Chapter 230: True Monarch Golden Face

[A rich medicinal fragrance permeated the cave dwelling.]

[You were in an excellent mood.]

[Before you lay a multitude of spiritual herbs and precious medicines. A single stalk of any of them would be enough to make the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the outside world fight to the death.]

['Crimson Cloud Pill... Spirit Candle Fruit... Heavenly Origin Fortune Pill... Vast Scorching Pill...']

[Numerous ancient pill formulas flashed rapidly through your mind.]

[These formulas all originated from the ancient era. Collected during your fifth simulation, they were precious pills that aided late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators in their cultivation breakthroughs.]

[Due to a lack of key primary and auxiliary ingredients, you simply hadn't had the means to refine them back then.]

[Now, however, with your harvest from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven, you could refine practically all of them.]

[In the near-ancient era, due to the scarcity of natural resources, high-level alchemists had modified ancient pill formulas to suit the environment. They found substitutes for the main and auxiliary ingredients to make them more adaptable to the times.]

[However, their efficacy inevitably suffered a massive reduction. This was unavoidable.]

[With the key ingredients replaced, they could never achieve their original effects.]

['Hahahaha! With these spiritual herbs and precious medicines, reaching the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak will only take me a few decades.']

[Your face was flushed with a healthy glow, your mood buoyant.]

[Your cultivation aptitude and talent couldn't be considered very good at the Nascent Soul stage, and especially not at the late stage.]

[You frequently encountered cultivation bottlenecks, getting stuck for years or even a decade at a time.]

[But things were different now. The minor bottlenecks and shackles of the late Nascent Soul stage could be forcefully bypassed with the help of these ancient pills.]

[The ancient era gave birth to experts more easily. Aside from the different environment of heaven and earth, it was also due to the abundance of resources.]

[Theoretically speaking, as long as the resources were available, even a pig could hope to achieve Core Formation.]

['No wonder those top-tier forces have almost no gaps in their lineages of Nascent Soul True Monarchs... and even late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators. Controlling so many resources, their lineages would be hard-pressed to break even if they tried...']

[You thought to yourself. The top-tier forces here referred to the One Peak, Two Bodies, and Three Dharmas.]

[As for the Four Guilds and Five Minor Sects ranked beneath them, they actually controlled very few Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. The Four Guilds relied on trade to earn their wealth, while the Five Minor Sects depended on their crafts.]

[Taking the Heavenly Talisman Sect as an example, there was no telling how many premium talismans they sold every year. The other four minor sects like Pill King Mountain and Tiangong Island were the same; the former represented the Dao of Alchemy, while the latter represented the Dao of Puppetry.]

['It's just that refining Fourth Tier Spirit Pills will trigger celestial phenomena...']

[You stroked your chin and quickly came up with a solution.]

[You would use specific arrays to reduce the intensity of the phenomena.]

[Not only were you an alchemy Grandmaster, you were also a Rank 4 Middle Grade array Grandmaster.]

[You couldn't guarantee completely isolating the worldly anomalies caused by refining Fourth Tier High Grade spirit pills, but you could still suppress them to the level of a Rank 4 Middle Grade or even Rank 4 Lower Grade pill.]

[By then, even if the Great Cultivators of the Heavenly Talisman Sect noticed, they would at most assume you were a Rank 4 Lower Grade or Middle Grade alchemy Grandmaster.]

[For a late Nascent Soul Great Cultivator who had lived for seven or eight hundred years to master a lower or middle fourth-tier craft was perfectly normal.]

[Actually... with your current strength, even if it was just your superficial strength as an ordinary late Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, it wouldn't be completely out of the question to reveal your identity as an alchemy Grandmaster.]

[But you preferred to keep a trump card hidden.]

[The numerous precious spiritual herbs in the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven had just been looted empty. If you started refining many precious Fourth Tier High Grade spirit pills right now, it would be a bit too conspicuous.]

[It was foreseeable that for the next few decades or even a century, the Hexu Sect would be keeping a close eye on every alchemy Grandmaster within the Central Continent Territory. That batch of precious spiritual herbs and great medicines you had snatched couldn't just be swallowed raw, could they? They naturally had to be refined into pills.]

[After inspecting the condition of each spiritual herb and precious medicine one by one, you reeled in your thoughts and began to review the operation, checking to see if there were any oversights or omissions.]

[When it involved a Three Dharmas-level faction, one could never be too careful.]

[You had barely faced any danger when making a move on the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven this time because you had known in advance the strength and number of the experts who would strike during its opening.]

[In your fifth simulation, you had gathered a massive amount of intelligence regarding the openings of various Grotto-Heavens. Among them, one Grotto-Heaven had opened over twenty years ago.]

[But you hadn't made a move on that Grotto-Heaven, because the top-tier faction controlling it had deployed peak Great Cultivator-level forces to guard it.]

[Since you dared to strike at the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven, it meant you had a high degree of certainty.]

['After this incident, the defensive forces for the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven's next opening will likely be elevated to the peak Great Cultivator level.']

[You thought to yourself that the Hexu Sect were no fools. They had been robbed this time because they hadn't anticipated a peak Great Cultivator taking action, much less a peak Great Cultivator from a top-tier ancient dharma cultivation lineage.]

[During its many past openings, the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven hadn't attracted peak Great Cultivators to fight over it.]

[But in the future... the Hexu Sect would inevitably take precautions. Furthermore, they would prepare countermeasures against Quasi-Tier 5 Restriction-Breaking Talismans.]

['Quasi-Tier 5 Restriction-Breaking Talismans...']

[Your heart stirred slightly as you recalled your earlier conversation with the four Great Cultivators of the Heavenly Talisman Sect.]

[Through heavenly secret resonance, you confirmed that the gray-robed figure who had also made a move on the Grotto-Heaven was one of the Great Cultivators from the Heavenly Talisman Sect. However, you couldn't lock onto exactly which Great Cultivator it was.]

['Red Talisman Grand Cultivator... Cold Talisman Grand Cultivator...']

['Unless they fight me personally, I won't be able to be sure...']

[You thought to yourself, not paying it much mind.]

[Whether it was the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator or the Cold Talisman Grand Cultivator, it had little to do with you.]

['In this operation, all the methods I revealed were in the aspect of dharma cultivation, precisely to clear myself of suspicion...']

[You pondered silently.]

[Currently, your public identity was that of a Fourth Tier High Grade talisman Grandmaster who had newly joined the Heavenly Talisman Sect, and your mana quality was only at the level of an ordinary Great Cultivator.]

[You were completely separate from that expert in the Black Gold Mask who had struck at the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven with world-shaking mana.]

[What had passed the Heavenly Talisman Sect's mana inspection was your Second Nascent Soul.]

[Your Second Nascent Soul had never consumed the Nine-Star Ancient Soul Fruit or the Heart of Myriad Souls, so its mana quality naturally fell far short of your main Nascent Soul.]

['Even if there is suspicion, it won't be significant. Theoretically speaking, all late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators in the Human Realm could potentially be that expert in the Black Gold Mask. Even that peak Great Cultivator from the Hexu Sect had the opportunity to strike...']

[You mused to yourself.]

[Compared to you, that gray-robed figure had used a Quasi-Tier 5 Restriction-Breaking Talisman, instantly narrowing down the scope of their identity.]

[Setting the Heavenly Talisman Sect aside, the suspects had at least been narrowed down to the Five Minor Sects. Quasi-Tier 5 Restriction-Breaking Talismans were rarely sold to the outside world; they mostly circulated through internal trades among the Five Minor Sects.]

[The Five Minor Sects represented the five major crafts of the Human Realm. They shared close relationships and frequently traded rare treasures and oddities that never circulated on the open market.]

['After this operation, the major forces of the Human Realm are aware of my existence. Future openings of Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands... will be affected. I won't be able to flawlessly control the entire process...']

[You calculated in your mind.]

[This was also an inevitable outcome.]

[However, you had long considered this impact. Your plans to strike at the future openings of Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands were all based on the premise that the other top-tier forces already knew of your existence.]

['Hm?']

[Right at this moment, your expression shifted slightly as a mysterious heavenly secret fluctuation swept over you.]

['Another Divination Grandmaster is divining me?']

[You sighed inwardly. Since you made your move, you had sensed no fewer than five divinations originating from Divination Grandmasters.]

[Of course, out of these five times, four were only minor divinations. They were merely testing the waters and hadn't delved deeply.]

[Evidently, they were merely curious about you.]

[If you weren't also a Divination Grandmaster—and a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster at that—you probably wouldn't have even noticed.]

[Only during that instance two days ago did the Divination Grandmaster taking action also reach Tier 4 Mid-Grade, utilizing numerous divination artifacts to probe for your identity.]

[However, by relying on that Quasi-Fifth Rank Black Tortoise Shell, you caused that Divination Grandmaster to suffer a massive loss.]

[Without the Quasi-Fifth Rank tortoise shell, you could have at most concealed your own existence.]

['That Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster should be from the Hexu Sect... Otherwise, they wouldn't have pushed so hard...']

[You deduced in your heart. All the harvests from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven had fallen into your hands; this was considered a disastrous loss for the Hexu Sect.]

[They definitely wanted to figure out your identity to see if they could recover the numerous spiritual herbs, ancient medicines, and great drugs.]

['With the help of this Quasi-Fifth Rank tortoise shell, even if I weren't a Divination Grandmaster, I could still obscure my own heavenly secrets and fate. Even if a Fourth Tier High Grade Divination Grandmaster divined me, unless they sacrificed a massive amount of lifespan, it would be difficult for them to gain much.']

[Your heart settled slightly. Coupled with your methods as a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster, even when facing the Two Bodies or Three Dharmas on the level of heavenly secrets and fate, you weren't the least bit intimidated.]

[Hexu Sect, within a magnificent grand hall.]

[This was one of the critical restricted areas of the Hexu Sect, permanently housing the only Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster in the sect.]

[The more top-tier a faction was, the more they valued the cultivation of divination talents. Divination Grandmasters above the fourth tier could observe heavenly secrets and fate, allowing them to seek good fortune and avoid disaster for the entire sect.]

['Senior Brother Heavenly Divination, are you truly unable to divine the identity of that expert in the Black Gold Mask? Even a tiny clue would do.']

[Several figures stood below, and among them were the two Great Cultivators, Zhanshui and Qiufeng.]

['You all should just let me live for a few more years.']

[Seated at the head position was a white-haired elder. At this moment, his face was somewhat pale, indicating his vitality had been severely wounded.]

['That expert in the Black Gold Mask has a supreme divination treasure protecting him. I suspect his divination skills have also reached the fourth tier; otherwise, how could he have cost this old man ten years of lifespan...']

[The white-haired elder coughed for a moment. Although he had suffered a heavenly secret backlash and lost ten years of lifespan during the divination two days ago, he hadn't come up completely empty-handed.]

[At the very least, during the divination, through the intensity and details of the backlash, the white-haired elder faintly sensed that the backlash he faced was driven by a Divination Grandmaster of the same level, rather than purely the protection of a divination treasure.]

['A Divination Grandmaster? That expert in the Black Gold Mask is a Divination Grandmaster?']

[The figures below instantly fell silent. Normally speaking, the energy of Divination Grandmasters was fundamentally poured into their divination skills, so their direct combat strength wouldn't be very high.]

[Divination Grandmasters were in constant contact with heavenly secrets and fate year-round, suffering backlashes from time to time. Their combat strength was highly likely to be weaker than others of the same tier.]

[But that expert in the Black Gold Mask? The two Great Cultivators, Zhanshui and Qiufeng, exchanged a glance. The other party had blocked the Grotto-Heaven's entrance with a Nascent Soul spirit body, erupting with heaven-shaking mana fluctuations with every gesture. Even now, it left the two Great Cultivators fearful.]

[A Great Cultivator with such terrifying combat strength was also a Divination Grandmaster?]

[Year 40. You were 57 years old.]

[You ended your secluded cultivation and walked out of the cave dwelling.]

[The fourth-tier spirit vein dojo that the Heavenly Talisman Sect had prepared for you was fully hundreds of miles in radius; your cave dwelling occupied only a tiny fraction of it.]

[Whoosh!]

[A blood-colored figure several meters large flashed past and landed in front of you. It was none other than the Blood Roc.]

[As a beast king with a True Spirit Bloodline, the Blood Roc's true size was as large as a mountain; it was currently only in a shrunken state.]

[Rank 4 beast kings basically all grasped the divine ability to change their size at will, but they could only exert their peak combat strength in their original form.]

['For you.']

[You glanced at the Blood Roc and casually flicked your right hand, sending several pills flying up.]

[The Blood Roc's eyes instantly lit up. The pills you had been frequently feeding it over the past few years had caused its cultivation speed to skyrocket.]

[These pills were all ancient pills, refined by you using the numerous spiritual herbs and great medicines from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven.]

[Your harvest from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven far exceeded the resources you needed to cultivate to the late-stage peak. The leftover pills were naturally fed to the Blood Roc.]

[At least for the next few hundred years, you didn't plan on selling any pills refined from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven's spiritual herbs to the outside world, as it would easily give you away.]

['Thank you, Master...']

[The Blood Roc's figure blurred as it swallowed the pills in one gulp, instantly feeling a scorching aura erupt within its body.]

['Make a trip back and deliver this.']

[You took out a brocade pouch and tossed it to the Blood Roc.]

[The place you were having the Blood Roc return to was naturally the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling, far away in the Eastern Wilderness Domain.]

[Li Yan was still living there. The brocade pouch you had the Blood Roc deliver contained numerous cultivation resources.]

[They would be able to help Li Yan step into the Nascent Soul Stage as quickly as possible.]

[The Heavenly Talisman Sect was too far from the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling, so you handed all these errand-running tasks over to the Blood Roc.]

[Although the Blood Roc was currently only at the Rank 4 Early Stage Peak, its speed was extremely fast; a round trip wouldn't take much time.]

[Moreover, with the Blood Roc as your spirit pet, you could share its vision at any time and see whatever it was looking at.]

[Aside from the brocade pouch, you also handed the Blood Roc a jade box, having other plans for it.]

['Alright.']

[The Blood Roc stored away the brocade pouch and the jade box.]

['Change your appearance a little.']

[You glanced at the Blood Roc and instructed.]

[Hearing this, the blood-colored feathers all over the Blood Roc's body immediately began to dim, turning into an inconspicuous gray.]

['Mhm. Go on.']

[You led the Blood Roc out of the Heavenly Talisman Sect.]

[It wasn't until you reached a remote location that you watched it disappear from sight.]

[You returned to the Heavenly Talisman Sect, your expression sinking into a brief moment of thought.]

[Over these past few years, the incident at the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven had spread further. Your existence as the figure in the Black Gold Mask was memorized by all the major top-tier forces, and at the same time, it became the focal point of discussion among many Nascent Soul True Monarchs.]

[Because you had never taken action before, you didn't have a corresponding title.]

[But after several years had passed, a moniker specifically referring to you had spread—]

[True Monarch Golden Face]