Chapter 548: Confessions, New Mansion, Black Emperor, Seeking Revenge

Chapter 548: Confessions, New Mansion, Black Emperor, Seeking Revenge

Three demons attacked, one injured, and two dead.

The aftermath was simple, just a matter of cleaning up the battlefield.

The surviving Demon Spider Crab was easy to deal with, being a Rank Three, and the process was no different from dealing with the previous Rank One and Two demons.

Then, it was time to deal with the two dead Demon Spider Crabs.

One had been punched in the chest by Luo Chen, leaving behind two giant crab claws and a Rank Three Water-attributed Demon Core.

Zhu Qi, on the other hand, had a more tragic fate.

Luo Chen's Primordial Cauldron had excellent material, and even though the impurities had not been completely removed, under the throw of his ancient and mighty body, it still unleashed a powerful force.

Moreover, these years of uninterrupted refinement and frequent pill concocting had allowed him to grasp the Primordial Cauldron with increasing mastery, making it more and more adept.

With a single strike, the demon was completely obliterated, leaving no remains, not even the demon core survived.

However, the compass that served as the array's core and the eight crab legs used for the array formation were preserved intact.

This was also a decent harvest.

As Hei Lin Jiao cleaned the battlefield, Luo Chen savored the previous battle.

Without using any magical techniques, the combat power that his body and physique unleashed was evident.

When facing demons that also relied on their formidable physiques, he could effortlessly overpower them at the early Rank Three stage.

Even Rank Three mid-stage demons were clearly not his match.

The reason he was trapped in the array was due to a slight oversight.

After all, few would expect demons to utilize array formations, which were the "scientific crystallization" of human cultivators.

This served as a wake-up call for Luo Chen, reminding him to never underestimate any enemy.

"With the complete perfection of Ten Thousand Paths Confluence, it has evolved the function of partial bodily changes, compensating for my purely physical combat."

"This way, even without a complete Celestial Peng True Form transformation, I can still unleash a portion of my Body Refinement strength."

"And if I were to fully transform, it would be the late Rank Three of the ancient times..."

Luo Chen pondered, recalling the battle against the Golden Wolf King on Heavenly Drum Plain.

At this moment, it seemed that if he could transform completely, he might be able to withstand the full-force frontal assault of his opponent without a scratch.

In other words, his current strength was enough to fearlessly face most late Rank Three Great Demon Kings.

And if he stabilized his Core Formation Stage Layer Four cultivation...

Even when facing late Layer Seven Golden Core cultivators, he would possess sufficient self-preservation abilities.

"Even in a prepared situation, I can fight and win?"

Luo Chen muttered to himself.

He was still uncertain about his true strength.

But no matter how uncertain, he had the confidence to prevail against Wu Qi's attacks.

"My body and physique, while sufficient for cultivation, lacks training. I feel there's still much room for development."

"Moreover, with the Black Emperor Ointment's support, there's a high chance of advancing to the Fourth Layer. If that happens, perhaps I'll welcome a true qualitative change!"

As Luo Chen summarized, Hei Lin Jiao cautiously swam over.

"Master, these are all the spoils of war."

Luo Chen stored these items in his storage ring and then unleashed a massive cleansing technique in the surrounding sea area.

However, after the cleansing, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Many battle auras were still present, and it seemed that even a low-level technique like the cleansing technique couldn't completely erase them.

It could only provide a temporary cover-up effect.

He looked around, planning his next move, and then returned to Celestial Whirl Island with Hei Lin Jiao.

Upon arrival, he first checked on the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle lying on the ground and frowned.

"What happened?"

The Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle responded, "A late Golden Core cultivator placed a Demon Sealing Talisman on me, and I can't mobilize my demonic power."

Demon Sealing Talisman! The most widely circulated talisman in the Northern Sea Cultivation World, ranging from Rank One to Rank Four, they had it all.

Its function was singular: to suppress the demonic power of demons by sealing their inner cores.

The reason for such talismans was that some cultivators liked to capture live demons, tame and subdue them, turning them into spirit beasts.

Moreover, many liked to bestow these tamed demons as rewards to juniors of lower cultivation levels.

Therefore, to facilitate their subjugation of demons, Demon Sealing Talismans were often used in pairs, with the junior receiving the talismans to control demons of higher cultivation levels than themselves.

Luo Chen released his soul sense and carefully examined the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle.

With the eagle offering no resistance, he quickly located the Rank Three Demon Sealing Talisman that had already penetrated its demon core.

Without the caster actively undoing it, this talisman was difficult to remove.

Unless the main talisman was found.

Luo Chen examined it closely and nodded slightly.

"No problem. Even without the main talisman, give me some time, and I can undo it."

His confidence surprised both the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle and Hei Lin Jiao. Could their master even remove Demon Sealing Talismans?

"You two, take some time to rest, and then follow me."

Hei Lin Jiao was taken aback, "Are we leaving?"

Luo Chen didn't answer and returned to his cave alone.

As soon as he entered, he noticed the black Soul Refinement Banner stuck at the entrance.

Han Zhan's voice came at the right moment, "Congratulations, young friend, on your advancement!"

Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively, "It's just Layer Four of the Golden Core, nothing to boast about."

"I'm not just talking about Layer Four of the Golden Core, but also your body and physique! Three Demon Kings besieged you, and one of them even mastered array formations. Yet, you effortlessly slew them all. Among Golden Core cultivators, you are truly exceptional."

Luo Chen tugged at the corners of his mouth and suddenly asked, "Compared to Gu Shaoshuang from Feiyun Gorge, how do I fare?"

On their way back, he learned the details of the previous battle from the Black Scaled Python.

He also found out about the origins of the group of cultivators and the name of their leader, Gu Shaoshuang, the eldest senior brother of Feiyun Gorge.

Han Zhan smiled, "I only fought him for a few breaths, and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is not my primary Magical Artifact, so it's hard to judge. But in my opinion, he is not as good as you."

Luo Chen also smiled.

"According to you, he is not as good as me. But you fought with a Golden Core Seventh Layer cultivator and neither of you could gain the upper hand, while in front of you, I still feel like you are as unfathomable as the deep sea. Haha..."

Han Zhan fell silent.

Luo Chen didn't pay him any heed and went straight into his cave abode.

Mana surged, transforming into numerous red giant hands, collecting all sorts of miscellaneous medicinal ingredients, books, wooden racks, and meditation cushions, storing them in his storage ring.

The battle against the three Demon Kings of the Demon Spider Crab clan had indeed caused quite a commotion.

Having killed three demons, the Demon Spider Crab clan would certainly not let it go.

This was no ordinary first or second-stage little crab!

The Celestial Whirl Island had already been exposed!

Therefore, abandoning this base was a necessary move.

This was also why human cultivators rarely chose to cultivate in the Savage Mountains or the Demon Sea territories.

After a few battles, they would easily attract the attention and attacks of large numbers of demons.

In such situations, quiet cultivation was simply impossible.

If not for the two spiritual beasts he had tamed, how could he have had such peace in these five years?

It was time to leave, right now.

After tidying everything up, Luo Chen looked at this cave abode with its small third-stage Spirit Vein, feeling a bit reluctant to leave.

"What a pity."

He murmured, sweeping his wide sleeves.

The Spirit Gathering Array flag hidden underground transformed into streams of light and flew towards him, while above the cave abode, the sound of cracking and crumbling filled the air.

Large chunks of rocks and gravel rained down.

He turned and left without hesitation.

As he passed by the entrance, he recalled the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

...

In the sky, a faint white cloud slowly drifted by.

Luo Chen held the compass left by Zhu Qi, fiddling with it.

This was a water-attributed array plate.

With his current proficiency in array formations, he could observe that there were thirteen array formations engraved on it.

Ten of them were common first and second-stage arrays.

The other three, however, were rather impressive third-stage grand arrays.

Among them was the Sea Banishing Eight Trigrams Array.

This array's strength lay in drawing upon the endless water vapor from the vast ocean, forming a sealing and imprisoning array. Once inside, without absolute explosive power, the array master would be virtually invincible.

After all, human strength was limited, but the ocean was boundless.

Luo Chen relied on his third-stage late-stage Feral Beast Remnants body and the refined high-grade Primordial Cauldron to forcefully break through it.

If it had been an ordinary person, they would likely have been sealed within and killed by those blood-colored spider threads.

Aside from the Sea Banishing Eight Trigrams Array, there was also the Misty Cloud Array, which served to conceal and hide.

As for the last third-stage grand array, Luo Chen couldn't discern its origins.

As he studied the array plate, his eyebrows suddenly raised.

With a flick of his wrist, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner stretched out before him.

"Is there something you want to tell me, senior?"

In the soul banner, Han Zhan sighed, "I just want to tell you that the remaining divine soul origin in this remnant soul of mine is extremely scarce, and it is the key to my future body refinement. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't start a fight over some weak enemies and deplete my origin."

Luo Chen smirked.

Sure enough, Han Zhan had held back.

Previously, when dealing with Wu Qi, he used the excuse of depleting the low-level soul fragments in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to conceal the fact that he couldn't stop Wu Qi, forcing Luo Chen to personally intervene and prevent Wu Qi from forcefully landing on the Feiyan Archipelago.

But over these years, he had charged all the first and second-stage demon crab souls he hunted into the soul banner.

This banner had already regained the quality of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner!

It could even be said that because Luo Chen had killed Yan Nantian back then, the numerous Foundation Establishment cultivator souls within the banner had divided and devoured Yan Nantian's soul, causing these hundred Foundation Establishment souls to possess third-stage foundations.

After replenishing with numerous low-level souls, one of the souls within, which belonged to a cultivator who had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment in his previous life, gradually advanced to the third-stage Ghost King level through devouring and merging.

This was why, when Han Zhan activated the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, there was a second Ghost King within, in addition to the original one.

In this situation, the banner was a genuine Ten Thousand Souls Banner!

With a Nascent Soul stage Han Zhan as its manipulator, even if he was mediocre, how could a mere Golden Core Seventh Layer cultivator be his match?

But, Han Zhan, while blocking Gu Shaoshuang, also had to rely on the Black Scaled Python's innate demon art to barely rescue the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle.

This even attracted trouble.

It could be said that Han Zhan had been consciously holding back, concealing his true abilities.

Recalling his battle with Aoxiao Wolf King on the Sky Drum Plains and all his deeds in Cangwu Mountain, this person was indeed cunning and crafty, often keeping a few tricks up his sleeve.

Hearing Han Zhan's reason for holding back, Luo Chen could only smirk.

"I don't know if what you say is true or not, but since you've chosen to accompany me to the Demon Sea, and we're bound by the Grand Dao Oath, I think it's best if we cooperate sincerely."

Han Zhan asked in return, "By sincere cooperation, do you mean giving it your all for the other party?"

Luo Chen pondered for a moment, weighing the gains and losses, and then said leisurely, "I hope so."

Han Zhan chuckled lightly, "In that case, I might as well be blunt. What I want, even if you give it your all, may not be achievable."

"Speak frankly!"

"For me, it's already impossible to rely on ascetic cultivation to restore my Nascent Soul stage cultivation. And if it's about possessing a Golden Core cultivator, I won't be able to pass the heavenly tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage by possessing their body either. So, I need a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and it must be the body of a human cultivator, for me to reshape my body and rebuild my foundation. Luo Chen, can you do it?"

The leisurely expression on Luo Chen's face disappeared.

...

Splash!

On the vast ocean, bubbles emerged, and as the ripples dissipated, the sea gradually returned to calm.

Beneath the surface, two figures dove deeper and deeper.

Finally, they reached an extremely deep undersea canyon.

The Black Scaled Draconian paused and said respectfully, "Master, this is one of the three backup bases, and it's the most secretive one."

Luo Chen looked at the sea trench, thousands of zhang long, with its head invisible from this distance. On both sides of the trench, beautiful red coral swayed.

It was blood coral!

A second-stage spirit plant, with a spiritual consciousness, possessing powerful offensive capabilities.

Due to its alluring appearance, it often attracted sea creatures, providing it with prey.

Therefore, this place was also considered a dangerous area, where ordinary low-level demons rarely ventured.

Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction.

The exposure of Celestial Whirl Island was within his expectations.

So, long ago, he had ordered Celestial Whirl and the Black Scaled Draconian to find backup bases for him.

This was one of them, and also the most concealed location.

The Black Scaled Draconian hesitated for a moment but still spoke, "Master, this place only has the spiritual energy concentration of a second-stage spirit vein, and it's water-attributed. It might not be suitable for your cultivation. Why don't we go to Slender Bone Island instead!"

Luo Chen waved his hand and strolled towards the coral sea trench.

"Slender Bone Island is too dangerous. Although it has a third-stage spirit vein, it's occupied by a large number of Hidden Dust Sand, and it's adjacent to the Nine Claw Poison King Crab."

"It's better to do less than to do more."

"Moreover, I've already advanced to the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage, so in the short term, I'll focus on consolidating my cultivation base. I don't need an exceptionally good spirit vein."

They entered the coral sea trench.

Luo Chen searched around and finally stopped at a rock wall.

"Let's settle here!"

Before he could take out the Mystic Fire Sword to create a cave abode, the Black Scaled Draconian swam over.

"Master, let me do it! I'll do it!"

"Such a trivial task isn't worth you expending your precious mana."

As he spoke, he crashed into the rock wall, and his demonic power erupted, transforming into blade after blade, cutting through the hard rock.

Seeing his dog-like behavior, Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"Big Black..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Luo Chen recalled the scene of the Black Scaled Draconian fighting alongside him, disregarding the depletion of his demonic power.

And all these years, the other party's hard work.

Even if it was due to being enslaved and for the sake of the Imperial Flow Jelly, it was still worthy of the phrase 'hard work deserves great reward'!

Calling him 'Big Black' was a bit too casual.

At least, that Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle could still be called Celestial Whirl.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen asked, "Speaking of which, do you have a name?"

The Black Scaled Draconian, who was working hard to create a cave abode, paused and then replied, "When I was young, my clan called me Xiao Tao, saying I was a big eater. Later, when I got fat, they called me Big Black. That Kun Jiao also called me that."

Xiao Tao, Big Black...

Luo Chen twitched the corners of his mouth. No wonder he had called him Big Black before, and the other party had never sensed anything amiss.

So, he really was named that!

However, it was too casual.

"I'll give you a name!"

The Black Scaled Draconian immediately stopped his actions and looked at Luo Chen with eager eyes, "Master, are you going to bestow a name upon me?"

Luo Chen nodded and looked at the dragon horn on the Black Scaled Draconian's head, which had already revealed its majestic presence. He had also awakened a powerful innate demonic skill, capable of devouring foreign objects and enhancing himself through his strong digestive ability.

If he didn't perish in the future, he would surely achieve greatness and possess the bearing of a king.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen said gently, "Let's call you Black King!"

The Black Scaled Draconian was taken aback and didn't react for a moment, wondering how he resembled a king.

Luo Chen chuckled and repeated, "Black King!"

This time, the Black Scaled Draconian heard it clearly.

"Black King? Black King!"

After mumbling a couple of times, he revealed an expression of great joy.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing a name upon me!"

Luo Chen shook his head, "You continue."

Afterwards, he walked to a nearby spot, observed briefly, and formulated a plan in his mind.

Constantly using mana to resist the deep-sea pressure and prevent seawater corrosion was never the right approach.

Originally, he intended to set up a second-stage water avoidance array.

However, now, he had a better alternative.

As he pondered, he took out the compass he had recently acquired from his storage ring.

First, he used his powerful divine sense to erase the remaining Zhu Qi's mark on it.

Demons excelled in physical strength but were weak in spiritual consciousness.

Although he was at the mid-third stage, his spiritual consciousness foundation was only at the early-third stage level.

Over the years, even without deliberately cultivating his spiritual consciousness, Luo Chen's foundation had gradually grown to a level comparable to an ordinary late-Golden Core cultivator! He was also proficient in the seven major array foundations, including the Obscuring Prohibition.

(End)

At this moment, with just three to five breaths, the remaining marks of the previous owner on it were erased.

Subsequently, mana was infused into it.

The three layers of the compass, slowly interlocking, began to rotate, and the earth's pulse power and water vapor nearby were also drawn, gradually undergoing changes.

Streams of water, with Luo Chen at the center, began to flow and spin continuously.

The nearby blood corals swayed, emitting an instinctual fear.

Slowly, a curtain of water spread out, pushing away the seawater in the area, and even more mist spread out.

It was the Billowing Cloud Mist Array!

With an extremely strong concealment effect, it could blend in well with the local environment.

As the mist spread and diffused, it also turned into streaks of red light, reflecting the nearby blood-colored corals, making anyone who saw it think it was the light reflected by the blood corals.

Seeing this scene, Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"This way, we can act without worry."

"It's just a bit mana-consuming, so it's better to use spirit stones instead during normal times."

While he was setting up the array, Black King also created a rough cave abode.

Luo Chen entered it, praised him, and then embedded the compass in the center of the cave, while also setting up a Spirit Gathering Array.

After all this was done, the place finally had a rudimentary cave abode suitable for short-term residence.

Then, Luo Chen summoned the Primordial Cauldron.

Clang!

The grand cauldron landed, and he made a hand seal.

The Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle was shaken out from inside.

"Next, I'll remove the Demon Suppressing Talisman for you!"

As for how to remove it?

For Luo Chen, it wasn't a difficult task.

This talisman mainly had a high-level cultivator's mana imprint added to it, which made it difficult to reveal the secondary talisman without the primary one.

He only needed to use the Fourth Stage Dragon Slaying Technique to sever the mana imprint.

How convenient!

Over the years, to remove the massive medicinal poison from the True Flame Pill, the Dragon Slaying Technique, with daily practice, had reached the Mastery level, not far from Perfect Mastery!

Severing the mana imprint of a Golden Core Seventh Layer cultivator was more than enough.

In less than half a day, the imprint completely dissipated.

On the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle's forehead, the prototype of the Demon Suppressing Talisman appeared.

Luo Chen reached out and lifted the talisman, which then drifted down to the ground, losing its spiritual glow.

As the talisman fell, a sense of freedom suddenly emerged.

The Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle circulated her demonic power, feeling refreshed all over.

She lay on the ground, speaking with delight, "Thank you, master, for your spellcasting!"

Luo Chen smiled slightly, "You're my spiritual beast, and this is what I should do."

As he spoke, the smile on his face suddenly faded.

Even when beating a dog, one should consider the owner, and someone trying to take his spiritual beast wasn't something that could be easily overlooked.

Especially when Han Zhan had taken action, and the other party didn't proactively return it, then it was even more of a grave offense.

"Do you still remember the aura of that boatful of people?"

As soon as this question was asked, Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle was startled, and then said with hatred, "Celestial Whirl remembers!"

The Sea Eagle clan was known for holding grudges.

Therefore, because of their grudge-holding nature, they had earned the ill repute of being good at fighting.

Remembering the aura of an enemy was an instinct engraved in their blood.

Luo Chen nodded, "Since this is the case, then take a break, and go find that boatful of people, see where they are and what they're up to?"

A guess emerged in Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle's mind, could it be that the master was going to avenge her? Just thinking about how she had been toyed with, captured, and suppressed, she couldn't help but feel resentful towards them.

If she could take revenge, it would be incredibly satisfying! But...

"Is the master going to avenge me?" Celestial Whirl hesitantly asked, "On that boat, there are many Golden Core cultivators, including two mid-stage cultivators like you, and even a great cultivator at the Golden Core Seventh Layer. This..."

A cold smile hung on Luo Chen's lips, "Don't worry, go and find out first. Also, don't alert them, just get a general idea of the situation."

Seeing the master's resolute attitude, Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle didn't resist.

Adding to that, she wasn't used to the underwater environment, so she immediately left the Coral Sea Trench.

Watching her leave, Luo Chen hummed.

He was very curious as to why a boatful of people, even seven Golden Core cultivators, would venture into the Demon Sea, to this rather dangerous Obsidian Sea.

If they were just passing by, it would be fine, and he could endure this grudge.

But if they were planning something major in the Obsidian Sea, then it would affect his grand plan of refining the Black King Ointment.

At that time, to be safe, he might have to divert the trouble elsewhere, using the Five Great Demon Crab Clans to take revenge.

In the ensuing chaos, he could also take the opportunity to hunt down some demon crabs.

In recent years, the number of demon crabs hunted had been decreasing, which wasn't enough for him to refine and store the Black King Ointment for his future cultivation plans.

After considering all this, Luo Chen closed the cave abode's door.

Having just broken through to the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage, he needed to stabilize his cultivation for a while, and couldn't let trivial matters cause this hard-earned progress to slip away.

A rhythmic breathing pattern echoed slowly in the cave abode within the coral sea trench.

Changing locations seemed to have no effect on Luo Chen.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end