Chapter 395

After some study, Luo Chen put down "Escaping the Cage" with a bit of regret.

This secret technique provided by Mount Ailao indeed had its unique aspects.

It emphasizes the body becoming a cage and qi condensing into a Jin Dan.

If one can escape the cage with a Jin Dan, one will henceforth be on the Great Dao.

It perfectly matches the saying, "With a Jin Dan swallowed into the belly, my fate is determined by me, not by heaven."

However!

The focus here was somewhat similar to the Ice Castle's Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation secret technique.

Both require the help of external elixirs to form a Jin Dan seed in the body.

The pre-steps for condensing the Jin Dan are very simple; as long as there is a suitable elixir, it can be done.

But the success rate is not that high.

After condensing the Jin Dan, it is only a rudimentary Jin Dan seed, which requires a certain amount of time to absorb enough spiritual energy to reach the true Jin Dan realm.

It is far from comparable to the "first possessing Jin Dan characteristics, and once the Jin Dan is condensed, one is a genuine Jin Dan master" described by the "Locking Bead Curtain."

"It is said that no matter what method is used to condense the Jin Dan, it only involves the difficulty, not the strength after condensing. But looking at it now, although the superior method is difficult, it is indeed much stronger than the inferior method."

"I wonder what the intermediate method of condensing the Jin Dan is like?"

Luo Chen shook his head, put down "Escaping the Cage," and turned to study the "Hunyuan Method" of Qingdan Valley.

After experiencing the two inferior Jin Dan secret techniques of Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation and Escaping the Cage, Luo Chen did not have high expectations for the Hunyuan Method, which was also an inferior method.

However, knowing more is always good.

What if there is some knowledge in it that can be used?

Besides studying Jin Dan secret techniques, there were other things to do daily.

Food-based body refining, familiarizing himself with the Heavenly Peng True Body transformations, and occasionally refining a large batch of elixirs himself.

And his spiritual power had long since recovered, and he began to step into orderly cultivation.

Time passed bit by bit in Luo Chen's deep cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

A hundred miles away from the former Geng family territory, in a barren mountain with no spiritual energy.

For some reason, a thick fog had been lingering since early this morning.

Initially, it was just thought to be ordinary morning fog.

But as the morning sun rose, the thick fog still lingered, and the cultivators hiding within knew something was wrong.

They tried to rush out, only to find that they had already fallen into a maze formation.

Outside the barren mountain.

Three figures stood quietly, all Foundation Establishment cultivators!

If anyone approached, they would find that these three were all high-ranking members of the Luotian Society.

Elder Min Longyu, Luowang Elder Su Xiaolin, and Transmission Hall Master Wang Yuan.

"For over a year, thieves spying on our Luotian Society have been endless!"

"Thanks to Hall Master Wang's multiple interventions, our Luotian Society has remained safe."

"The cultivators in this barren mountain today have quite strong cultivation, reaching the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. If it weren't for Elder Min's intervention, I'm afraid they would have escaped."

Su Xiaolin sighed from the bottom of his heart about the power of Min Longyu's formation.

With the cultivation of the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, after setting up the formation, he could actually trap a great cultivator at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment and two mid-level Foundation Establishment cultivators for a short time.

It was truly mind-boggling.

Min Longyu smiled.

His cultivation progress was considered fast within the Luotian Society.

In less than twenty years, he had already stepped into the mid-level of Foundation Establishment!

Except for the two outside cultivators, Chu Kui and Xu Huanzhen, his current cultivation was higher than that of Wang Yuan, Duan Feng, and others.

But this was to be expected.

After all, he had reached Foundation Establishment a few years earlier and was proficient in formations.

Setting up some auxiliary cultivation formations tailored to himself was not a difficult task.

He said casually, "It is not my merit alone. Elder Su collected information and discovered them in advance, which gave me the opportunity to set up the formation first. This credit should go to you!"

Su Xiaolin waved his hand to show humility.

"I am where I am today thanks to the Foundation Establishment pills you exchanged from the battlefield."

He successfully reached Foundation Establishment last year, ahead of Zhou Yuanli, Feng Xia, Yuan Xiaoyue, and others.

After Foundation Establishment, he led the Luowang intelligence department of the Combat Hall, becoming increasingly adept.

Now, he was a major assistant under President Sima Huiniang.

Looking at Wang Yuan, who had been holding back, Su Xiaolin asked, "Hall Master Wang, the enemy is quite strong. Do you need me to notify Hall Master Chu?"

Since the fall of Sima Xian, the position of Hall Master of the Luotian Society's Combat Hall had been concurrently held by Luo Chen.

However, three years ago, Chu Kui joined the Luotian Society.

After observing him for a period of time, President Sima Huiniang "privately" made the decision to appoint him as the Hall Master of the Combat Hall.

There were some criticisms about this below.

But the high-level members of the Luotian Society unanimously passed it, and no one had any objections.

After all, he was a great expert at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, a famous leader of rogue cultivators in the Tianlan Immortal City area, and someone who had once traded blows with a Jin Dan master.

Serving as a Hall Master of a second-rate force was more than enough.

Facing his question, Wang Yuan shook his head.

Su Xiaolin was puzzled.

Wang Yuan showed no signs of wanting to act, nor did he let him go and invite Hall Master Chu of their hall.

Was it just to trap those rogue cultivators inside and give them a warning?

"Wait a moment!" Wang Yuan said indifferently.

Su Xiaolin suppressed the curiosity in his heart and waited quietly.

Actually, he didn't wait long.

After just a few minutes, a green escape light arrived in the sky.

Wang Yuan raised his head, exchanged a glance with that person, and nodded slowly.

Subsequently, that escape light rushed straight into the white-cloud-shrouded formation.

As he flew, the white fog constantly parted, giving way to a passage.

Su Xiaolin watched this scene, and a thought faintly emerged in his mind.

"So the President has really returned!"

"That person must be the President!"

"However, are we just going to stand by and watch while letting him act alone?"

He didn't ask this question.

Years of intelligence experience had already made him accustomed to asking less, saying less, and doing more.

He only needed to collect the information that the superiors wanted.

As for what to do next, someone would naturally decide.

It was just that he was still worried about letting the President face the enemy alone.

With this mood, he could only focus his attention on the barren mountain shrouded in white fog, ready to rush in if he sensed anything slightly wrong.

Even if it cost him his life, he had to protect the President!

Under his observation, changes occurred within the mountain.

The three enemies seemed to have sensed the change in the formation and rushed out together.

At the same time, a massive object suddenly appeared, looming within the white fog.

The moment this giant object appeared, it unleashed a large expanse of red light.

Wherever the red light passed, it stained all the white fog, turning it into layers of miasma that shrouded the two mid-level Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In just an instant, screams rang out.

The other person saw this, his heart filled with horror.

His high cultivation allowed him to escape very quickly.

In the blink of an eye, he drove his sword and rushed out of the maze formation.

As his figure appeared, Su Xiaolin's expression at the foot of the mountain changed.

"Not good, he escaped!"

"Hall Master Wang, should we act and intercept him?"

Wang Yuan did not answer his question.

Answering him was a giant claw reaching out from the depths of the white fog.

Whoosh!

Facing that heaven-shaking claw, the great cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he instantly activated the defensive measures he had already prepared.

Brown-yellow light bloomed, and three earth walls resembling mountains rose one after another.

Triple Earth-Guard Talisman!

The defense of this talisman is so strong that it cannot be broken unless by a Jin Dan cultivator!

After deploying this talisman, the great cultivator felt slightly relieved, and only then did he have the energy to observe the person attacking them.

However, what he saw made him extremely astonished.

"Demon beast?"

"How could there be demon beasts active near Tianlan Immortal City?"

"No, it seems to be a third-tier demon beast!"

Just as he was shocked, that heaven-shaking claw had already touched the triple earth-guard giant walls.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Pfft!

Like a knife cutting through tofu, in front of this claw, the supposedly unbreakable defense of the Triple Earth-Guard Talisman shattered in the blink of an eye.

And the power of this claw had not yet ceased.

It grabbed directly onto the great cultivator's body.

Boom!

With violent force, just one strike sent him flying several miles away.

Only then did the giant claw slowly retract.

Su Xiaolin opened his mouth wide, eyes bulging, looking at this scene in disbelief.

Faintly, he seemed to see a third-tier demon king from the depths of the million-mountain wilderness of the Eastern Wasteland.

When still, it swallows clouds and spits mist.

When moving, it delivers a thunderous strike.

But how could this be possible?

"That person is not dead. Go and capture him, bring him back to the Luotian Society for interrogation, and squeeze out as much value as possible."

Wang Yuan's indifferent order came to his ears.

Su Xiaolin suppressed the excitement in his heart and hurried toward the direction where the great cultivator had fallen.

When he arrived, he indeed saw a middle-aged man lying unconscious in a huge crater.

Looking at the shocking scene of the man's chest and abdomen caved in, Su Xiaolin couldn't help but swallow.

"That is definitely not a third-tier demon king!"

"In other words, it is some kind of great power method of the President?"

"But this is too strong! One strike made a great cultivator at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment lose his ability to act!"

"That's right! The President is someone who killed a Jin Dan elder of the Yan Alliance head-on. How can a mere ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator compete with the bright moon?"

In a short time, he had gone from shock and doubt to complete affirmation of Luo Chen's strength.

This psychological shift was not slow at all.

Only Luo Chen's invincible experiences over the years could support Su Xiaolin's confidence in him.

At the barren mountain, the clouds and mist gradually receded.

Luo Chen stepped out and looked at the two with a smile.

"President!" Min Longyu put away the formation disk and bowed respectfully.

"Hmm, not bad! I haven't seen you use this formation before." Luo Chen praised with a smile.

Min Longyu smiled slightly, "Actually, I have used it; it's just a variation of the formation I used in the battle of Gaoling Plain."

"Oh, it does feel a bit familiar."

Luo Chen suddenly realized.

Although he didn't enter the formation in the battle of Gaoling Plain, he had heard of it later.

That set of formations did indeed possess tracking-confusing functions.

If it weren't for Min Longyu secretly letting them go, it would have been very difficult for the Luotian Society cultivators to break through quickly.

"You are becoming increasingly proficient with this Heavenly Peng True Body, even able to control your strength to spare that person's life." Wang Yuan sighed.

Being able to control it freely shows great mastery!

Luo Chen stopped and looked back at the barren mountain behind him.

He said, "This still depends on your planning; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to master these methods so quickly."

Wang Yuan shook his head.

He had only offered some suggestions and given some improvement methods.

What really worked was Luo Chen's own painstaking research.

Withdrawing his gaze, Luo Chen frowned: "It's been a year, why are there still so many rogue cultivators eyeing the Jin Dan secret techniques?"

Min Longyu took over the conversation and said, "After all, that is something related to the Great Dao; no one would be unmoved."

Luo Chen shook his head firmly, "It's definitely not that simple!"

Min Longyu was stunned.

It was Wang Yuan who, after pondering on the side, spoke indifferently: "It's indeed not that simple. Chu Kui's exchange for the Jin Dan secret technique was secretive, and on our way back to Tianlan, we traveled day and night, basically not exposing our tracks, so there is no possibility of large-scale leakage."

"Perhaps someone deduced it based on the sudden disappearance of our merit points on the merit list?" Min Longyu tried to make up for it slightly.

However!

Luo Chen and Wang Yuan both shook their heads at this.

At that time, the God-Transformation ruins were open, and everyone's attention was on them.

If Ling Yuzhi hadn't known Chu Kui, she wouldn't have found them so quickly.

Moreover, it was clearly at a turning point where a ceasefire was about to happen.

Many vassal forces were squandering their accumulated merit points to exchange for what they needed.

Although the Luotian Society's merit exchange caused a bit of a stir, it was only slightly out of the ordinary among the various forces.

This problem is currently unsolvable.

Luo Chen clapped his hands, "Let's go, back to Danxia Peak. Next time you encounter a tricky enemy, notify me early so I can use these people to practice and familiarize myself with my new fighting style."

Speaking of this, he said to Wang Yuan with a smile: "I'm stealing your job a bit."

Wang Yuan twitched the corner of his mouth, not caring.

He was currently stuck in the bottleneck of understanding "Hidden Force," and relying solely on fighting was no longer very effective.

Years of accumulation had allowed him to master "Dark Force" on the battlefield, and even catch a glimpse of the "Hidden Force" level.

But now, the accumulation was exhausted, and what was needed was to rebuild his foundation.

His current focus was instead on the "Ten Thousand Paths Merging" that Luo Chen had given him.

If he could borrow the essence of it for his own body-refining path, he might be able to master "Hidden Force" and charge toward "Dan Force" in one go!

As the three walked, they soon passed the former Geng family territory.

Now, this piece of spiritual land had long been rented by the Luotian Society and had become a spirit beast breeding base.

The main focus was on breeding silkworm-type spirit beasts.

Over the years, under the leadership of Sima Huiniang and Xu Huanzhen, they had expanded to include the breeding of some first-tier demon beasts with high meat production.

Currently, the Spirit Beast Hall had become one of the important sources of income for the Luotian Society.

Luo Chen spread his spiritual sense, sensed it slightly, and couldn't help but show a look of satisfaction.

After passing the spirit beast breeding base, seeing Luo Chen still walking with them, Min Longyu asked curiously.

"President, are you going back to Danxia Peak today?"

"Hmm, don't make a scene later; I'll just sneak in." Luo Chen paused, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "By the way, I'm picking someone up from work."

Min Longyu's expression stiffened, and he faintly smelled a little sour odor.

"Why are you here?"

"Picking you up to go home."

Sima Huiniang was stunned, then asked: "Are you going to my place tonight?"

"It's not impossible." Luo Chen sat lazily on a chair, beckoned casually, and took a bamboo slip over.

"As if it's such a burden for you." Sima Huiniang snorted, lowered her head to look at the information on the desk, and said softly: "Wait a little longer; I can go back after I finish reading the information submitted by Su Xiaolin."

"Hmm, as you wish."

Luo Chen nodded, and his eyes fell on the content of the bamboo slip.

What was written on it happened to be a field Luo Chen was familiar with.

Elixir business!

After reading, Luo Chen frowned.

"Didn't Zheng Tianfang of the Zheng family in Gunlong Ridge die? Currently, the Zheng family only has two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Why, after a few years, haven't we captured their market share?"

Sima Huiniang raised her head and tucked a strand of hair hanging at the corner of her mouth.

"It's not that simple; the Zheng family has been very strange lately!"

"Hmm?"

Sima Huiniang's expression was slightly solemn, "According to my previous plan, I intended to take advantage of the heavy losses of the vassal forces of various sects to annex some small forces and expand our business scope."

"The initial progress was quite smooth, especially with the intelligence support from you and Chu Kui; even the mineral business responsible by the Iron Sword Hall was swallowed by us in conjunction with the Luosha Market."

Iron Sword Hall Master Zuo Song died at Luo Chen's hands!

This information was locked inside the God-Transformation ruins, and many people didn't know it.

Under the leadership of Sima Huiniang, the Luotian Society quietly launched an annexation, catching the other party off guard.

With the other side leaderless and the cooperation of the Luosha Market's Luo family, the annexation process was very smooth.

But in the area of the Zheng family, which seemed weaker, they got stuck!

"According to Luowang intelligence, a number of outside Foundation Establishment cultivators have appeared within the Zheng family, with a total number of no less than five. Unless our Luotian Society launches a full-scale attack, it is difficult to solve them quietly."

Large-scale mobilization is impossible!

Currently, the two major Nascent Soul sects have only ceased fighting in secret, but a true ceasefire alliance has not yet been reached.

Under these circumstances, no vassal force dares to openly attack the vassal forces under the various sects.

It's too sensitive!

To do this kind of thing, it must be done quietly.

Moreover, it is best not to do it alone; uniting with allies to share the pressure is the best way.

Luo Chen was surprised, "A batch of extra Foundation Establishment cultivators? Strange!"

The Zheng family's elixir business is okay, but just okay.

Just like the Luotian Society in the beginning, it can at most support the consumption of two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

It simply cannot support more Foundation Establishment cultivators, so hiring guest elders is naturally impossible.

Now that so many people have appeared all of a sudden, it's a bit strange.

Just as he was thinking, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

Sima Huiniang glanced at Luo Chen.

Luo Chen nodded, indicating there was no need to avoid suspicion.

Before long, the person outside was announced and stepped in.

"President, I have obtained from the cultivator just captured... President?"

Su Xiaolin looked at Luo Chen in surprise and bowed quickly.

The other party appearing here was unexpected, yet reasonable.

Luo Chen nodded, "What information did you get? Let's hear it."

Su Xiaolin's expression became serious, "It's about the Jin Dan secret technique! According to that rogue cultivator from outside the region, the news that our Luotian Society exchanged for four great secret techniques has been widely publicized!"

Sima Huiniang's expression changed slightly, and she slapped the desk.

"Who is it?"

Luo Chen's expression also looked slightly gloomy, staring at Su Xiaolin.

Under their gaze, Su Xiaolin felt a huge pressure.

He spat out two words with difficulty.

"Yan Alliance!"