Longevity begins with alchemy master

In the vast ocean, the wind and waves are raging.

Amidst the mountains, the earth churns and twists.

A pure contest of divine thoughts has produced such power.

Suddenly, a mermaid figure leaped out of the sea, uttering a beautiful song that soothed the waves.

Amidst the mountains, towering, imposing figures appear, suppressing the balance of the place.

Luo Chen glanced at the two figures, somewhat surprised.

On the other side, Li Canghai was even more astonished.

Even a contest of divine will, if it is not a life-or-death struggle, is often extremely dangerous and allows no room for carelessness.

Luo Chen actually had the energy to pay attention to other things.

"Fellow Daoist's divine sense is powerful, why don't we stop here?"

"Ah."

The two withdrew their divine thoughts simultaneously without causing any damage.

Li Canghai drank a cup of spiritual wine, and his expression finally relaxed.

He looked at Luo Chen and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "No wonder you were filled with murderous intent, it turns out you possess a powerful weapon! I have never seen or heard of anyone who has just entered the Nascent Soul stage and whose primordial spirit is as stable as a mountain and whose realm is not at all unstable. I don't know how you did it."

Luo Chen smiled without saying a word.

He is indeed very different from ordinary deities.

In essence, it is due to an exceptionally powerful spiritual foundation and the mastery of the true meaning of three laws at the Nascent Soul stage.

For him, becoming a deity was simply a natural progression.

In particular, when he broke through to a higher realm, he also took a fifth-order Soul Cleansing Pill to completely cleanse his primordial spirit of all distracting thoughts.

Therefore, he dared to venture out into the world as soon as he achieved the Nascent Soul stage.

Given Luo Chen's personality, every time he breaks through a realm, he needs to stabilize it for a long time before he can go out, let alone fight with others.

After witnessing the power of Luo Chen's primordial spirit, Li Canghai had even less doubt about his strength.

After all, the person in front of him was a monstrous genius who had defeated a Nascent Soul cultivator while still in the Nascent Soul stage.

He solemnly said, "Those two ancient demons are only slightly higher in cultivation than us, and are still in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. I don't know how they can fight, but I imagine they are not bad. After all, demons of this level have often mastered innate supernatural abilities, and they are not necessarily much worse than the supernatural abilities developed by human cultivators like us."

Luo Chen asked, "Do you have any suitable weapons?"

Li Canghai replied, "The demon race is not skilled in alchemy and weapon forging. They often use the unique features of their physical bodies to forge magical treasures, which may have the power of spiritual treasures, but not the substance of spiritual treasures. If you possess a spiritual treasure, you should not be afraid."

Luo Chen recalled the greedy looks those two ancient demons had given him when the war between heaven and earth ended, and he could guess that they might not have any real spiritual treasures in their hands.

At least, no one like Li Canghai had ever shown such a greedy look in their eyes.

Luo Chen glanced around at the world again, feeling quite strange.

Li Canghai continued, "The Great Sage of Beili lives on Xuandao Peak, and the Sea Emperor Whale's lair is in the Sea Emperor Palace. If you want to find them, you can go to these two places..."

After hesitating for a moment, Li Canghai sighed and said, "Actually, there's no need for fighting. At our level, it's easy to determine the winner, but when it comes to life and death, the price is very high."

Luo Chen snorted lightly, "They have to give an explanation for offending me that day."

Li Canghai remained silent.

If he had been in that situation, he would have felt angry as well.

If things aren't handled properly, Luo Chen might have already perished outside the Heaven and Earth Island.

"Very well." Li Canghai sighed. "As someone who has just reached the Nascent Soul stage, it will be much easier for you to take action than for us."

Luo Chen's eyes flashed. "What do you mean by that?"

Li Canghai countered, "After you reached the Nascent Soul stage, did you experience anything special?"

Luo Chen frowned and spoke frankly: "I'm not free! It feels like I'm wearing shackles, and this world feels too narrow to me."

“That’s right.” Li Canghai nodded and then explained, “The pinnacle of cultivation in this world, apart from the wild beasts born of nature, is the Nascent Soul realm. Once you enter the Nascent Soul realm, you are bound by the shackles of heaven and earth, which restricts us from fully displaying our abilities. This is the origin of the rumor that Nascent Soul cultivators cannot easily make a move.”

Luo Chen wondered, "Then how do you explain the frequent battles between Nascent Soul stage experts over the past five hundred years?"

Li Canghai scoffed, "It's nothing more than breaking free of shackles and putting oneself in danger."

In his subsequent explanation, Luo Chen finally understood what the so-called "shackles" meant.

After a cultivator achieves the Nascent Soul realm, their own magical power, enhanced by their primordial spirit, allows them to leverage the vastness of the universe and control its primordial energy.

Those who have grasped the true meaning of the laws are especially able to control even more of the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

From this perspective, Nascent Soul cultivators can almost be considered as agents of the Great Dao authority of a world!
However, controlling the primordial energy of heaven and earth can also be seen as being controlled by the primordial energy of heaven and earth.

The shackles were formed at this time.

The earlier one achieves the Nascent Soul stage, the longer one stays in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the heavier this shackle becomes.

Once the battle rages on without restraint, the shackles will break, and the assimilation of Nascent Soul cultivators into this world will intensify.

At that time, let alone taking any further steps, even ascending to the upper realm will be a pipe dream.

Just like the relationship between children and parents, the more children demand from their parents, the less they can grow, and the less support their parents will give them if they want to leave home to make their own way in the world.

This analogy may be somewhat biased, but it conveys the general idea.

"But I observe that the Nascent Soul stage experts of the Tianyuan Dao Sect do not exhibit this phenomenon?"

“The cultivators of the Holy Land are different from us. They do not pursue ascension to the Immortal Realm. They merely regard the Mountain and Sea Realm as a cradle for acquiring resources and absorbing spiritual energy. Even if they cannot ascend in the end, they can still ascend to the Mysterious Realm through the sect’s passage.”

A glint flashed in Luo Chen's eyes, "So you also know about the Xuan Realm, fellow Daoist!"

Li Canghai laughed heartily, "That place is hardly a secret to us. The array formations passed down by the Demon Lord of Refining Heaven contain many descriptions of the customs and culture of the Xuan Realm."

After the words "Heavenly Refining Demon Lord" were mentioned, the atmosphere between the two changed strangely.

Both of them can actually be considered disciples of the Demon Lord.

One received the inheritance of alchemy, and the other received the inheritance of array formation.

Otherwise, how could a rogue cultivator, a cultivator from the North Sea with no significant background, break through to the Nascent Soul realm?

From this perspective, Luo Chen should still address Li Canghai as Senior Brother.

Since the topic had come to this point, Luo Chen didn't mince words and went straight to one of the purposes of his visit today.

"I wonder how much Fellow Daoist Li knows about the Land of the Fallen Demon Sea?" Li Canghai looked at him with a half-smile. "You've been inside before, so why ask me?"

Luo Chen calmly said, "When I first went in, I was only at the Golden Core stage, I had not attained the Great Dao, and I did not know the depths of heaven and earth. How could I possibly have seen the whole picture of the place where the Demon Lord fell?"

Li Canghai was taken aback.

He then remembered that Luo Chen, whom he had always treated as an equal, was actually just a minor Golden Core cultivator three hundred years ago.

Thinking about it this way, he was even more amazed by Luo Chen's outstanding talent.

He spent a hundred years forming the Golden Core, two hundred years condensing the Nascent Soul, and now, at less than five hundred years old, he has already transformed into a deity.

The remaining lifespan of his is so long that it is truly enviable.

Shaking his head, Li Canghai forced a bitter smile, "When I went in back then, I was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and what I saw of the Demon Lord's former territory was just the tip of the iceberg."

Then, like a successful person reminiscing about the hardships of the past, he talked about the events of that time.

"The Sea of ​​Sinking is said to have been born a thousand years ago, but that is just a general term. In reality, it has been around for about 1,500 years."

"In the past 1,500 years, the Land of Fallen Demons has been opened four times. Judging by the dates, the fifth time should be coming soon. However, the Spirit Gathering Array of the Sea of ​​Sinking was destroyed by the powerful demon race. I don't know if the fifth time will open as scheduled."

"When it was first opened, I was not yet born. I only heard some information from others. At that time, it was too strange and the situation of the Sunken Sea was unknown, so very few people went in to explore it."

"During the second opening, the cultivators of the North Sea had gained a considerable understanding of the place, and a group of highly skilled individuals went in. Not many returned, but each of them had made significant gains, which was the envy of many."

"Therefore, the number of people entering during the third opening was the largest in history! I, Li, also entered the Land of Fallen Demons during that opening."

"That time, the Yuanmo Sect organized a massive force, led by the Blood Sea Ancestor, and assisted by the twelve Nascent Soul elders of the Demon Sect, with over ten thousand Golden Core cultivators. The sheer scale of their lineup was astonishing. In addition, among the human cultivators of the North Sea, besides myself, there were some other well-known and powerful figures. These included the demonic giant Hentian Old Monster, the great cultivator Wei Changkong, and the reclusive Fengling Hermit. The demon race was equally formidable, with figures like Bai Xinweng, Coral Master, and the Mighty Barbarian Demon Dragon, among others."

"But the results of that exploration greatly shocked the North Sea!"

With lingering fear, Li Canghai recounted the fates of most of them.

The initial trial of Li Wangtian alone caused many of the accompanying low-level cultivators to lose their way.

Luo Chen also remembers this vividly.

If it weren't for his unwavering Dao heart and the fact that he frequently encountered mental tribulations and obsessions during the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, and had a wealth of experience, he probably wouldn't have been able to pass the illusionary test of Li Wangtian.

Then came the resource-rich Five Elements Heaven, where a fierce battle ensued among powerful figures for these abundant resources.

The powerful demon clan member, Coral Lord, was defeated by Fengling Hermit and then devoured by a strange beast. Wei Changkong and Bai Xinweng fought, both suffering heavy losses. The demonic cult giant, Hentian Old Monster, single-handedly killed three elders of the Yuanmo Sect before being killed by the enraged Blood Sea Ancestor…

At the final site of the Mingzhao Heaven's inheritance, the wounded Wei Changkong and Bai Xinweng perished together. The wandering hermit Fengling Jushi was even more unlucky; before entering Mingzhao Heaven, he was ambushed by the powerful barbarian dragon, who harbored resentment towards the Coral Lord, and fell into the Abyss of Fallen Demons. Although it's unknown how Fengling Jushi escaped the Abyss, he went mad afterward, becoming one of the three great wandering hermits, the Mad Hermit, sometimes lucid, sometimes insane.

Among these people, the biggest event was the fall of the Blood Sea Ancestor within the Bright Heaven!

His death ignited the already restless demon race, leading to a great war to destroy the Yuanmo Sect.

It was also because of this incident, coupled with the heavy losses suffered that time, that the enthusiasm of the high-level cultivators in the North Sea was not as strong when the fourth Demon Land opened.

Everyone knows that it is extremely dangerous inside. Even great cultivators and Nascent Soul experts can easily perish there. Who would dare to take the risk?

If it weren't for those nearing the end of their lifespan, those with ulterior motives, or low-level cultivators desperately trying to break through their cultivation level, the number of cultivators entering the Fallen Demon Land for the fourth time would be even smaller.

After listening to Li Canghai's recollections of the past, Luo Chen couldn't help but marvel at his own words.

He originally thought that when he entered the Land of Fallen Demons three hundred years ago, his lineup was luxurious enough, gathering the Nascent Soul experts from the four major overlord forces of the North Sea at that time, plus a group of demon race experts.

But what happened 600 years ago was even more terrifying.

Numerous Nascent Soul cultivators, great cultivators, and great demon emperors were mentioned, and even a Nascent Soul cultivator had entered the ranks.

"In the end, Fellow Daoist Li was still the more skilled one and benefited from being surrounded by wolves!" Luo Chen sighed, his words tinged with respect.

Li Canghai shook his head. "It's not that I'm more skilled. It's just that I was cautious and careful, tried to avoid fighting with others, and maintained a good condition to enter Mingzhao Heaven. In the end, I was also fortunate enough to pass the array realm assessment and obtain the Demon Lord's array Dao inheritance."

Luo Chen understood and did not refute it.

Those who can cultivate to a high level are all cautious and prudent individuals.
But in the end, Li Canghai received the inheritance, which shows that he must have extraordinary abilities.

However, Luo Chen thought about it again and realized that Li Canghai's caution was indeed beyond that of ordinary people.

He remembered that Li Canghai achieved the Nascent Soul realm four hundred years ago.

In other words, he obtained the inheritance in the Land of Fallen Demons, which he entered six hundred years ago. After emerging, he quietly cultivated for a full two hundred years before finally breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and beginning to make a name for himself.

That's much more cautious than I am!
Moreover, although Li Canghai later established the Canghai Righteous Path Alliance, he basically didn't manage anything; he just used this force to collect cultivation resources for himself.

When the demon army broke free from Yemotian, he did not step forward.

After the Tianyuan Dao Sect took control of Beihai, he switched sides.

Even eighty years ago, when he and he joined forces to venture into Tiandi Island, after seeing signs that the Xuanjie Zhenjun was about to descend, he was the first to run away without hesitation.

With such caution and a heart yearning for the Dao, if he doesn't become a deity, then who should?

I could hear Li Canghai's regretful voice in my ear.

"Although I was fortunate enough to obtain the Demon Lord's array formation inheritance, there was no inherited spiritual treasure in the array hall. After I came out, I built up my forces, collected resources, and spent a great deal of effort to finally refine a spiritual treasure that suited my needs according to the method recorded in the Demon Lord's inheritance."

"Is this the Mountain and Sea Seal?" Luo Chen looked around, his eyes filled with amazement.

Li Canghai smiled smugly, “Exactly! Let fellow Daoist know that this seal can contain famous mountains and vast seas, forming its own blessed land. Not only can I carry it with me for cultivation, but it is also a combination of offense and defense, no weaker than those famous spiritual treasures.”

Luo Chen flattered, "Indeed, I have never seen a magical treasure with two spirits before."

The mermaid was a sea spirit, and the giant that suppressed the mountains was a mountain spirit. Luo Chen had long ago discovered these two non-human beings.

Faced with Luo Chen's flattery, Li Canghai felt a little embarrassed.

"There are some tricks involved, which I hope Fellow Daoist Luo will find laughable."

Seeing that Luo Chen was puzzled, Li Canghai gave a brief explanation.

It is extremely difficult for a magical artifact to develop sentience; it often requires a long period of nurturing and must be made of exceptionally high-quality materials.

Based on the principles of formations, Li Canghai concluded that heaven and earth have spirits, and mountains and seas also have spirits, which is why he cleverly condensed two artifact spirits: the spirit of the mountain and the spirit of the sea.

At this point, he asked with a hint of envy and a touch of probing, "Fellow Daoist, you passed the Pill Realm assessment, so you must have received the Pill Hall's inheritance and spiritual treasures, right?"

Luo Chen calmly said, "I have obtained the inheritance of alchemy, but spiritual treasures... are beyond my reach."

Luo Chen briefly mentioned the self-destruction of the Heaven-Refining Cauldron, which Li Canghai found quite regrettable.

He and Luo Chen were kindred spirits, both receiving the inheritance but not the spiritual treasure.

Amidst these reflections, Luo Chen abruptly changed the subject.

"Since you've been to the Land of Fallen Demons, you naturally know how abundant the opportunities it holds are, far surpassing those of the outside world. Haven't you ever thought about going back again?" (End of Chapter)