Chapter 146: Five Elements Divine Abilities

As Chen Luo walked around the shop, he overheard snippets of conversation from two nearby disciples.

“Shijie died right before my eyes; those insects devoured her completely, not even leaving her bones behind.”

“This grudge must be avenged, or I swear it will haunt me forever!”

Chen Luo glanced at them without saying a word. He didn’t recognize these disciples, but their experiences reflected just one aspect of the great battle.

Too many had perished.

Each deceased disciple had their own senior brothers and sisters, as well as loved ones. Their deaths inevitably fueled new hatred, which was currently suppressed. However, when the opportunity arose, these grievances would surely lead to retaliation, setting the stage for the next conflict between the three sects.

Approaching the counter, Chen Luo tapped on its surface lightly.

“Greetings, Senior Brother.”

Upon seeing Chen Luo, the Medicine King Peak disciple managing the shop promptly approached him.

“Do you have any Mind-Focusing Grass? I’d like to purchase some, along with Ironheart Flowers, Worries Forgetting Orchids…” Chen Luo listed more than a dozen medicinal ingredients. These included materials needed for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, as well as spirit medicines for Immortal Crane Chengfeng’s nourishment.

“Senior Brother, apart from Ironheart Flower, we don’t have any of the other items you requested,” replied the disciple managing the pharmacy with a wry smile.

Many people had already inquired recently, receiving the same response. This scarcity was the primary reason for the pharmacy’s dwindling business. After being plundered by two major sects, it was only due to Medicine King Peak’s support that the pharmacy could remain open at all.

“Just one available?” Chen Luo felt somewhat speechless.

With nothing else in stock, why even bother running the store? He had hoped returning to the sect would resolve his resource issues, but it seemed the impact of the three-sect war was far from over.

Recalling the discussions between the Hu Family and the other influential clans during their meeting in Woodking City, he began to understand the situation. When the Divine Lake Immortal Sect faced decline, numerous families, including the three prominent ones, made similar choices. Due to the war, these families opted to ‘guard’ spirit materials on behalf of the sect, leading to current shortages within its supplies.

“The sect is actively working on resolving these issues. Many disciples have accepted missions and ventured out; I believe within a couple of years, the supply of spirit materials will be restored,” the Medicine King Peak disciple hastily explained, noticing Chen Luo’s dissatisfaction.

“No worries. Do you accept medicinal pills here?”

Thinking for a moment, Chen Luo retrieved some surplus low-tier medicinal pills, including Qi Nourishing Pills, from his time in Woodking City.

“Accepted! I didn’t expect Senior Brother to be an alchemist,” exclaimed the managing disciple of Medicine King Peak, visibly energized by Chen Luo’s offerings.

He swiftly accepted and tallied the medicinal pills handed over by Chen Luo.

After selling his pills, Chen Luo proceeded to the nearby spirit talisman shop.

Similar to the pharmacy, it was nearly empty with hardly any decent spirit talismans available. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Luo sold his unwanted talismans and simultaneously purchased a large quantity of materials for drawing new ones.

Unlike spirit medicines, Tianlu Peak had ample reserves of spirit talismans.

Shortly thereafter, having earned a substantial amount of spirit stones, Chen Luo left the spirit talisman shop.

Outside the market square, Chen Luo found an open spot and sat down, placing Zhu Jie’s contact talisman on display as he awaited the arrival of someone from the Loose Cultivators Union.

Initially, he planned to wait for them to approach him, but given the current state of the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, he realized he needed to take matters into his own hands.

“Greetings, Pill Master Chen.”

Soon, a representative from the Loose Cultivators Union approached. To Chen Luo’s surprise, this individual wore the attire of a Divine Lake Immortal Sect disciple.

“Are you truly from the Loose Cultivators Union?” Chen Luo asked, scrutinizing the person skeptically.

Chen Luo scrutinized the individual with suspicion. This person’s cultivation base was not weak, already at Late Stage Qi Refinement—sufficient to qualify as an Inner Sect disciple even within the Divine Lake Immortal Sect.

“The Loose Cultivators Union is just an alliance,” the visitor replied with a smile. “For me, it serves as a means to acquire resources. Isn’t that why Senior Brother joined as well?”

“I merely collaborate with them.”

“Same here.”

They exchanged glances and fell silent, neither continuing the conversation on this topic.

After verifying the authenticity of the individual’s identity token, Chen Luo listed all the required materials. The visitor diligently noted them down and then collected the medicinal pills Chen Luo needed to hand over to the Loose Cultivators Union for the month.

With both transactions completed, Chen Luo returned to Wu Dao Peak.

Now, all that remained was to wait.

Wait for the Loose Cultivators Union to deliver the spirit materials so he could make his final preparations.

At the cemetery behind the mountain.

Chen Luo once again visited this tranquil place, feeling an overwhelming sense of warmth. After several years without maintenance, weeds had sprouted around the graves.

Spending half an hour, Chen Luo meticulously used the Dust Removal Technique to clear away the debris, effectively removing the overgrown vegetation.

In an open space,

Chen Luo began circulating his spiritual energy, recalling the Five Elements Divine Abilities he had learned previously.

With the aid of his Five Foundation Establishment Memory Palaces, Chen Luo swiftly mastered these five divine abilities. However, their true potency could only be accurately gauged after practical experimentation, as differences in one’s cultivation realm inevitably affect the execution and details.

“Flame Dragon Art.”

Chen Luo lifted his hands, channeling spiritual energy. Under the influence of the divine ability, through his fire elemental spiritual root, it rapidly transformed into fire attribute spiritual energy.

With a swift motion, he consumed over thirty small snakes of spiritual energy within him. The power converged at his palm, manifesting as a three-meter-long fiery serpent that coiled before hurtling towards a massive boulder ahead.

Boom!!

An explosive sound shattered the two-meter-high stone into dust, sending fragments flying amidst a scorching wave that radiated outward. Nearby vegetation turned brittle and yellow, leaves curling up. At the impact site, a charred, three-meter-wide crater formed, surrounded by ignited foliage continuing to burn relentlessly.

Chen Luo retracted his energy, examining the damage with a frown.

The release of the divine ability was smooth, but the effect fell short. It was a classic case of understanding conceptually but not yet mastering practically.

Next, he utilized the other four Five Elements Divine Abilities, each causing varying degrees of destruction. Similar to the Flame Dragon Art, their power fell short of his expectations.

To test all the divine abilities, Chen Luo consumed a Spirit Gathering Pill midway to replenish his depleted spiritual energy. With his current strength, using three Five Elements Divine Abilities would exhaust his reserves completely.

“The results aren’t quite what I anticipated.”

After trying out all five divine abilities, Chen Luo began recalling any issues during their execution and continuously compared them with the knowledge from the Five Elements Foundation Establishment Memory Palace, analyzing the subtle differences.

Over the next two days, he devoted himself to practicing these skills at the waterfall.

With the assistance of the Five Elements Foundation Establishment Memory Palace, his divine abilities gradually returned to their expected trajectory, becoming increasingly potent. Slowly, they started resembling the proficiency of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, much like his Wind Control Technique.

On the third day.

An unexpected letter disrupted his cultivation plans.

“Dear Senior Brother, it has been many years since we last met, and you have been greatly missed. If you find some free time, let’s gather at the foot of the mountain—Xie Shuang.”

Reading the message sent from below the mountain, Chen Luo was somewhat surprised. He had initially thought it was from the Loose Cultivators Union, but instead, it was Xie Shuang.

When Chen Luo left the Divine Lake Immortal Sect for missions outside, he had bid farewell to Xie Shuang and Du Jian. At that time, they both decided to stay within the sect, awaiting news from Eldest Apprentice Brother Du De. After such a long period, their sudden request to meet raised concerns about what might have occurred.

Chen Luo recalled the Yue Tomb of his homeland.

Having been away for so long, he wondered how things were back home, particularly regarding that enigmatic Great Mausoleum. He planned to revisit it properly after reaching Foundation Establishment. Considering the power contained within just one mummy’s brain, gathering more could potentially catapult him to unprecedented heights, couldn’t it? He vividly remembered the countless similar chambers within the mausoleum, as numerous as stars in the sky.

With no response yet from the Loose Cultivators Union, Chen Luo decided it was a good opportunity to go down the mountain and see them.

After all, they hailed from the same place, forging a unique bond between them. When they first left the Yue Kingdom together via the inter-domain teleportation array, Xie Shuang had felt uneasy and constantly stayed by Chen Luo’s side.

Now, having spent considerable time within the immortal sect, their past camaraderie had grown distant.