Chapter 512: Three Nascent Soul Late-Stage Experts Descend upon Mount Cangwu

Inside the Zhaokong Hall.

A tall, slender figure looked at the visitor with a helpless expression.

"Why have you been disturbing me so frequently lately?"

You Quan acted as if she hadn't noticed, seemingly blind to Qing Shuang's helplessness.

She said earnestly, "It is time for you to step in and help."

Qing Shuang was startled and instinctively looked in one direction.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through thick walls and vast distances, landing on that third-tier peak-grade cave dwelling.

"Has he begun?"

"Yes. Luo Chen has good comprehension; he grasped the secret of the First Nirvana realm on his own. However, the cultivation technique left behind by the Monarch only mentions the Three Nirvana stages and does not detail the corresponding Nine Tribulations. I am afraid he won't be able to hold on, so you must watch and intervene if necessary."

Qing Shuang suddenly understood.

She nodded gently.

"Rest assured, if anything goes wrong, I will act immediately."

As she spoke, a strand of powerful spiritual sense landed on Luo Chen without him noticing in the slightest.

At that very moment, Qing Shuang frowned.

"The Qi Sea Tribulation has already begun."

Almost as she spoke,

Inside the cave dwelling, Luo Chen's body shuddered violently.

His vast, ocean-like Qi Sea instantly ignited with a raging inferno.

It was as if it intended to reshape the environment of his Qi Sea, turning it into an endless domain of fire.

At the same time, Qing Shuang's expression shifted slightly.

"This is wrong. His foundation is incredibly solid; his Qi Sea was expanded according to the most standard Five-Element Spiritual Root aptitude. The Qi Sea Tribulation is accompanied by a Spiritual Root Tribulation!"

Before she could finish,

Luo Chen, who was not in front of them, let out a muffled groan.

His Jin Dan spun rapidly, emitting a force so powerful that it swept away the surrounding Wither-Prosper True Fire.

In that cave dwelling, which was saturated with rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, surging Five-Element spiritual energy rushed toward him as the Jin Dan rotated.

Without distinction, without preference—the Five Elements were in perfect balance!

Under the reinforcement of these five streams of spiritual energy, the wood-to-fire transformation process, which had been proceeding perfectly, developed a flaw.

Although fire-attribute magic power still held the dominant position,

the other four types of magic power, bolstered by their respective spiritual energies of heaven and earth, were now evenly matched against the fire element.

You Quan wore an expression that said she had expected this.

"The 'Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' conceals spiritual roots, causing fire to dominate and creating the illusion of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, which naturally triggers a Spiritual Root Tribulation."

"And since Five-Element Spiritual Roots are not inherently weaker than Heavenly Spiritual Roots, the backlash is naturally the most terrifying."

"That is why I asked you to keep an eye on him, to prevent any accidents."

Catching the implication in her words, Qing Shuang glanced at her.

"Do you want me to isolate him from the external spiritual energy of heaven and earth now?"

You Quan waved her wing. "There is no need. The fiercer the external spiritual energy, the better. As long as he survives this tribulation, the converted fire-attribute magic power will not only be pure but also vast in quantity, ensuring his magic power is no less potent than his previous Five-Element state."

She wanted it all!

Qing Shuang shook her head. "Isn't that too greedy?"

"Greedy? No, Little Qing, you underestimate Luo Chen." You Quan let out a cackle. "Just watch his physique."

Qing Shuang instinctively released her spiritual sense, using a technique that was as silent as rain soaking the earth yet pervasive, infiltrating every inch of Luo Chen's body.

Gradually,

the more she saw, the more astonished she became.

"Strange, why is his physical body so similar to that of our demon race?"

This time, You Quan offered no explanation.

Under their undisturbed gaze, the changes within Luo Chen's body proceeded slowly.

Time passed bit by bit; the Qi Sea was gradually transformed into a sea of fire, better suited for the storage and refinement of magic power.

And the massive amount of Five-Element spiritual energy pouring in from the outside not only failed to overwhelm the fire-attribute magic power but, under the operation of the "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture," was refined into surging streams of magic power, rushing through the boundless fire domain.

Looking at it this way, the Qi Sea Tribulation and the Spiritual Root Tribulation were about to be overcome.

"The final one should be the Jin Dan Tribulation," Qing Shuang murmured, though she instinctively shook her head. "But that will actually be the easiest one to pass."

When a cultivator advances from Foundation Establishment to Jin Dan, although there is no external tribulation, they actually undergo an internal one.

Therefore, the changes to the Jin Dan were already familiar territory for Luo Chen.

As the last trace of wood-attribute magic power was completely transformed,

when he operated the "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" again, there was not a single trace of impure magic power left in his body, only incomparably pure fire-attribute magic power.

Not only that,

even the originally colorful Five-Colored Jin Dan, in its constant rotation, saw the other four colors gradually fade away, leaving only a single crimson pill.

Within that boundless sea of fire, it looked like a rising sun.

Radiant and powerful!

"The Three Tribulations have passed, and the Nirvana is complete. From now on, Luo Chen is still a Five-Element Jin Dan at his core, but his cultivation speed will be no less than that of a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator." You Quan said, sounding inexplicably excited and chirping away.

Qing Shuang, however, revealed a look of regret on her face.

"With a physique comparable to an ancient demon beast and a perfectly balanced Five-Element spiritual root aptitude, even without switching to the 'Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture,' his future achievements would have been limitless. Now, his path has narrowed."

You Quan sneered. "Little Qing, you are overthinking it. Not to mention that his Five-Element cultivation would have brought us no benefit, the environment of the Mountain-Sea Realm, with its thin spiritual energy, is not enough to support his Five-Element cultivation all the way to Soul Transformation and ascension."

Qing Shuang was puzzled.

"The spiritual energy in the Mountain-Sea Realm is so abundant; can you call that thin?"

You Quan performed a human-like shrug.

"For someone with ordinary aptitude, it is indeed very rich, even top-tier compared to some small worlds. But for an aptitude like the Five-Element Spiritual Root... I have performed soul searches; there was a Five-Element Spiritual Root cultivator in the Eastern Wasteland who stopped at the seventh level of Nascent Soul and hasn't broken through even now."

Qing Shuang's small mouth opened slightly, and finally, she nodded indifferently, accepting You Quan's explanation.

Looking at it this way,

Luo Chen switching to the fire element was, for him personally, a good thing in the long run.

As for whether it was a good thing for the future, Luo Chen could not see that far ahead.

But for the present, it was definitely a tremendous blessing!

Inside the cave dwelling.

Luo Chen's eyes were tightly shut, and he had long since stopped operating the "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture."

Yet, the spiritual energy from all directions continued to gather toward him, passively being absorbed into his body.

The reason for this was the crimson Jin Dan within his Qi Sea!

Even without active stimulation, his Jin Dan was actually operating automatically!

With the Jin Dan as the center, external spiritual energy constantly gathered, and then, under the refinement of the Wither-Prosper True Fire in the Qi Sea, it was continuously purified, finally turning into wisps of pure magic power that merged into the Jin Dan.

"As expected of the 'Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture,' which You Quan calls the ancestor of fire techniques!"

"After cultivating it, even without active operation, as long as there is a suitable spiritual land, one can cultivate passively. This cultivation speed is almost comparable to the efficiency of my full-effort cultivation in a third-tier low-grade cave dwelling before."

"And what if I operate it actively?"

Luo Chen's heart stirred!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the surroundings surged toward him like a mighty river flowing backward!

This feeling was simply intoxicating!

If one were to compare the entire world to an ocean, spiritual energy would be the water within it.

Then, spiritual veins of various tiers and grades could be seen as the rivers, lakes, and streams carrying that spiritual energy.

Previous cultivation was, at best, the difficult task of carrying buckets of water from those rivers and lakes into one's own body, then refining it into something of one's own.

This is what is called "great power returning to oneself."

But now, the river water was flowing backward!

The difference between the two was like heaven and earth!

And the specific difference, quantified by the system, was even clearer to Luo Chen.

According to his judgment, his current cultivation speed was at least fifteen times faster than when he first entered the Jin Dan stage!

If one also counted the magic power absorbed and converted by the Jin Dan's automatic operation when he wasn't cultivating,

then this speed would soar even higher.

Truly comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator!

It could even be said that because his meridians and acupoints had been developed in his early years, they were far tougher and stronger than those of other Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivators, allowing him to go full throttle and cultivate without restraint.

"Calculating it this way, breaking through to the third level of Jin Dan will take only two or three years."

"And to cross the entire Jin Dan realm and reach the Great Perfection state for Nascent Soul formation, it will take at most a hundred years!"

"Indeed, my decision was correct."

Because of this excitement, the operation of his natal technique had automatically stopped.

Clearly, the surprises were far from over.

Over the next few days,

as Luo Chen gradually explored, he discovered many more benefits.

The first was that his control over the Wither-Prosper Fire became increasingly adept.

Wonderful ideas would pop into his mind from time to time, with a strong urge to utilize this source true fire in various ways.

Alchemy, of course, went without saying.

Artifact refining, combat, integration into spells, tempering the physique, and so on.

With so many threads to pull, Luo Chen didn't know where to start.

This could be considered the trouble of having too much happiness.

Another obvious surprise was that the speed at which his Moon-Breaking Wings were being nurtured and formed had increased.

The Moon-Breaking Wings were themselves the purest fire-attribute magic treasure, and now, nourished by the purest fire-attribute magic power, they changed with each passing day.

The Profound Fire Sword was the same.

The only drawback was that the power of the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel and the Soul-Breaking Three Nails had greatly diminished.

Having lost the magic power of the other four elements, Luo Chen could no longer achieve balanced Five-Element development, so his methods had a weakness.

But his strengths were clearly even stronger.

Regarding this, Luo Chen only felt a slight pity and did not regret it too much.

One could only say that every gain and loss is destined by heaven.

The last surprise lay in his self-created body-tempering technique, "Ten Thousand Paths Converging."

Although the "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" was a demon race cultivation method, it also included some demon race body-tempering techniques.

The predecessor of "Ten Thousand Paths Converging" was the "Heavenly Peng Transformation," which was also a demon-like transformation.

The philosophies of the two were somewhat similar.

Luo Chen had a feeling that if he could integrate the techniques from the Nirvana Scripture into "Ten Thousand Paths Converging," it might accelerate his body-tempering speed.

"Unfortunately, living under someone else's roof, while it seems I have plenty of time, I am actually not the master of my own fate."

"Otherwise, if I could slowly ponder these things, I would surely benefit infinitely."

"But for now, having been in seclusion for so long, I imagine those outside waiting for me to refine pills must be getting impatient."

Luo Chen had no choice; he knew what was important and what was not.

They didn't give him such a good technique for no reason.

Wasn't it just so he would contribute more?

He understood.

Therefore, after a simple day of adjustment, he appeared in the Mount Cangwu Mountains as usual, beginning to refine Emperor Flowing Plasma for the feather race of this place.

And some had already begun to consume the Emperor Flowing Plasma he had refined previously.

The effects had naturally appeared.

Some first-tier peak-grade birds had already advanced to the second tier one after another after consuming the Emperor Flowing Plasma.

In the mountains, there are no days or months; a thousand years pass in the world.

The days of being a tool for others are always exhausting and numbing.

As a cultivator, Luo Chen couldn't call it exhausting; in fact, because of the explosive increase in his cultivation speed, which brought him closer to the third level of Jin Dan, he even found some joy in it.

But the passage of time is always inevitable.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Over this year, he had left countless traces on the Mount Cangwu Mountains, and many demon beasts knew him.

Those with good temperaments would call him Master Dan Chen.

Those who had received his guidance in alchemy and begun to touch upon the path of alchemy would honor him as Master Luo.

And those with bad temperaments who looked down on the human race would either call him "human" or address him directly by his name.

Luo Chen didn't care about any of this.

He still kept to himself, doing only three things every day: processing medicinal herbs, refining pills, and cultivating.

In this monotonous work, his proficiency in Emperor Flowing Plasma had long reached the Great Perfection level.

Even without refining top-grade Emperor Flowing Plasma, he could achieve a fifty percent success rate just for the high-grade level!

Such progress was extremely shocking!

And his mastery of the Wither-Prosper True Fire had also reached a terrifying level.

Once, while processing a third-tier demon beast that wasn't quite dead yet,

Luo Chen, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, quietly used the Wither-Prosper True Fire to burn and refine it.

This process took only a quarter of an hour to completely refine it.

And after completely refining a third-tier demon beast, he felt a surge of vigorous vitality coming from within his body.

He opened his attribute panel on the spot.

In the longevity column, his maximum lifespan had directly increased by one year compared to before!

A third-tier demon beast could actually increase his lifespan by one year; this discovery left Luo Chen both shocked and delighted.

If he were to let go of his restraints and hunt third-tier demon beasts on a large scale, forcibly refining and devouring them, wouldn't immortality be within reach?

But clearly, he couldn't let go of his restraints.

Therefore, he could only suppress this thought deep in his heart.

And during this process, because of his rapid progress in fire-control techniques, his alchemy skills had also greatly improved.

Everyone saw it.

Therefore,

some things naturally came to Luo Chen.

Inside the Duzhen Hall.

Luo Chen looked at the thin pill formula in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly.

A black crow paced lightly on the black jade steps of the main hall.

One wing was behind her back, as if she were a human walking with hands clasped behind her back.

A strange, shrill tone constantly emerged from her mouth, sounding so harsh to Luo Chen's ears.

"Since the demon race of the Mountain-Sea Realm was defeated by human cultivators in ancient times, they have learned from their pain and decided to change their cultivation methods."

"No longer following the old path of natural transformation and growth, they imitate cultivators, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, forcibly devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and walking the path of human-like demon cultivation."

"Thus, the divisions of Wild Beasts, Demon Cultivators, and Ancient Demons came to be."

"To become a demon cultivator, one begins to form a Jin Dan at the second tier, refining the transverse bone to make the demon body gradually resemble a human. Especially in the transition from the third to the fourth tier, under the creation of the lightning tribulation, they transform into human form, developing meridians, acupoints, the Purple Mansion, and the Qi Sea. This allows them to practice human shortcut techniques and increase their cultivation realm faster."

"There is no other way; demon beasts are born with long lifespans, but their advancement is equally slow."

"Only by transforming can they barely keep up with the human race."

"This can be considered learning the enemy's strengths to defeat them."

Suddenly,

You Quan paused her steps, glanced at the grim-faced Luo Chen, and changed direction.

"However, it is still too slow."

"After all, the territory available for our demon race to inhabit in this world is becoming smaller and smaller, and the fourth-tier demon beasts capable of transformation are becoming fewer and fewer. Some of them, like that He He Qingzi, even defected to the human race after transforming, coveting human orthodoxy."

"For this reason, the great powers of the demon race have painstakingly studied bloodline inheritance and human classics, trying to find a solution."

"I don't know if others have found it, but our Mount Cangwu Mountain's Monarch Sovereign Qixia is uniquely gifted and has comprehended a pill formula."

"This pill formula imitates the human alchemy philosophy, taking the best and discarding the worst, using form to supplement form; it is called the Transformation Pill!"

"It is the one in your hand!"

Luo Chen's hand suddenly felt heavy.

He said hoarsely, "According to the description, as long as a third-tier demon beast consumes this pill, it can transform into human form and practice your improved demon cultivation techniques?"

You Quan cackled. "Yes, exactly as you think! In this way, the realms that demon beasts need thousands of years to cross can be shortened to the same as you humans—only four or five hundred years to condense a Nascent Soul and become a fourth-tier demon beast!"

The pride in her laughter was so unbridled and free.

It seemed she was full of confidence in this pill formula.

And with Luo Chen's alchemy knowledge, this pill formula was indeed grand and ancient, with almost no flaws.

It was truly feasible!

But if that were the case, wouldn't it mean that demon beasts could gain both their innate long lifespans and the fast cultivation speed of human cultivators?

If this continued, the balance of power in the Mountain-Sea Realm would sooner or later shift.

And he, Luo Chen, would be the culprit!

Luo Chen shuddered. He said with a bitter face, "Hall Master You Quan, aren't you overestimating me? This Transformation Pill is a fourth-tier pill, and I am but a mere third-tier alchemist; I fear I cannot refine it."

"No, you can!"

"I..."

"Are you saying you can't?"

You Quan stopped her steps and stared fixedly at Luo Chen.

As their eyes met, Luo Chen let out a muffled groan.

The third-tier illusion technique "Mirror Flower, Water Moon," which he had been guarding against, was instantly broken. Under the opponent's pervasive soul attack, he instinctively said, "Perhaps I can try."

You Quan blinked, and Luo Chen instantly woke up.

He was awake, but his expression was even uglier.

You Quan's method of exerting soul influence to make people speak the truth was something he couldn't resist with his current attainments, even with prior preparation, when she actively used it.

"Don't bother with those little thoughts of yours."

"The 'Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' wasn't given to you for nothing."

"Now that you possess fourth-tier true fire, your fire-control techniques have reached their peak, and you have the full cooperation of our Mount Cangwu Mountain, refining a fourth-tier pill is definitely not a difficult task. Besides, Monarch Sovereign Qixia said this pill formula isn't very difficult. With your solid alchemy foundation, you will surely succeed after refining it a few more times!"

"Luo Chen, don't let me down!"

Luo Chen's mouth twitched, unable to voice any opposition.

He only said he needed time to study it carefully, then walked out of the Duzhen Hall, feeling somewhat lost.

After coming out,

he picked up the pill formula again.

"Transformation Pill"

【Main ingredients: Human Nascent Soul, Human Essence Blood】

Just these two points were shocking.

He had thought it was all about using herbs and demon beast materials, but this time it actually required using human cultivators to refine pills.

And, a Nascent Soul at that!

That was the fruit of a cultivator's lifelong practice; calling it a Dao Fruit was no exaggeration.

Using this to refine pills, how was it any different from falling into the path of demons?

"That's right, it was a demon race pill formula to begin with. Using humans as the main ingredient is really no different from my previous use of demon beast flesh and blood to refine pills."

Luo Chen murmured.

He raised his eyes to look at the blue sky.

Ten thousand miles without clouds, the clear sky was washed clean.

It should have been refreshing, but he only felt himself sinking deeper and deeper, his body weak, as if he would never be able to escape for the rest of his life.

At that very moment,

a familiar tall figure suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Luo Chen was stunned.

Qing Shuang!

Why was she out here, safe and sound?

The next moment, Qing Shuang clenched her fist slightly and smashed it toward a void space.

Boom!

As the punch landed, space trembled, and ripples spread out like water.

Spiritual light erupted between heaven and earth.

A magic treasure like a light veil was instantly torn to pieces.

And beneath the hazy veil, three figures were revealed to the Mount Cangwu Mountains without any concealment.

At just one glance, Luo Chen's face showed wild joy.

However, before he could rush out, a black wind surged from the Duzhen Hall, rolled him up, and pulled him deep into the hall.

At the same time, the black crow passed him and rushed out of the Duzhen Hall.

As the two crossed, a soul transmission fell into Luo Chen's ears.

"Stay put and don't cause trouble. A mere three Nascent Soul late-stage experts cannot break through my Mount Cangwu Mountain!"

At the same time,

three grand voices exploded like thunder from the clear sky.

"Old Ancestor Hehuan, please enlighten me, fellow Daoist!"

"Five-Element Ancestor Shenyuan, please enlighten me, fellow Daoist!"

"Tianji Tianji Huiping, please enlighten me, fellow Daoist!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 513 =====