Chapter 263: Unbridled

As the Flying Boat entered the mountain range, visibility deteriorated sharply. Dark clouds gathered overhead, casting the shadow of Ten Thousand Demon Mountain. A thick layer of frost crystallized on the Giant Whale Flying Boat’s surface, and the temperature plummeted. The spiritual energy around everyone began to circulate autonomously.

Chen Luo stood at the head of the Giant Whale for a moment, then lost interest. As dusk deepened and his Divine Sense grew increasingly disrupted, there was little left to see. After bidding farewell to Zhao Long and Mei Qin, he returned to the platform where they had been cultivating earlier. The others had already departed.

Following Chen Luo’s departure, Zhao Long and Mei Qin also lost their desire to interact. They dispersed and returned to their own quarters.

The interior of the Giant Whale Flying Boat was hollow. Chen Luo descended the staircase and found a long wooden corridor lined with intricate Restriction Formations. These formations flickered constantly as the boat traveled, their light connecting to the protective barriers on the whale’s exterior.

Chen Luo walked to the leftmost Cultivation Chamber, placed his hand on the door, and his Qiong Hua Sect Identity Token flashed. The door swung open with a soft click.

Inside was a five-square-meter wooden chamber. A meditation cushion sat in the center, and recesses in the walls held spirit stones.

The Flying Boat’s internal spiritual energy had to be managed independently, as there were no spirit meridians to provide it.

Chen Luo casually set up a Formation at the entrance, then took out four High-Grade Spirit Stones and placed them into the slots. As the Restriction absorbed the energy, it slowly lit up, and the Night-Shining Pearls on the adjacent wall began to emit a soft, ethereal glow.

Under the dim light, Chen Luo noticed a bookshelf on the left side of the Cultivation Chamber, filled with idle books for passing the time. He randomly picked out half a dozen and flipped through them, discovering that they described fictitious characters and fabricated worlds. One book, supposedly about ascending to the Spirit Realm after reaching the Transformation God stage, was filled with cultivation methods Chen Luo found riddled with errors. The author likely hadn’t even completed the Qi Refining realm.

Setting the books aside, Chen Luo sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, closed his eyes, and attempted to unleash his Divine Sense.

With his Divine Sense nearing the level of a Core Formation cultivator, it swiftly pierced through the Flying Boat’s hull and scanned the surrounding landscape. Earlier, with Zhao Long and Mei Qin present, he had hesitated to fully unleash his Divine Sense. Now, without such concerns, he felt free to extend it without restraint. The Formation guarding the entrance ensured no ordinary person could enter.

Through his Divine Sense, Chen Luo realized the Giant Whale Flying Boat had already reached the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain. At such close range, he could no longer see the Blood-Red Giant Bear in its entirety; only the crimson mountain range it had transformed into remained visible.

Above the stone peak, countless demon beasts slaughtered each other. Though they possessed immense power, their bestial instincts still dominated, setting them apart from monster cultivators.

“What a magnificent Ten Thousand Demon Mountain,” Chen Luo murmured, his Divine Sense accompanying the Giant Whale Flying Boat as it traversed the demon beast-infested region. Beyond the immediate fray, he swiftly detected a powerful presence. Below, a dense swarm of black flying fish battled fiercely. These peculiar creatures had feathered wings on their backs and claws on their abdomens.

The teeming swarm of flying fish clashed with a group of banded venomous snakes, death claiming lives every moment. Yet neither species seemed to comprehend fear, driven only by an instinct to advance relentlessly.

Woo-woo…

As the flying fish ranks thinned, a dark purple specimen surged forward, emitting cries eerily reminiscent of an infant’s wail. The sound rippled outward like sonic waves.

“Why does that thing remind me of a Crimson Worm?” Chen Luo pondered, a thought surfacing in his mind. Over the years, in his quest to “replenish the memories” of his external brain, he had devoured countless ancient texts and inheritances. During his seven years as Sect Leader of the God Lake Immortal Sect, he had leveraged the sect’s resources to amass a vast collection of historical records. His knowledge now far surpassed that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators; even among Core Formation cultivators, only the long-lived veterans could rival his scholarly breadth.

“Ancient Fiend Red Worm—a worthless hybrid.”

The mummified brain within the external brain provided the answer.

Chen Luo instantly lost interest. If they were purebred, he might have considered capturing a pair to refine into Transcendent Blood Pills. But a defective hybrid wasn’t worth the effort.

Withdrawing his Divine Sense, Chen Luo retrieved Elder An’s Medicinal Cauldron from his Pouch of Holding.

He had been using this cauldron for Dan Refinement for years. As his skills improved, the medicinal aura emanating from it had grown increasingly potent. Though he didn’t know what this aura was, he was certain it was extraordinary and might prove invaluable in the future.

After storing the cauldron, Chen Luo sensed the two Miraculous Gu within his Pouch of Holding once more.

Three Miraculous Insects and two Miraculous Gu.

The combined presence of these five entities could easily attract the attention of Gu Insect Ridge below. Yet giving them up was unthinkable. Now that his cultivation had reached this level, it was time to explore techniques he had previously lacked the resources to pursue.

Insect manipulation and Gu refinement were promising avenues for future development.

Night descended, still and deep as water.

The Flying Boat glided through the night sky, its wooden frame emitting only faint creaks.

“I wonder how Master is faring,” Chen Luo murmured to himself.

Withdrawing his Divine Sense from the Gu Insect, Chen Luo’s thoughts began to wander. He had unknowingly spent forty years in cultivation. How was his Third Uncle doing? Could he still be alive? Had Junior Sister Xie and Junior Brother Du, who had chosen to remain in the Great Tomb, come to regret their decision?

The Whale Flying Boat sped onward, leaving the first mountain range behind and entering a new region.

Here, a vast mountain basin teemed with dense green vegetation, dotted with colossal blossoms. Each petal stretched nearly fifty meters wide, and crimson tendrils radiated from the flower’s core, devouring any poisonous insects that flew too close.

Zhao Long skillfully piloted the Flying Boat through the floral maze.

Inside the Cultivation Chamber…

Gurgle…

Chen Luo rotated a wisp of Spirit Fire in his palm, cradling Elder An’s Pill Cauldron above it. Inside, a withered black vine, resembling a mushroom stem, simmered. This peculiar plant had taken seven years to cultivate, nurtured from the Root Tendrils gifted to him by Zhangqing Zhenren of the Great Tomb of Yue.

Originally intended for Dan Refinement, multiple attempts had failed. While the auxiliary herbs turned to ash, the vine remained unscathed. After years of research, Chen Luo finally devised a practical solution: using the Medicinal Cauldron for hotpot.

Under the simmering heat of the Spirit Fire, the withered black vine gradually steeped the water, turning it a deep, inky green and releasing a faint, refreshing fragrance.

Chen Luo poured himself a cup of the medicinal tea and took a delicate sip.

“That’s the taste!”

He had been drinking this tea for seven years. Its medicinal potency surpassed even that of pills, and it was thanks to this elixir—along with the insights provided by the Immortal Sect Leader—that he had rapidly achieved the Perfected Foundation Establishment Realm.

On the Flying Boat, the absence of spirit meridians rendered conventional cultivation ineffective, making direct consumption of medicinal substances the most reliable method. This wasn’t unique to Chen Luo; all cultivators aboard relied primarily on their personal stockpiles of pills and other medicinal resources.

“To condense a Golden Core surpassing even the Transcendent Blood Pill, I must further compress my spiritual energy.”

After finishing the tea, Chen Luo resumed his compression cultivation. The spiritual energy within him had now turned a deep, inky green, and the nascent Golden Core had noticeably expanded. Yet this was still insufficient. Achieving the Golden Core required not only accumulated spiritual energy but also a refined Divine Soul. As it stood, Chen Luo’s Divine Soul was indistinguishable from that of an ordinary Great Cultivator of the Perfected Realm, leaving him with a long road ahead.

Boom!

A violent surge of magical energy erupted outside, causing Chen Luo to furrow his brow slightly.

Chen Luo extended his Divine Sense and detected a thick plume of black smoke billowing from the corridor outside. The surrounding Restrictions flickered as a pitch-black figure stood in the middle of the passage—the very Peak Lord of Boulder Peak he had seen upon boarding the Flying Boat earlier, the same old codger the Immortal Sect Leader’s brain had estimated to be over 450 years old.

Beside the Peak Lord of Boulder Peak lay a charred corpse. Though fire magic had ravaged the body beyond recognition, Chen Luo still identified the man.

It was the Peak Lord of Heart Sword Peak, another Great Cultivator of the Perfected Realm.

“Dead?” Chen Luo raised an eyebrow, surprised by the ferocity of the internal strife within the Qiong Hua Sect. To think they had stooped to fratricide! Once a member died outside the sect’s borders, no one would inquire, no one would care. The mummy’s brain had previously detected lingering cursed power on the Peak Lord of Heart Sword Peak’s body, and now it seemed highly likely that this power originated from the Peak Lord of Boulder Peak.

“You ignorant fool! How dare you try to steal what’s mine!”

Unbothered by the Divine Senses probing him, the Peak Lord of Boulder Peak, fresh from his kill, grabbed the Peak Lord of Heart Sword Peak by the collar and dragged the corpse down the corridor.

This brazen act made it clear he held none of the other occupants of the Flying Boat in the slightest regard.

The Peak Lord of Boulder Peak dragged the corpse to the edge of the Flying Boat and casually tossed it overboard.

The Identity Token on the corpse flashed, effortlessly piercing the Restriction and plummeting toward Ten Thousand Demon Mountain below. Hyena demon beasts immediately converged, drawn by the scent, while carrion vultures swooped down to scavenge the remains.

In the blink of an eye, the Peak Master of Heart Sword Peak had been devoured completely, leaving nothing but his Identity Token buried in the soil.

“A Third-Tier Spirit Material?” Chen Luo’s eyes flickered, sensing a familiar aura.

As a top-tier second-rank Alchemist, his perception of spiritual materials was exceptionally sharp, ensuring he wouldn’t misidentify it. The Peak Lord of Boulder Peak possessed something valuable.

After disposing of the corpse, the Peak Lord returned to his Cultivation Chamber, closed the door, and sealed it against prying eyes.

“If even this is possible…” Chen Luo’s mind raced.

He contemplated slaughtering everyone on the Flying Boat. With his current strength, summoning the Silver Carapace Corpse King would undoubtedly result in a one-sided massacre.

However, after careful deliberation, he abandoned the tempting notion.

He hadn’t even formally joined the Qiong Hua Sect yet, and such a grand “gift” would draw undue attention. If he encountered someone who took matters seriously, it could spell trouble.