"Besides, this Thunder Frog's body contains lightning-attribute energy. If you can absorb it, it'll greatly benefit your future cultivation."
Li Muwan skillfully extracted the demon beast's inner core, then used a special technique to draw the lightning-attribute energy from the Thunder Frog's body and store it in a jade bottle. She gave both to Luo Chuan.
Luo Chuan took only the Thunder Frog's lightning-attribute energy. He had no use for the inner core, so he gave it to Li Muwan as an ingredient for her upcoming pill refinement.
Over the next few months, Li Muwan stayed at the Hengyue Sect, discussing formations and pill refinement with Luo Chuan. She even forgot that her brother, Li Qiqing, had been waiting for her for a long time.
Elder Liu Wenju stroked his beard. Looking at the anxious Li Qiqing beside him, he smiled and said, "There's no need to be nervous, young friend. Our Ancestor isn't the sort to bully men and abduct women. He would never harm Miss Wan'er."
"Our Ancestor has cultivated for barely thirty years, yet his current strength has already reached the pinnacle. He wouldn't do anything too outrageous."
Hearing Elder Liu Wenju's words, Li Qiqing naturally wasn't worried about what was happening inside. He was only afraid that if they returned too late, their Ancestor would punish them for playing around too much.
Just as Li Qiqing was about to send a message with his jade slip, he saw Li Muwan and Senior Luo Chuan walking out from deep within the bamboo grove.
Elder Liu Wenju stepped forward and bowed respectfully toward Luo Chuan. "This disciple pays his respects to the Ancestor."
With one hand behind his back, Luo Chuan asked calmly, "Has anything happened at the Hengyue Sect while I was cultivating?"
Elder Liu Wenju replied, "Reporting to the Ancestor, experts from the Giant Devil Race came by twice during that time. But when they heard you were in seclusion, they didn't come to disturb you."
"The Giant Devil Race..."
Hearing this, Luo Chuan narrowed his eyes and thought, What are those fellows doing here? Could they be here because of me?
The experts from the Vermilion Bird State had yet to arrive, but the Giant Devil Race from a Level 5 Cultivation Country had come here instead. There was surely some secret behind it.
After all, Luo Chuan knew the Giant Devil Race's circumstances better than anyone. Back when he was still in the Nascent Soul Realm, he had killed an expert from the Giant Devil Race who was at the great circle of the late Nascent Soul stage.
Seeing how exceptional his talent was, that fellow had tried to forcibly take over his body and possess him, hoping to perfectly merge with his body and gain a higher level of cultivation talent.
Luo Chuan said evenly, "If the Giant Devil Race comes again, tell them I have no time. Tell them not to come here again."
Hearing this, Elder Liu Wenju awkwardly rubbed his nose and said softly, "Ancestor... the Giant Devil Race is from a Level 5 Cultivation Country. I hear their Ancestor broke through to the Yingbian Realm long ago. If we offend them..."
"The Yingbian Realm..."
Luo Chuan paid him no mind.
Though he couldn't stand against an old monster in the Yingbian Realm just yet, once he broke through to the great circle of the Spirit Severing Realm, he could easily wipe one out using the Seven-Colored Ultimate Realm.
As for the other experts of the Giant Devil Race, Luo Chuan didn't care in the least.
As long as they weren't old monsters in the Yingbian Realm, the rest were mere branches and leaves.
Elder Liu Wenju said no more. After bowing, he left dejectedly.
Li Muwan pursed her lips and said, "Senior, Wan'er has to leave too. I've been away from the Luohe Sect for months. If I don't return soon, the Ancestor will start worrying."
"Very well." Luo Chuan didn't refuse Li Muwan. He waved his right hand, and a special jade slip appeared before her.
"This jade slip contains a trace of my divine sense. It can kill any cultivator below the Spirit Severing Realm. If you encounter danger, crush it, and it will take care of the trouble for you."
"Consider it repayment for teaching me pill refinement and formations."
Li Muwan nodded gently, then summoned her flying sword and left the Hengyue Sect with her brother, reluctant to part.
Watching Li Muwan's departing figure, Luo Chuan made no attempt to stop her. In any case, even if he asked her to stay, someone with Li Muwan's temperament would never remain at the Hengyue Sect to cultivate.
With one hand behind his back, Luo Chuan gazed up at the blue sky, vast as the sea, and said calmly, "I wonder how things are going on the Outer Realm Battlefield."
The Outer Realm Battlefield was a void space where rifts often appeared. These rifts could suck in any cultivator. Even experts in the Spirit Severing Realm didn't dare enter recklessly.
A-Dai jumped onto a Giant Devil Race corpse and began skillfully stripping off its armor, his gaze settling on Liu Mei, who sat cross-legged nearby, cultivating.
"Senior Sister, Master said the spiritual energy here is so abundant that taking in one breath can greatly increase your cultivation. Why am I still stuck in the Late Foundation Establishment Realm?"
Liu Mei slowly opened her eyes and answered softly, "I'm not sure, but the spiritual energy here is indeed much stronger than in the Zhao Kingdom. Cultivating here yields twice the results with half the effort."
"Then do we still need to keep searching for magical treasures here?"
"Suit yourself."
Liu Mei had no interest in the magical treasures here. She closed her eyes again and resumed cultivating.
Before they entered, Master Luo Chuan had already said that magical treasures and pills weren't very important. Breaking through to the Core Formation Stage mattered more than anything.
Seeing his senior sister return to her cultivation, A-Dai said nothing and continued searching the Giant Devil Race corpse for magical treasures.
Just then, A-Dai's gaze fell upon a golden soul nearby, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "It's you! You actually became a Soul Devourer."
That's right. The golden soul before him was none other than Wang Lin, who had once been taken into the Heaven Defying Bead and relentlessly hunted by Teng Huayuan!
Wang Lin's body had already been destroyed. Now, only his soul remained, and after arriving here, he had become a Soul Devourer of this place.
"A Soul Devourer... You know the body I have now?"
Wang Lin didn't approach A-Dai. After all, he didn't trust anyone on the Outer Realm Battlefield, especially cultivators from the Zhao Kingdom.
Though A-Dai had helped him before, as the saying went, one could never be too careful around others—especially cultivators from the Zhao Kingdom.
They might already know he possessed the Heaven Defying Bead. So even though A-Dai had helped him, he still had to stay on his guard, lest he bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.
Wang Lin glanced coldly at the souls around him, then recognized them. These souls must be the Wandering Souls Senior Situ Nan had mentioned.
These Wandering Souls all had their own consciousness, but their purpose here was to devour other cultivators' bodies and grow stronger.
As for the Soul Devourers, who ranked above the Wandering Souls, there were only three in the entire Outer Realm Battlefield, and they had existed here for an unknown number of years.
The Soul Devourers existed to keep the Wandering Souls in check, preventing their numbers from growing too large and destabilizing the energy of this space. That was why the Soul Devourers fed on the Wandering Souls.