By the shores of Surging Island, a Daoist stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the currents shifting.

Suddenly, the lake water split apart as if shoved aside by invisible hands, and a massive horned head slowly rose from below. Once fully revealed, the head stood far taller than the Daoist. Even so, the eyes that looked down at him were full of quiet reverence. "Master, I am back."

Luo Chen said nothing and spread his divine consciousness across Black King's entire body. Black King's aura was somewhat weakened, but Luo Chen found no trace of injury, only the exhaustion of a long journey. So if he hadn't been hurt, what had kept him? The answer surfaced almost the moment it crossed his mind.

"Your divine soul is injured?"

Black King lowered his head, looking rather sluggish as he let out a heavy breath. "Yes, by soul poison."

"Soul poison? From the miasma around the Purple Monkey Flower?"

"Yeah. That's right."

Instead of worrying about his spirit beast, Luo Chen was overwhelmed with joy. Any poison capable of harming Black King's divine soul could only have come from a fourth-tier Purple Monkey Flower at the very least, precisely the tier required for refining the Nascent Soul Pill. In other words, Purple Spirit Island truly had the treasure he had been searching for all along. As Black King continued his report, his doubts vanished.

"You've done well," Luo Chen said simply. "But how come you're so late?"

"The route on the map was mostly accurate. But it's been too many years... Some of those barren islands have turned into spirit lands, and powerful beasts have taken them over. On the way there, I wandered into a few Demon Kings' territories and I had to fight my way through. Once I got there, I took the pill you gave me and I used concealment techniques to slip onto the island to look for the Purple Monkey Flower. But honestly... There was no need to search. The whole island was covered in them. And I really mean covered, literally. The entire place is practically a massive plantation of Purple Monkey Flowers. The only problem is that most of them are low-tier. Since you said you need fourth-tier ones, I started looking further. Purple Spirit Island isn't safe. A lot of demonic beasts there have been affected by the flowers, including plenty of Demon Kings. Especially those Purple Poison Monkeys..."

That matched the records in the book. Wherever the monkeys gathered, the flowers were sure to be found nearby. Though the true order of things was the reverse—the flowers had been there first, and their scent had drawn the monkeys in. Over countless years, the monkeys lived beneath the flowers' influence until their very nature slowly changed, eventually evolving into a species wholly unlike ordinary monkeys. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Those Purple Poison Monkeys are extremely territorial with outsiders, but among themselves they stick together in groups. I tried to avoid them because I didn't want a fight. But when I found a fourth-tier Purple Monkey Flower, I ended up getting surrounded by a whole group of Monkey Kings. They are not particularly strong, and their abilities are pretty limited. If I'd had enough time, I could've taken them out one by one. But I didn't really have any time. The longer I stayed on that island, the more the purple miasma got to me. Before I knew it, even my soul was affected. Even the detoxification pill you gave me barely worked. And as more monkeys showed up, I worried I might end up wrecking the whole island. So... I had no choice but to pull back. After I got out, my mind was a mess, and my strength dropped a lot. I found a place to recover, and then I had to take a detour around those Demon Kings' territories on the way back. That's why I ended up coming back almost half a year late."

As Black King recounted everything in detail, Luo Chen gradually formed a rough picture of the route to Purple Spirit Island and the situation there. When the report ended, he asked one last question. "Any human cultivators along the way?"

"None." Black King shook his head, sending ripples spreading across the water.

Luo Chen watched them fade and let his thoughts settle. Overall, Black King's solo mission had been a success. He had confirmed the route and found the fourth-tier Purple Monkey Flowers Luo Chen needed. Though their numbers were not great, their growth potential was exceptional, with the entire island covered in them!

More than that, Black King's journey had ruled out the possibility that someone had deliberately used news of the Purple Monkey Flower to lure him out. This was something Luo Chen had been paying close attention to. Especially after Ding Yi had just used the Five Elements Lotus Platform as leverage to invite him to the Sunken Sea, he grew even more cautious regarding Purple Spirit Island.

After all, the Azure Yang Shop had once publicly issued a bounty concerning the Purple Monkey Flower and the Five Elements Lotus Pod. That would have caught the attention of many covetous parties, so he could not afford to be careless. Ding Yi was one such case. Who could say the situation around the Purple Monkey Flower was not another? For now, however, it seemed there was nothing to worry about.

Off to the side, Heavenjade still looked uneasy. "Master, if what Black King said is true, wouldn't the fourth-tier Purple Monkey Flower be dangerous even for Adepts?"

Luo Chen nodded.

"And there are powerful beings on the island already influenced by the flower. If we try to take the island by force, it'll definitely lead to a fight. And once that happens... won't it damage the place and the flowers themselves?"

Luo Chen nodded again, but there wasn't much concern on his expression. Heavenjade couldn't help but feel puzzled. He gave an easygoing smile. "None of that's a real problem. We'll deal with it one step at a time."

For Luo Chen, as long as no humans were involved, everything else could be handled.

BLERGHH!!

Right in front of Luo Chen and Heavenjade, Black King retched and spat out a lump wrapped in black fluid. Heavenjade frowned. "Didn't I teach you how to use a storage pouch?"

Black King chuckled. "Still used to the old way."

As the black fluid dripped away, the object was revealed. The stalk resembled a veiny muscle, and the tightly packed clusters of blossoms gave off a purplish radiance. Taken as a whole, it looked eerily like a freshly extracted brain. There was no mistaking it—this was a Purple Monkey Flower, exactly as it had been described in the records! Even the root still carried a clump of vivid crimson soil. He drew the flower toward himself with a sweep of his hand and scrutinized the purple light it radiated.

"One, two, three rings... A third-tier Purple Monkey Flower! Great! With this living specimen, I'll have a much better shot at taking Purple Spirit Island."

Luo Chen withdrew his gaze and smiled warmly at Black King. "You've done well. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. The poison weakened the moment I left the island, and I've mostly recovered by now. When you go to Purple Spirit Island, you have to bring me along. I'm definitely settling the score with the damn monkeys."

With that, Black King turned and slipped back into the lake, his tail swaying as he vanished beneath the water. By the lakeside, Luo Chen held the Purple Monkey Flower in his palm, gazing at the calm water surface as he fell into thought. From time to time, a few low murmurs escaped him. "Purple Spirit Island... Ding Yi... Five Elements Lotus... Sunken Sea..."

***

On the same day, Luo Chen arrived at Devil's Cloud Mountain. It was his first time setting foot on this mountain whose name carried immense prestige throughout the Society. Of course, he was aware that the mountain itself played no part in that reputation. The true source of its fame was Devil's Cloud, the eponymous master artisan who resided within it.

An Initiate came to greet him and led the way, ascending slowly. Along the way, Luo Chen sent out his divine consciousness over the structures scattered about the mountain. Dense fire and the intense sound of forging echoed back into his mind. He let out a sigh of admiration. "Devil's Cloud Mountain really lives up to its name. It's one of the few places in the Hidden Dragon Mountains where earth fire runs strong. It's perfect for both artifact creation and alchemy."

The Initiate beside him said with pride, "You flatter us, Adept. Though I have to say, our artifact creation department is fairly well-known. Plenty of rogue cultivators in the Society rely on us for repairs. As they put it, if our cave master ever decided to establish a sect, we could easily become a top-tier artifact creation sect!"

A top-tier artifact creation sect... one that could surpass the Duan family and the Tempered Edge Workshop, and even stand alongside the Flame Alliance and Hundred Craft Mountain? Luo Chen remained noncommittal. Still, he did not deny the man's earlier claim that the rogue cultivators of the Society relied heavily on them. At the Three Oceans Defensive Line, cultivators were constantly locked in battles against demonic beasts. The wear and tear on enchanted artifacts and treasures was a bottomless pit. It was said that enchanted artifacts and treasures would last a hundred years, be repaired for another hundred years, and then be patched together for another hundred years, handed down as heirlooms. But that only applied to truly high-quality items! There was no way that all ordinary cultivators could possess such gems. Under constant combat, the damage to enchanted artifacts was severe.

Luo Chen had suffered from this himself. During the Qi Refinement Realm, frequent battles had destroyed his beloved Blue Musk Serpent-Gathering Banner. At the Foundation Establishment Realm, the intensity of combat was lower, yet overuse still ruined his Crimson Cloud Wings. After reaching the Golden Core Realm, in the battle at Profound Rock Island, he lost two of the Three Piercing Nails against a Nine-Legged Poison King Crab. Later, in a fight against Golden Armor, even his most favored Mystic Flame Sword was shattered.

If even someone as strong as Luo Chen had suffered such losses, for other rogue cultivators, the situation could only be worse. Under such conditions, Devil's Cloud Mountain, as a land of artifact creation, naturally profited greatly. Through commissions from the division, its cultivators regularly repaired enchanted artifacts and treasures for the Society. This was their main source of income and also why Devil's Cloud remained composed even after Luo Chen's sudden rise. After all, how many defensive enchanted treasures could Luo Chen produce in a year?

Surging Lake had only a few skilled artisans to begin with, so he naturally could not compete for Devil's Cloud's share of the market. Under the guidance of the Initiate, Luo Chen learned more about Devil's Cloud Mountain. Around 800 rogue cultivators relied on Devil's Cloud for their livelihoods. Internally, they processed ores and assisted with artifact creation. Externally, they operated their own shops in the city, taking commissions from fellow cultivators and maintaining regular contracts with the division. Over the years, that arrangement had quietly deepened into something closer to loyalty. Several of the late-stage initiates among them had learned the full craft of artifact creation under Devil's Cloud's guidance. In truth, calling them his direct disciples was hardly an exaggeration.

If I were still in the Eastern Wilderness, the Luo Tian Sect would probably look something like this. No... it'd be even better. A sect structure brings stronger cohesion. And the Luo Tian Sect isn't short on capable people either, not just me... I wonder if Wang Yuan managed to break through to the Furnace Realm yet. And Chu Kui... has he reached the Golden Core Realm? With all the Jade Dew Pills I left behind, Huiniang and Caiyi should've reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment by now. Are they struggling with forming their cores? Probably not... I did leave them the Fine Dust Primordial Art, and the Nether Origin Pills...

Watching the bustling scene of the rogue cultivators gathered on Devil's Cloud Mountain, Luo Chen felt a touch of nostalgia, and his heart was stirred. But in the next moment, he forced down those thoughts.

Before the entrance of Devil's Cloud Cave, two figures stood smiling at him. Ding Yi called out loudly, "Fellow Daoist, we've been waiting for you!"

Devil's Cloud seemed to have entirely forgotten the minor dispute they had years back, and now cupped his fist in a cheerful greeting. Luo Chen flicked his sleeve and returned the gesture with a smile. Then, the three of them entered the cave together, chatting and laughing as they went.