Chapter 444: Nascent Soul Conflict, Mysteries of Withering and Flourishing, Revisiting Old Grounds, Meeting Old Friends Again

The voice was world-weary, separated by a great distance.

Yet it was not issued in the form of a roar; it was merely a plain, simple sentence, yet it could be clearly transmitted into Luo Chen's ears.

Suddenly, a guess surfaced in Luo Chen's mind.

Spiritual sense transmission!

But separated by a thousand li, and not a targeted transmission condensing sound into a beam, how strong must one's soul foundation be to be heard so clearly!

Luo Chen swallowed a mouthful of saliva, steadying his mind.

Shaking his head abruptly, he looked up again.

In his dim eyes, he saw the scene in another place under the sky full of thunder clouds in a trance.

A young Daoist, wearing a white bone Daoist robe with intricate patterns, sat on a white bone Daoist carriage, overlooking the rolling mountains.

Pulling the carriage for him was a three-headed Jiao dragon.

At this moment, it was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, staring fiercely at the old man opposite.

In a green shirt, graying long hair draped neatly behind him.

The old man did not show his strength, but facing this White Bone Daoist and the three-headed Jiao dragon, he was completely unafraid, even with a smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

The White Bone Daoist stared fixedly at the old man in front of him.

"You recognize me?"

The old man smiled: "The Master of the Great Snow Mountain—White Bone Mysterious Snake, who does not know, who does not recognize?"

"But I do not recognize you?" The White Bone Mysterious Snake looked at him with disdain.

The old man smiled slightly: "Human powerhouses emerge one after another; I am but a newly ascended Nascent Soul, it is normal that you do not recognize me. Allow me to introduce myself: Luoyun Sect—Han Zhan!"

The White Bone Mysterious Snake raised an eyebrow; there was no such person in its memory.

Especially since the opponent's Nascent Soul realm, while stable, was indeed merely a newly ascended Nascent Soul early stage.

In this way, there was no longer such a great threat.

Its gaze wandered, passing over Han Zhan, and fell upon the majestic Great Snow Mountain.

The former White Bone Daoist Palace had already been crushed into powder, with only the Moonlight Bingbao standing upon it.

The entire fourth-rank spirit vein it relied on for cultivation was now seeing countless spiritual energy surging toward the Moonlight Bingbao, finally pouring into the female cultivator on the ninth level.

Its expression instantly turned gloomy.

"Destroying my Daoist Palace, occupying my spirit land, you human cultivators have crossed the line!"

Han Zhan, however, was indifferent to this: "My friend is borrowing your precious land to break through to the Nascent Soul realm; whether she succeeds or not, it counts as troubling you, Fellow Daoist. When the time comes, she will naturally present a generous gift as an apology."

"A generous gift?"

The White Bone Mysterious Snake gave a ferocious laugh: "What do you take me for?"

Amidst the ferocious laughter, it had already struck out with a palm.

Han Zhan was unhurried, also striking out with a palm.

The vast magic power collided in an instant, shaking the Great Snow Mountain with a boom.

"Han Zhan?"

"Luoyun Sect Supreme Elder!"

A thousand li away, Luo Chen's expression tightened.

This was his first time seeing that legendary newly ascended Nascent Soul True Person of the Yuding Domain; though his figure was thin, he was spirited, calm in the face of danger, and in every word and action, he possessed the demeanor of an immortal.

"Was he invited specifically to protect Venerable Canglong during her breakthrough?"

As Luo Chen guessed, the two Nascent Soul stage powerhouses clashed once.

Intense magic power fluctuations spread out.

In the haze, Luo Chen could no longer see the figures of the two.

But he could clearly feel that the thunder clouds between heaven and earth were gathering thicker and thicker, and even a small cluster of thunder clouds suddenly formed, enveloping the human and the demon.

"Not good!"

"The two fighting has implicated Venerable Canglong's breakthrough, and even the lightning tribulation has been strengthened."

"Even True Person Han Zhan and the others will be affected by the lightning tribulation."

"In this way, I don't know if it's good or bad for Venerable Canglong's breakthrough?"

As Luo Chen's thoughts turned, after the two Nascent Soul powerhouses clashed several times, they seemed to realize the impropriety.

The two subconsciously pulled the battlefield further away.

After reaching a certain distance, a change suddenly occurred.

Amidst the mountains, five figures suddenly appeared, each holding a sharp sword, rising into the air from the mountain peaks.

A hazy great formation suddenly took shape!

The moment the formation took shape, thousands of sword qi erupted, and five sword lights of different colors shuttled like swimming fish, flying toward the White Bone Mysterious Snake.

The White Bone Mysterious Snake's roar exploded like thunder.

"Sword formation!"

"Do you think that by blocking me, you can let that woman undergo the tribulation safely?"

"Wishful thinking!"

Amidst the angry roar, the mountains seemed to respond.

One after another, formidable demonic auras surged into the sky, rushing toward the Moonlight Bingbao without fear of death.

The master of each demonic aura was at least at the third-rank level!

Even among them were several great Demonic Kings comparable to the Core Formation late stage, attacking the Moonlight Bingbao from a hundred li away.

"Not good!"

When he saw the third-rank Demonic Kings rushing toward the Moonlight Bingbao, Luo Chen's expression changed.

His range was also within a thousand li.

He feared he would inevitably encounter Demonic King existences.

This was not just the pursuit of the Seven-Ring Snow Python King level.

The Seven-Ring Snow Python's strength was not considered strong, even if, due to bloodline reasons, it could invite some existences of the same snake and python clan to attack Luo Chen.

But during the pursuit, these enemies could not unite immediately, so they did not form a climate. Therefore, Luo Chen could dodge and weave, relying on his superior escape speed to continuously escape the pursuit.

But by then, if this place were filled with third-rank Demonic Kings.

As a human cultivator residing among them, he feared he would become the primary target for clearing.

This place could no longer be stayed in for long!

Glancing at the tall ice castle in the distance shrouded by thunder clouds, Luo Chen gritted his teeth.

"Senior Sister Canglong, I'm sorry."

"I am currently weak and powerless, and cannot protect you."

"I hope you achieve the Nascent Soul Great Dao!"

Cupping his fists, Luo Chen flapped his wings and fled along the ground.

The further he flew outward, the more demonic beasts he saw.

It was no longer limited to the third-rank Demonic King level; even second-rank and first-rank demonic beasts seemed to have been summoned and were rushing toward the White Bone Daoist Palace.

Luo Chen flew close to the ground, the azure flames on his body blazing brightly.

Wherever he passed, it was a path of blood and fire.

Half a month later!

A massive azure demonic cloud flew across the high sky.

While flying, it emitted irritable cries.

The gale howled, the dense forest in the mountains was bent crookedly, in a mess.

After a long time.

In the dense forest below, inside a withered tree root.

A figure walked out from the tree root, his aura completely restrained, as if he were a piece of rotten wood.

He looked up at the direction the azure demonic cloud had departed in, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"Having finally escaped the Great Snow Mountain, I had only just entered the Guyuan Mountain Range when I was targeted by a third-rank Azure Juvenile Eagle."

"Fortunately, such demonic beasts are not that sensitive to aura."

"Otherwise, I, Luo Chen, would not have been able to shake off this demon so easily."

This person was none other than Luo Chen, who had recently caused a stir in the Great Snow Mountain.

After shaking off the Seven-Ring Snow Python's pursuit, he had sneaked all the way into the Guyuan Mountain Range.

Yet he hadn't expected that because of the changes in the Heavenly Roc True Body, he had drawn the attention of the Azure Juvenile Eagle, also a flying demonic beast.

Fortunately!

Although such demonic beasts were fast and strong, they were not that good at tracking aura.

Relying on the Great Perfection Breath-Restraining Spirit Art and the Turtle Spirit Covering Armor, he quickly escaped into the towering dense forest, then continuously changed his aura, thereby dodging the Azure Juvenile Eagle's tracking.

But even so.

His current state was extremely poor.

His spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and his surging vital energy was also depleted.

His originally formidable physique, in this state, could no longer forcibly activate the Heavenly Roc True Body transformation.

"This place is still not very safe; let me find a place to recover my state first!"

Luo Chen looked around wearily, then chose the direction with the weakest spiritual energy fluctuations and leaped away.

He did not use any magic arts, but the simplest light-body technique, "Xiaoyaoyou."

A figure leaped through the dense forest, and soon disappeared.

"Eh, it's actually a cute little rabbit."

"It's a pity we're in the wild, otherwise I could make the shredded rabbit that Master likes to eat."

Muttering sounds came from Bai Meiling's mouth.

She casually cast a wisp of ghost energy, stunning the little rabbit that had just barely advanced to a first-rank demonic beast.

Afterward, she circled the area before quietly returning to the stone cave in the mountainside.

Just as she entered, a gaze as substantial as reality fell upon her.

"Master, you're awake!"

Bai Meiling was not startled, but instead leaned in happily.

On the meditation cushion in the stone cave, Luo Chen nodded slowly.

"How long has it been?"

Bai Meiling counted on her fingers and said: "You have been recuperating for a month."

Another month has passed?

Luo Chen muttered to himself.

His spiritual sense swept over himself, and he couldn't help but sigh.

His current situation was a bit better than before, but not by much, having only recovered about one or two tenths of his strength.

At this time, let alone third-rank Demonic Kings, even a second-rank late-stage demonic beast would be a struggle to deal with. Killing it would be one thing, but if it attracted the attention of other demonic beasts...

In the end, there were too few medicinal herbs related to healing in his storage ring.

Over the past month, Luo Chen had consumed all the ordinary Harmony Pills and top-grade Blood-Increasing Pills he carried with him.

He hadn't taken the Dust-Descending Pill.

He currently needed Blood-Increasing Pills to recover his vital energy.

Otherwise, relying solely on spiritual power, he couldn't activate the third-rank flight technique "Ninety Thousand Li."

Mentioning "Ninety Thousand Li."

A look of regret appeared on Luo Chen's face; the Fiery Cloud Wings, which he had asked the cultivators of the Hundred Refining Mountain to forge, were already overwhelmed and completely scrapped.

In this way, in his human form, if he were to use "Ninety Thousand Li" again, his speed would likely drop by more than half.

Only slightly faster than a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

If only there hadn't been that pursuit afterward!

Luo Chen shook his head, no longer dwelling on these things.

In fact, there had long been signs of this.

From the moment he entered the Great Snow Mountain, Duan Feng had mentioned more than once the anomalies on that safe route.

Too many low-rank demonic beasts had moved from their original habitats to the outside.

Now it seemed that these low-rank demonic beasts, born with a sense of danger, had realized some kind of impending doom.

And the source of that danger was clearly the lightning tribulation brought about by Venerable Canglong's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.

"She not only invited True Person Han Zhan as a protector, but even used the town-sect high-grade magic treasure, the Moonlight Bingbao."

"Not only that, the Jueqing Fairy, Venerable Yinyue, Boxue..."

The names of the Bingbao's Core Formation cultivators were muttered by Luo Chen.

If he hadn't seen wrong at the time, there was a Core Formation stage cultivator sitting in each of the eight levels of the Moonlight Bingbao.

For Venerable Canglong to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, she had mobilized the entire foundation of the sect!

"I wonder if she succeeded?"

Luo Chen hoped the other party succeeded.

Not only because once Canglong successfully ascended to the Nascent Soul stage, he would have a great backer.

But also because the other party was indeed quite kind.

Among the many high-rank cultivators he had met, she was one of the two who had been kind to him.

The other was Haoranzi, whom he had only met twice.

It was just a pity that his state at the time was too poor, and his own strength was insufficient, otherwise he would have definitely helped out and contributed a little effort.

Withdrawing his mind.

Luo Chen's gaze fell upon the first-rank demonic rabbit that Bai Meiling was holding; its fur was oily and bright, and its nose was reddish.

It was clearly still alive, just stunned.

Suddenly, his heart stirred.

"Give it to me!"

Bai Meiling handed it over skillfully and asked casually: "Is Master going to practice the Soul-Deterring Art?"

In the past, in the cave dwelling, she had also fed demonic beasts for Luo Chen, and the other party had occasionally used low-rank demonic beasts to practice soul secret arts.

At this moment, she thought Luo Chen was doing that again.

However!

She did not know that Luo Chen's attainment in the Soul-Deterring Art had long since reached the Great Perfection.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have instantly killed Xiao Sanren in the fierce battle in the earth cave, and deterred Madam Yousha and Helian Yun.

Grabbing the ears of the stunned demonic rabbit, Luo Chen fell into deep thought.

With a flick of his right hand, a wisp of azure flame, like a lighter, slowly emerged from his slender fingertips.

In his mind, he seemed to return to the fierce battle in the earth cave, where he held Xiao Sanren's head, high in mid-air, overlooking Madam Yousha and the other.

That time, he had used the Origin True Fire to incinerate Xiao Sanren's head.

At that time, an anomaly had appeared on him.

But because the environment was special, he hadn't had time to trace the cause.

And what he had to do now was to attempt to reproduce that anomaly.

"Humans can do it, demonic beasts should also be able to?"

Luo Chen pursed his lips, and the Withering-Flourishing True Fire slowly enveloped the demonic rabbit.

Feeling the burning, the demonic rabbit instantly woke up.

A shrill cry came from the rabbit's mouth.

Seeing this, Bai Meiling's expression changed slightly, revealing a look of fear.

"Maintain the formation well, don't let the sound out."

Luo Chen gave a simple, calm instruction and continued to slowly burn the demonic rabbit.

Gradually, an inexplicable force converged toward him.

After a while!

Luo Chen brushed away the ashes, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

"That is... vitality?"

He could feel that the Withering-Flourishing Fire within his body, which had been refined into the Origin True Fire, seemed to have absorbed a peculiar force after burning the living creature.

And this wisp of flame also seemed to have grown quite a bit.

As it grew, it also shared a wisp of that force with Luo Chen.

After being nourished by this force, some of Luo Chen's injuries also recovered a bit faster.

"Perhaps, this is the true wondrous use of the Withering-Flourishing Fire?"

Amidst his doubts, he beckoned to Bai Meiling.

"Are there any other low-rank demonic beasts that have wandered into the maze formation?"

Bai Meiling's body trembled, and she nodded quickly.

"There are a few more!"

"Give them all to me!"

The second demonic beast was a skylark.

Luo Chen used spiritual power to activate the Origin True Fire according to the law, slowly incinerating it, while extending his spiritual sense and opening his spirit eyes wide, trying his best to observe and capture the appearance of that force.

One, two.

Three, four...

Finally, after Luo Chen had refined all the low-rank demonic beasts and wild beasts that had wandered into the maze formation during this period.

He confirmed that force!

It was hard to say whether it had offensive power, but that force could indeed strengthen the Withering-Flourishing Fire.

At the same time, a wisp of vitality shared out would also be absorbed by Luo Chen's body.

His injuries were also recovering visibly.

"Withering-Flourishing, Withering-Flourishing! One withering must have one flourishing, refining the vitality of others for oneself."

"So vicious, yet so wondrous!"

Luo Chen's eyes flickered with an inexplicable light, his gaze seemingly passing through this crude cave dwelling, looking toward the vast and boundless million mountains.

After a long time, he suppressed the impulse in his heart.

"Too reckless!"

"In my current state, it's better to be steady."

"Let's get out of the Guyuan Mountain Range first!"

"On the way, I can find opportunities to refine some low-rank demonic beasts, but it's better to keep everything low-key."

Luo Chen did not intend to fully recover from his injuries in the mountains.

For one, the environment was not suitable, and for another, there weren't enough materials on him, not suitable for large-scale elixir refining.

His spiritual power was vast, far exceeding those of the same rank.

But at the same time, the more vast the spiritual power, the slower it would be to recover.

To recover to his peak state, without the help of elixirs and high-grade spirit lands, he didn't know how much more time it would take.

During the Qi Refining stage, because of the automatic recovery effect brought by the proficiency of the Changchun Gong, the effect was no longer that great now.

After making up his mind, Luo Chen did not hesitate.

Letting Bai Meiling enter the Soul-Nurturing Banner, putting away the formation tools, Luo Chen activated the Breath-Restraining Spirit Art, and after restraining his aura, he calmly stepped into the Guyuan Mountain Range.

Guyuan Mountain Range!

Revisiting old grounds, Luo Chen did not have too many feelings.

In those days at the Dahe Market, he actually rarely entered and exited this mountain like those demonic beast hunters.

At that time, his realm was too low, and his means were scarce.

He could barely manage a Fireball Art.

At this level, wanting to enter the mountains to hunt demonic beasts for a living was truly too dangerous.

Especially after he mastered alchemy and joined the Poshan Gang, there was even less need for this.

Even the Core Formation ruins of the Ghost God Valley, which had caused such a stir back then, he had suppressed the greed in his heart and did not participate.

On the contrary, he would occasionally go to Changyin Mountain in the Xiaoyue Mountain Range.

"The weaker the strength, the more cautious and timid."

"The stronger the strength, the more the desire to kill arises; yet my courage is getting bigger and bigger."

Recalling the battles after Foundation Establishment, Luo Chen was filled with emotion.

In fact, some battles were unnecessary.

And some life-and-death struggles, he might have been able to do better.

Amidst such occasional reflection and occasional emotion, Luo Chen's pace out of the mountains became faster and faster.

The reason for the increased speed was one, because he was more familiar with the Guyuan Mountain Range. Even if he hadn't set foot in it personally, he had seen a large number of maps left behind during the Poshan Gang period.

And the other reason was that he would occasionally use the Withering-Flourishing Fire to refine the first-rank demonic beasts he captured.

Absorbing the vitality of demonic beasts made his physical recovery ability stronger and stronger.

The faster his body recovered, the more his strength naturally recovered continuously.

His speed naturally went from the cautious slow-walking stealth at the beginning to the rapid advance later on.

Two months later.

Luo Chen stopped in front of a fork in the road.

In fact, he had also entered the Guyuan Mountain Range once during the Qi Refining stage.

At that time, it was Deacon Miao Wen who had brought him personally.

It was also that time that he discovered the remnants of the Mi family, and they were all killed by Deacon Miao Wen; the whole clan, except for Mi Li, had no survivors.

Luo Chen looked up at a high mountain.

A thousand zhang tall, but there were no clouds around it.

This mountain was named Jueyun Mountain!

There were many demonic beasts inside, and there was no lack of second-rank demonic beasts.

It was a place that the demonic beast hunters of the Dahe Market dared not set foot in.

With Luo Chen's current strength, he naturally dared to explore it.

The reason he stopped was because of this mountain.

"That micro-magnetism valley is in there, right!"

Luo Chen sighed.

Now in his Jilei Treasure Ring, a puppet was lying quietly inside.

That was a puppet made from the corpse of Mi Shuhua.

"Since I'm here, let Old Man Mi be laid to rest and reunited with his clan!"

Luo Chen's heart stirred, and he leaped toward the mountain.

Flying while extending his spiritual sense.

With the sharpness of his spiritual sense, he soon discovered powerful second-rank demonic beasts.

Bloodthirsty Mad Crocodiles, Black Marsh Giant Pythons, Jueyun Leopards...

For these demonic beasts with more surging vitality, Luo Chen did not have any thoughts.

He could easily kill them.

But if it caused any trouble, it would not fit his original intention of returning home smoothly.

After a while, Luo Chen followed his memory and arrived at that magnetism valley.

This was one of the many strongholds of the Poshan Gang in the Guyuan Mountain Range, and it was a secret stronghold.

The reason it was set up in the magnetism valley was because it contained a trace of magnetism power, the five elements were forbidden, the spiritual energy was thin, and demonic beasts with a little intelligence would subconsciously stay away from this place.

Just as Luo Chen wanted to lower the white clouds and enter the magnetism valley.

A figure in his line of sight, however, made him stop abruptly.

"Eh?"

"Why is he here?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 445 =====