Chapter 467

"Sorry, I didn't protect that magic treasure child cauldron."

"You don't need to blame yourself. Under those circumstances, you are not a member of my Qing Dan Sect; self-preservation is human nature. Besides, with the mother cauldron here, re-cultivating a child cauldron is just a matter of time."

"The mother cauldron... I wonder how your sect's Supreme Elder is doing?"

Refining a fourth-tier elixir across ranks, and the most violent breakthrough elixir among elixirs of the same level, and even refining seven pills at once—a furnace explosion under such circumstances is far beyond what an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator can withstand.

Even though there was the Qing Dan Array at the time, using thirty-six people and thirty-six cauldrons to dredge and dissipate the power of the furnace explosion.

But the injuries Qing Danzi suffered from forcibly saving the mother cauldron were absolutely unimaginable.

Especially since he himself was very old, having long passed his lifespan limit, and was only alive today by relying on life-extending elixirs.

After this ordeal, Qing Danzi likely wouldn't live much longer.

That was why Luo Chen asked this question.

Tao Wan, who was walking side-by-side with him, smoothed the hair hanging to her cheeks, her expression sorrowful, and she shook her head without saying anything.

Seeing this, Luo Chen found it difficult to continue questioning.

Looking at the scenery behind him, they had already moved far away from Qing Dan Valley.

He cupped his hands in a salute, "Let's stop here!"

Tao Wan gave a soft "hmm."

Sending someone a thousand miles away, there must eventually be a parting.

With so many things currently going on in Qing Dan Valley, it was impossible for her to personally send Luo Chen back to Lanxiancheng.

Looking at Luo Chen's free and easy face, she thought for a moment and said:

"I heard you are going to participate in the opening war?"

"Yes, I have already sent people to the front lines."

"My Qing Dan Valley has suffered this disaster, and our strength is greatly damaged; I fear we will be powerless in this opening war... You, take care of yourself!"

Luo Chen beckoned, and a flying boat appeared at his feet. After stepping onto it, he looked back and nodded lightly.

"Take care!"

Tao Wan managed to squeeze out a smile, "Take care!"

Magic power surged, and the flying boat slowly rose.

After circling in the sky, it immediately flew rapidly toward the direction of Lanxiancheng, and in a short while, it disappeared until only a black dot remained.

Gazing at that black dot, Tao Wan sighed in vain.

She walked dejectedly toward Qing Dan Valley, and before she even entered the valley, she heard bursts of desolate weeping.

"Supreme Elder, this time you really gambled and lost!"

On the flying boat.

Luo Chen, who had changed into a red-cloud gold-trimmed robe, was lost in thought.

He was reviewing.

Not reviewing himself, but reviewing Qing Danzi's failure this time.

The other party had gambled the fortune of Qing Dan Valley, attempting to forcibly refine a Nascent Soul Elixir with the foundation of the entire sect.

But he failed.

The reason for this is actually very simple: his alchemy skills were ultimately a bit lacking!

Out of twenty full sets of materials, not even a semi-finished product was successfully refined.

"If it were me, would it be any better?"

Luo Chen possesses a system; as long as he can enter an alchemy formula, he has a guaranteed success rate of one-tenth.

He imagined, if he were to refine the Nascent Soul Elixir, could he succeed on the basis of twenty sets of materials?

After some thought, he arrived at the answer.

No!

"The refinement of a fourth-tier elixir requires considering too many things. It is not just personal alchemy skill, but also requirements for magic power, spiritual sense, and even alchemy equipment."

Qing Danzi's personal ability is beyond doubt.

Having inherited the Daoist name of the founding ancestor of Qing Dan Valley, he could handle most third-tier elixirs with ease, and it could even be said that with his alchemy skills, he was capable of refining some relatively simple fourth-tier elixirs.

And his near-Jin Dan perfection realm left his magic power and spiritual sense with almost no flaws.

Furthermore, he had the high-grade magic treasure Qing Tian Glazed Cauldron, assisted by five great third-tier alchemists, thirty experienced second-tier alchemists, and even a great alchemy array for support.

Under such circumstances, he still failed.

This shows the difficulty of refining the Nascent Soul Elixir!

With Luo Chen's current alchemy skills, he is completely incomparable to him.

Even with the system's entry, so what?

With his limited foundation, the achievement points required to enter the Nascent Soul Elixir formula would be a huge number.

The 66 achievement points he had finally saved up would likely not be enough.

And another reason for Qing Danzi's failure was that there wasn't enough time.

It dragged on too long!

So long that the outside world had already reacted, and three Nascent Soul True Persons had even descended.

The reason Qing Danzi failed at that time was not without the pressure being immense and his mindset being unbalanced.

"Besides, even if he had refined the Nascent Soul Elixir, so what?"

"In front of Tian Yezi and True Person Yun He, could he have kept it?"

"Heh..."

Luo Chen let out a laugh, not knowing if he was laughing at Qing Danzi or mocking himself.

Under those circumstances, it was nothing more than others being the butcher and him being the fish!

Let alone Qing Danzi; if it were him, nine times out of ten, he wouldn't have done any better.

"After this ordeal, Qing Dan Valley's strength is greatly damaged, almost equivalent to withdrawing from the opening war."

"No!"

"Think carefully, perhaps this is actually a good thing for Qing Dan Valley?"

Luo Chen's thoughts shifted.

If one does not focus on Qing Danzi as an individual, but only considers Qing Dan Valley as a sect. Now, this great alchemy sect, while seemingly having its strength greatly damaged, has actually only suffered a heavy blow in the area of alchemists.

The sect's own combat power has not declined much!

And the one who previously had the greatest hostility toward Qing Danzi was none other than the Medicine King Sect, which is also famous for its alchemy.

Now that Qing Dan Valley's alchemists are unprecedentedly weak, their elixir business will naturally decline, and the Medicine King Sect will not be as hostile toward them, let alone go out of their way to target them.

The Medicine King Sect's main energy will certainly be placed on the opening war.

Therefore, looking at it comprehensively.

Qing Dan Valley no longer has the five-peak valley-covering structure, and the Supreme Elder Qing Danzi no longer has the opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, so it is no longer a threat to the local Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

The Great Dan Academy has lost more than half of its alchemists, and its elixir business has declined, so it is no longer a threat to the outer domain's Medicine King Sect.

And their own strength is still enough to deter the petty.

In this way, isn't it equivalent to retreating unscathed from the vortex of the storm?

"Hiss!"

Realizing this, Luo Chen couldn't help but gasp.

He didn't know if this situation was something Qing Danzi had deliberately caused.

But undoubtedly, this was the best result when the sect's management had reached its peak but could not go any further.

In contrast, the Flame Alliance, which once had the same momentum as Qing Dan Valley, had a much more miserable ending.

The sect was destroyed, its people killed, and its heritage cut off!

"If one speculates in this direction, Qing Danzi's promotion of the Nascent Soul Elixir refinement this time was mainly to break the deadlock."

"If he succeeds, he sprints to the Nascent Soul stage, using his personal strength and realm to break the deadlock of his lifespan and the sect's crisis."

"If he fails, it can also break the predicament of Qing Dan Valley having vicious tigers inside and fierce wolves outside."

"Truly a brilliant scheme!"

Luo Chen pursed his dry lips and put away that smile.

Being in the game himself, he had thought too narrowly before.

He was not yet qualified to laugh at that old man with the youthful appearance.

What the other party thought and considered was much further ahead; perhaps this decision was even made by taking the Flame Alliance as a cautionary tale.

This decision was far more comprehensive than the strategy Luo Chen had offered Qing Dan Valley when he was about to attack the Flame Alliance.

If they were to swap places...

"Heh, my Luo Tian Sect is still far from the level of Qing Dan Valley; why would I need to consider so much."

Luo Chen twitched the corner of his mouth and urged the flying boat at his feet, his desire to return growing stronger.

Leaving with a free and easy spirit, returning with high aspirations.

This trip to Qing Dan Valley, although the Nascent Soul Elixir was not successfully refined in the end, could be considered a win-win for him and Qing Dan Valley.

Qing Dan Valley broke out of the storm and internal and external worries.

And he personally gained many benefits.

The stable supply of second-tier high-grade Rising Dragon Elixirs can cultivate more powerful Foundation Establishment experts for the Luo Tian Sect.

The blueprint for refining his natal magic treasure, and several mineral materials like Geng Metal, Black Sinking Wood, and Trace Mud.

In addition, he also obtained a small method for accelerating the refining of magic treasures with his natal true fire.

Finally!

It was that Luo Chen, through observation, recorded all the medicinal herbs needed for the Nascent Soul Elixir.

In time, when he reaches Qing Danzi's realm, he might be able to attempt to refine the Nascent Soul Elixir himself.

It can be said that this was a trip with a great harvest!

After returning to the Luo Tian Sect, Sima Huiniang, accompanied by Gu Caiyi and Xing Zonghan, immediately came to see him.

Inside the main hall.

Luo Chen asked leisurely: "How is the war on the front lines?"

"Not great, just small skirmishes," Sima Huiniang replied.

Luo Chen was startled.

This answer was beyond his expectations.

Opening up the Xiaoyue Mountain Range, if calculated carefully, has already been going on for more than half a year.

How could it still be a situation of small skirmishes!

You must know that for this battle, not to mention other forces, the Luo Tian Sect alone, a small sect, had already sent a large number of troops.

Led by guest elder Fu Jiusheng.

Assisted by Wang Yuan, head of the Transmission Hall, and Chu Kui, head of the Battle Hall.

Furthermore, Sima Wenjie of the Merit Hall and Lou Ying of the Outer Sect led a group of low-tier cultivators for logistics.

The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators involved reached as high as ten, and there were more than five hundred Qi Refining cultivators, all of whom were at the late Qi Refining stage.

Sending so many people over could already be considered a major strain on the Luo Tian Sect.

Now you tell me, small skirmishes?

During those few months he was in Qing Dan Valley, did he miss any news?

Seeing his confusion, Sima Huiniang waved her hand.

Xing Zonghan immediately spoke: "According to the intelligence gathered by the Luo Web, the situation on the battlefield is currently like this..."

Next, from his mouth, Luo Chen finally understood why the opening war, which had been prepared for fifty years, was progressing so slowly.

Immortal City!

It's that simple.

The Luo Yun Sect, as the leading upper sect initiating the war, proposed a strategy of first establishing a firm foothold and then advancing step by step.

The first step it took was to build an Immortal City on a third-tier spiritual land captured from the periphery.

Using the Immortal City as the human base camp, radiating in all directions, and finally swallowing the Xiaoyue Mountain Range.

Nowadays.

On the front lines, the theme is not opening up territory, killing demons, and seizing land.

It is infrastructure!

Countless cultivators, under the leadership of the Luo Yun Sect, are vigorously building a super Immortal City with a scale far exceeding all Immortal Cities in the Jade Cauldron Domain!

"Actually, when this situation first appeared, some people opposed it."

"At that time, an outer domain Nascent Soul upper sect proposed taking advantage of the large number of people to sweep through the Xiaoyue Mountain Range with the momentum of thunder."

Luo Chen nodded.

This was the direction of the war he had previously anticipated.

Fifty years of planning and preparation, twenty-seven sects participating, hundreds of thousands of ambitious and capable cultivators.

Such a force was enough to sweep through the Xiaoyue Mountain Range.

Xing Zonghan continued: "But in the early stages of the war, something was wrong. We discovered that the Xiaoyue Mountain Range was not a scattered pile of sand; the demonic forces within it had been integrated and unified by someone."

"Oh?" Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat incredulous.

"It's the Wolf Clan!" Xing Zonghan also said with some disbelief: "No one expected that a Demon Wolf Emperor would appear in the Xiaoyue Mountain Range, who not only succeeded in transforming into human form but also unified seventeen large and small demon wolf tribes. Under the leadership of that Wolf Emperor, the Wolf Clan in the Xiaoyue Mountain Range erupted with unimaginable strength. In the early stages of the war, the coalition forces only advanced eight thousand miles before being forced to stop."

Luo Chen's eyes flashed.

Wolf Emperor?

Unified all the wolf clans in the Xiaoyue Mountain Range?

For some reason, he remembered what he had seen and heard in Changyin Mountain when he was young.

That was probably eighty years ago!

At that time, the Gray Leaf Wolf Clan and the Frost Wolf Clan that occupied Changyin Mountain disappeared strangely for a period of time.

Could it be related to this matter?

If it were related, wouldn't that mean that the Wolf Emperor had already started planning this a long, long time ago?

Xing Zonghan was still reporting relevant intelligence.

"The coalition's momentum was blocked; although they could continue to advance, casualties had already begun to appear."

"Therefore, True Person Han Zhan of the Luo Yun Sect proposed the plan of establishing a foothold in one corner and then planning the whole situation."

"At that time, among the coalition forces, he was the only Nascent Soul True Person, and he was the leader, and he had a legitimate reason, so naturally no one defied him. Therefore, this led to the current act of massively building a super Immortal City."

Luo Chen suddenly realized; so that was the development process!

It is normal that others dared not defy him.

Generally, opening wars are led by the initiator.

Other upper sects might help, but they only send a small number of Jin Dan and Foundation Establishment cultivators; Nascent Soul True Persons basically do not appear to help.

This is also a way to determine the authority of the new sect in the new domain.

As far as he knows, among the eight upper sects helping this time, the Divine Talisman Sect only sent one Jin Dan elder named Ye Xiang, as well as dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Tianfan City and the Medicine King Sect sent the most people.

The nine-story Wind-Thunder Observatory he saw in Qing Dan Valley before had three Jin Dan True Persons inside, and the famous Huyan Zhuo was also inside.

Nascent Soul upper sects like Fenghua Palace and Motian Cliff, which are further away, mostly sent cultivators for the purpose of training. They are trying to recreate the example of True Person Yun He of the Hehuan Sect back then, using the war to train and promote to a higher realm.

The main force of the opening is actually those great Jin Dan sects.

Either they can't survive in their original territory, or their own strength has reached a bottleneck and they need a place with better spiritual veins, or they are forced to leave their homes by the upper sects of their own domain.

These great Jin Dan sects will inevitably put in great effort for a new place to survive.

The Luo Tian Alliance led by Luo Chen will also be one of them.

It just so happens that Qing Dan Valley has no intention of participating in the opening war, and the Luo Tian Alliance just happened to fill the twenty-seventh spot.

"How is the progress of the Immortal City construction now?"

Luo Chen asked with concern.

Xing Zonghan said without hesitation: "The progress is more than half done; the next most important thing is to draw the spiritual vein energy and gather the spiritual veins."

Luo Chen was puzzled: "Isn't it said that it is a natural third-tier spiritual land, why is it still necessary to gather spiritual veins?"

"I heard that the True Person from the Luo Yun Sect considered that there were too many participating Jin Dan cultivators, and they lacked third-tier spiritual land when resting, so he wanted to slightly improve the spiritual land of the base camp. For this, he even invited Senior Tian Yezi, one of the three True Persons of Tianfan City."

Luo Chen said "oh."

In that case, it was normal for him to see that True Person's grand outing in Qing Dan Valley.

After all, under normal circumstances, the helping upper sects would not dispatch Nascent Soul True Persons.

However, how should the appearance of Yun He's Daoist companion be explained?

In a situation where it couldn't be explained, Luo Chen was too lazy to delve deeper.

Since the process of opening up the Xiaoyue Mountain Range was blocked, he didn't need to rush to the front lines.

If there is no war, casualties will naturally be fewer.

The Luo Tian Alliance will not suffer too much loss for the time being.

In this way, he could utilize the time waiting for the Immortal City to be built to supplement his current means.

Having obtained a new method for refining magic treasures, he could thoroughly refine the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel.

By the way, he could also brush some spells to the perfection level.

Now that he is in the Jin Dan stage, his magic power is strong, and his spiritual sense is more acute, brushing low-tier spells is always successful.

Next, Luo Chen chatted with Gu Caiyi about the Luo Tian Sect's business on the front lines, and then announced that he would go into seclusion once.

It was a small seclusion; if there was anything urgent, they could go to him at any time.

If the Immortal City was built, they should also notify him immediately.

Everyone naturally had no objections; sharpening a knife is part of chopping wood, and the more prepared Luo Chen is, the safer he will be when he goes to the battlefield.