Chapter 125: Transformation

Back in his courtyard, Chen Luo unfolded the Foundation Establishment Pill formula given by the dried-up corpse ghost and meticulously examined its contents.

“Something seems off about this pill formula.”

Chen Luo placed the formula near the candle flame, watching it slowly burn to ashes. With furrowed brows, he pondered the logic behind the combination of spirit materials. Unfortunately, even with the knowledge from other alchemists’ minds, they were of little help in this case. In terms of pill concoction, he had already surpassed most low-level Qi Refinement alchemists.

At first glance, the formula provided by the dried-up corpse ghost appeared fine, but several aspects did not align with current practices in the cultivation world.

Although he hadn’t seen other Foundation Establishment Pill formulas, he could detect significant differences. It was highly likely that this formula originated from some ancient tomb, reminiscent of the old pill-concocting techniques he learned from his teacher, Longevity Daoist, during their time in the Yue Kingdom’s Great Mausoleum.

“I’ll find an opportunity to test it out. Apart from a few main ingredients, everything else should be readily available. When Zhu Jie visits next, I’ll ask her to help procure them.”

Chen Luo stood up and with a flick of his sleeve, dispersed the dust.

Blowing out the candle, he closed his eyes to begin cultivation.

The night passed swiftly.

At dawn, after completing his Qi Refinement practice, Chen Luo opened his eyes. Before rising, he heard a knock at the door.

Frowning slightly, he got up and approached.

“Junior Brother Chen, Junior Brother Chen!”

Outside, Elder Brother Hu Qiudao’s voice called out.

“Elder Brother Hu?”

Chen Luo opened the door to find Hu Qiudao anxiously waiting. Upon seeing him, Hu Qiudao immediately grabbed his arm and pleaded earnestly.

“Shidi, please help me.”

“The old man wants to see you.”

Taken aback, Chen Luo quickly realized that it was Old Man Hu who wished to meet him. The patriarch who had joined them in the mountain valley quest for Foundation Establishment spiritual objects had returned. Originally, Chen Luo planned to visit the Hu Family once things settled down, but now it seemed there was no need to wait.

“Let’s go.”

It would be a good opportunity to check on the situation and inquire about what happened that day.

Soon, they arrived at the Hu residence.

As soon as Chen Luo pushed open the door, he was greeted by a strong scent of medicinal herbs. Looking towards the bed, he saw Old Man Hu, once the foremost expert of Woodmount City at the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refinement, now resembling a frail and emaciated elderly man on his deathbed. His eyes were deeply sunken, devoid of vitality, and the spiritual energy within him had nearly dissipated.

No wonder Hu Qiu was so desperate; Old Man Hu’s condition was indeed dire.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, you’ve come?”

Old Man Hu attempted to sit up but struggled without success. Seeing this, Hu Qiudao quickly approached, helped his father upright, and swiftly grabbed a nearby bowl filled with murky spirit medicine, offering it to him.

“This time, I truly met my match. Never expected the Loose Cultivators Union and Corpse-Raising Sect to join forces.”

After taking a sip of the medicine, Old Man Hu’s complexion slightly improved, and he gave Chen Luo a wry smile.

“Who knows which faction ended up obtaining that spiritual object in the end?”

Old Man Hu was unaware of the events behind the scenes; having been away from the Divine Lake Immortal Sect for too long, his sources of information couldn’t compare to the dried-up corpse ghost’s knowledge.

“Nineteen Poisons Valley,” Chen Luo replied.

Chen Luo provided him with the answer.

Old Man Hu was momentarily taken aback before a wry smile appeared on his face.

“So that’s how it is.”

A hint of relief flashed in his eyes.

Achieving Foundation Establishment was difficult.

For a solo cultivator, it was even more challenging. Without the support of a sect, obtaining resources for Foundation Establishment seemed nearly impossible. After cultivating for most of his life, he had barely reached the pinnacle of the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refinement. The gateway to Foundation Establishment lay just ahead, yet he could not overcome it. His current blood qi was insufficient to forcefully attempt the breakthrough.

“This time, I let my greed get the better of me.” Old Man Hu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Having been cautious all his life, only to falter at the end.

“I’ve invited Fellow Daoist Chen here to request your assistance with something.” Old Man Hu shifted the conversation, accepting his situation.

“The Hu Family has managed Woodmount City for one hundred seventy years; I cannot let five generations’ efforts end with me.” As he spoke, Old Man Hu retrieved a black token from his chest pocket. He no longer possessed enough spiritual energy to use his bag of holding.

Chen Luo took the token and examined it briefly.

It was a square-shaped token, distinct from those used by the Loose Cultivators Union, indicating it belonged to another influential group.

“This is a token from the imperial family of the Luxury Nation. Every year on March 8th, they hold a cultivator fair, and our Hu Family has always been among those invited. Officially, it’s for sharing experiences and conducting auctions, but in reality, it’s about redividing interests among cultivators within the Luxury Nation. If we don’t attend this time, Woodmount City will likely be allocated to someone else. Hu Qiudao is too weak; without reaching Late Stage Qi Refinement, he won’t be able to protect our family’s assets even if he goes. I hope, for my sake, you can assist him,” Old Man Hu pleaded earnestly, implicitly placing Chen Luo at his own level.

In the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme.

Old Man Hu understood this far better than Hu Qiudao did.

Before waiting for Chen Luo’s response, he retrieved something from nearby.

“A thousand-year-old ginseng root!”

Chen Luo had once consumed a common hundred-year-old ginseng root, but what Old Man Hu presented here would entice even a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement. This was because one of the primary spirit ingredients listed in the Foundation Establishment Pill formula was precisely a thousand-year-old ginseng root!

“Here’s your compensation.”

“I understand.”

Chen Luo accepted the ginseng root and placed it into his bag of holding, recognizing its great value.

This thousand-year-old ginseng was likely intended for Old Man Hu himself, but unfortunately, he never managed to gather all the necessary ingredients before his death. Knowing his time was near, he decided to use it as a favor, securing support for the Hu Family while also eliminating the potential risks associated with such a valuable spiritual object—a move that achieved multiple benefits at once.

Understanding Old Man Hu’s intentions, Chen Luo deliberately made no effort to conceal taking the ginseng, ensuring everyone within the Hu Family witnessed it. Once word spread, no one would dare trouble the Hu Family again.

Attending the cultivator fair posed no challenge for him either. Conveniently, he needed some spirit materials for crafting the Foundation Establishment Pill, so this provided an opportunity to acquire them. He hoped the event hosted by the imperial family of the Luxury Nation would be of high caliber.

Throughout their conversation, Hu Qiudao stood nearby, becoming increasingly silent the longer they stayed away from the immortal sect. His perspective shifted significantly over time. Now, it was difficult for him to view Chen Luo merely as his junior brother. Gradually, when interacting with Chen Luo, he grew more cautious, treating him akin to an elder from the sect.

Outside the confines of the immortal sect, the impact of power dynamics became even more apparent.

After leaving the Hu Family, Chen Luo headed to the Loose Cultivators Union to meet Zhu Jie. As a collaborating pill master with the union, he needed to inform her before departing Woodmount City.

“A cultivator fair? Perfect, I’m going too.”

Upon learning Chen Luo’s destination, Zhu Jie promptly agreed to join him without hesitation. She had planned to attend anyway, as the Loose Cultivators Union always participated in the division of interests within the Luxury Nation; now it was simply a matter of leaving a few days earlier.

In the Luxury Nation, only two regions held significant value: Jing City and Divine Wind County.

Both these areas featured teleportation arrays connected to the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, making them stopping points for intercity flying boats. Disciples seeking entry into the Divine Lake Immortal Sect must first travel to either of these locations. Blackwood Village, where Chen Luo and Xie Shuang arrived via teleportation array, is governed under Divine Wind County.

During the division of interests in the Luxury Nation, Jing City and Divine Wind County were fiercely contested territories.

Relatively speaking, other regions held less value. For instance, the Wood King Domain, where Woodmount City is located, was considered remote and impoverished. When Zhu Jie was initially assigned here, she felt deeply resentful, believing she had been unfairly disadvantaged. It was only after meeting Chen Luo that her perspective changed.

“Let’s go together then,” Chen Luo nodded in agreement. After all, one more person wouldn’t make much difference.

His primary objective this time was to gather Foundation Establishment materials, preparing for his future breakthrough. The dried-up corpse ghost only possessed one set of spirit ingredients, along with a potentially flawed Foundation Establishment Pill formula. Uncertain about the outcome, Chen Luo decided to first acquire another set of materials for practice. Additionally, he planned to visit the imperial family of the Luxury Nation, hoping to find some higher-value brains.

Ideally, from tier-2 alchemists.

If not, digging up graves remained an option.

Half a day later.

Hu Qiudao returned once more, dressed differently this time in mourning attire. His tone towards Chen Luo had become significantly more respectful, no longer addressing him as “Shidi” but now as “Senior Chen.”

It seemed he had instantly matured.

Sighing, Chen Luo accompanied Hu Qiudao to pay their final respects to Old Man Hu at the Hu Family residence. Standing before the memorial hall and watching Old Man Hu being placed into his coffin, Chen Luo felt compelled to abandon his usual practice of collecting the brain for the first time.

Amidst the weeping relatives and the hall draped in black cloth, he lit an incense stick, paid his respects, and then departed.

Outside, it rained gently.

A fine mist descended upon the streets.

As Chen Luo walked alone, feeling somewhat somber, images of Old Man Hu lying in the coffin replayed in his mind. This sight further strengthened his resolve on the path of cultivation.

Foundation Establishment, Core Formation…

And ultimately, immortality and ascension!

Half a month later.

Chen Luo, Hu Qiudao, and Zhu Jie, with their belongings packed, boarded a carriage heading towards the Luxury Nation’s capital city.

There were no intercity flying boat stations near Woodmount City; thus, they had to rely on horse-drawn carriages.

After more than ten days of bumpy travel, they reached a neighboring city with a flying boat station. Paying six spirit stones each, they embarked on a flight to the Luxury Nation’s capital.

This flying boat paled in comparison to those from the Divine Lake Immortal Sect. Measuring only about twenty meters long, it could accommodate a limited number of passengers. Typically, such boats remained idle most of the time, as the Luxury Nation had relatively few cultivators, making high-cost services like these less utilized.

“The imperial family’s Heavenly Palace Academy developed this flying boat,” Zhu Jie explained to Chen Luo aboard the vessel. “The creator was once an Inner Sect disciple at Divine Lake Immortal Sect’s Divine Fire Peak. After failing his Foundation Establishment attempt, he returned to the Luxury Nation. With the nation’s full support, it took thirteen years to construct these five flying boats.”

“Still, it’s quite impressive.”

As Chen Luo observed the flying boat beneath him, he could clearly sense the intricate magical artifact patterns and several simple wind-deflecting formations at work. For the Qi Refinement stage, this flying boat represented the pinnacle of craftsmanship. Anything beyond would be within the realm of Foundation Establishment cultivators, which the Heavenly Palace Academy’s artisans had not yet achieved.

Currently, Chen Luo’s pill-concocting skill was roughly at a similar level—peak first rank, just short of second rank.

The flying boat swiftly traveled, and after two days, they arrived at Jing City, the capital of the Luxury Nation.

Compared to Woodmount City, the prosperity of Jing City felt like entering another world. The architectural styles and street layouts bore resemblances to those found in the Divine Lake Immortal Sect. Members of the Luxury Nation’s imperial family directly affiliated with the sect, some even rumored to have influential backers among the Divine Lake Immortal Sect’s elders, who were Foundation Establishment cultivators!

Upon landing, Chen Luo and his companions were greeted by individuals eagerly awaiting their arrival.

In the Luxury Nation, cultivators held superior status. Those traveling via spirit stone-powered flying boats commanded even greater prestige, as it signified their wealth.

“Please follow me inside.”

“Has the cultivator fair already begun?”

Chen Luo assumed they would need to wait ten days or more after reaching the capital before the fair officially started. He didn’t expect the Luxury Nation’s royal court to be so efficient, commencing the event promptly.

“As fellow cultivators, who has time to waste on such matters? Those arriving early might not necessarily give face to the Luxury Nation’s imperial family; in the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme.”

Zhu Jie’s expression remained composed; this was not her first visit, and she well understood the proceedings of the cultivator fair.

After entering through the main gate, their guide stepped back. Zhu Jie led Chen Luo and Hu Qiudao towards the Inner Court.

The venue for the cultivator fair had been specifically designated by the Luxury Nation’s imperial family, encompassing a vast area dedicated to trading. Upon reaching the inner gardens, Chen Luo noticed numerous stalls set up by cultivators, most at the initial stages of Qi Refinement. The items displayed were predominantly ordinary goods, among which he also spotted some secular martial arts manuals and intricately crafted trinkets.

“There aren’t many valuable finds out here, only suitable for those wastrels in the early stages of Qi Refinement,” Zhu Jie remarked with a hint of disdain in her eyes.

She felt more open around Chen Luo because he was an alchemist, unlike others.

Hu Qiudao followed closely behind, silently observing. With Old Man Hu gone, the future of the Hu Family now rested solely on his shoulders. Skills he once lacked now needed to be learned swiftly.

“Can I ask you something?” Chen Luo began sincerely, without beating around the bush.

“What is it?” Zhu Jie turned, curious.

“In the vicinity of Jing City, are there any cultivator cemeteries? Ideally, tombs of Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivators, or even ancient battlefields would suffice.” Chen Luo asked earnestly.

His straightforward nature preferred direct questions.