Chapter 400: Bu Luo

Li Yan stood in the red maple forest. “Blood Leaf Adept said he obtained his Crimson Mother Essence at the center of the Red Maple Pool. Although this maple forest is a thousand li wide, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.”

With another glance at the beautiful sunset scenery, Li Yan’s figure had already silently risen into the air.

The journey of several hundred li should have been quick for Li Yan, but he still adopted a high and slow flight pattern, trying to increase his speed while avoiding attention. It was not until midnight that three towering maple trees appeared in his Divine Sense.

The three trees were arranged in a “品” character formation (TN: a triangle with one point at the top), standing out like a crane among chickens in the large maple forest. When he was still a hundred li away from the three giant trees, Li Yan had already quietly descended.

According to Blood Leaf Adept, the center of the Red Maple Pool was a common gathering place for cultivators. There was a pool there, and under the pool was a palace. He had obtained his Crimson Mother Essence there. It was just that during that scramble, more than thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators had died, and even Blood Leaf Adept had only managed to escape by a stroke of luck.

The reason Li Yan had landed a hundred li away was because in his Divine Sense, nearly a dozen powerful auras were coming from the center. A total of seventeen cultivators were on the shore of a clear pool surrounded by the three large trees.

“These should all be people planning to enter the palace under the pool. No wonder Blood Leaf Adept said that there are a few places on the second level where many cultivators gather every day.”

After landing, Li Yan stood on the thick layer of maple leaves and did not rush forward. Instead, he quietly released his Divine Sense to carefully sense the situation there.

Suddenly, Li Yan’s expression changed. “I’ve been discovered.”

Just as Li Yan was about to carefully observe before deciding how to proceed, his Divine Sense had swept over very carefully. Under the three large trees, there was a pool, about three hundred zhang in circumference, surrounded by the three maple trees in a triangle.

At this moment, on the shore of the pool, there were seventeen cultivators, some in groups of two or three, some standing alone. They were all looking at each other with sharp eyes, occasionally showing hostility when their gazes landed on each other. But their eyes would from time to time secretly glance at a certain place, and the look in their eyes would instantly change to one of fear.

Under one of the giant trees, a person was leaning quietly against the trunk, which would take more than a dozen people to encircle.

This person was about thirty years old, looking like a scholar. He wore a green robe, held a folding fan, and wore a square cap. He was tall and slender, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. By his side stood a page boy, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, covered with an oilcloth. It was the same master and servant duo Li Yan had met before entering the pagoda.

The moment Li Yan’s Divine Sense saw them, the ever-calm scholar in the green robe suddenly turned his head and smiled in Li Yan’s direction. This made Li Yan break out in a cold sweat.

His whereabouts had been discovered by this person. It was just that he hadn’t spoken up. To think he was also here.

At this moment, he was still a hundred li from the center of the Red Maple Pool and had used the “Stealthy Night Art,” yet he was still discovered by the other party. It seemed that when he had been flying silently closer just now, he had already fallen into the other party’s Divine Sense.

When he was outside the pagoda, Li Yan had secretly probed the other party with his Divine Sense, but he had only felt an emptiness on the middle-aged scholar in the green robe. There wasn’t a trace of Spirit Power flowing out, as if he were a mortal. This was what had made Li Yan most vigilant.

“Could he be a mid to late-stage Golden Core cultivator? Don’t they like to go to the third level of the pagoda? Why is he staying on the second level? The things here shouldn’t be of interest to them.”

Li Yan was confident that his Divine Sense had already surpassed that of an ordinary initial-stage Golden Core, but it was still inferior to a mid-stage Golden Core. When he was flying earlier, he had already used the “Stealthy Night Art.” This was one of the reasons for his slow flight, but at that time, the art was not in its best state.

Now, he was in a most stable state, the time when the “Stealthy Night Art” was at its most effective, yet the other party had still locked onto his Divine Sense with a single glance. It was truly terrifying.

Li Yan didn’t imagine the other party was a Nascent Soul cultivator. The possibility was too low. Even Golden Core cultivators staying on the second level were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. After all, there was nothing here that could interest them.

Li Yan felt the other party’s terror, but the middle-aged scholar in the green robe was even more shocked.

‘This little fellow’s concealment art is quite marvelous. If I hadn’t discovered him when he was flying in the air before, if he had remained in this stationary state, or even moved slowly, I probably would have had a hard time discovering him either. And his Divine Sense is very strong. This wisp of Divine Sense is not only thick and condensed, but it has also surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.’

‘This boy’s cultivation method is neither Daoist nor Buddhist, nor does it have the sharpness of a sword cultivator. It is erratic. I have never heard of such a cultivation method even in the first-rate sects. Could he be from the Malevolent Spirit Sect or some hidden sect?’

The middle-aged scholar in the green robe turned his head back, a faint smile still on his face, but his heart was full of suspicion.

If Li Yan were here and heard the middle-aged scholar’s thoughts, he would definitely be scared out of his wits. This person had judged him with eighty to ninety percent accuracy just through his Divine Sense. The only thing he got wrong was that Li Yan cultivated the True Scripture of Gui Water. The Malevolent Spirit Sect’s cultivation methods were already treacherous and varied, not following the path of moderation, which had some similarities with the True Scripture of Gui Water.

“Young Master, look at how scared those people are of you. They’ve all avoided us from a distance. I told you before, I don’t need you to accompany me here. I can go down and find what I need myself. Now that you’ve appeared, all the fun is gone. Also, what were you smiling about just now?”

At this time, the page boy carrying the bamboo basket, who was standing to the side, withdrew his gaze from the other cultivators on the shore. He pouted slightly and said with dissatisfaction.

As he withdrew his gaze, he happened to see his young master turning his face back, the smile not yet faded. This made him dissatisfied and also a little confused.

The middle-aged scholar glanced sideways at the page boy. “Bu Luo, do you think it’s so easy to go to the palace under this pool? Of all the cultivators who have entered this second level, there are probably two or three hundred in total, and at least half of them will come here.”

“There are two places in this palace that even Golden Core cultivators dare not say they can enter and exit at will. Even a Golden Core cultivator could perish inside if they are not careful. I came here this time to tell you some things before you leave.”

“Although this palace was first explored by Nascent Soul cultivators, and then subsequently swept clean by Golden Core cultivators, some of the cultivation resources here are renewable, so occasionally, Golden Core cultivators will come here to find some things. My appearance here is not abrupt.”

“With your late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, although you have a chance of winning an entry spot tomorrow morning, that’s only if you suddenly erupt with the power of the jade talisman I gave you to hide your cultivation.”

The middle-aged scholar looked at the page boy he called Bu Luo and said softly. It was just that this page boy looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet his minor realm was actually a level higher than Li Yan’s.

Bu Luo adjusted the basket on his shoulders, then curled his lips and said with some defiance, “Young Master, what are you talking about? Today, there are only eight late-stage Foundation Establishment, peak Foundation Establishment, and Pseudo-Core cultivators here. It’s not long until dawn.”

“Even if only twelve people can enter each day, even if more people come, I think I’ll have no problem getting into the top ten. As for after entering the palace, I’m going straight for my destination. With all the magical treasures you’ve given me, Young Master, only a Golden Core cultivator would make me wary.”

The middle-aged scholar in the green robe frowned slightly. But he had a gentle personality and rarely lost his temper, so he still said slowly.

“Bu Luo, your cultivation was not achieved through solid practice. If you were in a normal sect, there wouldn’t be so many medicinal pills for you to consume like that. You clearly have a three-lineage Earth Spirit Root, but your personality is too restless, and you can never calm down to cultivate. Every time you try to break through a bottleneck, you take a ‘Foundation Establishment Pill’ on your own accord. Alas, if this goes on, it will be extremely detrimental to you. It will be very difficult for you to achieve Core Formation in the future.”

“Young Master, didn’t we come here this time for my Core Formation? If we find that herb, with your high alchemy skills, Young Master, it won’t be a problem to refine ten or eight Dustless Pills.”

Seeing the middle-aged scholar bring up his pill consumption, the page boy hurriedly changed the subject.

He could be made to do anything on a daily basis, except for closed-door meditation. That would drive him crazy. To think of not eating or drinking for months, or even years, and just cultivating bitterly, how could he stand it? But he knew that his young master doted on him, and with his young master’s alchemy skills, although Foundation Establishment and Core Formation were difficult for others, there was still hope for him to achieve Core Formation.

After hearing this, the middle-aged scholar in the green robe shook his head lightly. “Actually, even after adding this herb, I’m not confident. This might not even be a ‘Dustless Pill’ anymore. Ten or eight? I’m surprised you can say that.”

“‘Dustless Pill’s’ own materials are already hard to find. Do you think they’re as common as Qi Refining Pills? At most, one.”

“But this medicine is not something you must take. It’s just an auxiliary means for when you’re in a critical moment of breaking through to the Golden Core. I already stopped your pill supply three years ago, which is why you haven’t reached the peak of Foundation Establishment yet.”

“You must have already felt how difficult it is to advance now. This is the result of your unstable foundation. Although your current realm is not bad, if you were to fight those few late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators over there, unless you use the magical treasure I gave you, your chances of winning are less than thirty percent…”

At this point, the middle-aged scholar in the green robe sighed softly. Bu Luo was the great-grandson of his old servant from long ago. That old servant had perished many years ago after failing to achieve Core Formation. Before he died, the old servant had hoped that the middle-aged scholar, for the sake of his decades of diligent service, would be able to take care of the only person in his family’s bloodline with a cultivation spirit root and guide him onto the path of immortality. That was the Bu Luo before him.

Although cultivators were generally emotionally detached, that old servant had watched the middle-aged scholar grow up. That bit of affection was still there. When he first met Bu Luo, he saw that his spirit root was a rare three-lineage Earth Spirit Root and was overjoyed, immediately thinking of taking him as a disciple. But after some observation, he helplessly discovered that this boy had completely wasted such a great spirit root.

Although he had severely reprimanded him, Bu Luo was simply unable to calm down and cultivate for long periods. In the end, he could only assist him with medicinal pills. With the help of medicinal pills, the progress of an Earth Spirit Root was not something an ordinary cultivator could match. It was just that his foundation was not solid. In the end, he could only use him as a page boy.

He had come this time because he had obtained a pill formula a few years ago, an improved version of the “Dustless Pill.” It was said to be able to increase the chances of Core Formation again. So, the middle-aged scholar planned to do this one last thing for Bu Luo. In the future, he would have to work hard for his own Nascent Soul Formation, travel the world alone, search for immortal fortune, and find that slim, heaven-reaching great Dao.