Chapter 285: Exploded

The white skull and the deceased True Person Gu Yue were not originally ‘living beings’. They were merely parasites that had emerged from corpses, essentially new lifeforms.

Gray energy flowed into Chen Luo’s body through his arm.

This time, the extracted energy was exceptionally potent, surpassing all previous Core Formation brains he had collected.

As the energy was drawn out, the crimson space began to undulate irregularly, causing the blood garments outside to twist and contort.

Profound Mystery Peak.

Within the main hall at the peak’s summit, a row of bamboo incense sticks stood upright in a green ancient cauldron, their smoke curling upward. At the center of the solemn hall, a green sword towering dozens of meters high hovered in mid-air - the object of sacrifice within the cauldron was none other than this blade.

One of the Seven Swords of Qionghua: the Profound Sword.

Behind it, seven prayer mats were arranged in a row, upon which seven figures sat.

Patriarch Guhe of the Great Void occupied the third position, his eyes half-closed. The hem of his dark blue Daoist robe spread across the ground, while his Daoist crown sat straight on his head. His white brows, sharp as a sword, gave him an air of profound mystery.

“The One Hundred and Eight Peaks Plan concerns the future of our Qiong Hua Sect,” said the Peak Lord of Tai Xuan, clad in a gray Daoist robe. “Any who obstruct it must be eliminated.”

“Over the past few years, the sect has been gathering fewer resources. The Inner Sect disciples’ treatment must be reduced. We must find new sources. I propose we destroy Medicine King City to ease the crisis.”

Ancestor Tai Su, a woman, wore a white Daoist robe. Her hair was neatly coiled, and she sat cross-legged with a silver-white sword resting on her knees—the sacred blade of Taisu Peak, the Tai Su Dharma Sword.

“Denied.”

Grand Void Ancestor didn’t even lift his eyelids as he spoke.

“The Millennial Ancient Kingdom is the true threat. That caterpillar has reached critical mass. If it completes its final step, the Southern Heaven Domain will know no peace.”

“What’s the status of Golden Light Cave and Spirit Pool?”

“Those two sects aren’t close enough to the Ancient Kingdom. So far, they’ve reported no issues.”

As Grand Void Ancestor spoke, he suddenly frowned. He stood up and addressed the six others present.

“There’s a problem with the pills. I’ll return to investigate.”

With that, Gu He Xu took a single step. His figure blurred like a phantom, dissolving into specks of sand that scattered in the wind.

The remaining six showed no reaction, continuing their discussion as if nothing had happened. The larger the sect, the more problems arose. Even the Seven Patriarchs of Jade Purity couldn’t remain aloof on their cloud platforms, ignoring worldly affairs.

The more resources one occupies, the more troubles one encounters.

Friction exists between the Four Great Immortal Sects. While they cooperate, they’re constantly scheming against each other. The moment any sect shows signs of weakness, the remaining three will unite to devour it.

The struggle for limited resources has never been a friendly game where everyone wins. It’s a primal conflict where only the fittest survive.

At Grand Void Peak’s Ancient River Cultivation Chamber:

Chen Luo withdrew his hand, his lingering attachment dissipated.

This skull had died too long ago, without the protection of a grand tomb. The fact that he could still read any residual memories meant the person must have been exceptionally powerful in life.

Gurgle.

The white skull, tossed back into the Blood Pool by Chen Luo, lost its spiritual essence and sank to the bottom. The blood water churned violently, as if boiling.

Outside, the blood garment barrier blocking the ‘two suns’ began to solidify.

The Blood Pool’s temperature rose visibly. Even with the protection of the Demon Bone Array Sigil Art, Chen Luo felt the heat. The bone patterns on his skin showed signs of strain, as if they might fail.

Crack!

A crack appeared on the solidified blood barrier, and a large black-brown blood mass fell away. Before it could hit the ground, the black mass ignited, bursting into orange-white flames.

Is it being refined?

Chen Luo’s heart tightened, and he immediately prepared to leave.

The blood mass disintegrated further, large chunks of blood clothing falling and igniting in mid-air. From below, it looked like a meteor shower of fire. The flames of the two suns burned the entire Blood Pool space, causing the ground to warp.

“Stabilize!”

A voice rang out, and a translucent hand reached in from outside. After passing through the blood barrier, the hand transformed into a giant hand that grabbed Chen Luo as he fled below, pulling him out of the Pill Furnace.

In the next moment, the world spun. By the time Chen Luo regained his footing, he was already outside the Pill Furnace.

The previously calm Pill Furnace now shook violently. Scorching waves radiated from the bottom of the furnace, causing cracks to spread across the spirit stone-paved ground. The surface of the furnace turned red-hot, and the two fireballs inside seemed to have lost control, spinning faster and faster.

The furnace’s energy was out of balance—a clear sign of an impending explosion.

“Stabilize!”

A golden figure materialized within Gu He’s body. His Nascent Soul’s magical energy spread out, gathering all the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in the Cultivation Chamber into his grasp. The Fourth-Tier Spirit Vein beneath the earth ceased its supply of spiritual energy.

Under the suppression of the Nascent Soul’s magical energy, the Pill Furnace’s vibrations ceased.

But this stillness was like a brief calm after forced suppression. Gu He noticed the problem. He placed one hand on Chen Luo’s shoulder and vanished from the cave dwelling.

With the Nascent Soul’s magical energy no longer restraining it, the unbalanced energy in the Pill Furnace erupted violently. Blood-red light burst forth, cracks spreading outward in a radiating pattern.

Boom!

The Pill Furnace exploded. The lid, propelled by the blood-colored energy, crashed into the nearby mountain wall, smashing through dozens of meters before detonating the Restriction and Formation in that area into rubble. The compressed Blood Pool space rebounded, reducing the Cultivation Chamber’s bookshelves and spiritual materials to ashes. The smooth spirit stone floor transformed into a massive circular crater.

Chen Luo, who had just left the Cultivation Chamber, felt a wave of heat hit his face.

“Cut.”

Patriarch Gu He raised his hand, a green sword glow erupting between his index fingers. The sword qi swept diagonally outward, colliding with the surging energy and triggering a secondary explosion.

Standing nearby, Chen Luo couldn’t evade the scattered energy. The residual blood-colored aura struck his spirit, sending him reeling. A trickle of blood escaped his lips as he staggered back over a dozen paces.

No wonder True Person Gu Yue had blown himself up during pill refinement—the energy contained in Fourth-Tier Pills defied imagination. The batch Gu He had been refining compressed more spiritual energy than even Nascent Soul Pills. A full detonation would have shattered Grand Void Peak’s entire summit.

After a long moment, the explosive aftermath finally subsided. Before Chen Luo could survey the damage, the secret chamber ahead collapsed into rubble with a thunderous roar. A ring of bloody mist mixed with black dust rippled outward, creating a circular wave.

A deathly pale skull rolled out from the wreckage, striking Gu He’s foot and bouncing against his shoe.

Formations. Restrictions.

Everything within the area lay destroyed.

The Grand Void Ancestor’s seclusion chamber—gone.

“Trouble,” Chen Luo muttered, his scalp prickling as he surveyed the devastation. He wondered if his newly-acknowledged Martial Uncle would still recognize him as his disciple.

It’s all that skull’s fault for being too tempting.

Such a high-quality brain—once this village passed, there’d be no such shop again.

As the dust settled, Patriarch Gu He’s robe twitched slightly.

He raised his hand, and with a wave of his sleeve, all the dust in the area was gathered into a small ball that coalesced in his palm. Even a basic spell like the Dust Removal Technique, when cast by a Nascent Soul Realm expert like Patriarch Gu He, produced effects that were entirely different.

The dusty ball, now purged of impurities, was molded by True Person Guhe into a black stone that he tossed onto the ground.

Only after completing these actions did he turn to look at Chen Luo behind him.

“Martial Uncle, this time—”

“It’s good you’re unharmed.”

Seeing the expression that mirrored his own brother’s, Patriarch Gu He sighed and patted Chen Luo’s shoulder.

Pure Nascent Soul magical energy flowed into him, instantly cleansing all the injuries Chen Luo had sustained.

“I’ll have someone repair this place. Until then, go cultivate at the side peak—I have another Cultivation Chamber there.”

Chen Luo opened his mouth, but swallowed all the words he’d prepared to explain his mistake.

This Martial Uncle truly treated him like a true nephew. Just like Third Uncle had when teaching him that corpse-burying technique—he wouldn’t blame him for mistakes.

“I have matters to attend to here. I won’t see you off.”

Chen Luo nodded silently.

After bidding farewell to Gu He, he turned and flew toward another cultivation chamber.

He had already assumed Gu He would disown him as his shizhi and expel him from the mountain. He felt it was worth risking everything for that skull in the Blood Pool. The skull’s intelligence clearly surpassed the Core Formation Realm; any skull capable of clashing with the Seven Patriarchs of Jade Purity must have been at least a Nascent Soul cultivator in life! Most importantly, it hailed from the Upper Realm - that alone made the risk worthwhile.

What he hadn’t anticipated was Patriarch Gu He’s complete lack of reproach throughout the ordeal. Not only did the old cultivator not blame him, he even healed his injuries.

After Chen Luo left, Gu He bent down to retrieve the white skull at his feet.

The moment his hand touched it, the skull emitted a sharp crack like shattering porcelain. The bone fragments shattered into a silvery-white dust that scattered in the air.

“Completely dead?” A flicker of regret crossed Patriarch Gu He’s eyes.

This Blood Pool skull had been specially acquired from another realm - the severed head of the Demonic Heart Ancestor. As a visitor from the Upper Realm, Gu He knew precisely how much spiritual energy remained hidden within. His original plan had been to extract this spiritual energy and use it as a catalyst for high-grade medicinal pills.

Now that Chen Luo had disrupted the balance, centuries of preparation lay in ruins. Had anyone else caused this, Gu He would have ground them to dust. But Chen Luo was different.

He was the only successor approved by Gu Yue, his younger brother, and had even mastered their clan’s Starlight Fire Pill Refining Technique.

Gu He had never revealed the secret of this technique to anyone. Everyone believed the ‘Starlight Fire Pill Refining Technique’ was a pill refinement method he had pioneered, but in truth, this wasn’t the case. Their clan possessed a unique soul constitution, making them natural-born alchemists. The Starlight Fire Pill Refining Technique was their ancestral cultivation technique, passed down through generations, and could only be mastered by those with the same soul mutation.

The City Lord of Medicine King City had spent over a century trying to learn it without success. It wasn’t due to stupidity, but because his soul lacked the necessary mutation and he couldn’t comprehend the hidden secrets within this pill refinement method.

Yet Chen Luo had mastered it.

This was precisely why Gu He cared so deeply about Chen Luo.

In his view, Chen Luo wasn’t just his younger brother Gu Yue’s successor, but also the last remaining member of their clan. He even believed True Person Gu Yue must have recognized this as well, which was why he had taken Chen Luo as his disciple.

“I failed to protect you back then, but now I will protect your disciple. I won’t let him face the same dangers you did.”