Chapter 530: The Overbearing True Flame Pill

Luo Chen felt a lingering fear.

He had not expected the medicinal power of the True Flame Pill to be so overbearing!

It was not just a matter of quantity.

Its overbearing nature lay even more in the impact of its quality.

If the medicinal properties of the Star Pill were like the stars filling the sky, waiting to be plucked by the one who consumed it, then the True Flame Pill was like the scorching sun—a single entity that left one with nowhere to hide.

If ordinary cultivation pills were like a trickling stream, absorbed slowly without harming the foundation of a Jin Dan cultivator, then the True Flame Pill was like a rushing torrent, rampaging through the meridians and Qi sea, completely indifferent to the state of the one who consumed it.

In summary, this True Flame Pill actually possessed one-third of the characteristics of a "breakthrough-type pill."

It was not characterized by mild, long-lasting medicinal power suitable for absorption.

Instead, it was known for its violent medicinal power, capable of prying open a person's cultivation realm.

As everyone knows, in the world of immortal cultivation, although breakthrough-type pills contain immense medicinal power, they are also the least suitable for long-term auxiliary cultivation.

After all, while prying open a person's realm is mostly aimed at higher levels, long-term consumption can cause the original realm to become unstable, leading to frequent instances of falling back in cultivation.

From this, Luo Chen also understood a doubt that had long been weighing on his heart.

"No wonder few cultivators in the Flame Alliance consume True Flame Pills for cultivation, yet they have always maintained a small-scale production of them. They are using this pill as a breakthrough pill!"

While lost in thought, Luo Chen could not help but feel a sense of relief.

Fortunately, his foundation was solid enough!

Otherwise, if it were an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator, they would likely not dare to consume True Flame Pills long-term and in large quantities to assist their cultivation.

There was no other reason: Luo Chen's meridians, acupoints, and even his Qi sea had laid an incomparably robust foundation during the Foundation Establishment stage.

Once he condensed his Jin Dan, this solid foundation increased several times over.

Throughout the long years of cultivation, the benefits became increasingly prominent.

Furthermore, his physique, which was comparable to that of a demonic beast, could fully withstand the impact of the True Flame Pill.

"Let me search and see where that medicinal miasma is."

With a thought, Luo Chen's spiritual sense spread throughout his entire body, searching bit by bit for the legendary True Flame Pill fire miasma.

After a long while, Luo Chen's expression shifted slightly.

"Found it. It's actually so hidden, attached to the Jin Dan!"

A cultivator's Jin Dan is the most important place, yet also the easiest to overlook.

If Luo Chen hadn't slightly felt the obstruction in his magic power circulation, he almost wouldn't have discovered this anomaly.

It was precisely because of this that Luo Chen finally understood why Flame Alliance cultivators, despite being skilled in fire techniques, dared not consume True Flame Pills long-term for cultivation.

This fire-element medicinal miasma was actually attached to the Jin Dan.

Who would dare to joke around with something like that?

However, now that he had found it, things would be easy to handle!

Through Luo Chen's experimentation, he gradually found three methods to remove the medicinal miasma.

One was to slowly wear it down with magic power; the speed was relatively slow, which was likely the common method Flame Alliance cultivators used to eliminate the miasma after breaking through with the help of the True Flame Pill.

Another was the "Micro-Dust Origin Technique," which incorporated the "Clear Origin Wonderful Pill Method." When operating this technique, it would passively scrape off a bit of the medicinal miasma from the Jin Dan, but the effect was minimal.

"As expected, medicinal miasma is not medicinal poison. Methods for removing poison have very little effect."

Luo Chen had long anticipated this.

After all, the fire-element medicinal miasma left behind by the True Flame Pill was itself a part of its medicinal properties; without this miasma, that one-third of its "breakthrough" capability would not exist.

Fortunately, Luo Chen had one last technique.

In the quiet cultivation room, Luo Chen quickly formed seals with both hands. Amidst a dazzling display, a spell took shape according to a special magic power circulation route.

Then, he slowly and cautiously tapped his lower abdomen.

The next moment, a small knife with raging flames suddenly appeared in his Qi sea.

The small knife slashed down toward the Jin Dan!

A wisp of faint aura was thus detached.

The Jin Dan spun around, seemingly unaware of what fear was.

Subsequently, the small knife slashed again.

More anomalous aura was stripped away, slash by slash.

Then, Luo Chen held his breath until his face turned incredibly flushed, almost purple, before suddenly exhaling.

Hiss...

On the ground, a charred hole suddenly appeared.

Seeing this scene, Luo Chen was both happy and shocked.

What he was happy about was that the fourth-tier Dragon-Slaying Technique was indeed effective at clearing the medicinal miasma, and the effect was excellent!

What shocked him, however, was that the True Flame Pill's medicinal miasma was so vicious.

When it was attached to the Jin Dan, it didn't show much, but after being spat out, its cruel and vicious nature was thoroughly revealed.

It was hard to imagine what a tragic fate the Jin Dan of a pill-consumer would face if they consumed it long-term without clearing the medicinal miasma.

Looking at the charred hole on the ground, Luo Chen fell into a silent state.

After a long while, he nodded gently.

"This medicinal miasma is incomparably vicious; if one or two wisps are contaminated, perhaps they can be worn away with time."

"But if I collect thousands or even tens of thousands of wisps to deal with an enemy..."

With the assistance of eighteen "pill apprentices," the time Luo Chen spent processing medicinal herbs was thoroughly saved.

As a result, his cultivation in other areas made significant progress.

Whether it was defensive spells or the tempering of his physique.

And his natal magic treasure, the Hunyuan Cauldron, under day-after-day of nourishment and refinement, also began to gradually radiate light; its power became increasingly obvious, and Luo Chen's control over it became more effortless.

Not only that, the two martial arts that had been stagnant for years also approached perfection day by day under his practice in the nearby sea areas whenever he could spare the time.

His own cultivation progressed even faster!

With the assistance of a third-tier spirit land, he could lift the restrictions on his cultivation.

A cultivation speed comparable to a Heavenly Spirit Root!

The increasingly higher proficiency in True Flame Pill refining techniques produced higher-grade True Flame Pills.

There was also an increasingly deep understanding of the "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Sutra."

Because of all these factors, in just two or three years, Luo Chen felt he was getting closer and closer to the middle stage of Jin Dan.

Of course.

His progress was so obvious that its impact on the Feiyan Archipelago became increasingly profound.

First, there was the Cheng family.

In order to exchange for the "Qingyang Pill Canon" on Yaoyue Island, that Cheng Dou acted like a madman, sparing no cost to collect various medicinal herbs for Luo Chen.

This included not only the raw materials needed for the True Flame Pill.

It also included a portion of the raw materials needed to refine the Nascent Soul Pill!

Just as Luo Chen was considering Core Formation when he first entered Foundation Establishment, now that he was almost at the middle stage of Jin Dan, Luo Chen naturally had to consider the future matter of Nascent Soul formation.

In his view, there were only three conditions required for Nascent Soul formation.

Sufficient personal accumulation was the first, a suitable fourth-tier spirit vein land was the second, and the final one was the icing on the cake: the Nascent Soul Pill.

Especially since he couldn't return to the Eastern Wasteland for a short time, he simply borrowed the hands of the Feiyan cultivators to help him collect the materials for the Nascent Soul Pill.

When the time came, he would slowly explore it himself, and he would always be able to refine the Nascent Soul Pill.

It was just that this made things miserable for the various major families of the Feiyan Archipelago.

The True Flame Pill alone was a significant expense, not to mention the vast quantity of medicinal herbs required for the Nascent Soul Pill.

Those small families might have had doubts, but Cheng Dou didn't care at all.

Without the suppression of Yan Nantian, even though he was constantly running around outside, his cultivation realm was pushed bit by bit to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

Core Formation was within reach!

Looking at the entire Feiyan Archipelago, they couldn't even produce a single Core Formation secret technique that could be brought to the table; in the past, Feiyan cultivators relied purely on their own accumulation and the favor of heaven to form their cores.

Now that they had the "Qingyang Pill Canon," how could he, Cheng Dou, not give it his all?

Let alone him.

Among the thirty-six archipelagos, any family with a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator of suitable age was sparing no cost to collect medicinal herbs for Luo Chen, attempting to exchange for the "Qingyang Pill Canon" as soon as possible.

Under these circumstances, this small world of immortal cultivation, located in a remote sea area, fell into a pathological madness.

Every family's foundation, wealth, and manpower were constantly being consumed.

Everything consumed was finally converted into countless medicinal herbs, flowing to the small island in the Ten-Mile Pinghu Lake.

The strength of every major family did not increase, but instead stagnated.

If it weren't for the temporary lack of external enemies, and the fact that the Qingyang Demon Lord was still there to suppress them, preventing internal strife and conflict, let alone stagnation, a decline would have been possible.

Under such bizarre circumstances, those small families with only one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators naturally trembled with fear.

However, there were also knowledgeable people who understood the logic behind it.

Since the Qingyang Demon Lord dared to bring out the method of Core Formation to drive the cultivators, it showed that he had the tolerance to accommodate others and didn't mind a Jin Dan cultivator emerging from under his command.

And the major families were all Foundation Establishment families.

Once one family produced a Jin Dan cultivator first, they could instantly stand out and suppress the other families.

Even the Cheng family, which had the best relationship with the Qingyang Demon Lord, would lose the first-mover advantage if they were a step behind others.

They were all in a race!

In the race between families, the biggest beneficiary in the end was only the Qingyang Demon Lord.

With just one "Qingyang Pill Canon," he had stirred up the originally peaceful Feiyan Thirty-Six Islands until the people were exhausted; he was truly worthy of being a generation of Demon Lord!

Regarding the madness of the outside world and the slander against him, Luo Chen knew nothing, and even if he did, he would simply ignore it all.

He was immersed in his own little world, feeling his growth at every moment; how could he not be happy!

If there were no restrictions on his lifespan, and no concerns for Hui Niang, Caiyi, Wang Yuan, and Duan Feng, Luo Chen would even want to indulge in this for the rest of his life.

That feeling of being able to feel one's own growth at every moment was truly too intoxicating.

Unknowingly, in a trance, three years of time passed in a flash.

On this day, a streak of light flew back from overseas, and after flickering a few times over the Feiyan Archipelago, it landed on the island in the very center.

The clouds and mist dispersed, and a tall woman stood at the entrance of the palace, looking at the person approaching step by step with a smile.

"Master, you seem to be in a good mood today!"

Luo Chen laughed, "That is natural. I have cultivated another great technique to perfection, so my mood is naturally excellent!"

As he spoke, he walked into the main hall with a dragon-like gait.

Cheng Haixin followed behind, the respect in her eyes growing even deeper.

For these three years, she had basically lived and eaten on Yaoyue Island, wholeheartedly handling various chores for Luo Chen.

Whether it was receiving the medicinal herbs sent by various families, providing blood food for Luo Chen at fixed times and places, or the most important work of processing medicinal herbs, she was basically responsible for it all by herself.

In three years, the "Fairy Haixin" who only knew how to cultivate carefree under the protection of her family had disappeared, leaving only the capable, thorough, tall, and majestic "Fairy Yaoyue."

However, this "majesty" of hers counted for nothing in front of Luo Chen.

For these three years, she had personally watched Luo Chen's cultivation progress day by day.

The other party would gain something from time to time, and occasionally take her out to sea to experiment with spells and magic treasures, the scenes of which were often earth-shattering.

This speed of progress simply exceeded the stereotypical impression of a Jin Dan Master in her mind.

What happened to the Jin Dan Master who needed decades or even a hundred years to cultivate a satisfactory divine ability or spell?

Her master would gain a little something in three or five days, make rapid progress in seven or eight months, and achieve great success in a year or two.

Yet, what he practiced was not the kind of technique that looked like a shortcut at first glance, but a great technique that was steady and had a solid foundation!

Perhaps, a generation of Demon Lord was just like this!

Under Cheng Haixin's admiration, Luo Chen stopped his steps, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were feeling something.

After a moment, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Muxian is not bad; he has even refined a first-tier middle-grade Water Condensation Pill."

Just now, he had smelled a very faint pill fragrance.

His spiritual sense spread out, and he saw a young man happily collecting pills in a small pill room.

That was precisely Xu Muxian.

Cheng Haixin smiled gently: "All of this is thanks to the Master's cultivation."

"It is also because Muxian has outstanding talent in pill refining that he has such progress."

Luo Chen said modestly, but the self-satisfaction on his face was not hidden much.

If not for his cultivation, where would Xu Muxian get so many low-grade medicinal herbs to practice with?

If not for his guidance, how could the other party refine middle-grade pills in just three years?

With his current knowledge and ability, it was simply too simple to cultivate a talented seedling into a pill refiner.

Moreover, he didn't even need to spend his own resources!

"These are ten bottles of top-grade Water Condensation Pills; you give them to Xu Muxian!"

Cheng Haixin was startled, "Master, he has been promoted to the sixth level of Qi Refining in three years, which is fast enough. Why do you need top-grade Water Condensation Pills? Normal high-grade ones are already luxurious enough."

Luo Chen shook his head, "No matter what, he is my named disciple, so he should have some benefits. Besides, these Water Condensation Pills were refined when I was idle; keeping them is of no great use. Oh, that's right."

As he spoke, Luo Chen took out a few more jade bottles from his storage ring and stuffed them into Cheng Haixin's arms.

"Jade Dew Pills, you have used them before; these six high-grade ones are enough for you to use for half a year."

Hearing this, Cheng Haixin's breathing could not help but quicken.

High-grade Jade Dew Pills!

Previously, when Luo Chen was idle, he refined some pills, among which were Jade Dew Pills.

At that time, Luo Chen casually rewarded them to Cheng Haixin, who was working like a horse for him.

After the woman consumed them, she was promoted to the first level of Foundation Establishment that very day.

Later, relying on the remaining Jade Dew Pills, within three years, and cooperating with a second-tier high-grade cave dwelling allocated to her on Yaoyue Island, her cultivation speed made rapid progress, and she once crossed over to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment!

Such progress truly stunned all the cultivators of the Feiyan Thirty-Six Islands!

It was precisely because of this that she got the nickname "Fairy Yaoyue."

Using the name of Yaoyue Island, where Luo Chen resided, as her Daoist name, to show how much she was favored by Luo Chen.

Regarding this, Cheng Haixin was not unhappy and accepted it gladly.

And this time, what Luo Chen gave her were high-grade Jade Dew Pills!

If used well, perhaps this year, she, Cheng Haixin, would be able to be promoted to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment!

She had dual spirit root aptitude, read Daoist scriptures at the age of six, cultivated Qi and tempered her body to lay a foundation, officially started cultivation at the age of twelve, and spent twenty-four years, under the cultivation of her family, to barely succeed in Foundation Establishment.

This was already a flying speed.

If she were to be promoted to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment five years after Foundation Establishment, it would simply be too unbelievable!

For a time, the woman's breathing quickened, and her heavy chest could not help but tremble violently.

The more they got along, the more the name of Qingyang Demon Lord became unworthy of the reality!

How could he have the style of a demonic path?

He was clearly a benevolent elder and a senior of the immortal path.

He rarely blamed low-grade cultivators and fully displayed the demeanor of a high-level person who promoted the younger generation.

The world's misunderstanding of him was truly too deep.

Luo Chen glanced at her, then took a step, and the woman followed behind him in a trance.

"In addition, the contribution value of your Cheng family is almost enough; you can notify your eldest brother to come under the Yaoyue stone tablet to accept the empowerment of the 'Qingyang Pill Canon'."

After finishing, Luo Chen disappeared into the depths of the palace complex.

The woman was like being hit by a heavy blow, frozen in place.

After a long while, she bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Master!"

After finishing, she hurriedly left the island and flew towards Black Swan Island.

On Yaoyue Island, Luo Chen looked at the streak of light leaving and could not help but shake his head and smile lightly.

In three or four years, for the "Qingyang Pill Canon," the Cheng family could be said to have suffered a great loss of vitality.

That share of 500,000, which seemed to be evenly distributed to each family, was fully shared by the few major families who intended to form a core, as many small families were willing but unable.

And among them, the Cheng family was the most enthusiastic.

Therefore, they paid the most.

Not to mention the cost of a million, they also completely stopped the cultivation of the younger generation of the family.

Over the years, the family output of the Cheng family had all fallen into the collection and purchase of medicinal herbs.

That demon-hunting ship was also frequently launched, traveling far to the deep sea area to capture large second-tier sea demons.

Just like this, the contribution value was actually still a bit short.

Luo Chen was just looking at the fact that Cheng Haixin had been working wholeheartedly for these few years and had helped him a lot, so he opened a back door.

"However, my 'Qingyang Pill Canon' is not easy to cultivate!"

Thinking of Cheng Dou's slightly impetuous, and even occasionally crazy, personality, Luo Chen curled his lips.

The "Qingyang Pill Canon" was derived from the "Micro-Dust Origin Technique."

Even if it was simplified by more than half, the difficulty of cultivation was still very high, and he was not very optimistic that this batch of cultivators in the Feiyan Archipelago would be able to rely on it to succeed in Core Formation.

On the contrary, Cheng Haixin, who was influenced by him and occasionally received his guidance, had a greater chance of Core Formation.

"I don't know if, with my ability, I can cultivate a cultivator with dual spirit root aptitude to the Jin Dan stage within a hundred years?"

Luo Chen's mouth curled up, as if he were doing some experiment.

Still the same sentence, anyway, it was not his resources that were consumed!

Turning around, he entered the cultivation room.

The formation was opened, isolating prying eyes from the outside, and gathering the nearby spiritual energy to the maximum extent inside.

On the attribute panel, his first-tier Spirit Gathering Formation had already reached Great Perfection!

With the support of the major families of the Feiyan Archipelago, a large second-tier Spirit Gathering Formation was established around Yaoyue Island to collect more heaven and earth spiritual energy.

As a result, although the spirit vein grade on this island was still third-tier low-grade.

But the spiritual energy concentration was infinitely close to the third-tier middle-grade.

And this was also one of the reasons why his cultivation was progressing day by day, getting closer and closer to the fourth level of Jin Dan.

Sitting cross-legged, Luo Chen opened his mouth and spat, and a small cauldron appeared in front of him, growing in the wind, and in a flash, it turned into the size of a zhang.

Looking at the Hunyuan Cauldron, which was becoming more and more closely connected with his mind, Luo Chen showed satisfaction.

If evaluated from the Foundation Establishment stage, his degree of refinement of this cauldron had already reached ten percent!

It was enough to exert all the power of this treasure to the extreme.

However, this was obviously not the true "extreme."

A good magic treasure can amplify a cultivator's strength.

Especially a natal magic treasure that fits the cultivator's attributes!

That kind of amplification is one time, two times, or even several times!

Obviously, the Hunyuan Cauldron could not achieve this kind of amplification now.

The problem lay in the fact that more than a dozen unprocessed raw materials were absorbed during the refining process.

There were too many impurities!

"Continue to refine!"

Luo Chen sighed, magic power surged, and spiritual sense surrounded it.

Not only that, opening his mouth to spit, a wisp of cyan flame floated out, turning into the shape of nine fire dragons, wrapping around the small cauldron and spitting cyan flames.

This was him imitating Min Longyu's Nine-Turn Flame Dragon Formation from back then, to refine his natal magic treasure.

The only pity was that he didn't have the formation map of the Nine-Turn Flame Dragon Formation, and this approach only had the form but not the spirit.

Even so, it was much faster than ordinary refining methods.

"I have to find time to search for the formation map of the Nine-Turn Flame Dragon Formation."

A thought flashed by, and Luo Chen continued to refine the magic treasure.

This was what he did daily, and he would only stop after his magic power was almost consumed, then cultivate his natal technique to replenish magic power while advancing his cultivation.

With such an output and input, his rapidly advancing realm would also become more and more solid.

After years of cultivation, Luo Chen had already understood the essence of consolidating his foundation.

Time passed slowly.

Just as Luo Chen's magic power was insufficient and he was about to withdraw the Withered Glory True Fire, his mind suddenly moved.

The next moment, the cyan flame suddenly blazed, wrapping the Hunyuan Cauldron heavily.

Nine fire dragon heads poked their heads out, overlooking the space inside the cauldron, watching covetously.

Luo Chen sighed lightly.

"Senior, since you have already awakened, why not meet openly instead of peeking at Luo in secret."

From inside the cauldron came a faint, bitter laugh.

"Little friend, with such a formation, how could this old man dare to show his head rashly."

(End of chapter)