Chapter 238: The Old Man in His Obsession

Having absorbed the Demonseed Sect Leader’s brain, Chen Luo immediately understood the sequence of events.

This valley had originally been a secluded cultivation site for a bear demon. After the Demonseed Sect Leader arrived and planted a demonic seed within it, he used this opportunity to cultivate here. The Priest of a Thousand Ghosts detected this trace and sold the information to the Qiong Hua Sect, where Shangren Yinwind purchased it. From there followed Shangren Yinwind’s invitation to gather everyone for the purpose of surrounding and killing the Demonseed Sect Leader.

“Brother!”

Amidst the chaos, Wang Mingdao - covered in blood - held the lifeless bodies of Wang Mingyi and Wang Mingde as he shouted to Wang Mingren.

“Take them. Let’s return and seek our master.”

Wang Mingren was also injured, though his condition was better than Wang Mingdao’s. Physical cultivators have tough skin and flesh; in this short time, Wang Mingren’s surface wounds had already healed. The remaining injuries to his soul and internal organs would require time to recover, with no quick fixes available.

This venture had cost the four brothers their entire savings!

The pity was, with their patron gone, there was no one left to pay them extra.

“Two fellow cultivators, why not let me take a look? Perhaps I can save them.”

Chen Luo descended from the sky. During their earlier confrontation, Wang Mingren had sensed him flying in their direction, so his appearance came as no surprise.

“You can save people?”

“I know a bit.”

Chen Luo swiftly summoned an external brain proficient in medical arts. During his time at Zhu Chungan’s library, he had extensively studied books on physical cultivation, including many on medical techniques. After all, mastering medical knowledge was essential for inscribing demonic patterns - without proper medical understanding, one couldn’t even begin to practice the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art.

“Good!”

Wang Mingren, aware of his brothers’ condition, immediately brought over the two severely injured men. Chen Luo caught Fourth Brother Wang Mingde, medical knowledge surfacing in his mind as he reached toward the man’s forehead.

Corpse brainwave detected, degradation 7%. Read data?

Chen Luo’s expression froze.

How could he save this? The man was already dead.

He had initially come prepared to save them, but… this really wasn’t his fault.

Read data.

A wisp of gray energy flowed into his body through his arm.

Brother, I’m sorry. That day, it was Sister-in-law who struck first.

???

Old Fourth Wang Mingde’s obsession proved unexpectedly singular, though the content remained somewhat cryptic, carrying an overwhelming sense of information density.

“How is he?” Wang Mingren asked, standing nearby with a concerned expression.

“The injuries are too severe. I should examine Fellow Daoist Mingyi instead.” Chen Luo set down Wang Mingde and turned to touch Wang Mingyi’s forehead.

Contacting deceased’s brainwaves. Degradation: 7%. Proceed with reading?

The familiar prompt materialized once more.

Well, no need for further diagnosis.

Sincerity in heart, sincerity in sword.

Wang Mingyi’s obsession also consisted of a single thought, far more focused than Old Fourth Wang Mingde’s, clearly related to the path of the sword.

Chen Luo rose solemnly and shook his head at Wang Mingren.

“The injuries to both Fellow Daoists are beyond the capabilities of a second-rank apothecary.”

Wang Mingren’s face darkened. Not foolish, he could clearly see his brothers’ conditions, yet his heart struggled to accept the reality.

“Your efforts are appreciated, Fellow Daoist.”

After calming his emotions, Wang Mingren expressed his gratitude to Chen Luo. Regardless of the outcome, Chen Luo’s intentions had been noble. Even though he couldn’t save the lives, his efforts deserved acknowledgment. Moreover, as a second-rank alchemist, Chen Luo might prove useful in the future.

“Blackstone City will face increasing turmoil in the coming years. If Fellow Daoist has nowhere to go, you might consider joining our Qiong Hua Sect.”

Wang Mingren produced a white token from his robes and handed it to Chen Luo. This token exempted him from the sect’s entrance trials, granting him immediate elder status within the Qiong Hua Sect.

“I’ll consider it,” Chen Luo replied with a respectful bow.

This encounter had proven fruitful. After properly digesting his gains, he’d visit the Qiong Hua Sect.

Until the Blackstone Ancestor’s issue was resolved, the demonic cultivation realm would remain unstable. The wisest course was to depart before the conflict escalated, then return to clean up afterward. As for the Blackstone City Elder Token’s restrictions, Chen Luo had already devised ways around them - that’s why he’d accepted it in the first place.

After exchanging final courtesies, Wang Mingren and Wang Mingde departed with Dao and Yi.

Chen Luo watched them leave before returning to Gu Demon Mountain.

Though the path had been winding, the goal was achieved. The Demonseed Sect Leader, that lingering threat, had been eliminated. Now remained only the task of assimilating this harvest—mastering the contents of all those Pouches of Holding. This would undoubtedly propel his cultivation to new heights.

Half a year later.

Chen Luo had fully digested his gains. The spiritual energy dragons within him still numbered eighty-two, their count unchanged through the half-year. The late Foundation Establishment stage proved as arduous as expected; all cultivators in this phase relied on time’s slow grind. Those reaching Foundation Establishment perfection before three hundred years were considered heaven-blessed prodigies.

While his cultivation progress remained stagnant, his cultivation techniques and divine abilities told a different story.

The greatest revelation came from the Demonseed Sect Leader’s cultivation method. Like all demonic cultivators, the Old Demon trusted no one, carrying all his knowledge within himself. Though he’d encoded his secrets with cryptic symbols only he could decipher, Chen Luo’s possession of the man’s brain proved decisive. By ‘interpreting’ these codes through the Demonseed Sect Leader’s mind, Chen Luo systematically organized curse techniques from the Qi Refining realm through Foundation Establishment perfection. He’d transformed from a half-wit dabbling in a few curses into a true master of the art—a top-tier curse cultivator.

The second was the legacy of the Demonic Heart Ancestor. As Chen Luo had surmised, it was a fragment of the Demonic Heart Art, covering techniques from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation. The Demonseed Sect Leader, a prodigious talent, had used his genius and serendipitous encounters to complete this incomplete cultivation technique and achieve mastery.

The Demon-Plant Art was developed by combining his own knowledge with the fragmented Demonic Heart Art. The curses and secret arts within were painstakingly discovered over centuries of experimentation, each successful technique bought at the price of human lives.

Apart from the Demonseed Sect Leader, the second surprise was Wang Mingyi.

This righteous second brother proved to be a rare swordsmanship prodigy. After assimilating his mind, Chen Luo swiftly mastered a Foundation Establishment sword technique and comprehended the Greenwood Sword Intent. Now he could carry a sword and pass as a sword cultivator. If he wished, he could even burn eighty-two spiritual energy dragons to unleash an ultimate sword strike.

Beyond these major gains, there were various minor acquisitions, such as Shangren Yinwind’s “Object Control Art” and the rat spirit’s “Puppetry Method.”

Chen Luo’s studies grew increasingly eclectic, venturing further into the realm of omniscience.

Over the past half-year, tensions in the demonic cultivation realm had escalated. Several seasoned Foundation Establishment cultivators had perished due to ‘Core Formation secret techniques.’ Half a month ago, Su Linlin, the fox spirit, had sent him a message warning him to beware of the Blackstone Ancestor.

“An eight-hundred-year birthday celebration?”

Chen Luo examined the invitation in his hand.

The invitation bore the Blackstone Ancestor’s seal, its Core Formation aura unmistakable. The message was simple: the Blackstone Ancestor’s eight-hundred-year birthday celebration would gather all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the demonic cultivation realm at Blackstone City. The gathering would also discuss strategies against the Qiong Hua Sect.

Chen Luo accepted the Blackstone City Elder’s Token, its Core Formation cultivator’s mark authentic. When faced with the Blackstone Ancestor’s summons, no Foundation Establishment cultivator in the demonic cultivation realm could refuse.

This was precisely what Chen Luo had anticipated. He’d deliberately prepared a countermeasure.

What others found insurmountable in Core Formation constraints, he possessed the means to overcome.

The Substitution Technique.

Within the external brain, the Core Formation brain proposed a method.

Chen Luo retrieved a straw figure and placed it on the table. He then took out the elder token of Blackstone City, pricked his index finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the straw figure. The originally pale yellow figure rapidly turned black as the blood merged with it, and its wooden face became lifelike.

Arise.

Chen Luo produced a talisman paper. The second-rank talismancer’s legacy imbued the paper with greater spiritual energy. On the pale yellow talisman paper, red brush strokes flashed with a stream of light. A spirit talisman flickered into existence, transforming into a pale yellow robe that draped over the straw figure. The figure that had been lying on the table suddenly sat up, its painted eyes looking at Chen Luo, and a strange smile appeared on its face.

“From now on, you will pretend to be me in seclusion.”

Chen Luo finished packing his things without disturbing anyone. His figure flashed like a stream of light, disappearing into the horizon.

“Attending the birthday celebration is out of the question, but I need to leave an explanation. This straw figure will serve as my excuse.”

Shortly after he left, the straw figure on the table jumped down. It walked to where Chen Luo had been sitting and settled into a meditative posture. Strands of qi began to swirl around it, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into an exact replica of Chen Luo. Even the Blackstone City elder’s token couldn’t distinguish between them.

This divine ability had been discovered in the Demonseed Sect Leader’s Pouch of Holding. Since the old man had dared to join Blackstone City, he must have had plans all along. By absorbing his brain, Chen Luo naturally gained access to these methods. With the guidance of a Core Formation brain, his execution of the technique proved even more perfect than the Demonseed Sect Leader had anticipated.

After leaving Gu Demon Mountain, Chen Luo traveled west by sword.

Several days later.

As he approached the southwestern border, Chen Luo clearly sensed a shift in the atmosphere. The number of cultivators in the area gradually increased, including several Foundation Establishment cultivators like himself.

The changes in Qiong Hua Sect over the past two years had become increasingly evident. Disciples of the sect kept appearing in the demonic cultivation realm. As the dominant power in the Southwest Territory, Blackstone Ancestor would never allow Qiong Hua Sect from the Far West Territory to encroach upon his domain. Ever since the initial probes began years ago, conflicts between the Far West Territory and the Southwest Territory’s border regions had become common, with cultivators clashing in combat on multiple occasions.

Chen Luo alighted on a solitary peak.

At the border pass, he sensed a familiar presence—the Black Carapace Daoist, with whom he’d shared a fleeting encounter in the past. After the deaths of Elder FusionSpirit and the Demonseed Sect Leader, the Black Carapace Daoist had become the sole Core Formation expert in Blackstone City. His deployment here by the Blackstone Ancestor to guard the frontier was hardly surprising.

Chen Luo had no desire to confront the Black Carapace Daoist. He wasn’t here for a fight; stirring up trouble and attracting Core Formation cultivators would only complicate matters. Thus, he chose a relatively secluded path.

The border between the Far West Territory and the Southwest Territory stretched endlessly. Even the Black Carapace Daoist couldn’t single-handedly patrol the entire length, at most guarding a few critical points. The remaining areas were overseen by ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, with some remote outposts guarded by cultivators who hadn’t even reached Foundation Establishment.

To Chen Luo, these checkpoints were mere formalities, easily bypassed.

He entered Qiong Hua Sect territory.

This time, his purpose for entering Qiong Hua Sect territory was singular.