A year slipped by in the blink of an eye. The secluded chamber remained unchanged, and so did the man within it. Time moved forward, yet his face showed no trace of age. He had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. He sat still and serene. A faint tremor touched his lashes, a subtle sign that consciousness was returning. Without warning, an invisible ripple of spirit energy began to unfurl. It spread in a slow and steady wave. And then, in the next breath, a powerful aura erupted! He had reached the fifth stage, yet the pressure he released surpassed that of an ordinary sixth-stage Initiate! The aura he carried even brushed the threshold of a late-stage one! Luo Chen opened his eyes. His gaze remained calm, untouched by joy or sorrow. Only stillness lingered there. “The fifth stage of Foundation Establishment... About half a year earlier than I expected,” he murmured. He had originally estimated two to three years. Tao Wan had come nearly a year before he entered seclusion, and since then, a year had passed. He had not reached the two-year mark, yet the breakthrough had arrived naturally, and the pills she had provided played a clear part. With a single thought, his spirit consciousness spread outward. It moved like spring rain that nourished all things. He saw Bai Meiling handle the Soul-Refining Banner while Little Black bared his teeth and kept his distance. He saw the second-tier spirit field where every plant thrived, free of pests and weeds, which showed Yuan Dongsheng’s careful tending. He also saw Tao Yisheng hurrying along from afar, unaware that Luo Chen observed him. He withdrew his spirit consciousness in silence and gave a small inward nod. His divine soul foundation had deepened with this breakthrough. By his estimate, his divine soul strength could rival that of an eighth-stage Initiate. It wasn’t just the result of a breakthrough in cultivation alone; it was also thanks to the supreme-grade Spirit Passage pills he took from time to time. Even though they were only first-tier pills, their sheer quantity and exceptional quality made a difference. One or two pills might not show immediate results, but over the long term, they had undeniably deepened his divine soul foundation. After scanning his body’s condition, Luo Chen ignored the hurried steps drawing near outside the chamber. Instead, he opened his status panel without hesitation. A full translucent screen unfurled before him like a cascading waterfall. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩•𝗳𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝕟𝕖𝕥 Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage Five (1/100); Blood River Realm (50/100) Achievement Points: 48 Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra: Grandmaster (537/1000) Divine Breaker of Malevolence: Perfected Mastery Myriad Beast Sutra: Beginner (10/100) Life-Severing Finger: Beginner (1/100) Landslide: Grandmaster (700/1000) Glazed Skyveil: Grandmaster (760/1000) Turtle Spirit Armor: Perfection (313/500) Solar Flare: Grandmaster (670/1000) Sword of the Golden Harvest: Skilled (125/200) Sound Isolation: Perfected Mastery Soul-Intimidation: Perfection (400/500) Perfected Mastery Spells (click to view details) Jade Fracture: Perfected Mastery Unadorned Heart: Perfected Mastery Flowing Creek: Perfected Mastery Cloud Transformation: Perfected Mastery Clear Origin Mystical Pill: Grandmaster (700/1000) Essence Restoration: Skilled (125/200) Scaled Shift: Beginner (5/100) Mountain Cleaving Monument Breaking Palm: Perfected Mastery Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers: Grandmaster (501/1000) Wang Secret Manual: Perfection (380/500) Second-Tier Alchemist Blood Fiend Pill: Perfected Mastery Jade Dew Pill: Perfected Mastery Imperial Nectar: Beginner (9/100) Fasting Concoction: Perfected Mastery Myriad Wonders Pill: Perfected Mastery Jade Essence Pill: Perfected Mastery Spirit Passage Pill: Perfected Mastery Blood-Burning Pill: Proficient (204/300) Lines of dense system data unfurled before Luo Chen like an ancient scroll. Entry followed entry, tightly packed and seemingly endless. And that was after he had hidden several first-tier spells that had already reached Perfected Mastery. Even so, the number remained staggering. But rather than feeling overwhelmed, he felt the quiet joy of accomplishment. These entries were the fruit of years of effort! "It's already been four years..." Luo Chen murmured. The battle at Qinhua River still felt vivid in his mind, just like the image of a Ninefold Flame Dragon Formation crashing through the fortified walls of the Divine Craftsman Sect. Yet four more years had slipped by! For mortals, this would be cause to lament how the river of time flows without rest, but for a cultivator, a long lifespan still stretched out ahead. Before he knew it, his own lifespan limit had risen to two hundred twenty years. This extension had come not only from advancing in cultivation but also from the strengthening of his body after all his meridians had been opened. The progress bar for the Blood River Realm already sat at the halfway mark, a clear testament to his growth. He gave a wry smile and let the thought go. He was still young; there was no need to dwell on longevity. As he reviewed his techniques, one surprise stood out. Divine Breaker of Malevolence had reached Perfected Mastery. Since the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, he had seldom used fiend qi to temper his body. The technique’s perfection came mostly from his use of Blood Fiend pills to clear meridians. While channeling that fearsome medicinal power, which carried Netherworld Yin Fiend Qi, he had advanced in the art without noticing. The effects it brought after Perfected Mastery were quite unusual: It allowed him to divide his focus. It did not evolve into a divine soul defense technique as he had expected, but moved in a different direction, likely because Meridian Unblocking forced him to control fiend qi while guiding it through fine meridians. The ability had appeared without conscious training, and he could not say whether it was a learned skill or a side effect. Either way, now, he could split his attention three ways. While refining pills, he could handle ingredients, control the flame, and monitor the cauldron’s changes at the same time. In battle, he could even wield three enchanted artifacts at once. "Not what I expected but undeniably useful!" Luo Chen was thoroughly satisfied as his gaze drifted downward to the spell section. At the top sat a third-tier spell named Life-Severing Finger. It had come from Li Jinhuang. Since learning it, his proficiency had barely increased. There was a simple reason: No one had cooperated with him the way Li Jinhuang had, which made practice difficult, and he was not a devil cultivator who could cast it indiscriminately. Over time, the spell had been left idle. Below it lay a long list of first-tier and second-tier spells. Due to environmental constraints, large-scale arts such as Landslide and Solar Flare had advanced slowly after reaching the Grandmaster level. He could not practice them recklessly on Tianlan Peak, so progress was slow. By contrast, spells such as Glazed Skyveil, Turtle Spirit Armor, and Sound Isolation did not require space, and steady practice had improved them markedly. And it wasn’t just spells that saw success. In fact, over the last four years, his greatest gains had come from alchemy. Jade Fracture, Unadorned Heart, Flowing Creek, and Cloud Transformation, his four foundational techniques, had all reached Perfected Mastery! He had also acquired two new techniques, Essence Restoration and Scaled Shift, and his detoxification method, the Clear Origin Mystical Pill, was only a few years away from perfection. Moreover, he'd reached Perfected Mastery in both the Blood Fiend pill and the Jade Dew pill after two years of focused effort. He had become a true master alchemist. His foundations were so solid that even disciples of major alchemy sects, Tao Yisheng among them, could not help but feel respect. First-tier supreme-grade pills were easily within his grasp. Even for second-tier pills, he could refine supreme-grade versions with ease. Such skill lay beyond the imagination of ordinary second-tier alchemists. Even the so-called master alchemists of public repute could not compare. In truth, that was why Luo Chen dared to bargain hard with Tao Wan and make bold demands. Whether Tao Wan would ultimately win the competition, he didn’t know, but he could certainly guarantee her victory in the alchemy competition of the second round. And even if she failed, he could still obtain second-tier cultivation pill formulas and Core Formation insights from her. Either way, he wouldn't lose on this deal! After he reviewed his status panel, he drew a deep breath. He saw a total of forty-eight achievement points, and a quiet smile formed. Since reaching Foundation Establishment, he had spent only ten points on the Jade Dew pills. Years of accumulation had left him with a trove. If he secured the Tao family’s cultivation pill formulas, he could master them at once, raise their proficiency swiftly, and produce supreme-grade pills at will. With that, he would never worry about running short of top-grade cultivation pills. "Everything is going according to plan. Now, it’s time to retrieve the alchemical formulas that are rightfully mine!" With a single thought, he activated Perfected Mastery Spirit Suppression and veiled every trace of his fifth-stage energy. At the same time, he also used Turtle Breath. His presence turned faint and elusive, like the Black Tortoise in hibernation. With both techniques combined, his cultivation was fully obscured. Now, Luo Chen was confident that unless a Golden Core Adept appeared, no one could see through his cultivation. And even if such an Adept was present, he felt certain he could pass unnoticed so long as their attention did not rest on him. This was the wisest course of action. The spirit power in his body was far beyond that of a typical fifth stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; it was best to keep it hidden for now. With everything prepared, he exited the chamber. "Little Ling, open the door for our guest!"