short span of three years, she stood as a mid-stage Initiate!

Such progress stunned all cultivators across the archipelago.

It was precisely because of this that she was given the title of Moon-Inviting Fairy. By using the name of Luo Chen's place of residence as her Dao title, she openly displayed the favor she enjoyed. And she did not resent it; instead, she accepted the title gladly.

And this time, what Luo Chen bestowed upon her was a number of top-grade Jade Dew Pills! If she made proper use of them, it was entirely possible that she could advance to the fifth stage within the year.

She had dual spirit roots, excellent aptitude for cultivation. She began studying Dao scriptures at six, sensing qi and tempering her body to lay her foundations. At twelve, she formally embarked on cultivation. Under her family's careful nurturing, she spent twenty-four years before finally succeeding in Foundation Establishment. That performance alone could be considered astonishingly fast. As for reaching the fifth stage within just five years of stepping into the realm, that was simply unimaginable.

For a moment, her breathing grew unsteady, and her emotions surged uncontrollably. The longer she stayed by Azure Yang's side, the more unfitting the title of Devil Lord seemed. What devilish conduct did he truly exhibit? He was clearly a benevolent senior of the Immortal Dao. He rarely rebuked low-tier cultivators and fully embodied the demeanor of a true sage who uplifted the younger generation. The world's misunderstanding of him was truly profound.

Luo Chen gave her a brief glance, then stepped forward. Cheng Haixin followed behind him somewhat dazed. "Ah, speaking of rewards... Your family's contribution is almost there. You may inform your elder brother to come to the stele for the Azure Yang Pill Codex."

With that, Luo Chen disappeared into the depths of the palace complex. The woman felt as if struck by lightning and stood frozen. After a long moment, she bowed deeply. "Thank you, my lord!"

After that, she hurried off and flew toward Black Swan Island.

***

Luo Chen watched the departing streak of light and could not help but shake his head with a soft chuckle. Over the span of three years, the Cheng family had paid more than its share, to the extent that they suffered severe damage to their foundations, in pursuit of this Core Formation art.

That share, which on the surface appeared to average only five hundred thousand spirit stones per family, had ultimately been borne almost entirely by the few major families intent on the art. Many small families were willing but simply lacked the means, forcing their portions to be redistributed upward.

Among all of them, the Cheng family had been the most enthusiastic. Not only had they poured in millions of spirit stones, they had also completely halted the cultivation of their younger generation. For years now, nearly all of the Cheng family's income had gone straight into the acquisition of medicinal materials. Even their demon-hunting ship had been dispatched frequently, sailing far out into the open seas to hunt large second-tier sea demons.

Even so, their contribution still fell slightly short. Luo Chen had only opened a back door because Cheng Haixin had truly devoted herself over these past few years and had rendered him considerable service. He was not

that

ungrateful.

"Still, the Azure Yang Pill Codex is not that easy to master."

Thinking of Cheng Dou's somewhat impetuous and occasionally even frenzied temperament, Luo Chen pursed his lips. The Azure Yang Pill Codex was derived from the Fine Dust Primordial Art. Even after being greatly simplified, its difficulty remained extremely high. He was not optimistic that the cultivators in the Flying Swallow Archipelago could rely on it to successfully form a core.

By contrast, Cheng Haixin learned through constant exposure and received occasional guidance from him. In truth, her chances of forming a core were much higher than her brother's.

"I wonder whether, with my abilities, I can bring a dual-spirit-root cultivator to the Golden Core Realm within a hundred years."

The corners of Luo Chen's mouth lifted slightly. He felt as if he were conducting an experiment. In any case, the resources being spent were not his, so he had no qualms about it.

He turned around and entered the cultivation chamber. The formation activated, sealing off the chamber from prying eyes while maximizing the concentration of spirit energy within.

On the status panel, his first-tier Spirit-Gathering Formation was already listed as Perfected Mastery.

With the support of the major families of the archipelago, a large second-tier Spirit-Gathering Formation was also established around Moon-Inviting Island to draw in even more spirit energy. As a result, although the island's spirit veins remained low grade, the density of the spirit energy here had grown infinitely close to middle grade. This was one of the reasons his cultivation advanced steadily, bringing him closer and closer to the fourth stage.

Luo Chen sat cross-legged and exhaled deeply. A small cauldron appeared before him and expanded in a flash, growing to a height of one zhang. Luo Chen looked at the Primordial Unity Cauldron, whose connection to his mind had grown much closer, and revealed a satisfied expression.

By ordinary standards, his refinement of this cauldron had already reached major mastery. It was enough to unleash every bit of the treasure's power. Yet this was... still not enough! A truly fine treasure could amplify a cultivator's strength, especially a life-bound treasure that matched the cultivator's attributes. That amplification could be double, triple, or even severalfold! Clearly, the Primordial Unity Cauldron had yet to reach such a state. The issue lay, of course, in its complex crafting process and the resulting tremendous amount of impurities.

"Oh well, what can I do... Gotta keep refining."

Luo Chen let out a quiet sigh as mana surged forth and his divine consciousness coiled around the cauldron. At the same time, he exhaled strands of azure flame that transformed into nine fire dragons that wrapped around the small cauldron, spitting out blue fire. He was imitating Min Longyu's Ninefold Flame Dragon Formation from years past to refine his life-bound treasure. The only regret was that he lacked the formation diagram; what he was displaying now was the form but not the true foundation. Even so, it was far faster than ordinary refinement methods.

I really need to search for the formation diagram...

Without lingering on that thought, he continued refining the treasure. This had long become part of his daily routine. Once his mana was nearly exhausted, he would use his core technique to replenish it and cultivate. Through this cycle of expenditure and recovery, his cultivation grew ever more stable—after many years of cultivation, he had grasped the true principles of consolidating his foundation.

Time slowly passed. Just as Luo Chen's mana began to falter and he prepared to withdraw the Withering-Flourishing Fire, a sudden movement stirred within his mind.

In the next instant, the azure flames flared violently and tightly enveloped the Primordial Unity Cauldron. Nine dragon heads extended and gazed down into the cauldron.

Luo Chen let out a soft sigh. "Senior, since you've awakened, why not come out openly? Why spy on me from the shadows?"

From within the cauldron came a faint chuckle. "Young friend, when I see a display like that, how can I dare to reveal myself rashly?"