By the time Lu Chen returned to Jiangcheng, night had already fallen deep.
He did not enter the city at once. Instead, he detoured to an abandoned factory on the northern outskirts—property the former owner of this body had purchased years ago. Nominally a warehouse, it had in truth served far shadier purposes. Isolated amid farmland, it was rarely disturbed.
Dust lay thick inside. The vast interior was hollow and silent, populated only by rust-eaten machines and stacks of discarded wooden crates. After a careful sweep to ensure there were no surveillance devices, Lu Chen finally set his pack down.
It was time to digest the harvest of this journey.
He sat cross-legged and let his consciousness sink into the sea of awareness.
At its center floated the complete Demon-Suppressing Stele, pitch-black throughout, dark-golden runes flowing across its surface like molten script. Nine inches tall, it symbolized the nine layers of sealing—yet only the lowest layer glimmered faintly, the sole seal thus far undone.
The stele spirit, "Little Stele," had grown clearer: a palm-sized humanoid phantom seated atop the monument, hands forming a seal.
"Master, with your current strength you can only unseal the first layer," Little Stele's voice echoed directly within his mind, clear yet childlike. "Available functions: Stele Spirit Guarding (passive), Energy Reflux (active), and Spatial Perception within a hundred-kilometer radius. Further seals will loosen as your cultivation rises."
"And the second seal?" Lu Chen asked.
"Level forty—Early Earth Tier," Little Stele replied. "At that point, you may unlock the Demon-Suppressing Domain and Stele Manifestation."
Earth Tier…
At level twenty-five, he still had a long road ahead.
But at least the destination was now defined.
Lu Chen withdrew from his sea of consciousness and took out the Violet Palace Creation Pill.
The pill was the size of a dragon's eye, entirely violet, cloud-patterns drifting across its surface, exuding a faint, fragrant aura. A Heaven-tier elixir. According to Ling Xiaozi, it was best consumed upon breaking into the Earth Tier, to forge a flawless foundation.
Using it now would be wasteful.
Yet if he refrained—given his current predicament, hunted by the Association, the Chen family, and the Ghost Organization alike—he could face powerful enemies at any moment. Every increment of strength meant a greater chance of survival.
After a brief struggle, Lu Chen put the pill away.
Better to save it. The Earth Tier threshold was a true bottleneck; with this pill, the odds of success would rise by at least thirty percent. Taking it now might propel him beyond level thirty, but at the cost of an unstable foundation—an unacceptable trade.
He turned instead to the complete Demon-Suppressing True Canon—not a physical tome, but an inheritance branded directly into his consciousness.
At a touch of intent, a torrent of information surged forth:
The Demon-Suppressing True Canon comprised nine volumes, each corresponding to a seal of the stele.
Volume One: Foundation Forging (unsealed) — Tempering sinews and bones, condensing true energy; cultivable up to level thirty.
Volume Two: Violet Palace Opening (requires level forty) — Opening the dantian's Violet Palace, liquefying true energy, stepping into the Earth Tier.
Volume Three: Core Condensation (requires level sixty) — Liquids condense into a core; divine abilities awaken, attaining the Heaven Tier.
The remaining six volumes were sealed, inaccessible until higher realms were reached.
Yet even the first two volumes alone constituted an immeasurable fortune. This was not merely a cultivation method, but a complete system—martial techniques, formations, alchemy, artifact refinement, and, most critically, the core secret arts of the Demon-Suppressing Sect.
Take the Demon-Suppressing Seal, for instance. He had once forced its use with blood essence, nearly crippling himself. With proper guidance, however, it could now be cultivated legitimately—greater power, far fewer repercussions.
Or the Demon-Suppressing Domain: once deployed, all demonic and aberrant energies within would be suppressed—a godsend in large-scale battles.
And Stele Manifestation: the temporary summoning of the Demon-Suppressing Stele's true projection. Though at his level it would last only three seconds, three seconds of a Heaven-tier artifact could decide the tide of war.
Lu Chen spent two full hours absorbing and comprehending the entirety of the first volume.
Then he began to cultivate.
The Foundation Forging chapter of the True Canon was vastly more profound than the Basic Body-Refining Art. Its circulation routes were intricate, threading through far more meridians—but the returns were commensurately greater.
According to the text, mastery would yield "skin like bronze, bones like iron, all meridians unimpeded." Physical resilience would far exceed that of peers, and energy recovery would triple.
Eyes closed, Lu Chen guided the energy within his dantian along the new pathways.
The first cycle was slow, cautious.
The second flowed more smoothly.
By the third, circulation was seamless.
After three cycles, he could distinctly feel his meridians widening, his energy growing purer. The hidden injuries left by forced secret arts began to mend under the method's steady refinement.
[Cultivating Demon-Suppressing True Canon · Foundation Forging]
[Martial foundation restructuring…]
[Current cultivation efficiency increased by 300%]
[Estimated time to break through to level 26: 12 hours (previously 72 hours)]
Triple efficiency.
Worthy indeed of a sect's supreme inheritance.
Lu Chen continued cultivating until the eastern sky began to pale.
[Breakthrough achieved: Level 26]
[Current cultivation: Level 26 (stable)]
[Physical strength +15%, energy recovery +20%]
One level gained in a single night, foundation intact.
Such was the terror of a superior cultivation art.
Lu Chen rose and stretched; crisp cracks rippled through his body. Strength surged, perception sharpened—he could even hear insects chirring a hundred meters away in the fields.
He washed his face at the factory's old water basin and studied the reflection staring back at him.
The pallor was gone, replaced by healthy color. The eyes no longer held the former owner's frivolity and foolishness, but a tempered calm and razor-edged clarity.
This face was gradually becoming his own.
An engine sounded outside.
Lu Chen vanished behind a machine at once.
Two black sedans rolled to a stop at the factory gate. Five men stepped out in plain clothes, yet their bearing—posture, stride, gaze—betrayed unmistakable military discipline.
Not the Association. Not the Chen family. Not the Ghost Organization.
The military?
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.
The leader, a square-faced man in his early thirties with a buzz cut, stood at the entrance without entering. He raised his voice:
"Lin Xiao, I know you're inside. I'm Zhao Feng from the Military Intelligence Division. I want to talk. No hostile intent."
Military Intelligence?
That was a high-clearance department handling sensitive cases involving cultivators. How had they found this place?
Lu Chen remained silent, observing.
Zhao Feng lit a cigarette, unhurried. "Relax. If we wanted to take you, you wouldn't have escaped Yunling Mountains yesterday. Satellites have been watching that area all along."
Satellites…
Lu Chen's heart tightened. Modern surveillance truly was not something cultivators could wholly evade—especially with the military's authority.
After a moment's consideration, he stepped out.
"Colonel Zhao?" He glanced at the rank insignia discreetly set at the collar—two bars, three stars.
"Just Zhao Feng," the man smiled, waving his subordinates back. "Care for a private chat?"
They entered the factory.
Zhao Feng surveyed the interior, clicking his tongue. "Pretty run-down. Thought the Lin family was wealthy. Why live like this?"
"Safer," Lu Chen replied curtly.
"Fair enough." Zhao Feng sat on a crate. "Yesterday's chaos in the Yunling Mountains—your handiwork, right? A collapsing secret realm, landslides… half of Jiangcheng was rattled. The Association's panicking—claims at least twenty casualties."
"Had nothing to do with me," Lu Chen said coolly. "I merely passed through."
"Passed through and collapsed a secret realm?" Zhao Feng chuckled. "Enough pretending. We have our own channels. We know you obtained the Demon-Suppressing Stele and the sect's inheritance. Frankly—Lin Xiao… or should I call you Lu Chen?"
Lu Chen's pupils contracted.
So he knew.
"Easy." Zhao Feng raised a hand. "We don't care. As long as you don't endanger the nation or society, who you are doesn't matter. What matters is—are you willing to cooperate with us?"
"Cooperate how?"
"To deal with the Ghost Organization—and the Doctor." Zhao Feng's expression hardened. "We've tracked them for three years. We know they're searching for Ark Laboratory relics. What we lack is the final piece—until you appeared."
He handed over a file.
Inside was a classified dossier titled: Ark Laboratory Incident Investigation Report (Top Secret).
The contents surpassed even the Extraterrestrial Codex in detail.
The Ark Laboratory lay buried beneath Jiangcheng.
And the key to its sealed entrance was likely the Demon-Suppressing Stele.
Zhao Feng met his gaze. "Doctor has gathered three fragments of the Extraterrestrial Codex. The last fragment—most likely—is with you."
Lu Chen did not deny it.
"We want cooperation," Zhao Feng said. "We provide intelligence and protection. You provide the fragment and the stele's assistance. Afterward, anything relevant to national security is ours. The rest—you may take as compensation."
"And why should I trust you?"
"Because you have no better option." Zhao Feng was blunt. "The Association wants you dead. So does the Chen family. The Ghost Organization may turn on you at any time. The military is the only force both capable of protecting you—and willing to."
He paused. "Also… your grandfather contacted senior command yesterday. He personally vouched for you."
Lu Chen fell silent.
"I'll consider it," he finally said.
"Twenty-four hours." Zhao Feng stood. "I'll return tomorrow. Until then, we'll keep this area under watch—protection, and surveillance both."
After he left, Lu Chen remained seated in the silent factory.
The military's entry complicated everything.
Yet Zhao Feng was right: he needed allies.
And beneath Jiangcheng lay the Ark Laboratory—perhaps even the Ark Core itself.
He had to go.
The only question was how to play this game… without becoming a pawn.