https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-638-Fishing-at-the-Abyss-Luo-Chen-s-Bewilderment/12942490/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-640-Returning-to-the-Ten-Thousand-Immortals-Ascending-to-the-Cloud-Piercing-Cave/12942495/
Chapter 639: You Have No Choice, I'll Let You Die With Some Dignity
Chapter 639: You Have No Choice, I'll Let You Die With Some Dignity
Luo Chen's bewilderment came and went as quickly as his personality allowed.
This was related to his pragmatic nature.
Being practical!
Even if the journey was long, as long as he took each step with solid determination, he would eventually reach his destination.
During this journey, he would undoubtedly encounter numerous problems.
These problems were like scenery, memorable but not worth dwelling on.
Unless these problems completely blocked his path, he rarely got stuck in a dilemma.
By the shadowy abyss, aside from the significant issue of "the higher the cultivation realm, the more flaws," Luo Chen had indeed identified three specific issues limiting his current combat power.
In reality, these problems were not something that would trouble an average Golden Core Cultivator.
No one would constantly consider Great Cultivators, let alone True Monarchs of a higher realm, as imaginary enemies.
Moreover, Luo Chen's current strength was already sufficient to crush early and mid-stage Golden Core Cultivators, and he could even hold his own against late-stage Golden Core Great Cultivators.
He merely wanted to "take one step further."
According to Luo Chen's thoughts, if he could resolve these three issues, he might truly dominate his peers. Even if he encountered a situation like the ambush set up by the Mountain Lord Bai Zao, he wouldn't be too embarrassed.
"Spells, magical treasures, and developing my physique..."
Luo Chen muttered, his mind feeling like a tangled mess, not knowing where to start.
His gaze subconsciously fell on the array banner he had driven into the solid ground beneath his feet.
A thread seemed to be pulled out of the tangled mess.
...
On Purple Spirit Island, where a fourth-stage Purple Monkey Flower once grew on a cliff, there was no longer the swaying flower, but instead, a simple cave abode stood there.
This place, capable of supporting the growth of a fourth-stage Spirit Plant, had a spiritual energy quality barely reaching the initial third-stage level.
Unlike human cultivators and demonic beasts, Spirit Plants had lower requirements for spiritual energy concentration.
Before gaining spiritual intelligence, Spirit Plants unconsciously absorbed and expelled celestial energy, and some even thrived without relying on spiritual energy.
They valued the essential transformation brought about by the passage of time over the years.
Naturally, this growth pattern also resulted in Spirit Plants having low combat power, even if they reached the fourth or fifth stage.
This was the case with the Withered Blood Vine and the Purple Monkey Flower.
However, the spirit vein here could temporarily support Luo Chen's daily cultivation.
Inside the cave abode, Luo Chen had placed two objects in front of him.
One was a dark green ring, and the other was a jade box.
The ring was the Mountain Lord Bai Zao's spatial storage ring, which likely contained all his life savings, except for the treasures he had left on Purple Spirit Island during the previous battle.
It was possible that this person traveled light and kept most of his savings at the Bai Zao Mountain in his sect.
Luo Chen had carefully examined the "password" on the dark green ring, and it was quite complex.
It had not only conventional divine perception seals and mana marks but was also bound by bloodline.
The fact that it had such specifications indicated that the ring itself was a remarkable magical treasure.
The latter two restrictions, including the bloodline bond, could be easily removed if the Mountain Lord Bai Zao were thoroughly dead.
Only the divine perception seal was troublesome.
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao was not only a formidable Artificer Master but also an accomplished Array Master.
This was evident from the array he had tailored on Seven Stars Island to specifically target Luo Chen's powerful physique.
Therefore, the divine perception seal on his storage ring was quite intricate.
With Luo Chen's soul foundation and understanding of seals, he estimated that it would take at least three to four years to break it.
As for the jade box...
Luo Chen's eyes flashed, and he sent out a stream of mana onto the box.
Instantly, the densely packed seals that sealed the box crumbled like falling dominoes.
A faint glow emerged, and a dim Golden Core appeared before his eyes.
"Fellow Daoist, it's been a while."
The Golden Core flew up and wobbled before eventually falling back into the jade box.
Luo Chen coldly observed this process, feeling a slight resonance in his heart.
Before advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, a cultivator's soul relied on the Sea of Consciousness for survival, and even when divine perception was projected, it was just a minor extension.
Once the physical body was destroyed, the soul had nothing to rely on.
Unless it completely transformed into a Ghost Cultivator's Vengeful Soul, it would dissipate upon exposure to intense sunlight or other powerful attacks.
However, this limitation was not entirely insurmountable.
The Golden Core stage was just such a transitional phase.
The Golden Core was formed by the condensation of pure mana.
And Mana, is the refined essence of spiritual energy that cultivators refine and fuse with their divine souls.
From this perspective, a cultivator's Golden Core already possesses a slight divine soul attribute.
When a Golden Core cultivator's physical body collapses, the remaining Golden Core can serve as a vessel to carry the cultivator's divine soul across the sea.
However, this vessel is far inferior to a Nascent Soul, being too small to cross the Bitter Sea, and the duration it can support the divine soul is extremely short.
Moreover, without replenishing Mana, the Golden Core's original Mana will gradually dissipate, and the divine soul relying on it will eventually face the harsh heavens.
"I wonder how far my Golden Core can protect my remnant soul if I reach this stage."
The thought flashed through his mind, and Luo Chen once again looked at the dim Golden Core.
"Mountain Lord, why bother?"
A faint divine perception transmitted a sound from within the Golden Core.
"Twenty years of pursuit, yet today I've become a captive. Indeed, why bother?"
Luo Chen shook his head. "The fault doesn't lie with you, nor with me. It's just the True Monarch's order, and you had no choice."
Mountain Lord Bai Zao was stunned for a moment, feeling a mix of sorrow and unease, but then he sensed something amiss.
If it was the Blood Nightmare Demon King suppressing him, there was no problem.
But to say that he was not at fault, that would be going against his heart.
Back then, during the encirclement and suppression at Cold Light Island, he had personally taken action.
If not for that incident, the Human Blood Nightmare Demon would not have sought him out.
The cause and effect ultimately lay with him.
But why was Luo Chen willingly trying to exonerate him? His gaze involuntarily fell on the ring on his finger, his storage ring.
Instantly, Mountain Lord Bai Zao scoffed.
"You're thinking about my inheritance!"
Luo Chen calmly said, "We're both Artificers, and you must have sensed a thing or two from this jade box's seal. To unlock your storage ring's restriction, how much time do you think I'll need?"
"Seven or eight years? Three or five years?"
In any case, there was no need for him to beg for this cooked duck.
Mountain Lord Bai Zao hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then what do you want? My Artificer's technique?"
"I, Luo, do not have such ambitions."
If it's not for the inheritance, and it's not for the Artificer's technique, then what does Azure Sun Demon Lord want? Mountain Lord Bai Zao was completely lost in confusion.
However, his confusion didn't last long.
With a captive, Luo Chen had no need to beat around the bush, and the earlier conversation was merely to soothe the other party's emotions.
Seeing that a gentle conversation atmosphere had been established, he got straight to the point.
"Why did you use the Northern Dipper Seven Mountains Array when you set up the ambush for me?"
"The Northern Dipper Seven Mountains Array?"
"En, this array is something I improved upon from the Big Dipper Monster Sealing Array. Demonic beasts have massive bodies, and many are incredibly agile. The Big Dipper Monster Sealing Array is a fourth-stage array in the Northern Sea Cultivation World specifically used to suppress powerful demonic beasts. As for formidable body cultivators, their body refinement can also rival demonic beasts. After improving it and combining it with my lifebound treasure, it can achieve excellent targeting."
At this point, Mountain Lord Bai Zao felt a sense of self-satisfaction.
But this self-satisfaction quickly dissipated.
After all, despite having the advantage of the first move, he still lost to Luo Chen. What was there to be proud of?
He looked at Luo Chen with puzzlement, "Why do you ask this? Are you afraid of encountering similar arrays in the future and want to prepare countermeasures in advance?"
Luo Chen shook his head, "That's not the case. After all, there are very few like you who spent twenty years pursuing me. Although I can't say I'm nearly as cunning as a demon, I'm not a fool either. Being ambushed by someone else's array once is enough; in the future, I won't step into someone else's array ambush again."
Facing these words, Mountain Lord Bai Zao fell silent.
He didn't doubt the other party's confidence, nor did he deny his own patience.
How many fools like him were there in the world?
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Then what do you want to know?"
Luo Chen spoke frankly, "I want to know how you improved this array and how you increased its power to that level?"
So, he was interested in this aspect!
After understanding this, Mountain Lord Bai Zao decided to bargain.
"Why should I tell you?"
Luo Chen coldly said, "You have no choice."
"I can choose to die!"
"Your life and death are in my hands. Do you think you have a choice? In case you're unaware, I also understand some human puppetry techniques. Additionally, I know a Golden Core cultivator from the Heavenly Demon Star Sect, and I heard that sect specializes in refining treasures using demonic beasts' inner cores and cultivators' Golden Cores. I believe that a cultivator's Golden Core with a complete soul will definitely refine something formidable."
"You!!!!"
His divine soul trembled, and his divine perception was filled with anger.
But after the anger subsided, Mountain Lord Bai Zao quickly calmed down, "Even if I tell you, what's the benefit? Will you let me go?"
"Where can you go?" Luo Chen's tone was calm, "In this vast ocean, few people venture here. Even if you plan to perform soul possession, it's like trying to cook without rice. Moreover, you and I have a life-and-death feud, and I will never let you go."
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao's anger turned into a bitter laugh, "Then what do you want?"
"Tell me the answer, and I'll let you die with some dignity." Luo Chen's expression was indifferent, and his words, though calm, carried weight. It was as if no one would doubt his sincerity.
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao fell silent once more.
Luo Chen didn't say much more, and he didn't elaborate on his promise, avoiding unnecessary additions.
At this moment, he was the one in control.
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao's Divine Perception had been fixed on him, and after a long while, a faint sound echoed within the cave abode.
"I can tell you."
"Good!"
...
Fifty li away from Purple Spirit Island, on a small island.
The Black King lay there, gazing at a pit, his eyes filled with reluctance to part.
"Master, what a waste! This is an Eighth Stage Golden Core, even if it has little remaining magical power, if I consume it, I might be able to directly advance to the late stage of the Third Stage."
Luo Chen didn't bother to glance at him. After digging the pit, he took out a rather extraordinary-looking stone from the Thunder Accumulation Treasure Ring and was about to inscribe something on it.
However, just as he was about to start, a voice echoed out.
"There's no need. In this lifetime, I've let down the Mountain Lord Bai Zao, let down my fellow cultivator, and let myself down. How can I have the face to erect a stele and leave words behind?"
Luo Chen acknowledged with a sound, and he put the stone away.
"It's better this way. Otherwise, if someone digs up the tombstone in the future, they might think it's a chance encounter with a senior cultivator."
"Haha, you're quite humorous, fellow cultivator." The Mountain Lord Bai Zao let out a bitter laugh.
Looking at the pit, the Golden Core seemed to tremble.
After four hundred years of bitter cultivation, he had once basked in glory and revealed his saintly might. Was this his final resting place?
The sea breeze blew, salty and humid yet scorching.
As if guessing what the Mountain Lord Bai Zao was thinking, Luo Chen gently consoled, "It's said that there's reincarnation in this world. After hundreds or thousands of years, fellow cultivator, you might have the chance to walk the path of cultivation once more."
"Reincarnation?" The Mountain Lord Bai Zao muttered, "Is it in the Green Abyss Yellow Springs, the Netherworld, or the Land of the Dead?"
Luo Chen had no response. He hadn't reached that realm, so how could he know the truth of the legends?
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao sighed, "Take out my storage ring!"
Luo Chen was taken aback and took out the dark green ring from his embrace.
The dim Golden Core trembled for a moment, and the remaining magical power fell onto the ring, emitting a brilliant glow before eventually fading into nothingness.
When he looked again, the ring was devoid of any Divine Mind Restrictions or Mana Marks, and even the fused essence blood had been forced out.
At this moment, the ring was ownerless!
"Mountain Lord, what is this?"
"Consider it my additional reward for keeping your promise. After all, it's your war trophy, and I've merely spared you a few years of effort."
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao smiled and manipulated his magical power to take out a set of clean bright yellow Daoist robes, a Superior-grade Magical Flying Sword of mediocre quality, and a jade seal engraved with the words 'Liang Family Bao Zao'.
Under the watchful eyes of Luo Chen and the Black King, the Daoist robes, flying sword, and jade seal all fell into the pit.
"The rest of the items are yours now, fellow cultivator."
The Mountain Lord Bai Zao sighed, and the Golden Core fell into the pit.
Then, the magical power reversed, and the Golden Core disintegrated layer by layer, revealing a lingering remnant soul.
In the gentle sunlight, the remnant soul gradually dissipated.
Luo Chen silently observed everything until his Divine Perception swept over, confirming the absence of the Mountain Lord Bai Zao's aura. With a flick of his sleeve, he covered the pit with soil.
Turning away, he left.
At the freshly covered grave, no one would ever guess that this was the burial site of a sect master, an Eighth Stage Golden Core Great Cultivator.
The Black King swam with his massive body, closely following behind.
"Master, this old fellow set up an ambush for you. Why let him self-destruct and have a chance to reincarnate?"
Luo Chen didn't respond, but his footsteps quickened.
Soon, they returned to Purple Spirit Island.
Back in the cave abode, he took out the jade slip the Mountain Lord Bai Zao had left for him before his death, containing the analysis of the Northern Dipper Seven Mountains Array.
Luo Chen fell into deep thought as he read the text.
"Powerful Lifebound True Artifacts can amplify magical power, and formidable array disks can enhance oneself and restrict others."
"If I combine the two and add an extraordinary energy source, can I perfect my initial True Monarch Domain concept?"
He opened his mouth, and three streams of light shot out.
Upon closer inspection, they were clearly two pills and a cauldron.
Golden Core, Jade Core, and Primordial Cauldron!
(End of Chapter)
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