https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-381-Flame-Alliance-s-Withering-Flame-Thundercloud-Key/12932496/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-383-Chu-Kui-Joins-Luo-Tian-Luoyun-Reaches-Golden-Sand/12932498/
Chapter 382: Chu Kui: Luo Chen, Are You Interested in a Big Deal?
Chapter 382: Chu Kui: Luo Chen, Are You Interested in a Big Deal?
In the vast sandy desert of Ten Thousand Mile, a gigantic floating island was silently rooted, unmoved by the shifting sands around it.
On this day, a figure shot towards the island from a distance.
Some patrolling Four Sects cultivators spotted this and immediately called out to the newcomer.
"Who goes there? Do you have a token?"
"Yes!"
A hoarse voice rang out, and a dark wooden token flashed by.
The patrolling cultivator stared at the black-clad man beneath the hood, and his face instantly turned respectful.
"Please come in!"
The black-clad man nodded and entered the Golden Sand Floating Island.
Behind him, one of the patrolling cultivators asked in confusion, "Why didn't the captain check his identity? He just let him in so easily; what if he's a spy?"
The captain glared at him.
"You blind fool, can't you see that it's a token that only Golden Core Seniors possess? This man must be one of our Four Sects' Golden Core Elders!"
The teammate was stunned for a moment.
He muttered, "But I can't sense the aura of a Golden Core cultivator from him?"
"If you could, would he still be a Senior? You idiot, go patrol in another direction!"
The scolding voice came from behind.
The black-clad cultivator heard it clearly but didn't react.
"The Ice Fortress Elder Token that Jue Qing Xian Zi gave me is quite useful; I can come and go without any questioning," Luo Chen thought to himself.
He was alone, without Wang Yuan.
In truth, Wang Yuan had wanted to accompany him on his return.
However, after Luo Chen's persuasion, he gave up on the idea and went back to Heavenly Wave instead.
The reason Luo Chen didn't let him come back was because of the Blood Demon legend associated with Wang Yuan.
Even if the real Blood Demon wasn't Wang Yuan but someone else, Wang Yuan's return would undoubtedly lead to investigations and interrogations by the Golden Core Seniors of the Four Sects, given the lack of sufficient evidence to prove his innocence.
It's better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After the war, with Luo Chen's connection to the Ice Fortress, these baseless rumors could be easily suppressed.
Moreover, Wang Yuan had a valid reason; he had been on the run, so he didn't have the opportunity to commit any crimes.
Wang Yuan returned to Heavenly Wave first, and after a few months, Luo Chen would bring the rest of the Luo Tian Association back.
From then on, their involvement in the war would be minimal.
Upon entering the island, Luo Chen tried to conceal his aura as much as possible.
He was completely covered in a black coat, even wearing a hood over his head.
Occasionally, passing cultivators would glance at him with curiosity, but they didn't seem to care much.
This indifference piqued Luo Chen's curiosity.
"Why are people so nonchalant about my unusual attire?"
However, he soon discovered the reason!
The streets of the Golden Sand Floating Island were bustling with cultivators, far more than Luo Chen had imagined.
Among them were those dressed like him, as well as masked individuals and others who concealed their identities.
"Could it be that the rotating cultivators from the Sixth Mountain have returned?"
The sheer number of cultivators amazed Luo Chen.
It was almost double the previous count!
But his keen spiritual sense allowed him to discern that these cultivators with hidden faces were not from the Four Sects.
"Loose cultivators!"
"Most of them are loose cultivators!"
"There are few young ones; most are middle-aged or elderly."
"Did these loose cultivators come specifically to participate in the war and exchange Core Formation secrets?"
As Luo Chen pondered silently, he quickly stepped into an alley.
Soon, he emerged wearing a Crimson Cloud Daoist Robe and a Three-Leaf Daoist Crown on his head.
Unlike the usual Daoist crown that only tied his hair, this one was taller, covering his forehead.
Overall, he looked less carefree and more mature and composed.
After adjusting his crown slightly, Luo Chen entered the Ice Fortress camp.
As he stepped into the area, he frowned.
"There are more people outside, but fewer affiliated cultivators of the Four Sects."
In his confusion, he soon arrived at the Luo Tian Association's location.
"Chairman!"
Xu Huanzhen greeted him.
Luo Chen nodded and entered the stone house, with Xu Huanzhen following closely behind.
"Tell me about the recent intelligence on the floating island."
Xu Huanzhen didn't hesitate and promptly provided a detailed report.
Luo Chen quickly learned about the significant events that had taken place on the battlefield during his brief absence.
In summary, the Four Sects Alliance had abandoned their defensive strategy and launched a counterattack.
Instead of holding onto the Fifth and Sixth Mountains, they gathered a large number of cultivators to reclaim the lost Seventh Mountain.
On the Golden Sand Floating Island, the news that the Four Sects were offering Core Formation secrets, and even Supreme Core Formation secrets, was spread by those with ulterior motives.
Throughout the Jade Cauldron Region, Foundation Establishment cultivators who had stayed out of the conflict rushed to the island.
In just half a month, the floating island had gained nearly four to five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators.
They came from various backgrounds, including family cultivators, loose cultivators, and elders from first- and second-rate sects.
The Golden Core path ahead enticed everyone, and this trend continued to grow.
Xu Zhenren added, "Soon, the batch of puppets from Luoyun Sect that aren't afraid of ordinary thunder will also be delivered to the Thunder Accumulation Nine Mountains battlefield under the leadership of the sect's elders."
"Chairman, the counterattack horn has sounded!"
After hearing this intelligence, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.
He had originally assumed that the civil war between the two Nascent Soul Supreme Sects of Jade Cauldron would continue to drag on.
But now, it seemed that Luoyun Sect was accelerating the process.
Or perhaps, they intended to regain the advantage and then continue the stalemate.
Due to his cultivation realm and connections, Luo Chen couldn't delve deeper into these thoughts.
Unable to find a solution, Luo Chen waved his hand.
"You may leave now."
"Don't let anyone disturb me these days."
Xu Zhenren curiously glanced at the Triple-Leaf Dao Crown on Luo Chen's head and then respectfully left the stone house.
After he left, Luo Chen heaved a sigh of relief and removed the Triple-Leaf Dao Crown.
A flame mark stood vividly on his forehead, as if it were burning.
Luo Chen's fingers caressed the mark between his eyebrows, his face calm, seemingly unconcerned about it.
Suddenly, his fingers formed a sword-like gesture.
A strand of fresh red blood slowly appeared from his sword finger and then carefully dropped onto the flame mark.
"Chi..."
A burnt smell instantly spread.
Luo Chen clenched his teeth, ignoring the slight pain from his divine soul as he continued the motion.
After a long while, he slowly relaxed his sword finger, letting it hang limply towards the ground.
Drip!
A drop of crimson blood slowly fell from his finger onto the ground.
Seeing this, Luo Chen breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Brother Wang didn't deceive me. This Blood Demonic Finger technique can be activated even without understanding Bright and Dark Energies, relying solely on blood energy."
On their way back.
Wang Yuan and Luo Chen had studied the curse-like mark that Flame Thunder Son had left on Luo Chen before his death.
In the end, Wang Yuan concluded that it was similar to the bloodline secret technique mastered by Withered Toad Huo Quan.
It was likely also one of the Flame Alliance's true disciple inheritances.
The only difference was that Flame Thunder Son's understanding of it was more profound.
Wang Yuan had researched this thing countless times over the past few months.
Initially, he had only intended to cover their retreat, creating an opportunity for Luo Tian Association's cultivators to escape.
With his abilities and his mastery of the Breath-Holding Spirit Art, he should have been able to shake off pursuers on the battlefield.
But he was repeatedly surrounded and almost intercepted.
This made him realize that there might be a tracking mark on his body.
Especially after encountering the Withered Toad several times, the bloodline-based intuition made him even more certain of this guess.
Given his personality.
It was natural that he wouldn't allow such a toxic mark to remain on his body.
So, at that time, he tried to use the Bright and Dark Energies, transformed by blood energy, to remove the mark.
It was during this relentless pursuit that Wang Yuan continuously gained insights, eventually breaking through to the Transformation Energy realm.
By then, he finally understood who the Withered Toad was and why he could repeatedly find him.
Wang Yuan was not one to sit idly by! While using the hastily deduced Blood Demonic Finger to remove the Huo family bloodline mark on his body, he also changed his location.
Eventually, their roles reversed! From being chased by the Withered Toad and his men, Wang Yuan became the one hunting them down.
Whether it was through long-distance escapes or individual defeats, he eventually broke their encirclement.
If not for the Withered Toad secretly finding two helpers.
Wang Yuan could have killed them all by himself! One might even say that even without Luo Chen's arrival, Wang Yuan had a three-in-ten chance of taking down the Withered Toad, Yang Wei, and Flame Thunder Son together!
But I digress.
"Using essence blood as a catalyst, connected by the divine soul, and assisted by pure spirit energy, this technique can be unleashed."
Luo Chen looked at the drop of foul-smelling blood on the ground.
He casually used the Fireball Spell to incinerate it.
"The Blood Demonic Finger can dispel this mark, but it requires sufficient time, as my skill in this technique is far inferior to Wang Yuan's."
"Time..."
Luo Chen muttered.
Beneath his calm exterior, there was a hint of anxiety and urgency.
Flame Thunder Son's identity was clearly stated before his death.
He was the son of Elder Di Wanyun of the Flame Alliance.
It's a timeless principle that when the little ones are bullied, the elders must step in.
Even in elementary school, if a child is bullied, their parents will go to the school.
Not long ago, when Luo Tian Association's cultivators suffered heavy losses, this "elder" Luo Chen personally took action.
Now, along with Wang Yuan, they had killed the Withered Toad, Flame Thunder Son, and others, avenging Li Yingzhang and the others.
And so, Di Wanyun's quest for revenge was inevitable.
This time, Luo Chen would never allow the incident with Withered Toad Huo Quan to repeat itself.
However, at the moment, he still lacked the strength to eliminate future troubles.
The top priority was to remove the mark on his forehead to prevent anyone from finding him.
"With my mastery of the Blood Demonic Finger, I can only remove the essence-blood trigger, and I'll have to proceed with caution."
"But, I have another trick up my sleeve!"
With a thought, for the first time since reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Luo Chen used the finger technique to cast the Purification Technique!
As a first-tier spell, the Purification Technique was widely known, and almost every cultivator had some proficiency in it.
The only difference was the level of mastery.
Luo Chen's mastery of this technique had reached an unprecedented level, unmatched by any before or after him.
After casting the spell, he could remove not only dirt and dust but also foreign auras.
During the Qi Condensation Stage, he had used this technique to expel the Foundation Establishment-level pure spirit energy mark left by Mi Shuhua on his body.
He had also casually dispersed spells, dispelling ghostly and yin energies.
Even after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he didn't abandon this technique and would casually cast it from time to time.
Others thought he had a cleanliness obsession.
But they didn't know that he felt this technique still had potential, even after reaching Grand Perfection.
Just like the Fireball Spell, a basic technique, even after Grand Perfection, it could be continuously optimized, eventually leading him to develop the 'Blazing Sun Technique', which could accumulate power almost infinitely.
Slower than the original Blazing Sun Technique, but with a much higher ceiling.
His expectations for the Purification Technique were similar.
Through constant practice, especially in the past few months when he helped Li Yingzhang remove the Malevolent Qi from his body, Luo Chen had a sudden realization.
"Cleanse everything on my body that doesn't belong to me, whether it's dirt, spirit energy, Malevolent Qi, or even soul marks!"
As he muttered, Luo Chen recalled the old incident at the Dahe Inn.
Mi Shuhua was a cunning old fox!
He had left not only a spirit energy mark but also a spirit consciousness mark on Luo Chen's body, which was later removed by Pang Renxiong.
Could he do the same?
He had the foundation for it! Over the years, he had unlocked numerous storage bags, some of which belonged to experts in soul binding.
Wasn't a spirit consciousness mark just a variation of soul binding? With careful manipulation,
his hands trembled slightly.
A Purification Technique struck the flame mark on his forehead.
In an instant, Luo Chen's body trembled violently.
Ripples appeared in his golden sea of consciousness.
In a daze, Luo Chen instantly snapped back to clarity.
He felt as if a burden had been lifted, as if the shackles on his body had loosened.
Using the Water Mirror Technique, Luo Chen examined his forehead.
The lifelike flame mark, which had already faded slightly after the Blood Demonic Finger, now appeared even duller!
Seeing this, Luo Chen's lips curled upwards.
"It really works!"
"This Purification Technique still has much potential!"
After confirming that the Blood Demonic Finger and Purification Technique could eliminate the flame mark, Luo Chen's heart was finally at ease.
He estimated that it would take a few more days at most to completely resolve this hidden danger.
After all, the one who cast this technique was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the sixth level.
It wasn't an overly sophisticated method.
If Wang Yuan could solve it with force and blood path techniques, Luo Chen had his own means!
"Next, I just need to wait for the six-month period to end, and I can lead the team away."
Luo Chen muttered to himself.
...
"Halt, who goes there!"
"May I ask if Chairman Luo Chen is present?"
"Who are you?"
"Heavenly Crown Master Chu Kui requests an audience with Daoist Friend Luo Chen, please inform him."
The Luo Tian Association cultivator on guard duty was startled by the robust man before him.
Chu Kui!
Wasn't he the most famous and formidable loose cultivator in their Heavenly Wave Immortal City?
He dared not be negligent and immediately went to report.
Inside the stone house, Luo Chen, who was casting spells daily to remove the mark, frowned upon hearing that Chu Kui had come to visit.
What was he up to?
Luo Chen was aware of Chu Kui's activities.
The Four Sects Alliance's merit list had consistently featured the name 'Heavenly Crown Master'.
Chu Kui, as a loose cultivator, had joined the Four Sects Alliance to earn merits on the battlefield.
However, due to his loose cultivator status and advanced realm, the Alliance did not strictly restrict his movements.
As a result, in the months Luo Chen had been on the Golden Sand Floating Island, he had hardly encountered Chu Kui.
"With the Four Sects offering their Core Formation secret techniques, Chu Kui must be extremely tempted. Instead of rushing to earn merits on the battlefield, why is he calmly seeking me out?"
"Interesting!"
"I'd like to know what he's up to."
Luo Chen smiled slightly and immediately instructed his subordinates to invite Chu Kui in.
Soon, a tall man wearing a conical hat entered the stone house.
He removed his hat.
Before Luo Chen could speak, Chu Kui got straight to the point.
"Chairman Luo, are you interested in a big opportunity?"
(End of Chapter)
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