An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Half a month later. On a plain beneath Huiye Mountain, behind Crescent Moon Valley.

Two figures stood miles apart, facing each other from a distance. Both of them formed seals simultaneously, channeling vast amounts of spirit power from within their bodies.

Suddenly, one quick and the other slow, they slammed their palms onto the ground. ”Earth Summit!”

The ground began to tremble, and two massive mounds of earth erupted from the ground, rising higher and higher.

With spirit power continuously pouring in, soil, rocks, trees, and grass from the surroundings gathered onto the rising mounds.

Rumble...

After about five breaths, two ten-meter-tall mounds stood towering on the ground.

The chubby man, who was the first to form his mound, chuckled and grabbed the air with one hand. The small mountain slowly lifted into the air before he pushed it forward.

It was only then that the young man on the other side slowly made a grabbing motion in the air.

By the time he pushed his palm forward, the opposing mound had already flown two miles toward him.

Its colossal momentum was overwhelming and unstoppable!

The young man raised his brows slightly, calmly pushing forward his own mountain.

Boom!

Almost as if crushing dry weeds, the mound he pushed forward was instantly shattered into dust by the oncoming one. Large chunks of dirt and debris rained down from the sky.

Seeing the ”enemy mountain” rumbling toward him, the young man leapt into the air, easily avoiding the attack.

Boom!

The small mountain crashed into the ground, sinking several zhang deep, leaving behind a pointed mound.

It was as if it had never risen in the first place.

”The power is rather impressive!” Luo Chen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The chubby man leisurely strolled over. ”I don’t even know why you’re learning this thing. It’s slow to cast, slow to form, and even slower to attack. Other than being powerful, it’s useless—it’s not even as practical as a Fireball.”

”Oh, and it burns through spirit power like crazy!”

Seeing Zeng Wen’s disdainful expression, Luo Chen was not annoyed. Instead, he sincerely expressed his gratitude. ”Thank you for guiding me through the Earth Summit these past days.”

Zeng Wen clapped his hands, brushing dirt off his robes. ”It’s no trouble. There’s not much to do in Luo Tian Society these days anyway.”

After speaking, he let out a yawn.

Seeing Luo Chen deep in thought, Zeng Wen blinked. ”Don’t tell me... you actually plan to use this in a fight?”

Luo Chen pressed his lips together and smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Zeng Wen grew anxious. ”I’m telling you, this spell is useless in battle. I’ve never used it in a fight since I learned it.

”Earth Summit is mostly used for digging cave dwellings and constructing fortifications. On a larger scale, even powerful cultivators use it to move mountains and shape landscapes for feng shui formations.

”You’ve seen it yourself—people in Crescent Moon Valley are using this spell to build defensive fortifications. But in battle? It’s really useless!”

On this point, Luo Chen wholeheartedly agreed.

Earth Summit was indeed not suited for combat. Or rather, earth-root cultivators had always been considered weak in offensive capabilities.

The few offensive techniques they excelled in were things like Earth Spike and Swamp.

Zeng Wen was an expert in this technique, having once used Swamp on the Debate Platform to force Luo Sha into a disadvantageous position, creating an opening for a decisive strike.

Luo Chen had him as a sparring partner and instructor precisely because of this expertise.

Over the past half-month, he first achieved Beginner level of Wave Surge before quickly grasping Earth Summit under Zeng Wen’s guidance.

Thus, during their sparring sessions, his casting speed and power were both far inferior to Zeng Wen’s.

”This technique has too many flaws. I wonder how it changes after reaching minor mastery?” Luo Chen said.

Zeng Wen curled his lips. ”What changes? At most, you won’t need to be rooted to the ground anymore. You’ll be able to manipulate earthen qi with spirit power, gathering dirt, wood, and stone to form a small mountain. It just slightly mitigates the terrain and speed disadvantages.”

”And at greater mastery?”

”Greater mastery?” Zeng Wen scratched his head sheepishly. ”I haven’t even reached minor mastery, let alone that. But I’d guess it’s just more of the same—raising mountains, filling seas, and suppressing areas.”

”That would drain an absurd amount of spirit power!” Luo Chen shook his head, not eager to imagine such a scene.

”Exactly. So I have no idea why you’re so fixated on this technique.”

Why was he so fixated?

Of course, it was so he could master the three prerequisite spells and unlock the second-tier technique Landslide!

Luo Chen leisurely strolled back toward Crescent Moon Valley, with Zeng Wen following closely.

”President, I need to discuss something with you!”

”Hmm? Speak.”

”Can you swap my extra monthly pill allowance for that instead?”

”That?”

”What else! You know what I mean!”

”That’s fine, but you’d better do your job as the Elder of the Gold Hall properly, and most importantly—listen to Hall Leader Gu. No half-hearted obedience!”

Luo Chen paused before adding seriously, ”And for any external matters that may be inconvenient for a female cultivator to handle, you’ll need to take the lead. Don’t make Hall Leader Gu deal with awkward situations.”

Zeng Wen patted his chest confidently, agreeing without hesitation. Then, he gave Luo Chen a thumbs-up. ”I knew it! You are like me, a man who cherishes beauty!”

Luo Chen chuckled and shook his head, unconcerned.

Instead of placing Zeng Wen in the Battle Hall, he assigned him to the Gold Hall.

The reason was simple—compared to combat, Zeng Wen was far more skilled in social interactions and managing various situations.

On Earth, in a previous life, he would have been the quintessential public relations manager—exceptionally good at dealing with people. He understood the upper class, the lower class, and everything in between.

Mi Shuhua had only valued his combat prowess while completely overlooking his social skills. That had been a complete waste of Zeng Wen’s talents.

And the consequences were obvious.

During the Ancient Plains battle, he had exerted minimal effort, ensuring the safe retreat of his subordinates—naturally, he hadn’t earned any rewards. During the annihilation of the Poshan Gang, the moment things went south, he had fled immediately.

A man like him was unsuited for the Battle Hall, where warriors fought on the front lines. Otherwise, in critical moments, he would demoralize his comrades.

Chatting as they went, the two strolled back into Crescent Moon Valley.

Luo Chen then joined Murong Qinglian. Holding the roster, Murong Qinglian went through the details one by one.

”The Alchemy Hall is in order. After careful selection, we’ve restructured it into a fifty-person unit.

”As per your instructions, we prioritized apothecary apprentices and fire handlers, followed by alchemists, spirit botanists, and herbalists. The necessary skills are being passed down by Qu Hancheng and Qiu Ying, guiding the newcomers.”

Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction.

The Alchemy Hall was critical—it had to be restored to its former level under Poshan Gang; otherwise, large-scale pill refinement would be impacted.

The merged Medicine Hall had become much less important.

Firstly, they had lost Poshan Gang’s original herbal gathering channels.

Secondly, there was no longer a need to sell medicinal materials to other factions. On the contrary, they now had to purchase large quantities of herbs and handle them independently.

The so-called herbalists were merely being trained as a precaution.

There were only a few of them, and keeping them around was no burden.

“The Merit Hall is mostly fine. I’ve recruited a few of the old Poshan Gang members. They can roughly achieve what we had before.

“The problem lies with the Battle Hall and the Gold Hall.”

Luo Chen raised his hand, cutting her off. “Caiyi can handle the Gold Hall’s issues. She’s discussed it with me.”

“What about the shops?” Murong Qinglian asked curiously.

She was referring to the shops Poshan Gang had operated in both the inner and outer city.

At present, those shops had been seized by the three major factions.

Resolving this would be quite difficult.

Unexpectedly, Luo Chen appeared fully confident. “That’s not an issue either. The documents signed with the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion were under Mi Shuhua’s name. Now that Miss Mi Li is here, the rights will naturally transfer to Luo Tian Society.

“As for the other factions, someone will handle it.”

Hearing this, Murong Qinglian let out a sigh of relief.

“Then there’s only one problem left.”

Murong Qinglian pointed outside, at the twenty odd late stage Qi-Refining cultivators expanding Crescent Moon Valley. “These are the combat cultivators I’ve assigned to the Battle Hall. Duan Feng is managing them for now, but he’s only an Elder.

“So, when will you officially appoint the Battle Hall Leader?”

At this, Luo Chen sighed. “We’ll wait a little longer!”

“For Wang Yuan?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you trust him that much?” Murong Qinglian frowned. “That battle on Qingjiang Long Street was even more chaotic than Crescent Moon Valley. Do you really think he survived?”

Luo Chen opened his mouth but, relying on his faith in Wang Yuan, nodded firmly.

However, to ease Murong Qinglian’s concern, he added, “If there’s still no news after a few more days, I’ll appoint someone else who can command respect.”

As he spoke, he gave her a knowing wink.

Murong Qinglian chuckled in mild annoyance—who else could it be but her own husband?

However, she actually hoped it wouldn’t come to that. It wasn’t because she feared Qin Liangchen would face danger in battle. After all, taking risks to earn cultivation resources was part of life.

She was worried that if both she and her husband became Hall Leaders in Luo Tian Society’s four divisions, it would create a certain impression. It would make it seem like Luo Tian Society was essentially the Qin family’s personal force.

When that happened, people would inevitably start undermining Luo Chen’s authority.

Factions and cliques—those were never good!

With this in mind, Murong Qinglian suddenly flipped to another page of the roster.

“These are a few rogue cultivators from outside. They weren’t part of the Poshan Gang. They’re still under evaluation to ensure their backgrounds are relatively clean.

“The rest are fine, but you’ll need to assess these three yourself.”

Luo Chen lowered his gaze, and his eyebrows twitched slightly.

Sima Xian, Sima Huiniang, Sima Wenjie. The three Sima cultivators!

These three siblings had actually joined the Luo Tian Society?

Weren’t they independent traders?

Interesting, very interesting!

Luo Chen’s lips curled into a faint smile as he spoke. “Three ninth stage Qi-Refining cultivators, and siblings at that—it’s tricky. Let’s split them up.

“Sima Xian will go to the Battle Hall as an Elder. He’s the eldest, so his combat abilities should be decent. The youngest one will go to the Merit Hall under your supervision. No position for now, just treat him as a regular member.

“As for Huiniang... She’ll fit right in at the Gold Hall!”

Hearing Luo Chen’s assignments, Murong Qinglian was slightly surprised.

It seemed Luo Chen was quite familiar with them.

However, based on her own investigation, the three Sima siblings were from Dahe Market but spent most of their time traveling between different marketplaces, engaging in small-scale trade.

There shouldn’t have been much contact with Luo Chen, right?

But since Luo Chen had made his decision, there was certainly a reason. She would simply follow his orders.

Luo Chen paced to the cliffside, gazing at the ever-expanding Crescent Moon Valley, now nearly three times its original size.

A surge of ambition welled up within him. This place—this would be the foundation of his future!

However, being isolated outside the market and backed by the Howling Moon Mountains was still somewhat dangerous.

“Tomorrow, I’ll visit that person to discuss a few matters. I’ll also bring up Brother Qin’s situation.

Murong Qinglian was momentarily stunned, but her expression soon softened. “Can his hand truly be reattached?”

“Have some faith in the strength of a Nascent Soul Sect, alright?” Luo Chen laughed. “The internal competition within the Sword Sect is fiercer than we can imagine. Losing limbs during sparring is common. Reattaching them? They’re experts at it.

“Don’t worry, Sister-in-law. I’ll take care of this.”