Chapter 323: Appearance
Chapter 323: Appearance
Lu Chen discovered that the perspectives shared by the Void Nightmare Beast varied significantly with distance.
When it hovered right behind him, the vision was crisp and clear, revealing even the subtle textures on the leaves of spiritual plants.
As the distance increased, the vision became blurrier, and at a distance of over twenty zhang, one could only vaguely make out the general shape.
"To give an analogy, the clarity of close-range vision is like a 4K high-definition video, while the farthest distance is like an ancient video with a resolution of 256, where everything exudes a hazy beauty."
Due to the initial refinement of the Void Nightmare Beast, the shared vision was greatly limited, allowing observation of only up to a distance of over ten zhang. However, by letting the eye roam freely in the void, his spiritual sense could control it to reach over two hundred zhang away.
Lu Chen experimented thoroughly before reluctantly putting the Void Nightmare Beast away into the palm crack.
"The light sphere rewards have been abundant lately, and my diligent cultivation of spiritual plants has certainly paid off."
With the successive maturation of third and fourth-grade spiritual plants, Lu Chen had been reaping a series of windfalls lately, and they were all top-notch treasures.
Even the fourth-grade Wind and Thunder Sword Grass's light sphere paled in comparison to the others.
"The fourth-grade Xuanchong Vine, the Earthfire Heart Lotus, and the Hundred-Eyed Mystical Wood have matured, yielding the fifth-grade spatial artifact, the Gluttonous Beast Pouch, the fifth-grade treasure 'Pure Yang True Fire Scripture', and the Void Nightmare Beast."
With these three fifth-grade treasures, Lu Chen's strength soared, like upgrading from a pistol to a cannon.
Before the Gluttonous Beast Pouch was consecrated into a magic weapon, it could only be used as an advanced version of the Life-Preserving Bag. However, the 'Pure Yang True Fire Scripture' and the Void Nightmare Beast were a different story.
One allowed him to contemplate and comprehend divine abilities while releasing the residual soul of the Golden Crow, capable of instantly killing a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The other vastly enhanced his scouting capabilities and improved his survival chances, and it could also suddenly cast illusions, catching enemies off guard.
In addition, there was the fourth-grade Wind and Thunder Sword, four and a half fourth-grade Sword Talismans, the 'Four Seasons Sword Manual' that had reached the realm of transformation, the Invisible Spirit Cloak, the Seal of Mount Fengyu, the Blazing Flame Pearl, the Fiery Yuan Pill, the White Bone Devil Puppet, the Soul-Luring Lantern, the Thousand Soul Mystic Mask, the Evil Substitution Doll, and his robust physical body...
All these powerful means, artifacts, and talismans gave Lu Chen a tremendous sense of security.
"As an ordinary spiritual herbologist with mediocre combat skills and cultivation, I wouldn't dare to venture into a secret realm to compete for opportunities without some tricks up my sleeve."
Lu Chen's lips curled upward as he thought to himself.
"Oh well, I might as well join in on the fun and take a trip to the boundless sea secret realm."
With determination, he took out a communication talisman and left a message, which swiftly flew toward the Song Family mansion.
In the main hall of the Song Family, the elegant cultivator Song Yu paced back and forth, as if this would help alleviate the anxiety in his heart.
According to the messages from the Song Family disciples stationed near the periphery of the secret realm, the numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators attempting to break the secret realm's formation and restrictions had made significant progress and were estimated to enter the secret realm soon.
However, without Lu Chen's permission, Song Yu dared not attempt to snatch opportunities from the many Foundation Establishment cultivators, relying solely on the Song Family's strength. All he could do was wait quietly for Lu Chen's instructions.
"This Master Lu, despite his background in a grand sect and formidable strength, is surprisingly cautious."
"I must go and report to him again to make him aware of the seriousness of the situation."
Song Yu stopped pacing and said through gritted teeth.
Just then, a talisman arrived in an instant and hovered before him.
"A message from Master Lu!"
His heart leaped, and he grabbed the communication talisman, infusing it with spiritual power to activate it.
"Get ready, and let's take a trip to that secret realm."
To Song Yu, Lu Chen's words were like music to his ears.
"Yes!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, he blurted out a response to the talisman.
As the Song family's treasure ship drew closer to the water wall, Lu Chen's vision of it became increasingly clear.
"What's the situation with the array formations now?"
He directed his question to Song Yu, who stood behind him.
"The array formations on the water wall have mostly been deciphered by several cultivators proficient in the Dao of Arrays," Song Yu replied. "It's said that they are a combination of several fourth-grade arrays, with some beast souls lingering, which is why it has taken so long."
"Now that many of the arrays have been broken, and with the combined efforts of several powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators, most of the beast souls have been dealt with. It shouldn't be long before we can enter the secret realm."
Song Yu answered honestly, and behind him stood over a dozen Song family cultivators, including Song Yun, who had been cultivating the Dao of the Sword with Lu Chen.
Lu Chen nodded slightly, his spiritual sense sweeping over the area.
There were nearly twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered around the secret realm.
Lu Chen spotted two familiar figures—Shi Zhong and Zhou Bingyu—working together to deal with the beast souls.
In addition, almost all the Foundation Establishment cultivators he had seen at the auction were present.
Among them was Ning Deshan, the elderly Ning family cultivator with whom he had a grudge.
Given the remote location of the archipelago, the scarcity of spiritual energy, and the lack of resources, it was impressive that the secret realm had attracted over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, which was already close to the limit.
Most of these cultivators were in the early stages of the Foundation Establishment realm, with only five or six having reached the middle or late stages.
Of course, it was possible that some were deliberately concealing their true cultivation levels to catch their competitors off guard.
Lu Chen was not above suspecting the worst of everyone present.
After all, he was one of those people.
Currently, he wore a plain robe produced by the Celestial Sword Sect and carried a third-grade Purple Electric Sword, appearing to be a cultivator in the early stages of the Foundation Establishment realm, his true strength concealed by the Invisible Spirit Cloak.
As they drew closer to the water wall, the spotless jade pendant around Lu Chen's neck emanated a chilling aura, the cold intensifying as if it sought to freeze his chest.
"It seems we have some special friends among us," Lu Chen thought with a cold smile.
The reaction of the spotless jade indicated the presence of something sinister among the crowd—a cultivator's tamed beast or an intruder with ill intentions—neither of which boded well.
Along the way, some of the Qi Refining cultivators subordinate to the Foundation Establishment cultivators tried to block Lu Chen and his companions, but upon seeing Lu Chen, they quickly changed their attitude and greeted him respectfully.
Although Lu Chen hadn't left Kongming Island often, he was, after all, from the Celestial Sword Sect, and almost all the high-level Qi Refining cultivators in the archipelago knew him.
They certainly wouldn't dare to stop a core disciple of a major sect.
"Lu, my friend, you've finally arrived! Come over here quickly!"
In the distance, Shi Zhong, who had just defeated a giant beast illusion, spotted Lu Chen and called out enthusiastically.
"Shi, Zhou, it's been a while," Lu Chen greeted them.
"I had a recent breakthrough in my cultivation of a certain art, and I've been in seclusion until recently. I decided to come and take a look at this newly discovered secret realm."
"My friends know that I, Lu, am usually occupied with spiritual herbs, and my cultivation and treasures are quite ordinary. I would appreciate your help once we enter the secret realm."
Lu Chen transmitted his thoughts to Shi Zhong and Zhou Bingyu.
(End of Chapter)
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