Chapter 574: Post-Battle Inventory, Astonishing Gains

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Inside the cabin room.

Before the Daoist lay a motley collection of items, each radiating an extraordinary spiritual glow.

If an ordinary Core Formation cultivator were here, their eyes would likely be dazzled.

These magic treasures, which had survived the battle at Cold Light Island, were undoubtedly of refined quality.

Even the standard-issue flying swords of the Gongsun Qian family were of higher quality than the Profound Fire Sword Luo Chen had used in his early years.

Luo Chen sat on a chair and began to count them one by one.

From the grade of the magic treasure to its attributes and materials, he did not miss a single detail.

"The Gold-Fire dual-attribute Flowing Fire Hammer—rather than calling it a life-bound magic treasure, it is more like a tool, a tool used for refining ores and forging magic artifacts. Its attributes happen to complement mine, and it might come in handy later when I refine the Demon Emperor's remains."

Looking at the two ancient seal characters for "Flowing Fire" engraved on the hammer handle, Luo Chen showed a look of satisfaction.

"Keep it!"

"The Snow-Blowing Fan, a low-grade Wind-attribute magic treasure, can aid the spread of fire. It seems it might also be of some help to me?"

Luo Chen remembered that both the burly man who owned the Flowing Fire Hammer and the old woman who owned the Snow-Blowing Fan came from Hundred Forging Mountain.

That was a renowned forging power on Cold Light Island, even more prominent than the Refining Peak Pavilion.

If compared to the Jade Cauldron Domain, it was not inferior to the Flame Alliance!

The life-bound magic treasures of their disciples were all more or less related to forging.

Most cultivators in this realm were like this; when they mastered a certain skill, their life-bound magic treasures would also lean toward that category.

The most intuitive example was Luo Chen himself.

His alchemy skills were outstanding, so his life-bound magic treasure, while possessing unparalleled versatility, was essentially also an alchemy vessel.

Conversely, those cultivators who did not specialize in any craft and focused solely on cultivation would have magic treasures that were bizarre and unfathomable.

Just like the copper coin Luo Chen was currently toying with in his hand.

"An interesting magic treasure. I don't know how it was forged; there is no trace of filth or baleful energy, yet it has the effect of eroding and blocking the connection between an enemy and their life-bound magic treasure."

Under normal circumstances, treasures that could corrupt others' magic treasures tended to be somewhat sinister.

Like Luo Chen's Blazing Fire Miasma, it had a similar effect, but it was composed of a large amount of filthy and turbid Wither-Prosper baleful energy, which was how it could erode the mental connection of others.

Yet, under his scrutiny, this Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin was upright and peaceful, without the slightest hint of evil.

It was truly a righteous magic treasure!

Just as he was puzzled, Han Zhan spoke with some hesitation.

"It should be that Weak Water was added."

"Weak Water?" Luo Chen was puzzled, but his vast store of knowledge allowed him to vaguely search for relevant information in his mind at the first moment. "Could it be the Weak Water from that legendary Weak Water River that connects Yin and Yang and flows through life and death?"

"I am not sure either, but it feels somewhat similar."

Han Zhan said hesitantly: "It is rumored that when the world was first opened and chaos evolved, some innate or acquired treasures would be derived in the Great Thousand Worlds. Powerful ones carry the Dao rhymes of laws and become Dao artifacts themselves. Weaker ones also carry corresponding characteristics; if added during the forging of a magic treasure, the effect will be infinite."

Luo Chen grinned. "Isn't that too mystical? It's already dragging in myths and legends like the creation of the world."

"Is it mystical? Not necessarily. It's not like you haven't come into contact with such treasures."

This time, Luo Chen was truly stunned.

He had come into contact with them?

Under Han Zhan's guidance, Luo Chen suddenly remembered some special treasures he had indeed encountered.

For example, the Profound-Penetrating Heavenly Crystal!

It was a "Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure" among treasures, with infinite utility; any Core Formation cultivator wanting to forge a life-bound magic treasure could not avoid this item.

It is rumored that the Profound-Penetrating Heavenly Crystal is the debris from when the world was first opened and the world barrier was formed.

Or like Trace Mud—no, that's not Trace Mud.

It is the legendary Breathing Soil!

Trace Mud is only a third-grade mineral material; the reason it is famous is that it contains a trace of the aura of Breathing Soil.

And that Breathing Soil is rumored to be the first piece of soil in the world when chaos first opened, known for being able to grow automatically, endlessly.

Just one piece could block a surging flood!

And this Weak Water is undoubtedly a legendary treasure on par with Breathing Soil, also ranked among the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

When Luo Chen forged the Primordial Cauldron back then, the blueprint mentioned that besides those third-grade mineral materials, the refiner who designed this diagram had fantasized about better superior substitute materials.

All five elements had them!

For Water and Earth, the better superior substitutes were the legendary Weak Water and Breathing Soil!

It's just a pity that Luo Chen had never heard of these two treasures appearing in the world; even those relatively common third-grade main materials had taken him great effort to collect.

At this moment, Luo Chen couldn't help but ask: "In the Mountain and Sea Realm, do these treasures really exist?"

Han Zhan gave a bitter smile. "I haven't seen them. However, it is rumored that they existed before ancient times, but as the sun and moon changed, they became fewer and fewer, and almost no one has ever seen them. I think if they really exist, perhaps they would only be in the Soul Transformation holy lands, not something we can covet."

Hearing this, Luo Chen couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.

He had been thinking that if they really existed, he wouldn't mind spending time collecting them to add more foundation to his own life-bound magic treasure.

Soul Transformation holy land?

That was simply not something he dared to covet!

Shaking his head, Luo Chen dismissed these delusions and put the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin into his pocket.

It was a good treasure; he would spend some time refining it later, and it might have miraculous effects at critical moments!

Afterward, he focused all his attention on the copper basin with two Yin-Yang fish swimming in it.

This was the existence that made him blurt out "Good treasure!" even during a life-and-death battle!

In fact, to obtain this item, he did not hesitate to expend great magic power, using the Primordial Cauldron to suppress Gongsun Qian Ting and refine him alive, fearing that the other party would desperately self-destruct and ruin this treasure.

He beckoned with his hand.

The two Yin-Yang fish flew out with a rustle, turning into two flying knives, one black and one white.

The grade was mid-grade, and the attribute was the rare Yin-Yang.

The Yin-Yang attribute runs through heaven and earth, present in both men and women, which means Luo Chen could also control these two flying knives.

But that was not the point.

A mere mid-grade magic treasure was not something Luo Chen cared much about in front of the Primordial Cauldron.

What he cared about was the copper basin that carried these two flying knives!

"This basin..."

Muttering, Luo Chen poured his consciousness into it and checked it carefully.

Time passed bit by bit.

The Mount Langya had already bypassed the Leaving Fire Island battlefield and, after contacting the Deep Water Palace, borrowed the path to detour.

During this period, people naturally went ashore to negotiate.

And Luo Chen's work of exploring the treasure finally yielded results three days later.

In the quiet room, there was an inaudible sound of gasping.

Han Zhan woke up at the sound and couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"

Luo Chen's eyes shone with brilliance, and ripples of shock continued to emerge.

"Sure enough, I didn't guess wrong!"

"This treasure is just as I thought before; like my Primordial Cauldron, it possesses all five elements!"

Han Zhan was stunned. Possessing all five elements?

Treasures of this kind are either extremely mediocre or extraordinarily miraculous.

This could be seen from Luo Chen's Primordial Cauldron.

Clearly, this copper basin was not that kind of mediocre object.

"What is its function? Is it for attack or defense?"

Han Zhan asked hurriedly.

He remembered very clearly that this copper basin had decent defensive capabilities; during the battle on Cold Light Island, it had resisted the attacks he controlled with the Sealing Sea Eight Trigrams Array several times, preventing Gongsun Qian Ting from being affected by those ghosts.

At that time, seeing Luo Chen wanting this item so much, he thought Luo Chen had taken a fancy to the defensive power of this treasure.

But now it seems...

Luo Chen swallowed his saliva. "Attack and defense are not important. The most powerful aspect of this treasure lies in one word—Nurture!"

"Nurture?"

Luo Chen nodded, touching the edge of the copper basin, his emotions inevitably surging.

The so-called nurture is to nourish!

Many magic treasures, and even magic artifacts, have slightly similar effects.

Especially excellent alchemy vessels, which often mention that they "can improve the grade of the pill," but in reality, that effect is to restrain the volatilization of medicinal power, concentrating it to achieve the so-called grade improvement effect.

This kind of effect is relatively average.

Among the many vessels Luo Chen had seen, only his Primordial Cauldron had the most prominent effect, which once allowed him to accidentally obtain a top-grade True Flame Pill with master-level proficiency while refining True Flame Pills.

The rest were nothing more than that.

But this copper basin is different!

It can truly achieve the feat of slowly improving the grade of an item through day-to-day nourishment!

If the item being nourished has a sufficiently strong foundation, the improvement effect will be even better!

Luo Chen's gaze fell back onto the black and white twin knives.

"No wonder Gongsun Qian Ting, a Water-attribute cultivator, chose a life-bound magic treasure with Yin-Yang attributes. Although universal, it was too mediocre."

"Looking at it now, mediocrity also means an endless upper limit."

"If he really used this basin to nurture both knives to the top-grade level, with his cultivation as a Great Cultivator, he would be enough to run rampant in the Core Formation stage!"

Han Zhan, who was on the side, couldn't help but sigh in admiration after hearing this explanation.

He didn't know who had the ingenuity to forge this treasure.

Casting aside the attack and defense power that cultivators care about most, it focused entirely on the ability to nourish.

"That Gongsun Qian Ting truly wasted heaven's gifts. This kind of treasure is not meant for fighting; it is clearly meant to be the foundation inheritance of a force. If this item were present, it would surely produce a steady stream of high-quality magic treasures, and a force's weapon of conquest would not be cut off."

After sighing, Han Zhan asked: "Luo Chen, how do you plan to use this item?"

The man smiled freely. "Does this need to be asked?"

With a spit, a gray three-legged round cauldron flew out and landed in the copper basin.

Seeing this scene, the thought "Sure enough" popped into Han Zhan's mind.

If it comes to foundation, what magic treasure can compare to this Primordial Cauldron, which consumed countless precious materials!

This treasure was personally forged by the master refiner Tian Tian Yezi.

Assisted by the two Nascent Soul True Persons, Han Zhan and Qing Shuang, it incorporated divine soul restrictions and spatial restrictions.

On the day it was first formed, it was already top-grade based on its materials!

After years of tempering by Luo Chen, its power had already manifested.

In the battle of Cold Light Island, it showed great power.

Nine-Dragon Chains snatched the copper coin, smashed the Hundred Forging Mountain Core Formation cultivator, and refined the Gongsun Qian family patriarch of the late Core Formation stage alive.

But even so, it was only the tip of the iceberg of the Primordial Cauldron's power.

If refined and nourished according to normal time, Luo Chen would need at least several hundred years of perseverance to realize its full potential.

But with the help of this treasure basin, its true radiance might not be far off.

"Give this treasure basin a name; I see there is no treasure name marked on it."

Luo Chen pondered slightly and said slowly: "Let's call it the Dragon-Nurturing Basin!"

"Nurturing a dragon in a basin?" Han Zhan thought for a moment and couldn't help but nod. "That's a good implication."

Luo Chen smiled, bit his finger, and a drop of essence blood floated out. Then, his spiritual sense derived and turned into a dark restriction, landing on the copper basin.

Using blood as a guide, he engraved the illusory characters "Dragon-Nurturing" on the bottom of the copper basin.

After a simple blood-recognition, Luo Chen swallowed it along with the Primordial Cauldron into his Qi Sea.

Clearly!

Using the Dragon-Nurturing Basin to nurture treasures is not without cost.

The cultivator's magic power is the most important nutrient.

However, compared to normal magic treasure nourishment, using the Dragon-Nurturing Basin would save at least one-fifth of the magic power consumption.

Don't underestimate this one-fifth; over time, it can save Luo Chen a massive amount of magic power.

This can also be considered a disguised increase in his cultivation speed!

Watching this scene, Han Zhan said helplessly: "You are clearly in poor condition, yet you expend essence blood again."

Luo Chen drooped his eyes. "With such a treasure, if I don't properly recognize it as master, I will feel uneasy."

Speaking of this, he pushed his hand, and nine storage implements flew in front of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Looking at the seven storage bags, one wine cup, and one storage belt floating in front of him, Han Zhan was stunned.

"What is the meaning of this!"

"I intend to make a one-time effort to refine the energy in the Hidden Dust Sand and restore my peak state. These trivial matters of erasing cultivators' imprints are too energy-consuming." Luo Chen drooped his eyelids and said in a listless tone. "Senior, you wouldn't want little Luo to remain weak and unable to remove the baleful energy on the Soul-Nurturing Wood for you early, would you!"

Inside the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Han Zhan's Nascent Soul figure opened his mouth, speechless for a moment.

Don't say, although Han Zhan's state was less than one-tenth of his original, with only a remnant soul existing.

But he was a Nascent Soul True Person after all!

With his means, it took only about ten days to unlock the residual imprints of the original owners on the nine storage implements for Luo Chen.

This saved Luo Chen too much time.

In his hundred-year cultivation career, he had fought countless battles, big and small, and harvested countless storage bags; the most troublesome thing was unlocking the imprints.

This time, there were nine storage implements obtained, all from Core Formation cultivators.

Just thinking about it, one knew that unlocking the imprints would be very troublesome.

But the result was the most straightforward.

Luo Chen took time every day to count them.

Every day, a smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

After spending a full half-month counting them, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Nothing else, he had truly made a killing!

These nine storage implements came from cultivators of the Gongsun Qian and Wu families, the Refining Peak Pavilion, and Hundred Forging Mountain.

Although they were not like rogue cultivators who habitually carried all their wealth with them at all times, the inheritance inside was quite rich.

Especially since they were here to attend the auction at Jade Cold City, they had specifically prepared a batch of funds.

Even if most of the spirit stones had been exchanged for resources of corresponding value, just in terms of spirit stones alone, combined with his original savings, Luo Chen's wealth had once again broken through ten million!

A massive sum of eighteen million spirit stones!

Fighting to the death in the Profound Rock Sea for several years was not as good as one day of battle on Cold Light Island.

Tsk tsk, it really is true that a horse doesn't get fat without night grass, and a person doesn't get rich without windfall!

And this was just the harvest in terms of spirit stones.

In other aspects, it was truly dense and countless.

Various grades of talismans added up to over a hundred.

There were thousands of miscellaneous medicinal herbs, and their age and quality were excellent; Luo Chen even obtained a Divine Iris Tail from Gongsun Qian Ting's storage bag!

That was one of the three main materials for refining the Core-Forming Pill!

It was also a precious resource recognized in the cultivation world as helpful for forming a Nascent Soul.

Although there was only one, it meant that Luo Chen had taken a solid step in collecting the three main materials for the Core-Forming Pill.

Besides these, there were many, many pills.

Most were third-grade, and there were also second-grade ones.

Second-grade pills that could remain in the hands of Core Formation cultivators must have their own merits.

The most common was the Foundation Establishment Pill.

There were several others, which, with Luo Chen's knowledge, he had identified the corresponding effects after distinguishing them one by one.

And those third-grade pills were mostly used for cultivation.

The grade was not high, mostly low-grade, but the rich North Sea alchemy style also made Luo Chen collect them for future reference.

With pills, there were naturally pill formulas!

It was also Gongsun Qian Ting!

This clan leader truly had many treasures in his storage belt.

He directly contributed a third-grade cultivation pill formula and a fourth-grade Anti-Poison Pill formula to Luo Chen.

The other dead ghosts also made contributions.

In a short time, Luo Chen had collected several pill formulas.

However, they were just pill formulas; there were very few relevant alchemy classics.

At their level and age, if they were sure they couldn't go far in alchemy, they wouldn't keep too many relevant resources on them.

Especially since Gongsun Qian Ting and others had forces behind them, those resources would naturally be distributed.

However, Luo Chen harvested quite a few forging classics.

One book, "Hundred Forging Heavenly Craft," came from the giant of Hundred Forging Mountain, and one book, "Refining Peak Travel," came from the second of the Wu brothers of the Refining Peak Pavilion.

This was good news.

Luo Chen would inevitably start refining the Demon Emperor's remains once he was settled.

He didn't worry about the basics, but he was involved in too little high-end forging theory.

Having these two forging classics was truly like meeting a pillow when sleepy.

A good pillow, and not just this one!

From the nine people, Luo Chen harvested a large amount of low-to-mid-grade mineral materials, a huge quantity, directly collecting all the other auxiliary materials needed for refining the Demon Emperor's remains.

Besides this, there were many other treasures, such as magic artifacts and magic treasures prepared by cultivators, one-time attack weapons, and even the common Sea-Stabilizing Plate!

It can be said that if these miscellaneous items were processed, Luo Chen could at least get back another ten million spirit stones.

"And they can only be processed."

"If I were still in the Eastern Wasteland, and still had the Luo Tian Sect, these spoils would be enough to push the Luo Tian Sect up to the level of a true Core Formation Great Sect."

Luo Chen held a third-grade cultivation technique in one hand and a third-grade pill effective for Core Formation in the other, showing a look of regret.

It was truly a pity!

He had estimated that if this batch of windfall was used well, there would be a chance to cultivate one or two Core Formation cultivators.

Even the matching cultivation techniques and life-bound magic treasures could be supplied.

But now, he had no force to drive, and no need to give resources to those close to him.

The final way to handle it was to exchange them for corresponding resources or spirit stones to supply his own cultivation.

He sighed.

Luo Chen walked to the window, pushed open the wooden window, and watched the rolling waves as the giant ship moved forward, his eyes showing a look of reminiscence.

I don't know when, but Tian Yu Xuan was already standing behind him.

"Master, it will take about half a year to reach Whale Port."

"So fast?"

"Yes, the Mount Langya merchant fleet has a clear goal. Among the nine merchant ships, eight went to other places halfway. The main ship we are on basically hasn't stopped halfway and is heading straight for Whale Port."

Luo Chen nodded, indicating he knew about this.

A full year, day and night without rest.

With this speed, it was normal.

When he arrived at Whale Port, according to his plan, he would not stay in Whale Port as Wang An said.

Instead, he would look for an opportunity to go to the Wan Sima Xian Society further north.

After Fu Fu Chaosheng said that the Heavenly Origin Dao Sect would not accept rogue cultivators like him, he could not stay under such a behemoth.

If someone discovered his background and learned that he had worked for the demon race and refined pills, the trouble would definitely be not small.

It was better to stay away early.

And the Wan Sima Xian Society, such a large force that accepts rogue cultivators, was undoubtedly the best place to go.

"How is your injury?"

"After taking the pill bestowed by Master, I am recovering quickly." Tian Yu Xuan looked at Luo Chen's back, her eyes showing gratitude.

Luo Chen felt a little relieved.

He had harvested quite a few pills from those nine storage bags.

One of the healing pills corresponded to an injury similar to Tian Yu Xuan's previous one, so he simply bestowed it.

Even if it couldn't be fully cured, it would allow Tian Yu Xuan to act normally next.

"After settling down, I will refine the corresponding pills for you to help you get rid of your chronic illness."

"Thank you, Master!"

"How is the cultivation of the 'Huan Yu Secret Canon'?"

"Under Master's guidance, I have successfully entered the door. However, the spiritual energy on the ship is scarce, and the cultivation progress is not great."

"It's good that you've entered the door. As for the problem of scarce spiritual energy, after settling down..."

As he spoke, Luo Chen couldn't help but laugh.

However, the laughter was a bit bitter.

He craved stability, yet he had been running around all his life, which was truly ironic.

"Forget it, you go out first!"

"For the next half year, I will be in seclusion for a while. Don't let anyone disturb me."

Luo Chen waved his hand listlessly, and Tian Yu Xuan left the room obediently.

After Tian Yu Xuan left, Luo Chen sat quietly for a long time.

Until the heart lake was calm and no ripples arose, he opened his mouth slightly.

A flawless white pearl floated out of his mouth.

In the quiet room, an old voice came out.

"Do you want to weave the Core-Forming magic power circulation diagram now?"

"Let's try it first. If the diagram fails, there is a remedy. But if it succeeds, I can nurture the second Core Formation one day earlier."

"My Soul-Nurturing Wood..."

"Don't worry, Senior, I won't renege on the debt."

The sound of the conversation gradually faded, leaving only the Daoist's long and continuous breathing.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 575 =====