Chapter 751: Ancient Heroic Pass, The Scheme of the Mingyuan Sect

"They're here, they're here!"

"The Alchemist Sect is here! I saw his carriage!"

"How much further?"

"No more than ten miles, they'll be here in an instant!"

"We need to move forward a bit. If we can show our faces before the Alchemist Sect, we might have a familiar connection for when we need to beg for pills in the future."

"Haha, what a 'familiar connection.' Who would actually look at such things?"

"Fellow Daoist, you don't quite understand. I spent a fortune to learn about the Alchemist Sect's life story. This person has the demeanor of a gentleman and is not at all stingy about helping the younger generation. It was rumored that he coveted a small family's medicinal herb business and swallowed it up. But that was just hearsay; in reality, that family still exists under his protection, and even the current Sect Master of the Luo Tian Sect is a cultivator from that very family."

"Letting an outsider be the Sect Master?"

"And that's not all. I heard that when he reached Core Formation, he left his insights in a poem and recited it for free to all the cultivators in the city. Even now, there are still Core Formation rogue cultivators in the Yuding Domain who cherish the Alchemist Sect's kindness."

"Core Formation insights, gifted for free? Is he really that generous?"

"Indeed. Otherwise, how could he have built such vast connections in such a short time, with so many Nascent Soul powerhouses backing him? This time, the Alchemist Sect has come to Lingtian in person to execute the three-year patrol mission. If the old master is in a good mood and lets a little bit of elixir slip through his fingers, it would be an endless benefit for us."

"So that's how it is! Let's go together!"

Outside Lingtian Pass, amidst the bustling discussions, many cultivators crowded toward the only path leading into the city.

Those with requests in their hearts surged forward.

Those who were indifferent did not fall behind either.

There were also those purely there to watch the excitement, wanting to see what the Alchemist Sect, who had been blown out of proportion for the past two years, actually looked like.

After all, although Luo Chen had made astonishing moves on the battle stage, his time in the spotlight was too short, and not everyone knew what he looked like.

Under normal circumstances, seeing the true face of a Nascent Soul True Person was harder than ascending to heaven.

But today was different!

As a heroic city in wartime, Lingtian Pass had a forbidden-air formation set up inside by a group of Nascent Soul forces, based on the formation passed down by the Mingyuan Sect.

Anyone wanting to enter the city had to disembark from their flying ships and walk in.

As long as the Alchemist Sect Luo Chen did not deliberately hide his face, this was a perfect opportunity to personally behold the true face of a True Person.

The crowd was packed, and two beautiful figures were swept up within it.

One had a cold expression, the other was gentle and refined.

But looking closely, both women had a hint of unease in their eyes.

"Master, will he see us?"

"He should."

"If Senior Brother Luo is willing to see us, that would be for the best. With his current strength, perhaps he can help us."

"Xiao Lan, he is no longer that Foundation Establishment cultivator. If we meet again, we must address him as True Person..."

When saying the words "True Person," the older female cultivator's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

The young woman called Xiao Lan nodded hurriedly.

She was just used to the old way of addressing him, but she was by no means a fledgling who didn't understand etiquette; naturally, she knew how to correctly treat a powerhouse.

Suddenly!

Xiao Lan's eyes lit up, and she pointed into the distance.

"He's here!"

The older female cultivator took a deep breath, released her magic power, and squeezed forward.

Xiao Lan followed closely behind.

In the sky, a cloud chariot flew over rapidly. When it reached close by, its speed dropped sharply, and it descended toward the ground.

One after another, cultivator figures flew down from above, lining up on both sides of the crowd.

Swish!

A sturdy man, holding a long halberd and with wings on his back, circled the sky once, his majestic blood energy turning into a wave of air that slowly pushed toward the surroundings.

"Everyone, my sect's Supreme Elder is entering the city. I hope you will clear the way."

After speaking, he landed at the front of the line like an arrowhead.

It was Sha Longzi!

At a single glance, people recognized this rising star who had quite a reputation.

His strength in the third realm of Body Refining was completely comparable to those in the early stage of Core Formation.

But the focus of everyone's attention at this moment was clearly not him.

Everyone looked into the cloud chariot.

A figure wearing a white robe with gold patterns walked out from inside.

His face was handsome, his nose bridge high and straight.

A pair of thin lips seemed to smile yet not, with a hint of mockery hidden within.

And the most eye-catching thing was his eyes beneath the high crown, which were like a pool of cold, deep abyss.

When his gaze swept over, few dared to meet his eyes.

Even if some were neither humble nor arrogant and forced a gaze, they would feel dazed and confused.

Is this the Alchemist Sect's Luo Chen?

So young, yet his temperament is so unique; even in the vast crowd, he appears so outstanding and sharp!

Although the crowd had been pushed aside by Sha Longzi, seeing Luo Chen's true face, people still couldn't help but want to squeeze forward.

But just as they were about to move, a voice sounded from behind, accompanied by a pressure like heaven that suppressed the entire scene.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, you've finally arrived. You've kept me waiting!"

As the words fell, the figure appeared before Luo Chen like a ghost.

Luo Chen was startled for a moment, then revealed a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Ling Fengzi, to be welcomed like this, you really flatter me."

The dashing and handsome middle-aged man laughed loudly and stretched out his hand.

"Please!"

Luo Chen nodded and entered the city side-by-side with him.

Behind them, Yang Ping put away the Six-Imperial Flying Cloud Chariot and, together with Facing Chu Kui, led the Luo Tian Sect cultivators into the city.

As for the onlookers, in front of the two great True Persons, they were silent, with no more noise.

When the two figures had completely entered Lingtian Pass, a commotion broke out outside the city.

"Is that the Alchemist Sect senior? I thought he would be a white-haired old man. I didn't expect him to be so young!"

"You don't know this, but the Alchemist Sect reached the realm of True Person at only two hundred years old. He is truly a top-tier genius in the world."

"Two hundred years old? Good heavens, at that age, I was still trying to break through to the Core Formation stage!"

"With such cultivation speed and peerless alchemy skills, even the disciples of the Holy Lands would fall short!"

"No wonder the Supreme Elder of the Piaomiao Sect was so solemn, personally coming out of the city to welcome him. If it were me, I would definitely value the Alchemist Sect senior highly."

"First there was Sovereign Jiuling standing for a long time at Mount Daqing to pay a visit, and now there is Ling Fengzi personally coming ten miles out of the city to welcome him. In the current Eastern Wasteland, no one has a greater reputation than the Alchemist Sect senior!"

Among the crowd of cultivators, the two female cultivators woke up as if from a dream.

Under the suppression of Ling Fengzi's Nascent Soul domain, no one dared to speak, fearing to disturb the True Person.

But now that the person they wanted to see had entered the city, what should they do about their request?

Even a Nascent Soul powerhouse like Ling Fengzi had to come personally to welcome him to gain an advantage.

One could imagine that Luo Chen's cave dwelling in Lingtian Pass would definitely be bustling, and nobodies like them would have no way to see Luo Chen at all.

The older female cultivator, whose face was originally cold, now rarely showed a look of bewilderment.

Instead, the young woman, in her shock and doubt, whispered: "Master, I think I saw Sixth Brother."

"Sixth Brother?"

"Yes, he was just in the Luo Tian Sect's queue. It's hard to see True Person Luo, but if I go find Sixth Brother, perhaps I can take a back door."

As soon as these words were spoken, the older female cultivator's eyes lit up.

"As the current number one heroic city in the Eastern Wasteland, and perhaps the strongest pass in the Eastern Wasteland for thousands of years, the establishment of Lingtian Pass took great effort."

"It intercepted the borders of five domains, combined the financial resources of sixteen domains, and was built with the massive manpower of refugees from the twelve lost domains ahead. It covers an area of eight thousand miles!"

"The number of cultivators inside has already exceeded ten million, and there are as many as one hundred thousand Foundation Establishment ones!"

"According to the statistics from the City Lord's Mansion, the number of Core Formation cultivators on the surface is around three thousand. This is an extremely powerful force. Apart from the Soul Transformation Holy Lands, almost no other force could possess such a massive number of Core Formation cultivators at the same time."

Luo Chen listened to Ling Fengzi introducing the situation of Lingtian Pass. Those cold numbers gave him a concrete impression of this heroic city.

However, even though he had expected it, when he heard the number of three thousand Core Formation cultivators, he still couldn't help but shrink his pupils.

"How could there be so many?"

Ling Fengzi replied as a matter of course: "When disaster strikes, the ones most likely to survive are the powerful ones. Low-level cultivators die batch after batch, but Core Formation cultivators don't fall so easily."

"Moreover, when many people die, more resources become available. Under external pressure, Foundation Establishment powerhouses with sufficient resources will naturally risk their lives to fight."

"Fellow Daoist, you have also experienced Core Formation condensation; naturally, you understand that the most important point in breaking through to the Core Formation stage is that heart of determination to move forward without looking back!"

Luo Chen nodded.

In cultivator Qi Refining, the focus of each breakthrough is different.

Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment emphasizes pure spiritual power and building the Dao foundation.

Core Formation to Nascent Soul pursues a deep foundation, the unity of the three treasures, and also requires great means to deal with the heavenly tribulation thunder.

The breakthrough from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation is also different; the methods of Core Formation are strange and varied, with countless paths leading to this realm.

Only one point is essential!

That is the heart of determination to move forward without looking back, to succeed or die in the attempt!

If one fails, like his old friend Tantai Jin who fell in the death pass, or Facing Chu Kui who was severely injured and almost lost his Dao.

If one succeeds, one can shout loudly: "With one Core Formation swallowed into the belly, my fate is mine, not heaven's!"

Under extreme external pressure, if resources are sufficient, it will indeed give birth to a large number of Core Formation cultivators.

Like his Luo Tian Sect, the reason it could emerge with nine Core Formation cultivators in a hundred years is also because of this reason.

However!

Such Core Formation cultivators, although they have reached the realm, are actually not qualified in many aspects.

For example, their magic power is not polished enough, their cultivation techniques were not switched in time, or they were forced to break through and left with hidden injuries.

Even their natal magic treasures, they probably didn't have the leeway to choose carefully.

Three thousand Core Formation?

The truly elite ones might not even be half of that.

"In terms of Nascent Soul cultivators, Lingtian Pass has five Nascent Soul cultivators stationed year-round, changing every three years."

"Can you change them?"

Ling Fengzi smiled slightly: "Naturally, we can. The five domains of Lingtian currently have twenty Nascent Soul fellow Daoists. Once the war becomes tight, the five Nascent Soul cultivators can instantly increase to ten, twenty! Even the sixteen domains in the rear will send Nascent Soul powerhouses to quickly reinforce us, ensuring that Lingtian Pass is not lost."

So many?

Luo Chen was slightly surprised.

But after calculating carefully, there was no major discrepancy.

Just at his Core Formation ceremony two years ago, twelve Nascent Soul cultivators came.

If you count those guarding the sect, sitting in Lingtian Pass, and those in closed-door cultivation, twenty is a matter of course.

Such a number made Luo Chen compare it with those hegemon-level forces in the North Sea period.

The Canghai Alliance is probably just about the same!

If you add the Mo Luo Flow, the Wan Xian Society, and the Penglai Immortal Sect, it would be equivalent to the number of Nascent Soul powerhouses in the sixteen domains behind the Eastern Wasteland today.

The destroyed Yuanmo Sect and the existing Mingyuan Sect roughly cancel each other out.

Looking at it this way, the Eastern Wasteland and the North Sea are actually about the same in terms of the number of high-level cultivators.

Oh!

I missed one point. The North Sea islands are scattered, and there are many forces like the Bingji Sect that did not get involved in the war between the three hegemons for the North Sea hegemony.

Therefore, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators in the North Sea in the past was actually more than in the Eastern Wasteland.

This is worthy of the North Sea's reputation for abundant resources.

Luo Chen compared the two continents this way.

But subconsciously, he did not include the Central Plains in the comparison.

Because there was really no comparability.

The Central Plains, the land of one sect!

Without consumption, even he didn't know how many Nascent Soul powerhouses the Central Plains had.

One hundred is definitely not enough!

Two hundred is just on the surface.

Three hundred, or even four hundred, is probably possible.

If the tiger of the Central Plains were to break out of its cage, the other four continents of the Shanhai Realm would probably only be barely equivalent to it!

"This is the benefit of dominating a continent; one can develop to one's heart's content."

"If the Mingyuan Sect solely controlled thirty-six domains, or even cleared the million great mountains of the wilderness, its foundation would probably be able to catch up..."

Thinking of this, Luo Chen's brow couldn't help but jump.

In the current situation, even Sovereign Jiuling could see that it was as precarious as a pile of eggs, but the Mingyuan Sect still hadn't sent out a large number of cultivators.

They only let the Lingtian City Lord sit on the front line alone.

Could they not see that the momentum of the Eastern Wasteland demon race was growing larger and larger?

With the destruction of the North Sea Yuanmo Sect before them, were they not afraid of repeating the same mistake?

Gathering so many cultivators in one place to form the so-called "Death-Seeking Army," in the end, is it these small and large forces that will survive, or the Mingyuan Sect?

"They wouldn't be thinking of letting us and the demon race consume each other, and then standing out to clean up the mess, imitating the Tianyuan Dao Sect and bringing the vast Eastern Wasteland under one sect, would they?"

Thinking of this possibility, Luo Chen couldn't help but quietly clench his fists.

He looked unobtrusively at Ling Fengzi, who was talking eloquently beside him.

Do they know?

Or rather, have they thought about this possibility?

Or have they thought about it, but under the pressure of the Holy Land, they still have to do it, trying to survive in death and fight for a glimmer of hope for their own inheritance?

There was no answer, and Luo Chen didn't dare to ask.

Ling Fengzi, after a show of goodwill, finally stopped beating around the bush and stated his request.

He asked Luo Chen to personally refine a fourth-tier elixir for him!

This was expected; the other party had sought to see him twice when Luo Chen was in closed-door cultivation refining the Nine-Separation Elixir for Sovereign Jiuling.

Luo Chen naturally knew the other party's thoughts.

Especially today, when the other party took the initiative to welcome him out of the city, learning from Sovereign Jiuling to give him enough face and help him boost his reputation.

But for Luo Chen to refine elixirs, the price had to be discussed.

As for the specific price, Luo Chen had mentioned it back then, and with examples like Elder Fu and Sovereign Jiuling before him, as long as one had the heart to inquire, Luo Chen didn't even need to take the initiative to say it.

However, Ling Fengzi showed a look of shame.

Luo Chen instantly understood in his heart; so he was a poor ghost!

But he didn't show contempt on his face, still smiling happily.

"No rush, let me see the fellow Daoists in the city first, and then we can discuss it in private."

Ling Fengzi breathed a sigh of relief; the other party's words gave him a lot of face. It seemed this matter could be done, and he couldn't help but feel grateful.

Unknowingly, the two had arrived at the City Lord's Mansion.

This was Luo Chen's second time here.

But unlike the previous time, this time Luo Chen was more relaxed and at ease.

The few spiritual senses emanating from inside were no longer sharp, but extremely friendly.

As soon as he entered the hall, four figures instantly came into view.

The Lingtian City Lord at the head goes without saying.

The other three were Xiao Shiniang, the master of the Firework Ancient Isle whom he had met once, Qin Baiming, the Sect Master of the Baishou Sect, and Luo Chen's "good friend," True Person Xianhe.

This arrangement was very appropriate. Counting Ling Fengzi, among the four Nascent Soul cultivators executing the patrol mission, they were either those with good relations with him or those with requests for him. The other two were mere acquaintances and had no malice.

Luo Chen's thoughts turned, his left hand pinched the Zi-Wu seal, held upright before his chest, and he lowered his head slightly.

"Fellow Daoists, Luo is late!" ===== CHAPTER 752 =====