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Chapter 449: Nascent Soul Conflict, The Mystery of Withering and Flourishing, Revisiting Old Places
Chapter 449: Nascent Soul Conflict, The Mystery of Withering and Flourishing, Revisiting Old Places and Meeting Old Acquaintances
The voice was hoarse, and it seemed to come from a great distance.
It wasn't a shout, but merely a simple sentence, yet it reached Luo Chen's ears with crystal clarity.
Suddenly, a guess flashed through Luo Chen's mind.
Soul Transmission!
But with a distance of a thousand li between them, and without the use of a focused sound transmission, how profound must one's soul foundation be to achieve such clarity?
Luo Chen swallowed, steadying his mind.
He shook his head vigorously and looked up again.
In his hazy gaze, he caught a glimpse of another scene beneath the vast expanse of thunderclouds.
A young Daoist, clad in a white bone robe adorned with intricate patterns, sat atop a white bone chariot, overlooking the continuous mountain ranges.
Pulling the chariot was a three-headed flood dragon.
At this moment, it bared its fangs and glared viciously at the old man standing opposite.
The old man, dressed in a green robe with his white hair neatly draped behind him, remained calm and unassuming.
He didn't reveal his true power, but faced the white bone Daoist and the three-headed flood dragon without fear, even sporting a smile.
The white bone Daoist stared intently at the old man before him.
"Do you know me?"
The old man smiled and said, "Who doesn't know of the Master of the Great Snow Mountain, the Boneless Black Snake?"
"But I don't know you," the Boneless Black Snake replied disdainfully.
The old man smiled slightly, "The human race produces countless powerful cultivators. I'm merely a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator, so it's normal if you don't recognize me. Allow me to introduce myself, Han Zhan of the Falling Cloud Sect!"
The Boneless Black Snake's eyebrows rose, as he had no recollection of this name.
Especially since the old man's Nascent Soul realm was stable, but it was indeed only the early stage of Nascent Soul.
With this knowledge, the threat seemed less severe.
His gaze wandered, moving past Han Zhan and landing on the majestic Great Snow Mountain.
The White Bone Dao Palace, once located there, had been crushed into powder, leaving only the Moonlight Ice Castle standing tall.
The entire Fourth Rank Spirit Vein, upon which it relied for cultivation, was now channeling countless Spirit Energy towards the Moonlight Ice Castle, ultimately flowing into the Ninth Layer female cultivator.
His expression darkened instantly.
"You humans have overstepped your boundaries by destroying my Dao Palace and occupying my Spirit Land!"
Han Zhan, however, remained unperturbed, "My friend is using your precious land to break through the Nascent Soul realm. Whether she succeeds or not, she will still owe you a favor. At that time, she will offer a generous gift as an apology."
"A generous gift?"
The Boneless Black Snake snarled, "What do you take us for?"
In the midst of his snarl, he unleashed a powerful palm strike.
Han Zhan remained calm and responded with his own palm strike.
The immense force of their cultivation clashed in an instant, causing the Great Snow Mountain to rumble.
...
"Han Zhan?"
"Grandmaster of the Falling Cloud Sect!"
A thousand li away, Luo Chen's expression turned solemn.
This was the first time he had seen the newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator from the Jade Cauldron Domain, whose figure, though thin, exuded a vigorous spirit. He remained calm in the face of danger, and his every word and action carried an air of immortal elegance.
"Was he invited to specifically aid Cang Lang Senior in his Nascent Soul Tribulation?"
As Luo Chen pondered, the two Nascent Soul stage powerhouses clashed once more.
The intense surge of cultivation energy rippled outwards.
Through the haze, Luo Chen could no longer see the figures of the two cultivators.
However, he could clearly sense the gathering of thunderclouds in the sky, growing thicker and thicker, with a small cluster of thunderclouds even forming abruptly and enveloping the human and the demon.
"Not good!"
"Their battle is affecting Cang Lang Senior's breakthrough, and even the Thunder Tribulation is intensifying because of it."
"Even Han Zhan and the others might be affected by the Thunder Tribulation."
"In that case, I wonder if this will have a positive or negative impact on Cang Lang Senior's breakthrough?"
As Luo Chen's thoughts raced, the two Nascent Soul powerhouses seemed to realize the situation after several clashes.
Instinctively, they pulled their battle away, creating some distance.
Once they reached a certain distance, a sudden change occurred.
In the mountains, five human silhouettes appeared, each holding a sword, floating up from the mountain peaks.
A vast array formed in an instant!
As the array took shape, countless sword energies surged forth, and among them, five differently colored sword lights, like swimming fish, darted towards the Boneless Black Snake.
The Boneless Black Snake's bellow echoed like thunder.
"Sword Array!"
"Do you think blocking me will allow that woman to safely undergo her tribulation?"
"Delusional!"
Amidst the bellow, the mountains seemed to respond.
One after another, powerful demonic auras soared into the sky, fearlessly charging towards the Moonlight Ice Castle.
Each of these auras belonged to a demon beast of at least the Third Rank.
Some were even comparable to late-stage Golden Core Demon Kings, and from a distance of a hundred li, they launched attacks on the Moonlight Ice Castle.
...
"Not good!"
When Luo Chen saw the Third Rank Demon Kings rushing towards the Moonlight Ice Castle, his face paled.
He was within a thousand li of this area.
He feared that he would inevitably encounter these Demon Kings.
This wasn't just a pursuit by the Seven-Ring Serpent King.
The Seven-Ring Serpent King wasn't particularly strong, and even with the advantage of their bloodline, they could only invite other serpent-like creatures to join in the pursuit of Luo Chen.
However, during the chase, these enemies couldn't unite immediately, making their efforts ineffective.
Luo Chen could dodge and escape, relying on his superior speed.
But if the area was filled with Third Rank Demon Kings,
he, as a lone human cultivator, would likely become their primary target.
This place was no longer safe!
Luo Chen glanced at the tall ice castle shrouded in thunderclouds in the distance and clenched his teeth.
"Senior Cang Lang, my apologies."
"At the moment, I am insignificant and unable to aid you in your tribulation."
"I hope you achieve the Three Flowers Gather at the Apex and the Five Qi Ascend to the Apex, successfully cultivating the Nascent Soul realm!"
Luo Chen clasped his fists and took flight, hugging the ground as he fled.
The further he flew, the more demonic beasts he encountered.
It wasn't limited to Third Rank Demon Kings; even Second Rank and First Rank beasts seemed to have been summoned, rushing towards the White Bone Dao Palace.
Luo Chen flew close to the ground, his azure flame blazing.
Wherever he passed, a trail of blood and fire marked his path.
...
Half a month later!
A massive green demonic cloud suddenly flew overhead, emitting agitated cries.
The howling wind shook the mountain forests, leaving them in disarray.
After some time,
beneath the dense forest, a human figure emerged from the roots of an old tree, their aura completely concealed, as if they were a piece of deadwood themselves.
He lifted his head and gazed in the direction of the green demon cloud's departure, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"After barely escaping from the Great Snow Mountain, I've only just entered the Ancient Original Mountain Range and already attracted the attention of a Tier 3 Green Juvenile Eagle."
"Fortunately, this type of demonic beast isn't as sensitive to spiritual energy."
"Otherwise, I, Luo Chen, wouldn't have been able to escape this demon so easily."
This person was none other than Luo Chen, who had recently caused quite a stir in the Great Snow Mountain.
After evading the pursuit of the Seven-Ring Snow Serpent, he stealthily entered the Ancient Original Mountain Range.
However, he never expected that the Celestial Phoenix True Form's transformation would also attract the attention of the Green Juvenile Eagle, another flying demonic beast.
Fortunately!
Although this type of demonic beast was fast and powerful, it wasn't as adept at tracking by spiritual energy.
Relying on his perfectly mastered Breath Concealment Art and Turtle Spirit Armor, he quickly escaped into the dense forest, constantly changing his spiritual energy signature, thus evading the eagle's pursuit.
But even so.
His current state was at its worst.
His spiritual power was nearly depleted, and his surging blood essence was almost exhausted.
His once robust physique, in this condition, was unable to forcefully activate the Celestial Phoenix True Form transformation.
"This place is still not safe; let's find a place to recover first!"
Luo Chen, exhausted, scanned his surroundings and then chose the direction with the weakest spiritual fluctuations to leap towards.
He didn't use any spell, but instead, the simplest of light body techniques, the Carefree Roaming.
A figure darted through the dense forest, swift as a rabbit, and soon disappeared from sight.
...
"Hmm, it's actually a cute little rabbit."
"It's a pity that it's in the wild; otherwise, I could have made a hand-torn rabbit dish for my master."
Bai Meiling muttered to herself.
With a casual wave, she released a ghostly energy that instantly knocked out the little rabbit, which had just advanced to a Tier 1 demonic beast.
After circling the area, she quietly returned to the stone cave in the mountain's belly.
As soon as she entered, a substantial gaze fell upon her.
"Master, you're awake!"
Bai Meiling was not startled but instead happily leaned closer.
Luo Chen, sitting on a reed mat in the stone cave, slowly nodded.
"How long has it been?"
Bai Meiling counted on her fingers and replied, "You've been recovering for a month."
Another month had passed?
Luo Chen muttered to himself.
Scanning his body with his spirit perception, he couldn't help but sigh.
His current condition was slightly better than before, but the improvement was limited, and he had only recovered about one-tenth of his strength.
At this point, not to mention a Tier 3 Demon King, even a Tier 2 Late-Stage demonic beast would be a challenge for him to handle. Killing it would be one thing, but what if it attracted the attention of other demonic beasts...
The storage ring he carried had too few healing materials.
Over the past month, Luo Chen had consumed all the ordinary Harmonizing Essence Pills and Premium Blood Enhancing Pills he had on him.
He hadn't taken the Dust Suppressing Pill.
He desperately needed the Blood Enhancing Pill to restore his blood essence.
Otherwise, relying solely on spiritual power, he wouldn't be able to activate the Nine Ten Thousand Miles, a Tier 3 flight technique.
Speaking of Nine Ten Thousand Miles,
Luo Chen's face showed a hint of regret. The Fiery Cloud Wings, crafted by the Hundred Forging Mountain cultivator, had already broken down under the strain and were completely unusable.
As a result, when he used the Nine Ten Thousand Miles in his human form, his speed would likely be reduced by more than half.
It would only be slightly faster than a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
If only that escape hadn't happened! Luo Chen shook his head, no longer dwelling on these regrets.
In fact, there had been signs of this earlier.
Since entering the Great Snow Mountain, Fu Jiusheng had mentioned the anomalies in the safe route more than once.
Too many low-level demonic beasts had relocated from their original habitats to the outside.
Now it seemed that these low-level beasts, naturally sensitive to danger, had sensed some impending doom.
And the source of this danger was clearly the tribulation that Cang Lang Senior had attracted upon breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.
"She not only invited Han Zhan, a Golden Core Master, as her protector, but also used the Moon Ice Castle, the top-grade treasure of the sect."
"Not only that, but also Heartless Immortal Fairy, Yin Yue Senior, Thin Frost..."
Luo Chen muttered the names of the Moon Ice Castle's Golden Core cultivators one by one.
If he hadn't missed it, there would have been a Golden Core cultivator stationed on each of the castle's eight floors.
Cang Lang Senior had used all the sect's resources to break through to the Nascent Soul stage!
"I wonder if she succeeded?"
Luo Chen hoped she had.
Not only would he have a powerful backer if Cang Lang successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage,
but also, she was a genuinely good person.
She was one of only two kindhearted individuals among the many high-level cultivators he had met.
The other was Hao Ranzi, whom he had only met twice.
Unfortunately, his condition at the time was too poor, and his strength was insufficient; otherwise, he would have definitely helped and contributed in some way.
Luo Chen refocused his mind.
His gaze fell upon the Tier 1 demonic rabbit that Bai Meiling was holding, its fur glossy and its nose bright red.
It was clearly still alive, just unconscious.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Give it to me!"
Bai Meiling handed it over without hesitation and casually asked, "Is Master going to cultivate the Mind-Conquering Spell?"
In the past, within the cave mansion, she had also fed demonic beasts for Luo Chen, who would occasionally use low-level demonic beasts to cultivate his Divine Soul Secret Techniques.
At this moment, she assumed that Luo Chen was going to do the same.
However!
She was unaware that Luo Chen had already achieved perfection in the Mind-Conquering Spell.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to instantly kill Xiao Sanren and intimidate Yinsha and He Lianyun during the underground cavern battle.
Grasping the unconscious demonic rabbit's ear, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.
His right hand trembled, and a strand of green flame, like a lighter, slowly emerged from his slender fingertip.
In his mind's eye, he found himself back in the underground cavern battle, holding Xiao Sanren's head high in the air, overlooking Yinsha and He Lianyun.
That time, he had incinerated Xiao Sanren's head with Primordial True Fire.
At that moment, a strange change had occurred within him.
However, due to the unique environment, he hadn't had the chance to investigate the cause then.
Now, he intended to recreate that strange change.
"If it's possible for humans, it should be possible for demonic beasts too?"
Luo Chen pursed his lips, and the Withering Flourishing Fire slowly enveloped the demonic rabbit.
The rabbit immediately woke up from the scorching heat and let out a piercing cry.
Bai Meiling's expression changed slightly, revealing a look of fear.
"Maintain the formation; don't let the sound escape."
Luo Chen calmly gave a simple order and continued to slowly burn the demonic rabbit.
Gradually, a mysterious power began to gather towards him.
After a while, Luo Chen brushed away the ashes, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"That is... vitality?"
He could feel that after his body's Withering Flame was refined into the Primordial True Fire, it seemed to absorb a unique power after burning living beings.
And this strand of flame seemed to have grown stronger.
As it grew stronger, it also distributed a trace of that power to Luo Chen's body.
After being nourished by this power, some of Luo Chen's injuries healed faster.
"Perhaps, this is the true wonder of the Withering Flame?"
In his confusion, he waved at Bai Meiling.
"Are there any other low-level demonic beasts that have strayed into the confusion array?"
Bai Meiling's body trembled, and she quickly nodded.
"There are a few more!"
"Give them all to me!"
The second demonic beast was a cloud sparrow.
Luo Chen used his spiritual power to activate the Primordial True Fire, slowly burning it, while releasing his spirit perception and opening his spirit eyes wide, trying to observe and capture the appearance of that power.
One, two.
Three, four...
Finally, after Luo Chen had refined all the low-level demonic beasts and wild beasts that had strayed into the confusion array during this period, he confirmed that power!
It was hard to say whether it had the ability to attack and conquer, but that power could indeed strengthen the Withering Flame.
At the same time, the strand of vitality that was distributed was also absorbed by Luo Chen's body.
His injuries visibly improved.
"Withering and flourishing, with every withering there is a corresponding flourishing, refining the vitality of others for oneself."
"So vicious, yet so wondrous!"
Luo Chen's eyes flashed with an inexplicable light, as if his gaze had pierced through this simple cave mansion and looked towards the vast expanse of the million mountains.
After a long while, he finally suppressed the impulse in his heart.
"Too reckless!"
"With my current state, it's better to be more cautious."
"Let's leave the Ancient Original Mountain Range first!"
"On the way, I can look for opportunities to refine some low-level demonic beasts, but it's still better to keep a low profile."
Luo Chen did not plan to fully recover his injuries in the mountains.
Firstly, the environment was not suitable, and secondly, he didn't have enough materials on him, making large-scale pill refining impractical.
His spiritual power was robust, far surpassing his peers.
However, with such robust spiritual power, recovery would also be slower.
Without pills and high-quality spirit lands, it was unknown how long it would take to restore his peak state.
During the Qi Condensation stage, the automatic Qi recovery effect brought about by the advancement of his Eternal Spring Art proficiency was not as significant now.
After making up his mind, Luo Chen no longer hesitated.
He had Bai Meiling enter the Soul Nourishing Banner, put away the array tools, and then used the Breath Concealment Art to conceal his aura before calmly stepping into the Ancient Original Mountain Range.
...
The Ancient Original Mountain Range!
Returning to this familiar place, Luo Chen didn't have many sentiments.
During his time in Great River Market, he rarely ventured into these mountains like the demon hunters did from time to time.
Back then, his cultivation base was too low, and his means were scarce.
He could only barely use the Fireball Technique.
With this level of skill, hunting demonic beasts in the mountains for a living was indeed too dangerous.
Especially after he mastered pill refining and joined the Broken Mountain Gang, there was no longer any need for it.
Even the Ghost Spirit Valley's Grandmaster Golden Core relic, which had caused a huge uproar back then, did not tempt him to get involved.
On the contrary, he occasionally visited the Howling Moon Mountain Range and Constant Shadow Mountain.
"The weaker the strength, the more cautious and timid one becomes."
"The stronger the strength, the more murderous intent arises, and my courage grows."
Recalling the battles after Foundation Establishment, Luo Chen couldn't help but sigh.
In fact, some of the battles were unnecessary.
And in some of the fights, he could have done better.
Amidst these moments of self-reflection and sentiment, Luo Chen's pace out of the mountains became faster and faster.
The reason for the increased speed was twofold. First, he was familiar with the Ancient Original Mountain Range, and even if he hadn't personally explored it, he had seen the vast amount of maps left behind during his time in the Broken Mountain Gang.
Secondly, he occasionally used the Withering Flame to refine the captured first-level demonic beasts.
By absorbing the vitality of demonic beasts, his recovery ability became stronger.
The faster his body recovered, the more his strength naturally restored.
His pace naturally progressed from initial cautious slow steps to rapid advancement.
Two months later.
Luo Chen stopped at a fork in the road.
Actually, he had also entered the Ancient Original Mountain Range once during the Qi Condensation stage.
At that time, Ming Wen had personally brought him here.
It was during that visit that he discovered the remnants of the Mi family, all of whom were killed by Ming Wen, leaving only Mi Li alive.
Luo Chen looked up at a towering mountain.
It stood a thousand zhang tall, yet there were no clouds around it.
This mountain was named Absolute Cloud Mountain!
Within it, numerous demonic beasts dwelled, including second-level beasts.
It was a place that the demon hunters of Great River Market rarely dared to venture into.
With his current strength, Luo Chen naturally dared to explore it.
What made him hesitate was this mountain.
"That miniature Magnetic Mini Valley is probably inside it!"
Luo Chen sighed.
Currently, in his Accumulated Thunder Treasure Ring, there was a puppet quietly lying there.
It was a puppet made from Mi Shuhua's corpse.
"Since I'm here, let's bury Mi Shuhua with his clan and let them reunite!"
Luo Chen's heart moved, and he flew into the mountain.
As he flew, he released his spirit perception.
With his keen spirit perception, he quickly discovered powerful second-level demonic beasts.
Bloodthirsty Crocodiles, Black Marsh Giant Pythons, Absolute Cloud Leopards...
For these demonic beasts with even more vigorous vitality, Luo Chen had no particular thoughts.
He could easily kill them.
But if he caused any trouble, it would not align with his original intention of returning home safely.
Soon, Luo Chen followed his memory and arrived at the Magnetic Mini Valley.
This was one of the many hidden bases the Broken Mountain Gang had established in the Ancient Original Mountain Range.
The reason for setting up the base here was because it contained a trace of magnetic power, and with the Five Elements suppressed and sparse spiritual energy, demonic beasts with a bit of intelligence would instinctively stay away from this place.
Just as Luo Chen was about to descend and enter the Magnetic Mini Valley, a figure in his line of sight suddenly made him stop.
"Huh?"
"Why is he here?"
(End of Chapter)
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