An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The next morning, a visitor arrived at Luo Chen’s courtyard. It was Xiao Yue, the gentle young girl who had gradually grown more confident over the past few months.

”Big Brother Luo, this is the income for this month, a total of six hundred twenty low-grade spirit stones.” she said softly, her eyes bright with excitement as she retrieved a pile of spirit stones from her storage pouch and blinked.

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow, noticing the familiar storage pouch in her hand. ”Did your grandfather give you his storage pouch?”

Xiao Yue gently caressed the storage pouch with a deep expression and nodded lightly.

It was more than just a storage pouch. It was also her father’s keepsake.

The pouch had belonged to Leaping Tiger, her father, who had fallen in the deadly match on the Debate Platform. Before his final battle, he had entrusted the pouch to Old Yuan, her grandfather and never to return. All he left behind was the elderly and the young, a pair of vulnerable dependents.

“Grandfather said my business is growing, and I’m handling more goods and spirit stones now. It’s more convenient with a storage pouch,” Xiao Yue explained.

Using a storage pouch at just the second stage of Qi-Refining was something possible only in the relatively safe inner city.

Luo Chen felt a tinge of envy. Why didn’t he have such an inheritance when he transmigrated?

He lightly tapped the spirit stones and calculated their accounts based on pricing. He had initially invested two hundred spirit stones—half for producing celestial beans and popcorn, the other half for purchasing pineapple wine.

Now he had recovered over six hundred, which was a decent profit. It was just a pity that Dahe Market had only one Debate Platform; otherwise, the business could have expanded significantly.

After doing the math, there were no major discrepancies.

Luo Chen wasn’t worried about the Yuan family deceiving him.

First, this small business was something he started on a whim, casually.

Second, the Yuan family’s reputation was well-known. When he brought them a simple wheelchair, Old Yuan had gifted him a hundred-year-old green gourd in return.

And third! Looking at the young girl, Luo Chen couldn’t help but smile.

This was also his way of building goodwill. By caring for a disabled man and a young girl, he had earned a considerable amount of goodwill within the Poshan Gang.

When Dragon Coil Tiger and the leader of the Mining Hall decided to support him, these factors likely played a role.

After storing most of the spirit stones in his pouch, Luo Chen set aside thirty low-grade spirit stones and handed them back to Xiao Yue.

”Here, take this—it’s your pay for last month.”

Xiao Yue carefully placed the spirit stones into her pouch, her soft and delicate face lighting up with excitement. This was the first time she had earned spirit stones through her own hard work. She was finally no longer a child who could only rely on her father and grandfather!

Seeing the excited girl, Luo Chen couldn’t resist ruffling her smooth hair. ”Work hard, and I’ll give you a raise in the future! Your Brother Luo isn’t some heartless and unscrupulous boss.”

”Mm-hmm!”

”Oh, there’s some snacks I made over the past few days in the room. Pack them up—it’ll be enough for you to sell next month.”

”Okay, I’ll go get them!” Watching the little girl excitedly rush into the room, packing the celestial beans, beef jerky, and popcorn into her storage pouch one by one.

Luo Chen couldn’t help but smile.

In truth, this small business was quite decent. The profits weren’t large, given that the Debate Platform was the only venue.

But earning a few hundred spirit stones extra per month was something anyone would be happy with.

It’s just that if I get busy in the future, I might not have the time to make these snacks. Luo Chen rubbed his chin, pondering how to handle this. He couldn’t let Xiao Yue taste success and then immediately lose her job, could he?

With these thoughts, Luo Chen left the inner city.

At the city gate, Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang were already waiting for him.

Seeing the two, Luo Chen’s lips curved into a smile! I, Little Luo, am now someone who gets escorted to and from work by bodyguards!

”Hall Leader Luo, are we heading straight to Crescent Moon Valley?”

”No, today we’re going to the Lancang Dock!”

Zhou Yuanli said with concern, ”That’s Dajiang Gang territory.”

”Isn’t it also our territory?” Luo Chen countered.

With that, he paid no further attention to the two and activated his Cloud-Stepping Boots, flying leisurely toward the Lancang Dock.

The two exchanged glances and quickly followed.

***

The Lancang Dock was the largest external dock connected to Dahe Market. It connected Dahe Market internally and the Lancang River externally, serving as a crucial hub for south-north transit and logistics.

For large spirit materials that couldn’t easily be transported in storage pouches, almost everything was moved by water routes.

After all, you couldn’t exactly have cultivators carrying thousand-meter-long logs or iron ore dozens of meters thick flying across thousands of li. Because of this, the interests tied to the Lancang Dock were enormous.

In fact, a commercial district the size of a small town had sprung up around it and the ruler of this area was none other than the Dajiang Gang.

Of course, the Poshan Gang now had a foothold here too.

After the deathmatch on the Debate Platform, the Poshan Gang had forcibly inserted themselves into the water transportation business.

After greeting Wang Yuan, who was stationed here, Luo Chen, along with his two bodyguards, eagerly headed toward the dock.

A dozen large ships were docked neatly within the harbor.

Along the way, many early and mid-stage cultivators were busy, moving goods or transporting passengers. Others shouted loudly, recommending various cultivation resources to rogue cultivators newly arrived at Dahe Market.

Luo Chen watched with great interest before arriving at his destination.

It was a large ship marked with the characters ”Jia Er”.

Dozens of cultivators were busy loading cargo onto the ship.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator onboard was meticulously tallying the inventory, worried about any missing items.

”These are spirit materials being sent back to the Divine Talisman Sect, gathered by the Divine Talisman Pavilion over ten years. The quantities are immense, and they must be transported via water routes, taking years to reach the sect.”

At some point, Fu Xiuxiu had appeared beside Luo Chen.

Luo Chen asked curiously, ”Does the Dajiang Gang really have the capability to transport goods across the Jade Cauldron Domain to the Divine Talisman Domain?”

”Of course not. They’re only transporting it to the nearest Taishan Market. From there, a stronger merchant team will handle the transport,” Fu Xiuxiu said with a slight smile.

Luo Chen suddenly understood.

That made sense—the Dajiang Gang was just a small faction with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could they manage the logistics of transporting goods across multiple domains?

”Sister Xiuxiu, hold on a moment!”

Luo Chen pulled out a sound transmission talisman and quickly activated it. The talisman wobbled as it floated up to the large ship.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Divine Talisman Pavilion glanced at it but didn’t pay it much attention.

Soon, two figures appeared on the deck. They looked around and waved in Luo Chen’s direction.

”Come down!” Luo Chen shouted.

Hearing the call, Old Man Chen and his granddaughter Little Shuyi quickly came down.

”Little Fellow Daoist Luo, you really came to see us off!”

”Brother Luo, did you bring me any beef jerky?”

Luo Chen ruffled Little Shuyi’s hair, handed her a small package, and then turned to Fu Xiuxiu.

”Sister Xiuxiu, this is Fellow Daoist Chen Xiuping, one of my few close friends. He’s also heading to the Divine Talisman Domain to take his granddaughter, Chen Shuyi, for next year’s sect entrance trials.”

”If possible, I’d like to ask you to look after them.

”Of course, only within your ability. If it’s inconvenient, please don’t trouble yourself.”

He spoke sincerely, with a tone of utmost earnestness.

Fu Xiuxiu glanced at the old man and the young girl in front of her, thought for a moment, and then gently nodded.

”When we reach the Divine Talisman Domain, we’ll be from the same homeland, so of course, we should look out for each other.”

Chen Xiuping was taken aback by her words.

Little Shuyi, however, had already started calling her ”Sister Xiuxiu” sweetly under Luo Chen’s guidance.

Under Luo Chen’s introduction, both parties got acquainted. Upon learning that the two would be staying on the lowest level of the flying boat, Fu Xiuxiu suggested letting Little Shuyi stay with her. Old Man Chen had no objections and quickly sent Little Shuyi to fetch her luggage.

Watching the two board the ship, Luo Chen sighed deeply. With this farewell today, he wondered if they’d ever have the chance to meet again in this lifetime.

”Luo Chen, does that young girl really have a chance to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Divine Talisman Sect?”

”What young girl? Sister Xiuxiu only looks young—she’s not much younger than you.”

Fu Xiuxiu’s age wasn’t exactly a secret. You could tell from how she usually interacted with Qin Liangchen and his wife. She had merely mastered the art of maintaining her youthful appearance. In reality, she was probably already in her fifties. Even Chen Xiuping, at only sixty-five, would find it inappropriate to call her a young girl.

Luo Chen thought for a moment and said seriously, ”Sister Xiuxiu tried to break through to Foundation Establishment before, but she failed. This time, although the Divine Talisman Sect has given her another chance, it’s far from guaranteed.”

”If she fails again, she might end up all alone over there, isolated and helpless.”

”Although I haven’t interacted much with Little Shuyi, I can tell she’s a bright and spiritly gifted child. Coupled with your years of guidance, her chances of joining the Divine Talisman Sect are quite high.”

”If Sister Xiuxiu does fail, but Little Shuyi successfully enters the Divine Talisman Sect, you should have Little Shuyi help her out when the time comes.”

Old Man Chen listened intently, nodding occasionally.

Finally, he said firmly, ”Coming from Dahe Market, we ought to support each other.”

Luo Chen smiled faintly.

”I knew it, you’re a soft-hearted old man. I won’t say more. Have a safe trip; get on board now!”

On the large ship, the cargo inspection had already been completed. The small flying boat on the spacious deck had started to emit spirit light.

The water route carried only large, unwieldy spirit materials, while the passengers would take the flying boat to swiftly return to the Divine Talisman Domain.

”I’ll slipped away!”

Luo Chen waved and was about to turn and leave. But just as he was about to go, Old Man Chen grabbed him.

”Take this!”

He stuffed a piece of gauze into Luo Chen’s hand, then, gritting his teeth, sprinted back onto the ship as if he had just made a losing deal.

Luo Chen stared at the gauze, utterly confused.

”Big Brother Luo, come find us in the Divine Talisman Domain in the future!”

On the flying boat, Little Shuyi, her long ponytail swaying, kept waving. Beside her stood the gentle and smiling Fu Xiuxiu and the sighing Chen Xiuping.

Luo Chen raised his right hand and waved back.

”Safe travels!”

Buzz.......

The spirit light shone brightly as the flying boat ascended into the sky under the watchful eyes of many.

With a single turn, it transformed into a streak of light and sped away. In just a few breaths, the flying boat was no more than a tiny black dot in everyone’s eyes.

”Such speed—this isn’t just an enchanted artifact; it must be an enchanted treasure!”

Luo Chen sighed in awe and turned to leave.

From this day forward, they were separated by vast distances, unsure when or if they would ever meet again.

However, now he was the Hall Leader of the Poshan Gang’s Alchemy Hall, and they were disciples of a major sect.

Both had bright futures ahead, leaving little to worry about.