Chapter 284: A Head That Can Be Picked Up

“This is the information about True Disciple Chen Luo. All relevant personnel have been investigated, and the findings are confirmed to be accurate.”

During the days Chen Luo had spent on the mountain, Qiong Hua Sect hadn’t truly abandoned him. Every piece of information about him had been thoroughly investigated. The moment Immortal Venerable Guhe met Chen Luo marked the completion of Qiong Hua Sect’s investigation.

“The Far West Territory?”

The investigation into Chen Luo’s situation had been carried out with meticulous clarity. Even his occupation of Gu Demon Mountain in the demonic cultivation realm, along with his advance dispatch of disciple Mu Xiaoyu, had come under Gu He’s scrutiny.

“No wonder I couldn’t find Gu Yue’s whereabouts before. He must have ended up in the Far West Territory. Is this the Demonic Heart Ghost’s revenge?”

Crushing the Jade Slip in his hand, Gu He turned and returned to his immortal’s cave.

At the summit of Grand Void Peak.

This was the convergence point of Fourth-Tier Spirit Veins, a location where only the Grand Void Ancestor had the privilege to reside. Now, a thatched hut stood beside it—a dwelling personally ordered by the Grand Void Ancestor for Chen Luo’s cultivation.

Such treatment hadn’t even been afforded to the First True Disciple Jun Yao.

“Teacher.”

Mu Xiaoyu’s eyes brimmed with excitement upon seeing Chen Luo.

Originally, after being sent to Qiong Hua Sect, Mu Xiaoyu had been placed under Taiyuan Peak’s tutelage. Due to Chen Luo’s influence, she had been transferred back to Grand Void Peak in recent days, now standing as a third-generation disciple there.

For Qiong Hua Sect, disciples with Heavenly Spirit Root were not uncommon. A sect with such a long history had seen every kind of genius. Every disciple who entered Qiong Hua Sect was a prodigy. Supreme-Grade Spirit Roots and Special Physiques were encountered during every recruitment period.

Chen Luo’s Senior Sister Yu Junyao possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root. Before maturing, even geniuses were just ordinary disciples. And as long as they were disciples, their treatment within Qiong Hua Sect remained equal.

Chen Luo nodded with a smile, his understanding of Qiong Hua Sect’s strength deepening. He carefully reviewed his past actions, confirming no mistakes. For years, he had cultivated alone, avoiding contact with any of Qiong Hua Sect’s opposing factions.

Only he knew where True Person Gu Yue had died. The Yin Soul born from his corpse had perished in the Divine Remnant Soil of Iron Spear Temple, ensuring all potential threats were eliminated.

“Focus on your cultivation. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me.”

As a Great Cultivator at the Perfected Foundation Establishment Realm, Chen Luo found it effortless to guide Mu Xiaoyu. During his time at Grand Void Peak, he resolved to maintain a low profile.

Until he fully gained the Grand Void Ancestor’s trust, Chen Luo would play the role of a qualified disciple perfectly. During this period, he continuously accessed True Person Gu Yue’s brain, adopting his ‘mentor’s’ habits. Every action Chen Luo took mirrored the former True Person Gu Yue’s exactly.

Even his tea-drinking motions were replicated with perfect fidelity.

After seeing off Mu Xiaoyu, Chen Luo returned to the Cultivation Chamber arranged for him by the Grand Void Ancestor.

The chamber contained a vast array of precious spiritual materials. Several types, which would make Core Formation True Persons envious, now lay here as common as cabbage. Ingredients for refining Origin Return Pills were piled in a corner as low-grade materials.

“Perfect timing to compress and enhance my spiritual energy. Cultivating on a Fourth-Tier Spirit Vein - I’ve never experienced such treatment before.”

Sitting cross-legged, Chen Luo grabbed a handful of Supreme-Grade Origin Return Pills. He skipped the refinement process entirely, consuming them directly.

As the spiritual energy dissolved, mixing with the mountain’s nearly liquid spiritual energy, it began to further enhance the ‘Core Formation Seed’ within his body. More golden threads connected to his spiritual qi and blood shell, causing golden light to overflow.

Another half month passed in this manner.

Chen Luo had fully integrated into Grand Void Peak. During this time, the Grand Void Ancestor visited him again, granting him the highest authority on the mountain. If Chen Luo wished, he could go anywhere on the mountain, including the seclusion areas where the Grand Void Ancestor himself practiced cultivation.

At the summit of Grand Void Peak, within the Cultivation Chamber:

Chen Luo stood by the bookshelf, flipping through the Grand Void Ancestor’s collection of cultivation manuals. These were rare treasures - techniques so precious they’d been guarded by the Nascent Soul True Monarch himself. Among them lay top-tier methods for reaching the Nascent Soul stage, along with complementary secret arts. There were even several approaches for achieving the Golden Core. Beyond cultivation manuals, the collection contained extensive knowledge of pills, formations, talismans, and artifacts.

The Grand Void Ancestor had lived for over two millennia - enough time to transform an ordinary person into a polymath genius. And the Ancestor was far from ordinary.

Can spiritual energy be manipulated like this?

So that’s why! I missed the mark by half a step during Core Condensation - a hair’s breadth of error led to a world of difference!

Foundation Establishment actually influences Core Formation and Nascent Soul Condensation? What a pity - I strayed from the path at the very beginning. One wrong step leads to a lifetime of mistakes.

As Chen Luo delved deeper into the manuals, the External Brain’s multitude of minds rapidly assimilated the knowledge. Many Foundation Establishment and Core Formation minds began reflecting on their own cultivation ‘paths’ from their unique perspectives. Through the collective wisdom of countless failed attempts, Chen Luo’s path to Golden Core Condensation became increasingly clear. He also grew more appreciative of the Mummified Brain’s extraordinary nature.

This mysterious brain had planned a flawless path for Chen Luo since the Qi Refining realm, avoiding all mistakes. At that time, Chen Luo hadn’t yet accumulated the knowledge he possessed now, and his exposure to cultivation techniques was limited. In other words, the brain relied on its own instincts to help Chen Luo find a perfect path, laying a solid foundation for his subsequent cultivation progress.

After finishing the book, Chen Luo turned his attention to the nearby Pill Furnace.

Patriarch Gu He was also an expert in the Pill Dao.

He himself was a Fourth-Tier Alchemist, having pioneered the Starlight Fire Pill Refining Technique. The methods True Person Gu Yue had learned were all passed down from him.

“This Pill Furnace is at least a Fourth-Tier Magic Artifact.”

The massive Pill Furnace occupied nearly half the room, its body approximately five meters tall. Including the ears and feet, it measured nearly seven meters in total. The colossal furnace was secured by iron locks, with a horizontally hinged lid facing forward. The lid featured a translucent observation area, allowing one to monitor the refinement process of the medicinal ingredients inside at any time.

Chen Luo approached the Pill Furnace, familiar medicinal aromas wafting from within.

Now, Chen Luo’s authority on Grand Void Peak matched that of the Grand Void Ancestor himself. The Ancestor truly treated him like a nephew, having specially reserved a space in the Cultivation Chamber for him to practice cultivation at any time.

“I wonder what kind of pill is being refined inside.”

Patriarch Gu He wasn’t present in the Cultivation Chamber. Earlier, a message had arrived from Profound Mystery Peak, and after receiving it, the patriarch had gone to the main peak. Chen Luo seized this opportunity to come here for study and accumulation.

Sitting on the prayer cushion beside the furnace, Chen Luo attempted to extend his Divine Sense into it.

“Hm?”

When he sensed the ‘pill’ within the Pill Furnace, Chen Luo’s expression underwent a slight change. He had originally wanted to understand the structure of Fourth-Tier Pills, but he made an unexpected discovery.

The furnace fire inside the Pill Furnace was still burning, not having gone out even after the Grand Void Ancestor’s departure. Two spherical flames were flying back and forth within the furnace, and the surrounding furnace walls were covered with densely packed patterns that resembled both writing and Formation graphics.

What caught Chen Luo’s attention was the mass of blood-colored liquid suspended in the center of the furnace.

He had originally thought this liquid was some medicinal liquid refined from spiritual materials. However, after his Divine Sense touched it, he discovered there was more to it than met the eye. As his Divine Sense penetrated the twisted medicinal liquid, he saw a pool of blood filled with resentment, surrounded by dense Demonic Heart Power.

Demonic Heart Power?

There’s a shortcut!

Chen Luo’s spirits lifted. His last rapid cultivation breakthrough had come from Sword Pool Peak’s Blood Pool. Back then, he’d sealed the pool alongside the Three Great Elders of Sword Pool Peak. For years, he’d exploited that resource, shaving decades off his cultivation journey.

This new Blood Pool’s Demonic Heart Power purity surpassed even Sword Pool Peak’s phantom reservoir.

Bai Gu submerged in the crimson liquid, its twisted crimson barriers isolating the heat outside.

The Grand Void Ancestor employed divine arts to capture the Blood Pool, compressing it into medicinal material for his Pill Furnace. By refining the protective blood barrier, the pool’s Demonic Heart Power would be fully extracted, serving as a catalyst for the Grand Void Ancestor’s alchemy.

No wonder True Person Gu Yue never succeeded in creating a Nascent Soul Pill.

The chasm between Third-Tier Pill Refiners and Fourth-Tier Alchemists was vast. Beyond Nascent Soul stage, Chen Luo couldn’t comprehend the materials used in alchemy - no longer simple spiritual materials or medicinal liquid combinations.

There were also some abstract things present.

Buzz!

When Chen Luo’s divine sense detected the Blood Pool, the entity within sensed him as well. The bloody water surged, and a deathly pale skull emerged, emitting a vortex-like pull from the Pill Furnace. Chen Luo’s mind made up, he stepped inside.

He might have hesitated elsewhere, but on Grand Void Peak, he felt no fear. Before arriving, Patriarch Gu He had clearly stated that items in the Cultivation Chamber could be used freely. This Blood Pool was clearly ‘medicine’—if he didn’t use it now, it might get refined away later.

What belongs to my Martial Uncle is mine!

Hadn’t he endured days of anxiety for this very moment?

Heat!

Unbearable heat.

The moment he entered, Chen Luo felt as if he might melt. His clothes spontaneously ignited, and even his Foundation Establishment Spirit Body showed signs of collapse. Fortunately, the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art manifested in time, shielding him from the searing heat.

“Young one, bring this Founding Ancestor out, and I shall grant you supreme opportunity.”

The skull in the Blood Pool gazed at Chen Luo, its expression charged with urgency as it sent a thought his way.

Chen Luo ignored the skull, scanning his surroundings instead. Beneath his feet lay a soft, flesh-like soil that pulsed like viscera. Above, two suns circled in the sky - these were the same fiery orbs he’d seen outside the Pill Furnace earlier.

“I am the Demonic Heart Ancestor, immortal through ten thousand calamities, indestructible across all heavens. I sense the aura of the Demonic Heart Art within you. When this old ancestor escapes this predicament, you shall receive great rewards.”

Seeing Chen Luo’s indifference, the skull in the Blood Pool began emitting a hypnotic voice that rippled through the air like twisted waves.

A strange power manifested. Chen Luo’s world transformed - the crimson landscape faded, the burning heat dissipated, and he found himself back in his old home in Yue Country. Around him bloomed red flowers of celebration, accompanied by the deafening clamor of gongs and drums.

“Senior Brother? If we don’t hurry, the auspicious hour will pass.”

A gentle voice rang out. In the distance, Su Linlin—the Fox Maiden dressed in red wedding robes—watched him with delight. Beside her stood Huang Ying, his Shimei, both women wearing bridal attire. Their blushing faces turned toward him, exuding an air of tender charm.

In the main hall, Master Changqing Zhenren of the Great Tomb of Yue and Master Void Sage of the God Lake Immortal Sect sat at the head table, waiting for him to offer wine. Blurred memories of his father and Third Uncle drinking with Hu Clan relatives played out in the background.

The hall overflowed with guests, family seated in honor.

“Stop flaunting these parlor tricks.”

Thud!

Chen Luo strode forward and kicked over the nearby table. The same force erupted outward, instantly shattering the white skull’s ‘Demonic Illusion’ into fragments.

Blood surged back into his vision. Chen Luo found himself standing at the Blood Pool’s edge, his hand already grasping the white skull’s crown.

“What are you doing?” the skull’s terrified voice screeched.

This skull’s worth harvesting!