Immortality Begins With The Alchemical Master Chapter 732: The Lost Dog and Luo Chen's Grudge - Novel Cool

Chapter 732: The Lost Dog and Luo Chen's Grudge

Chapter 732: The Lost Dog and Luo Chen's Grudge

A group of people arrived in Divine Essence City.

This wasn't unusual; although the city was surrounded by the Demon Beast coalition, the Heavenly Yuan Dao Sect's reputation had kept the beasts at bay for many years, and there had never been a real attack. As such, cultivators had been coming and going freely.

However, this new group immediately drew attention from all sides as soon as they entered the city.

They were of various cultivation levels, mostly at the Foundation Pill Core Realm, and relatively young, with both men and women among them.

The only thing they had in common was the family emblem on their clothes—a coral flower pattern.

These people were covered in a bloody aura, their expressions numb, yet they also carried a sense of relief for having survived a calamity.

In secret, spiritual senses communicated.

"Are these the cultivators from the Coral Sea Zhou Family?"

"Judging by the distinctive family emblem, it's most likely them. I never expected that among the three Nascent Soul families at the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, the Coral Sea Zhou Family would be the last one standing."

"The Heavenly Channel Chen Family has the perilous Heavenly Channel as their defense, and Eternal End Valley is known as the place where ten thousand demons dare not return. Yet, these two families fell within a few short years under the Demon Coalition's might. On the other hand, the unremarkable Coral Sea Zhou Family, with no natural defenses, managed to hold out for twenty years. Tsk tsk..."

"It's indeed commendable that they lasted this long, but the Zhou Family, which once had over a hundred million members and tens of thousands of cultivators, is probably left with only this handful of people now."

"Daoist Li, let's take the opportunity to pay a visit to the Zhou Family's Patriarch together. In the past, he was stuck at the Fourth Layer Nascent Soul Stage at over eight hundred years old, just a withered bone in a tomb. Now it seems he led his family's cultivators to break through the siege, truly a hidden dragon!"

"Good!"

The group of Zhou Family survivors, numbering several dozen, was undergoing inspections by the Divine Essence City cultivators to prevent any Nascent Soul Stage demonic cultivators in disguise from entering the city.

They discovered that their Patriarch had disappeared after entering the city, which made them anxious.

The Patriarch was their lifeline!

His disappearance caused panic among them.

Fortunately, an elder stepped forward to reassure them, explaining that the Patriarch had gone to meet a friend to prepare a place for the family's cultivators.

With this reassurance, everyone calmed down.

However, under the scrutinizing gazes of the unfamiliar cultivators in Divine Essence City, the Zhou Family cultivators couldn't help but lower their heads, like lost dogs.

...

At the foot of Xiao Qing Mountain, a green-robed elder with a long beard hesitated before finally stepping into the mountain.

As he entered, the clouds parted, making way for him.

This indicated that the mountain's owner was already aware of his arrival.

Seeing this, the green-robed elder's heart unexpectedly settled.

He continued on his way and eventually reached a pavilion at the mountain's waist, where he saw a young man with a smile on his face.

The young man wore a white robe, a golden red cloud-patterned jade belt around his waist, and his black hair, which was loose and flowing behind him, was held back by a single wooden hairpin.

Upon seeing the elder, the young man smiled and shook his head lightly.

"Daoist friend, you followed my spirit beast here without an invitation. That's a bit impolite!"

The green-robed elder hesitated, looking at the young man's face, which was quite different from his memory, and for a moment, he couldn't confirm his identity.

He tentatively asked, "Qingyang Demon Lord Luo Hai?"

Luo Chen's lips curved up, "I am Luo Chen, also known as the Wilderness Loose Cultivator."

Luo Hai, Luo Chen?

Demon Lord, Loose Cultivator?

The green-robed elder shook his head, "I don't know who you are, but the Wilderness Loose Cultivator might just be one of your many aliases. However, I do recognize that black dragon. It's the spirit beast of the Penghu Island's Qingyang Demon Lord."

Luo Chen countered, "Can the Qingyang Demon Lord's spirit beast possess such abilities?"

The green-robed elder fell silent for a moment, but soon, he spoke with conviction, "If the Qingyang Demon Lord has become the Wilderness Loose Cultivator, then it's only natural for his spirit beast to have made such progress."

Luo Chen was speechless.

Alright, it seemed that the false identities he had assumed since leaving seclusion had been exposed to Fu Chaosheng and the Zhou Family Patriarch, not because of his inadequate disguise, but because his two spirit beasts had revealed themselves.

From this, it was clear that for high-level cultivators, hiding one's identity was no longer just a matter of name, appearance, aura, or spiritual sense.

Completely different spiritual senses and powers, two sets of distinct signature techniques, and even one's mode of transportation, spirit beasts, and servants had to be considered.

Given this, there was no point in hiding anymore.

Luo Chen smiled slightly, bowed, and said, "I am Luo Chen, and I've met Zhou Daoist."

Zhou Yunshen exhaled in relief and returned the greeting, "Coral Sea... Zhou Yunshen, I've met Luo Daoist."

He was convinced that the man before him was the Qingyang Demon Lord who had made a name for himself at the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly. Such a formal introduction suggested that "Luo Chen" was his real name.

However...

Zhou Yunshen felt a complex mix of emotions as he sensed the subtle fluctuations of spiritual power and the unrestrained spiritual sense emanating from Luo Chen. He couldn't help but exclaim, "When I turned eight hundred years old, you were only at the Golden Core Realm. In just a few decades, you've broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage. It's truly astonishing!"

Luo Chen smiled, "Daoist friend, you are also a master of concealment. People thought you were only at the Fourth Layer Nascent Soul Stage, and given your advanced age, they didn't know that you had already reached the Sixth Layer Nascent Soul Stage, just one step away from the Seventh Layer, the realm of great cultivators."

During his time at the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, Luo Chen hadn't been secluded the entire time.

He not only made connections within the assembly but also reached out to the three external powers that formed the alliance.

There was no need to mention Eternal End Valley.

The Coral Sea Zhou Family was the one he had the deepest connection with.

Not only had a Zhou Family daughter married Zhang Jiadi, who had acted as his agent, but Luo Chen had also attended Zhou Yunshen's eight-hundredth birthday celebration and had even received a personal audience with him.

Later, when Luo Chen needed related spiritual herbs to refine the Fourth Stage Poison-Avoiding Pill for Purple Spirit Island, Zhou Yunshen had generously opened his doors and provided the necessary ingredients.

These seemingly trivial details may seem insignificant to others, but for two cultivators of equal standing, they become a matter of fate and connection.

At this moment, they exchanged polite pleasantries, a mere formality between two esteemed individuals.

However, Zhou Yunding's aged face could only manage a bitter smile.

"What's the use of being at the Sixth Layer of Nascent Soul? No matter how well hidden, in the face of absolute power, it only buys you a little more time."

As he spoke, he suddenly bowed to Luo Chen once more.

"This time, I must also thank you, fellow cultivator, for sending your spirit beast to rescue my Zhou family from our predicament."

Luo Chen's eyebrows rose slightly, "The Black King?"

Zhou Yunding straightened up, nodding with lingering fear, "Yes! At that time, the Coral Sea had been besieged for twenty years, and we were already at our wit's end. If it weren't for the Black King sending tens of thousands of Dragon Worms to disrupt the situation, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to lead my family's last bloodline out. Perhaps, when it truly came to desperation, I could only have abandoned them and left alone."

Had the situation already deteriorated to such an extent?

Luo Chen was taken aback.

He had been in secluded cultivation for some time and was unaware of the outside world. He had no idea that even the Coral Sea had been "destroyed."

Noticing his surprise, Zhou Yunding thought that Luo Chen might have been busy with his cultivation breakthrough and unaware of external affairs, so he decided to give a brief explanation of the situation in the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly.

After the Demon Coalition escaped from the Arctic Night Mo, their first target was the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly.

The three-ocean defense line, which had held for two hundred years, was breached within a few days.

The Demon Coalition launched a large-scale invasion of the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly's base camp, the Hidden Dragon Mountain Range.

With the absence of the Windscatterer, the Blood Vagabond, and the disappearance of Dragon Abyss True Man, the Chen family patriarch, the Spirit Controller True Man from Eternal End Valley, and Zhou Yunding himself went to the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly to help the Moon Loose Cultivator resist the demon army.

However, unexpectedly, the Moon Loose Cultivator withdrew at a critical moment, leaving the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly's loose cultivators leaderless.

The three True Men could not possibly stay and defend under such circumstances, so they each retreated.

After that, the Heavenly Channel Chen Family was breached, and the Chen family patriarch escaped.

The Eternal End Valley, known for repelling ten thousand demons, successfully repelled three waves of demon beast assaults. But on the fourth wave, a powerful Demon Emperor appeared, leading to the destruction of Eternal End Valley and the on-the-spot demise of the renowned Spirit Controller True Man.

Finally, it was the turn of the Zhou family in the Coral Sea.

"In fact, the demon beast army that attacked us was just a small part of the Demon Coalition's strength. The main forces headed south to assault the Cang Hai Righteous Alliance's territory. Otherwise, my Zhou family wouldn't have been able to hold out for so long."

Zhou Yunding's expression was filled with sorrow, indicating the hardships he had endured over the years.

Especially the Spirit Controller True Man, who relied on the Eternal End Valley's geographical advantage, was defeated by the same advantage, and even his Nascent Soul couldn't escape.

Luo Chen was secretly shocked, as it was extremely rare for a Nascent Soul cultivator to perish.

Even if the physical body was destroyed, the Nascent Soul could still instinctively merge with the heavens and earth, allowing for instantaneous movement.

Unless, of course, the enemy possessed a divine treasure like the Primordial Cauldron, capable of capturing a cultivator's Nascent Soul.

He pursed his lips, then suddenly asked, "What about before?"

Zhou Yunding was puzzled.

Luo Chen repeated, "Before the Demon Coalition, after the Moon Loose Cultivator's return, what changes occurred in the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly, especially... those related to me?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yunding's heavily wrinkled face became somewhat unnatural.

Seeing Luo Chen's persistence, he eventually sighed and said, "At that time, rumors were rampant in the outside world, claiming that the Moon Loose Cultivator had obtained great benefits in the Abyssal Sea. These rumors also mentioned your prowess, how you transcended your realm to kill Fei Yunzi. I don't know the truth, but after the Moon Loose Cultivator's return, she began a massive purge of forces related to you within the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly."

"As far as I know, Penghu was reclaimed, and the entire Zhang family on Lotus Island was exterminated. Only my distant descendant, Zhou Shanshan, survived, and even that was because the Moon Loose Cultivator gave me face. Yes, the Moon Loose Cultivator was even more deeply hidden than me, and she had already reached the late Nascent Soul stage. She knew that I had attained the Sixth Layer of Nascent Soul, so she gave me that thin favor."

"The Azure Sun Shop that your subordinate opened in Dragon Abyss City was closed, and not only that, but loose cultivators associated with you were also captured and, I heard, subjected to considerable abuse."

"That interrogated loose cultivator was named Duan Li, I believe. Later, he seemed to have died during the demon beast assault, but I don't know the specifics."

"It's a pity that the Tusan Sect was completely wiped out. Those loose cultivators skilled in nurturing spiritual plants are all talents!"

Luo Chen listened quietly, but at some point, his originally calm expression turned ashen.

Zhou Yunding, standing beside him, felt slightly uncomfortable. Despite his higher cultivation level, at this moment, he felt like he was facing a long-simmering volcano.

That deep killing intent was as intense as raging flames, cold as ice, making one feel uneasy.

Was this the killing intent of a Golden Core cultivator who had slain a Nascent Soul cultivator?

In his entire life, he had never done something as extreme as killing a peer at the same cultivation level.

Zhou Yunding shook his head and reluctantly said, "There is actually some good news. The Moon Loose Cultivator wanted to capture a Golden Core cultivator named Lu Shan Jun, but couldn't find him. And not all of the Zhang family was exterminated; a female cultivator survived and hid in a cave on Penghu, later rescued by my descendant and brought back to the Zhou family."

Faced with this meager piece of good news, Luo Chen's ashen expression remained unchanged.

After listening, he coldly uttered three words.

"Moon Loose Cultivator!"

At this moment, his surging killing intent was unconcealed, and invisible flames emanated from Luo Chen, distorting the void.

But this killing intent came and went quickly, like a fleeting, eerie flame.

Luo Chen took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Thank you for informing me of these matters."

"Compared to your saving my Zhou family, it's truly insignificant." As he spoke, Zhou Yunding hesitated slightly, "The Black King took the Zhang family orphan from my Zhou family. I wonder what plans he has for that woman?"

"Zhang Jingqing?"

Luo Chen replied without hesitation, "Many thanks for taking care of her all these years. After all, her father served me for a long time, so it's only natural that I look after her from now on."

Zhou Yunding already seemed prepared, and a storage pouch appeared in his hand.

"In that case, please deliver these things to her on my behalf. Consider it as compensation for all these years."

Compensation?

Luo Chen furrowed his brows.

Zhou Yunding seemed reluctant to say more, citing the reason that his clan had just arrived in Divine Origin City and had yet to settle down, and he took his leave.

Luo Chen didn't insist on keeping him, but they agreed on a time to chat later when they were both free.

After Zhou Yunding left, Luo Chen stood quietly in a pavilion in the mountains for a long time before returning to his cave mansion.

As soon as he returned, he saw a beautiful woman standing there, her body swaying gracefully. Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at the Black King curled up on the ground.

Luo Chen glanced at him and waved his finger, and a strand of bluish-golden flame suddenly appeared, enveloping the Black King.

In an instant, the bluish-golden flame intertwined with the blue flame on the Black King's back.

"Is it Liu Jun, the Sea Serpent Emperor?"

The Black King bared its teeth, "Yes, he's one of the three Demon Kings who besieged the Zhou Family. One of them is the Sea Serpent Emperor, Liu Jun, whom we met before. Although I'm not afraid of him in the sea, the flame from his oil lamp poses a great threat to my Savage Beast body."

Luo Chen understood.

He had witnessed the might of Liu Jun's oil lamp.

Even the Luo Chen of the past, with his fourth-stage Ancient True Body, couldn't resist the azure flame. He had to sever his own arm and use the Withering Vitality Flame to isolate the blue fire's erosion.

The Black King's current physique was similar to Luo Chen's back then. Even with an innate indestructible body, without the support of a true flame, he was no match for Liu Jun.

According to rumors, the Sea Serpents were once Savage Beast servants, and they later rose to become masters.

The blue fire ignited by Sea Serpent oil was specifically used to suppress Savage Beast bodies.

The remaining blue flame on the Black King's body was a bit wasteful to simply erase.

Luo Chen's heart stirred, and the Withering Vitality Flame enveloped all the azure flames, returning them to the Purple Mansion.

Then, he looked at the woman who seemed somewhat familiar.

The woman no longer had the youthful innocence of her youth, and her expression carried a hint of sorrow. Initially, she only resembled her mother, but now she also bore a closer resemblance to her.

Such a pitiful fate!

Under Luo Chen's gaze, the woman seemed somewhat nervous.

She hesitated for a moment before bowing gracefully.

"Xiao Qing greets the True Man."

"From now on, you will follow me!"

Luo Chen spoke softly, and the woman's expression visibly relaxed.

...

"Is it this generous?"

Luo Chen looked at the storage pouch that Zhou Yunding had given to Zhang Jingqing. The resources inside were far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could afford, and even a typical Golden Core cultivator's wealth wouldn't be much more than this.

The Black King lay beside Luo Chen and snorted.

"Xiao Qing was treated harshly in the Zhou Family, especially after the Demon Beast army surrounded the Coral Sea. Even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was sent to the battlefield. These things are merely compensation."

Luo Chen shook his head, "If it was truly harsh treatment, then all ten thousand Zhou Family cultivators would have died in battle, and there's no reason for Xiao Qing to have survived."

The Black King was taken aback, as if this reasoning made sense. Luo Chen handed the inspected storage pouch to the Black King, asking him to deliver it to Zhang Jingqing when he had the chance, and then inquired about the details of that battle.

"Although the Zhou Family doesn't have natural defenses, they have developed the Coral Sea into an impregnable fortress. The entire sea area is filled with blood-sucking corals, making it extremely difficult for Demon Beasts."

"According to what you said, it seems they formed an array, which allowed them to hold out for so long."

"The reason I was able to break through and disrupt their formation was because of the Dragon Worms I brought from Dragon Abyss Island. They played a significant role."

"Zhou Yunding is truly formidable. After deciding to abandon the Coral Sea, he no longer suppressed his cultivation and displayed his full power, suppressing two Primordial Infant Demon Kings with his strength alone. However, I could sense that he is indeed very old, and such intense battles are a heavy burden for him."

After thoroughly understanding the situation of the Coral Sea battle, Luo Chen gained a deeper understanding of Zhou Yunding, the Zhou Family Patriarch.

This person is naturally patient and wouldn't take action unless absolutely necessary.

But once he makes a decision, he is extremely decisive.

His strength is also not to be underestimated.

However, now that he has become a "homeless wanderer," where will he go from here? Instead of fleeing to the largest power in the Northern Sea, the Cang Hai Righteous Alliance, he came to Divine Origin City, and his intentions are clear.

Is he also planning to go to Central State?

Luo Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.

With a stir of his divine sense, he sent a message, and soon, Sang Jing He entered from outside.

His eyes were red, as if he had just learned about the situation of the Tussah Sect from Zhang Jingqing.

"True Man, what are your instructions?"

"Ask Fu Hong Zhang when their Sect Master will return to Divine Origin City?"

Sang Jing He was taken aback. Asking when Fu Chaosheng would return was clearly to find out when they could set off for Central State.

But once they leave the Northern Sea, what about the Tussah Sect's grudge, the Lotus Island Zhang Family's grudge, and the True Man's friends' grudges?

Seemingly understanding Sang Jing He's thoughts, Luo Chen offered no explanation.

After Sang Jing He left with a heavy heart, Luo Chen let out a soft sigh.

In the Northern Sea, with the perilous situation, countless people were seeking a way out.

Revenge?

Not to mention whether he was a match for Moon Loose Cultivator, he had no idea where the other party was.

Some things are just helpless like this.

However!

Although this world is vast, it's only so for low-level cultivators.

In the future, when his cultivation reaches a higher level, he will search the heavens and scour the earth to find that Moon Loose Cultivator and settle the score!

(End of Chapter)

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