Chapter 229: Visiting

After leaving the cave, Chen Luo first returned to Gu Demon Mountain.

Everything on the mountain remained unchanged since his departure. With a second-rank formation guarding it and Gu Demon Khan Jiu’s fearsome reputation, no one would dare cause trouble in the short term. For Foundation Establishment cultivators with their long lifespans, years or even decades of seclusion for cultivation were commonplace.

“Mountain Lord!”

Ding Zhao, who was secretly cultivating outside his room using second-rank spirit meridians, instantly tensed and stood up upon seeing Chen Luo descend.

Looking at his former junior brother, Ding Zhao felt Chen Luo’s aura was like an ocean, far more powerful than before. However, he couldn’t sense exactly how much stronger Chen Luo had become. Currently, he hadn’t even reached Qi Refining Perfection, and Foundation Establishment still seemed like an insurmountable chasm to him. Naturally, he couldn’t perceive Chen Luo’s true cultivation realm.

“Did anything happen on the mountain while I was away?”

Chen Luo returned to his room.

Inside, Ding Zhao had arranged for the procurement of all the medicinal herbs Chen Luo had requested before leaving. Apart from a few main ingredients unavailable in the markets, the quantity was sufficient for several years of cultivation. It must be said that the decision to accept Ding Zhao and the other four as named disciples had proven remarkably wise.

“Everything is normal on the mountain. However, three more clans have come seeking to become vassals.”

“Deal with them.”

Chen Luo waved his hand, interrupting. He had previously accepted the Sun Clan and the other thirteen clans as vassals because he lacked manpower at the time. Now, with everything he needed, there was no reason to invite such trouble. The more vassals he had, the more problems would arise. If not handled properly, it could even disrupt his cultivation.

“Yes, sir.”

Ding Zhao immediately noted down the matter and then gave Chen Luo a brief report on the affairs that had occurred during his absence.

Chen Luo generally didn’t manage these matters, but he always listened to the reports upon his return. This prevented subordinates from causing trouble under his name and attracting unnecessary powerful enemies.

Ding Zhao’s capabilities were excellent; the mountain lord’s predicament had not escalated into a crisis.

“The supply chains for Golden Phoenix Dew and Seven Rocks Leaf have been disrupted. The mountain lord of Pingshan Creek, Shangren Yinwind, has gone missing. The entire area was attacked by a mysterious powerful force. Several children on the mountain were cursed to death, and now the Pingshan Creek market is in chaos, temporarily cutting off our supply.”

“Children on the mountain were cursed to death?”

Chen Luo narrowed his eyes, recalling Shangren Yinwind from their last encounter. The man was indeed decisive—having fled without even bothering to check on his disciples. Those rat demons had it particularly rough, getting scapegoated for their master’s misdeeds. As for their killer, it was obvious: a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Demonseed Sect, possibly even the sect leader himself.

By eliminating Shi Jun, Chen Luo had disrupted this old man’s demonic cultivation.

Blocking one’s path meant a death grudge!

The sect leader’s swift retaliation against Pingshan Creek proved this. The Demonseed Sect Leader’s strike had targeted Shangren Yinwind instead of Chen Luo, likely due to the latter’s obscurity.

This sect leader remained a persistent threat—Chen Luo needed to eliminate him at the first opportunity.

Once enmity was established, only death could settle the score.

To eradicate future dangers.

His opponent would undoubtedly think the same, given the ruthlessness of their strike.

“Pingshan Creek is in chaos now. Several of our people sent there haven’t returned.”

“Let’s focus on other matters for now.” Chen Luo waved dismissively. “Anything else?”

“Senior Su visited two months ago.” Ding Zhao immediately produced a communication talisman from his robes and handed it to Chen Luo.

The communication talisman was a second-rank spirit talisman. When he had defeated Shi Jun of the Demonseed Sect earlier, Chen Luo had inadvertently acquired knowledge about second-rank spirit talismans. Now, the second-rank talismancer’s brain had ‘recalled’ his past experiences in drawing talismans. Chen Luo planned to find some spare time to practice this skill, avoiding the situation where his mind knew but his hands couldn’t perform.

“Su Linlin?”

Chen Luo recalled the fox woman. This woman had been of great help to him. Over the years he had cultivated on Gu Demon Mountain, many resources and cultivation techniques had been obtained through her. He had even made a special trip to Tushan before, successfully establishing contact with her.

After dismissing Ding Zhao, Chen Luo tapped his finger on the communication talisman.

A wisp of light floated out from the surface of the spirit talisman, rapidly transforming into a message.

“Senior Brother, I’ve obtained information about a ‘Core Formation Secret Technique.’ If interested, come to Tushan to find me.”

The message vanished in an instant, and the spirit talisman in his hand burned to ashes.

Core Formation Secret Technique?

He had heard about this thing multiple times before. The first time was when Shangren Yinwind told him about someone obtaining a secret technique to form a ‘Pseudo-Core Seed.’ After that, in Blackstone City, there was Elder FusionSpirit’s ‘Evasion Secret Technique.’ Now Su Linlin was mentioning what seemed to be a third Core Formation Secret Technique.

These secret techniques were mostly unearthed from ancient ruins, having been developed by ancient cultivators in a bygone era. They differed from modern cultivation systems, but still held valuable insights worth studying.

Chen Luo frowned thoughtfully. He recalled Elder FusionSpirit’s ‘Evasion Secret Technique’. In recent years, there had been increasing reports of Core Formation secret techniques emerging from the demonic cultivation realm. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss behind these developments.

Something profoundly troubling.

Given his current level of cultivation, he couldn’t see through the underlying mist. In such circumstances, the wisest course of action was to maintain stability.

After suppressing Su Linlin’s matter, Chen Luo rested briefly before rising and stepping outside.

Before his cave dwelling lay a cliff. In the past, Chen Luo had always enjoyed cultivating at the cliff’s edge, observing the vitality of the town below. But this time, as if guided by some unseen force, he found himself walking to the rear mountains.

There flowed a small river.

He approached a large boulder by the riverbank, stopping in a shaded area. Gazing at the flowing water, Chen Luo suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to go fishing.

He raised his hand.

The nearby tree swayed, and a branch flew into his hand. He then tapped the surroundings a few times, gathering strands of energy. He molded spiderweb-like materials into thin threads, wrapping them around the branch. Finally, he retrieved a needle-shaped magic artifact from his Pouch of Holding, bent it with his hand, and hung it on the line.

Chen Luo gazed at the newly crafted fishing rod in his hand, a sense of inexplicable happiness welling up in his heart.

During his life within the Demonic Heart Tribulation, he had grown accustomed to fishing.

Taking a step forward, he settled onto a large moss-covered boulder. With a practiced flick of his wrist, the fishing line arced through the air and splashed into the water below.

The river flowed slowly, its crystal-clear waters revealing schools of fish darting beneath the surface. Chen Luo’s bare hook floated motionless on the water’s surface, untouched by even the fattest fish that swam past.

The Mountain Wind whispered through the air, sending ripples across the water’s surface.

Alone on the boulder, Chen Luo resembled the ‘Brother Zhang Er’ he had encountered during the Demonic Heart Tribulation.

As his mental state aligned with the surroundings, the Demonic Heart Art began to operate autonomously. The spiritual energy absorbed from Elder FusionSpirit once again stimulated his internal reserves, slowly enhancing their potency. Gu Demon Mountain possessed second-rank spirit meridians, and with Chen Luo being the sole cultivator here, his progress remained steady.

Time flowed like the river.

The branches swayed gently, the water murmured, and Chen Luo’s mind gradually found peace.

One day and one night passed.

Not a single fish caught. These mountain fish were far more cunning than the fish spirits from the Demonic Heart Tribulation. Having significantly boosted his spiritual energy, Chen Luo retracted his fishing rod and prepared to rise. Suddenly, commotion erupted at the mountain’s base. He dispersed his divine sense and spotted three figures bearing iron swords hurtling upward, perilously close to breaching the mountain’s protective array.

“Who dares approach?!”

Ding Zhao and five other named disciples immediately sensed the intrusion. Sun Yanyan’s voice rang out in rebuke. While the others continued their questioning, Ding Zhao took decisive action, unleashing a divine ability with a wave of his hand.

This was Gu Demon Mountain. In Ding Zhao’s view, safeguarding the mountain lord’s interests took precedence over all else. These intruders threatened the mountain lord’s domain - every moment wasted on words was a betrayal of that trust. His approach mirrored his former days at the God Lake Immortal Sect: any who dared challenge the sect’s interests were eliminated without hesitation.

This stark contrast revealed Ding Zhao’s fundamental difference from Sun Yanyan and the other rogue cultivator clan disciples. His actions were marked by swift decisiveness and unwavering responsibility - qualities that set him apart in this critical moment.

Three powerful gusts of wind tore through the air, aimed at the three figures.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The three figures halted abruptly. The frontmost combatant spun his sword with a whirl, effortlessly shattering Ding Zhao’s three wind blades. The figure behind him raised his hand in counterattack.

“Enemies!”

Sun Yanyan and her companions finally reacted.

They scattered, each unleashing divine abilities against the mountain invaders. These three sword-carrying assailants proved formidable Qi Refining realm experts, forcing Ding Zhao’s group of five to fight defensively for some time.

“White Jade Hand!”

Ding Zhao evaded a sword glare, his right arm transforming into jade-white from the elbow down. His palm shot out with pinpoint accuracy, striking the leader’s skull.

Squelch!

His luminous hand crushed the man’s head like overripe fruit, blood spraying as the jade-white palm continued its momentum, smashing into the second attacker’s chest and sending the remaining two flying.

One kill, one dead, two injured - this showed Ding Zhao had made significant progress over the years, not wasting the second-rank spirit meridians of Gu Demon Mountain.

The two injured men crashed to the ground, their bodies twitching twice before their life signs vanished completely.

“Elder Brother Ding, these people are…”

Sun Yanyan moved to investigate, but after taking just two steps, she saw black smoke suddenly rise from the three corpses. The three life forces coalesced in mid-air to form an ancient face, which then shot into Ding Zhao’s chest with a whoosh.

The sight instantly changed the expressions of everyone present.

Ding Zhao, struck by the curse, felt a sharp pain in his chest. He collapsed to the ground, his heart clenching as if gripped by an invisible hand. His spiritual energy surged wildly, reversing its flow and converging violently toward his heart.

If all the spiritual energy completed its reverse flow, Ding Zhao would self-detonate and die instantly.

“A curse!”

“Pingshan Creek’s incident.”

Sun Yanyan and the others reacted swiftly. Having previously handled affairs in Pingshan Creek, they naturally knew what had occurred there.