An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Early the next morning, Luo Chen donned his white fox fur coat from last year, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and set out to patrol his domain.

Winter had fully set in, and snowflakes drifted down endlessly, blanketing the entire Crescent Moon Valley in a pristine layer of white.

From a distance, Luo Chen spotted a small figure crouched at the valley’s entrance, busily stacking snow into a crude shape.

Curious, he walked over for a closer look, only to burst into laughter.

”So ugly!”

Qu Lingjun, the little culprit behind the misshapen snowman, froze for a second before tilting his head without a word and then suddenly dashed inside.

Luo Chen blinked in confusion. Wait... was that really necessary? I just gave you a pill yesterday, and now you’re acting like this?

But before he could process it further, the boy came running back out clutching a small flower pot.

”President! President! This is my birthday gift for you!”

Luo Chen looked at the pot, where a tiny sprout had just begun to unfurl its leaves.

He opened his mouth slightly. My birthday? Did I miss something?

Qu Lingjun puffed up with pride and declared, ”This is a soul-nurturing tree! The seed was the one you casually gave me before. I used some beast blood that the uncles didn’t want and nurtured it for a while before it finally sprouted!

”What do you think? I’m amazing, right?”

Luo Chen pinched the chubby little face and chuckled. ”So, you’re just returning my own gift to me?”

”Hehe!” Qu Lingjun grinned sheepishly before straightening his back. ”Not just anyone can grow a soul-nurturing tree!”

Indeed, raising a soul-nurturing tree was notoriously difficult to cultivate. But not because it was fragile, rather, its growth cycle was the real challenge.

A single tree required at least a thousand years to mature to a usable stage.

This particular seed had actually been a birthday gift from Feng Xia last year. Luo Chen had tossed it into his storage pouch and forgotten about it.

Later, when he saw Qu Lingjun memorizing the Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs, he had casually handed the seed over, thinking the boy could experiment with it.

He hadn’t expected the kid to actually succeed in growing it.

”Alright, I see that you’ve managed to grow it. No need to give it to me just keep taking care of it. When it’s bigger, you can hand it over then.

”Mm-hmm!” Qu Lingjun nodded enthusiastically and carefully carried the flower pot back inside.

Luo Chen watched him go, then crouched down, scooping up a large handful of snow to fix up the misshapen snowman the boy had left behind.

After a while, Qu Lingjun came back out and joined him.

”Who’s this snowman supposed to be? And why does it have a mustache?” Luo Chen asked.

”It’s my dad!” Qu Lingjun announced proudly. ”His beard was really stiff and prickly, so I used pig bristles to stick on as his mustache.”

”Doesn’t that basically mean you’re calling your dad a pig?” Luo Chen teased.

”He was really dumb! Not as smart as my mom... Wait, no, no, my dad wasn’t this handsome. I will take after my mom more!”

As they continued building, Qu Lingjun’s nose turned red from the cold. He suddenly paused, looking up at Luo Chen with teary eyes, and sniffled.

”President, I miss my dad and mom.”

Luo Chen pressed his lips together, then gently ruffled the boy’s hair.

In the falling snow, one tall and one small figure stood side by side, finishing their crooked little snowman.

***

”Ghost General?”

Inside Radiant Moon Hall, cultivators huddled around the furnace, warming themselves against the cold. Luo Chen listened intently, his expression filled with surprise as Zeng Wen relayed the latest information about the ghost city.

Zeng Wen clicked his tongue in amazement. ”That’s right! No one expected a Ghost General to appear inside the ghost city. The Nangong family, who charged in the deepest, suffered a devastating loss this time!”

The Yin Ghost lineage had many classifications.

Some ghosts were formed from condensed Yin energy, while others were cultivators who had perished and converted to the ghostly path. There were also vengeful spirits that arose from extremely Yin lands, and even zombies, the most well-known among them.

Their ranks were not measured by conventional stages like Qi-Refining or Foundation Establishment, but by a different system altogether:

Rather, they were ranked as Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, and Ghost King.

This classification existed because higher-ranked ghostly entities naturally suppressed low-ranked ones.

A Ghost King, for instance, was powerful enough to turn an entire region into a ghost abyss. Any ghostly cultivator within that domain would not only gain tremendous power boosts, but would also fall under the Ghost King’s absolute control.

During the battle in the inner city of Dahe Market, the outbreak had occurred at noon. The city was filled with cultivators, at least five thousand of them.

When the calamity struck, some perished instantly, while others were trapped inside by the formation activated by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.

Only a fortunate few managed to escape in the initial chaos.

By the time the battle ended, three Ghost Kings had been obliterated by the Golden Core sword cultivator, Pang Renxiong. However, the immense ghostly energy that had accumulated over centuries erupted at once, engulfing the inner city and permanently transforming it into a ghost abyss.

If that had been the end of it, the issue could have been resolved by waiting for a major sect to arrive and purge the lingering ghostly energy, restoring balance to the region.

But three months had passed, and there was still no sign of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.

Instead, news had spread that a Ghost General had now emerged inside the ghost city!

A Ghost General, while not as terrifying as a Ghost King, which could command an entire Ghost Abyss. However, it was still a major threat as it possessed some level of intelligence and retained vestiges of its former life’s behaviors.

Moreover, within a ghost abyss, its battle prowess would be exponentially enhanced.

Against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was uncertain who would hold the upper hand.

But against a Qi-Refining cultivator? There was absolutely no chance of resistance.

”Where was it spotted?” Luo Chen asked curiously.

Zeng Wen’s eyes gleamed with excitement. ”They say it appeared around Whitestone Plaza. The Nangong family had gone in the deepest, hoping to reach the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion ahead of everyone else.

”But just as they arrived at Whitestone Plaza, they encountered the Ghost General.”

He clicked his tongue again. ”What a massacre! Ten late stage Qi-Refining cultivators from the Nangong family, and only one survived.”

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. ”Nine dead?”

”Yeah. Only Nangong Qin made it out alive,” Zeng Wen confirmed, casting a sideways glance at Qin Liangchen, who sat quietly drinking his wine. ”That kid got lucky. He had several treasures specifically designed to counter ghosts, plus an enchanted artifact gifted by his Foundation Establishment father.

”With the time bought by the nine who perished, he managed to activate the artifact and barely escape the Whitestone Plaza.”

Hearing this, Murong Qinglian couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

The Nangong family had once led a siege against Qin Liangchen. The Old Qin family had never forgotten that grudge.

Qin Liangchen, however, remained indifferent, showing no reaction.

Zeng Wen tossed something over. ”Here, take it.”

Luo Chen took a handful of peeled hazelnuts from Gu Caiyi’s hand, stuffing them into his mouth without chewing properly. With his words muffled, he asked, “Would the Nangong family really reveal such an incident? You’re describing it in so much detail. It’s almost as if you saw it firsthand.”

Zeng Wen chuckled. “I wasn’t there, but someone from the Li family was!”

”The Li family?” Luo Chen raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Li Ao led a team to the outskirts of Whitestone Plaza. Using their Green Firefly Lantern artifact, they saw everything with their own eyes.”

So, the Li family had sent people into the ghost city as well? Luo Chen pondered.

It seemed that in recent times, all the major factions had focused their efforts on the ghost city. It made sense, there were vast resources left behind inside. Anything that could be retrieved would yield far greater returns than painstaking business ventures.

For his part, Luo Chen had one particular target in mind, Immortal Build Residence.

As a property of Ai Lao Mountain, the Immortal Build Residence housed various high-value spiritual materials, all of which were stable, high-demand commodities. Especially the Earth Fire Fiend Qi.

Meanwhile, Zeng Wen continued rambling about the ghost city, recounting everything he had heard from customers at the Golden Hall. The Li family’s cultivators had witnessed the Nangong family’s crushing defeat firsthand and wasted no time spreading the story. Their goal was clear, to undermine the Nangong family, an outsider sect among the local cultivation clans.

After all, the two families had previously clashed over control of the Poshan Gang’s Beast Hall, causing quite a bit of trouble.

As Zeng Wen continued, the others gradually gained a clearer picture of the current state of the ghost city.

The most dangerous area was undoubtedly Whitestone Plaza, where a Ghost General was patrolling. No one could enter safely. However, once beyond the plaza’s boundaries, the Ghost General would not pursue its targets. That was how Nangong Qin and the Li family’s cultivators had managed to escape.

The shops belonging to the five major outer-domain sects had long been abandoned. Any valuable items had either been taken or destroyed.

Meanwhile, smaller local sect shops remained intact, protected by formations. Many factions were desperately working to break them open.

At the mention of formations, Luo Chen’s thoughts drifted to Min Longyu.

That man, while officially affiliated with the Dajiang Gang, was likely a Lianyun Trade Alliance cultivator. He was exceptionally skilled in formations, even using them in combat. If Lianyun Trade Alliance were serious about exploring the inner city, sending Min Longyu alone would guarantee them more gains than any other faction.

If only my Luo Tian Society had someone proficient in formations as well, Luo Chen thought wistfully.

The Luo Tian Society still lacked enough talent. Most of its members were either production-focused cultivators or combat cultivators.

Of course, the production cultivators weren’t freeloaders; they all contributed in their own ways.

Under Yuan Dongsheng’s leadership, the spirit rice fields had grown well. By next year, they could expect a modest harvest. Likewise, medicinal herbs had thrived due to the burst of spirit energy from the inner city’s spirit veins.

However, with winter setting in, maintaining the Four Seasons Spring Array was consuming considerable resources. While the production cultivators were generating valuable goods, they still needed protectors.

What if someone else came and took it?

The combat cultivators of Luo Tian Society might be able to hold their ground in a fight, but if a large-scale battle erupted, the crops would be destroyed in an instant. All their efforts would amount to nothing like scooping water with a bamboo basket [1].

In contrast, a formation cultivator like Min Longyu would be incredibly valuable. If they had someone capable of maintaining a Minor Five Elements Formation, it would ensure the crops’ safety as long as no Foundation Establishment cultivators got involved, the crops in Crescent Moon Valley would be completely secure.

Unfortunately, Luo Tian Society had no such person.

The only one who knew a bit about formations was Duan Feng, but his expertise was limited to small-scale formations, mostly related to artifact forging.

Besides his own cultivation, he had been busy training apprentices lately. Following Luo Chen’s earlier plans, he intended to train a group of artifact-forging apprentices and eventually establish an Artifact Hall.

”There’s still a long way to go before Luo Tian Society truly thrives.” Luo Chen sighed, shaking his head before rejoining the conversation with the others.

1. 竹篮打水 (zhu lan da shui) is a Chinese idiom that means ”to labor in vain” or ”to make a futile effort,” akin to ”drawing water with a sieve.” It describes a situation where one’s efforts ultimately yield no results. ☜