An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”What about it? You don’t know either?”

”I was only at the fifth stage of Qi-Refining when I joined Tianxiang Tower,” Gu Caiyi replied with a hint of exasperation. ”I spent my days dancing, not fighting. How would I know things like that?”

”Hehe, weakling,” Luo Chen said with a mocking smirk, earning himself an immediate glare from her.

But soon, her expression softened, and she let out a quiet sigh.

”I really do need to get better at combat techniques,” she murmured. ”The Poshan Gang isn’t like Tianxiang Tower. There’s no strong backing. No one knows when the next incident might happen.”

She was referring, of course, to the clash between two major gangs—an event that had left the streets bloodstained and even claimed the life of Broken Blade Xu Renke, a cultivator powerful enough to wield a fragment of an enchanted treasure. The Debate Platform still echoed with the memory of that day.

In the grand sweep of Dahe Market’s history, such events were not uncommon. Many factions had risen and fallen over the years. The Poshan Gang and Dajiang Gang had only come into prominence within the last century. Still...

No backing?

Luo Chen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Was it really true that the Poshan Gang had no backing? Somehow, he doubted it. Things weren’t always as they appeared.

As the two walked out of the city, their conversation shifted to lighter topics.

”By the way,” Gu Caiyi said, ”since Fu Xiuxiu moved out, the east wing is vacant. Do you want to move in?”

”Forget it. The renovated back rooms may be a bit cold, but they don’t have many other flaws.”

”Winter’s coming soon. It’ll get even colder.”

Winter already?

Winter already? Luo Chen blinked in surprise. Only then did he notice the yellowing leaves on the trees lining the street. Cultivators didn’t usually feel temperature changes unless they were extreme. Unknowingly, he had drifted from the height of summer into the chill of autumn.

Behind them, the two Poshan Gang bodyguards caught up.

They began to notice something was off, Luo Chen didn’t seem to be heading toward Crescent Moon Valley.

”Hall Leader, where are we going?” Zhou Yuanli asked curiously.

Luo Chen smiled. ”We’re heading to the main hall. I want to see if the Gang Leader is around—I’ve got something to discuss with him.”

But upon arrival, they found Mi Shuhua was nowhere to be found.

In fact, Mi Shuhua didn’t spend every day at the Poshan Gang. He had his own social network and responsibilities, including overseeing the Mi Family—a small cultivation family he had founded after stepping into Foundation Establishment. These days, the Mi Family was well-known near Dahe Market, perhaps even more influential than some of the newly migrated Foundation Establishment families from the interior, especially given their control over the Poshan Gang itself.

For this reason, many newly relocated Foundation Establishment families took the initiative to visit Mi Shuhua.

Not being able to meet him left Luo Chen a little disappointed.

But he had other ways to verify his doubts.

Once he arrived at Crescent Moon Valley, he started his morning by refining four furnaces of Myriad Wonders pills. After that, Luo Chen didn’t rush to refine Jade Essence Pills but instead he sought out one of the fire handlers, a wiry old man named Qu Hancheng.

Among the Alchemy Hall’s staff—mostly elderly, women, and children—Qu Hancheng stood out. He had reached the sixth stage of Qi-Refining and had already settled his roots in Dahe Market. He had a son and a daughter, though unfortunately, neither had spirit roots. His hope now was to have more children, or perhaps grandchildren who could carry the Qu family’s cultivation aspirations forward.

”Hall Leader, you were looking for me?” Qu Hancheng asked, bowing slightly with curiosity in his eyes.

Luo Chen smiled slightly and said, ”Yes, I have something, and it’s good news! From today, you are promoted to team leader. You’ll oversee all the fire handlers—managing their shifts, rotations, and general responsibilities. Also, I’m increasing your pay by one spirit stone a month. However...”

Hearing this great news, the old man became visibly excited.

The old man’s eyes widened. He could hardly contain his excitement.

Tending the flames was grueling work—constantly monitoring temperature, adjusting firewood, and frequently casting Fireball to keep the flame consistent. Doing that day in and day out for over a month had pushed him to the edge of burnout.

If he became the team leader, he wouldn’t have to tend the flames himself but could supervise others instead.

But of course, he knew such good news would come with strings attached. There was always a condition.

The condition lay in that very ”however”!

Qu Hancheng noticed Luo Chen watching him with an intensity that made him shift uneasily, as though he were some kind of rare treasure about to be appraised.

”Hall Leader, please feel free to speak. If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do my best.”

”It’s simple,” Luo Chen said with a grin. ”Come, follow me.”

Without letting anyone else accompany them, Luo Chen led Qu Hancheng out of Crescent Moon Valley, cutting through a small trail that wove toward the valley’s rear. Before them stretched a quiet, vast expanse of primeval forest.

Qu Hancheng gulped. ”Hall Leader... if we go any farther, we’ll reach the Howling Moon Mountains. There are spirit wolves out there, we’d better not get too close.”

”No worries,” Luo Chen said casually. ”We’re staying right here.”

He picked a clearing on the forest edge and turned to Qu Hancheng with an eager gleam in his eye. ”You know Fireball, right?”

”Yes, of course.”

”Good. Now, cast Fireball with all your strength. I want you to release as many as you can—push your spirit power until it’s drained completely. And every single fireball must be at maximum power!”

That simple? Qu Hancheng was momentarily stunned but followed instructions and began casting Fireball.

Luo Chen observed intently from the side, comparing the fireballs of an average cultivator with his own Perfected Mastery Fireball.

Generally, cultivators put the least effort into honing their spells. Though they could be powerful, they required too much preparation—forming seals, chanting incantations, channeling spirit power—and even then, their attack speed was slow. Low-tier spells like Fireball, Golden Spear, and Water Arrow were usually replaced with enchanted artifacts or talismans, both of which were easier and faster to use.

Its speed had always been a weakness. In comparison, enchanted artifacts and talismans were far superior. One only required spirit power to control, and the other could activate instantly.

Worse, spells were notoriously inefficient in energy consumption. Each casting drained a cultivator’s spirit power reserves, slowing down their progress in accumulating spirit power and making it harder to break through to the next realm.

For that reason, only cultivators with little hope of advancement—or without access to enchanted artifacts—focused on spells.

Qu Hancheng was precisely the kind of aging cultivator who fit these conditions.

His Fireball spell was surprisingly solid—Proficient level, Luo Chen guessed. His hand seals were quick and practiced, his spell formation smooth. But he lacked control. His fireballs were poorly aimed, veering slightly with each cast, and there was no way he could simultaneously guide multiple projectiles the way Luo Chen could.

Still, Luo Chen wasn’t here to nitpick casting technique.

”One, two... sixteen, seventeen... Keep going?” he said.

Qu Hancheng’s face was drenched in sweat. He was pale and trembling, shoulders slumped.

”I can’t anymore,” he gasped. ”My spirit power can only sustain these seventeen fireballs.”

Luo Chen frowned. Only seventeen?

He eyed the blackened ground littered with burn marks and scorched branches.

”What kind of spirit roots do you have? And how long have you been at the sixth stage of Qi-Refining?” he asked suddenly.

”I have three spirit roots. I reached the sixth stage of Qi-Refining at seventy-five e... and that was eighteen years ago.” Ninety-three years old, huh?

”At your age, still working out here... that’s tough on you, old man.” Luo Chen’s tone grew more polite.

Qu Hancheng caught his breath and managed a smile. ”It’s not too hard. I must thank the Hall Leader for promoting me, things will be easier for me in the future.”

Luo Chen hummed in acknowledgment and fell into deep thought.

After eighteen years at this level, even without any pill support, someone with three spirit roots should have reached the peak of the sixth stage.

No, considering that early and mid-stage cultivators often lacked money and couldn’t afford to live in inner city first-tier spirit vein locations... So, progressing through realms would naturally be slower.

This old man was likely at the mid-stage of the sixth stage of Qi-Refining.

Even so, he was still far ahead of my current progress. Yet his total spirit power wasn’t even half of mine?

Luo Chen raised his eyebrows, realizing that his spirit power capacity might far exceed that of ordinary people.

Fireball was his most proficient spell. Back when he was still at the fifth stage of Qi-Refining, he could cast close to a hundred of them in a single session. It sounded impressive, but when he infused each fireball with full power and maximum spirit energy, he could only manage about twenty. That was the limit.

This was also the reason why his favored Blazing Fireflies attack always hovered at around ten fireballs, any more and it would become unstable or cost-prohibitive in spirit energy.

After breaking through to the sixth stage of Qi-Refining, he could release about thirty at full power, ten more than when he was at the fifth stage.

It was clear to him that this number would continue to rise as he advanced further in cultivation. If he reached the same age and cultivation realm as Qu Hancheng, he would likely be able to fire off at least forty maximum-power fireballs.

That meant one thing—his spirit power reserves were over twice that of a cultivator in the same realm.

Discovering this answer startled Luo Chen.

When did this change happen?

Suddenly, Luo Chen thought of his Grandmaster level Long Spring Art .

That’s it—achieving Grandmaster level Long Spring Art cleared all my meridians, doubling my spirit power capacity and precisely because of this, I now need to accumulate far more spirit power than other cultivators at the same stage to break through realms.

Understanding this, Luo Chen’s furrowed brows finally relaxed.

This was definitely a good thing.

In terms of combat and foundational strength, it was a clear advantage.

But for Luo Chen, whose lifespan was limited, this was a major drawback. It meant he would need to spend far more time and resources just to reach the same breakthroughs as cultivators of his stage.

Perhaps... the situation is even worse?

Luo Chen recalled a common principle!

As cultivators continuously moved spirit power through their bodies, their dantians would expand, and their meridians would widen—all in preparation to gather the massive amounts of spirit power needed to break through to Foundation Establishment.

If my current foundation is already twice that of others, doesn’t that mean my dantian will grow even wider than ordinary people’s in future cultivation?

Wouldn’t the required spirit power be even greater?

One time? Two times! Three times!

Luo Chen’s head began to ache!

”Hall Leader, is there anything else?” Qu Hancheng’s voice brought him back to the present.

Luo Chen shook his head. ”No, that’s all for today. You can return.”

After the man left, Luo Chen let out a long sigh. ”As expected, everything has its pros and cons.”

The Grandmaster level Long Spring Art has brought me many benefits, increasing the maximum number of pills I can refine, automatic energy recovery, and accelerated cultivation.”

Now it seems that clearing all my meridians and deepening my foundation was yet another hidden benefit. But this benefit has hindered my ability to break through quickly.

After thinking for a while, Luo Chen suddenly laughed.

In the end, I just need more cultivation resources.

What am I worried about? With my alchemy skills, earning spirit stones are mine for the taking!

With this realization, Luo Chen leisurely made his way back to Crescent Moon Valley.

As soon as he arrived, he called out to the apprentices, ”Spread the word—starting now, we’ll stop refining Myriad Wonders pills in the afternoons. Instead, we’ll focus exclusively on refining Jade Essence pills!”