Chapter 239: The Sealed Land

“Welcome, Fellow Daoist, to Qiong Hua Sect.”

With Wang Mingren’s token, Chen Luo easily passed Qiong Hua Sect’s assessment and became an official guest elder. Only after entering did Chen Luo truly grasp the sect’s formidable power.

According to these people, this wasn’t Qiong Hua Sect’s main headquarters, but a temporary stronghold. The one in charge here wasn’t the sect leader, but a peak lord of Qiong Hua Sect. The true Qiong Hua Sect lay deep within the cloud sea, requiring passage through a regional teleportation array - an incredibly distant journey.

The mere existence of this regional teleportation array alone gave Chen Luo a deeper understanding of Qiong Hua Sect’s capabilities.

As a second-rank array master himself, he understood better than anyone the level of teleportation arrays. Even the lowest-grade teleportation array was a fourth-rank legacy, corresponding to Nascent Soul great masters! Such beings existed beyond his wildest imagination in the entire Southwest Territory.

Forget Nascent Soul cultivators - in the Southwest Territory, even Core Formation cultivators were as rare as phoenix feathers. Having traveled extensively through the seven kingdoms region, the Southwest Territory, and now the Far West, he’d seen how each of these vast regions contained nearly twenty mortal nations combined.

In such a vast region, there were barely a dozen Core Formation cultivators, each one a king or patriarch who had established their own sects.

“How is the spiritual energy at your sect’s location?” Chen Luo couldn’t help but ask. He recalled a suggestion from the mummy’s brain from long ago:

Find a ninth-order spirit meridian and stay there for several months to achieve breakthrough.

“Of course it surpasses this Southwest Territory,” replied a middle-aged man in white robes across from Chen Luo. This was the peak lord of Qiong Hua Sect in the Far West, a great cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment. His cultivation was exceptionally strong, with spiritual energy harmonized into a unified whole, and he had already formed a Pseudo-Core Seed. By Chen Luo’s calculations, this man could have reached Core Formation long ago. The reason he suppressed his breakthrough was undoubtedly to form a higher-level Golden Core.

Cultivators from Qiong Hua Sect naturally had a broader perspective than those from the Southwest Territory. Having witnessed higher realms, they understood how to proceed on the path ahead. This was precisely why Chen Luo had insisted on letting the mummy’s brain plan his route during Foundation Establishment - it was the main reason he achieved a perfect Foundation Establishment.

“I hope to cultivate at your sect in the future.”

“There will be an opportunity.”

After exchanging some more pleasantries, the white-robed man handed Chen Luo a token.

Like the elder’s token from Blackstone City, this one also bore a Core Formation imprint. Once accepted, it would bind the recipient. Chen Luo recognized this method well.

Without hesitation, he accepted the token, pretending not to notice the Core Formation imprint now embedded within his body.

Seeing this, the white-robed man’s smile grew even more amiable.

“Does Elder Chen intend to become an Inner Sect elder or an Outer Sect elder?”

“What’s the difference?”

“Outer Sect elders serve a fifty-year term. Upon completion, they may leave. Inner Sect elders become full members of the Qiong Hua Sect, joining our ranks,” the white-robed man explained patiently.

“Outer Sect elders, like Shangren Yinwind, handle external affairs. They enjoy greater freedom but receive fewer resources. We limit access to Core Formation Stage legacies for them. Inner Sect elders are true members. They receive equal treatment as sect members, full access to Core Formation legacies, and more favorable exchange rates for spiritual materials. I hear you’re a second-rank alchemist. Our sect has a complete alchemist legacy. If you become an Inner Sect elder, all you need will be provided. The sect only takes three-tenths of the profits from your medicinal work, leaving the rest for you.”

The white-robed man spoke of the benefits of becoming an Inner Elder of Qiong Hua Sect.

“If that’s the case, you should naturally become an Inner Elder.”

“Welcome.”

The white-robed man produced a white bamboo scroll and instructed Chen Luo to drip blood onto it.

Blood Seal Register, Harmless.

The mummy’s brain immediately recognized the origin of this object, and knowledge about restrictions and curses surfaced. Though not fully comprehending it, he could discern its nature as benign.

Chen Luo extended his index finger and pricked it to draw a drop of blood.

After the blood was absorbed, the white-robed man completely lowered his guard.

This register was the foundation of their Qiong Hua Sect, capable of determining whether newcomers harbored hostility toward them. The one in his hand was a subsidiary copy, while the true master register resided at the mountain gate - a rare fourth-order Magic Artifact.

“Once matters here are concluded, I’ll take you to the mountain gate to pay respects to our Ancestral Master and formally initiate you into the sect.”

“I await your esteemed elder brother’s auspicious news.”

“Besides the medicine concocting task, junior brother must also accept three or more disciples and ensure they reach the Qi Refining Perfection realm. The more disciples you graduate, the greater the merit rewards.”

The white-robed man then explained the conversion ratio between disciples and merit rewards to Chen Luo.

Chen Luo took a quick look and gained an understanding of Qiong Hua Sect’s power structure.

This was a third type of sect organization, different from God Lake Immortal Sect and Blackstone City. In God Lake Immortal Sect, their rules and regulations prioritized profit above all else, with everything centered around resources. The sect had no real cohesion; all those gathered around God Lake Immortal Sect did so for personal gain, held together by the sect leader’s brute force like a sandcastle.

Blackstone City was different again. All cultivators there served Blackstone Ancestor, a Core Formation expert. All forces in the demonic cultivation realm were subject to Blackstone City’s control, paying taxes and sharing profits in exchange for Blackstone Ancestor’s protection. Compared to the loose structure of God Lake Immortal Sect, Blackstone City was more like Blackstone Ancestor’s personal fiefdom.

Qiong Hua Sect differed from both. It resembled a traditional immortal sect, with strict limits on accepting new disciples. Those in power didn’t simply exploit others. While the strong still occupied the upper positions, cultivators at the bottom also had opportunities to rise. This was the most humane sect Chen Luo had encountered so far.

“Good.”

Chen Luo nodded.

After a morning of formalities, the procedures for joining the Qiong Hua Sect were finally completed. The white-robed man, having set aside his initial wariness, granted Chen Luo the status of a Medicine Elder.

The white-robed man then introduced Chen Luo to the seventeen Foundation Establishment elders stationed in this region. Beyond the strongest among them—the white-robed man himself—Chen Luo recognized Wang Mingren and Wang Mingde. Their dejected expressions suggested their so-called ‘Ancestor’ had failed to save them from their predicament.

Thus, the four brothers of “Benevolence, Righteousness, Morality, and Ethics” now stood reduced to merely “Benevolence and Ethics.”

Beyond these two brothers, one Foundation Establishment cultivator left a particularly deep impression on Chen Luo—the very same Priest of a Thousand Ghosts Wang Mingren had mentioned before. Like Chen Luo, this man stood at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Yet he was a rare soul cultivator, commanding a horde of minor ghosts. These spectral minions served as the Qiong Hua Sect’s primary intelligence network, gathering nearly all the sect’s information.

After some perfunctory pleasantries, Chen Luo’s formal induction into the sect was complete.

In the following weeks, Chen Luo gradually familiarized himself with the Qiong Hua Sect’s regulations while taking on simple alchemy tasks to ease his transition.

Two months later.

Chen Luo had fully integrated into the Qiong Hua Sect, and the white-robed man no longer monitored his activities.

During his leisure time, Chen Luo explored every corner of the Qiong Hua Sect.

For the Qiong Hua Sect, the entire Extreme West region served as a temporary stronghold. The disciples stationed here had all been recruited in recent years. The mountain’s current records showed that most cultivation techniques were aimed at the Qi Refining realm, with occasional Foundation Establishment methods available for merit exchange. With Chen Luo currently destitute, his hopes of visiting the sect’s library were dashed.

“There’s no Ancestor’s Tomb, just a memorial hall for spirit tablets. This temporary stronghold is truly provisional—everything’s brand new.”

Gazing at the pristine memorial hall, Chen Luo couldn’t help but sigh.

The Qiong Hua Sect possessed substantial resources, but those pertained to the main sect. In this temporary outpost, aside from the strongest ‘patriarch,’ everyone else’s strength was comparable to his own. After interacting with them, he found many possessed less worldly knowledge than himself.

“We can only place our hopes in the ‘old man’ mentioned by the Demonseed Sect Leader.”

Chen Luo approached the final barren mountain.

This was the deepest gray stone mountain within the Qiong Hua Sect, accessible only to Inner Sect elders. This privilege had been the primary reason Chen Luo chose to become an Inner Sect elder.

As Chen Luo entered the gray stone mountain, he immediately felt the temperature drop significantly. The moment his foot crossed the boundary of the gray stone mountain, dense black patterns lit up around him. The nearby stone stretched, its surface edges twisting as two holes opened, transforming into eyes that looked directly at him.

“Who are you? Why haven’t I seen you before?”

The stone face, full of confusion, examined Chen Luo from head to toe. It wasn’t until it spotted the Inner Sect Elder token at his waist that it finally lowered its guard.

Stone Spirit?

This was Chen Luo’s first encounter with such a creature. Stone Spirits were ancient beings. In the era of ancient methods before spiritual energy weakened, these beings were born as mountain deities and were the most favored subordinates of many great masters. Not only were they loyal, but their lifespans were also long. By simply cultivating one, a mountain sect could enjoy stability for many years.

For Qiong Hua Sect to possess even a Stone Spirit showed the depth of their mountain sect’s resources.

“I am a newly admitted Medicine Elder. I came here to gather spiritual materials for medicine,” Chen Luo replied politely.

“Go gather the herbs yourself.”

The Stone Spirit grumbled, his expression hardening slightly before he transformed back into a solid rock. For the Stone Spirit, his duty was simple: guard against outsiders infiltrating Graystone Mountain. Everything else was of no concern.

Following the mountain path, Chen Luo soon spotted a gray stone door.

As he approached, the elder’s token at his waist glowed automatically, emitting a stream of light. Sensing the energy, the stone door opened of its own accord.

Inside, Chen Luo immediately felt a wave of intense heat.

The sudden temperature change stood in stark contrast to the cool air outside.

Blood Pool! The entire scene before him was dyed crimson.

Within the stone chamber lay a churning pool of blood, its edges lined with iron chains as thick as arms. Upon closer inspection, these chains bore countless inscribed characters that pulsed with a bloody glow, clearly affected by the pool’s contents.

Three figures sat around the Blood Pool, their auras so profound they seemed to radiate a palpable pressure. One of them emanated an aura so deep Chen Luo couldn’t even gauge its depth - like a black hole that threatened to swallow all who approached.

“Greetings, esteemed masters,” Chen Luo began.

“Help!” The figure interrupted before Chen Luo could finish.

Gurgle.