https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-193-Studying-the-Scripture-Taking-on-a-Disciple-and-Entering-the-City/12920525/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-195-Living-as-a-Hero-Dying-as-a-Ghost-King/12920527/
Chapter 194: Outside the Dao Discussion Platform, A Familiar Face Returns, and Ascetic Cultivation o
Chapter 194: Outside the Dao Discussion Platform, A Familiar Face Returns, and Ascetic Cultivation on Phoenix Descending Mountain
In a room, Luo Chen held the flagpole, examining it carefully.
After a long while, he finally nodded slowly.
"Indeed, this is the Soul Confinement Banner that Gu Yue mentioned in his autobiography, a Soul Path Magical Tool."
"I never expected that even Gu Yue didn't possess the Soul Confinement Banner, yet Li Da managed to forge it."
"Moreover, its grade is surprisingly high-grade!"
The Soul Confinement Banner was the very reason why Luo Chen had to venture beyond his usual means.
This treasure could capture and restrain souls, transforming them into a means of attack.
If that was all it could do, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Luo Chen already had a few such Magical Tools.
However, this treasure could also help Wang Yuan extract the Duan Kun Qian Remnant Soul from his body.
This unexpected discovery sparked a sudden idea in Luo Chen's mind.
"It seems Li Da's bad luck has come to an end."
Luo Chen smiled slightly, feeling no guilt for his intention to kill without mercy.
Perhaps it was because Li Da had shown him disrespect earlier.
Or maybe, after breaking through to a new stage, his mindset had changed, and he had become more uninhibited in his actions.
It was also possible that, when he was weak, he had endured enough oppression from those in higher positions.
Now, the dragon-slaying youth had become the dragon himself, assuming the demeanor of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
In any case, he was quite pleased with his current state.
"Once I leave this place, I can start working on removing the aftereffects from Wang Yuan's body."
"However, having the Soul Confinement Banner in hand is also quite beneficial for me at the moment."
Currently, he was inside the Ghost City.
Although Luo Chen believed that his abilities were sufficient to handle any situation,
he wouldn't complain about having more treasures targeting vengeful souls.
Aside from the Soul Confinement Banner, the rest of Li Da's inheritance in his storage bag was not particularly noteworthy.
Ordinary pills and common Magical Tools were of no interest to Luo Chen.
Later, he could put these items in the Luo Tianhui for other cultivators to exchange.
The only thing that piqued Luo Chen's interest was the three Ghost Mother Needles he had initially obtained.
Looking at the three silver needles in his hand, Luo Chen muttered to himself.
"This treasure isn't used like that!"
...
Inside the Ghost City, Luo Chen walked with a lantern in hand.
His footsteps were slower than before,
not because there were too many vengeful souls along the way,
but because he was using this time to familiarize himself with the newly acquired Soul Confinement Banner and Ghost Mother Needles.
There wasn't much to say about the former; he could simply capture slightly stronger ghostly beings and transform them for his own use.
The latter, however, was more interesting.
"Hmm, three more vengeful souls are approaching."
With his eyes glowing green, Luo Chen raised his hand, and the three silver needles flew out.
Lower-tier vengeful souls were not as formidable as Ghost Generals, lacking physical form.
Usually, they were difficult to deal with unless one used talismans or spells.
Previously, Luo Chen could only rely on Cleansing Spells, Fireball Spells, Soul Capturing Spells, and the Green Firefly Lantern to handle them.
But now, he had something more convenient.
In an instant, the three silver needles pierced through the three vengeful souls.
Although they seemed to cause no harm, three thin lines suddenly formed as they passed through.
"Wuu..."
The vengeful souls let out a mournful wail before being pulled back by the Ghost Mother Needles, transforming into pure Yin Qi and falling into the Soul Confinement Banner.
Nourished by the Yin Qi, the black Soul Confinement Banner appeared to deepen in color.
The grade of the Soul Confinement Banner was never fixed.
Instead, it was determined by the material used and the strength of the souls it could contain.
Luo Chen was aware of this, and he was more concerned about the effect of the Ghost Mother Needles.
"Ghost Mother Needles, Spirit Recognition Lines."
"Indeed, it's a rare Soul Path Magical Tool that can pull and attack with Spirit Recognition."
Among Gao Tingyuan's inheritance, in addition to the Soul Refining True Art, there was also a book related to Spirit Recognition.
This book recorded the various uses of Spirit Recognition once a cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Generally, the Spirit Recognition of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator could only be used to detect nearby living beings.
Alternatively, it could be released to form a rare Foundation Establishment pressure.
The display of Spirit Recognition between him and Nan Gong Jin earlier was an example of the latter.
Aside from these two uses, the effect of Spirit Recognition wasn't that significant.
However, this didn't mean that Spirit Recognition had no potential.
After all, cultivators focused on refining essence, with spirit cultivation as a supplementary practice. As an external manifestation of the divine soul, Spirit Recognition couldn't possibly be useless.
It was just that ordinary cultivators lacked specific methods of use! Only the major sects possessed such methods.
From that book on Spirit Recognition, Luo Chen learned that in addition to specific Spirit Recognition techniques, there was another way to use it.
It involved crafting Magical Tools from special materials to manifest the invisible Spirit Recognition into a tangible form.
The Ghost Mother Needles were a prime example of this.
"Li Da truly wasted such a treasure... No, even if he knew how to use it, he couldn't do it because his Spirit Recognition couldn't be released externally."
As Luo Chen explored, the full power of the set of Ghost Mother Needles finally revealed itself.
Needle-type Magical Tools were known for their speed and stealth.
If they could also pull and release Spirit Recognition, ordinary vengeful souls and ghostly beings wouldn't stand a chance in a single exchange.
Moreover, by defeating lower-tier vengeful souls with these needles and infusing their Yin Qi and soul power into the Soul Confinement Banner, its power could be enhanced.
This way, it was a win-win situation! Luo Chen put away the silver needles and continued forward.
...
Two days later, Luo Chen stood at the entrance of the Phoenix Descending Mountain.
He had been extremely cautious along the way, trying to avoid provoking powerful ghostly beings, which was why his progress was so slow.
There was no other choice; inside the Da He Ghost City, there were more than just these lower-tier vengeful souls.
Here, thousands of Essence Condensation Stage loose cultivators were buried.
Among them, those in the later stages of Essence Condensation were even more numerous.
With such numbers, vengeful souls and fierce ghosts often emerge.
These two are far beyond the capabilities of low-level ghost spirits.
They inherently possess an aggressive nature!
Moreover, being in the Ghost Realm, they can recklessly devour weaker beings without restraint.
In just a few years, from having only one Ghost General, it has now transformed into nine Ghost Generals.
And this was just last year's data!
After a year, only the ghosts themselves might know the extent of the Ghost Generals' numbers.
After breaking through his realm, Luo Chen returned with great confidence and vigor.
But he hadn't reached the point of feeling invincible, looking down on everything in heaven and earth.
As it concerned life and death, he had to be extremely cautious.
To enter Phoenix Descending Mountain, the most crucial step was to pass through White Stone Square.
Here, the first Ghost General-level existence of the Great River Ghost City was born!
In the past, the Nan Gong family suffered a devastating blow at White Stone Square, forcing them to reluctantly choose to close their clan.
After several years, they have gradually recovered.
Luo Chen also had to be cautious about this powerful Ghost General that first appeared.
"However, there shouldn't be a problem!"
Luo Chen was full of confidence.
After advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the power of his first-stage spells had increased significantly.
To deal with Li Da, a renowned ninth-layer Essence Condensation expert, he only needed to use the Ensnarement Technique to defeat him, which speaks volumes about his abilities.
Among these spells, Luo Chen valued the four major spells the most.
Fireball Spell, Cleansing Spell, Spirit Eye Technique, and Breath Concealment Art!
During the Essence Condensation Stage, Breath Concealment Art was enough to deceive Foundation Establishment True Cultivators.
Now, at the Foundation Establishment Stage, with the support of his Spiritual Sense, the effect of Breath Concealment Art was even more remarkable.
Whether it could deceive Golden Core cultivators was uncertain.
But for ghosts without any spiritual intelligence, there was absolutely no problem!
In fact, this was the reason Luo Chen dared to venture into the Ghost City alone.
With a thought, he instantly activated the Grand Completion Breath Concealment Art, enhancing himself.
In an instant, Luo Chen's aura became almost non-existent.
His Spirit Energy fluctuations were completely hidden, and his vigorous vitality was restrained within his body.
This was just the first layer of protection.
If he was accidentally discovered by someone, there was another layer of simulated ghost spirit aura inside.
"With this, there should be no worries at all!"
Luo Chen took a deep breath and then confidently walked towards White Stone Square.
As he walked, his gaze fell on the surroundings.
The Moxue Bingcheng Milk Tea Shop had long turned into ruins.
The previous battle had taken place nearby, so it was impossible for it to have survived.
Xiao Yue's snack stall was also nowhere to be found.
However, in the ruins, there was a corner of a blue stone that seemed familiar to Luo Chen.
"That should be the Great Blue Stone that Chen Laodao gave me."
"I used it for Xiao Yue's stall, never imagining it would end up like this."
Seeing the blue stone corner, Luo Chen sighed inwardly but didn't stop walking.
Soon, he passed through the empty White Stone Square.
It was strange; there wasn't a single ghost or spirit wandering around.
It was as if there was a natural suppression force.
He arrived beneath the enormous jade plaque.
Luo Chen shook his head.
The jade plaque, once a gathering place for crowds, was now just a piece of gray, broken rubble.
The past prosperity was no more.
Without stopping, Luo Chen entered the passage leading to Phoenix Descending Mountain from the ticket booth.
Without the restrictions of the formation, the once-mysterious passage was now just a huge blue stone-paved corridor.
"It's close, so close!"
"I can feel it; not far ahead, there's a surging Spirit Energy emitting fluctuations."
"Vitality and death coexist; this Spirit Land has not completely dissipated!"
Just as Luo Chen was about to step into the Dao Discussion Platform area, his body stiffened.
He slowly turned around.
A flickering figure drifted outside the corridor, its eyes vacant and confused, as if without a physical body.
But occasionally, there was a hint of sharpness in its gaze.
It walked out of the corridor, circling around White Stone Square, and slowly wandering.
Any mindless ghost spirit that accidentally entered White Stone Square would be instantly strangled and devoured by it.
Ghostly energy filled the air, crisscrossing like sword light.
Looking at that figure, Luo Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation, a reminder of how people change.
"So it's him... sigh..."
The person he saw was none other than the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's true disciple, Luo Tianhong.
He was originally sent to Da He Fang to carry out the Foundation Establishment task.
He was supposed to return to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect after ten years, but he never expected to meet his end here.
After becoming a ghost spirit, he still instinctively guarded the area around the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.
"This person was unusually kind to me. Although there was a hint of exploitation, he did remove the hidden danger that Mi Shuhua left on my body."
"During the Lanjiang River Corporation's economic downturn, he also took good care of me."
"It's just a pity that I can't do anything about his current state."
Sigh...
Luo Chen sighed, shook his head, and his figure disappeared into Phoenix Descending Mountain.
...
...
Phoenix Descending Mountain!
According to rumors, it was the place where the Heavenly Phoenix fell in ancient times.
"Ancient rumors are unreliable, just like the Cangjiang River, which some say was formed by a giant snow dragon named Cang, melting and transforming into a river."
But in reality, it was the melting snow from the Great Snow Mountains, merging with countless streams, rushing forward, and eventually forming a mighty river.
Luochen didn't care about any of this; he only knew that Luofeng Mountain was the center of a vast spirit vein spanning a thousand li around the Dahefang area.
The reason why the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect established a market and even built a Dao Discussion Platform here was due to the presence of a massive spirit vein stretching for hundreds of li beneath.
As he entered the Underground Palace and stepped onto the Dao Discussion Platform, Luochen was on high alert.
Other places were fine, but this was the center of the great battle.
If there was one place in the Dahe Ghost City that was most dangerous, it would undoubtedly be here.
He was prepared.
If anything seemed amiss, he would immediately flee.
However, upon entering the Dao Discussion Platform, he saw only the vast ruins of collapsed buildings, with no lingering ghostly spirits.
"That's right, as the center of the great battle, what ghostly creatures could have survived here?"
Feeling the dense sword aura in the vicinity, Luochen chuckled to himself.
After many years, the residual sword aura of the Golden Core swordsmen who had fought here still exuded a sharp presence.
Even with his physique approaching the first realm of body refinement, he felt his hairs stand on end.
With a swift leap, Luochen transformed into an agile monkey, darting through the rugged terrain of the Dao Discussion Platform.
Soon, he crossed the boundaries of the platform and entered an unfamiliar realm.
His spirit eyes shone with brilliance as he scanned the surroundings.
"Over there!"
Without hesitation, Luochen headed towards the deepest part of Luofeng Mountain.
In no time, he reached a mountainside partially covered by huge rocks.
Without delay, Luochen spat out a sword pellet.
With a flick of his finger, the sword pellet transformed into a sharp longsword, slicing through the rocks and advancing steadily.
Luochen followed closely behind.
After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Luochen finally halted the sword pellet's excavation.
He pushed with his hand, and the mountain wall crumbled with a loud crash.
A simple cave mansion instantly appeared before him.
There was nothing inside.
It was as simple as it could get!
"I never thought that Pang Renxiong was also a dedicated ascetic cultivator."
Luochen sighed as he looked at the crude cave mansion.
He didn't enter right away.
Indeed, the place was permeated with an extremely dense and pure spirit energy, far beyond what a first-rank spirit vein could offer.
It even made Luochen wonder if it was a third-rank spirit land.
However, within the spirit energy, there was also a mixture of chilling yin energy, ghostly aura, and even a small amount of sha qi.
Such a place was not suitable for cultivation at all!
Even with the assistance of a spirit-gathering formation, it would be challenging to extract the pure spirit energy for cultivation.
In fact, this was the reason why the several Foundation Establishment cultivators of Dahefang lost interest after multiple explorations.
They lacked the means to deal with this predicament.
But Luochen had a solution!
"Fortunately, I frantically practiced to gain proficiency for the Imperial Stream Paste, and raised many spells to the Grand Completion level."
"Right now, the Cleansing Spell is perfect for this situation!"
There was a reason why Luochen considered the Cleansing Spell one of the four most important first-stage spells.
After reaching Grand Completion, it unleashed an astonishing effect!
Ordinary cleansing spells could only clean dirt and were of little use.
Initially, when he cultivated it to the Master level, it gained the ability to remove foreign substances from the body.
Such as demonic energy, essence energy, and even the pure spirit energy left by Uncle Mi on his body.
But that was the extent of its capabilities.
At the Master level, the Cleansing Spell was most effective when used internally.
Externally, it could only be used to clean alchemy cauldrons.
All of this changed with the Grand Completion of the Cleansing Spell!
Now, the Cleansing Spell could be cast instantly!
Moreover, it could also effectively deal with external objects.
For example, the water attribute spell that Wang Hai Chao had used during Luochen's Foundation Establishment Ceremony was completely neutralized by Luochen's full-power Cleansing Spell.
Similarly, the Ghost Mother Needles and the vengeful souls from the Soul Confinement Banner that Li Da had used a couple of days ago were also rendered useless by the Grand Completion Cleansing Spell.
This spell truly had limitless potential.
Even at the Grand Completion level, Luochen felt that there was still room for optimization.
However, unlike the Fireball Spell, he hadn't found a clear direction for further optimization.
Now, Luochen's task was to use his spiritual sense to remove all foreign energies from this spirit land, leaving only the pure spirit energy.
"Haha, it's just a big clean-up!"
Luochen laughed heartily, his sleeves fluttering.
Soon, large amounts of yin energy were expelled from the cave mansion.
The remaining sha qi and ghostly aura were also thoroughly cleansed.
In no time, the cave mansion in the mountain's belly was filled with vibrant spirit energy.
Its purity far surpassed the second-rank spirit vein environment that Uncle Mi had activated.
It was also much better than the temporary second-rank spirit vein environment formed by the combination of ice and fire spirit energy on Xiao Huan Mountain.
Most importantly, it didn't require the consumption of medium-grade spirit stones!
Luochen suppressed his excitement and set up a first-stage defensive formation at the cave entrance.
Additionally, he also established a concealment formation.
With these measures, he was fully prepared!
After taking care of everything, Luochen finally relaxed and sat cross-legged in the cave mansion.
His breath became steady, and his mind became clear.
The Jade Elm Emperor Scripture began to circulate slowly.
The surrounding spirit energy continuously flowed into Luochen's body.
And within his Qi Sea, the accumulated medicinal power from the past was gradually activated with each circulation.
"Drip..."
As the first drop of condensed spirit energy fell into the vast Qi Sea, it signaled the beginning of Luochen's pure cultivation.
(End of Chapter)
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