An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In the dense forest, waves of energy roared, and killing intent filled the air. Two figures exchanged blows repeatedly, their gold and blue energies intertwining as century-old trees crashed to the ground wherever they fought.

One figure stood immovable like a mountain, every strike carrying the force of a thunderbolt. The other was like a ghostly shadow, so elusive that even with Spirit Eyes activated to the extreme, their opponent struggled to track their movements.

Suddenly, the ghostly figure leapt into the air and momentarily paused. Seven green beams of light spread out before converging into a storm of blades that descended from above.

Qin Liangchen’s expression turned solemn as the golden giant sword circling above his head slashed upward.

Boom!

The blade storm resisted for only two seconds before it shattered instantly. But, the storm’s collapse did not mean the assault had ended.

The seven flying blades, though deflected, were quickly redirected under the control of the ghostly figure. They were soon attacking Qin Liangchen from various angles again. Additionally, the figure blurred, leaving behind multiple phantoms, making it impossible to distinguish the real body from the fakes.

Seeing this, Qin Liangchen’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably and said,”I give up, I give up! Your artifact control skills are outrageous! I’ve never seen anyone wield a mid-grade artifact like it’s a top-grade one in my entire life.”

The ghostly figure in the sky abruptly halted mid-movement. Several phantoms gradually faded, leaving only the farthest one as the true body.

Luo Chen withdrew his serious expression and broke into a smile and said, ”That’s only because you went easy on me, Brother Qin!”

Qin Liangchen pouted as he flew out of the dense forest. He swore he hadn’t held back earlier.

Even though it wasn’t a life-or-death battle, the techniques he used were at his usual standard. After all, he needed to get used to his newly acquired top-grade flying sword.

In fact, Luo Chen’s artifact control was simply beyond imagination. In his lifetime, Qin Liangchen had never encountered such a prodigy. Faced with Qin Liangchen’s peculiar gaze, Luo Chen merely smiled without speaking.

After half a month of arduous training, he had finally brought Traction to Perfected Mastery. It was precisely because of this that he dared to use the mid-grade jade blade to fight Qin Liangchen.

The Perfected Mastery Traction didn’t have any particularly special effects, it simply allowed a cultivator to control their artifacts more skillfully.

This finesse might not have been as apparent with a single artifact. But for a set artifact like the jade blade, the effects were extraordinarily pronounced. It could be said that the Perfected Mastery Traction allowed a mid-grade set artifact to display power comparable to that of a top-grade one.

In the past half month, his gains were not limited to just this. The Wind Control was also nearing Perfected Mastery. His proficiency in the Entangle had also improved significantly and was not far from Perfected Mastery. Other techniques, such as Spirit Eyes, Heal, and Cleanse, were not neglected either.

The price he paid for this was that most of the high-grade Jade Essence pills he usually embezzled were used to replenish his spirit energy.

”I say, why are you so keen on fighting lately?” Qin Liangchen asked in frustration. This was already the tenth time in half a month that Luo Chen had sought him out for a duel.

”It’s not that I want to! It’s just that Dahe Market is getting messier by the day, and I need some means to protect myself!” Luo Chen said with a sigh..

Without arguing, Qin Liangchen sighed in agreement. As an elder, he was actually the least occupied of them all.

Unlike Wang Yuan or Luo Wudi, who each managed a hall, or Sikong Shoujia, who was busy with matters in the Alchemy Hall. He had always been focused on cultivation, leaving household matters to Murong Qinglian.

But recently, he had also started to get busier. The three Battle Halls had been encountering frequent troubles lately, and he had to step in to assist.

”The Xuanyi Society is becoming more and more outrageous. They used to just pretend to venture into the mountains to battle demonic beasts for training. But now, their manpower is expanding rapidly, and it seems like they are eyeing the businesses in the mountains as well,” said Qin Liangchen.

Luo Chen frowned and replied, ”History repeating itself?”

”No!” Qin Liangchen shook his head and said, ”They are far more aggressive than the Dajiang Gang back then, having already paved their way.”

”Do you think there will really be a fight in the future?”

”Such things are hard to predict.”

The Xuanyi Society was much fiercer than the Dajiang Gang. Behind them were five cultivation families, with three known Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Grand Elder of Duan family patriarch, Nangong Jin of the Nangong family, and the Grand Elder of Li family.

Although all three were only in the early Foundation Establishment Realm, weaker than Mi Shuhua’s mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm. But they had strength in numbers!

The other two cultivation clans might also have inherited Foundation Establishment techniques from their ancestors. If a fight truly broke out, the Poshan Gang would be in dire straits.

When it came to such Foundation Establishment conflicts, neither Luo Chen nor Qin Liangchen could do much. All they could do was ensure their own safety as much as possible.

If worse came to worst, they would either have to surrender or flee! The world was vast. Surely, it could accommodate Qi-Refining Realm cultivators like them.

”By the way, Mi Shuhua has been paying close attention to Jade Essence pill production recently. Don’t get him angry by dragging me into fights every day,” said Qin Liangchen.

”Get angry?” Luo Chen chuckled lightly. Mi Shuhua certainly wouldn’t get angry with him. He hadn’t been slacking in alchemy recently.

In fact, he had slightly revealed more of his alchemical skills. The success rate had improved significantly, with mid-grade Jade Essence pill production increasing by ten percent compared to before. In such circumstances, Mi Shuhua was more than pleased.

The two returned to Crescent Moon Valley, calling Gu Caiyi and Murong Qinglian to head back to the city together. Zhou Yuanli and the other bodyguards followed from a distance.

The tenser the atmosphere, the harder it was to work as a bodyguard. They had been putting in a lot of effort recently. Luo Chen privately gave them some mid-grade Jade Essence pills as compensation. As for whether this would reach Mi Shuhua, Luo Chen wasn’t worried. Occasional acts of embezzlement like this wouldn’t be noticed.

But after all this while, Mi Shuhua must have already learned everything he needed to know. After all, they were just mid-grade Jade Essence pills, beneficial for early to mid stage Qi-Refining cultivators. As long as it didn’t affect the bigger picture, Mi Shuhua wouldn’t mind.

On the way back to the city, the four chatted and laughed. Suddenly, Luo Chen halted his steps. Seeing this, the other three stopped as well.

Ahead, on the ground, two figures were madly chasing each other, occasionally clashing with talismans and artifacts. One of the figures was clearly outmatched. After struggling to fend off a few moves, he flew toward Luo Chen and his group.

”Fellow Daoist, help me!”

”Scram!” Qin Liangchen shouted, stepping forward to shield Luo Chen and the others.

The giant golden sword swung horizontally! The figure didn’t even get close before being swatted away in another direction.

The enemy who had been chasing hesitated for a moment and then realized that the four in front of him consisted of three at ninth stage of Qi-Refining Realm and one at seventh stage. They were not people he could afford to provoke.

”My apologies!” He cupped his hands respectfully and hurried off to continue chasing his prey.

”Hall Leader, are you alright?” Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang rushed forward, asking with concern.

Luo Chen shook his head, his gaze drifting to the scene ahead. The outer district of Dahe Market, spanning over a hundred li, had lost its previous tranquility and was becoming increasingly chaotic. Now, incidents of murder and treasure robbery were unfolding right before his eyes.

Great chaos is coming! Luo Chen sighed internally.

During the rest of the journey, their conversations inevitably turned to the current disorder in the outer district. The arrival of the Golden Core Adept had not brought a sense of security but instead exacerbated the chaos. It almost felt as if he had deliberately instigated it.

Of course, speculating about the Golden Core Adept was a dangerous matter, so everyone merely hinted at it briefly.

After returning to the courtyard, Luo Chen found himself feeling increasingly uneasy.

Whatever happens next, I can’t let it interfere with my cultivation! Cultivation was inseparable from pills! thought Luo Chen.

Early the next morning, Luo Chen hurried out. At the Spirit Herb Pavilion, Luo Chen encountered an old acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a while.

”Senior Liu, it’s been a while.” The elder smiled faintly and said, ”I still prefer you call me Shopkeeper Liu.”

Liu Hecai, who used to be the shopkeeper of the Hall of Hundred Herbs, was now the shopkeeper of the Spirit Herb Pavilion. Seeing Luo Chen, he seemed genuinely pleased, he continued,”I didn’t expect it. I used to underestimate you, but you’ve truly mastered the art of alchemy.”

Luo Chen chuckled awkwardly and said, ”You flatter me, Shopkeeper Liu.”

”It’s not flattery!” Liu Hecai said earnestly. ”I’ve seen the pills you’ve refined, whether it’s the high-grade Myriad Wonders pill or the mid-grade Jade Essence pill. Both are exceptional, especially that high-grade Myriad Wonders pill!”

At this, he paused. Then, asked a question, ”Do you remember the Foundation Establishment cultivator I introduced you to before?”

Luo Chen hesitated and replied, ”You mean Senior Kang?”

Kang Dongyue, the Pavilion Master of the Golden Stone Pavilion at Taishan Market, was also a Grand Elder of a cultivation clan.

”Yes, he recently asked me if you’d be interested in supplying a batch of high-grade Myriad Wonders pills for sale at his Golden Stone Pavilion,” said Liu Hecai.

Pills like the Myriad Wonders pill weren’t exactly high-end. Although Liu Hecai admired them, the Spirit Herb Pavilion he managed wouldn’t bother with such pills. However, family-run businesses like the Golden Stone Pavilion valued them highly.

If it had been before, Luo Chen would’ve been delighted. But now, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile as he said, ”The pills I refine can only be supplied to the Poshan Gang for sale, so I must decline the senior’s kind offer.”

Hearing this, Liu Hecai didn’t press further.

Though he was from the Medicine King Sect, this region was under the jurisdiction of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect in the Jade Cauldron Domain.

Having traveled thousands of li to this area, he only had a fellow disciple from the Hall of Hundred Herbs to rely on. Offending a native mid stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would truly be unwise.

”What brings you here so early? Planning to buy something?” asked Liu Hecai.

Luo Chen took a deep breath and said solemnly, ”Twenty bottles of Dust Transformation pills, ten boxes of calming incense!”

”Wow, quite the shopping list!” Liu Hecai blurted out, his gaze at Luo Chen filled with a hint of admiration.