Chapter 115: Three Months

A chilling aura flowed from the palm of his hand into Chen Luo’s body.

It was unclear whether due to the ancient corpse’s prolonged death or some other reason, within its brain, Chen Luo could only retrieve one thought:

“Why can’t I master the Iron Body Art?!”

Accompanied by this obsession, an ancient cultivation technique emerged in Chen Luo’s mind.

The Iron Body Art!

This discovery left Chen Luo momentarily stunned.

For the first time, he had obtained a complete cultivation technique through an obsession. Previously, any techniques he accessed were fragmented and incomplete images, rendering them unusable for practice.

However, this Iron Body Art covered everything from initial steps to mastery, with exceptionally detailed instructions!

“This likely represents the divine art that the undead couldn’t master even until death, becoming his ultimate obsession,” Chen Luo surmised.

“How is it? Quite impressive, isn’t it?” The mummy-like old daoist, unaware of what Chen Luo was doing, saw him with his hand on the refined corpse’s head, unmoving. He assumed Chen Luo, like himself, was admiring the corpse, captivated by its craftsmanship.

“It’s indeed quite impressive, but it’s a pity there’s only one,” Chen Luo said, withdrawing his hand with a hint of regret on his face.

Why was there just a single refined corpse of such exceptional quality?

“Indeed unfortunate. High-quality refined corpses like this are rare and hard to come by. However, within our Corpse-Raising Sect, there are many more advanced ones, such as the Foundation Establishment iron corpses crafted by the elders, and the silver-armored demon corpse raised by our sect leader. All these were created from superior corpses, sights that ordinary people rarely get to witness.”

As Daoist Dry Corpse spoke, a glint of longing flashed in his eyes.

His black-haired zombie, although promising, still fell significantly short compared to those refined by the sect leader and elders.

“I truly wish I could see them,” Chen Luo expressed sincerely.

“It’s a shame you joined the Divine Lake Immortal Sect instead; the Corpse-Raising Sect would have been far more suited for someone with your temperament.” Daoist Dry Corpse’s impression of Chen Luo greatly improved.

During his time in the Luxury Nation, every qi refiner he encountered had kept their distance out of reverence or fear. Each one seemed eager to avoid him as much as possible.

Others who stayed close to him did so reluctantly, driven by either self-interest or fear. Chen Luo was the first to willingly approach, making Daoist Dry Corpse truly impressed.

“I agree, but unfortunately, I’ve already strayed down the wrong path and cannot change course now,” Chen Luo expressed with evident regret.

Having reached the tenth layer of Qi Refining and cultivating Wu Dao Peak’s legacy technique, he had effectively marked himself as belonging to the Divine Lake Immortal Sect. At this level, the Corpse-Raising Sect would undoubtedly reject him.

While they continued their conversation,

the representatives from the three major families and Magistrate Zhou finished dividing the interests. They agreed that the taxes due to the Divine Lake Immortal Sect would be ‘temporarily managed’ by these four parties. The payment would be made once the sect regained stability in the future.

These statements were meant for public consumption, but with Daoist Dry Corpse present, it was clear what the families behind them were up to. Undoubtedly, they had aligned themselves with the Corpse-Raising Sect yet feared retribution later if the Divine Lake Immortal Sect overcame its crisis. Thus, they employed this ‘fig leaf’ strategy to secure a fallback option.

With the exchange meeting concluded, Chen Luo officially became part of Woodmount City’s social circle.

As he stepped outside, Chen Luo bid farewell to Hu Qiudao and his grandson, then boarded the carriage arranged by Magistrate Zhou, leisurely heading towards his residence. This demeanor further reassured those secretly observing him.

“What do you make of him?” Watching the departing carriage, Magistrate Zhou’s smile gradually faded, and without turning, he posed the question.

“He understands refining corpses; could tell my treasures were extraordinary,” Old Ghost Ganshi replied promptly.

Magistrate Zhou’s expression darkened, instantly losing interest in the conversation.

It seemed like asking had been pointless.

‘As long as he doesn’t cause any trouble,’ Magistrate Zhou silently thought to himself after seeing the carriage turn out of sight. He then turned back towards his cultivation chamber. With a chuckle, Daoist Dry Corpse disregarded Magistrate Zhou, waved at his three refined corpses, and headed towards the cemetery outside the city.

Members of the Corpse-Raising Sect preferred not to sleep amidst crowds; for them, cemeteries were the most comfortable places.

Time swiftly passed.

In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.

It had been one and a half years since Chen Luo joined the Divine Lake Immortal Sect. During these past six months, his cultivation base remained at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement, still far from reaching the eleventh layer. Roughly estimating, it would take him another three years to break through—a timeline accelerated due to his near-heavenly spiritual root aptitude. For others with lesser aptitudes, it could easily extend to five years, or even longer for those with low-grade spirit roots, often measured in decades. This was why many solo cultivators with inferior roots never had a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment, as they couldn’t even reach the peak of Qi Refinement.

The potency of the Qi Gathering Pills was starting to wane.

“Spirit Explosion Pill.”

Chen Luo examined the pill formula that Magistrate Zhou had sent him.

Over these three months, using the intelligence network of the Scattered Cultivators Union, Magistrate Zhou successfully traced the origin of Chen Luo’s guest official token and discovered records of his transactions with elite members of the union.

To his surprise, Chen Luo turned out to be a First-Order Alchemist!

This revelation brought immense joy to Zhou Tianyang, finally understanding how Chen Luo acquired the guest official token.

As an alchemist, Chen Luo was a valuable asset wherever he went.

Upon obtaining this information, Zhou Tianyang engaged in multiple transactions with Chen Luo over the past three months. With mutual interest, their relationship grew increasingly closer. Finally, yesterday, Zhou Tianyang presented him with a new pill formula—one beneficial even for those at the peak of Qi Refinement.

Immediately after receiving it, Chen Luo began attempting to concoct the pill. However, the complexity of the Spirit Explosion Pill surpassed what a first-rank alchemist typically handled. Despite several tries, he failed each time. Even with accurate proportions and correct ingredients, his attempts were unsuccessful.

A typical first-rank alchemist would persistently attempt the concoction, accumulating experience through countless failures until eventually succeeding. But Chen Luo did not wish to follow that path; it was too slow.

The external brains stored in his mind now seemed insufficient for his current level of pill concocting, prompting him to consider upgrading them.

Boom!

With a muffled sound, black smoke billowed from the pill furnace in his hand as spiritual energy leaked out, leaving all the medicinal herbs charred to ash.

“It seems I need to find some better brains.”

Chen Luo tried using two Foundation Establishment cultivator brains but still met with no success. The stored brains belonged to individuals who were not alchemists during their lifetime, and their control over pill refinement fell short compared to the deer monster’s brain he later acquired.

Packing away the pill furnace, Chen Luo opened the door and stepped outside.

After three months, he emerged once again.

“Immortal Master Chen.”

As soon as he exited, a masked figure waiting at his doorstep bowed respectfully, greeting him.

These individuals had been assigned by Zhou Tianyang to assist him with errands. During Chen Luo’s three-month seclusion, they procured the required spirit materials for him.

“Do you know where Fellow Daoist Ganshi might be?” Chen Luo inquired.

His purpose for venturing out was specifically to seek Old Ghost Ganshi. When it came to finding suitable brains, seeking professional help was essential.

Foundation Establishment cultivators were not as common as everyday commodities, and Foundation Establishment alchemists were even rarer. The only viable option was to approach the Corpse-Raising Sect, known for their expertise in handling corpses. Previously, Old Ghost Ganshi had sought Chen Luo’s grave-digging skills precisely due to needs arising from tomb raiding activities.