Chapter 255: Harvest

The back mountain cemetery, where Chen Luo had once made his fortune, had long since become overgrown with weeds after all these years.

After his departure, new disciples had taken over the place. However, like their predecessors, the new caretakers adopted a hands-off approach to the cemetery.

When Chen Luo arrived, the disciple guarding the cemetery was fast asleep.

The back mountain cemetery wasn’t exactly a prime location. The spiritual energy was thin here, so disciples who hadn’t met the God Lake Immortal Sect’s recruitment standards often chose this place, essentially buying themselves an outer sect identity.

Such disciples could be found across all the peaks. The God Lake Immortal Sect’s reputation was so vast that many who ascended the mountain refused to return to the mortal world. By staying here, they could not only continue their cultivation but also bring influence to their worldly families, making it a kind of investment.

In the twenty-odd years since Chen Luo’s departure, more bodies had been buried in the back mountain cemetery. However, they were all Qi Refining realm juniors. To Chen Luo, whose intellect had far surpassed the Qi Refining realm long ago, these minds held no value, so he didn’t disturb their eternal slumber.

After circling the cemetery, Chen Luo mounted his sword and flew toward Pharmaceutical King Peak.

“I left in a hurry back then, missing many valuable minds within the God Lake Immortal Sect.”

After leaving the sect for over twenty years, Chen Luo could finally complete what he had been unable to do before.

Compared to the chaos of the demonic cultivation realm, the God Lake Immortal Sect boasted remarkably high-quality minds. Each Foundation Establishment cultivator, upon their death, had left behind their own legacy, perfectly filling the gaps in Chen Luo’s knowledge across various fields.

Two days later.

The graves on the back mountains of each peak were meticulously cleaned, with the soil freshly turned. The disciples responsible for guarding the graves hadn’t seen a single soul, a bizarre sight that sent them into a panic. They immediately reported the matter.

However, since there were no casualties and no high-ranking figures involved, the incident was naturally ignored by the upper echelons. Over the past two decades, the God Lake Immortal Sect had remained steadfast in its principle of prioritizing profit above all else, a tradition that had only grown stronger with time.

In his cultivation chamber,

Chen Luo organized his gains from the past two days. With his late-stage Foundation Establishment strength, tomb raiding on the back mountains was child’s play. The Qi Refining realm disciples guarding the graves had no chance of detecting him.

In those two days, he had thoroughly excavated the major peaks he hadn’t been able to before. He obtained two Foundation Establishment brains each from Divine Fire Peak and Pharmaceutical King Peak, and one from each of the remaining peaks.

With the addition of seven more brains, Chen Luo’s collection of Foundation Establishment brains now totaled one hundred and twenty-five. Combined with one Core Formation brain and an unknown mummy brain, his total came to one hundred and twenty-seven.

“I still need to gather the corresponding inheritances from these immortal sects.”

Now that he had the brains of the immortal sect elders, Chen Luo needed to acquire their former cultivation techniques and inheritances. Otherwise, keeping these brains would be largely useless.

Under the cover of night, Chen Luo left his cultivation chamber.

Dark and stormy. A perfect time to venture out.

Chen Luo’s first destination was Pharmaceutical King Peak. Having visited once before, he knew the way well. Moreover, with Elder An’s brain as a guide, returning felt as natural as walking into his own home.

He flew swiftly, alerting no one.

Soon, Chen Luo reached Pharmaceutical King Peak. Though the place had changed slightly in the past twenty years, the new peak lord was none other than Dawn, formerly Elder An’s deputy. After Elder An’s disappearance, Dawn had smoothly ascended to the peak lord’s position.

Landing on the peak, Chen Luo dispersed his divine sense and quickly located Pharmaceutical King Peak’s library.

With a swift movement, he slipped through the window.

Chen Luo, possessing a second-rank restriction brain, immediately recognized the powerful barrier at the entrance. A weaker restriction protected the window, presenting a viable breakthrough point for him.

“So few?”

Upon entering the library, Chen Luo felt a twinge of disappointment. This wasn’t entirely unexpected. The main peaks of the God Lake Immortal Sect functioned largely independently, with the core legacy concentrated on Divine Lake Peak. While each peak maintained its own collection of cultivation techniques, these libraries primarily catered to new disciples, containing very few advanced techniques above the Foundation Establishment stage. Those high-level methods remained under the exclusive control of the respective peak lords.

“This will have to do.”

Chen Luo strode to the first bookshelf and began browsing openly.

As he rapidly flipped through the manuals, corresponding memories surged through the minds of the spectral elders. These were techniques they had mastered in life; as Chen Luo’s “data” synchronized, they instantly recalled them.

Fire manipulation, Pill nurturing, spirit plant cultivation, medicinal formulation—

Creak…

Two hours later, Chen Luo set down the final book. Just as he turned to leave, the door creaked open and a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a gray robe entered.

Chen Luo was still holding a book when he entered. The visitor immediately stopped upon crossing the threshold.

Someone’s here?

He remembered issuing an order to seal off the library today. Unless he’d misremembered, the visitor couldn’t have entered. He hadn’t noticed any activation of the library’s protective barriers either.

“Who are you? And why are you in the library?” Elder Dawning asked, his face grim as he glared at Chen Luo. The sect’s founder was still alive, so he couldn’t believe anyone would be so bold as to cause trouble on the mountain.

Most importantly, he recognized the disciple token hanging at Chen Luo’s waist—its aura unmistakably belonged to a disciple of the sect.

“I’m a disciple of Wu Dao Peak. I came to read some books,” Chen Luo replied earnestly, setting his own book down.

“Reading?” Elder Dawning’s expression turned frosty.

From Wu Dao Peak, of all places! Ever since their previous peak lord disappeared, Pharmaceutical King Peak had severed all ties with Wu Dao Peak. In recent years, aside from official missions, no disciples from the two factions had interacted privately.

“Don’t you know that borrowing sect cultivation techniques requires merit points? Your actions clearly violate sect rules!”

“Merit points? Sect rules?”

Chen Luo slapped himself on the forehead, realizing he’d been gone too long and forgotten the rules of the God Lake Immortal Sect. But he couldn’t possibly come up with the required merit points on short notice. Since joining the sect, he’d never taken any proper missions, and the merit points he’d earned from trivial tasks were long gone.

“Could I perhaps borrow against future merits?” Chen Luo suggested.

“Preposterous! What do you think the sect is—a lending institution?” Dawn retorted, but before he could finish, Chen Luo’s aura abruptly shifted.

A near-Foundation Establishment Perfection energy surged from him, activating ninety-nine spiritual energy dragons within his meridians. The books in the scripture pavilion began flipping themselves without any wind, rustling like autumn leaves.

Is Wu Dao Peak really this advanced? All their disciples are in the late Foundation Establishment stage!

Elder Dawning involuntarily took a half-step back, a cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He was only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, with just three spiritual energy dragons in his body. Sensing Chen Luo’s power, he instinctively swallowed hard, his unfinished words dying in his throat.

“Are you really a disciple of Wu Dao Peak?”

“Genuine as they come.”

Chen Luo suppressed his aura and retrieved a pitch-black token from his Pouch of Holding, handing it over.

Truly, reasoning with people was the best approach—this was what it meant to win hearts through virtue.

Elder Dawning took the token and, sensing its familiar aura, breathed a sigh of relief. He’s one of our own, no doubt about it! With this verification, safety concerns vanished. As long as one was a disciple of the God Lake Immortal Sect, they had to abide by the sect’s ancient rules, set by the founder himself. Elder Dawning channeled a wisp of spiritual energy, attempting to deduct merit points from the token.

The energy circled once before returning empty-handed. He lowered his head to inspect the token and froze in shock.

It was indeed a token from Wu Dao Peak, bearing the unmistakable aura of Void Sage. The problem? The merit points balance showed a debt of over ten thousand!

“Not enough?”

Chen Luo recognized the token immediately—it was his master Void Sage’s. He’d used it once before, draining it completely. After returning and speaking with Void Sage, he borrowed it again, never imagining that after more than twenty years, his master still hadn’t repaid the debt.

“I have another one here. There should be quite a bit of merit points in this token.”

Chen Luo patted his Pouch of Holding, suddenly remembering the second token.

With a flash of light, a white jade token appeared in his hand. The character “藥” (Medicine) blazed prominently at its center. Elder Dawning’s hand trembled as he reached for the token, his recently stabilized composure fracturing once more.

He recognized this token.

It was the personal token of Elder An, the former master of Pharmaceutical King Peak. Having served as Elder An’s deputy for over a century, Dawning could never mistake it. If not for Elder An’s disappearance, he would never have had the opportunity to succeed him as peak master. Even now, during his occasional Dan Refinement sessions, he still wondered when he’d get the chance to properly thank the expert who had eliminated Elder An—little did he know that opportunity would come so soon.

“No need for that,” Elder Dawning said, his trembling gone and face hardening. “Why bother deducting merit points for a few scrolls? I’ll cover the cost for you.”

“But… isn’t that against the rules?”

“On Pharmaceutical King Peak, I am the rules! If I say it’s fine, then it’s fine.”

With these words, Elder Dawning handed Chen Luo the black book in his hand.

“I also have a Dan Refinement technique manual for the Foundation Establishment realm here. As fellow sect members, we should share our knowledge and learn from each other.”

Holding the newly acquired cultivation technique, Chen Luo felt a surge of emotion. The sect truly has more good people than bad, he thought.

Pharmaceutical King Peak seems destined to be my home. Both Elder An, the former peak master, and Elder Dawning, the new one, have treated me with such kindness.

After accepting the technique from Elder Dawning, Chen Luo chatted with him for a while longer. Touched by the elder’s kindness, Elder Dawning suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie and, gritting his teeth, gifted Chen Luo his own Pouch of Holding.

Leaving Pharmaceutical King Peak, Chen Luo visited the remaining major peaks. During the day, he focused on cultivation; at night, he immersed himself in books. Over time, he became acquainted with all the peak masters.

Life in the immortal sect flowed peacefully, with each day blending into the next. Before he knew it, half a month had passed.

Half a month later, Huang Ying, having stabilized her cultivation, returned to Wu Dao Peak. Her Foundation Establishment aura immediately alerted Void Sage. Under the watchful eyes of Chen Luo and Void Sage, Huang Ying became the second elder on Wu Dao Peak, entitled to the privileges of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After her promotion, Huang Ying moved next door to Chen Luo, and they resumed their cultivation side-by-side as before. However, Chen Luo had entered another secluded retreat, which left Huang Ying somewhat disappointed.

Within the secret chamber…

Chen Luo stretched out his hand and merged a viscous black liquid into the nine Magic Swords. Spiritual flames surged forth, enveloping the swords and continuously refining them. Through this process, the swords became increasingly pure, their surfaces growing brighter, and diamond-shaped patterns emerged across their blades.

“Refine!”

Chen Luo formed a hand seal with one hand and struck out the final imprint.

The Magic Swords shimmered, and their dazzling light immediately retracted into his body, transforming them back into ordinary Magic Swords. Having absorbed the brain of a second-rank Artificer from Divine Fire Peak and refined his own techniques, Chen Luo had repaired and refined all his Magic Artifacts. The Soul Banner was now a high-grade second-rank artifact, and the Five Elements Sword Formation had reached top-grade second-rank quality.

All the resources needed for this Artificing were provided by Elder Dawning, the new peak master of Pharmaceutical King Peak. This enthusiastic elder had insisted on giving Chen Luo a Pouch of Holding, leaving him no choice but to accept.