An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Only after a long while did Luo Chen finally speak.

“Qu Lingjun. Do you know why I had you kneel here all night?”

Whew...

The boy didn’t answer immediately; instead, he exhaled slowly, as if a great weight had been lifted. His entire posture loosened, and he looked up with a broad, boyish grin.

“If the President told me to do it, then it’s definitely for my own good.”

Uhh... Luo Chen couldn’t help but twitch at that. Wasn’t this supposed to be a solemn back-and-forth with deep meaning before getting to the main topic...?

Damn it, the tone’s completely falling apart.

Luo Chen waved his hand, clearly growing impatient. With a flick of his fingers, three items floated down through the air, landing gently before Qu Lingjun.

The boy’s eyes lit up instantly, unable to conceal his excitement as he stared at the objects hovering before him.

”From this day forth, you are my disciple!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Qu Lingjun dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground three times in solemn bows.

“Disciple Lingjun greets Master!” he declared with reverence.

It was the formal ritual, an unspoken contract between the master and disciple.

From Luo Chen’s hand, a single piece of jade floated out. His gaze turned somber as he looked down at the boy before him.

”There aren’t many rules in my tutelage,” Luo Chen said, voice low and steady. ”First, never defy or deceive your master.

”Second, commit no wickedness. Whatever you do, carry yourself with principle and integrity.

”Third, do not...” he paused, then waved the rest away. ”Well, you get the idea. Have you remembered all this?”

Qu Lingjun swallowed down the emotion rising in his chest and nodded vigorously. “I remember.”

”In that case, swear upon this jade token.”

Without hesitation, Qu Lingjun raised his hand and spoke a sincere oath. As he swore, the jade token began to tremble with a faint spirit light.

Once he finished, the jade token snapped in half. One half floated into Luo Chen’s hand, the other landed before Qu Lingjun.

”From now on, we are master and disciple. You may proclaim to others that you are a student of Dan Chenzi.”

Luo Chen tucked away his half of the jade token. This was one of the more subtle applications of a Soul Stabilizing Oath. Unlike Wang Yuan’s solemn Great Dao Oath, which was made to preserve his inner heart and ward off external temptations, this one was far more practical, and binding.

With the jade token as its anchor, Qu Lingjun would be unable to defy Luo Chen’s authority so long as he remained at a lower cultivation realm than Luo Chen. Should he ever betray his master, the backlash from the oath would cripple his cultivation entirely.

Of course, it wasn’t just about control. The oath came with its benefits. So long as Luo Chen held the other half of the token, he would be able to sense if his disciple were ever in danger, regardless of distance or location.

All in all, it was a rather unorthodox method. Typically, major sects used soul lamps or life seeds to form such bonds. But Luo Chen didn’t have access to such methods yet, so he settled for the soul oath and jade token.

Eventually, once Qu Lingjun reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, the oath’s effects would diminish.

But that was a concern for the far future. Time, after all, would reveal all truths.

And with the solemn words, ”Disciple of Dan Chenzi”, spoken, the three items Luo Chen had summoned finally drifted down and landed before Qu Lingjun.

”First, the Jade Blade, a mid-grade enchanted artifact I used often in my early days. It’s a matched set of seven blades, and when deployed as a formation, its power rivals that of top-grade artifacts.”

Qu Lingjun’s eyes sparkled with excitement. After years of hard work, he had just advanced to the third stage of Qi-Refining. With the fourth stage not far off, this enchanted artifact set came at the perfect time.

”The other two are my years of alchemy experience, and a Purple Cloud Copper Furnace.”

”Thank you for the gifts, Master!”

Qu Lingjun gathered the three items and bowed deeply again with heartfelt gratitude.

Luo Chen nodded in approval, clearly pleased by the boy’s attitude.

He had always liked this boy, which was why he’d invested in him early on. Even during those uncertain days, when it seemed he might be forced to leave Dahe Market and head for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, Luo Chen had taken the time to ask Zhou Yuanli to keep an eye on him.

Now, with Qu Lingjun beginning to reveal a true talent for alchemy, the timing was perfect. The legacy Luo Chen had built could one day be passed on.

”Do not slack in cultivation. Your life depends on it. Without longevity... everything else is meaningless!”

Qu Lingjun hesitated and asked, ”But Master, with my four-spirit-root aptitude, do I really have a chance at the Great Dao?”

Luo Chen smiled. ”Did you not know? Your master possessed a five-spirit-root.”

”I wouldn’t dare compare myself to you, Master,” Qu Lingjun replied earnestly.

”Don’t belittle yourself,” Luo Chen said, shaking his head. ”Heaven leaves a sliver of hope in all things. Of the Great Derivation’s fifty numbers, only forty-nine are accounted for. There’s always a path left open.

”Our lineage walks the path of the Dao through alchemy. If you master the art of alchemy, you’ll never lack cultivation resources.”

Qu Lingjun looked confused. Only when he glanced at the alchemy manual titled Revelation of Dan Chenzi did understanding begin to dawn. His eyes shifted to the Purple Cloud Furnace beside it.

Finally, he looked up and nodded firmly. ”Disciple understands!”

Luo Chen gave a satisfied hum and waved his hand. The bronze doors of the Alchemy Sanctuary swung open. Sima Huiniang and Murong Qinglian stepped inside together.

“Sister-in-law, register Qu Lingjun in the records. From today onward, he is my personal disciple,” Luo Chen instructed.

Murong Qinglian nodded without a word.

”Huiniang, raise Qu Lingjun’s benefits to the stage of a late stage Qi-Refining cultivator. He is to receive one top-grade Jade Essence pill and one bottle of essence nurturing liquid every month.

”Do not give him too many other pills, it could hinder his cultivation.”

Sima Huiniang immediately nodded. Her gaze toward Qu Lingjun held a trace of envy. Back when they had started, no one had enjoyed such fortune.

To be accepted as the personal disciple of a Foundation Establishment Initiate... even within Luo Tian Society, that made Qu Lingjun one of a kind.

After all, he now carried the title of Luo Chen’s one and only direct disciple.

With everything settled, Luo Chen rose to his feet.

“With this done, I will be entering seclusion for a time,” he announced. “Huiniang, you have full authority over the society in my absence. If danger arises, find Hall Leader Wang Yuan.”

He turned to go, his voice still lingering in the hall.

“Postpone all Jade Essence pill business with the major factions for now. Mi Li will take charge of fasting pills. And if Qu Lingjun wishes to refine pills, both the Alchemy and Medicine Halls are to support him in full.”

His final words echoed through the Grand Hall even as his figure vanished without a trace.

Only Qu Hancheng remained behind, his old frame trembling as he wept tears of joy. His sobs, heavy with years of hope and relief, rang out clear and proud in the quiet.

***

Three days later. Within the inner city of Dahe Market.

No, it should now be called the ghost city!

A solitary figure moved slowly through the fog-draped streets, his steps steady, though the lantern in his hand flickered faintly in the gloom. Clad in the Netherworld’s enchanted clothing, he was easy to overlook at first glance, until one saw the glowing green lantern he carried and the quiet weight in his presence.

Anyone who saw him would surely be stunned. Wasn’t this Dan Chenzi, the President of the Luo Tian Society?

He had only just broken through to Foundation Establishment. Shouldn’t he be in seclusion, consolidating his cultivation? Instead, he had ventured into Dahe ghost city, one of the most perilous places in the entire region.

And rightly feared. Over the past few years, the ghost city has become increasingly dangerous. What had started with the appearance of a single Ghost General had now escalated to nine. Ghost Generals were equivalent in strength to second-tier demonic beasts or human Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In short, they wielded true second-tier combat prowess!

Even if their minds were unclear, the natural advantage of the ghost abyss allowed them to unleash power far beyond that of a typical human cultivator at the same level.

As such, over the past few years, no major force had dared to venture into the ghost city again. They could only turn a blind eye and pretend it no longer existed.

It was the classic burying one’s head in the sand [1].

On one hand, everyone worried about the hidden threat of the ghost city. However, on the other hand, they couldn’t bear to abandon the abundant resources surrounding Dahe Market.

Luo Chen could understand their reasoning. Especially after exchanging insights with the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators, he now had a much clearer grasp of the dangers lurking within the ghost city.

Of the three, it was Wang Haichao’s Dajiang Gang that had ventured into the ghost city the most. But the one who had delved the deepest was Li Yixian. Her mastery of the Shadow Yin Manual made her uniquely suited to dealing with yin energy. She had once entered the city alone and returned with several valuable gains, though she had never dared go back after being besieged by two Ghost Generals at once.

So why, under these circumstances, would Luo Chen defy reason, forsake stabilizing his cultivation, and come here?

The answer lay in what he saw recently, when a whim led him to gaze upon the ghost city with his Spirit Eyes.

In that single glance, he had seen a tenacious stream of spirit energy buried deep within the eerie mist, distinct and solitary amid the ghostly haze!

That was the energy of a second-tier spirit vein, I’m certain!

1. 装鸵鸟的做法 (zhuang tuo niao de zuo fa) literally means “acting like an ostrich.” This phrase is derived from the common belief that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. Metaphorically, it describes someone who deliberately ignores problems or realities, hoping they will go away on their own. It criticizes avoidance or denial in the face of challenges, similar to the English idiom “burying one’s head in the sand.” ☜