Chapter 180: Harvests and Departure

Time slipped away like water through cupped hands, and before Chen Luo knew it, two months had passed in the blink of an eye.

“Lord Chang, here’s the spirit medicine you ordered.”

Inside the Spirit Medicine Shop, Chen Luo gazed at the main ingredient for the Spiritgathering Pill he held in his hand, which he had purchased for a thousand spirit stones. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

Once, he had been unable to buy this very same material on Bai Gu Ridge no matter how much he’d offered, yet here in Five Creek Mountain, it was easily obtainable—this place was its natural habitat. This experience taught Chen Luo a valuable lesson: resources within the cultivation world were highly regionalized; many items that were scarce or non-existent in one area might be abundant and cheaply available elsewhere.

The cultivation world was fraught with peril, however, and not just anyone could travel freely between different regions to seek out their needs. The location where Chen Luo now resided was considered by cultivators from the seven major countries as forbidden territory due to its inherent dangers.

“Not bad,” said the shopkeeper appreciatively. “This is indeed your reward.”

Having successfully acquired the medicinal ingredient lifted Chen Luo’s spirits considerably, and without further ado, he casually tossed over two spirit stones.

He already possessed two of Elder An’s three cherished elixirs. With these, his path towards Foundation Establishment would become smoother, and the lingering curse energy within his divine soul could finally be dispelled.

Returning to his room with the medicinal ingredients, Chen Luo swiftly crafted pills with the assistance of his external brain.

After consuming a Spiritgathering Pill, Chen Luo immediately felt his spirit grow lighter as the influence of the mask began to fade. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he could dispel the curse entirely. Once that happened, he’d be free to leave this place and head for Blackstone City in search of tier-three spiritual veins and techniques for reaching Core Formation.

After practicing cultivation for half a day, Chen Luo once again visited the pig monster’s residence.

The pig monster was still engrossed in its cultivation practice. Chen Luo first went to the rear courtyard to read for some time. In just two months, he had already absorbed more than half of the immortal pig’s vast collection of books. This deluge of cultivation manuals and personal experiences made his External Brain even more active. Many abilities from his previous life were being reawakened, offering him various suggestions on how to improve his cultivation.

This, in turn, allowed Chen Luo to refine several of his divine arts significantly. For instance, both the Aerial Flight Technique and Flame Fire Incantation became far more potent, while his Divine Soul Art also underwent changes.

Improving one’s cultivation techniques required not only accumulated knowledge but also practical experience. After all, a scholar who couldn’t even write with a brush would never produce any profound ‘classics’ or ‘scriptures’.

As Chen Luo grew, the effects of his external brain became increasingly apparent. Perhaps one day in the future, Chen Luo would also be able to create divine abilities and write his own great Dao.

In the cultivation room:

The pig monster looked at a belt and a torn red garment on the table, remaining silent. He recognized these two items; the belt belonged to his third disciple Chi An, while the red garment was from his second disciple Hong Rui.

“These were picked up by my disciples outside. The two you painstakingly raised actually engaged in self-destruction over some trivial emotions—simply foolish beyond belief.”

The goat immortal reappeared in the pig monster’s cultivation room once again.

The pig monster picked up the clothes and belt from the table, remaining silent for a long time.

Although he often beat and scolded these two disciples, the blood and sweat he had poured into them were genuine. He had always hoped they could cultivate the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’, proving that his path was correct. Unfortunately, it was like trying to catch water in a bamboo basket—all effort wasted, leaving nothing behind in the end.

What do people truly seek?

“Third Brother, let’s go. These humans aren’t worth it!” The goat immortal spoke up again, urging him on.

“I understand,” the pig monster replied softly.

This time, the Pig Monster didn’t refuse. Instead, he put away both items. In that moment, his enormous figure seemed like a lonely old man.

“Give me three more days,” the Pig Monster said as he carefully stored everything. “In three days, I’ll leave with you.”

“Because of him?”

“This is the last time.” The Pig Monster looked at his brother before him and paused briefly before responding.

The Goat Immortal wore an expression of frustration, as if dealing with an unresponsive iron. Nevertheless, they were brothers. The friendship between monster cultivators was different from that of humans; their longer lifespans meant their emotions were often more genuine.

“I’ll come for you in three days.”

With those words, the Goat Immortal flashed into black mist, disappearing without a trace. Only the Pig Monster remained, sitting quietly in his cultivation room. The candle flame on the wall flickered constantly, casting dancing shadows.

After finishing his reading, Chen Luo reappeared in the Pig Monster’s cultivation room.

The room was just as it had been during his first visit: clean and tidy. Apart from the mat where the Pig Monster sat, there were only bookshelves and wall paintings. The interior was spotless, hardly resembling a monster cultivator’s lair.

The Pig Monster was a very pure cultivator—in this aspect, many human cultivators fell short.

“Can you really master the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’?” The pig monster suddenly asked as Chen Luo entered.

Chen Luo was taken aback. He looked at the pig monster, surprised to see doubt and hope flickering in his eyes. The creature wanted Chen Luo’s assurance that his technique could be mastered, even though he himself had failed to do so.

“Yes,” Chen Luo nodded, “it is a powerful technique.” He had already begun cultivating this art, although not yet fully successful. Even then, he could sense its immense potential. If he managed to inscribe the array sigils correctly, his Iron Body Art would undoubtedly advance significantly, breaking through its current limitations.

“That’s good.”

The pig monster sighed with relief. All he needed was an answer—a confirmation, even if it was false reassurance.

“I must go now.”

The pig monster rose and walked over to a nearby cabinet. He opened it and retrieved three bone tablets.

“If you truly master the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art someday, pass it on and tell the world that I, Zhu Chungan, created this technique.”

Zhu Chungan was the name of the pig monster.

These three bone tablets contained all his lifetime’s knowledge; every bit of his research was stored within them.

“I, Zhu Chungan, am not inferior to anyone.”

Chen Luo accepted the bone scroll from him with a nod. He didn’t know what the pig monster intended to do, but he was certain that his opponent had his own convictions.

“Go ahead. I’ll rest here by myself for a while.”

A hint of weariness flashed in the pig monster’s eyes. This time, he didn’t discuss cultivation techniques with Chen Luo again.

Three days later, at the market:

News suddenly spread throughout Five Creek City like wildfire:

“The Immortal of Five Creeks has left?”

The once bustling market fell silent, an indescribable emotion rippling through the crowd.

“Seize it!”

No one knew who shouted first, but in an instant, people surged towards the nearby Pill Medicine Pavilion. A gu shaman waved his voluminous sleeve, sending a swarm of insects forth to wreak havoc. He himself charged into the pavilion, embarking on a rampage of destruction and plunder.

With one bold move setting the stage, chaos erupted. Several cultivators at the peak of Qi Refinement joined the fray, followed by those in the later stages of Qi Refinement. Even rogue cultivators in the early and mid stages of Qi Refinement scrambled to snatch whatever they could.

All hell had broken loose.

Without the suppression of Foundation Establishment cultivators, the disciples at the market were completely incapable of controlling these Transcendent cultivators.

Just when everyone thought the market was doomed, Chang Kun—the great disciple of the Pig Monster—suddenly appeared above the market.

His Foundation Establishment aura spread out, dousing the frenzied crowd below like a bucket of cold water.

“A Foundation Establishment powerhouse!”

Fear flashed in the eyes of the Transcendent cultivators.

Didn’t all the Five Creek Immortals leave? Where did this one come from?!

“Chang Kun? He advanced?”

“How dare he!” someone who recognized Chen Luo shouted, his face contorted with disbelief.

Chen Luo stood atop the void, observing the chaotic scene below. With a wave of his finger, the power of his Divine Soul Technique precisely targeted every Transcendent cultivator. Those who had robbed the most screamed as their heads exploded with a thud, their bodies and storage pouches plummeting to the ground. The others scattered in all directions, but to Chen Luo, Qi Refinement cultivators were no more than ants. In moments, he slaughtered them all.

The Five Creek Immortals had left; this place now belonged to him!

Every coin these people were fighting over belonged to him!

After dealing with these troublemakers, Chen Luo flashed through the air towards the cultivation room where the pig monster had been in seclusion.

When he pushed open the door once more, Chen Luo discovered that the pig monster had vanished without a trace. Not only was the pig monster gone, but all of the remaining ‘Five Creek Immortals’ had disappeared as well. It seemed these demon cultivators had been carrying out some plan, using Five Creek Mountain merely for preparation. Now that the time was right, they naturally wouldn’t linger any longer.

“The bone slip?”

On a nearby table, Chen Luo found a bone slip emanating the essence of the pig monster.

“Fellow Daoist, your concealment techniques are impressive,” it read, “but remember, the cultivation world abounds with myriad abilities. Do not overly rely on such minor divine arts; true strength is fundamental.”

“I bequeath the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art to you. This old boar’s eight hundred years of accumulation have not been in vain. As for my disciple, when you leave here, I hope you will grant him proper burial—a final gesture to complete our master-disciple bond.”

The bone slip contained only two lines, yet Chen Luo knew these words were meant for him from the pig monster.

The old pig wasn’t foolish. From the moment Chen Luo began discussing the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’ with him, he knew that Chen Luo was not his disciple Chang Kun. He understood all too well the level of his own hand-raised apprentice. Chen Luo brought him hope, so he set aside their minor grievances. Standing as a seeker of the Dao, he passed on all his knowledge to Chen Luo—a kind of legacy. It was clear that this place the Five Creek Immortal had gone to was extremely dangerous; even a late Foundation Establishment stage pig monster like himself couldn’t be certain of success.

“Very well.”

Chen Luo stepped forward and shed Chang Kun’s disguise. In the courtyard, he dug a hole and filled it with earth, creating a grave for Chang Kun. This act settled their debts and grudges once and for all. Regardless of how Chang Kun had been, since the pig monster spoke, Chen Luo wouldn’t refuse.

Having received so many benefits, he owed this bit of respect. Constructing this tomb served to honor their relationship. From an ordinary person’s perspective, the pig monster truly was a qualified master—it was just unfortunate that none of his three disciples amounted to much.

With his primary affairs in order, Chen Luo visited the courtyards of other monster cultivators, but found nothing worth taking.

These monsters had left decisively, carrying off everything they could. All that remained were worthless trinkets.

In the days that followed, Five Creek Mountain remained in a state of turmoil.

Chen Luo’s arrival quickly brought an end to this unrest.

Five Creek City stabilized once more. With a Foundation Establishment cultivator at its helm, chaos was impossible. Two days later, all factions that had once been under the Five Creek Immortal paid their respects to Chen Luo and expressed their desire to pledge allegiance. Even the market leaders came forth. When the Five Creek Immortal departed, he had plundered everything, leaving his subordinates destitute with little left to exploit. The tributes they offered Chen Luo were meager, hardly worth his notice. Yet, for the sake of soothing hearts and minds, he graciously accepted them.

Life returned to normal.

Chen Luo appointed one of these local leaders to oversee the day-to-day affairs of Five Creek City. As for himself, he retreated into secluded cultivation, mirroring the actions of the former Five Creek Immortal.

Time slipped away like water through cupped hands, and before anyone knew it, half a year had passed.

Within the cultivation chamber:

All traces of the pig monster’s presence had been expunged. Now, every item within the room was brand new, gifts from those below seeking to curry favor.

Chen Luo sat at the center of the room, surrounded by swirling spiritual energy. His divine sense surged like a tidal wave, endlessly fluctuating and distorting.

Strands of black qi, thin as hair, emerged from his chest, twisting and turning as they were pulled and tugged by the surging power.

This process repeated itself ad infinitum.

Over and over again, until reaching a certain limit, the strands of black qi snapped like hair. A wail akin to an infant’s cry echoed through the room, followed by a shattered mask being thrust out with that force.

The moment this fragmented mask left Chen Luo’s body, it disintegrated into pieces.

Crack!

In an instant, it transformed into a pale white energy field, enveloped by his divine sense power. As it merged into Chen Luo’s body, his divine sense visibly surged with newfound strength.

If we consider the typical late Foundation Establishment stage divine sense intensity to be sixty units, then after absorbing the shattered mask, Chen Luo’s divine sense jumped to seventy units. This surpassed the threshold of late Foundation Establishment, catapulting him into the realm of perfect mastery within that stage.

Chen Luo opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

“Finally resolved,” he murmured. “Eight months faster than I anticipated.”

This seclusion had lasted nearly a year. Including the time wasted earlier while learning the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art from the pig monster, he had spent a total of one year and four months at Five Creek Mountain. The gains were immediately apparent: first and foremost, he had purged the lingering effects of the curse. Without this persistent influence, he could now enter Blackstone City without risking detection by the old hands of the Demonseed Sect.

Additionally, his divine abilities and techniques had been significantly enhanced. During his time with the Pig Monster, Chen Luo had mastered numerous cultivation methods. Through his external brain, he assimilated and fused these techniques, transforming them into his own power. Now, he could unleash his divine abilities with less energy consumption, yet their potency had grown stronger.

The final point was the lifetime learning of the Pig Monster: the ‘Demon Bone Array Sigil Art’. Even the mummified brain acknowledged this technique, making it a valuable asset that justified the over year Chen Luo had spent here.

Pushing open the door, Chen Luo glanced at the waist-high weeds in the courtyard. No one had entered this place during his seclusion. Unlike the Five Creek Immortal, Chen Luo’s first public appearance as a mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator had been marked by a bloodbath in the market. The corpses of those rogue cultivators who caused trouble still hung there as a grim reminder.

“Time to leave. There’s nothing else worth lingering for here.”

Stepping outside, Chen Luo waved his sleeve, setting up a simple array that would deter most Qi Refining realm cultivators from entering.

With this array in place, Five Creek City should hold out for some time. By the time they discovered his departure, several years would have passed.

Whether it held on after that was no longer his concern. After all, he was just a passerby; he couldn’t remain here indefinitely.