Chapter 196

Silence.

In an instant, everyone fell silent.

Indeed!

Although we speak of mutual assistance, if we do not establish a leader, there is no guarantee that someone won't shrink back when real problems arise.

At a time like this, a leader is certainly needed to issue orders.

However, a leader has, to a greater or lesser extent, the power to mobilize the cultivators of each faction.

When the time comes to face battle, they could order others to serve as the vanguard.

In this way, wouldn't they be able to preserve their own strength?

Li Yixian and Nangong Jin exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.

They are cultivation families with the fewest cultivators, and they also have many mortal descendants in tow.

If someone were to send them to their deaths...

"Hahaha!"

A hearty laugh rang out abruptly.

Facing the surprised gazes of the three, Luo Chen cupped his hands with incomparable naturalness: "Gang Leader Wang possesses the cultivation of the third level of Foundation Establishment, only a step away from the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment; he is the strongest among us."

"The Dajiang Gang under his command is even more numerous and powerful, dominating the north and south."

"If we are to travel far on this journey, we will certainly need to rely heavily on the transport power of the Dajiang Gang."

"In my opinion, let us take Gang Leader Wang as our head!"

After saying this.

He ignored the astonishment of Nangong and Li.

"What do you two fellow Daoists say?"

Waves surged in Nangong Jin's heart; he had originally thought Luo Chen would fight with all his might for this leading position.

After all, among the four major forces, the Luo Tian Society definitely surpassed the others in the number of Foundation Establishment experts.

There is Luo Chen, there is Wang Yuan, and there is a second-rank Explosive Ape.

Yet he did not expect that Luo Chen would give up this "leader" position so easily.

Li Yixian looked at Luo Chen's calm and composed expression, and after her initial shock, being as clever as she was, she began to weigh the deeper meaning behind it.

She looked again at Wang Haichao, who had a slight smile on his lips, and felt thoughtful.

"This Luo Chen has truly grasped Wang Haichao's psychology."

After figuring out the key to it, she no longer hesitated.

She echoed Luo Chen's words.

"Danchenzi is right; among our generation of cultivators, strength is respected. Gang Leader Wang is indeed worthy of the position of leader."

Nangong Jin frowned.

Having no better choice, he could not refute the two at this moment.

He had no choice but to follow along and say: "To be fair, indeed."

Luo Chen looked at him with surprise, which left Nangong Jin feeling extremely puzzled.

Is he blaming me for not supporting him?

In reality, Luo Chen just felt that he had omitted the words "pure passerby."

When all three reached a consensus.

Their gazes all fell upon Wang Haichao.

He revealed a smile and cupped his hands.

"I am honored by everyone's regard."

"Since that is the case, then I, Wang, shall temporarily serve in this position of leader!"

"No, since it is an alliance, it should be called Alliance Master."

The three did not hesitate and all nodded.

After deciding this matter, the topic returned to the initial issue.

Where to go!

"Since I was the one who started this, I will share my thoughts!"

Luo Chen was not timid, "Previously, I discussed with the cultivators in the society. The places suitable for us to settle and cultivate are definitely not deep mountains or great marshes. In such places, without the cultivation of the Core Formation level, one simply cannot hold the fort."

Several people nodded in agreement.

Any Foundation Establishment force, whether it be a fallen sect or a small cultivation family, mostly relies on large sects or large markets to survive.

They cannot occupy good places!

In bad places, they cannot keep their own people.

Only sect markets that are neither good nor bad can allow them to obtain resources for survival and cultivation in the cracks.

Only with people can there be trade.

Cultivating alone is merely closing the door to build a cart, far less efficient than gathering together.

"Therefore, the places we can go to are actually few in number."

"Snow Lotus Market, Mount Tai Market, Flowing Light Market, and... Tianlan Immortal City."

After speaking, he closed his mouth and said nothing more.

He threw the topic to the three of them.

Being cultivators who had been active in the vicinity for many years, the three quickly offered various opinions.

"Snow Lotus Market is my old home; the Nangong family originally moved from there."

Nangong Jin shook his head, "But that place is not suitable for development."

"In the early years, there were frequent attacks by snow beasts. My Nangong family was near the Great Snow Mountain, and we really had no choice but to decide to move."

"Although in the past few years, Snow Lotus Market has been strangely quiet for a period."

"But in the last two years, I heard that there have been frequent attacks on the market by giant frost wolves."

"Furthermore, Snow Lotus Market is under the direct jurisdiction of the Core Formation sect, Ice Fortress. If we go there, we will certainly be at the mercy of others."

The first one, Snow Lotus Market, which was closest to Dajiang Market, was ruled out.

This was within expectations.

Accustomed to the normal four seasons of Dajiang Market, a place like Snow Lotus Market is indeed not very suitable for a family to raise descendants.

"What about Flowing Light Market?" Luo Chen asked curiously.

Nangong Jin shook his head, "I don't know much about that."

"Let me speak!"

Li Yixian took over the conversation, "That place is truly too barren. In the early years, it was a mining site for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. After the mining ended, it was abandoned."

"In the early years, the casting and mineral business in Flowing Light Market was booming. Because of this business, the Bai family of Flowing Light Market even fought a battle with our Duan family of Dajiang Market."

"But now, the Bai family is also gradually declining, and it is very likely that they will move away too."

Luo Chen was thoughtful.

In that case, Flowing Light Market was also excluded from the choices.

Wang Haichao laughed freely, "Why not go to Mount Tai Market!"

"Does the Alliance Master have any insights?" Luo Chen asked with a smile.

Wang Haichao spoke eloquently, "Mount Tai Market occupies the land of three mountains. Although the spiritual veins are scattered, it is suitable for us to live in."

"Furthermore, I have some friendship with several Foundation Establishment forces there."

"When the time comes, we can go and negotiate, and perhaps we can take root there."

Li Yixian asked curiously: "I remember that the ancestor of the Huo family in Mount Tai Market has a cultivation level as high as the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, and he is narrow-minded. In the entire Mount Tai Market, his personal strength is respected. If we go, we will be four Foundation Establishment cultivators at once. Can he tolerate us?"

The Huo family of Red Toad Mountain in Mount Tai Market is also a Foundation Establishment family with a history of hundreds of years.

And they have a good relationship with the Core Formation sect, the Flame Alliance, with family cultivators often joining the Flame Alliance.

It can be said that their own strength is strong, and their background is extremely deep.

The family ancestor, Huo Quan, stepped into the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment a long time ago and is very protective of his own.

Under his protection, the Huo family's momentum has been rising steadily over the years, having already challenged the Kang family of Mount Tai, and is vaguely hailed as the number one cultivation family of Mount Tai Market.

Facing Li Yixian's curiosity, Wang Haichao's expression stalled.

After a long while, he said hesitantly: "With the four of us Foundation Establishment cultivators coming forward, he should give us this face, right?"

After all that, he wasn't even sure!

Luo Chen twitched his lips, "We'll see when the time comes; Mount Tai Market is the first choice!"

Everyone nodded; at least they had a direction.

As for Tianlan Immortal City, which Luo Chen proposed, no one discussed it.

The distance is simply too far.

If one were traveling alone, perhaps they could arrive quickly.

But if dragging a family along, it would take at least several months.

Several months?

It seems like a short time, but the journey is long, and it is very easy for danger to occur on the way.

When the Fu family moved over, it was a journey full of hardships.

If it weren't for the excessive losses on the road, they wouldn't have been easily wiped out later by Luo Chen leading the Luo Tian Society.

Next, the four discussed many other things.

When to leave?

How to leave?

How to handle the things left behind?

If danger is encountered on the road, how will each family contribute?

Upon arriving at the new place, under what name should they band together, and so on.

This meeting of the preliminary alliance became extremely long-winded, and even developed into trivial matters towards the end.

If it weren't known that the four were Foundation Establishment True Cultivators with accomplished cultivation.

To a mortal, they would probably be mistaken for a few penny-pinching businessmen.

It wasn't until late at night that Wang, Li, and Nangong dispersed.

After they left, Luo Chen sat in the hall, rubbing his forehead.

"Come in!"

He said casually, and Sima Huiniang walked in softly.

"President, is everything settled?"

"Yes. During this time, all major forces will likely spare no effort to collect resources they can take with them. You send people to restrain the Luo Tian Society cultivators and try not to have conflicts with them."

"I understand this."

Sima Huiniang nodded, then asked curiously: "Why did the President not fight for the position of Alliance Master?"

Luo Chen sneered.

"Alliance Master?"

"That is not so easy to be!"

Facing Sima Huiniang's confusion.

Luo Chen was not stingy about clearing up her doubts.

She is the CEO of the Luo Tian Society, and all kinds of major and minor affairs are executed and decided by her personally.

Many things seem small, but in reality, they have far-reaching effects.

But in the cultivation world, many decisions cannot just look at the present; one needs to look far enough ahead.

And cultivators, limited by their realm, are truly prone to being blinded by a leaf and not knowing the reason.

When Luo Chen was in the Qi Refining stage, he suffered many losses due to a lack of insight.

He did not want Sima Huiniang to suffer similar losses.

Otherwise, it would not only damage Sima Huiniang's interests, but more importantly, his own interests.

With the help of his vision, Sima Huiniang can see further!

"Alliance Master, it is not so easy to be."

Luo Chen's gaze was distant, as if crossing time and space, seeing the situation after the four major forces set off in the near future.

"Along the way, there will surely be wind and rain, and twists and turns."

"As the leader of the alliance, the Alliance Master will inevitably be troubled."

"Where there are people, there must be conflicts of interest. With so many of us going to a strange place, how many people's interests do you think will be harmed?"

"Do not think that because the four families are allied, we can be invincible."

"The conflicts of interest among people in a region are far deeper than we imagine."

"Just like Mi Shuhua back then, he seemed to be a lone Foundation Establishment cultivator, but in reality, who knew he had Miao Wen behind him? Who knew he was also a long-time friend of Duan Qiankun? Would we know if he had other allies?"

"Why do you think the Dajiang Gang, the Lianyun Chamber of Commerce, plus the five major Foundation Establishment families had to strike at the same time? It was just because they were afraid of not killing the snake and suffering the consequences."

Seeing Sima Huiniang's look of realization.

Luo Chen showed an appreciative look in his eyes and continued:

"In this situation."

"The Alliance Master with the highest status will inevitably be the number one enemy of those whose local interests are harmed. The danger to be faced is a hundred times that of ours!"

"The gun hits the bird that sticks its head out, and the knife cuts the local snake; that is the principle."

Sima Huiniang suddenly realized.

But then, she asked in confusion: "If so, why did Wang Haichao agree?"

"Did he not think of it?"

Luo Chen chuckled, "How could such an old fox not think of such a simple principle."

"Then why?"

"It's very simple, this is an open scheme; he had to agree. In fact, it was the Alliance Master position he actively fought for!"

Facing Sima Huiniang's confusion.

Luo Chen chuckled: "He is not like the Li family or the Nangong family, which have blood ties and can take everyone away."

"The cohesion of the Dajiang Gang is also far inferior to our Luo Tian Society."

"Yes! Their Dajiang Gang has also experienced many storms, but most of them have had external forces intervene, and the benefits obtained have been shared out a lot."

"The subordinates are mostly dissatisfied."

"And this person, who seems elegant and easy-going, is actually narrow-minded and cannot tolerate strong subordinates."

"If we look back from the end, that Broken Blade Xu Renke must have defected to him long ago. As a result, on the Dao Discussion Platform, he let the Broken Blade waste Gao Tingyuan's substitute puppet, destroyed his dantian, and made him unable to establish a foundation for life."

"Such things cannot be hidden from others."

Speaking of this.

Luo Chen paused.

He looked at Sima Huiniang and said with emotion: "I want to leave, and you will all follow me; why is that?"

Sima Huiniang said without hesitation: "Because the President has never treated us badly, and following you, everyone has a bright future!"

Receiving such sincere praise, Luo Chen was not humble at all.

He nodded and asked again: "Then, if you were in his shoes, and Wang Haichao wanted to leave, would you follow him wholeheartedly?"

"Uh..."

"When you hesitate, it means you already have the answer."

Luo Chen smiled slightly and drank the cooled spiritual tea in one gulp.

"He, Wang Haichao, has no blood ties, no benefits to move people's hearts, and no prestige to convince the masses."

"If he wants to take enough people away, what can he rely on?"

"Just the name of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator? Hehe, this thing is really not that valuable. Loose cultivators think very simply; at worst, they just leave and switch to another force to continue cultivating."

Sima Huiniang felt as if she had been enlightened.

Through Luo Chen's guidance, she instantly connected the key points.

"So, he needs the title of Alliance Master!"

Sima Huiniang affirmed: "Only the position of Alliance Master of the four-family alliance can temporarily suppress the thoughts of many loose cultivators."

"And in this way, it also cuts off the possibility of those loose cultivators defecting to us."

"President, is that so!"

Luo Chen nodded, expressing approval.

Loose cultivators without a sect to rely on are just like this.

Even if they are Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, their lives will not be much better.

Wang Haichao relies on the Dajiang Gang; even if he cannot afford good things like magic treasures in the short term, at least the resources used for cultivation will not be lacking.

If he loses the Dajiang Gang to drive for him.

He has no special skills; where will he earn spirit stones?

Serve as a guest for those fallen small sects or cultivation families?

Stop joking.

In the current Eastern Wasteland cultivation world, the general price for a Foundation Establishment guest is only two or three thousand spirit stones a month.

After deducting the monthly cultivation needs, how many spirit stones can be left?

You say save money for a few years, stop cultivating, and save money to buy magic treasures; isn't that giving up eating for fear of choking?

If one does not become a Core Formation, when the lifespan is up, the treasures in hand will just become the legacy opportunities for later generations to explore.

Moreover, there are not many families that can offer this price.

Only he, Luo Chen, is wealthy and imposing!

And that is only because Wang Yuan is his brother that he generously offers this treatment.

Wang Haichao cannot leave the support of the Dajiang Gang.

And he, Luo Chen?

It is not that he must have the Luo Tian Society.

Changing to another place, relying on the name of an alchemist, he can completely make a comeback.

The reason he decided to take the Luo Tian Society is, firstly, there are many of his friends here.

Secondly, everyone trusts him.

Thirdly, those people in the Alchemy Hall are truly very handy for him to use.

Moreover, if he were to go out.

With a large number of guards, safety can also be sufficiently guaranteed.

"If we can take root in Mount Tai Market, it is undoubtedly the best."

"It is far enough from Dajiang Market, the crisis of the Ghost King will not threaten us for the time being, and that place is not so strange."

"If we cannot..."

Luo Chen's gaze was deep, and he had already begun to make backup plans.

He was never the type to put all his eggs in one basket.

Even when he was under Mi Shuhua's control, he was prepared to run away at any time.

Just didn't expect.

Many times in the past he wanted to run, but for various reasons, he didn't succeed.

This time, it was he himself who actively wanted to leave.

"You go down and get busy!"

"The departure time is set for two months later; all loose ends must be handled well!"

Sima Huiniang bowed.

"Obey the President's order!"

One month later.

Late at night.

In the Green Thatch Hut, Bai Meiling was shivering in the corner, not daring to get close to Luo Chen.

What she was afraid of was not Luo Chen.

But the flag banner unfurled in Luo Chen's hand.

Soul Refining Banner!

Luo Chen looked at the unfurled banner with a suspicious and uncertain expression.

Just this evening, while refining pills, this Soul Refining Banner underwent a mutation.

Bursts of chaotic aura spread out from within, unable to be concealed.

It even almost caused his pill refining to fail.

He hurried back and opened it, only to find that the dozens of ghost soldiers captured in the Soul Refining Banner had all disappeared.

Inside the entire banner, only two figures remained.

One was Duan Qiankun, and the other was Luo Tianhong.

The two figures devoured those dozens of ghost soldiers, and their bodies were much more solid than before.

And the movement in the evening was caused by the battle between the two.

"I only know that one mountain cannot hold two tigers, but I didn't expect that a mere magic tool couldn't hold two ghost generals."

Duan Qiankun's remnant soul was extracted by Luo Chen from Wang Yuan's body when he returned to Little Huan Mountain.

At that time, it was put in the Soul Refining Banner, and he didn't pay much attention to it.

Didn't expect that after two months, it would develop to this point.

Looking at the two ghosts, which were full of ghost energy and constantly erupting in battle.

Luo Chen sighed; by this time, he had already reacted.

"After all, the grade of this Soul Refining Banner is too low; being able to accommodate one second-rank ghost is already the limit."

"Two, on the contrary, will devour each other."

This is the flaw of the Soul Refining Banner.

At the magic tool level, it can accommodate at most a hundred souls, and there can only be one second-rank ghost.

Only when it reaches the magic treasure level can it accommodate a thousand souls, ten thousand souls, or even millions or tens of millions.

In that situation, let alone second-rank ghosts, even third-rank Ghost Kings could be accommodated in several numbers.

At that time, the internal space of the Soul Refining Banner itself could form a ghost domain!

"Fine, let you fight!"

"Decide the winner, and save me from being distracted by controlling you."

Under Luo Chen's gaze.

The battle inside the Soul Refining Banner became increasingly white-hot.

Luo Tianhong lost the Rotten Chess Piece and was severely injured by Luo Chen, so his strength plummeted.

But because he was born in the ghost domain, his foundation was deep and he could withstand the tossing.

Duan Qiankun's soul was old and no longer a threat, and he was robbed of his spirit by Wang Yuan, becoming only a remnant soul of resentment.

But his forbidden techniques, even if they were only of the soul, could be instinctively displayed.

The two fought, but it presented a situation of being evenly matched.

But, there would eventually be an ending!

Luo Tianhong won!

This is the logical ending.

Duan Qiankun's lifespan was already exhausted before he died, and his soul was old and rotten.

The remnant soul he became only hated the person who destroyed his Duan family.

But Luo Tianhong was in his prime when he died on the path of Dao.

Holding onto an obsession, he was born in that ghost domain.

He is a ghost of obsession; his ferocity may not be as good as a fierce ghost, but his survival instinct is far higher than that of an ordinary ghost general.

After such a long battle, the one who lost could only be Duan Qiankun.

In that banner, the victorious Luo Tianhong followed his instinct and frantically devoured the loser's remnant soul.

Before long, he devoured it all.

And his originally illusory body became more solid.

There was even ghost energy armor that slowly attached to his body, wrapping around the ghost body.

Luo Chen's heart moved.

This ghost general appeared in the small hut.

It subconsciously left the fire spring side and got closer to the ice spring range.

Standing in front of Luo Chen, it hissed in a low voice, trying to get closer, but subconsciously feared and shrank back.

Such a contradictory scene made Bai Meiling, who was shivering in the corner, laugh "hee hee."

Luo Chen shook his head and immediately cast a Soul-Stunning Technique.

The powerful soul foundation, plus the identity of the master of the Soul Refining Banner, directly made it kneel by his side.

"It's not very appropriate to call you Luo Tianhong anymore; it's disrespectful to you before you were alive, and it's easy to cause trouble."

"From now on, I'll call you... Xiao Hei!"

Xiao Hei was stunned for a moment, then lay on the ground even more respectfully.

The Soul-Stunning Technique is not so easy to bear for a ghost without a shell to cover it.

After giving the name.

Luo Chen checked Xiao Hei's status.

After devouring more than a dozen ghost soldiers in succession, plus the remnant soul of Duan Qiankun, a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

Its state had already returned to its peak.

Even, it had a little more intelligence.

If judged by combat power, it was already a genuine second-rank combat power.

"Xiao Hong ran away, and Xiao Hei came."

"Heh..."

Luo Chen chuckled and put Xiao Hei into the Soul Refining Banner.

Turning back, he looked at Bai Meiling seriously.

"How is your learning of the Soul Refining True Technique?"

"Yi yi..."

"Entered the door?"

Luo Chen's eyes lit up, "That's a good thing, come with me for a trip!"

Bai Meiling drilled into the ghost mill in a daze and was taken away from Little Huan Mountain by Luo Chen under the cover of night.

When the moon was in the middle of the sky, Luo Chen's footsteps landed outside the inner city gate.

He looked cautiously in the direction of Luofeng Mountain, then stepped inside.

As soon as he entered the door.

He noticed three ghosts wandering nearby.

Luo Chen's spiritual sense moved, urging the Soul-Stunning Technique, and immediately activated the extraction effect.

The three ghosts were brought to his side as if they were being grabbed.

Thump!

The ghost mill fell.

The three ghosts were directly thrown onto the millstone.

Looking at the dazed Bai Meiling, Luo Chen pursed his lips.

"Push!"

Bai Meiling was stunned and subconsciously pushed the ghost mill.

Under her pushing, the three weak ghosts were soon crushed into pure ghost soul power amidst whimpering sounds.

Looking at this ghost soul power that was pure to the extreme.

Luo Chen's soul emitted a burst of longing power, and it seemed that he couldn't help but want to devour it.

Swallowing his saliva, Luo Chen forcibly suppressed this feeling.

After being crushed by the ghost mill, the ghost soul power on it already carried Bai Meiling's will.

Because this was originally Bai Meiling's companion magic tool.

"Operate the Soul Refining True Technique and devour it all!"

"Yi yi..."

Bai Meiling babbled for a while, then opened her mouth to inhale, sucking the pure ghost soul power into her body.

Under the operation of the Soul Refining True Technique, it was completely integrated with her main body.

Looking at this scene, the hunger from Luo Chen's soul finally dissipated completely.

"Sucking like this is much better than the barbaric devouring of Xiao Hei, at least it can maintain sanity."

After Xiao Hei devoured the remnant soul, it became even more fierce.

Bai Meiling is different.

The expression on her face became vivid.

As long as this happens a few more times.

She will sooner or later recover the memories of her life.

At that time, Luo Chen will also let her meet Feng Xia and others.

Forget it for now!

If both sides meet, it will only increase the sadness.

"That's it for today."

Seeing Bai Meiling patting her little belly, looking full.

Luo Chen shook his head and smiled.

Leaving the ghost city, he strolled on the increasingly desolate streets of the outer city area.

Luo Chen began to think about how to continue to increase his soul foundation.

At present, he dare not take the Tongyou Pill again.

It's not that the first-rank Tongyou Pill has no effect on him at all.

But he is afraid!

He is afraid that the barrier of pill poison that appears when breaking through Foundation Establishment will appear on his soul.

"After Core Formation, spiritual sense evolves into divine sense; only then do Qi Refiners begin to gradually turn to refining spirit and refining Qi in parallel."

"I heard that Nascent Soul is even more about the soul becoming an infant, giving an extra second life."

"The soul is so important, it must not go wrong at all!"

Without the premise of removing pill poison, the Tongyou Pill cannot be taken for the time being.

In this way, he must think of other ways to increase his soul foundation.

Luo Chen knows the benefits of a strong soul.

He was able to impact the Foundation Establishment stage five times in a row, relying not only on a powerful physique, but also on the soul that can freely manipulate the spiritual power in his body!

If it were someone else?

They would have been covered in bruises by the out-of-control spiritual power at the first failure.

When breaking through to Core Formation in the future, whether the soul is strong or not will only be more important!

"Mingshen Posha is still only in the perfect stage; perhaps I can consider using evil energy to cultivate?"

"Evil energy..."

Looking at the mountain range of Little Huan Mountain, Luo Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

It's the 31st, does everyone still have tickets? Xiaoyu wants them.

End of chapter.