Chapter 678: Some dead, some mad, some missing—the Sea of Omen

Mount Mount Xiaqiu.

One of the Tier 4 spirit mountains within Ancestor Shenyuan City.

Even though it is only a small Tier 4 spirit vein, the skilled craftsmen of the Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance have carved out over a hundred cave dwellings, capable of accommodating many cultivators to practice simultaneously.

In comparison, while the Fulong Mountain Range of the Wan Sima Xian Society is vast, its utilization of spirit veins is far too crude.

In a spacious cave dwelling, Luo Chen walked out of the quiet room, his face showing great satisfaction.

The concentration of spiritual energy here is quite high, very suitable for his current cultivation realm.

He did not ask about the rent, knowing full well that the rent for a cave dwelling of this level must be astronomical, perhaps not even something that could be rented with spirit stones alone.

It requires connections!

He himself only obtained it because he reached a cooperative relationship with Fu Fu Chaosheng, who then allowed him to use it free of charge for a period.

After all, every bit of growth in Luo Chen's cultivation base provides more assurance for protecting his granddaughter later on.

Fu Fu Hongzhang waited quietly in the living room; seeing Luo Chen's satisfied smile, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"How does the True Person find it?"

Luo Chen smiled slightly and nodded.

"I have troubled you all, not only collecting resources for me but also arranging such a comfortable cultivation environment."

Fu Fu Hongzhang hurriedly waved his hand. "We will certainly do our utmost to carry out the tasks entrusted by the Family Head. If the True Person has any other needs, please feel free to state them; this junior will surely do his best to satisfy them."

Having said this, he added quite confidently: "Although this junior's abilities are limited, I have handled the merchant alliance's mundane affairs for many years and have dabbled in everything, big and small. The Family Head's letter stated that whatever the True Person requests, I must satisfy it within my capabilities."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow; Fu Fu Chaosheng has indeed gone all out!

Not only did he have people prepare a batch of resources he needed long before his arrival, but he also placed family cultivators at his disposal.

Thinking of this, he pondered for a while.

Suddenly, he asked: "I wonder, are you aware of the current movements of the three great rogue cultivators of the Wan Sima Xian Society?"

Fu Fu Hongzhang was taken aback. He had originally thought the other party would be curious about the high-level cultivators of Ancestor Shenyuan City or the situation in the Central Continent, and he had already prepared general responses.

He did not expect the other party to be more interested in the three great rogue cultivators of the North Sea.

But then, he thought to himself, it is only natural for someone who calls himself "Rogue Cultivator Huang" to be interested in predecessors who also bear the title of rogue cultivator and achieved fame earlier.

Fu Fu Hongzhang pondered for a moment and slowly recounted the intelligence he knew.

"The Mad Rogue, originally called Scholar Layman Feng Ling, had always been cultivating in seclusion at Layman Feng Ling Temple. But later, Layman Feng Ling Temple was occupied by the Yuan Demon Sect, and he became a homeless rogue cultivator. It was also around this time that the name 'Wind Rogue' gradually became known. Ever since he returned from a trip to the Sinking Sea, he went mad. Thus, the Wind Rogue became the Mad Rogue. Over these years, he has been wandering all over the North Sea, elusive as a dragon. The intelligence regarding him is too fragmented; if the True Person wishes to understand in detail, I can arrange for someone to send you a summary file later."

Luo Chen gave a hum, noncommittal.

He was not very interested in this late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator whose name he had heard but whose true face he had never seen.

His true goal was the other two great rogue cultivators!

"As for the Moon Rogue..." Fu Fu Hongzhang hesitated when mentioning that woman.

Luo Chen blinked. "What happened to her? I heard the Wan Sima Xian Society collapsed under the impact of the Monster Alliance; what is the current situation of the Moon Rogue?"

Fu Fu Hongzhang hesitated. "That predecessor's situation is somewhat difficult to judge."

"Oh?"

"Before the Monster Alliance attack, she came to Ancestor Shenyuan City once to borrow the cross-sea teleportation array. Later, she returned in a hurry and led the Wan Sima Xian Society to resist the Monster Alliance army. According to our intelligence, in that battle, the Moon Rogue revealed an astonishing late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation base, suppressing seven great Nascent Soul monster cultivators single-handedly. She even unleashed a treasure map, intending to rout the entire Monster Alliance. But at the critical moment, she withdrew and retreated, abandoning the Wan Sima Xian Society and fleeing alone, never to be seen again."

Luo Chen listened intently while thinking continuously.

The Moon Rogue borrowing the teleportation array must have been to pursue him at that time.

With the Star-Chasing Demon Beast and his own split-soul puppet both perishing at Soul-Severing Cliff, the Moon Rogue lost his trail and had to return empty-handed.

Her cultivation base goes without saying; it was already exposed during the time at Mingzhao Heaven.

She, who was the weakest among the three great rogue cultivators in the past, had instead leaped to become the peer of the Mad Rogue, and with a clearer mind and more stable strength.

With her strength, combined with the manpower and resources of the Wan Sima Xian Society, as long as there was no late-stage Nascent Soul Monster Emperor among the invading enemies, the Wan Sima Xian Society should have been able to preserve itself.

According to the intelligence, she indeed almost managed to turn the tide and save the crumbling structure.

But the problem lies in the word "almost."

"Why did she retreat?" Luo Chen asked in a deep voice.

Fu Fu Hongzhang shook his head. "Unclear. Some say a Soul Transformation ancient monster took action personally, others say she was backlashed by that treasure map, which might be a Spirit Treasure. A relatively credible guess is that the appearance of the Desolate Beast Ghost Immortal Tower intimidated her. But in any case, she has completely disappeared now; no one knows where she went."

Luo Chen kept thinking about these three possibilities, first ruling out the action of a Soul Transformation ancient monster.

It is well known that the Monster Alliance only dispatched one Soul Transformation ancient monster—the Sea Emperor Whale.

And this monster, as soon as it appeared, clashed with the human great power Li Li Canghai; where would it find the time to deal with a Nascent Soul cultivator?

And between the Spirit Treasure backlash and the Desolate Beast Ghost Immortal Tower, he was more inclined toward the latter.

For no other reason!

It is simply that in the current North Sea cultivation world, the notoriety of the Ghost Immortal Tower is monstrous!

Wherever it passes, almost no one is its match.

The righteous and demonic paths stopping their fighting to join forces is largely because they want to spare late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators to target this beast.

However, it is better that she is missing; at least before he leaves the North Sea, he does not need to be overly wary of this woman.

Yet, Fu Fu Hongzhang's next sentence made Luo Chen's relaxed heart and complexion change slightly.

"Speaking of which, these three great rogue cultivators of the North Sea, who were once at the height of their glory—some mad, some dead, some missing—and they all went to the Sinking Sea once. Indeed, it is reasonable that that sea area is called the Sea of Omen."

"Who died?"

Luo Chen blurted out, his eyes full of shock.

The mad one, the missing one—he could match them to the names.

Could the dead one be the Blood Rogue?

But...

"Blood Scatterer!" Fu Fu Hongzhang spread his hands. "The news only came recently. Blood Scatterer fought a battle against the Blood Nightmare Demon Luo, turning the ten-thousand-mile Cold Light Archipelago into a living hell. Every living soul was wiped out; it was truly inhumane. It is said that after that battle, a massive sea of blood, spanning ten thousand miles, lingered endlessly. From within it, frantic, unintelligible roars could be heard from time to time, and the blood sea even showed signs of spreading outward. Such a disturbance drew the attention of the great power Li from the Vast Sea Righteous Alliance. He personally intervened to resolve the disaster of the blood sea. The price was that the Cold Light Archipelago, which once possessed the foundation of a Tier 4 spirit vein, became a completely spirit-dead land."

Luo Chen found it hard to digest this news.

He said softly: "Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator is strong, how can they affect an area of ten thousand miles?"

The destructive power of a Nascent Soul cultivator is indeed terrifying; Luo Chen had experienced it himself.

But that was in a "mobile battle," constantly moving and venting the aftermath of the battle, thereby affecting the weather and terrain.

But according to Fu Fu Hongzhang, after the battle of the two bloods, a sea of blood evolved, and this sea of blood seemed to have vitality, invading outward.

Fu Fu Hongzhang thought for a moment and said: "According to the Family Head's guess, it is possible that the Blood Nightmare Demon Luo was entrusted with the power of the Blood Sea Ancestor of the Yuan Demon Sect, and that power went out of control during the battle, leading to the situation spiraling out of control. Otherwise, it cannot be explained why the great power Li would personally take action to clean up the mess."

Soul Transformation-level power can only be resolved by a Soul Transformation great power!

Luo Chen fell into silence.

Had the once-renowned Blood Rogue fallen just like that?

And the Blood Nightmare Demon Luo, who had a grudge against him and from whom he only collected a little interest—was he really dead too?

Did they have the power of the Blood Sea Ancestor on them? Then, when he retreated at that time, was the huge shadow he saw under the sea the manifestation of that power?

No one gave him an accurate answer to these questions.

The intelligence of the Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance was limited to the fact that the once-glorious Cold Light Island had now become a "land devoid of spiritual energy" in the true sense.

No spirit veins, no spiritual energy; even the spiritual energy drifting in the world would avoid that place.

Because of his silence, Fu Fu Hongzhang did not dare to say anything more.

The living room fell into an unspeakable silence.

It was not until Seeing Tianxuan arrived that this atmosphere was broken.

"Master, everything has been counted; basically, they are all the items you named in the list. The specific price, according to the marking of Fellow Daoist Fu, is thirty million low-grade spirit stones in total."

Thirty million?

Luo Chen looked up at Fu Fu Hongzhang.

The other party smiled. "This is just the first batch. Because the quantity of medicinal herbs you requested is too large, we could only gather this much in a short time. But rest assured, with our Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance's many years of operation in the North Sea, plus business channels covering the five continents, the subsequent herbs will be fully gathered very soon."

Luo Chen nodded. "I have troubled you."

Having a major power help with matters is just this easy!

The types of medicinal herbs needed to refine the Hongyuan Pill for cultivation and the Great Soul Pill for soul refining number over a hundred, and the required quantities are immensely vast.

Relying on Luo Chen alone, to collect them all, the time would at least have to be counted in centuries.

He had had enough of the days of delaying cultivation and running around everywhere just to collect medicinal herbs.

Luo Chen even thought about handing over some of the materials for refining the Condensation Pill and the new Nascent Infant Pill to the Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance to help collect later.

Otherwise, once his cooperation with Fu Fu Chaosheng ends, he won't have this channel.

The Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance is powerful, but it doesn't have such preferential treatment for ordinary Nascent Soul True Persons.

"By the way, Master, there is one more thing in here that is not on your list."

Luo Chen looked up and saw Seeing Tianxuan holding a bone board and two small jars, one black and one white.

"What is this?" Luo Chen looked at Fu Fu Hongzhang.

The other party's spirit lifted, and he introduced: "This is a set of Go, the board is made from the leg bones of a Tier 3 monster, and the chess jars are the same. As for the black and white pieces, they are made from the Tier 2 fluorescent shells native to the North Sea. Although they cannot compare to those famous chess sets of our Central Continent's Ancestor Tianyuan Dao Sect, they are still precious, especially with the local flavor of the North Sea. This is a personal gift from the Family Head, not included in the transaction, so the True Person does not need to pay spirit stones."

"In that case, then many thanks."

After Fu Fu Hongzhang left, Luo Chen took out a black and a white shell piece, as crystal clear as jade, from the chess jar and rubbed them carefully, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

It is rumored that the skill of Go is very popular in the Central Continent.

The disciples of the Ancestor Tianyuan Dao Sect can almost all play a hand or two of chess.

Fu Fu Chaosheng had someone send this item; could it be that he wants him to familiarize himself with the customs of the Central Continent in advance, to facilitate his future trip to the Central Continent?

His gaze fell on the vertical and horizontal lines on the board, and Luo Chen became somewhat interested.

Before he transmigrated, human technology had already developed so-called "artificial intelligence"; Luo Chen did not know which industries it had been specifically invested in.

But as a bystander, he also knew about the great battle between Go players and artificial intelligence.

Before that, Go was called the intellectual game of the highest human intelligence level; this sport is not just a game, but also a manifestation of wisdom and strategy.

But after several consecutive defeats of top Go players against artificial intelligence, the scientific community had already announced that this sport had been completely conquered by artificial intelligence.

The wisdom of cultivators cannot be compared with the humans before his transmigration.

Just the vastness of the spiritual soul foundation and the infinite calculation power between the flow of spiritual sense are enough to make mortals pale in comparison.

Under such circumstances, what kind of scene would a competition centered on the sport of Go among high-level cultivators be?

A battle between humanoid computers?

Luo Chen smiled and put the pieces back into the jar.

For these things, dabbling is enough; there is no need to spend too much effort.

He has no interest in becoming a Go Saint.

Instead, now that various medicinal herbs have been delivered to his door, he should refine the corresponding pills, not only to restore cultivation but also to experiment to what extent his cultivation speed in the Nascent Soul stage will increase with the assistance of pills.

In addition, the split soul separated after finally forming the Nascent Infant is currently only at the late-stage Golden Core level. He also needs to refine the Great Soul Pill to improve the strength of the split soul and raise it to the Nascent Soul level as soon as possible.

He did not put away the Go board and pieces, just leaving them on the table in the living room.

In his spare time, self-studying a bit without spending much effort can also be considered an extra pastime.

It was just that before entering the pill room, Luo Chen couldn't help but glance at the Go board on the table again.

He vaguely remembered that the poem at the entrance of Mingzhao Heaven also seemed to be about Go.

Does the Heaven-Refining Demon Lord also like to play Go?

Luo Chen is waiting.

Waiting for Fu Fu Chaosheng to return.

The other party is serving as the Great Elder of the North Sea Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance, and his two-hundred-year term is about to expire; plus, Fu Fu Chaosheng is old and has already prepared to resign and return to his hometown.

After he finishes handling all the big and small affairs in the North Sea, he will come to Ancestor Shenyuan City and go to the Central Continent with Luo Chen.

At the same time, Luo Chen is also waiting for the Black King.

When he stepped onto Giant Whale Port, the Black King quietly hid and swam toward the old site of the Wan Sima Xian Society.

Luo Chen instructed the Black King to see if he could find any traces of some old friends.

The Fulong Mountain Range has already been occupied by monsters, and it is troublesome for Luo Chen to go; it is more appropriate for the Black King to go.

During the waiting time, Luo Chen is not idle.

After forming the Nascent Infant, many things need to be replanned, and there are a thousand threads with no way to start.

But along the way, Luo Chen has gradually sorted out his plan and distinguished the priorities.

The life-bound cultivation technique is the top priority, but it is not the first thing to be solved, because the Great Perfection "Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" can still be used. Even if he wants to create a cultivation technique himself, it is not a matter of a day or two.

Body refining is the same.

Therefore, he placed the primary matter on the pill issue.

He has been studying the two pill formulas for the Hongyuan Pill and the Great Soul Pill for some time, and he considers himself to have mastered them.

Coupled with the experience of refining the Tier 5 divine pill, the Derivation Pill, in the Pill Realm, even if he has not yet been promoted to a Tier 5 pill refiner, Tier 4 pills are no longer a difficult matter for him.

Luo Chen processed the medicinal herbs while starting to try his hand.

In his spare time, he would guide Sang Sang Jinghe's cultivation.

The other party has not been in the Golden Core stage for long, yet he has accompanied him through thick and thin, personally coming forward to handle some trivial matters for him; Luo Chen naturally cannot treat him harshly.

Seeing Tianxuan's cultivation has long been on the right track, so Luo Chen does not need to worry.

Therefore, Seeing Tianxuan's main task recently is to hand over with Fu Fu Hongzhang and seek some resources Luo Chen needs through the other party.

For example, cultivation techniques and classics regarding puppet arts.

Puppetry is a minor path, troublesome, and consumes a lot, far less convenient than enslaving monsters or making connections to hire thugs, so it has never been mainstream in the cultivation world.

Searching for cultivation techniques and classics in this area is no less difficult than Tier 4 cultivation techniques.

Luo Chen handed these matters to Seeing Tianxuan and Fu Fu Hongzhang, while he himself did not step out of the door, practicing with peace of mind in the Mount Mount Xiaqiu cave dwelling.

In the vast Ancestor Shenyuan City, a new Nascent Soul True Person appeared, and for a time, it seemed that no one knew.

But it is not that no one really knows.

Fu Fu Hongzhang's frequent actions recently have attracted the attention of some interested people in the Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance.

In the white high tower.

Shen Shen Wandou, the Great Elder of the North Sea Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance, listened to the report of the cultivators below, his eyes narrowing slightly.

At the end, the cultivator concluded:

"Elder Fu's term should be nearing its end, so he is sending family cultivators to collect a large amount of North Sea resources, preparing to take them back to the Central Continent!"

Regarding this, Shen Shen Wandou shook his head.

"Although his Fu family has a long heritage, it has always been thin on people, and the family cultivators mostly walk within the sect as mundane affairs deacons, with little dabbling in the pill path. Those miscellaneous medicinal herbs are clearly not prepared for his own family."

The subordinate hesitated. "I heard that Elder Fu's granddaughter, Fu Fu Qinglan, formed her Nascent Infant at the age of three hundred; she is truly a genius among the younger generation. Perhaps these resources are prepared for her!"

Shen Shen Wandou sneered.

"The true geniuses of our sect, except when breaking through realms, have always disdained using pills to assist cultivation frequently. Fu Fu Chaosheng cannot be so unwise, seeking momentary pleasure and destroying his granddaughter's lifelong path."

"This..." The subordinate was confused.

Shen Shen Wandou put away his mockery and began to think carefully.

If Fu Fu Chaosheng wanted to take a batch of resources back for trading before leaving, to make a final extra profit, it wouldn't be impossible.

But the batch of resources he learned about here is extremely complex in variety, but the grade is not high, and except for a few types, they are not rare. Even considering the price difference between the North Sea and the Central Continent, he actually wouldn't earn much.

Clearly, this batch of resources is not for his own use.

But moving them to Mount Mount Xiaqiu on such a large scale...

"Go and check the recent entry and exit of personnel at Mount Mount Xiaqiu, and see if there are any strangers, especially at that Tier 4 cave dwelling."

"Is this the Great Soul Pill?"

Inside the pill room, Luo Chen pinched a dark pill, his eyes showing surprise.

Especially from the depths of his spiritual soul, his soul sent out an instinctive craving.

As if, it were hungry?

Taking two months, he finally used soul essence as the main material to refine the Tier 4 pill that can enhance Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heaven-Refining Demon Lord's pill inheritance—the Great Soul Pill!

When the pill was formed, there were actually strange phenomena!

At that time, inside the pill room, ghosts cried and wolves howled, and grievances were voiced, as if countless wronged souls were bursting out at that moment.

There is only one reason for this situation; it must be caused by the main material, soul essence!

But the method of making soul essence passed down by the Yuan Demon Sect clearly had already expelled the remnants of the dead souls, leaving behind pure spiritual soul energy.

The soul essence he extracted from Duan Li back then was like that, with only a few remnants contaminated by the Yuan Demon remnants themselves.

It is normal to have the remnants of Yuan Demon Sect disciples, after all, that soul essence had already been refined by someone.

It belonged to someone else.

But the batch of soul essence he obtained in his hands now is unrefined raw material, and it shouldn't have the remnants of living souls.

Now it seems that the Yuan Demon Sect still kept a hand!

The subordinates under them simply cannot completely remove the remnants of the dead souls.

Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that the Old Monster Minghuo fed his own source nether fire with such soul essence, causing it to be born with intelligence and not be backlashed.

He was lucky; the pill formula recorded that special pill techniques were needed to deal with the remnants in the soul essence, and he found that pill technique from the seventy-two volumes of pill books. After some study, he was able to refine the Great Soul Pill without any sequelae.

"Soul-Pulling Technique, is this kind of wonderful spell actually considered a pill technique?"

After Luo Chen sighed, he subconsciously licked his dry lips.

He couldn't wait to try this Great Soul Pill.

Better to do it today than tomorrow!

Luo Chen left the pill room, bathed and washed, and then took the Great Soul Pill into the cultivation room.

Not long after, outside Mount Mount Xiaqiu, Shen Shen Wandou came alone.

Looking at the misty Mount Mount Xiaqiu, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Fu Fu Qinglan formed her Nascent Infant not long ago; logically, she shouldn't have the greed to participate in the Five-Hundred-Year Grand Competition. But the Fu family has been declining for a long time, and the name of the aristocratic family is precarious; it is hard to guarantee that Fu Fu Chaosheng doesn't have that idea."

"If he can find a powerful external aid to protect Fu Qingqing in the Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven, maybe there is really a chance."

"Liu Yuan is someone I have taken a fancy to; although his aptitude is not excellent, his character is extremely tenacious. Since he has the heart to promote the Liu family to an aristocratic family, and my Shen family does not have a suitable person to enter the Mirage Dragon Cave Heaven in this generation, if I help him succeed, I will not only forge a good relationship but also ensure that the Shen family will not fall for a thousand years within the Dao Sect."

"This trip, I must probe the bottom of this Rogue Cultivator Huang for Liu Yuan!"

With his mind made up, he moved forward.

Wherever he passed, the cultivators of Mount Mount Xiaqiu respectfully called him "Great Elder."

He responded with a cold face until he reached that Tier 4 cave dwelling, only then revealing a smile, while releasing his faint Nascent Soul aura.

Seeing Tianxuan walked out in a hurry, feeling that faint sense of oppression, and couldn't help but tighten her expression.

"Seeing Tianxuan, greets the predecessor!"

Shen Shen Wandou looked at Seeing Tianxuan suspiciously; the aura on this woman was somewhat strange.

But he didn't think much, instead smiling: "I am Shen Shen Wandou, Great Elder of the North Sea Ancestor Tianyuan Merchant Alliance, here specifically to pay a visit to Rogue Cultivator Huang."

Seeing Tianxuan hesitated. "My master is currently practicing; I am afraid it is not convenient to see guests."

Shen Shen Wandou frowned.

"Is that so? I heard that Rogue Cultivator Huang is desperately looking for puppet arts, and I happen to have an ancient book in my hand, wanting to exchange ideas with him. Since that is the case, then never mind."

After speaking, he turned and left.

Just at this moment, a special power rippled over like a wave.

"Fellow Daoist, why not come inside for a chat."

Shen Shen Wandou showed surprise. "What a powerful spiritual sense!"

He took a deep breath and strode into the cave dwelling. ===== CHAPTER 679 =====