https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-144-The-Great-Path-Lies-Within-Life-and-Death-Are-Fated/12900137/
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Chapter 145: The Soul Refiner, Foundation Establishment in the Path of Souls, an Unimagined Path (Pa
Chapter 145: The Soul Refiner, Foundation Establishment in the Path of Souls, an Unimagined Path (Part 1)
Tonight was the longest night in the history of the Great River Market.
Thousands of independent cultivators, either willingly or reluctantly, were all embroiled in a chaotic battle.
No one knew how many people, who had toiled for decades, lost everything in one night.
Nor did anyone know how many lucky ones would receive a grand cultivation package, taking a solid step on their long path to immortality.
Luo Chen only knew that when the smoke cleared and the sky turned a fish-belly white,
his feet were surrounded by countless bodies.
Some of the bodies were still intact, with faces that could still be recognized.
Others were unrecognizable, their identities only known by the Iron Plates of the Mountain Breaker Gang they wore.
And this was considered fortunate.
The worst off were those whose bodies could not even be pieced together, having been obliterated by spells and magical treasures.
Gu Caiyi, pale-faced and coughing, Yuan Laopo, and Qin Liang Chen, who held Murong Qinglian in his arms with one empty sleeve, along with several dozen Qi Cultivation cultivators, all fixed their gazes on Luo Chen.
They watched as he squatted down, lifting the white cloth.
Familiar faces appeared before his eyes.
The first one, whose face was so familiar, and whose voice still echoed in his ears, was filled with fear and unwillingness, even after a night had passed, still evoking pity.
"Senior Sikong, may you rest in peace."
Luo Chen reached out, smoothing the unblinking eyes shut.
He stood up, and Zhou Yuanli immediately stepped forward to report the situation.
"Last night’s battle, the Alchemy Hall lost thirty-one people, and the Medicine Hall lost forty-three."
"One Ninth Level Qi Cultivation cultivator was lost, Elder Sikong Shoujia, killed by Fu Zhang."
"Five Eighth Level Qi Cultivation cultivators fell in battle, only Liu Qiang and I survived."
"Seventh Level Qi Cultivation cultivators..."
"Excluding a few who escaped, the Medicine Hall and Alchemy Hall now have only thirty-six people left."
This casualty count shocked everyone.
So many vibrant lives had turned into cold, hard numbers, a reality that was hard to accept.
Luo Chen’s expression remained calm, and he inquired about the Great River Gang’s losses.
"A total of forty-seven bodies were found, mostly Eighth Level Qi Cultivation cultivators, with over a dozen Ninth Level Qi Cultivation cultivators, most of whom died at the hands of you and Duan Feng."
"Three Ninth Level Qi Cultivation cultivators died: Gao Tingyuan, Blue Sky Cloud, and Dan Xiu."
The battle, which had claimed the lives of over a hundred cultivators and four Ninth Level Qi Cultivation cultivators, came to an end.
Luo Chen pressed his lips together, subconsciously rubbing his forehead.
"What about the other halls?"
Zhou Yuanli smiled bitterly, "I’m not sure. The transmission jade only allows me to contact Chief Mi, and he..."
He left the rest unsaid.
But everyone knew what had happened to Uncle Mi.
This was evident from the brief words of Wang, Zhou, and Miao, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
They had come to Moonlit Valley solely for Luo Chen.
If Uncle Mi were still alive, they would not have come.
Their arrival meant that Uncle Mi was most likely dead.
Especially since the restrictions on Zhou and Liu had been lifted without reason, further confirming this.
"Hall Master, what should we do now?"
Zhou Yuanli couldn’t help but ask.
Luo Chen looked up and found that not only Zhou Yuanli, but everyone else was also looking at him.
Eyes filled with hope and trust.
Indeed!
Last night’s battle, whether before or during the fight, Luo Chen had demonstrated something that inspired confidence.
His decisions and strength were both commendable.
Especially the long conversation he had with Steward Miao Wen from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect in the Alchemy Hall.
Subtly, they had already begun to see Luo Chen as the backbone.
This wasn’t limited to low-tier cultivators; even Gu Caiyi, Murong Qinglian, and others felt the same.
Luo Chen recalled the conversation with Miao Wen last night, and his face showed a touch of sentiment.
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen met their gazes and said resolutely, "If you don’t mind, you can temporarily follow me."
"The spoils of last night’s battle will be fairly distributed."
"We need to wait a few days to see how the Great River Market changes."
"I won’t make any promises to you!"
"As Steward Miao Wen said, life and death are determined by fate, and the path lies within oneself. The future depends on you."
"Think about it over the next few days and make your decision."
After saying this, he paused, waiting for their reactions.
Without any promises, not even a word about protection, the surviving cultivators were momentarily at a loss.
Would following Luo Chen make their lives better than before?
While his alchemy skills were strong, his realm was only Eighth Level Qi Cultivation, far from providing the security that Uncle Mi did.
But leaving Luo Chen and returning to the life of an independent cultivator, what would that be like?
For a moment, the atmosphere became silent.
Luo Chen didn’t push, returning to the Alchemy Hall to divide the spoils he had collected.
Duan Feng squatted on the ground, excitedly sorting through the pile of magical treasures.
"Luo Chen, there are twenty-five high-grade magical treasures in perfect condition!"
"There are also several dozen low-grade and mid-grade magical treasures."
"The damaged magical treasures aren’t useless either; some can be repaired, and others can be melted down to extract important materials."
"We’re rich, we’re rich!"
It was rare to see Duan Feng so enthusiastic.
Even during the battle last night, when he was moving freely, he wasn’t this excited.
Luo Chen sat down beside him, showing signs of fatigue for the first time.
The battle last night, which seemed easy, had yielded significant results for him alone.
But in reality, his losses were also substantial.
After all, he had used the Fire-Tipped Spear, Four Symbols Cauldron, Soul-Shattering Spike, Jadeite Blade, and even detonated Jade Marrow Wasted Beads.
None of these were without a significant drain on his spirit energy.
Only because of his strong foundation, with spirit energy several times more robust than his peers and already half-refined, and because he had been taking pills throughout the battle, did he manage to hold out.
Otherwise, he would have been unable to continue.
What consumed Luo Chen's mind the most was still his final battle with Gao Tingyuan, when he forcefully used the Enlightened Spirit and Malevolent Energy Breaking technique.
The pain was manageable if he had prepared for it in normal circumstances.
But during the battle, it was too hasty, and even now, his spirit soul still ached faintly.
"Are you okay, Luo Chen?" Duan Feng noticed his fatigue.
Luo Chen tried to muster his energy and looked at the pile of magical treasures and the storage bags beside them.
This was a huge sum of money! A sum sufficient for any Qi Cultivation practitioner to safely cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage without any worries.
Even after Foundation Establishment, it could support his cultivation for a long time.
If someone were daring enough, they could easily take the money and run, changing their name and identity in another place to cultivate to Foundation Establishment.
Unfortunately, Luo Chen couldn't do that.
It wasn't that he lacked the courage.
But where could he go? Behind him was the vast wilderness with countless demon beasts.
In front of him was the Jade Cauldron Realm, which, in name, was under the control of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
And Miao Wen was a member of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
Moreover, the words Miao Wen spoke to him last night and the promises he made.
Luo Chen had no intention of fleeing with the money.
Staying here was much better than running away to be a solitary cultivator elsewhere.
Here, he was familiar with the rules, knew many friends, and now had a true backer and ally.
As long as he handled things properly from now on, he could be as free as a fish in water.
Especially, the days of being a fugitive were unbearably difficult, as evidenced by Dan Xiu.
Every action was constrained, and he had to constantly be on guard against manhunts and pursuit.
"Luo Chen?"
Duan Feng's voice rang in his ears again, and Luo Chen shook his head vigorously, as if to clear his mind.
"First, put away all the high-grade magical treasures and storage bags."
"The rest of the items will be distributed by Murong Qinglian and Zhou Yuanli later."
"Also, set aside some supplies; I have a big use for them."
After saying this, he slowly got up and staggered back to the stone house.
He activated the array formation and fell into bed.
Duan Feng stood outside, looking at him with concern.
Soon, Murong Qinglian and the others came in.
Looking at the blue array formation, each of them was filled with mixed emotions.
...
Luo Chen slept for a long time.
He didn't have any nightmares or pleasant dreams; he just slept soundly.
He didn't have to worry about being attacked, as his friends were guarding him outside, and the array formation would alert him if anything happened.
In this way, a whole day and half a night passed in a flash.
When Luo Chen woke up, he felt refreshed and full of energy, almost ready to howl to the sky.
Feeling the vibrant energy in his body, Luo Chen subconsciously used his internal vision to examine himself.
Before he could notice his physical condition, Luo Chen found that his thoughts were turning faster.
"Is it because my spirit soul foundation has increased, or is my willpower stronger?"
Whether it was the spirit soul or willpower, they were intangible things, at least during the Qi Cultivation stage.
Luo Chen couldn't immediately discern the details.
After carefully examining his body, he found that his spirit energy had not only recovered but had also become more refined.
Satisfied, he nodded and opened his eyes.
He took out two storage bags, one belonging to Gao Tingyuan and the other to Dan Xiu.
The latter's storage bag was personally delivered by Zhou Yuanli later; it belonged to Luo Chen personally.
As for the seven late-stage Qi Cultivation practitioners he had killed, they left no inheritance.
In such a violent explosion, low-grade storage bags couldn't maintain stability.
Once the array formation on them broke, the items inside would be sucked into another space, with only a few possibly surviving.
First, he opened Dan Xiu's storage bag.
There wasn't much inside: some bottles and jars, a change of clothes, five medium-grade spirit stones, and a large black scissors.
"Poor is really poor!"
"Probably most of his resources were used up during the days of being pursued!"
Luo Chen identified the bottles and jars; most of them were healing pills, like the Yuegui Pill.
There were also two bottles of cultivation pills called Snow Essence Pills, which were very beneficial for cultivators with water and ice elemental spirit roots.
Their prices were similar to the Dust-Transforming Pill.
They weren't produced by the Medicine King Sect but by a local family at the Snow Lotus Auction House.
Not expecting much from Dan Xiu's inheritance, Luo Chen directly opened Gao Tingyuan's storage bag.
"I almost got tricked for this thing, so don't disappoint me."
As soon as his spirit energy entered, Luo Chen marveled.
Two cubic meters of storage space!
Gao Tingyuan, being the top expert under Wang Haichao in the Da Jiang Gang, was indeed quite wealthy!
A large pile of items was carefully poured out by Luo Chen.
The first thing that caught his eye was a pile of standard-sized spirit stones.
"Twenty-five medium-grade spirit stones and three thousand low-grade spirit stones!"
A total of over five thousand, which was quite fitting for a Ninth Level Qi Cultivation practitioner.
However, it didn't quite match Gao Tingyuan's status.
Muttering to himself, Luo Chen began to inventory the other items.
Three bottles of Dust-Transforming Pills, ten bottles of Qi Nourishing Pills, and even Jade Marrow Pills!
"Hey, isn't this Pulse Nourishing Liquid? Where did Gao Tingyuan get this? It's not cheap at all."
Foundation Establishment practitioners often used such spirit medicines, which usually started at several hundred spirit stones.
Gao Tingyuan's storage bag contained two bottles of it.
Furthermore, there were three or four other types of pills related to meridians, dantian, and acupoints.
Looking at these pills, Luo Chen had some thoughts.
Back on the Dao Forum Platform, Gao Tingyuan's dantian was damaged, a fact witnessed by everyone.
A damaged dantian meant no hope of Foundation Establishment.
It seemed Gao Tingyuan was still unwilling to accept it, so he secretly bought many healing pills to try to repair his dantian.
"Now they can be put to good use. Qin Liang Chen and Caiyi's spirit energy was over-consumed yesterday, and their meridians were damaged. A small portion of these can help them."
As for the other cultivation pills, Luo Chen separated the ones he needed from those he didn't.
Then, he looked at another pile of items.
A wine gourd, a Wave Swallowing and Sea Containing Flask, several array flags, a talisman, and a few books.
A mixed bag of items, almost making Luo Chen's eyes blur.
He picked up one of the books and looked down.
The Biography of Ancient Moon
"A biography? Who is Ancient Moon?"
Curious, Luo Chen flipped through the book, reading it quickly.
I, Gu Yue, was born in the year 3179 of the Mountain and Sea Calendar. I grew up in a wealthy household, with a strict father and a kind mother. I had seven elder siblings who doted on me.
However, the world is unpredictable. Bandits coveted our family's wealth and destroyed our home, wiping out the entire family except for me.
...
The autobiography was long and even somewhat verbose.
Some parts seemed jumbled and disorganized.
Luo Chen found it rather boring until the author, Gu Yue, entered the cultivation world, which piqued his interest.
What was the cultivation world like over two hundred years ago?
Was it more prosperous and peaceful, or more difficult and arduous?
The battle at Heavenly Wave City, it was clear they were bullying us with numbers, yet in the end, I was labeled as a practitioner of the Demon Dao and was wanted by the three major families.
I refuse to accept this. I fled and fought, slaying many pursuers, and eventually arrived at the Flowing Light Market.
Compared to the city, the market may have been poorer, but there were fewer powerful cultivators. I could finally settle down and cultivate.
However, the world is so cold and cultivation is so difficult.
In my early years, to avenge my family, I practiced martial arts that progressed quickly, which depleted my physical foundation. The cultivation techniques I learned were also missing key content from the major sects. In the end, I could not break through to the Foundation Establishment stage and could not step onto the path of the Dao.
...
...
Reading this, Luo Chen couldn't help but feel a deep sense of empathy.
The life of an independent cultivator is not as simple as it seems.
Cultivation requires wealth, companionship, techniques, and a place to practice.
Without wealth, one cannot support their cultivation.
Without companionship, one studies alone and becomes isolated and ignorant.
Without techniques, it is difficult to grasp the mysteries of the heavens and step onto the path of the Dao.
Without a place to practice, one is like a floating weed, with no support. Whether in daily cultivation or when breaking through realms, it feels like walking on thin air, lacking a solid foundation.
In this autobiography, the author's difficulties far exceeded those of 99% of independent cultivators.
After entering the cultivation world, he naturally lacked wealth, companionship, techniques, and a place to practice. He had only a burning passion.
But in this world, passion is useless.
In the end, he took the easiest path for independent cultivators.
Gu Yue fled from the so-called Heavenly Wave City to the Flowing Light Market and finally became a bandit cultivator!
This way, his financial security was assured, and even ill-gotten gains were a form of wealth!
Years of wandering and escape led him to discover several suitable places for cultivation.
However, the depletion of his physical foundation and the incompleteness of his cultivation techniques still hindered his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Later, when Gu Yue learned about the three major obstacles of Foundation Establishment, he became even more despondent.
He was lacking in both physical strength and Spirit Qi.
But there is always a way out. He obtained a partial cultivation technique from an evil cultivator and developed his other strengths in a unique way.
"Soul Refinement?"
Luo Chen pondered, flipping to the last page.
Success, this independent cultivator has finally succeeded!
Refining nine hundred and ninety-nine souls into one, I have finally broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, hahaha...
The autobiography ended with the author's ecstatic joy.
Luo Chen did not know whether the independent cultivator Gu Yue, who had gained the reputation of a Soul Refinement cultivator, lived or died in the end.
He only knew that Gu Yue had truly taken a path different from the norm.
Without a naturally superior physical foundation or the purest Spirit Qi, and without a single Foundation Establishment Pill, he still achieved the Foundation Establishment realm!
"Soul Refinement Foundation Establishment?"
Luo Chen licked his dry lips, feeling an uncontrollable impulse.
Although the autobiography did not mention the specific technique, it described the general process. Gu Yue had used an evil cultivation technique called Soul Refinement Foundation Establishment, slaying nine hundred and ninety-nine late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators and merging their souls with his own.
In the end, he found a unique path to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Is there really such a technique in the world?
Suddenly, Luo Chen thought of Gao Tingyuan's final desperate attack.
Those green, eerie eyes.
Gao Tingyuan's Dantian was destroyed. According to conventional methods, even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, he could not break through to Foundation Establishment.
This is evident from the fact that he bought many Spirit Medicines to nourish his meridians and repair his Dantian but still kept the majority of them.
Could it be that in his despair, he also took this path?
In other words, he has the Soul Refinement Foundation Establishment technique!
Luo Chen shivered and quickly searched through the pile of books.
Indeed, Gao Tingyuan had mentioned that he had explored a secret realm with others, including Li Zixiong and Chen Xiao.
Even the Soul-Shattering Spike was obtained from there.
According to the autobiography, the Soul Refinement cultivator Gu Yue discovered several suitable places for cultivation during his bandit career.
If he died and his remains were found, it was likely in one of those places.
It was reasonable that Gao Tingyuan, having sought out those places, obtained the corresponding inheritance.
The Sea Covering Jiao Demon Technique, not this one.
The Jade Cauldron Seven Sects Record, just a travelogue similar to the Records of the Six Realms' Scenery.
The Initial Understanding of Spirit Sense, hmm, it seems somewhat similar.
Luo Chen flipped through a few pages but found the content obscure and difficult to understand.
This was not a book suitable for the Qi Cultivation stage but one for after Foundation Establishment, when the Spirit Sense can be extended.
Luo Chen continued searching.
It must be said that Gao Tingyuan, the former second-in-command of the Great River Gang, was quite wealthy.
His wealth was not in Spirit Stones but in his extensive collection of books.
Luo Chen found several first-class techniques suitable for the Qi Cultivation stage, most of which were related to the Water Element.
After thoroughly reading through them, Luo Chen frowned.
Not here?
Was it destroyed in the battle, or did he not carry it with him?
The battle at Crescent Moon Valley last night was a full-scale confrontation.
Although Luo Chen still had an excellent magical weapon and a Perfect Fireball Spell he hadn't used, the explosion of ten thousand Jade Marrow Wasted Beads was no less powerful, and in some ways, even more so.
He had designed this last-ditch attack for a quick escape.
The Jade Marrow Wasted Beads were indeed weak individually.
But in large numbers, they could create a significant qualitative change.
So, Luo Chen had been processing Jade Marrow Wasted Beads whenever he had the chance.
He prepared a total of ten thousand Jade Marrow Wasted Beads, and the results of the final battle were impressive.
(End of Chapter)
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