Chapter 530: Rapid Progress, Han Zhan Awakens

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 about the quantity.

Its overbearing nature lay in the impact of its quality.

If the medicinal properties of a Starry Pill were like stars filling the sky, waiting for the pill-taker to pluck them, then the True Flame Pill was like the blazing sun—there was only one, yet it shone so brightly that one had nowhere to hide.

If ordinary cultivation pills were like trickling streams, absorbed slowly without harming the foundation of a Golden Core cultivator, then the True Flame Pill was like a turbulent torrent, rampaging through the meridians and dantian, completely indifferent to the state of the pill-taker.

All in all, this True Flame Pill actually possessed three parts 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 the human body's cultivation realm.

As everyone knew, in the world of immortal cultivation, while breakthrough-type pills contained immense medicinal power, they were also the least suitable for long-term auxiliary cultivation.

After all, prying open one's cultivation realm—though mostly aimed at higher realms—could cause the original realm to become unstable if taken over a long period, leading to frequent instances of falling realms.

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

"No wonder few cultivators in the Flame Alliance take True Flame Pills for cultivation, yet they always maintain a small amount of True Flame Pill production. 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 Golden Core cultivator, they would likely not dare to take True Flame Pills in large quantities over a long period to assist their cultivation.

There was no other reason; Luo Chen's meridians, acupoints, and even his dantian had laid an incomparably robust foundation during his Foundation Establishment period.

Once he condensed his Golden Core, this solid foundation increased several times over.

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

Furthermore, his physique, 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 evil spirit is."

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

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

"Found it. It's actually so hidden, attached to the Golden Core!"

A cultivator's Golden Core was the most important place, yet also the easiest to overlook.

If Luo Chen hadn't slightly sensed that his magic power was not circulating smoothly, 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 take True Flame Pills for long-term cultivation.

This fire-attribute medicinal evil spirit was actually attached to the Golden Core.

Who would dare to joke about such a thing?

But now that he had found it, things were easy to handle!

Through Luo Chen's experimentation, he gradually found three ways to remove the medicinal evil spirit.

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

Another was the "Dust Origin Technique," which incorporated the *Clear Source Wonderful Pill Method*. When operating this technique, it would passively scrape off a bit of the medicinal evil spirit from the Golden Core, but the effect was minimal.

"Sure enough, medicinal evil spirit is not medicinal poison. The method for removing poison has little effect."

Luo Chen had long anticipated this.

After all, the fire-attribute medicinal evil spirit left behind by the True Flame Pill was itself a part of its medicinal properties; without this evil spirit, that three-part "breakthrough" ability would not exist.

Fortunately, Luo Chen still had one final method.

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

Then, he slowly and cautiously tapped his lower abdomen.

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

The small knife slashed down toward the Golden Core!

A wisp of faint aura was thus detached.

The Golden Core spun around, seemingly unaware of what fear was.

Subsequently, the small knife slashed again.

More anomalous auras were stripped away, slash by slash.

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

*Sss... *

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 in clearing the medicinal evil spirit, and the effect was excellent!

And what shocked him was that the True Flame Pill's medicinal evil spirit was actually so vicious.

When it was attached to the Golden Core, 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 Golden Core of a pill-taker would suffer if they took it long-term without clearing the medicinal evil spirit.

Looking at the charred hole on the ground, Luo Chen fell into silence.

After a long while, he nodded gently.

"Such medicinal evil spirit 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 them, to use against an enemy..."

After having 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 Primordial Cauldron, under the day-after-day nourishment and refining, 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 Luo Chen had been stuck on for years also neared perfection as he occasionally took time to practice in the nearby sea area.

His own cultivation base progressed even faster!

With the assistance of a third-tier spiritual land, he could cultivate without restrictions.

A cultivation speed comparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Root!

The increasingly high proficiency level of his True Flame Pill refining technique produced True Flame Pills of higher quality.

And there was his 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 mid-stage Golden Core realm.

Of course.

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

First was the Cheng family.

In order to exchange for the *Green Yang Pill Canon* on Fairy Yaoyue Island, Cheng Dou acted like he had gone mad, sparing no cost to collect various medicinal herbs for Luo Chen.

Among these, it included not only the raw materials needed for the True Flame Pill.

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

Just as Luo Chen had considered Golden Core formation when he first entered Foundation Establishment, now that he was almost at the mid-stage Golden Core, Luo Chen naturally had to consider the matter of future Nascent Soul formation.

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

Sufficient accumulation of one's own was the first, a suitable fourth-tier spiritual vein location 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 in the short term, he simply borrowed the hands of the Flying Swallow 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.

However, this made things difficult for the various families on the Flying Swallow Archipelago.

The True Flame Pill alone was quite expensive, not to mention the massive 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 Yan Nantian's suppression, even though he was often running around outside, his cultivation realm had been pushed bit by bit to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

Golden Core formation was within reach!

Looking at the entire Flying Swallow Archipelago, they couldn't even produce a decent Golden Core formation secret method; in the past, Flying Swallow cultivators relied purely on their own accumulation and the favor of Heaven to form their Golden Cores.

Now that they had the *Green Yang Pill Canon*, how could he, Cheng Dou, not give it a try?

Let alone him.

Among the thirty-six archipelagoes, any family with a late-stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator of suitable age was sparing no cost to collect medicinal herbs for Luo Chen, attempting to exchange for the *Green Yang Pill Canon* as soon as possible.

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

The foundation, wealth, and manpower of every family were constantly being consumed.

Everything consumed was ultimately converted into countless medicinal herbs, flowing toward the small island in the Ten-Mile Flat Lake.

The strength of every major family did not grow; instead, it stagnated.

If it weren't for the temporary lack of external enemies and the suppression by the Green Yang Demon Lord, with no internal strife or fighting among them, 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 insightful people who understood the logic behind it.

Since the Green Yang Demon Lord dared to bring out the Golden Core formation method to drive the cultivators, it showed that he had the tolerance to accommodate others and did not mind a Golden Core cultivator emerging under his command.

And the various major families were all Foundation Establishment families.

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

Even if it were the Cheng family, who had the best relationship with the Green Yang Demon Lord, if they were a step behind others, they would lose the initiative.

They were all in a race!

In the race among the families, the biggest beneficiary was ultimately the Green Yang Demon Lord.

With just one *Green Yang Pill Canon*, he had stirred the peaceful Flying Swallow Thirty-Six Islands into a state of exhaustion; he was truly worthy of being a generation of Demon Lords!

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.

He was immersed in his own little world, feeling his growth at every moment, which was incredibly satisfying!

If not for the limitations of his lifespan, and if not for his concern for Hui Niang, Cai Yi, Wang Yuan, and Duan Feng, Luo Chen would even have wanted to sink into this forever.

That feeling of being able to feel his own growth at every moment was truly intoxicating.

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

On this day, a streak of light flew back from overseas, flickered a few times over the Flying Swallow Archipelago, and landed on the central small island.

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

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

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

As he spoke, he walked into the main hall with long, confident strides.

Cheng Cheng Haixin followed behind, the look of respect in her eyes deepening.

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

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

In three years, the "Fairy Cheng 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 Fairy Yaoyue."

However, her "majesty" meant nothing in front of Luo Chen.

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

The other party would occasionally gain some insight, and when he occasionally took her out to sea to experiment with spells and magic treasures, the scenes were often earth-shattering.

This speed of progress simply exceeded the stereotypical impression she had of a Golden Core Master.

What happened to the idea that a Golden Core Master would take decades or even a hundred years to cultivate a satisfactory divine ability or spell?

Her master, on the other hand, would gain a little insight in three to five days, make rapid progress in seven or eight months, and achieve great success in a year or two.

And yet, what he was cultivating was not that kind of quick-success method, but a great method that was steady, solid, and had a firm foundation!

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

Under Cheng Cheng Haixin's admiring gaze, Luo Chen stopped his footsteps, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if feeling something.

A moment later, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Xu Muxian is not bad; he has actually refined a first-tier mid-grade Condensing Water Pill."

Just now, he had smelled an extremely faint medicinal fragrance.

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

That was Xu Xu Muxian.

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

"It is still because Xu 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.

Without his cultivation, where would Xu Xu Muxian get so many low-tier medicinal herbs to practice with?

Without his guidance, how could the other party refine mid-grade pills in just three years?

With his current knowledge and ability, it was simply too easy 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 Condensing Water Pills; you give them to Xu Xu Muxian!"

Cheng Cheng Haixin was taken aback, "Master, he has advanced to the sixth layer of Qi Refining in three years; that is already fast enough. Why use top-grade Condensing Water Pills? Ordinary top-grade ones would already be luxurious enough."

Luo Chen shook his head, "No matter what, he counts as my named disciple, so he should have some benefits. Moreover, these Condensing Water Pills were refined by me when I was idle; keeping them is of no 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 Cheng Haixin's arms.

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

Hearing this, Cheng Cheng Haixin's breathing became rapid.

Top-grade Jade Dew Pills!

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

At that time, Luo Chen casually bestowed them upon Cheng Cheng Haixin, who was working like a beast of burden for him.

After the woman took them, she advanced to the first layer of Foundation Establishment that very day.

Later, relying on the remaining Jade Dew Pills, and cooperating with a second-tier top-grade cave dwelling allocated to her on Fairy Yaoyue Island, her cultivation speed progressed rapidly, and she once crossed over to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment!

Such progress truly stunned all the cultivators on the Flying Swallow Thirty-Six Islands!

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

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

Cheng Cheng Haixin was not displeased by this and accepted it happily.

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

If utilized well, perhaps this year, she, Cheng Cheng Haixin, could advance to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment!

She had dual spiritual root aptitude, read Daoist scriptures at six, tempered her body to build a foundation, officially started cultivation at 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 advance to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment five years after Foundation Establishment, it would simply be too inconceivable!

For a moment, the woman's breathing became rapid, and her heavy chest could not help but tremble violently.

The more they interacted, the more the name "Green Yang Demon Lord" seemed to not match reality!

How was he of the demonic path style?

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

He rarely scolded low-tier cultivators and fully displayed the demeanor of a high-level expert who cherished 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 daze.

"Additionally, your Cheng family's contribution points are almost enough; you can notify your eldest brother to come under the Fairy Yaoyue stone tablet to receive the *Green Yang Pill Canon* initiation."

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

The woman was struck as if by a heavy blow, frozen in place.

After a long while, she bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Master!"

After saying this, she hurried off the island and flew toward Black Swan Island.

On Fairy Yaoyue Island, Luo Chen looked at the departing streak of light and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

In three or four years, for the sake of the *Green Yang Pill Canon*, the Cheng family could be said to have suffered heavy losses.

That quota, which seemed to be evenly distributed at 500,000 per family, was fully shared by the few major families intending to form a Golden 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 even thoroughly stopped the cultivation of the younger generation of the family.

Over these years, the Cheng family's output had all gone into the collection and purchase of medicinal herbs.

That monster-hunting ship also frequently set sail, traveling far to the deep sea area to catch large second-tier sea monsters.

Even so, the contribution points were actually still a bit short.

Luo Chen was just looking at the fact that Cheng Cheng Haixin had truly worked wholeheartedly these past few years and helped him a lot, which was why he opened a back door.

"However, my *Green Yang Pill Canon* is not easy to cultivate!"

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

The *Green Yang Pill Canon* was derived from the *Dust Origin Technique*.

Even if it was simplified by more than half, the cultivation difficulty was still very high; he didn't have high hopes that this batch of cultivators on the Flying Swallow Archipelago would be able to rely on it to successfully form a Golden Core.

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

"I wonder if, with my ability, I can cultivate a cultivator with dual spiritual root aptitude to the Golden Core stage within a hundred years?"

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

Still the same saying, anyway, it wasn't his resources being spent!

He turned and entered the cultivation room.

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

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

With the support of the major families on the Flying Swallow Archipelago, he had established a large second-tier Spirit Gathering Formation around Fairy Yaoyue Island to collect more heaven and earth spiritual energy.

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

But the spiritual energy concentration was already infinitely approaching third-tier mid-grade.

And this was one of the reasons why his cultivation path was advancing day by day, getting closer and closer to the fourth layer of Golden Core.

Sitting cross-legged in meditation, Luo Chen opened his mouth and exhaled; 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 Primordial Cauldron, which was becoming increasingly closely connected to his mind, Luo Chen revealed a look of satisfaction.

If evaluated from the Foundation Establishment period, his level of refining this cauldron had already reached ten percent!

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

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

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

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

That kind of amplification was onefold, twofold, or even several times over!

Clearly, the Primordial Cauldron could not yet achieve such amplification.

The problem lay in the fact that when it was refined, it absorbed more than a dozen unprocessed raw materials.

There were too many impurities!

"Continue refining!"

Luo Chen sighed, magic power surged out, and spiritual sense circled around.

Not only that, he opened his mouth and exhaled, and wisps of cyan flames 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, using it 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; this method 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 something he did daily; only after his magic power was almost exhausted would he stop, then cultivate his natal cultivation method to replenish his magic power while advancing his cultivation.

With this cycle of output and input, his rapidly advancing cultivation realm would also become increasingly solid.

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

Time flowed slowly.

Just as Luo Chen's magic power was insufficient and he was about to withdraw the Withering Nirvana True Fire, his mind suddenly stirred.

The next moment, the cyan flames suddenly blazed, heavily wrapping around the Primordial Cauldron.

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 peeping in secret at Luo?"

From inside the cauldron came a faint, bitter laugh.

"Little friend, with this kind of formation, how would I dare to show my head rashly."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 531 =====