At the midpoint between the lower foot and upper waist of Tianlan Peak, nestled within a quiet cave residence, Luo Chen sat cross-legged in stillness, his consciousness fully immersed within.
Within his vast sea of qi, a vortex of spirit power was spinning rapidly. Strands of spirit power surged outward in spirals, crashing into the edges of his sea of qi. Each impact shaved away more of the black residue clinging to its perimeter. This black substance was the residue left from excessive pill consumption, the pill toxins barriers.
Ever since his dantian transformed into a sea, these barriers had not vanished. Instead, they had merged into the sea itself. Until he purged these toxins completely, Luo Chen dared not take any pills to speed up his cultivation.
That was why he had recently devoted so much time to managing the Luo Tian Society’s affairs. Yet deep within, a sense of urgency constantly gnawed at him.
Two thousand years...! If I can't rely on pills, with my talent, it’ll take me two thousand years to reach Perfected Mastery of Foundation Establishment and produce a False Core. I must persist with the Clear Origin Mystical Pill Method.
"Mhm!"
A low grunt escaped his lips as his eyes snapped open. Sweat poured down his face. He lifted a trembling hand and wiped his fingertip across his arm.
A thin sheen of dark, oily sweat clung to the skin, a visible trace of pill toxins purged from his body. It signified another successful purge of trace amounts of pill toxins.
He stood up, made his way to the sitting room, and rinsed himself clean with fresh water. Only after changing into clean robes did he feel fully refreshed.
With a thought, he summoned his status panel.
His eyes immediately sought out his cultivation. Since leaving Dahe Market, his cultivation realm had remained stagnant until these nine days on Tianlan Peak brought the faintest sign of change.
Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage Two (2/100)
This wasn’t just the result of nine days, it carried the weight of his unrelenting efforts throughout the journey.
Still, the most credit went to these past nine days!
Even a low-grade second-tier spirit vein cave residence far surpassed cultivating in a place with no spirit vein at all.
But it was still too slow. At this pace, two thousand years wasn’t a joke, it was a grim estimate.
He sighed and glanced at the proficiency level of the Medicine King Codex of Yimu.
It had increased slightly, but remained stuck at the Perfection level. Even with his Long Spring Art at Perfected Mastery, it had only just managed to push the Medicine King Codex of Yimu to the Perfection level. With that, he had exhausted everything he had accumulated.
Techniques were a crucial factor in absorbing spirit energy. But this wasn’t urgent. If he practiced it daily, the Medicine King Codex of Yimu would reach Perfected Mastery eventually.
Recalling the changes brought on by Perfected Mastery of Long Spring Art, Luo Chen looked forward to seeing what breakthroughs his core cultivation method would bring at the Grandmaster level or even at Perfected Mastery.
Finally, his attention shifted to a particular line under the alchemy section.
Yes, alchemy techniques!
His method of toxin purification was neither a cultivation technique nor a spell. It was an alchemy technique!
Clear Origin Mystical Pill Method: Beginner (78/100)
Seeing that line, Luo Chen’s lips finally curved into a smile.
"Doesn’t seem that hard after all!"
According to the jade scroll, it usually took months just to reach the Beginner level, and three to five years of cultivation to reach minor mastery, the stage at which one could properly cleanse pill toxins. And to achieve major mastery? That required over a decade.
Yet he had reached Beginner in just a few days. Now, he was only a few months away from hitting minor mastery.
"Once I reach minor mastery, I’ll be able to suppress the formation of new pill toxins. At that point, I’ll be free to use pills to cultivate again. Now that’s good news!"
Though pleased, Luo Chen remained composed. Everything here was earned through his own efforts.
Day after day, beyond practicing the Medicine King Codex of Yimu, refining the Forsaken Chess Piece and the Mystic Flame Sword, nearly all his time had gone into practicing the Clear Origin Mystical Pill Method.
Otherwise, how could he have progressed this quickly?
Once he reached minor mastery, he could inhibit the buildup of new pill toxins. Upon full proficiency, he could eliminate the remnants of toxins left in his system. If he reached major mastery, the benefits would multiply. Especially the ability to extract essence from the toxins itself; that one made Luo Chen drool with anticipation.
It meant that from the same pill, he could absorb far more than others, achieving maximum efficiency!
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen reached into his storage pouch and withdrew a black chess piece and a small sword.
The piece was the Forsaken Chess Piece; the sword, the Mystic Flame Sword. Both were trump cards and ultimate weapons in his arsenal. They had to be thoroughly refined if they were to obey his will like an extension of his limbs.
Closing his eyes, Luo Chen let his spirit power flow slowly out of his body. Merged with his spirit consciousness, it began to envelop one of the enchanted treasures.
Only like this could he imprint enough of his spirit power onto it.
He also added a few of his own refinements.
Following Duan Qiankun’s method, he wove fine restrictions out of spirit consciousness, deepening the bond between himself and the treasures.
He didn’t know how others refined their treasures, nor did he care. This method felt right to him, and more importantly, it worked. When he refined the Heavy Recast Seal, this approach had yielded remarkable results.
Under normal circumstances, refining a supreme-grade enchanted artifact without resorting to blood sacrifice would take at least several months. Yet Luo Chen had completed the Heavy Recast Seal’s refinement during his journey to Tianlan Immortal City. It was clear that the fusion of spirit imprints and consciousness-based restrictions was extraordinarily effective.
Time passed quietly as he alternated between refining two different enchanted treasures. When he finally finished, the morning sun was already shining brightly beyond his cave.
He stored the two enchanted treasures and then deactivated his cave residence’s soundproofing, illusion, and defense formations.
Yes, every residence on Tianlan Peak was equipped with a triple formation system: soundproofing, illusion, and defense.
As the first formation lifted, the roaring crash of the waterfall outside poured into his ears. With a thought, Luo Chen sent out two sound transmission talismans, each to a nearby cave.
In his own cave, Nangong Jin opened his eyes, noticing a talisman fluttering aimlessly around the formation outside. Moments later, the talisman slipped inside like a drifting butterfly.
He activated a thread of spirit power. The talisman burned slowly in the air, and from it, Luo Chen’s voice resonated clearly.
"Fellow Daoist, it’s time to move."
At the same time, the exact same scene was unfolding in Li Yixian’s residence.