An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

A full month had passed since the downfall of the Poshan Gang. The chaos in Dahe Market had gradually subsided. Meanwhile, both the Dajiang Gang and the Lianyun Trade Alliance had firmly secured their footholds in the mountains.

Meanwhile, the Xuanyi Society, which had initially been highly favored to rise, fell into internal strife over the division of Poshan Gang’s assets, resulting in numerous conflicts. Even though they eventually reached compromises and mutual concessions to an acceptable degree,

The Xuanyi Society—a faction formed as a loose alliance of five families—was now nothing more than an empty name. After all, it had only been temporarily established to help the three newly arrived aristocratic families secure their footing and to counter the Poshan Gang.

Now that the Poshan Gang was gone, the five families no longer stood united.

The Dajiang Gang had to focus on its waterway business, while the Lianyun Trade Alliance cared little for territorial expansion, only seeking resource acquisition. As a result, rogue cultivators in Dahe Market suddenly realized that the oppressive presence of major factions over their heads had lightened considerably.

Smaller forces began to rise. Among them, the Luo Tian Society—having inherited the Poshan Gang’s alchemical business—halted its recruitment efforts.

Outsiders assumed they had reached their limit. But only insiders knew the truth—Luo Tian Society’s president, Dan Chenzi, had officially begun his grand alchemical enterprise.

The Alchemy Hall’s location remained unchanged, still nestled in the heart of Crescent Moon Valley. However, the facilities had undergone massive upgrades.

What was once three alchemy chambers had now expanded to five.

The five rooms varied in size—one large, two medium, and two small. The large chamber housed the Four Symbols Cauldron, while the medium-sized ones contained the Drain Cloud Cauldron and the Divine Wood Cauldron. The two smaller chambers each contained a low-grade Purple Cloud Copper Furnace.

Although Luo Chen’s spirit power had grown increasingly potent, he still wasn’t capable of overseeing all five alchemy rooms at once.

Thus, he focused his efforts on the three largest rooms. Whereas, the remaining two were entrusted to Mi Li, Tang Quan, and others.

By now, Mi Li had mastered the art of refining fasting concoctions with ease. After all, it was an ungraded formula—many rogue cultivators in Dahe Market knew how to brew it.

Luo Chen assigned her the task not only to supply internal demand but also to add more products to Luo Tian Society’s shop offerings. The only disappointment was Tang Quan—after all this time, he had yet to successfully refine even a single Myriad Wonders pill.

His talent in alchemy was truly subpar.

Zeng Wen occasionally came by to check on him, only to shake his head in disappointment before giving him a brutal beating.

This is about your uncle’s lower body happiness, damn it!

Today, the Luo Tian Society was under lockdown. Dressed in a pristine, high-grade azure daoist robe, Luo Chen stepped into the alchemy chamber.

”Light the fire!” His expression was solemn, but excitement stirred within his heart.

At last, no one was constantly monitoring his alchemy and from now on, he was free to refine whatever pills he pleased.

For an alchemist, this was undoubtedly the greatest joy.

Four hours later, Luo Chen, slightly exhausted, finally ceased his alchemical work.

Even though he still only utilized three alchemy rooms, the addition of a mid-grade first-tier cauldron allowed him to process an additional batch of ingredients.

Now, he had to simultaneously oversee eight batches of materials.

The mental strain was undoubtedly immense. It wasn’t just a matter of adding one more batch—it was the sudden leap from ease to reaching a critical threshold.

”I really need to continue cultivating the Divine Breaker of Malevolence!” Luo Chen sighed and immediately summoned the pill caretakers to collect the pills.

The lead pill caretaker was a woman named Qiu Ying. She was formerly a disciple of the Medicine Hall, a sixth stage Qi-Refining cultivator.

Now, she oversaw both the pill caretakers and the apprentices, essentially holding two positions. Because of this, Luo Chen ensured she received a salary comparable to a late-stage Qi-Refining cultivator.

I can’t mistreat my workers, after all!

”Twenty low-grade Jade Essence pills, eighty mid-grade Jade Essence pills!”

Qiu Ying read the numbers aloud, showing only mild surprise. President Dan Chenzi’s alchemical skills were indeed profound.

However, in the hearts of the two surviving pill caretakers, this caused a great upheaval.

A sixty percent pill completion rate! Even more astonishing was the ratio of refined grades—one in four was of superior quality.

The Hall Leader—no, the President’s alchemical prowess—had advanced once again!

Luo Chen wasn’t surprised by these results. At a Grandmaster level of proficiency, the typical success rate for refining Jade Essence pills was only around fifty percent. But having refined mid-to-low-grade Jade Essence pills so many times, he had reached a level of mastery where he could do it with near Perfection.

An extra ten percent completion rate was just an occasional pleasant surprise. That additional batch of low-grade Jade Essence pills had been intentional.

Not to hide his alchemical skills, but to diversify the product range.

There were always struggling early-stage rogue cultivators who couldn’t afford pills. Luo Chen wanted to take care of those less fortunate brothers too!

”Store the pills in the pill chamber, carefully bottle and organize them. Also, assign someone to clean the alchemy rooms and wash the cauldrons.

”Anyone free should assist Mi Li in refining fasting pills.”

After setting everything in order, Luo Chen rubbed his temples and went to wash his hands.

Refining eight batches of Jade Essence pills at once was truly exhausting. Even with his powerful divine soul, he was starting to feel the strain.

”I have no idea how the Medicine King Sect manages its alchemy—expanding the Spirit Herb Pavilion across five domains while still having the capacity to venture into the Far East Six Domains.” Luo Chen muttered to himself, filled with curiosity.

He felt he was already doing his best. Yet, his alchemy efficiency still seemed lacking.

After washing his hands, Luo Chen went into the small alchemy room to observe.

Mi Li had fully recovered and, under Luo Chen’s care, had taken a few pills to help mitigate her congenital deficiencies. While it couldn’t completely cure her condition, at least she no longer appeared as frail and sickly as before.

Now, with her own alchemy room to manage, her expression was full of excitement.

Originally, Mi Shuhua had trained her to be an alchemist, which means she must have some talent in the field.”

Unfortunately, his methods were flawed. He was too impatient!

Mi Shuhua’s method of training alchemists was too crude—it emphasized nothing but speed!

Luo Chen could understand. After all, Mi Shuhua possessed the alchemical formula for Jade Essence pills—an enormous potential fortune. Who wouldn’t be eager to cash in on it immediately?

However, nurturing an alchemist couldn’t be rushed. Even Luo Chen, with his system status panel, had to progress step by step.

How could ordinary people withstand such aggressive training?

Thus, Luo Chen planned to nurture Mi Li gradually. Starting from an apprentice, refining ungraded fasting concoctions. Only when she could maintain a thirty percent success rate in refining fasting concoctions would he allow her to attempt first-tier pills.

Thirty percent completion rate roughly equated to Perfection level proficiency on the panel, at which point she would be capable of refining mid-grade pills.

Then... have I also been too impatient with Tang Quan’s training? Suddenly, Luo Chen reflected on his own actions!

He suddenly realized that assigning Tang Quan to refine Myriad Wonders pills back then might have been a case of favoritism.

At the time, he had only intended for Tang Quan to practice—the losses would have simply been the Poshan Gang’s spirit stones. But now, any failure would mean wasting his own spirit stones!

”So I was just like Mi Shuhua, blinded by my own short-sightedness.” Luo Chen let out a light chuckle, but from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small figure.

”Stop right there!”

***

”Stop right there!” Luo Chen called out sternly, and the little boy who had just crawled out of the alchemy room obediently stopped in his tracks.

Looking at the delicate-featured boy, Luo Chen beckoned him over.

”Come here!”

The boy walked over nervously and, standing beside Luo Chen, was about the same height as him sitting down.

Luo Chen looked at him with a serious expression. ”Don’t you know the alchemy room is dangerous? Who let you in?”

The boy said timidly, ”I wanted to help.”

”Help?” Luo Chen couldn’t help but laugh. ”You’re not even as tall as the cauldron’s base. What could you possibly help with?”

”President, President, did Ling Jun offend you?”

An elderly voice called out anxiously from the entrance of the alchemy room. It was Qu Hancheng, who was currently in charge of training the fire handlers and managing their rotations between the alchemy rooms.

Qu Hancheng jogged over, grabbed Qu Lingjun without a word, and was about to spank him. ”This child is always causing trouble. He needs a good lesson!”

But before his hand could fall, Luo Chen used a wisp of spirit power to lift it mid-air.

”Enough, stop pretending.

”Who doesn’t know that you Old Qu dotes on his grandson the most?”

Qu Hancheng chuckled, his old face blooming into a smile as bright as a chrysanthemum.

He pulled Qu Lingjun from behind him and made him stand properly in front of Luo Chen.

Luo Chen shook his head. ”The work in the Alchemy Hall is dangerous. There have even been cauldron explosions before. Why bring a child here?

”He’s not that young anymore. Soon, he’ll be twelve, and then he can start cultivating.” Qu Hancheng looked at his grandson, his voice filled with affection.

”He’s just as mischievous at home, and his mother can’t control him. So I brought him to Crescent Moon Valley instead.

”One, so I can keep an eye on him. Two, so he can learn something useful.”

As he spoke, Qu Hancheng sighed. ”Our Luo Tian Society has many talented people. If Lingjun can learn a little, I won’t have to worry about him when I’m gone.”

Luo Tian Society did indeed have plenty of capable individuals.

Especially the Alchemy Hall, which had absorbed the best of Poshan Gang’s former pill division. Even if Qu Lingjun only learned a little about spirit plants, he wouldn’t have to worry about making a living in the future.

”Grandpa, I like that big thing!” Qu Lingjun blinked his big eyes and pointed at the largest alchemy room.

That big thing?

Inside, there indeed was something big—the Four Symbols Cauldron, towering a full ten feet high.

Luo Chen carefully observed Qu Lingjun, his mind turning.

Qu Hancheng’s voice scolding his grandson reached his ears. It was nothing more than warnings about how dangerous it was and that it was the president’s treasure.

After a long pause, Qu Hancheng carefully asked, ”President, shall I take Lingjun to the field pavilion and have Sister Xiu look after him before coming back?”

Sister Xiu was a female cultivator from the former Medicine Hall, known for her gentle nature and patience.

Unexpectedly, Luo Chen shook his head.

He beckoned, and Qu Lingjun eagerly walked up to him.

”Do you know how to read?”

”Yes! My mother taught me.”

”Then I have a task for you.”

A book landed in the boy’s small hands, with the words Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs written on the cover.

”Memorize this book within a month. You don’t have to understand it, just memorize everything, including the illustrations.”

The moment he heard he had to memorize a book, the young boy’s face fell, filled with reluctance. But as soon as he learned there were pictures inside, his eyes lit up with curiosity.

”Lingjun, hurry and thank the president!” Qu Hancheng was overjoyed and quickly urged the boy to express his gratitude.

Hearing the crisp voice of thanks, Luo Chen paid it no mind.

He waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Sitting there, he pondered.

After a long while, he stood up and stepped into Mi Li’s alchemy room. He saw the alchemy steward Qiu Ying and Mi Li excitedly counting the freshly made fasting pills.

In the midst of the steaming heat, their beautiful faces were brimming with excitement.

”Luo Tian Society has finally found its footing!”

Luo Chen sighed with emotion and turned to leave.