Chapter 292: Centipede Demon

Several days later, Chen Luo arrived in a remote, small kingdom, a mortal realm under the protection of Medicine King City. He had chosen this place as his cultivation grounds.

The Southern Heaven Domain wasn’t solely populated by Immortal Cultivators. Their vast numbers depended on a massive mortal foundation. Only a sufficiently large population could produce so many individuals with Spirit Roots, the innate potential for cultivation.

The world consisted not only of lofty clouds but also of humble dust.

Heavenly Eye Kingdom, Cloudsoar County.

The old streets lay in disrepair, several paving stones cracked or missing. Rainwater had pooled in the gaps, and each footstep produced a wet squelch as murky water splashed from the crevices, staining the clothes of passersby who cursed and shuffled away.

Ginkgo trees lined both sides of the street, their leaves turning golden yellow. Dried leaves occasionally detached and fluttered down, creating a striking golden carpet across the ground—a picturesque autumn scene unique to Cloudsoar County.

Unlike the soaring realms of the Cultivation World, life in Cloudsoar County moved at a simple, unhurried pace. The people would gather at teahouses to listen to storytellers recount tales of immortals, their hearts stirred by the heroic legends. Yet soon after, they’d forget the tales, returning to their mundane routines of firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

“They’re like mayflies,” Chen Luo mused, “oblivious to the changing seasons.”

Yu Junyao stood by the window, watching the bustling scene outside. Having lived on the mountain for so long, she found the noise and chaos of the mortal world jarring. If not for Chen Luo, she would never have set foot in such a place. Her parents were both Immortal Cultivators from the Qiong Hua Sect, so she had been born among the clouds. Later, she was chosen by the Grand Void Ancestor as his True Inheritance Disciple, catapulting her to unprecedented heights. With such a privileged upbringing, she had never paid attention to the ordinary people toiling in the dust below.

“I came from a place like this,” Chen Luo said, his voice tinged with nostalgia.

Unlike the tranquil cultivation grounds on the mountain, the mortal world was filled with the warmth and chaos of everyday life. While cultivators existed in every realm, ordinary people rarely encountered them. In the Heavenly Eye Kingdom, Immortal Cultivators were portrayed as figures of legend, perpetuated by the kingdom’s propaganda. Aside from a handful of nobles, most commoners would live their entire lives without ever knowing what immortal cultivation truly was.

“Are you sure this is a suitable place for cultivation?” Yu Junyao asked, her meditation having been abruptly disrupted. She had tried to enter seclusion earlier, but the results were shockingly poor. The air was thick with worldly distractions, making it nearly impossible to even enter a meditative state, let alone refine qi. Forcing herself to cultivate here would be like pushing a heavy cart uphill—exhausting and inefficient. A year of cultivation here wouldn’t match even a single day on the mountain.

“I’m cultivating the Worldly Immersion Method, which focuses primarily on one’s state of mind,” Chen Luo explained. He couldn’t reveal that he was here to cultivate the Demonic Heart Art, so he offered this alternative explanation.

“You should return to Medicine King City and wait for me. I’ll come back for you once I’ve mastered the Worldly Immersion Method.”

“But Master instructed me to…” Yu Junyao hesitated, torn between her desire to leave this place and the Grand Void Ancestor’s specific command to protect her junior brother.

“I’ll explain it to Martial Uncle,” Chen Luo interrupted firmly. He had demonstrated his strength earlier precisely to avoid such interference. You couldn’t even withstand a single blow from me—how could you possibly protect me?

Seeing Chen Luo’s resolute attitude, Yu Junyao didn’t press the matter further. She knew she was no match for him.

“Senior Xuanji, you should return as well,” Chen Luo said, turning to a hidden corner. Xuan Ji, a Core Formation cultivator from the Blackbird Clan, was concealed there, using Core Formation magic power that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t detect. However, Chen Luo’s Divine Sense had long since surpassed the Core Formation stage, allowing him to instantly perceive Xuan Ji’s concealment.

”…Very well.”

Xuan Ji glanced at Chen Luo, not bothering to ask how the young man had seen through his disguise. Instead, he left Cloudsoar County with Yu Junyao. However, Xuan Ji didn’t truly depart. He chose to cultivate at the nearest spirit meridian, a First-Tier Low-Grade vein, ensuring he could swiftly return to Cloudsoar County should anything occur.

This spirit meridian was occupied by the Green Pine Sect, a small sect whose strongest members were only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. The arrival of Xuan Ji, a Core Formation Ancestor, silenced any objections from the entire sect. The sect’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor even surrendered his Cave Abode and publicly declared Xuan Ji their Supreme Elder, hoping to leverage his prestige for their own advancement.

Xuan Ji paid no heed to these maneuvers. Their vastly different cultivation realms made such matters inconsequential to him.

Chen Luo settled in Cloudsoar County.

To achieve Core Formation, two conditions must be met. First, the quantity of spiritual energy compressed within one’s spiritual energy dragons must exceed the hundred-strand limit and solidify into a Pseudo Core, thus qualifying one to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation. Second, a Core Formation Seed must coalesce. While spiritual energy can be accumulated through time and external resources, the formation of a Core Formation Seed relies entirely on innate talent and comprehension. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators, even after a lifetime of cultivation, never grasp the essence of this seed.

Chen Luo didn’t fully understand it either.

But that didn’t stop him from using his Invincible Aptitude as an External Brain to figure it out. He had long since overcome the Core Formation Seed, the greatest hurdle before achieving Core Formation, and he had more than one solution!

He currently possessed four External Brains from the Core Formation Stage, one from the Nascent Soul Stage, and a mysterious Mummified Brain. With so many perspectives working in unison, condensing a Core Formation Seed was as effortless as eating and drinking.

While on the mountain, Chen Luo had questioned Patriarch Gu He about the various cultivation realms of Immortal Cultivators, expanding the “memories” of his External Brains. For Chen Luo, possessing sufficient “data” allowed his External Brains to operate flawlessly, transforming the innate talents and inspirations of countless geniuses into his own aptitudes along the Immortal Path.

“Let’s begin the first step,” Chen Luo murmured.

Inside the secluded chamber, he sat cross-legged as the Demonic Heart Art began to circulate automatically.

A grayish-white vision emerged, transforming everyone outside the city walls into multicolored flames. The Divine Sense enhanced by the Blackstone Secret Technique extended like tentacles, allowing him to touch those flames.

After scanning the surroundings briefly, Chen Luo selected a nearby flame and sent his Divine Sense probing toward it.

Qiong Hua Sect.

Great Spirit Peak was shrouded in a murky gray mist, its rugged slopes strewn with jagged rocks. Withered yellow grass sprouted from the crevices, rustling softly in the mountain wind. Several bald vultures perched atop the tallest crags, their crimson eyes surveying the desolate landscape as their black beaks snapped open and shut, emitting harsh cries.

The entire Immortal Mountain felt utterly deserted, resembling a vast, overgrown graveyard.

Great Spirit Peak was the only major peak within the Qiong Hua Sect without a True Inheritance Disciple. Ancestor Tailing, known for his eccentric temperament, maintained a far smaller number of disciples and Elders on his peak compared to the other six.

Behind the rocky summit lay a cavern, its entrance resembling a natural karst cave. Inside, stalactites and stalagmites lined the walls, leading to a secluded grotto brimming with spiritual energy deep within. At its center shimmered a Spirit Pool, its white mist rising from the water, surrounded by seven meditation platforms.

Seven Daoists sat cross-legged on the platforms, retracting seven chain-like strands of spiritual energy from their hands. The turbulent waters of the Spirit Pool gradually calmed.

“This disturbance occurred three years earlier than the last one. It’s resisting our extraction,” Patriarch Great Sun announced, his voice resonant. A golden Divine Sword hovered behind him, its sword qi blazing like the midday sun, enveloping his entire form.

“Even if it develops rudimentary intelligence, a beast remains a beast. It can’t overturn the heavens. Compared to such trifles, the Millennial Ancient Kingdom remains our true concern,” Ancestor Tailing reiterated, returning to his long-standing preoccupation.

The issue they had previously dismissed had now escalated into a dire crisis.

As a sect bordering the Millennial Ancient Kingdom, the Qiong Hua Sect had no choice but to confront the growing threat. Abandoning the resources in their border regions would only embolden the kingdom’s encroachment, further diminishing the sect’s territory. None of the Seven Ancestors of Grand Void were willing to allow such a scenario.

“That caterpillar grows increasingly restless. It’s devouring the kingdom’s population whole, leaving fields strewn with bones and villages emptied.”

“It seeks to transform into a dragon.”

“A mere Centipede Spirit dares to aspire to the heavens? Where does it find such audacity?”

“Elder Chen’an, who was investigating the Millennial Ancient Kingdom’s affairs, lost contact three days ago. Counting Elder Chenyou’s earlier disappearance, this marks the second Core Formation cultivator we’ve lost.”

Though divided by internal factions, the seven elders maintained a united front against external threats.

The Qiong Hua Sect could tolerate infighting within its walls, but outsiders meddling in their affairs would swiftly learn how their Divine Sword had annihilated demons and monsters from the Upper Realm.

“How goes the Thousand-Eyed Centipede on Ten Thousand Demon Mountain?” Grand Void Ancestor suddenly asked.

“Still dormant,” Ancestor Tai Su replied calmly. “That creature is far more troublesome than the Centipede Spirit of the Millennial Ancient Kingdom.”

Ten Thousand Demon Mountain remained firmly under the Qiong Hua Sect’s control.

From the perspective of the Seven Patriarchs of Jade Purity, the dangers Chen Luo and his companions encountered during their interdomain journey were like dust motes—insignificant and easily overlooked. Interdomain Flying Boats were generally safe, and few travelers carried such a chaotic swarm of Gu Insects as Chen Luo did.

“Could the Centipede Spirit’s unusual behavior in the Millennial Ancient Kingdom be connected to the Thousand-Eyed Centipede?”

“Impossible,” Ancestor Taiyuan dismissed the suggestion.

“Let’s focus on resolving the Centipede Spirit issue in the Millennial Ancient Kingdom. It has already killed two of our elders. If we don’t retaliate, its aggression will only escalate.”

“Then I’ll go myself,” Ancestor Taiqing offered, seated cross-legged in his gray robes. A three-inch-long slender sword hovered before him, its jade-green blade as smooth and rounded as a stalk of bamboo.

“The spirit meridians beneath the mountain still require your Taiqing Sword to suppress them,” Patriarch Tai Xuan countered, shaking his head.

“Then I’ll handle it,” Ancestor Tai Su volunteered. “I’m the least occupied at the moment.”

Patriarch Guhe of the Great Void took up the conversation.

In a sect as vast as theirs, each Founding Ancestor faced their own unique challenges. Patriarch Guhe was no exception, though his current affairs had recently concluded, granting him a brief respite compared to the other six.

“Your newly accepted disciple has been with the sect for quite some time without undertaking a single mission. Isn’t that unfair?” Ancestor Tai Su remarked, glancing at Guhe. “My descendants are all diligently contributing to the sect’s efforts.”

No sect could thrive on rights alone without fulfilling obligations—this was fundamental to their development. Ancestor Tai Su’s perspective was understandable, given her clan’s active participation in sect missions.

Guhe’s gaze settled on her. When facing external enemies, they were the Seven Patriarchs of Jade Purity, united in purpose. But when dividing internal benefits, their positions shifted. The path to Divine Transformation had long fueled disputes between the top three peaks and the bottom four.

“His mission contributions will be credited to me,” Guhe stated.

Tensions between Grand Void Peak and Taisu Peak were well-established. However, these conflicts remained confined to the younger generations. When the seven Founding Ancestors intervened, the disputes ended there, never escalating without cause.

“Very well,” the others acquiesced, accepting Guhe’s arrangement without further comment.