After he left, Sovereign Thatched Mountain let out an audible sigh. "Sang Jiugong is always scheming and running back and forth between the Society and Divine Origin City. Not a trace of the carefree spirit cultivators like us are supposed to have."

Luo Chen chuckled. "Carefree, are we? Aren't we just as bound by our duties... stuck here on Winding Island for years?"

"That's different." Sovereign Thatched Mountain shook her head. "Sang Jiugong is already old, and he has no real hope of breaking through anymore. He just wants to leave a legacy behind before his time runs out. And at the same time, he's worried the force he's built will attract unwanted attention. That's why he keeps moving around, building connections wherever he can."

"Ahh... so that's why..."

Luo Chen fell into thought. In just a few short years at the Society, he had already seen three rogue cultivators who wanted to establish their own forces. Yet each had a different purpose. Zhang Jiadi and his wife sought to build a family to protect their child, Qingqing. Luckily, they stumbled upon Luo Chen. Huangfu Song wanted to rebuild the Great Zhou. Alas, he also stumbled upon Luo Chen. As for Sang Jiugong, he appeared just greedy for wealth at first, yet it seemed that his true aim was to leave behind a legacy and ensure there would be successors. It seemed that among the countless rogue cultivators, very few truly wished to wander alone for life. In contrast, the woman before him was a genuine rogue cultivator. She stood alone, with no followers or dependents.

"Now that you've met Sang Jiugong, there's nothing else to discuss. Azure Yang, you're free to go."

Luo Chen hummed in acknowledgement. But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. "Earlier, Sang Jiugong mentioned that things are getting tense at the first line. What's going on over there?"

Sovereign Thatched Mountain gave a bitter smile. "What else could it be? The seal over at the Heaven of Northern Yama has loosened again."

Luo Chen's expression changed instantly. He remembered from rumors that there were many, many millions of demons sealed within the Heaven of Northern Yama, including Demon Emperors and even Ancient Demons. If all of them rushed out... all he could do was make himself scarce as quickly as possible.

Seeing his reaction, Sovereign Thatched Mountain quickly reassured him. "Don't worry. This happens every ten years or so. But even if some powerful demonic beasts slip through, they're only some strong Demon Kings. Demon Emperors and Ancient Demons can't get out, at least not for now."

"For now?" Luo Chen frowned. "What about later? How can the Society allow such a threat to hang above its head? If the seal is ever completely broken and Ancient Demons come out... Aren't we just waiting to be slaughtered, basically?"

Sovereign Thatched Mountain shook her head. "There's no need to worry. It'll eventually happen, yes, but it's way too far in the future for the likes of us to consider. The grand sealing formation was set up by the Ascendant of the devil sect's Soul Refinement Lineage before his death. It draws on the right timing, the right terrain, and the sect's ten-thousand-year foundation. It's not something that can be broken so easily. Also, less than a hundred years ago, the Ascendant from the Blue Sea Alliance personally went to the Heaven of Northern Yama and laid down another formation. With that double protection, it should hold for at least a thousand years. And by then... we'll either have reached the Nascent Soul Realm and be free to roam the world, or we'll already be dust. At that point, what does it matter if it collapses?"

Luo Chen opened his mouth, but eventually he could only give a bitter smile. She was a hundred percent correct. He already knew that Ascendant Li from the Blue Sea Alliance had achieved godlike mastery in formations. The island-linking formation he'd casually passed down had already spared countless Immortal Islands in the Northern Sea from demonic beast attacks. If such a figure personally set up a sealing formation, then even an Ancient Demon would likely find it difficult to break through. The occasional escape of demonic beasts below the Demon Emperor level was likely intentional. Such sealing formations were optimized for high-level targets, while low-tier ones faced less restraint. They kept high-energy beings in, while the myriad of low-energy ones were vented out to save power.

He had come to this conclusion himself after years of studying formations and gaining insights into their principles. The grand sealing formation of the Heaven of Northern Yama was like a massive fishing net. Small fish could slip through the gaps, but large fish could struggle all they wanted and still fail to escape. Of course, he did not know the exact details, but they were not for someone like him to know. If the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up. After all, all the Sages in the Society were there for a reason.

After bidding farewell with Sovereign Thatched Mountain, he did not return to his cave residence right away. Instead, he went to the seaside first. Under the gazes of the patrolling cultivators, he released Black King. "This is my spirit beast. I have already informed Sovereign Thatched Mountain and Elder Sang. Do not panic when you see him in the future."

Seeing Black King baring his fangs and claws in the air with a ferocious display, Luo Chen had no choice but to add, "Relax, he does not bite."

Black King's majestic momentum faltered, and he fell into the ocean like a limp earthworm. In any case, whether it was the space within the cauldron or Surging Lake, neither compared to the boundless ocean.

"Don't play too much. Keep track of the time and come back to tend the fire."

After instructing his pet snake, Luo Chen returned to his cave residence under the reverent gazes of the low-tier cultivators.

Three days later, Sang Jiugong personally led the group of prodigies who had temporarily registered as rogue cultivators to the first line. Luo Chen made no further comments. He simply immersed himself in his daily routine of artifact creation and cultivation.

***

Half a year passed like a breeze.

Outside the cave residence, the now smaller Black King controlled two flying sabers, one black and one white. He used them to chop some wood in a casual rhythm.

Luo Chen had miscalculated. He had not expected his artifact creation abilities to improve so quickly. In just half a year, he had already used up all the materials he had brought. This was also tied to his practice of Dragon-Slaying Art, which left him unable to replenish the Withering-Flourishing True Fire in time. As a result, Black King had to rely on spirit wood to keep the furnace burning.

Thus, the wood used afterward was gathered from various places by Winding Island's logistic teams. They were all raw logs, without any prior processing. After receiving them, he simply handed them over to Black King to chop. This was perfect evidence that afterlife did not exist—if Qian Ting actually witnessed this scene, he would've undoubtedly resurrected in sheer rage. The two flying sabers he once used to dominate Coldlight Island were now reduced to tools for chopping wood, and in the hands of a beast, no less!

Under the nurturing of the Dragon-Nurturing Basin, both sabers had long reached the middle grade. One was named Yin Slaughter; the other, Yang Severance. Just hearing their names made one feel a heavy aura of killing intent. After giving them to Black King, Luo Chen also taught him the human method of refinement. With a few years of constant refining, he now controlled them quite skillfully, wielding them with great force.

Clackkk!

The firewood fell to the ground, but Black King ignored it. He put away the two flying sabers and rushed into the cave residence. "Master, you are awake!"

On the stone bed, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes. With just one glance, Black King felt a chill run through his entire body. It was as if a cold, gleaming saber had slashed toward his very soul. Seeing his reaction, Luo Chen felt extremely satisfied. Over half a year, the soul essence within the small banner had been completely consumed. But the results were great. At last, he had become able to use the Dragon-Slaying Art outside his body!

At first, the technique had only been enough to startle Wu Ruofu. Now, even Black King felt a chill down to his core. That alone showed how far he had progressed. In truth, within his sea of consciousness, once the Dragon-Slaying Art was unleashed, no external force could remain. Outside his body, it could strike at another's divine consciousness within a radius of one zhang. Beyond that distance, its power was reduced drastically. Even so, it was enough for Luo Chen to glimpse the terrifying power of a fourth-tier art.

"The Dragon-Slaying Art really deserves its name. At basic mastery, it can purge foreign mana, and with advanced mastery, it can even cut away contamination from the divine soul. As for the Nascent Core Art, it doubled my mana, and its potential is far from tapped. I wonder what other amazing features fourth-tier spells hide...."

In terms of spells, Luo Chen's talent was beyond doubt. Over the years, he had brought most third-tier spells to Perfected Mastery. He might have learned more fourth-tier spells as well, but alas, they were just far too rare. Spells of this level did not circulate on the open market; on the contrary, they were closely guarded secrets of the upper sects. Even though Luo Chen had the system and could instantly reach the Beginner level if push came to shove, he still needed something to master. Even the Demon Hunter Division had only released a single fourth-tier spell for rogue cultivators to exchange over the past hundred years. Once someone acquired it, it would never be made available again.

"What a pity..." Luo Chen let out a quiet sigh as he walked over to the Primordial Unity Cauldron. "Have you been keeping the fire up these past few days?"

Black King lay at his feet and replied respectfully, "I haven't slacked off even for a second. The fire's been kept strong the whole time."

Luo Chen acknowledged and formed hand seals. A stream of incomparably pure green flame flowed from his mouth. With its addition, the flame beneath the cauldron turned even more intense, and faint clinking sounds began to echo. Half a year had passed. It was time to see whether the Dark Blue Profound Armor had been successfully refined or not.

As he continued to send in his mana, the strange noises inside the cauldron grew louder. It sounded as if there was an ocean churning within. Luo Chen remained calm, though a trace of anticipation flickered in his eyes. A few moments later, he suddenly struck the cauldron with his palm.

CLANG!

"Let's go!"

With his shout, the sealing barrier above the cauldron shattered at once. Dense water vapor surged outward. Within the mist, a dark-blue armor flickered into view. Luo Chen exclaimed, "Oh? It actually worked?"

He reached out and beckoned. The phantom collapsed, and a palm-sized, thin armor plate fell into his hand. There was no doubt! This was the water-element low-grade defensive enchanted treasure he had named the Dark Blue Profound Armor. Yet as he looked at it, his brows slowly drew together. "Ummm... Why does it look like this?"