As a special energy surged into Luo Chuan's sea of consciousness, the energy roiling around him filled the War God Hall cultivators with a deep sense of oppression.
Even the several Nascent Soul Realm experts could only fret helplessly, afraid that Luo Chuan might damage the Divine Dao Technique left behind by their ancestor.
After all, the Divine Dao Technique was a technique for cultivating a clone. The reason it could increase the chances of forming a Nascent Soul was that it relied on cultivating a second body.
By cultivating both at the same time, one could increase the speed of cultivation. At the moment of forming a Nascent Soul, the two would merge, naturally improving the odds of success.
However, this technique was incomplete, and the clone it produced had a fatal flaw: it was an independent body with no cultivation at all when it appeared, and a lifespan of less than half a century. As a result, the technique had become practically useless.
The incantation also contained a passage Chen Chong had left behind by some unknown means. Besides explaining that he had been unable to transcribe the whole technique because of his limited lifespan, leaving it incomplete, he had also come up with a solution.
The solution was to spend the half-century after using this divine ability to cultivate a clone taking pills.
One should prepare a large quantity of pills in advance and quickly build up one's cultivation, advancing as far as possible. That way, even if it was better than nothing, it would still increase one's chances by a little.
If one prepared enough spirit pills and medicines, perhaps one could even pile up enough cultivation to make the clone a Core Formation Stage cultivator within half a century. In that case, the odds of forming a Nascent Soul at the moment of merging would rise considerably.
After completely refining the Divine Dao Technique, Luo Chuan looked at Liu Mei and A-Dai and calmly asked, "How does it feel?"
A-Dai looked up at his master and furrowed his brow slightly. "This Divine Dao Technique really is ever-changing. No matter how hard I try to memorize it, it vanishes from my mind in an instant."
Liu Mei opened her eyes as well.
Like A-Dai, whenever she tried to think about it, she felt as if her head would split from the pain. She couldn't think about it at all.
Liu Mei slowly rose and clasped her hands in a bow. "Master, it seems this Divine Dao Technique isn't something we can cultivate."
"Don't worry. The Divine Dao Technique has already been imprinted in your sea of consciousness. Once you reach the late stage of Golden Core Realm, you'll understand what it means."
Luo Chuan turned and strode away, taking A-Dai and Liu Mei with him. He planned to bring them to the nearby Luohe Sect and demand pills that could help them break through to the Core Formation Stage.
Ancestor Feng Luan had originally wanted to go with them, but because of her daughter, she had no choice but to look for Ma Liang and demand the Soul Blood of her daughter, Zhou Zihong.
Wang Lin naturally didn't want to offend a Nascent Soul Realm expert, so he returned the Soul Blood to Feng Luan before fleeing a thousand miles away, worried that she might go back on her word.
On the road to the Luohe Sect, Luo Chuan held the Jade Flute and gazed at the distant mountains of the Huofen Kingdom, where volcanic lava surged ceaselessly.
"According to the original story, Wang Lin's appearance caused the Fire Beasts to erupt across the Huofen Kingdom. It looks like the people and cultivators here are all going to become food for the Fire Beasts."
Luo Chuan's gaze lingered on the people nearby. He shook his head slightly and decided to leave the matter entirely to the local cultivation sects.
However, most of those cultivation sects would probably choose to flee. In their eyes, mortal lives were as cheap as ants, not worth the effort of saving.
Just then, A-Dai glanced at the Corpse Yin Sect disciples not far away and said, "Master, those Corpse Yin Sect disciples have a familiar scent about them."
Luo Chuan stopped and looked toward the Corpse Yin Sect disciples riding in three coffins. He raised an eyebrow slightly.
A-Dai was, after all, the young clan leader of the Immortal Remnant Clan. His keen sense of smell could pick up scents ordinary people couldn't. He had caught something on these people that resembled the aura of a Nascent Soul Realm expert.
"Corpse Yin Sect... Could it be..."
At the thought, Luo Chuan appeared in front of the Corpse Yin Sect disciples in an instant. "Hand over your Corpse Puppets, and I'll spare your lives."
The Corpse Yin Sect disciples immediately stopped and glared at Luo Chuan, who had suddenly appeared before them. They flew into a rage. "Where did this brat come from? You dare provoke the Corpse Yin Sect? Are you looking for death?"
With that, the three Corpse Yin Sect cultivators immediately released their Corpse Puppets and sent them charging toward Luo Chuan, clearly intent on killing him on the spot.
"Die!"
His divine sense burst outward with a sudden crack like thunder. In the blink of an eye, the charging Corpse Puppets were slain outright, and the three Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators from the Corpse Yin Sect were wiped out along with them.
Their bodies also turned to ash beneath his divine sense, vanishing without a trace.
Luo Chuan turned around and watched the white clouds of energy darting out of the corpses. He said coldly, "Take one more step, and you die."
At Luo Chuan's words, the white cloud of energy from earlier abruptly stopped. It immediately transformed into a tiny figure barely the size of a palm, which flew trembling toward Luo Chuan.
The small, handsome-looking figure swallowed nervously, then hurriedly bowed to Luo Chuan.
"Please show mercy, fellow Daoist. This junior is Xu Liguo, a disciple of the Tiangang Sect from a Level 4 Cultivation Country. I offended you just now, but we can talk this out. Please, don't act rashly!"
"So it really is him—Xu Liguo, the ever-loyal one."
Luo Chuan had originally thought Xu Liguo would appear in the Fenjin Mountain Range. Now, it seemed he must have run into him on the way there.
Seeing Luo Chuan remain silent, Xu Liguo thought the other man was going to spare him. His heart leapt with delight. "Judging by this guy's aura, he should be in the Nascent Soul Realm too. If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't afford a Nascent Soul Realm body, I could slap a hundred guys like him to death."
Just as Xu Liguo was congratulating himself, he saw Luo Chuan twitch a finger. A ball of blood-red energy enveloped Xu Liguo's Nascent Soul.
Luo Chuan knew Xu Liguo's nature, so he planned to refine him into a fiend right then and there. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the fellow escaping while he was in seclusion.
"You—you're trying to do what?!" Xu Liguo stared wide-eyed in alarm. "I'm warning you, I'm a disciple of the Tiangang Sect. If you lay a hand on me, the Tiangang Sect won't let you get away with it."
"Silence!"
Luo Chuan's pupils turned blood-red, and the killing intent radiating from him was bone-chilling. Even the slightest touch would make anyone feel an unprecedented sense of oppression.
Xu Liguo immediately changed his tune. Tears streaming down his face, he clutched Luo Chuan's arm and choked out, "Fellow Daoist, please calm down! If you spare me, I'll give you anything you want. I'm begging you, don't kill me!"
Looking at the turncoat beside him, Luo Chuan waved his right hand. The blood-red Luo God Sword appeared in front of Xu Liguo.
Xu Liguo looked at the Luo God Sword, then raised his head instinctively, wearing a puzzled expression. He had no idea what Luo Chuan intended to do.