Chapter 730: Death, Madness, and Disappearance in the Unlucky Sea

Chapter 730: Death, Madness, and Disappearance in the Unlucky Sea



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At Little Qiong Mountain, one of the fourth-rank Spirit Vein Mountains within Divine Essence City, the Heaven Spanning Commerce Alliance's skilled craftsmen had transformed this small-scale fourth-rank Spirit Vein into a cultivation site with over a hundred Caverns, capable of accommodating numerous cultivators simultaneously.

In comparison, the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly's Fuyuan Mountain Range was vast, but the utilization of the Spirit Vein was rather crude.

In the spacious cavern, Luo Chen emerged from his meditation room with a satisfied look on his face.

The concentration of spiritual energy here was quite high, making it very suitable for his current cultivation level.

He didn't ask about the rent, knowing that the price for a cavern of this caliber would be astronomical and likely not something that could be rented with Spirit Stones.

Connections were necessary! It was only because he had established a cooperative relationship with Fu Chaosheng that the latter allowed him to use it without charge for a period.

After all, the more Luo Chen's cultivation increased, the better his chances of protecting his granddaughter in the future.

Fu Hongzhang waited quietly in the living room, and seeing Luo Chen's satisfied smile, he couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

"How do you find it, True Person?"

Luo Chen smiled slightly and nodded.

"You've been a great help, not only gathering resources for me but also arranging such a comfortable cultivation environment."

Fu Hongzhang quickly waved his hand, "The matters instructed by the family head, we will definitely do our best to fulfill. If you have any other needs, please don't hesitate to tell me, and I will do my utmost to satisfy them."

At this point, he spoke with confidence, "Although I am not very capable, I have been handling the Alliance's affairs for many years and have some experience. The family head's letter mentioned that if you have any requests, I will do my best to fulfill them within my capabilities."

Luo Chen raised his eyebrows, and indeed, Fu Chaosheng had invested heavily!

Not only had he prepared a batch of resources Luo Chen needed before his arrival, but he had also placed the family's cultivators at his disposal.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen pondered for a while.

Suddenly, he asked, "Do you know the whereabouts of the three major Loose Cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly?"

Fu Hongzhang was taken aback. He had assumed that Luo Chen would be curious about the high-level cultivators in Divine Essence City or the situation in Central State, and he had already prepared to answer those questions.

However, he didn't expect Luo Chen to be more interested in the three major Loose Cultivators of the Northern Sea.

But soon, he reconsidered. This person, who called himself the "Wilderness Loose Cultivator," was naturally interested in the two other Loose Cultivators who were also known as "Loose Cultivators" and had become famous earlier.

Fu Hongzhang thought for a moment and then slowly revealed the information he knew.

"The Windscatterer, originally known as Windling Scholar, had been cultivating in seclusion at the Windling Pavilion. But later, when the Primordial Demon Sect took over the Windling Pavilion, he became a homeless Loose Cultivator. It was around this time that the name Windscatterer gradually became known. After returning from a trip to the Abyssal Sea, he went mad. The Windscatterer became the Mad Loose Cultivator. Over the years, he has been wandering around the Northern Sea, appearing and disappearing like a dragon. The information about him is too fragmented. If you want a detailed understanding, I can arrange for someone to send you a comprehensive compilation later."

Luo Chen hummed in acknowledgment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He wasn't very interested in this Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator, whose name he had heard but whose true appearance he had never seen.

His real purpose was the other two Loose Cultivators!

Fu Hongzhang hesitated when mentioning the woman, "As for Moon Loose Cultivator..."

Luo Chen blinked, "What about her? I heard that the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly was overwhelmed by the Demon Beast Coalition's assault, and what about Moon Loose Cultivator's current situation?"

Fu Hongzhang hesitated, "That senior's situation is a bit difficult to judge."

"Oh?"

"Before the Demon Coalition's attack, she had come to Divine Essence City once and borrowed the cross-sea teleportation array. Later, she hurriedly returned and led the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly to resist the Demon Coalition's army. According to our intelligence, during that battle, Moon Loose Cultivator displayed a shocking Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, single-handedly suppressing seven Nascent Soul Stage Demon Cultivators. She even summoned a treasure map, intending to defeat the Demon Beast Coalition entirely. But at the critical moment, she withdrew and left, abandoning the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, and disappeared without a trace."

Luo Chen listened attentively while pondering in his mind.

Moon Loose Cultivator's use of the teleportation array was likely when she went to pursue him.

With the Tracking Star Beast and his soul-divided puppet both perishing at the Soul Severing Cliff, Moon Loose Cultivator lost his trail and had to return empty-handed.

There was no need to mention her cultivation; it had already been exposed during the Bright Sky Calamity.

Among the three Loose Cultivators, the one who was once the weakest had suddenly advanced to the same realm as the Mad Loose Cultivator, with a clearer mind and more stable strength.

With her strength and the manpower and resources of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, as long as the invading enemy didn't include a Late Nascent Soul Stage Demon Emperor, the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly could always be preserved.

According to the intelligence, she had indeed almost succeeded in turning the tide and saving the Assembly from collapse.

But, the problem was that "almost."

"Why did she retreat?" Luo Chen asked in a deep voice.

Fu Hongzhang shook his head, "I'm not sure. Some say that an ancient Divine Transformation Demon Beast personally intervened, while others believe she was backlashed by the treasure map, which might be a Divine Treasure. A more credible guess is that she was intimidated by the appearance of the Savage Beast Ghost Immortal Tower. In any case, she has completely disappeared, and no one knows where she went."

Luo Chen contemplated these three possibilities, first ruling out the intervention of the ancient Divine Transformation Demon Beast.

It was common knowledge that the Demon Coalition had only deployed one ancient Divine Transformation Demon Beast—the Sea Emperor Whale.

And this Demon Beast, upon its birth, immediately crossed paths with the Human Race's Great Power, Li Canghai. Where did it find the time to deal with a Primordial Infant Cultivator?

Before the Spirit Treasure backlash and the Savage Beast Ghost Immortal Tower, he was even more inclined towards the latter.

There was no other reason!

In the current Northern Sea Immortal World, the Ghost Immortal Tower's sinister reputation was truly heaven-defying!

Wherever it went, almost no one could match it.

A large part of the reason for the alliance between the righteous and demonic paths to cease hostilities was to target this beast by dispatching Great Cultivators at the Primordial Infant Mid-Stage.

However, it was good that she had gone missing. At least before he left the Northern Sea, he wouldn't have to be overly cautious of this woman.

Yet, Fu Hong Zhang's next sentence caused Luo Chen's relaxed heart to change, and his face paled slightly.

"Speaking of which, the once-flourishing three great Loose Cultivators of the Northern Sea, some went mad, some died, and some disappeared. They all went to the Abyssal Sea. Indeed, that sea area is called the Unlucky Sea, and there's a reason for that."

"Who died?"

Luo Chen blurted out, his eyes filled with shock.

He could match the mad and missing ones.

Could the one who died be the Blood Vagabond?

But...

"The Blood Vagabond!" Fu Hong Zhang spread his hands, "I just received news that the Blood Vagabond and the Blood Nightmare Demon King fought, turning the Ten Thousand Mile Cold Light Archipelago into a human inferno, annihilating all life. It was said that after the battle, a huge blood sea, at least ten thousand miles in diameter, lingered endlessly. Within it, there were even occasional incomprehensible roars of madness, and the blood sea seemed to be spreading outward. This commotion attracted the attention of the Cang Hai Righteous Alliance's Li Dalian, who personally stepped in to resolve the blood sea calamity. The price was that the Cold Light Archipelago, which once had the foundation of a fourth-stage Spirit Vein, became a truly lifeless place."

Luo Chen struggled to process this news.

He spoke softly, "How could a Primordial Infant Cultivator, no matter how strong, affect an area as vast as ten thousand miles?"

The destructive power of a Primordial Infant Cultivator was indeed terrifying, as Luo Chen had experienced himself.

But that was in a "mobile warfare" situation, constantly moving and releasing the aftermath of battles, thus affecting the celestial phenomena and terrain.

However, according to Fu Hong Zhang, after the battle between the two blood entities, a blood sea formed, and this blood sea seemed to have a life of its own, invading outward.

Fu Hong Zhang thought for a moment and said, "According to the head of the family's guess, it's possible that the Blood Nightmare Demon King carried the power of the Blood Sea Elder from the Primordial Demon Sect, and that power went out of control during the battle, leading to the situation spiraling out of control. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why Li Dalian would personally step in to clean up the mess."

Only a Divine Transformation Cultivator could resolve the power of a Divine Transformation Cultivator! Luo Chen fell silent.

The once-renowned Blood Vagabond had fallen like this? And the Blood Nightmare Demon King, who had only collected a little interest from him, was he really dead?

Did they have the power of the Blood Sea Elder? When he retreated, was the huge shadow he saw beneath the sea's surface a manifestation of that power? No one could give him a definite answer to these questions.

The Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance's intelligence was limited to the once-glorious Cold Light Island, which had now become a truly lifeless place.

Without Spirit Veins or spiritual energy, even the stray spiritual energy in the heavens and earth would avoid that place.

Due to his silence, Fu Hong Zhang didn't dare say more.

The living room fell into an awkward silence.

It wasn't until Tianxuan's arrival that this silence was broken.

"Master, we've finished checking, and it's basically everything on your list. The specific prices, according to Fu Dao's markings, total three million low-grade Spirit Stones."

Three million?

Luo Chen looked up at Fu Hong Zhang.

The other party smiled and said, "This is just the first batch. Due to the large quantity of medicinal ingredients you requested, we could only gather this much in a short time. But rest assured, with the Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance's many years of operations in the Northern Sea and its business channels spanning the five continents, the subsequent medicinal ingredients will be fully gathered soon."

Luo Chen nodded, "Thank you for your help."

With a major power's assistance, things were this easy! For cultivating the Celestial Essence Pill and refining the soul, the required medicinal ingredients numbered in the hundreds, and the quantities needed were enormous.

Relying solely on himself, Luo Chen would need at least a century to collect everything.

He was tired of delaying his cultivation and running around just to gather medicinal ingredients.

Luo Chen even considered handing over the collection of some materials for the Condensing Liquid Pill and the New Soul Formation Pill to the Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance.

Otherwise, once his cooperation with Fu Chaosheng ended, he wouldn't have this channel.

The Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance was powerful, and they didn't offer this kind of treatment to ordinary Primordial Infant Cultivators.

"By the way, Master, there's one more thing here that's not on your list."

Luo Chen looked up and saw Tianxuan holding a bone plate and two small jars, one black and one white.

"What's this?" Luo Chen looked at Fu Hong Zhang.

The other party's spirit lifted, and he introduced, "This is a set of Go, with the board made from the leg bones of a third-rank Demonic Beast, and the jars are also made from the same. The black and white Go pieces are made from the Northern Sea's specialty, second-rank luminescent shells. Although they can't compare to the famous Go sets in our Central State's Heavenly Yuan Dao Sect, they are still quite valuable, especially as they carry the local flavor of the Northern Sea. This is a private gift from the head of the family, not included in the transaction, so you don't need to pay Spirit Stones for it."

"In that case, thank you."

After Fu Hong Zhang left, Luo Chen took out a black and a white shell piece from the jar, both crystal clear like jade, and carefully rubbed them, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

In the Central State, the game of Go was rumored to be extremely popular.

Almost all disciples of the Heavenly Yuan Dao Sect knew how to play a few moves.

Fu Chaosheng had sent this item, perhaps wanting to familiarize himself with the customs of the Central State in advance, making his future journey there more convenient.

Looking at the lines on the chessboard, some vertical and some horizontal, Luo Chen found himself intrigued.

Before his transcendence, human technology had developed something called "artificial intelligence," but Luo Chen wasn't sure which industries it was applied to.

As a bystander, he was aware of the matches between Go players and artificial intelligence.

Before those matches, Go was considered the pinnacle of human intelligence, a game that not only tested one's intellect but also showcased their wisdom and strategy.

However, after several top Go players suffered consecutive losses to artificial intelligence, the scientific community declared that the game had been thoroughly conquered by AI.

The wisdom of cultivators couldn't be compared to that of humans before Luo Chen's transcendence.

The sheer depth of their divine souls and the infinite calculations during divine sense circulation were enough to make ordinary people pale in comparison.

Under these circumstances, what kind of spectacle would be created by high-level cultivators competing in the game of Go?

A battle between humanoid computers?

Luo Chen smiled and placed the chess pieces back into the jar.

It was enough to dabble in these things; there was no need to spend too much effort on them.

He wasn't interested in becoming a chess master.

Instead, with various medicinal ingredients readily available, he should focus on refining the corresponding pills, not only to restore his cultivation but also to experiment and see how much his cultivation speed in the Primordial Infant Stage would increase with the assistance of pills.

Additionally, the split soul that he had just formed after Soul Formation was only at the Golden Core Late Stage. He needed to refine the Great Soul Pill to enhance this split soul and quickly elevate it to the Primordial Infant Stage.

Without putting away the chessboard and pieces, he left them on the table in the living room.

In his free time, he could learn the game on his own, a casual pastime that wouldn't require much effort.

Before entering the pill room, Luo Chen couldn't help but glance at the chessboard on the table once more.

He vaguely remembered a poem at the entrance of Mingzhao Tian, which seemed to be about Go as well.

Did the Refining Heaven Demon Lord also enjoy playing Go?

...

Luo Chen was waiting.

Waiting for Fu Chaosheng to return.

Fu Chaosheng was the Grand Elder of the Northern Sea Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance, and his two-hundred-year term was about to end. With his advanced age, he had already prepared to retire and return to his hometown.

After settling all the major and minor affairs in the Northern Sea, he would come to Divine Essence City with Luo Chen and head to the Central State together.

At the same time, Luo Chen was also waiting for the Black King.

When they arrived at Whale Harbor, the Black King quietly disappeared and headed towards the site of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly.

Luo Chen instructed the Black King to investigate the whereabouts of some old acquaintances.

The Fuyun Mountains had been occupied by demonic beasts, making it inconvenient for Luo Chen to go there, but it was suitable for the Black King.

During this waiting period, Luo Chen wasn't idle.

After Soul Formation, many things needed to be re-planned, and he was overwhelmed with countless tasks.

However, along the way, Luo Chen gradually sorted out his plans and prioritized them.

His primary cultivation method was of utmost importance, but it wasn't the first thing to address, as the Great Perfection Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture for the Celestial Essence Pill was still usable. Even if he wanted to create his own cultivation method, it wouldn't be a quick task.

The same was true for body refinement.

Therefore, he prioritized the matter of pills.

He had been studying the Celestial Essence Pill and the Great Soul Pill for some time and felt he had already mastered them.

With his experience in the Pill World refining the Fifth Stage Divine Pill, even though he hadn't yet advanced to the Fifth Stage Pill Refiner, refining Fourth Stage pills was no longer a challenge for him.

Luo Chen began to refine pills while simultaneously trying his hand at pill refinement.

In his free time, he instructed Sang Jing He.

As Sang Jing He had recently formed his Golden Core, Luo Chen accompanied him, running around and personally handling some trivial matters. He couldn't treat Sang Jing He poorly.

Tianxuan's cultivation was already on the right track, so Luo Chen didn't need to worry about her.

Thus, Tianxuan's main task recently was to coordinate with Fu Hong Zhang, seeking the resources Luo Chen needed, such as puppetry art cultivation manuals.

Puppetry was a minor path, troublesome, and resource-intensive, far less convenient than enslaving demonic beasts or building connections and hiring bodyguards. Therefore, it had never been a mainstream practice in the cultivation world.

Finding cultivation manuals for this art was no easier than searching for Fourth Stage cultivation methods.

Luo Chen entrusted these tasks to Tianxuan and Fu Hong Zhang, while he himself stayed in his cave mansion in Little Qiong Mountain, not stepping out of his door.

In the vast Divine Essence City, a Primordial Infant Stage cultivator had appeared, and for a while, it seemed that no one knew about it.

But it wasn't that no one knew.

Fu Hong Zhang's recent frequent activities had attracted the attention of some observant members of the Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance.

In the white tower.

Shen Wanding, the Grand Elder of the Northern Sea Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance, listened to the report from the cultivator below, his eyes narrowing slightly.

In the end, the cultivator summarized, "Elder Fu's term is about to end, so he's probably sending family cultivators to gather resources from the Northern Sea to bring back to the Central State."

To this, Shen Wanding shook his head.

"Although the Fu Family has a long heritage, they've always had a small population. Most family cultivators serve in secular affairs within the sect and have limited involvement in pill cultivation.

The various exotic medicinal ingredients were clearly not intended for his own family."

A subordinate hesitated, "I heard that Elder Fu's granddaughter, Fu Qinglan, achieved Soul Formation at the age of 300, making her a true genius among the younger generation. Perhaps these resources were prepared for her!"

Shen Wanding let out a derisive laugh.

"The true geniuses of our sect, aside from when they break through cultivation realms, have never relied on frequent use of pills to aid their cultivation. Fu Chaosheng wouldn't be so foolish as to seek short-term gains and ruin his granddaughter's path."

"This..." The subordinate was perplexed.

Shen Wanding stopped mocking and began to ponder deeply.

If Fu Chaosheng wanted to take a batch of resources with him on his departure to trade and make a final profit, it wasn't impossible.

But the resources he had learned about on this side were extremely diverse in type, but not particularly high in rank. Aside from a few, they weren't that rare either. Even considering the price difference between the Northern Sea and Central State, he wouldn't make much profit.

Obviously, these resources weren't meant for his own use.

But to move such a large amount to Xiaoqiong Mountain...

"Go and investigate the recent personnel movements in Xiaoqiong Mountain, and see if there are any strangers, especially around that Fourth Stage Cavern."

...

"Is this the Great Soul Pill?"

In the pill room, Luo Chen held a dark pill, his eyes filled with amazement.

Especially deep within his divine soul, his soul essence emanated a desire that seemed to come from his instincts.

It was as if he was hungry? After two months of effort, he finally used soul essence as the main ingredient to refine the fourth-stage pill from the Pill Refining Demon Lord's legacy, which could enhance Primordial Infant Cultivators—the Great Soul Pill!

When the pill was formed, a strange phenomenon appeared! At that moment, within the pill room, there were howls and wails, as if countless wronged souls were bursting out at that instant.

There was only one reason for this situation: it must have been caused by the main ingredient, the soul essence!

But the method of making soul essence from the Primordial Demon Sect clearly expelled all the lingering thoughts of the dead, leaving behind an incredibly pure soul energy.

The soul essence he extracted from Duan Li's body was like that, with only a slight trace of lingering thoughts from the remnants of the Primordial Demon.

It was normal for the remnants of the Primordial Demon to have lingering thoughts, after all, that soul essence had already been refined by someone.

It was something that already belonged to someone.

But the batch of soul essence he now held in his hands was unrefined raw material, and there shouldn't be any lingering thoughts from living souls.

It seemed that the Primordial Demon Sect had indeed kept a secret!

Their subordinates couldn't completely remove the lingering thoughts of the dead.

In this situation, it was no wonder that the Darkfire Elder fed his own source of darkness with such soul essence, allowing it to gain sentience without being devoured.

Luo Chen was lucky; the pill formula mentioned the need to use a special pill technique to deal with the lingering thoughts in the soul essence. He found that technique in the Seventy-Two Volume Pill Scripture and, after studying it, was finally able to refine the Great Soul Pill without any side effects.

"Soul Extraction Technique, such a marvelous art, is it also considered a pill technique?"

Luo Chen sighed, then subconsciously licked his dry lips.

He couldn't wait to try the Great Soul Pill.

There was no better time than the present!

Luo Chen left the pill room, bathed, and then entered the cultivation room with the Great Soul Pill.

Soon after, Shen Wanding arrived alone outside Xiaoqiong Mountain.

Looking at the cloud-shrouded Xiaoqiong Mountain, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Fu Qinglan has achieved Soul Formation, and according to reason, she shouldn't have the greed to participate in the Five-Hundred-Year Grand Competition. But the Fu Family has been in decline for a long time, and their reputation as a noble family is hanging by a thread. It's possible that Fu Chaosheng has that idea."

"If he can find powerful external aid to support Fu Qingqing's cultivation in the Mirage Dragon Cavern, there might just be a chance."

"Liu Yuan is the person I have my eye on. Although his talent isn't exceptional, his willpower is incredibly resilient. Since he has the ambition to elevate the Liu Family to a noble family, our Shen Family doesn't have a suitable candidate to enter the Mirage Dragon Cavern this generation. If I help him succeed, I will not only forge a good connection but also ensure that the Shen Family's position in the Dao Sect remains unshaken for a thousand years."

"This time, I'll take the opportunity to investigate this Wilderness Loose Cultivator for Liu Yuan!"

With his thoughts settled, he continued on his way.

Wherever he passed, the Xiaoqiong Mountain cultivators respectfully addressed him as "Great Elder."

He maintained a cold expression until he reached the Fourth Stage Cavern, where he finally revealed a smile and released his subtle Primordial Infant aura.

Tianxuan hurried out, feeling a vague sense of oppression, and her face tightened.

"Tianxuan, greetings to the senior!"

Shen Wanding looked at Tianxuan with suspicion; the aura on this woman was somewhat peculiar.

But he didn't think much of it and smiled, "This old man is Shen Wanding, the Grand Elder of the Northern Sea Heavenly Yuan Commerce Alliance. I've come here specifically to meet the Wilderness Loose Cultivator."

Tianxuan hesitated, "My master is currently cultivating and may not be able to receive guests."

Shen Wanding frowned.

"Is that so? I heard that the Wilderness Loose Cultivator has been searching for puppetry arts, and I happen to have an ancient book on the subject. I wanted to exchange insights with him. Since that's the case, I'll take my leave."

As he turned to leave, a special force rippled towards him like waves.

"Fellow Daoist, please come in."

Shen Wanding's face showed surprise, "What a powerful divine sense!"

He took a deep breath and strode into the cavern.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end