Chapter 984: Celestial Signs; Golden Sky Black Sea
Chapter 984: Celestial Signs; Golden Sky Black Sea
While Luo Chen secluded himself in arduous cultivation, the outside world fell into growing turmoil. Above the Sunken Sea, the once sporadic Void-Scorching Wind began appearing more frequently. Three years after Blood Hermit's battle with the Merman Emperor Liu Jun, the sky above slowly took on a faint golden sheen.
This phenomenon was called the Golden Sky Black Sea. Such a change naturally drew countless cultivators to its shores. Yet the corrosive black waters and the devastating Void-Scorching Wind blocked anything that ventured too far. Even those who managed to enter could go no further than the outer edges before being forced back. With the situation locked in this stalemate, those who understood the deeper implications began to act.
Back at Devil's Cloud Cave, Ding Yi paced back and forth restlessly, agitation written plainly across his face. "Saberstorm's gone missing. I've got no clear picture of what's happening over there anymore. What about your side?"
Devil's Cloud, seated opposite him, spoke in a low voice. "From what I've learned, the inward-flowing spirals of spirit energy have yet to appear. That means the pocket world has not truly opened."
Ding Yi shook his head, unconvinced. "Or they already have, and your sources simply failed to notice. If that's the case, someone may already be inside, taking the treasures ahead of us."
Devil's Cloud frowned. "Then what should we do?"
Ding Yi suddenly stopped. "I'll go to the Sunken Sea myself. If I find a suitable vortex, we'll enter ahead of time."
"But what about Azure Yang?"
At the mention of Luo Chen, Ding Yi grew even more restless. "He's been buying materials nonstop these past few years. He's clearly preparing to refine pills and push into the late stage before we move. He wants better odds."
"Refining pills?" Devil's Cloud's composure finally cracked.
"You didn't know?" Ding Yi glanced at him. "He's also a skilled alchemist. Second- and third-tier pills are nothing to him."
This time, Devil's Cloud fell silent in genuine surprise. To be proficient in both alchemy and artifact creation at such an age was no small matter.
"I'll make a trip to Surging Lake." Ding Yi exhaled a deep breath and turned to leave.
He was already gone before Devil's Cloud could respond.
When he reached the lake, he saw that the entire area was covered in dense mist, and killing intent permeated from within. This was clearly the result of multiple formations operating at once, leaving no way forward.
He paused for a moment, then sent out a transmission talisman and turned away. Since entry was impossible, he would head to the Sunken Sea first and assess the situation himself. As for Azure Yang, whether he wished to move or not did not matter. When the time came, Ding Yi would call him out directly, and if there was no reply, he and Devil's Cloud would break into Surging Lake and ask for an answer.
***
On one side of Apricot Blossom Peak, at Surging Lake, there was a wide plain that stretched for dozens of li. A massive figure darted across it, with sonic booms erupting like thunder. Meanwhile, a lone figure stood on the peak and watched in silence.
Suddenly, the giant figure came to a halt and looked up. "Senior, let’s do it!"
Han Zhan smiled faintly and pressed his hand downward. The ambiental spirit energy surged at once, gathering into a gigantic mass that bore down on the nine-zhang figure below. Luo Chen's expression did not change as a tyrannical force surged from within him. The Infinite Blaze Prison manifested once more, resisting the Nascent Soul Domain head-on. The Domain that had once easily overwhelmed him could no longer hold him down!
"More!" shouted Luo Chen.
Han Zhan acknowledged it and waved his hand, further reinforcing the Domain. The pressure deepened at once; had it been an ordinary Adept here, they would’ve been restrained to the point where even mobilizing mana would become impossible. Yet Luo Chen remained suspended in midair. Though he was slowly dropping down under the pressure, the descent was slow and controlled rather than forced. He remained calm and formed a hand seal; at the same time, his entire body shifted, and he almost seemed to take root in the air, standing there like an immovable mountain. It was the Mountain-Stabilizing Form, one of the Six Forms of Extreme Mountain! With the Infinite Blaze Prison bracing him from without and this technique anchoring him from within, he managed to withstand the pressure of the Domain for a moment.
Han Zhan looked a little surprised. "Not bad. You actually figured it out. Going head-on against the power of heaven and earth with your own strength, as an Adept... That’s genuinely impressive."
The power of heaven and earth? That’s a grand way to put it. After all, even a Sage only borrows a fraction of it, and you’re not going full strength anyway. But it’s fine. This is good enough for now. As long as I use power both from the inside and from the outside, even if I cannot fully overcome the domain, I can still retain some mobility.
With that thought, he lowered his stance, giving off the aura of a beast preparing to strike. In the next instant, he stomped down. Space warped under his feet as he burst a hundred zhang forward with Voidburst Step. Before the momentum faded, he launched himself higher and brought his right leg down in a crushing arc, the strike falling with the force and speed of lightning. It was the Lightning Kick!
BOOOMM!!
A blurry shadow flashed forward and appeared before Han Zhan, a terrifying force tearing through the air in its wake. But Han Zhan only smiled, drifted back slightly, and let the strike pass. The kick carried overwhelming power yet failed to touch him. Luo Chen regained his balance and frowned. "Still too far...?"
Instead of pursuing Han Zhan, Luo Chen shifted his gaze to Apricot Blossom Peak below. With a casual sweep of his palm, blood qi surged, and he struck downward. The peak exploded, collapsing into fragments as rocks rained down. It was pure physical force, nothing more, yet it tore the mountain apart with ease. It resembled the Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm he once used but was far more refined.
Of the Six Forms of Extreme Mountain, he only had four: the Mountain-Stabilizing, Mountain-Lifting, Mountain-Breaking, and Mountain-Smashing Forms. Luo Chen had mastered the Mountain-Breaking form the fastest, as it shared similarities with his earlier technique. He had also begun to grasp the remaining three techniques, though his proficiency was not yet on the same level.
Amid the falling debris, Han Zhan drifted over at an unhurried pace. His Nascent Soul form had grown far more solid than before. Though still rooted in the Soul-Nurturing Wood, it was clear that he had progressed significantly; his soul had more or less recovered, and he only lacked a body now. He glanced at the ruined mountain below and shook his head. "You're really preparing to fight a Sage head-on..."
He could tell exactly what Luo Chen had in mind. First, he used the Infinite Blaze Prison to resist the Domain. Then he relied on extreme physique refinement techniques to close the distance. He had no intention of clashing where his opponent was strongest; instead, he aimed for the gap. After all, not all Sages tempered their body to the same level.
Luo Chen remained calm. "Better to be ready. I'm planning for the worst."
Han Zhan's expression turned more serious. "Then you should understand that even if they don’t rely on Domains, whatever ordinary techniques they use are far better than yours. Most importantly, they won't just sit there like a dumb rock and let you hit them."
Luo Chen frowned. "Even with my speed? With Voidburst Step, Lightning Kick... I still can't get close?"
"Well, you are close," Han Zhan admitted, though there was a hint of regret in his tone. "But still not quite there."
Luo Chen opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was a tiny gap, but often, that tiny gap was all it took to decide life and death.
"Unless... you can improve your physique just a little more."
Luo Chen looked at him in surprise. Han Zhan shrugged. "I can tell how fast your physique's been improving. Honestly, even some transformed Demon Emperors probably don't match you in that respect. But if you want a real leap... you're still just short."
Demon cultivators who assumed human form followed the path of forming a core and condensing a Nascent Soul. Their bodies were still important, but not as important as their core. Only a few chose to progress in the physical aspect as well, and some even went as far as refining their own limbs into life-bound treasures.
"Improve it a bit..."
The thought settled in Luo Chen's mind, quiet but certain. He was not far from it. In recent years, he had used physique refinement techniques relentlessly, training at a pace that would have seemed absurd to anyone else. The progress looked sudden, but it was not. Techniques that had once been incomplete had been restructured into something usable, then fused together into new ones. Voidburst Step paired naturally with the Lightning Kick; the Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm had become the foundation for the more refined Mountain-Breaking Form; even the Infinite Blaze Prison had been integrated with the Mountain-Stabilizing Form, giving him a way to resist overwhelming pressure.
At the same time, he had begun developing a technique meant specifically for breaking defenses, drawing on the principles behind Five Stele Hand and Flowing Cloud Immortality-Seizing Finger. The turning point came on Purple Spirit Island, when he tore through the scutes of an Abyss Crocodile and realized the same approach might work against a cultivator's defensive treasures. After years of refinement, Overlord Stripped Bare had been improved substantially. It was not a single move, but a set of eight variations using fingers, palms, fists, and claws. Each attack drove blood qi directly into the opponent's defensive treasure and detonated it from within to disrupt their control.
In just three years, Luo Chen's physique had surpassed what he once achieved over a whole century. To others, such progress would have seemed absurd, but to him, it was simply the result of accumulated effort finally bearing fruit. More importantly, his technical prowess was secondary. What mattered most was the steady progress of his Physique Refinement.
"I'm heading back. Don't forget to finish that sword case; if not, you won't be able to use the swords," Han Zhan said before drifting back to his cave residence.
The sword case he mentioned was meant to house the Seven Fiend Swords so Luo Chen could attach his divine consciousness to them and wield them without fully refining them. When Han Zhan was not using the swords, Luo Chen would carry them in his stead. For Han Zhan, this arrangement was necessary—without a physical body, his Nascent Soul could not endure prolonged exposure to fiend qi, so he needed a way to handle the swords without being tainted by them.
Luo Chen was not too worried about that. With his proficiency in artifact creation, refining a proper enchanted treasure would require some time, but crafting a mystical enchanted artifact of this sort was not difficult. Keeping the matter in mind, he turned around and returned to Surging Island.
Improve it a bit more, you say? Well, no worries. It shouldn't take much longer now!
The thought came naturally as he checked his status panel. His Physique Refinement progress now stood only two points away from the fourth tier! He had progressed tremendously. His time in the Sunken Sea, where he had slaughtered freely and absorbed massive amounts of life force, had sped up everything. If not, it would have been utterly impossible.
As he considered how much time he would need for a breakthrough, his attention was suddenly caught by something. A transmission talisman was circling outside Surging Island. Luo Chen raised a hand, and with a flick of his fingers, the talisman ignited and released its contents.
After listening to Ding Yi's slightly anxious divine consciousness message, Luo Chen frowned. "Golden Sky Black Sea... It's the celestial signs!"