Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Crackle!

The sound of burning wood in the firepit was crisp and clear.

Luo Chen sat by the bed, watching the woman busy washing vegetables and cooking, with even a small piece of dark red meat on the cutting board.

”Wait a moment, it’ll be ready soon.”

”Why such a feast today?”

”I thought eating porridge and pickles every day is not good for your health, so I bought a piece of meat in town to supplement your diet.” The woman said casually and hesitated for a moment before adding softly: ”Also, today is my birthday.”

Birthday?

Luo Chen was stunned, then quickly realized that this was the woman’s way of saying it’s her birthday.

On such an occasion, one should give gifts for celebration, but Luo Chen looked around and, having nothing else, could only smile awkwardly.

”Sorry, I haven’t prepared a gift; I can only wish you eternal youth and a long life.”

Jing Lan brushed her hair and smiled: ”Thank you, those words are enough. It’s been just me all alone, but this year is somewhat different.”

Luo Chen opened his mouth as if to ask about her family, but the words remained unspoken.

Since she said so, it was clear the past was not something worth happily recalling.

The meal was quickly prepared, but Luo Chen didn’t eat much, even just tasting a couple of bites of the meat.

Jing Lan was a bit embarrassed, explaining that she rarely cooked meat dishes, so it might not taste very good.

Luo Chen briefly explained that he didn’t like meat, which comforted the woman a bit.

After dinner, Jing Lan went to the corner of the room to make the bed again.

This time, however, Luo Chen walked over to her.

The woman’s face turned slightly red, ”What are you going to do?”

Luo Chen pointed calmly at the simply constructed bed of wood and stone, ”You should sleep there, I’ll take this spot.”

”But your body...”

”It’s fine.”

Luo Chen’s tone was calm, but his attitude was firm.

Jing Lan wanted to persuade him, but under Luo Chen’s authoritative gaze, she went to the bed that was meant for her.

There was still no fire to accompany sleep that night.

Or to say, as long as there’s no Ghost Rain, there’s no need to specifically burn Dream Stone for fire.

Jing Lan lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

From time to time, she would turn to look at the thin man sitting cross-legged on a straw mat across the firepit.

In the dark, Jing Lan couldn’t help but ask, ”Are you an immortal from outside?”

Luo Chen opened his eyes, quietly watching her, and after a moment’s thought said, ”I’m not.”

Failing ascension, how could I be called an immortal?

At least, that’s how Luo Chen saw it.

”Oh...”

The woman’s voice sounded somewhat disappointed.

But Luo Chen’s next sentence sparked her interest.

”Do immortals often appear in the Great Destruction Realm?”

Jing Lan perked up and spoke, ”Not often, but there are many similar legends. Especially during the appearance of the three great calamities, immortals sometimes accidentally intrude into the Great Destruction Realm. There are even rumors that Yixian City was founded by an immortal from outside.”

”Yixian City?” In the darkness, Luo Chen chewed over this name.

Jing Lan responded, ”It’s said that once you enter this place, you can’t leave. Even immortals who accidentally enter are trapped here for life. Thus, the saying of immortals building cities and residing here came about. When I saw you in the river half a year ago, there was an aura surrounding you, and I thought it was an immortal, so I saved you.”

Luo Chen furrowed his brows even tighter, saying, ”I’m not an immortal, but can be considered a cultivator following the Dao of immortals.”

”A cultivator?” Jing Lan was curious.

Luo Chen was equally curious, ”Are there cultivators in this place too?”

Jing Lan hesitated and replied, ”There are some who call themselves cultivators, but they bear no resemblance to the legendary ethereal immortals. It’s like the new Master Yan at our Tobacco Workshop, who is said to be a cultivator.”

Luo Chen blinked and silently noted down the name Master Yan.

He didn’t ask too much. With Jing Lan’s situation, she couldn’t possibly know much, just having a rough idea was enough.

”Sleep early!”

”Mm.”

The woman replied and fell into a deep sleep, evidently not having had such an easy day with all her work.

Luo Chen remained sitting on the straw mat, and after going over earlier matters, he focused on himself.

The meridians in his body were still blocked, with more than half ruptured!

In such a state, not to mention fighting, even simple cultivation was extremely difficult.

Being able to get up and walk was already the limit!

The urgent task was to repair his body and clear the meridians.

But after several attempts, Luo Chen discovered something terrifying.

There was no Spirit Qi in Qingshan Town!

This was an unbelievable situation.

Even in the most barren areas of the Mountain Sea Realm, there would still be a slight Spirit Qi available for absorption, albeit insufficient for realm advancement.

But here, Luo Chen did not sense even the slightest trace of Spirit Qi.

Furthermore, the Spirit Qi that usually accumulates on the body over time in cultivation had vanished without a trace.

Luo Chen didn’t know whether the problem was with the location of Qingshan Town or the norm in the entire Great Destruction Realm.

Due to the absence of Spirit Qi, not only could he not perform techniques, he couldn’t even open his storage ring to retrieve the Spirit Stones and elixirs inside.

It’s not just the lack of Spiritual Energy but also because his Divine Soul was sealed, making it impossible to use Divine Perception.

After the initial panic, he could only settle for the next best thing, seeking other ways to restore his state.

Source Blood!

He still had pure Source Blood on him, condensed from countless Qi-Blood, not inferior to the Blood Essence obtained from the arduous training of immortal cultivators.

If he was willing to part with some, disperse it, and then use Healing Magic to drive it, it might substitute for Qi Power.

But using Qi-Blood instead of Qi Power might significantly reduce the effectiveness of the Healing Technique.

Qi Power is gentle and follows the mind’s will, while Qi-Blood is strong, violent, and restless, making it less compatible with Healing Magic than Qi Power.

But at least, it’s a path!

Luo Chen was a master of techniques, having learned countless of them, and even created quite a few on his own.

With a determined attempt now, he was gradually finding some leads.

A drop of Source Blood dispersed, turning into violent Qi-Blood surging towards all parts of his body, but got clogged between his organs due to blocked and ruptured meridians.

Luo Chen grunted, but his hands moved quickly, operating according to the most basic ”Healing Technique.”

This technique was basic, requiring no Divine Perception or Divine Consciousness, not even Spirit Consciousness; it could be activated by an ordinary Qi Refinement Cultivator, perfect for Luo Chen in this state with his Divine Soul sealed.

He guided strands of turbulent Qi-Blood, healing his external injuries over and over again.

These wounds were most hideous and terrifying; even Luo Chen was somewhat unsure what kind of attack he had suffered to damage his physical body, almost comparable to the Great Desolate.

He clearly remembered during the battle with Qi Xia, the opponent did not target his physical body.

Could it have been caused by Qing Shuang when he was banished into the space turbulence?

Thinking of Qing Shuang, Luo Chen had mixed feelings.

That battle came abruptly.

Without Qing Shuang, he was prepared to burn his True Spirit Origin Blood, break Qi Xia’s seal, and even self-destruct his Primordial Spirit.

Had it come to that, he would have died, but Qi Xia Emperor would not have come out unscathed either. Not to mention being severely injured, at least Qi Xia wouldn’t have gained access to Luo Chen’s immense Qi Power and Spirit Mechanism.

Due to Qing Shuang, Luo Chen’s desperate counterattack failed to land.

Yet because of Qing Shuang’s banishment, he was given a chance to survive, albeit having fallen to this state.

He could tell that the space banishment was Qing Shuang’s deliberate act, giving him a path to life.

Thus, his feelings towards Qing Shuang were very complicated.

”If I can one day leave this place and seek revenge on Qi Xia Emperor, as long as you do not stand in my way, I will let bygones be bygones. But if you continue to be my enemy...”

In the darkness, Luo Chen’s half-open eyes shone with piercing cold light, chilling to behold.

”Mmm...”

A voice muttered in the silent night, and the woman on the opposite bed turned over.

Luo Chen glanced at her, withdrew his thoughts, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on repairing his physical body.