Chapter 945: The Nascent Soul Domain; News of the Purple Monkey Flower (I) |
Han Zhan had been thinking of letting Luo Chen scout the path ahead and explore the power of the Two Poles Six Shields Formation for him. Yet unexpectedly, Luo Chen came to him first, humbly seeking guidance.
"Domain?" Han Zhan looked at Luo Chen, a little taken aback. "You are only an Adept. Why are you already thinking about Domains?"
Luo Chen smiled casually. "Just curious, that's all. I was thinking… if I could get a Domain while still in the Golden Core Realm, it might become my strongest trump card."
Han Zhan frowned. "You already have more trump cards than most Adepts. Are you still not satisfied? If you keep pushing for more, aren't you worried it'll slow down your cultivation?"
Indeed, Luo Chen possessed a wide variety of techniques, abilities, and items. He had almost no weaknesses, whether in terms of body, mana, and soul. As for enchanted treasures, he was indeed lacking a top-grade offensive treasure, but he had the top-grade Primordial Unity Cauldron, which was multifunctional. Once his defensive treasure was completed, he would be completely unafraid of clashing with anyone at the Golden Core Realm. Yet even so, he was not yet satisfied and wanted to gain abilities that surpassed his level. That was putting the cart before the horse. To chase so much at once was hardly wise.
In response, Luo Chen simply shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to know a bit beforehand. I'm not saying I have to learn everything right now. Well… if I ever run into a Sage, at least I'll have something to work with."
Han Zhan let out a snort. "You're overthinking it. A Nascent Soul Domain is all about control over ambiental spirit energy. It has absolute restraining power over lower-tier cultivators. No matter how well you understand it, you won't be able to counter it."
Luo Chen did not understand and pressed further. Seeing his persistence, Han Zhan finally gave in and explained, "Adepts naturally restrain Initiates with spirit pressure because mana is just a higher form of spirit power. And it's a higher form of spirit power because it's combined with divine soul power. Now, once a cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul Realm, their divine soul goes through a lightning tribulation, which is akin to bathing in the spirit energy of heaven and earth and being infused with it. It becomes much closer attuned to the world, and that's what gives a Sage's control over ambiental spirit energy.
"If this control is exerted to the absolute peak, it results in the formation of a Nascent Soul Domain. Within it, only the Sage's mana and the ambiental spirit energy of the same attribute can exist. Everyone else gets restrained, both by the Sage's own power and by the power of heaven and earth itself. Life or death comes down to a single thought. You don't even have a Nascent Soul and you can't resonate with the spirit energy around you, so how exactly are you supposed to form a Domain?"
Luo Chen finally started to make sense of Nascent Soul Domains, and with that, he also understood why only Sages could contend with Sages. In the cultivation world, there were many cases of defeating opponents beyond one's realm, but most such cases only involved crossing minor stages. Cases of leaping across major realms were exceedingly rare; feats like Luo Chen's—facing Adepts as an Initiate—were almost unheard of. As for an Adept killing a Sage… there had never been a single instance of it in the entire recorded history! Even escaping alive was enough to consign the Adept to the realm of legends. The main reason for this was the Nascent Soul Domain. It was an absolute form of restraint, far beyond mere spirit pressure.
Yet Luo Chen still had doubts. He brought up the phenomenon from when he was practicing the water-fire Two Poles Formation and drew in the spirit energy of heaven and earth.
Han Zhan let out a light laugh. "Powerful formations can draw on ambiental spirit energy; that's exactly what they are made for. The principles behind them are derived from the natural forces of the world to begin with, and it has nothing to do with the user."
Luo Chen shook his head. "No. I've seen it before! A cultivator from the Soul Refinement Lineage of the devil sect personally used a Domain. He was only at the early stage of Golden Core, yet he managed to hold off both me and another early-stage Adept on his own."
This truly shocked Han Zhan. He quickly asked for details of that battle. After Luo Chen recounted everything, he fell into thought.
After a long while, he sighed and shook himself out of his stupor. "Should've expected something like this from a Holy Land… to let an Adept wield something like a Nascent Soul Domain, even if it's only the imitation of one…"
"So is it what I think it is? And if it is… can I do it?"
"You…" Han Zhan hesitated before analyzing carefully. "If what you're saying is true, that man must have relied on a formation, the Myriad Soul Banner, and the strange Ghost King you described to put together a pseudo-Domain."
"I've got a Myriad Soul Banner too. It has even more souls than his, and I even learned that soul-fusion technique."
"But you don't have the right formation."
"What about the Two Poles Formation?"
"Yours is based on water and fire. You need Black King to control the other pole, and even then, it's clearly a strain for you to control. Mine was based on life and death, and I relied on a Sage-level puppet that I crafted personally and imbued with my own soul. That's why I could wield it like my own limbs."
"So you're saying… I need something that's completely my own?"
"Exactly so. From what I can tell, that strange ghost king had at its core a fragment split off that guy's soul. That's why he could control the pseudo-Domain."
"A split soul…"
This time, Luo Chen was truly stumped. Splitting the soul was a high-level feat, something far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators. Only an upper sect could have something like that, and even among Sages, few were able to do it. It required deep expertise in the soul path. Luo Chen considered his own soul formidable, yet he did not dare attempt such a thing. But at the thought of splitting the soul, he instinctively looked at Han Zhan.
"Don't get any ideas. The Soul-Splitting Art is a core sect inheritance. Even the Nascent Core Art and Beaded Curtain Lock can't remotely compare to it. Don't even think about it."
After so many years together, Han Zhan could read him instantly and immediately shut down the idea. Luo Chen pursed his lips and did not press further. After asking a few more details about Nascent Soul Domains, he left in disappointment.
***
After returning from Han Zhan's residence, Luo Chen still occasionally thought about Nascent Soul Domains and browsed through ancient texts, but he gradually set the matter aside. For now, his priority was to fully master the formations required for crafting enchanted treasures. Otherwise, once the treasure embryo was complete, any deficiency in the formation inscription would result in a serious flaw. Although such embryos could be preserved for years and refined later, he had no intention of waiting that long. Or rather, he had already waited far too long for this particular treasure.
After working with Black King to form the water-fire Two Poles Formation, his understanding of the concept deepened even further. Clearly, he had reached the stage Han Zhan spoke of, grasping the true essence of the formation. From then on, his practice progressed with increasing ease.
Three years later, within the Starry Palace, Luo Chen looked at the status panel cascading down like a waterfall with visible satisfaction in his eyes. Two Poles Formation: Perfected Mastery; Six Shields Formation: Perfected Mastery
He had now fully mastered the formations needed for his defensive treasure, as well as the third-tier Compliance Formation commonly used for artifacts. The lesser formations were hardly worth mentioning. Though most of these formations were meant for crafting rather than combat, he could now be considered a genuine third-tier formation master.
"In this state, inscribing the treasure embryo should go off without a hitch."
He then rose and entered the Alchemy-Artifact Hall. He carefully lifted the barrier and took out the treasure embryo. At a glance, it appeared as nothing more than a hazy cluster of light, but when examined more closely, it turned out to be an exquisite armored robe. Though it appeared delicate and pliable, it also carried a sense of weight and solidity. The Black Tortoise's natural resilience had been preserved within it. Even without any formation inscriptions, the dense aura it radiated already marked it as a dazzling treasure. It was hard to imagine what it would become once it was finished.
He held onto the embryo with eyes filled with anticipation. "Let's begin!"
***
The northern district of Dragon Abyss City had once been the most desolate part of the city, but in recent years, it had grown quite lively. The main reason was the sudden rise of a new store known as the Azure Yang Treasure Pavilion. It was said that the pavilion belonged to a powerful Adept who was highly skilled in artifact creation. Now and then, he would place his creations in the shop for sale. Not only did rogue cultivators flock to it, but even cultivators from Divine Origin City would occasionally come in search of treasures.
Yet clearly, its rapid rise was not due to that alone. The Zhou family of Coral Sea had played a significant role behind the scenes. In the past, the Zhou family, the Chen family, and Endless Valley had joined the Society as three upper forces to support one another, but the Three Hermits made it clear that they were not to interfere with the Society's internal workings. Over the years, Endless Valley had schemed its way into the organization and even secured the important position of deputy city lord in Dragon Abyss City. The Zhou family refused to fall behind. Through a marriage alliance with a cultivation family founded by a rogue cultivator from the Society, they squeezed into the Azure Yang Shop, and using it as a channel, they successfully introduced their own goods into the rogue cultivator market.
Now, though the Azure Yang Treasure Pavilion bore Luo Chen's alias, its core operations were managed by members of the Zhang and Zhou families. The enchanted artifacts and treasures he personally crafted no longer made up a large portion; they served mostly as advertising. Heavenjade had once reported this encroachment to Luo Chen, but he merely smiled and shrugged it off. Once the pie grew large enough, it was inevitable that others would take a share. He did not care who held control, so long as the amount of spirit stones he pocketed each year kept increasing. Besides, he had never invested much into the pavilion or even the original shop to begin with; he had no problem with how they developed.
The matriarch of the Zhang family, Zhou Shanshan, personally came to the Azure Yang Treasure Pavilion to check on the family's business. Wherever she passed, servants and attendants bowed respectfully, and customers warmly greeted her.
Before anyone realized it, Wen Xiu's influence from years past had long since faded. Zhou Shanshan was quite satisfied with how things had turned out. Wen Xiu was nothing more than a cultivator from a declining family. After Zhou Shanshan became the main wife, Wen Xiu was sensible enough to step down voluntarily. If not for Wen Xiu taking a rogue cultivator named Sovereign Thatched Mountain as her master, Zhou Shanshan would have long lowered Zhang Jingqing's standing within the family. In any case, Zhang Jiadi would never argue with her over such trivial matters.
Right now, as she was sitting on the second floor listening to the shopkeeper report recent profits, she felt a mix of emotions.
"The biggest share goes to Adept Azure Yang and the Zhou family. By the time it gets to the Zhang family, we're left with scraps. How is that fair?"
She pushed open the window in frustration. By chance, she caught the sound of an argument below between a steward and an Initiate.
"We agreed before that this information was worth one hundred thousand spirit stones. Why does it not count now?"
"That was before. Things are different now. How can you compare the two?"
Zhou Shanshan frowned and called over the shopkeeper. "What are they arguing about?"
The shopkeeper replied respectfully, "Please wait a moment, Madam. I'll go ask."
"Mhm."
He hurried off and soon returned. "Madam, that rogue cultivator brought back news of a spirit herb and wants to exchange it for a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones. But the task was posted over ten years ago by Madam Wen… we're not sure if it still counts."
"That woman posted it?" Zhou Shanshan frowned. She was about to reject it outright, but still asked, "What herb?"
"It's called Purple Monkey Flower. We don't know its exact effects."
"Purple Monkey Flower?" Zhou Shanshan blinked as she recalled some records of the Zhou family. "Isn't that a well-known poisonous plant? Is Wen Xiu trying to practice poison arts? Or maybe she wants to poison someone? Otherwise, why post a reward for something like that?"
The shopkeeper gave a bitter smile. "I wouldn't know. I was only transferred here from the Zhou family a few years ago."
Zhou Shanshan waved her hand. "A hundred thousand spirit stones? Not a chance. Send him away."
The shopkeeper immediately left to carry out the order. After he was gone, Zhou Shanshan curled her lips. "These rogue cultivators have gone mad from poverty. They think a bit of information is worth a hundred thousand? Dream on. And that Wen Xiu clearly doesn't know how to run things. How could the Zhang family afford to throw money around like that?"
At nightfall, Zhang Jiadi had just returned from drinking with a closely allied low-tier alchemist. Before he could even step inside, a steward from Azure Yang Treasure Pavilion called him away.