Chapter 203: Delivering Themselves

After finishing the magical artifact, Chen Luo closed his eyes to rest. The monster cultivator technique, ‘Immortal Crane Soaring Against the Wind,’ began to rapidly circulate within him. With his perfect Foundation Establishment, Chen Luo could now harness any form of power—his strength remained unaffected whether he was in the realm of demonic cultivators or the territories of monsters.

The fox clan’s celebration concluded as planned, without any unforeseen incidents.

The Core Formation sword cultivator had long since departed.

Chen Luo observed their divine mountain for two additional days. Only after confirming there was no way to pay respects to the ancestors of the fox clan did he reluctantly leave.

As a parting gift, Su Linlin gave Chen Luo a red charm bracelet, saying it would bring him good luck. Chen Luo accepted it graciously.

In return, he presented Su Linlin with a second-order magical artifact. Thanks to the resources he’d borrowed from the fox clan, he’d managed to create quite a few such items over the past few days, so he wasn’t hesitant about giving one away.

The coordination between his mind and body had also synchronized; he’d resolved the awkward issue of knowing what to do but not being able to execute it.

“You’ve chosen someone with a peculiar fate—one that’s neither destiny-less nor full of grand fortune. Whether this choice will be a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.”

In the depths of Fox Mountain, Su Linlin knelt in a cavern. Before her, in the recesses of the cave, lay a massive fox with grizzled, mottled fur. Its body, nearly six meters long, coiled within the cave. Two red eyes, like precious gems, peered down at her, and behind it stretched three enormous tails.

A three-tailed demonic fox!

“I believe I’ve chosen wisely,” Su Linlin declared, raising her head with a resolute expression.

“Very well. Do as you will,” the three-tailed fox responded. Its gaze faltered as it closed its eyes slowly, the aura of demonic energy around it gradually receding.

When Chen Luo returned to Gu King Peak half a month later, he found it unchanged.

During his absence, Gu Devil Mountain had remained tranquil. Even in this land of demonic cultivation, Foundation Establishment cultivators typically wouldn’t interfere with other territories without provocation.

Initially, when he and Lady Bai Gu inherited Khan Jiu’s legacy, they were merely ‘holding it in trust’. Now that it was confirmed Khan Jiu was truly gone, other Foundation Establishment cultivators, without concrete intelligence, wouldn’t risk provoking a fellow equal. That foundational cultivator who had been repelled by Chen Luo and Lady Bai Gu previously had likely been lured in by the prospect of easy gain. However, since that encounter, no one else had appeared, as Chen Luo and Lady Bai Gu had convincingly demonstrated their prowess.

Upon returning to Gu Demon Mountain, Chen Luo recaptured the tranquility of his previous life.

His recent expedition to Fox Mountain had been a disappointment; he failed to obtain a fox’s brain. Despite his efforts, he never found an opportunity to infiltrate the sacred mountain of the foxes. Guarded by Core Formation experts, the powerhouses differed significantly from the small clans on the periphery—his plan to stealthily dig his way in was far too challenging.

Nevertheless, the journey was not entirely fruitless.

The most significant gain from visiting Fox Mountain was prompting the Golden Core brain’s ‘recollection’ of Core Formation techniques. This allowed him to successfully condense a ‘seed’ within himself. His second achievement was utilizing the violet essence stone given by Su Linlin to upgrade all nine magic swords to second-rank, effectively rejuvenating Beiyu Ji’s brain.

Now, his skills in pill concocting, artificing, and array formations had all reached second-rank proficiency. Ironically, paper talisman crafting—his original specialty—had fallen behind.

As time passed, Chen Luo grew increasingly familiar with the over seventy external brains.

His pill concocting skills steadily improved, allowing him to refine numerous Foundation Establishment spirit pills.

He entrusted all tedious tasks to Ding Zhao and the other five named disciples. Even the exchange of materials and collection of spirit stones from the market below the mountain were handled by them. This freed up more of Chen Luo’s time for his own cultivation.

With the passage of time, the hundredth spiritual energy dragon within his body became increasingly refined.

The seasons shifted from spring to autumn, and then through the cycle once more.

The twentieth year of Chen Luo’s cultivation practice had arrived.

It was spring.

Chen Luo stood at the edge of the mountain, where the stone steps gave way to the valley below. Tiny, emerald-green blades of grass poked through the crevices in the stones beneath his feet. A warm breeze caressed his face, billowing the green robe he wore.

At the foot of the mountain, the withered, yellow hues of winter had receded. Delicate green shoots emerged from the dormant trees, exuding a sense of vigorous renewal.

The small town at the base of the mountain had grown once more, its scale expanding. The thirteen immortal cultivation clans had flourished, bolstered by their proximity to Gu Demon Mountain. The marketplaces they operated had multiplied in size, and recently, even some Foundation Establishment spirit artifacts had appeared. Alas, for Chen Luo’s current cultivation realm, these markets offered little of use—except that something is better than nothing, as they say.

“Ha ha ha! Khan Jiu, this venerable one has finally found a way to control your demon wasps,” a voice suddenly thundered. “Today, we settle the score and avenge the past!”

An abrupt surge of terrifying spiritual energy radiated outwards like a tidal wave. Such was the intensity of this presence that it reverberated throughout the entirety of Gu Demon Mountain. Countless rogue cultivators fled in terror. Even the thirteen cultivation clans aligned with Chen Luo wore expressions of deep concern.

They shared a common interest with Chen Luo; if he were to fall, their entire way of life would dissipate into smoke, casting them back into the wanderer’s exile they had once endured.

Standing atop the mountain, Chen Luo furrowed his brow. After years of quiet, someone had finally shown up—another trouble left by the Gu Demon Khan Jiu.

Boom!

The newcomer charged without hesitation, slamming directly into the barrier.

Instantly, all the arrays surrounding Gu Demon Mountain lit up. Over the years, Chen Luo had passed the time by strengthening the mountain’s defenses. Though they were all first-tier arrays, their sheer numbers proved formidable.

These numerous first-tier arrays were interconnected, designed so that disturbing one would set off the entire system. The combined power was astonishing; unless a skilled array master came to dismantle them, this cluster of interlocked arrays would unleash a force no weaker than a second-tier array to any intruder.

Buzz.

A grayish-white field of energy dissipated, instantly illuminating dozens of arrays.

“You think this measly array can stop me?! I’ll break through!”

The intruder brandished a grayish-white sack and charged recklessly into the arrays. Clearly, this individual’s impression of Gu Demon Mountain’s defenses was still mired in the era of Gu Demon Khan Jiu.

Back then, the arrays indeed were weak, easily overcome by a sufficiently strong Foundation Establishment cultivator. But now, using such brute force against the arrays was nothing short of suicidal.

Moments later, the overconfident demonic cultivator let out an enraged roar.

“You despicable rat, show your face!”

Chen Luo launched himself into the air, his figure rising above the fray. The formation’s blockade prevented those within from witnessing his movements. As he soared, Chen Luo beheld a dense tempest of swords, a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree assault leaving no angle unassailed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After enduring ten waves of this onslaught, the cultivator inside finally reached his limit and unleashed a magic artifact. Instantly, the first-rank formation’s attacks could no longer penetrate his defense.

Chen Luo raised his hand, his sleeve twirling with a fluid motion. Nine magic swords, no larger than toothpicks, soared from his sleeve. They spiraled as they fell, and upon hitting the ground, they abruptly expanded, transforming into an enormous circular formation.

“Wood-element formation!” Chen Luo wasted no time with pleasantries; free brains delivered to his doorstep were a gift not to be refused.

The moment the sword array settled, the scene around it metamorphosed.

Pfft!

Blood splattered crimson as a magic sword pierced through the cultivator’s sleeve, mere moments after he’d armed himself for counterattack. The blade moved with blinding speed, its arc flashing in a deadly dance. Before he could react, the sword had already punctured his chest.

“A second-rank formation?!”

The color drained from the cultivator’s face. He never imagined Gu Demon Mountain would harbor such a formidable second-rank array.

In his daze, the cultivator watched as the second and third magical artifacts flew towards him. Trapped within the spell formation, he suffered a relentless barrage of attacks. Worse still, he couldn’t even locate his assailants.

This was the primary reason everyone loathed array masters.

“Roar!”

At the brink of life and death, the trapped cultivator let out an anguished cry. His spiritual energy surged within him as he hurled forth the very magical artifact he had so painstakingly acquired to confront ‘Gu Demon Khan Jiu.’ The artifact lingered briefly in mid-air before erupting in a deafening explosion.

The blast carved a breach in the combined spell formation. Seizing this momentary gap, the cultivator swiftly fled the confines of Gu Demon Mountain.

Only then did he clearly discern Chen Luo’s silhouette atop the array.

Not the old devil Han?

His heart jolted with recognition. Without delay, he shouted, “Fellow cultivator! It’s a misunderstanding! All of this is a terrible misunderstanding!”

Chen Luo, unfazed, merely waved his sleeve to retrieve the magic sword. Having already tested the might of the Yinmu Sword Formation, all that remained was mopping up the aftermath. incapacitating his opponent would disrupt their brain integrity, so in this situation, the soul banner proved the most effective solution.

With a swift motion, Chen Luo summoned the soul banner once more.

The Soul Banner now housed a full hundred souls once more. Chen Luo had replenished the remaining over a hundred banesouls from his initial stockpile. Though the number of master souls fell significantly short, it would suffice for his needs.

“A Soul Banner?” The interloper sensed the malevolent energy within and his expression shifted entirely, as if he had abruptly collided with an iron wall. His nemesis, the Gu Demon Khan Jiu, might indeed have fallen to this very man.

The Soul Banner unfurled.

A swarm of banesouls descended like locusts blotting out the sky. The interloper realized instantly that this was the moment of truth—a fight to the death. His gaze swept across the battlefield, fixing upon Chen Luo.

Mid Core Formation?

This youngster in Mid Core Formation would be unfit to even hold my shoes, were it not for his reliance on formations and the Soul Banner.

A feral glint flashed in the interloper’s eyes. He abandoned his defenses in an instant, igniting his body with a layer of blood flames as he charged towards Chen Luo. Mid-flight, he unfurled his fingers, summoning a colossal hand of spiritual energy—a Heaven-Grasping Giant Hand—which he directed with a clawed strike towards Chen Luo.

Death!

As the blood-red hand, nearly five meters in size, closed in on Chen Luo, it was abruptly halted by an pale cyan force. The interloper’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening in disbelief at the unexpected turn of events.

His confident attack was astonishingly blocked by Chen Luo with just a single finger.

Upon that finger appeared a blue seed, emanating the power typically found only in Core Formation cultivators.

Pfft

Blood sprayed as the raiding cultivator’s head was instantly severed. In mid-air, Chen Luo’s figure swayed, then descended to the ground. The nearby soul banner returned to his body, and the scattered banesouls coalesced back together.

The simulated ‘Core Formation Seed’ on Fox Mountain was beyond imagination in terms of power.

Though it came at a significant cost.

This formidable Foundation Establishment cultivator had been slain by a mere wind blast from Chen Luo.

As blood rain fell, the throngs of the thirteen clans in the market below erupted in cheers. Chen Luo, however, paid them no heed. After a brief moment of recovery, he waved his sleeve.

The dead body and severed head of the raiding cultivator were drawn to him. He first confiscated the Pouch of Holding, then casually placed his hand on the corpse’s forehead.

Retrieve!

A wisp of gray energy flowed into his hand, accompanied by a surge of intense, unfulfilled desires.