Chapter 490

The former Luo Tian Alliance.

The substance was Wang Yuan, who possessed the highest combat power, while Luo Chen was the face.

In ordinary times, when out and about, others would hold the cultivators of the Luo Tian Alliance in higher regard—or even grant them slight preferential treatment—because of Luo Chen's identity as an alchemist.

When it came to matters related to combat, the main fighting force was Wang Yuan.

But this situation gradually shifted as Luo Chen grew stronger and the enemies encountered by the Luo Tian Alliance became increasingly powerful.

By the time Luo Chen was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he was already the sole iconic figure of the Luo Tian Alliance.

Especially after his successful Core Formation!

With the dual identities of a Jin Dan cultivator and a master alchemist, the prosperity and disgrace of the Luo Tian Sect, which was built upon the alliance, were basically tied to him alone.

As for Luo Chen, he didn't have much of a strong feeling about it.

However, this situation was a major drawback for the development of the sect.

Once Luo Chen met with an accident, the Luo Tian Sect would have neither substance nor face, and the consequences... the Lianyun Merchant Alliance!

The consequence would be like the Lianyun Merchant Alliance; after multiple great battles and repeated losses, the Lianyun Merchant Alliance only lingered on because the Great Elder of Lianyun was still alive.

But once the Great Elder of Lianyun was gone.

The Lianyun Merchant Alliance was directly on the verge of collapse.

Its affiliated industries were almost picked clean and carved up by the forces around Tianlan Immortal City.

His Luo Tian Sect was one of those parties, and because Luo Chen had seized the initiative, they had obtained one of the most lucrative shops, as well as several mature trade routes.

If the Luo Tian Sect did not want to end up like the Lianyun Merchant Alliance in the future.

Then they had to make plans early for the cultivation of the next generation.

Among the older generation, whether it was Wang Yuan, Chu Kui, or Sima Huiniang, Gu Caiyi, and others, they could all already stand on their own.

But the next generation, apart from Qu Lingjun who was somewhat well-known, everyone else had lived too comfortably due to the protection of Luo Chen and the others over these years.

Therefore, he wanted to push forward Ceng Yilong, the son of his friend.

If Ceng Yilong grew well.

Even if the generation of strong cultivators like Luo Chen, Wang Yuan, and Chu Kui were to perish, he could still protect the sect.

Moreover, he had the potential.

Aptitude, resources, and even cultivation techniques had already been laid as a solid foundation by his predecessors; he only needed to supplement his combat experience to fill in his shortcomings.

His father, Ceng Wen, had quite good combat talent.

And he had received personal guidance from his master, Wang Yuan, for many years.

Converting theory and talent into reality through practice—that would be perfection.

Unknowingly, Luo Chen's mindset had moved away from the rogue cultivator's "after I die, let the deluge come" mentality, and was gradually shifting toward the mindset of a great sect founder considering the future generations.

Or perhaps, this was the true "inheritance"!

An inheritance not confined to superficial forms, but a spiritual inheritance.

After Jiang Yu left with ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Luo Tian Alliance lived on as if nothing had happened, just as before.

It only "looked" like it!

In reality, some changes were already gradually taking place.

The remaining disciples of the Myriad Phenomena Sect became increasingly clannish and exclusionary. This time, they had sent out their senior martial brother and two Foundation Establishment cultivators of decent strength; who knew who would be sent out next time?

When living under someone else's roof, one has to bow one's head.

But if one bows for too long, the Myriad Phenomena Sect would sooner or later be carved up by the three major forces within the alliance.

Over at the Wind and Rain Villa, Di Wuqi lived in seclusion, having obtained a natural third-tier spiritual vein which was of great benefit to his cultivation; he seemed to want to use this opportunity to sprint toward the mid-stage of Core Formation.

In contrast to him was Cen Qiusheng.

He spent a heavy price to invite Fu Jiusheng and Min Longyu to take action, transforming the third-tier low-grade cave dwelling on Huimeng Ridge into two weak third-tier cave dwellings.

He himself did not move into the two weak third-tier cave dwellings.

Instead, he arranged for two ninth-layer Foundation Establishment clansmen from his family to practice inside.

Cen Guangyi and Cen Guanghui.

In other words, he had already given up on his own cultivation and placed all his hopes on the younger generation of his family.

On the surface, one could not see anything from these matters.

But who was Luo Chen? He had sensed it just by relying on intelligence from those below and his own perception.

"This is fine too; although everyone has their own ulterior motives, at least it is strengthening the alliance's power."

"As long as I am here for one day, this alliance won't be able to stir up any trouble."

Luo Chen thought to himself.

Of course, he hadn't done nothing.

Once Di Wuqi broke through to the fourth layer of Core Formation, the dominant position of the alliance would very likely change.

Therefore, his own cultivation had not fallen behind at all.

In fact, he had become even more diligent than before!

Previously, there were no conditions, and after Core Formation, his cultivation at the first layer of Jin Dan had remained stagnant.

But now that he had both spiritual land and elixirs, there was no reason to remain idle.

Therefore, apart from setting up arrays and learning techniques, he poured all his energy into cultivation.

Under these circumstances, his cultivation progress also began to advance by leaps and bounds, constantly changing.

Two years later.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Luo Chen looked at the void before him, which seemed to be nothing, and fell into deep thought.

【Lifespan: 115/402】

【Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth】

【Realm: Jin Dan First Layer 58/100, Desolate Ancient Third Tier 25/100】

【Cultivation Technique: Burning Wood True Technique Perfect 395/500, Myriad Dao Convergence Master 517/1000, Myriad Beast Scripture 15/100】

【Spells: Fourth Tier: Dragon Slashing Technique Proficient 175/200

Third Tier: Innate One Qi Great Handprint Master 627/1000, Mirror Flower Water Moon Master 521/1000, Micro-Dust Origin Technique Perfect 457/500, Life-Cutting Finger Entry-level 15/100

Second Tier: Flower Fairy Great Perfection, God-Confusing Technique Great Perfection, Grass-Cutting Geng Metal Sword Technique Great Perfection, Five Elements Returning to Viscera Technique Great Perfection

First Tier: Limb Reattachment Technique Great Perfection】

【Wu Gong: Cloud-Exploring Divine Claw Master 590/1000, Blazing Fire Miasma Master 521/1000】

Great Perfection Spells (Click to view details)

【Alchemy: Scale-Turning Hand Perfect 417/500, Great Perfection Alchemy (Click to view details)】

【Profession: Third-tier Alchemist, Second-tier Physician

Third-tier Elixirs: Starry Elixir Great Perfection, Underworld Origin Elixir Entry-level 6/100

Second-tier Elixirs: Emperor Flowing Pulp Entry-level 99/100

Great Perfection Elixirs (Click to view details)】

【First-tier Array Master: Third-tier Array: Hidden-Being Array Great Perfection

First-tier Array: Spirit-Gathering Array Entry-level 5/100, Sharp Metal Array Entry-level 1/100, A-Wood Array Entry-level 5/100, Cang-Yuan Array Entry-level 3/100, Fire-Gathering Array Entry-level 5/100, Solid-Armor Array Entry-level 1/100】

【Achievement Points: 75】

After a cultivator reaches the Jin Dan stage, because their soul undergoes a transformation, they become sharp of hearing and sight, nearly possessing a photographic memory.

Whether their level of wisdom has increased is hard to say, but at least they process various cumbersome information much faster.

Just by browsing through it once, Luo Chen had a rough idea of the cultivation results of these few years.

Core Formation at a hundred years old, ten years to consolidate the realm, leaping to the first layer of Jin Dan.

In the following two years, there was almost no progress.

But as he settled down in the Xiaoyue Mountain Range and various external auxiliary environments were completed, his cultivation speed began to erupt like a volcano.

Three years!

In just three years, he had pushed the progress of the first layer of Jin Dan to halfway.

And he had brushed the proficiency of the "Burning Wood True Technique" to the perfect level, not far from the master level.

At this speed, in another three years, he would have a great chance of advancing to the second layer of Jin Dan.

"I wonder how Di Wuqi's cultivation progress is going?"

"His aptitude is good, but he only has a third-tier low-grade cave dwelling, and in terms of elixirs, he only has the low-grade Starry Elixir I provide, which is far inferior to my top-grade Starry Elixir."

"Even if his aptitude is better than mine, in terms of cultivation speed, I imagine he is far behind me."

Of course!

The price paid for such a fast cultivation speed is also extremely high.

In just two years, his consumption of elixirs cost a full 1.5 million spirit stones.

The spirit stones earned for him by the Luo Tian Sect were all invested in this.

And it was still not enough, requiring the payment for goods from other Jin Dan cultivators to supplement it.

It can be said that among Jin Dan cultivators whose net worth is counted in millions of spirit stones, Luo Chen's investment in cultivation resources is definitely among the most luxurious.

Such fast cultivation progress is entirely piled up by resources!

What Luo Chen cares about most is his cultivation base.

As for other things in the system, he doesn't care much.

First and second-tier spells reaching Great Perfection one after another is within expectations.

These low-tier spells, relying on his profound magic power and without having to worry about venue restrictions, can naturally be brushed to full proficiency quickly.

Third-tier ones are harder, especially "Mirror Flower Water Moon"; under his main cultivation, the progress is also very slow.

But at least it is proceeding step by step.

In terms of alchemy, he hasn't received any new alchemy classics or new alchemy techniques for a while.

Even for elixirs, what he has been practicing recently is just the third-tier Starry Elixir.

The only thing barely worth mentioning is the second-tier Foundation Establishment elixir formula, Emperor Flowing Pulp.

Being in the period of the opening war.

The thing least lacking is the flesh and blood of demon beasts.

Occasionally, when there are complete demon beast corpses, he will take them and personally refine Emperor Flowing Pulp.

At his status, it is very normal for the sect to have one or two secret methods or elixirs for breaking through realms for self-use.

As long as they are not sold externally, major alchemy sects like the Medicine King Sect won't care.

Luo Chen refined dozens of portions of Emperor Flowing Pulp, also considering the sect.

Now that there is spiritual land and the sect has an opportunity to rise, it seems somewhat insufficient at the level of the backbone—Foundation Establishment cultivators.

If the Luo Tian Sect really wants to advance to a great sect in the future.

Then, besides the hard standard of the three major Jin Dan cultivators, there must be at least a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Otherwise, the business stall cannot be spread out.

Currently, the twenty-something Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Luo Tian Sect are already somewhat struggling to support Luo Chen alone.

If there are really three Jin Dan cultivators coexisting in the future, it will eat the sect alive.

After browsing through all these.

Luo Chen's gaze fell on the newly opened column.

Array Master!

First-tier.

However, unexpectedly, it clearly marked an entry 【Third-tier Array: Hidden-Being Array Great Perfection】!

"This is one of the cultivation results of these few years."

Luo Chen smiled faintly.

As for why he is still only a first-tier array master despite being able to set up third-tier arrays, he had already figured it out long ago.

The "foundation" is not solid.

For first-tier arrays, he only learned the most basic Spirit-Gathering Array, and the five types of Five Elements Arrays learned for the sake of refining his natal magic treasure in the future. And they were only at the entry level, without in-depth practice.

Under these circumstances, even if he brushed the Hidden-Being Array to Great Perfection, he is still just an unranked first-tier array master.

"But this is enough."

"The Great Perfection Hidden-Being Array, I imagine, can be engraved on my body seamlessly, and there won't be any accidents."

After glancing at the accumulation of 【75】 achievement points.

Luo Chen casually closed the attribute panel.

Then, he took out a large batch of materials from his storage ring.

His gaze fell on those materials, and Luo Chen nodded imperceptibly.

These were all prepared for him in advance by Min Longyu over these years.

Specifically for the purpose of setting up an array on his body!

In fact, the quantity was several times over the standard, just so that Luo Chen could quickly replenish it after excessive consumption in the future.

"Setting up an array on the body!"

Luo Chen murmured, then his loose Daoist robe fell onto the table, revealing a sturdy and perfect physique!

Not as vigorous in blood and energy as Wang Yuan, like a huge furnace that is boiling.

Nor like Ceng Yilong, with knotted muscles under a delicate appearance, terrifying like a devilish muscle man.

In comparison, Luo Chen, who purely "cultivates the body," has very smooth muscle lines on his body.

That feeling... is like a great Peng spreading its wings and soaring in the sky.

Heroic and martial, but not terrifying.

When his muscles and bones stretched, a series of crackling sounds came, like metal clashing.

When there were no more miscellaneous items on his body.

Luo Chen reached out with both hands, and a batch of ore materials fell into the Minister Cauldron.

Under the scorching of his origin true fire, they gradually turned into colorful liquids.

When the last type of black fourth-tier stone material was integrated into it, the colorful liquid suddenly turned into a pitch-black existence like ink.

Ink?

Looking at this ink, Luo Chen took a deep breath, controlling a top-grade magic tool level Jinzhu Pen, dipping it into the thick ink.

When it was sufficiently dipped, he began to control the Jinzhu Pen to draw array patterns on his body.

Chest and back, limbs and facial features.

Even the soles of his feet and the crown of his head were almost not missed.

For this, Luo Chen even casually shaved off his thick, shiny black hair.

The Hidden-Being Array, composed of a large number of obscure prohibitions, is as high as the third tier!

Especially after Luo Chen kept copying it and deduced it to Great Perfection, it had almost no flaws, comparable to a fourth-tier array.

Luo Chen had set it up once before and received Min Longyu's jaw-dropping praise.

The other party bluntly stated that this kind of Hidden-Being Array might even be able to deceive a Nascent Soul True Person!

And if one wants this array to exert its full effect, naturally, during the engraving process, no corner can be left out.

Even if not painted all over the body, the interlacing of array patterns must be able to cover every detail, large or small.

Soon!

Luo Chen had completely drawn the Hidden-Being Array on his body.

"Next, just wait for the body to absorb these array patterns."

A smile appeared on Luo Chen's face, and he floated in mid-air, naked, letting his body absorb the thick ink.

However.

As time passed bit by bit, the expression on Luo Chen's face gradually became gloomy like ink.

He looked down at his palms; the thick ink was still attached to them, without the slightest sign of merging into his body.

"Can't merge in?"

"What's going on?"

Between uncertainty, Luo Chen began to look for the cause.

First, he had absolutely mastered the array.

Second, the materials were correct, and even the proportion was prepared for him in advance by Min Longyu.

Finally...

"Then the problem can only lie in this Desolate Ancient third-tier physical body of mine!"

Luo Chen took a deep breath, vaguely finding the cause.

The most unlikely reason is often the most likely reason!

He didn't expect that the demon beast-level physique he relied on as a trump card during the Foundation Establishment period had become a major obstacle to his engraving of the array.

Especially over these years, after he formed his core, he perfected the "Myriad Dao Convergence" and occasionally used his origin true fire to temper his body, causing his physique to become stronger and stronger.

It was a good thing, but now it had become a bad thing.

Truly, success is due to the physique, and failure is due to the physique.

But obviously, Luo Chen was just used to failure, but never resigned to it.

"The magic tool level Jinzhu Pen doesn't work, then what if I use a magic treasure level flying sword?"

A fierce look flashed on Luo Chen's face, and the Xuanhuo Sword fell before him.

This time, the sword tip was not pointing outward, but inward!

When the sword tip cut a bloody gash on Luo Chen's chest, Luo Chen couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

Being cut by someone else and cutting oneself are two different things.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Luo Chen still couldn't bear it.

"The oozing blood will interfere with the construction of the array patterns."

"Burn it!"

With a thought, the origin true fire swirled around Luo Chen's body, burning the blood that had just overflowed until it was dry.

And when the thick ink seeped into his flesh, blood, and bones, a piercing pain suddenly permeated his whole body.

"Damn!"

"Slow absorption and forced engraving are completely different levels of pain!"

Luo Chen roared in a low voice, but the movements of his hands did not stop at all.

The Xuanhuo Sword vibrated constantly, the thick ink was poured continuously, and Luo Chen even had to multitask, constantly pinching spells to cast the prohibitions composed of magic power.

Gradually, under the hideous wounds, black lines like earthworms crawled all over Luo Chen's body.

Looking from afar, it was extremely terrifying!