Chapter 599: Tianxuan, I need you to assist me in my cultivation!

Blood Rogue!

Luo Chen was no stranger to this name.

It should be said that every cultivator in the North Sea was very familiar with this name.

There were many legends about him: born a heaven-gifted genius, he once fell into the dust, only to rise powerfully in the end.

He held a grudge against the Profound Demon Sect, had been a bandit cultivator, possessed a radical and overbearing personality, acted with cruelty, and even once had the insane feat of refining a Nascent Soul faction alive.

Among the many legends, it was difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.

But at the very least, there was one point that could serve as evidence of his overbearing conduct.

That was the dilapidated state of Long Yuan Xiancheng!

After the Profound Demon Sect was destroyed, Blood Rogue was the first to sound the prelude to hunting down the remnants of the Profound Demon, once personally launching a fierce attack on Long Yuan Xiancheng, which was a super immortal city at the time.

One must know that Long Yuan Xiancheng back then was the number one immortal city right at the front gate of the Profound Demon Sect.

Its arrays were perfect, and its defenses were complete.

It even had a Nascent Soul True Person from the Profound Demon Sect personally sitting in command!

Under such circumstances, Blood Rogue still disregarded everything and launched a fierce attack on Long Yuan, beating the originally prosperous and powerful Long Yuan—which surpassed Shenyuan City—into pieces, almost turning it into a ruin.

Even though over a hundred years had passed, under the continuous reconstruction by the cultivators of the Wan Xian Society, the current Long Yuan still gave people a feeling of being tattered and broken.

Although such a city did indeed fit the style of a place where bandit cultivators entrenched themselves.

Over these years, of the three great rogues of the Wan Xian Society, only Moon Rogue occasionally appeared to manage the overall situation, while the other two great rogues were like dragons, seeing the head but not the tail.

Mad Rogue was easier to talk about; rumors outside said he had already gone mad, acting without any rhyme or reason, and it made no difference to the Wan Xian Society whether he was there or not.

It was said that his last appearance was on the battlefield where the Demon Luo current attacked the heavy islands in the hinterland of the Canghai Alliance.

But for Blood Rogue to still be this mysterious, it was somewhat unjustifiable.

Yet, unexpectedly, he suddenly returned.

It truly caught Luo Chen somewhat by surprise.

"He has returned; are there any movements?"

Tianxuan nodded without hesitation, "There really are. As soon as Blood Rogue returned, he issued a major mission through the Demon Hunting Division."

"A major mission?"

"Yes, it contains many small missions. Generally speaking, it is to collect relevant resources for him."

"Specifically which ones? Tell me."

"Ranking first is the fifth-tier spiritual plant, Withered Blood Vine, preferably over a thousand years old! Next are the inner core of the fourth-tier demon beast Soul-Locking Ghost Crow, Gold-Weaving Cloud Silkworm Silk, Ten Thousand Mile Ever-Bright Smoke..."

Perhaps guessing that Luo Chen would be interested in this matter, Tianxuan had memorized the mission content firmly in advance, with almost no omissions.

From the fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine to the second-tier Man-Sha Flower, she recited them one by one.

Luo Chen listened carefully to the end, his brain beginning to speculate on what these things could do when combined.

In fact, he didn't ponder for long before his experience gave him his first intuition.

"Is this for weapon forging?"

Tianxuan looked at Luo Chen in surprise, then said, "Just as Master expected, many people outside also feel that Blood Rogue is going to refine some secret treasure of great power. Not long ago, Cave Master Moyun personally went to the Demon Hunting Division to offer a large batch of materials and received Blood Rogue's praise."

Luo Chen frowned, "Just praise?"

Tianxuan shook her head, "That's not it. The mission issued this time allows for the accumulation of merit to raise a Demon Hunter's star rating. Cave Master Moyun used this treasure offering to advance from a five-star Demon Hunter to a six-star one without any effort."

Five-star to six-star?

Luo Chen curled his lips, unimpressed.

For someone as wealthy as Cave Master Moyun, a mere one or two star ratings meant nothing at all.

Unless it was seven stars or above, it would only then have some significance to them.

However, Cave Master Moyun's enthusiasm likely also included the purpose of currying favor with Blood Rogue.

While Luo Chen was pondering, Tianxuan suddenly told him one thing.

"For this mission, apart from the Demon Hunter merit value, Blood Rogue additionally brought out a piece of Core Formation insight. As long as someone brings him the Withered Blood Vine, they can receive the reward."

At this, Luo Chen was shocked.

"Core Formation insight! Wouldn't those hundreds of Golden Core rogue cultivators of the Wan Xian Society go crazy for this?"

"Just as Master sees, the Golden Core cultivators within the Wan Xian Society have indeed already started to go crazy."

The Golden Core rogue cultivators of the Wan Xian Society numbered in the hundreds.

If one deducted those pseudo-core cultivators who could no longer advance, there were still several dozen.

And among them, those powerful ones with hopes of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, if counted carefully, also numbered in the double digits.

For the first instance, one had to mention those three eight-star Demon Hunters!

"Fishing Old Man and the others?"

"Fishing Old Man has already set out; as for the other two, there have been no movements seen so far."

Luo Chen was somewhat stunned, but immediately reacted.

Of the three eight-star Demon Hunters, Purple Queen was born in the Great Zhou Dynasty of the past; it was likely she did not lack Core Formation insights.

And that Ghost Spirit Child, although looking young, was actually the oldest of the three, with only a few years left to live before his deadline.

Over these years, Ghost Spirit Child had spent a great price to rent the Hundred Ghost Cave, spreading his branches and leaves, wanting to continue his bloodline and Daoist inheritance.

Therefore, in this seemingly crazy wave, it was actually Fishing Old Man who was the most active of the three.

It was just that the fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine was probably not so easy to find.

Even if found, it would be difficult to collect.

Spiritual plants like this, as years accumulated, also had the chance to awaken spiritual intelligence and become those so-called "monsters."

Perhaps a fifth-tier spiritual plant cannot compare to a corresponding Soul Transformation expert, but it will more or less possess certain Nascent Soul-level means.

The Angler is only at the ninth level of Core Formation; how is he to retrieve a fifth-tier Withered Blood Vine for Blood Scatterer?

"Master, are you going to accept this mission? Your star rating is very low right now; you might be able to soar up several Demon Hunter star levels at once," Tian Xuan asked.

Luo Chen shook his head; he had no such intention for the time being.

Not to mention the threat or lack thereof, the matter regarding the Purple Monkey Flower alone was enough for him to set everything else aside and deal with it with all his might.

Next, after asking if Blood Scatterer had any other movements and learning that the other party was keeping a low profile, Luo Chen shifted his focus to Black King.

"It's been almost a year now, hasn't it? Hasn't Black King sent back any news yet?"

Tian Xuan was also very helpless; she hadn't received any news on her end either.

She even wore an unpleasant expression on her face, "Master, do you think Black King might have already..."

"That hasn't happened; the mental connection between him and me is still there," Luo Chen waved his hand, dispelling her worry.

After pondering for a long while, he suppressed the urgency in his heart, "Perhaps he just encountered some troublesome matters on the return journey."

He could only comfort himself this way.

Although the distance recorded on that miscellaneous book map was somewhat far.

With Black King's unimpeded escape speed in the vast ocean, a year should have been enough for a round trip.

Having not returned after so long, it could only be explained by something having delayed him.

Next, Luo Chen asked Tian Xuan about the situation inside Penghu.

This time, he did receive some good news.

The Zhang family, as vassals, had managed the eight-hundred-mile Penghu quite prosperously over these years; things like Black Gold Dragon Carp, Coral Fruit, and some aquatic shellfish had already begun to mature and be sold.

Because of the relationships with Wuzhong Valley and the Zhou family, the sales problem he was most worried about had also been resolved.

Last year, Tian Xuan went over, did a settlement with them, and collected 700,000 spirit stones into the account.

Additionally, from the Qingyang Treasure Pavilion, Luo Chen also received a share of 200,000 spirit stones.

It didn't seem like much, but this was merely the profit for one year.

What Luo Chen had contributed was merely his reputation and this piece of territory, the eight-hundred-mile Penghu; he had no other investment in any other aspect.

"900,000 a year—it's not a lot, but it's not a little either, yet it can greatly relieve the pressure of the rent I pay in Penghu."

Luo Chen smiled slightly, his mood quite relaxed.

It must be said that having a piece of territory in hand is equivalent to having a natural source of wealth.

Like the Luo Tian Society back then, which only had the tiny Danxia Peak; after working themselves to the bone for a year, the profit was only 300,000 to 400,000 spirit stones.

The contrast between the two was truly too great.

Furthermore, it is imaginable that with the Zhang family's continuous diligent cultivation, the profit Penghu can produce will become more and more.

Because the Zhang family itself is constantly thriving, and there is technical support from the Coral Sea Zhou family—a Nascent Soul power—if they still couldn't rise up, then they would truly be the hopeless A-Dou.

And on Luo Chen's side, with the successful refining of the Xuan Chen Armor, the subsequent investment in weapon forging would also become smaller and smaller.

At most, he would complete the forging task of one or two magic tools or magic treasures each year to give Wuzhong Valley and the others an account.

Overall, that is—increasing revenue and reducing expenditure!

Luo Chen's long-shriveled spirit stone bag, if nothing unexpected happens, will slowly start to bulge.

"When it rains, it pours; good things always come in pairs!"

"Next, I just need to wait for news from Black King."

Luo Chen pursed his lips and smiled; taking advantage of his good mood, he asked about Tian Xuan's cultivation situation.

The latter was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly stated the many problems encountered in cultivation one by one, seeking Luo Chen's guidance.

During the days waiting for Black King's return, Luo Chen was not doing nothing.

Previously, in order to consolidate the formation on the Xuan Chen Armor, his cultivation had almost stagnated for a year.

Now that there were no more miscellaneous matters by his side, he immediately began frantic cultivation with an attitude of absolute focus.

Immortal cultivation stresses the "water-grinding" effort; Luo Chen couldn't rush it even if he wanted to.

But as for body refining, he, Luo Chen, had something to say!

The "Ten Thousand Daos Convergence" had been integrated with new things by him again, and that was the fusion of weapon-forging concepts.

Treating the body as a magic treasure to be forged.

Previously, because he had to forge weapons, he only used the internal refining method during body refining, but in reality, the complete "Ten Thousand Daos Convergence" also had external refining techniques.

On a small island sealed by a formation.

The sound of metal clashing rang out continuously.

Looking closely, one could see a black hammer flying up and down continuously, centered on the bare-bodied Luo Chen.

Every time it flew, it would smash onto Luo Chen with a boom.

Every time it smashed, a surging vibration sound would come from Luo Chen's body.

From time to time, green flames would also leap out from the surface of his body.

Using the Flowing Fire Hammer Technique to operate the Hundred-Refining Technique, he was determined to hammer Luo Chen's physique from top to bottom to the extreme, forming that so-called intent of a thousand hammerings and a hundred refiners.

If it were an ordinary person, under such smashing, their five viscera would have long since shifted and their six bowels would have been injured.

But Luo Chen gritted his teeth and forcibly endured it.

Even, because he was controlling the Flowing Fire Hammer to attack himself, he also had to overcome that instinctual thought of "stopping self-mutilation" that occurred every moment in his body.

Fortunately, his will was tenacious and he was not too affected.

"Strengthen it with Qi and blood, burn it with internal fire, and further hammer it with external force!"

"This is still far from enough!"

After the half-hour hammering session ended.

Tian Xuan manifested her true form, looking at Luo Chen with slight nervousness.

"Master, do you really have to do this?"

"I told you to do it, so do it; what are you worrying about?"

Tian Xuan no longer hesitated; her wings flapped, releasing the instinctual attack method she had been most proficient in using in her early years.

A cyclone containing countless wind blades was generated in an instant.

Subsequently, it slowly swallowed Luo Chen within it.

Low, deep roars came from within from time to time.

Tian Xuan's expression was incomparably nervous; she had already pushed this demon art to the extreme. If it were any other Core Formation cultivator, even a late-stage Great Cultivator, they would suffer heavy injuries if they were caught off guard without any defense.

But her master insisted on staying inside her cyclone, enduring the cutting of the wind blades and the pulling of the cyclone.

As long as the other party didn't call for a stop, she wouldn't dare to stop.

From this, it can be seen that the terror of her master's physique had long since far exceeded that of human cultivators; in her view, even some third-tier Demon Kings known for their strong physiques were not as good as her master.

Perhaps only the most orthodox Desolate Beasts of the same tier could compare to him slightly.

The time of one incense stick passed so slowly.

It wasn't until a weary "Stop" came from inside that Tian Xuan finally stopped this demon art with a sense of relief.

At this moment, both the man and the woman were pale.

The former was "beaten" into that state, while the latter was due to excessive consumption of magic power.

A jade bottle flew to Tian Xuan's front.

"Inside are one hundred Starry Sky Pills; they can replenish magic power and also help grow cultivation. Take them!"

Tian Xuan received them with immense joy.

She knew the power of human elixirs; having elixirs to assist in cultivation versus not having them—the cultivation speed is completely two different things.

This batch of Starry Sky Pills from her master should have been refined before he left the Flying Swallow Archipelago in his early years; he hadn't consumed or sold many of them later, so now they were cheap for her.

However...

Looking at Luo Chen, who was covered in scars and blood all over his body, Tian Xuan still couldn't help but ask: "Master, are you alright?"

Luo Chen grinned, "How could I be alright?"

Tian Xuan's heart tightened; could it be that her force was too great earlier?

"It's just a good thing, don't you worry."

After speaking, Luo Chen took out a jar of fourth-tier Black Emperor Ointment from his storage ring and applied it evenly on his body.

The intense pain of the past, after enduring it time and time again, had already turned into an itchy sensation.

Feeling the medicinal power seeping into his physique, Luo Chen's mouth curled up involuntarily.

"Sure enough, after extreme hammering, taking the Black Emperor Ointment instead makes the absorption of medicinal power faster!"

"This ointment is used by the Luoyun Sect to solidify their puppets. Puppets are just dead objects, their absorption efficiency is too slow and low; how can it be as fast as me actively absorbing it?"

Noticing this change, Luo Chen became increasingly confident in pushing his body refining progress to the fourth-tier Desolate Ancient level.

"However, this kind of self-mutilation mode of tempering shouldn't be done too much; I still have to handle the frequency in between."

Luo Chen put on the Xuan Chen Armor and walked toward the outside of the island.

He instructed Tian Xuan behind him: "From now on, once every ten days, you arrange the time. Also, how is the Nine-Wind Banana Fan I purchased for you back then being nurtured?"

Tian Xuan was stunned: "Could it be that the power of my Wind Cyclone Heavenly Blade Art is not enough?"

"It's enough for now, but it's hard to say later. By then, perhaps I will need you to use the Nine-Wind Banana Fan to assist my cultivation."

Tian Xuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva; her gaze toward Luo Chen became increasingly reverent.

Demon arts aren't enough, and it has actually reached the level of needing to use a magic treasure?

You must know that the Nine-Wind Banana Fan is a high-grade magic treasure; she has nurtured it for twenty years, and even now she can only master sixty percent of its power.

If she accidentally hurts her master by then, what should she do!

"No, I must spend more magic power to nurture the treasure fan recently and master it more skillfully."

The days waiting for Black King's return.

Luo Chen's life became regular again.

Qi refining, body refining, studying elixir books and classics, and occasionally refining a furnace of elixirs himself.

As for the disturbances in the outside world, he ignored them all.

He was just like a leisurely loose cultivator who was like a crane in the clouds.

Occasionally, he would also go to the Long Yuan Xiancheng to stroll through the major shops and hunt for treasures.

He also often went to the Demon Hunting Division, using the authority of a star-level Demon Hunter to actively inquire about the intelligence of the current North Sea cultivation world.

Even, it was not limited to the North Sea; the Eastern Wasteland was also one of his focus points.

Don't say, intermittently, he really did hear a bit of news about the Eastern Wasteland.

News that could spread from the Eastern Wasteland to the North Sea certainly wasn't a small matter; it was definitely a major event that could shock the Mountain and Sea Realm, just like the destruction of the Yuanmo Sect back then, which was spread to the Eastern Wasteland.

And what Luo Chen learned was that since the failure of the opening war of the Howling Moon Mountain Range back then, the demon beasts of the Million Great Mountains were shaken, and a violent beast tide rushed out from the depths of the great mountains, attacking the hinterland of the Eastern Wasteland human race.

This beast tide was extremely fierce!

More than half of the dozen or so cultivation domains bordering the Million Great Mountains had fallen.

It wasn't until the Eastern Wasteland Holy Land, the Mingyuan Sect, took action personally, calling on all cultivators in the thirty-six domains of the Eastern Wasteland to take action together, that the beast tide was forcibly repelled.

But this was only the first Eastern Wasteland beast tide.

Ten years ago, the second beast tide broke out again!

This time, the demon beasts rushing out from the Million Great Mountains of the Eastern Wasteland were no longer attacking in a covering manner like before, but were targeting five cultivation domains and attacking them forcibly.

Even if the Mingyuan Sect organized manpower again, they only repelled two places.

In the other three places, the demon beasts forcibly occupied them and started a tug-of-war with the human cultivators of the Eastern Wasteland.

The relevant intelligence ended here.

As for which cultivation domains were involved and what their specific names were, Luo Chen did not learn.

The Howling Moon Mountain Range and Yuding Domain that he most wanted to know about were completely unworthy of mention in this vast Mountain and Sea Realm, and there was even less ink to embellish them.

Even so, Luo Chen had a sense of urgency in his heart.

In the North Sea, he was merely an outsider.

The Eastern Wasteland was his "home."

There, he had his Dao companions, his friends, and also his disciples and subordinates.

When a person lives for a long time, they have attachments.

Luo Chen's short cultivation years were his advantage, but also his disadvantage.

This disadvantage was that time could not sever those attachments!

He himself was also unwilling to let go.

"Under such chaotic conditions, there should be no one in the Eastern Wasteland paying attention to the Cangwu Mountain matter back then; I might be safe and sound if I go back."

In the Star Dou Hall, after finishing his meditation, Luo Chen had a thought of luck.

But this thought came quickly and went quickly.

A mere Core Formation cultivator might be able to roam a region, but within a state where Nascent Soul experts emerge in large numbers, it doesn't count for much.

If someone really took it seriously, he, Luo Chen, would have to suffer the consequences.

Only by advancing to the Nascent Soul stage can one occupy a place in this realm.

As for higher Soul Transformation cultivators?

On this point, Luo Chen was not that worried; Soul Transformation cultivators generally would not take action personally.

The two times he knew of Soul Transformation cultivators taking action, one was the Mingyuan Sect powerhouse attacking Cangwu Mountain, and the other was the North Sea demon race attacking the Yuanmo Sect.

These were all disputes between Holy Lands and Holy Lands.

Luo Chen finished his cultivation and walked out of the Star Dou Hall.

Today, he had to refine a batch of True Flame Pills; his stock was almost exhausted and needed to be replenished.

Just at this time, Tian Xuan walked over hurriedly from the outside.

Seeing her look so hurried, Luo Chen was a bit surprised, and then his expression became solemn.

"Is there news from Black King?"

"No, it's a Core Formation cultivator who came from Moyun Mountain specifically to visit you; he claims to be your old friend."

"Old friend? Moyun Mountain... Moyun Cave Master?"

"Neither. He calls himself, Ding Yi."

Luo Chen raised his eyebrows.

In his mind, the image of a pot-bellied man with a thin face emerged.

Associating it with Moyun Mountain.

Instantly, Luo Chen remembered the words spoken by the Moyun Cave Master back then.

So, it was him?

"Please invite him in; I'd like to see what important matter he has, dragging it out for so long before coming to see me?"

(End of chapter)