Chapter 309: Erosion

Chen Luo’s return invigorated everyone on Wu Dao Peak. Though they didn’t know the exact extent of his current cultivation, they remembered that over a decade ago, he had held his own against the Silver Carapace Corpse King, the Sect Leader of the Corpse-Raising Sect, and the Valley Master of Nine Poisons Valley. After ten more years, he must have at least reached Core Formation combat strength.

After learning about the recent changes in the Seven Kingdoms Land from Void Sage, Junior Sister Huang Ying, and others, Chen Luo decided to remain at the Sect.

The Ghost Temple seemed destined for him.

He hadn’t forgotten that Gu Demon Khan Jiu’s Spring-Autumn Gu was still trapped inside. Lacking the strength to retrieve it before, he now possessed the power to investigate thoroughly. Furthermore, he had always wanted to expand his knowledge by studying the brains of other types of cultivators. Now that an opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t possibly let it slip away.

Inside the chamber, Chen Luo sat cross-legged in meditation.

The aftereffects of his Tribulation Transcendence were still settling. With the Mummified Brain, he had pushed his mastery of the Heavenly Tribulation’s feedback energy to its limit. The Thunder Tribulation’s power had been absorbed and integrated by the second Demon Bone Array Sigil Art, forming a ‘Thunder Pattern’ at the center of his heart. Demonic energy surged through his body, circulating the residual Thunder Tribulation energy he had absorbed earlier.

Two Bone Patterns resonated with each other. The first, discovered by Zhu Chungang, came from an unknown demon beast and enhanced Chen Luo’s defense and strength when activated. The second, seized from the Heavenly Tribulation, was a Thunder Pattern that greatly amplified his Thunder Arts Divine Ability.

With each breath and circulation of energy, Chen Luo’s cultivation drew upon the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

His Demon Power gradually compressed and condensed.

The Golden Core within him radiated with the brilliance of a miniature sun. Ten drops of Jade Liquid, now a deep emerald green, orbited it like satellites.

The combined energies of his spiritual power and physical vitality, overlaid with the eerie aura of the Demonic Heart Art, gave him the presence of an unfathomable, peerless Old Demon.

After a long while, having completely assimilated the last vestiges of power, Chen Luo assigned the Mummified Brain a new task:

The path to the Nascent Soul.

Such matters concerning his dao path were best left to the Mummified Brain’s expertise.

Opening his eyes, Chen Luo exhaled a turbid breath. The vapor formed a swirling vortex before him, creating a fierce gust of wind that rustled the books in the room. The flame on the table flickered wildly, its dancing shadow distorting against the wall.

After a long while, the aura gradually dissipated, the flame steadied, and the shadow behind Chen Luo fell silent once more.

Flick!

Chen Luo extended his index finger and tapped the lamp wick. The wick flickered, and a three-inch-long fire dragon sprang from the oil lamp. Under his control, the creature moved with lifelike agility, resembling a living being.

“Is this the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi?” Chen Luo mused, sensing the subtle difference. The fire dragon he now controlled consumed none of his spiritual energy, nor did its existence drain him in any way. It had been created by “borrowing” the Primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth. If he wished, he could instantly expand the dragon tenfold, engulfing the entirety of Wu Dao Peak in its fiery embrace.

This was the power of a Core Formation cultivator!

Chen Luo himself stood at the pinnacle of Core Formation, a True Person who had condensed a Golden Core. His Jade Liquid magical energy allowed him to draw upon even greater reserves of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.

Meanwhile, on Pharmaceutical King Peak…

Just as the Corpse-Raising Sect had taken refuge on Heaven’s Mandate Peak, Nine Poisons Valley, after their defeat, had also secured a main peak from the God Lake Immortal Sect. They now occupied Pharmaceutical King Peak, situated closer to Wu Dao Peak than the Corpse-Raising Sect’s position.

“All dead? Only three of you returned?” The Nine Poisons Valley Lord’s face was ashen, his voice dry and rasping.

Unlike the Sect Leader of the Corpse-Raising Sect, the Nine Poisons Valley Lord had retreated unscathed. He hadn’t placed all his hopes on Void Sage, secretly searching for an escape route. Months ago, he quietly dispatched a group of disciples to scout maritime passages.

Yet, after all this time, only three had returned.

“The Ghost Temple has sealed off the entire region. Anyone approaching the sea vanishes instantly,” Mo Wenjian reported, his face weary and bearing the corrupting aura of the Ghost Temple.

Mo Wenjian had once betrayed the God Lake Immortal Sect to join Nine Poisons Valley, rising swiftly through the ranks to become a Foundation Establishment Elder. His life had reached its zenith, culminating in a fateful duel with his “archrival.”

The outcome of that clash was best left unmentioned.

He had assumed that reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm would finally allow him to defeat his nemesis. But his rival’s progress far outstripped his own. Later, he learned that this “fated enemy” had refined a Silver Carapace Corpse King, possessing the combat prowess of a Core Formation cultivator. To catch up, Mo Wenjian had cultivated day and night for years, finally achieving Mid-Foundation Establishment strength shortly before the Ghost Temple crisis erupted.

The once-glorious spirit meridians of Nine Poisons Valley had been thoroughly corrupted by the Ghost Temple. If not for his swift reaction, he would likely be trapped within as a tormented Yin Soul.

Mo Wenjian had fled alongside the Valley Master all the way to the God Lake Immortal Sect. Later, he accepted the Valley Master’s mission to find a way out, only to be decimated once more by the Ghost Temple. Most of the elders who accompanied him perished; only three returned, including Mo Wenjian himself, all bearing severe injuries.

After repeated setbacks, Mo Wenjian finally faced reality. He realized he might not be the peerless genius he had imagined. He had been considered a prodigy in the Qi Refining Realm, but after reaching Foundation Establishment, he became merely ordinary. The world was full of far more geniuses than he had ever imagined. Among Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was just one of the common ranks. He had already abandoned all hope of ever reaching Core Formation.

“Where is Seven Poisons?” the Nine Poisons Valley Lord asked gravely.

Seven Poisons was the strongest cultivator in Nine Poisons Valley aside from the Valley Master himself. He was also the Vice Valley Master, a Great Cultivator at the Perfected Foundation Establishment Realm.

“If not for the Vice Valley Master, none of us would have made it back,” one of the two Nine Poisons Valley Elders who had returned with Mo Wenjian said, a flicker of fear in his eyes.

“Enemies we couldn’t even see… We didn’t even know how those around us were dying,” the elder continued, his face pale. “Even my Demon Vine, which is usually so adept at tracking, couldn’t pinpoint their locations.”

“Valley Master, let’s seek refuge with Void Sage! Only he can deal with those ghostly things,” another elder pleaded.

“Calm yourselves,” the Nine Poisons Valley Lord rebuked with a frown.

The Core Formation True Person’s magical energy erupted like a thunderclap, snapping the two disoriented Elders back to their senses.

“It’s not over yet. Even Wuwei might not be able to hold that ghastly thing back. That woman, Xue Ning, doesn’t seem human. I suspect she might be a Ghost Cultivator.”

“A Ghost Cultivator?”

Hearing the Nine Poisons Valley Lord mention this, the others finally regained some composure.

“Find some spirit talismans with supreme yang and unyielding power, preferably third-rank ones. Also prepare some Magic Artifacts—anything effective against evil spirits. Now that only a handful of us remain in Nine Poisons Valley, we don’t need to worry about conserving spirit stones.”

The Nine Poisons Valley Lord knew he couldn’t afford to panic. If he lost his composure, his subordinates would be doomed.

The legacy of Nine Poisons Valley must not end with him!

“Yes.”

Mo Wenjian and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“What about Ling’er?”

The Nine Poisons Valley Lord’s gaze swept over the three Foundation Establishment cultivators—the last remnants of Nine Poisons Valley’s foundation. After surviving this ordeal, the sect’s revival would depend on them.

“Junior Sister Ling’er is refining pills. We’ve been consuming them at an alarming rate lately.”

Mo Wenjian’s mood visibly softened when Junior Sister Ling’er was mentioned. Ling’er, the Nine Poisons Valley Lord’s granddaughter, was also the valley’s sole alchemist.

As the group continued their conversation, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.

Initially, none of them paid much attention. But as the footsteps drew closer, they sensed something was amiss.

The sound…

The footsteps were eerily consistent, maintaining the same steady rhythm regardless of distance, unlike the natural gait of a living person. The Nine Poisons Valley Lord extended his Divine Sense, only to find it blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to penetrate beyond the courtyard.

“Wouldn’t it be better to join the Ghost Temple?” a mournful voice echoed from outside the courtyard.

The voice was filled with heart-wrenching sorrow, like a woman’s weeping mingled with the wails of a grieving soul.

“Ghost Cultivator Xue Ning!”

The moment they recognized the voice, the faces of everyone present paled.

The Nine Poisons Valley Lord sprang to his feet, unleashing the oppressive aura of a Core Formation cultivator. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi churned violently as he drew it in, creating a fierce wind within the courtyard. With a swift gesture, he conjured a semi-transparent giant hand in the air and slammed it against the gate.

BOOM!!

Two invisible forces collided with a thunderous boom.

The grand hall of Pharmaceutical King Peak shattered instantly under the impact, the structure collapsing in the middle. The Nine Poisons Valley Lord, suspended in mid-air, roared furiously, unleashing a dense wave of toxic miasma from his body.

Mo Wenjian and the two Elders seized the opportunity to retreat outside.

A Core Formation battle was far beyond their ability to intervene. The chaotic Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi swirling around them forced them back step after step.

“What do we do?” the Elders asked, their faces pale with terror as they watched the scene unfold. The image of the Ghost Temple’s assault on Nine Poisons Valley years ago involuntarily flashed through their minds. Back then, the Valley Master had faced a mysterious Ghost Cultivator while the Foundation Establishment Elders were ambushed by unknown assailants, nearly destroying Nine Poisons Valley’s millennium-old foundation in a single day.

“Take Ling’er and flee to Wu Dao Peak to find Old Ghost Wuwei!” a voice boomed from within the collapsing hall. A massive Corrosive Poison hand, dripping with noxious fumes, smashed through the ruins, snatched the unconscious girl from the adjacent Alchemy Chamber, and hurled her violently toward Mo Wenjian.

The two Core Formation forces clashed once more, and in the ethereal realm, they seemed to hear the sound of fabric tearing.

After rescuing Ling’er, the trio instinctively glanced back.

They saw that the clear sky above had been torn open, revealing a ‘hole’ bathed in bright sunlight, while outside, a fierce storm raged.

“A Heaven-Concealing Artifact?!”

As Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators, they instantly recognized the anomaly. They understood why their intense battle hadn’t drawn Void Sage’s attention. It wasn’t his oversight; the Ghost Temple’s artifact was simply too profound.

Boom!

Seizing this momentary gap, the trio swiftly burst through the barrier. Mo Wenjian, cradling the unconscious Ling’er, ignited his vital energy and shot toward Wu Dao Peak, the neighboring mountain.

Fortunately, Pharmaceutical King Peak and Wu Dao Peak were close to each other.

Wu Dao Peak.

A serene calm hung in the air.

The Immortal Sect disciples who had witnessed Chen Luo’s heroic stand held him in blind reverence, especially Ding Xiaoxia and Huang Ying, who trusted him unconditionally.

Void Sage also breathed a sigh of relief.

Like himself, Chen Luo had cultivated the Demonic Heart Art, but Chen Luo’s version was far stronger. With his assistance, they could surely withstand the Ghost Temple’s assault, or at least avoid a repeat of their earlier humiliation.