Chapter 641: City of Puppets, the simplest trial

"This old woman is Sea Corner Heavenly Matron, greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Before the words had even faded, the old woman struck abruptly, flicking her finger toward Luo Chen.

A beam of ghostly light arrived in an instant.

As decisive as she was, she had actually formed the intent to eliminate a competitor right away.

Yet at this moment, when that ghostly light approached within a radius of ten feet of Luo Chen, it dissipated for no reason.

It vanished just like that, silently and without any disturbance.

"This!"

The old woman exclaimed in shock, seemingly having never expected such a turn of events.

Luo Chen also let out a cry of surprise.

"Eh..."

Within the Alchemy Realm, that weak voice emerged once more.

"Within the Alchemy Realm, only the Dao of Alchemy shall endure. Do not rashly incite conflict or harbor killing intent. Any who violate this again shall be executed!"

The booming voice echoed between the mountains and white clouds; even though it was weak and low, it did not diminish the manifest killing intent within it.

Under this voice, Sea Corner Heavenly Matron's expression turned ugly.

Luo Chen, however, began to smile.

Just moments ago, when he saw the other party, he had been full of caution and had already prepared for battle.

Especially the strange attack the other party had unleashed—its speed and the immense power contained within it showed at a glance that it was not something a Jin Dan cultivator could unleash.

If they had truly fought, he would inevitably have been drawn into a bitter struggle.

Yet he had not expected this realm to have such restrictions.

It made sense, too; the Alchemy Realm was an inheritance of the Dao of Alchemy, and all competition should be based on alchemy assessments—how could one recklessly engage in slaughter?

He smiled slightly. "Sea Corner Heavenly Matron? Before we met, you left a bamboo slip to mislead others, and upon first meeting, you struck ruthlessly. Tsk tsk, is this the bearing of a generation of Demon Emperor?"

Sea Corner Heavenly Matron looked at Luo Chen without joy or sorrow, her thoughts unreadable.

The next moment.

A sonic boom rang out; Luo Chen's figure suddenly arrived beside her, wild winds churning, his words mocking.

"A beast is still a beast; even after taking human form, you haven't changed your nature of drinking blood and eating raw flesh, nor your wild, reckless style."

"You!"

Luo Chen shook his head, strode past her, and headed straight for the center of this realm.

Behind him, Sea Corner Heavenly Matron, carrying her medicine basket, had a face ashen with rage despite her expressionless demeanor.

She, Sea Corner Heavenly Matron, was one of the top existences among the North Sea demon race; even if her cultivation realm wasn't the absolute peak, any Fourth-Rank Demon Emperor had to respect her by three parts.

It could even be said that, privately, some human Nascent Soul True Persons maintained good relations with her.

All of this was because she was skilled in alchemy.

She was, without a doubt, a grandmaster-level figure of the Dao of Alchemy in the North Sea.

Who knew how many years it had been since someone had been so disrespectful to her, speaking such wild words.

If they were in the outside world, she wouldn't even need to act herself; with a single command, there would be plenty of people willing to deal with this junior for her.

It was just a pity that within this Alchemy Realm, there was a stronger power suppressing her...

A stronger power...

The old woman suddenly sneered.

"Human brat, so rude. Do you really think relying on the rules of this place can protect you for a lifetime?"

Luo Chen's footsteps paused.

He did not look back, his tone merely incomparably confident.

"I only used three years to catch up to your progress of several years. I imagine that even if there are other trials ahead, my speed of breaking them will be above yours. This inheritance, I, Luo, am determined to have!"

"As for after leaving this place, who will emerge victorious remains to be seen."

"Sea Corner Heavenly Matron, is it? You had better think about whether you can pass the assessment and leave this land of inheritance first!"

Having said this, he stopped lingering and left leisurely.

That powerful confidence seemed to still linger here.

The old woman's sneer had vanished; watching Luo Chen's back, she was filled with doubt and uncertainty, her expression changing constantly.

Not long after, in a dense forest of black soil, Luo Chen walked unhurriedly, his face filled with contemplation.

"Sea Corner Heavenly Matron, it is actually this demon!"

He knew this name from having accidentally seen it once in the Wan Xian Society's intelligence database.

This demon had a resounding reputation in the North Sea cultivation world!

She was a grandmaster-level alchemy figure; even though she only had the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage, she held a lofty status among the demon race.

Not only that.

She was also one of the few demon existences who had indirect dealings with major human forces.

It is said that she even personally participated in a human alchemy grand gathering once; even after her identity was discovered later, she still departed with composure.

Her influence was so great that it had transcended the divide between human and demon.

If Luo Chen had encountered such an existence under normal circumstances, he would certainly have had to handle it with caution.

Even if he didn't deliberately curry favor, he wouldn't offend her excessively; how could he have been so extremely mocking as he was just now?

And the reason he did this was actually very simple.

With the inheritance before them, you and I are both enemies.

Since there are restrictions from the rules of this realm that prevent the use of force, then he would use the sharpness of his tongue to disturb her Dao heart.

As for the effect?

"It should have had an effect, right?"

Luo Chen muttered, not very certain in his heart.

Having reached the level of a shapeshifting Demon Emperor, she was no longer one of those shallow-minded birds or beasts without much intelligence; she was almost no different from a human Nascent Soul True Person.

It could be said that even if her schemes weren't as deep as the sea, she wouldn't be someone easily provoked by a few words.

But in Luo Chen's view, no matter how good one's temper or how deep one's schemes, being attacked on the skill one was most proficient in would never leave one unperturbed.

Just like the people Luo Chen had encountered in the past, whether it was Huang Hezi of the Green Alchemy Valley or Meng Changshou of the Medicine King Sect, if you said their cultivation realm wasn't high, they would only smile and not care at all, but if you said their alchemy was no good, they would truly get anxious.

Or like the recently familiar Cave Master of Cloud-Touching Cave; other times were fine, but as soon as it involved things like artifact refining or treasure casting, she would have completely different emotional expressions.

That Sea Corner Heavenly Matron was of a very great age, yet her cultivation realm wasn't particularly profound, which showed she had put most of her energy into the Dao of Alchemy.

With Luo Chen attacking her on this, it was impossible for her not to be affected.

Especially since a part of what he said was the truth!

He, Luo Chen, had indeed only used two years to catch up to her pace and arrive at the third trial!

If things continued this way, surpassing Sea Corner Heavenly Matron was only a matter of time.

Luo Chen did not believe that the other party could remain as steady as Mount Tai in the face of such straightforward truth.

"Disturbing her heart is naturally best; even if it's only for a moment, it can win me some time."

Luo Chen muttered, his gaze falling upon this black forest filled with demonic Qi.

He had never heard of or seen the fruits borne by the spiritual trees here.

And that sinister, evil demonic Qi undoubtedly corroborated his previous conjecture.

The assessment of this third trial was highly likely related to the Demon race.

This time, it was likely to be even more difficult than the first two trials.

In a world of cold steel and towering giant trees.

The sound of mechanical gears "clack, clack, clack" echoed everywhere.

If one looked down from high above, there were even more numerous dead spirits moving like shadows within that steel city.

This place was the City of Puppets!

Suddenly.

A giant bird soared into the sky from within the great city, stirring up countless winds and clouds.

Upon reaching a great height, it spread its wings flat, its figure gradually slowing down.

Its intelligent eyes were filled with joy.

"Haha, this inheritance is actually puppet arts; it is truly incomparably suited to this old man!"

In just two years, Han Zhan had broken through nine trials in succession and conquered the third City of Puppets.

At this moment, the puppet controlled by his Nascent Soul had actually reached the early Nascent Soul stage!

This was already the strongest puppet he could refine while his physical body still existed.

"I wonder how things are going with Luo Chen?"

The strange giant bird with a mechanical feel circled constantly above the great City of Puppets; below, wooden birds of the same design but different sizes flew up, starting to circle around him as the center.

Han Zhan muttered a few words about Luo Chen, then steered the giant bird, controlling the flock of birds to fly toward the distance.

Several days later.

A more towering steel city came into view.

Han Zhan steered the giant bird, his gaze overlooking the great city.

Unlike the previous capital filled with countless puppets, this time, there were no such shadows in the steel city; only a towering figure lay prone in the very center of the city.

Its whole body was silver-white, its fur like blades.

On its forehead, a large "King" character struck straight at the heart.

Upon seeing this object, Han Zhan couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

"Could it be that this time, I am to refine a White Tiger puppet capable of defeating this one, which is comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage?"

"How could this possibly be done?"

Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, clubs, maces, whips, hammers, claws...

This was a world of weapons.

Or rather, this place was more like a graveyard for all kinds of weapons.

When a clear breeze blew past, there was the sound of slaughter, ringing out sharply.

If there were high-level cultivators here, their minds would certainly be stirred incomparably.

Just because those weapons stuck in the earth and scattered everywhere were all high-quality goods rarely seen in the outside world.

From low-level magic tools to high-level magic treasures, and even true artifacts, they could be seen everywhere.

How could this not be dazzling?

Beneath a towering iron mountain.

An elegant middle-aged man was currently wearing a sweat shirt, swinging the hammer in front of him with great effort.

In front of him, an iron sword was taking shape.

"I am using the ancient method to refine this sword; perhaps I can complete the assessment and climb another mountain!"

While tempering the sword body, the middle-aged man's thoughts were slightly turbulent.

"I wonder how Shaoshang and Xiaolian are doing?"

"The words of the great expert Li were incomplete and untrue; he only said there was a Plastic Spirit Holy Spring within the land of inheritance, but didn't say there were over a dozen different inheritances."

"The two paths Shaoshang and Xiaolian chose separately, are there dangers..."

Just as he was full of worries, his heart suddenly stirred.

He stopped the movements in his hands and looked far into the direction he had come from.

Someone was climbing the Weapon Mountain!

"It's that brat Mo Yun!"

Relying on the methods he had left behind earlier, the middle-aged man instantly knew who the pursuer behind him was.

Thinking of the other party, the man's expression turned gloomy.

"This person has 'Cloud' in his name, which clashes with me, Gu Feiyun, and now we are competing for the same inheritance, making us even more at odds."

"Judging by the Weapon Mountain he is climbing, I'm afraid he has refined the specified low-grade magic treasure required by the test question; I cannot delay any longer."

"It's just..."

He looked toward the iron mountain behind him, seemingly passing through the mountain ranges to look far toward the taller Weapon Mountains further back.

"This is only the third trial and it already involves high-grade magic treasures; if I want to obtain the true inheritance, does it mean I have to refine true artifacts, or even spirit treasures?"

Thinking of the rugged road ahead, Gu Feiyun's heart became increasingly restless.

"Demons have three thousand two hundred tribes, and those who refine their bodies are seven or eight; what these people seek is the Ancient Demon Body."

"The Ancient Demon stands tall between heaven and earth, feet treading on mountains and rivers... the foundation of all things starts from the humble..."

Inside the study, Luo Chen closed his eyes and skillfully began to study the test questions.

Just from the first reading, he discovered with pleasant surprise that this trial might be the simplest one for him among the three.

The elixir to be refined was actually an elixir to assist in body refining!

And the grade wasn't high, just relatively cumbersome.

It extended separately from three directions: skin and flesh, bones, and blood.

Although it was still the same as the previous two trials, with no specific elixir formula, Luo Chen had been tempering his body for over a hundred years as if it were one day, and he was incomparably proficient in this Dao.

Now, his Fourth-Rank Desolate Ancient physique was enough to allow him to stand on high ground and inversely deduce low-level body-refining elixirs.

The only thing that needed to be considered was that these elixirs had to be adapted to the bodies of the Demon race.

Luo Chen didn't understand the Demon race, and he had never seen what a Demon body was like.

But he believed that the answers were definitely hidden on those bamboo slips in this study!

Next, he only needed to read all the bamboo slips here, then collect the medicinal herbs, deduce the elixir formula, and refine the elixir.

"This time, I've finally encountered a simple one!"

Luo Chen muttered.

But immediately, he put away his smile.

He remembered very clearly that when he first arrived here, Sea Corner Heavenly Matron was already collecting medicinal herbs.

This meant that the other party was highly likely to have already walked ahead of him.

"It really won't do to delay."

Without hesitation, Luo Chen stepped into the bookshelves and became immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

Not long after.

An old woman in flowery green clothes returned to the study, and looking at the young man holding a bamboo slip, thirstily absorbing alchemy knowledge, a look of resentment appeared on her face.

"Arrogant junior, do you really think the test questions set by ancient cultivators are that simple, to be passed at will?"

"Although I don't know how you luckily passed the first two trials, this third trial will definitely make you unable to advance or retreat, and leave you clueless."

With complex thoughts in her heart, Sea Corner Heavenly Matron snorted coldly and turned to go out.

She had already collected the medicinal herbs for the new elixir formula she had deduced; this time, she would definitely succeed!

By then, she would definitely be able to pass this trial one step ahead of the other party!

She was determined to have the inheritance, and after getting out, she would catch this guy called Demon Lord Qingyang and make him wish for death, to compensate for his previous offense against her!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 642 =====