An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”So overpriced!”

”Exactly! One spirit stone per day just to park a flying boat.”

”Honestly, the parking fee is fine. Big flying boats can’t fit in regular storage pouches anyway. We don’t even have a place to stay yet, so think of it like paying for safekeeping. The real scam is those wash-and-repair prices,” someone else chimed in.

”Tch, they really took us for bumpkins ready to be fleeced.”

”Qian Tong, you’re one to talk. Back when the Debate Platform opened in Dahe Market, didn’t you gouge us outsiders, too?”

Qian Tong replied with a nervous chuckle, ”Hey now, that was then, this is now, we’re all brothers here!”

Someone let out a snort. ”If you ask me, the president is as sharp as ever. He knew they were shady the moment he saw them!”

”Yeah, when I first saw them offering to clean our boat, I was actually happy...”

”Can’t go wrong following the president. He’s never led us into a loss.”

”I just wonder where we’ll stay next... what the future holds.”

”No use overthinking. Let’s enjoy the great immortal city first!”

”Yeah. From far away, it looked pretty awesome. Can’t imagine what it’ll be like up close.”

***

The chatter from behind continued to buzz like a swarm of flies, filled with half-mocking whispers and smug commentary. But Luo Chen walked on as if he hadn’t heard a single word.

With a faint, unreadable smile, he glanced sideways at Xu Xiaoliu. ”Liuzi, helping outsiders fleece me like that... Not exactly loyal, is it?”

Xu Xiaoliu nearly choked on his own breath. Outsiders? You’re the outsider here!

Xu Xiaoliu swallowed hard and forced a trembling smile. ”Senior, I was wrong! Please don’t kill me. I swear, my uncle’s a cultivator from Ice Fortress!”

Luo Chen raised a brow. ”Your uncle? The ninth stage Qi-Refining elder guarding the gate?”

”Yes, yes!” He nodded furiously, afraid Luo Chen might take offense.

”So are you a member of Ice Fortress?”

”No,” Xu Xiaoliu replied, still nodding.

”Rogue cultivator?”

”Yep.” He nodded again, but midway through nodding, Xu Xiaoliu suddenly realized something. ”Wait... Senior, why didn’t you think I was from the Divine Craftsman Sect?”

Luo Chen jutted his chin toward him. ”Your robe.”

Xu Xiaoliu glanced down at his plain white robe and instantly understood. His outfit clearly wasn’t the standard uniform of the Divine Craftsman Sect.

Luo Chen chuckled. Of course, it wasn’t just the robe. He’d noticed right away that Xu Xiaoliu lacked the thick calluses common to Divine Craftsman Sect disciples, marks of long hours of labor over furnaces and forges. More importantly, he didn’t carry that subtle, acrid scent of their so-called “exclusive cleansing spirit solution” used in washing flying boats. Ever since Luo Chen reached Perfected Mastery for Cleanse, he had become extremely sensitive to such scents. Even from a glance, he could tell Xu Xiaoliu didn’t have that scent, and logically, lacked that experience as well.

Luo Chen mused, ”Logically, since your uncle’s a disciple of Ice Fortress, Lu Rong shouldn’t dare humiliate you so publicly, should he? So then, what do they pay you to hustle customers like that and even help cheat them?”

Xu Xiaoliu scratched his head sheepishly. ”Ten percent.”

”Ten percent of the profit?”

”No, ten percent of the total charge.”

Luo Chen nodded in realization. ”No wonder! If that had worked, just off my flying boat alone, you would’ve pocketed several hundred spirit stones. And all you risked was a few errands and maybe a couple slaps.”

Xu Xiaoliu thumped his chest. ”I’m worth it!”

”Oh? How so?”

Xu Xiaoliu explained with pride. ”I grew up in Tianlan Immortal City. I know this place like the back of my hand! And my uncle’s been on city guard duty for Ice Fortress the past ten years. That’s why they let me work the docks.”

Luo Chen smiled faintly and thought, Now that’s more like it.

With someone like Xu Xiaoliu guiding them, they’d be able to avoid countless pitfalls down the line. He was exactly the kind of person Luo Chen needed. He was familiar with the area and well-versed in dealing with the local hustle of Tianlan Immortal City.

Min Longyu, for all his talents and experience, had been away from Tianlan Immortal City for far too long. The city changed by the day, and someone who’d left years ago could hardly hope to keep up with its shifting tides. What Luo Chen truly needed were streetwise locals like Xu Xiaoliu, clever, shrewd, and utterly unafraid of squeezing a few spirit stones from the unwary.

With a somewhat amused expression, Luo Chen asked, ”So, any more tricks up your sleeve?”

Xu Xiaoliu shook his head with the desperation of a man trying to save his own life. ”No, no, absolutely not!”

He wouldn’t dare. This senior wasn’t some clueless bumpkin. He was neither arrogant nor overbearing, and most importantly, he was not weak. With just a few exchanges against Lu Rong, Luo Chen had drawn out every detail worth knowing about the docking yard, all while keeping his calm and leaving with the upper hand. Not a single loss, only gain.

Luo Chen’s tone grew casual again. ”So, what’s the deal with Divine Craftsman Sect?”

Xu Xiaoliu snorted. ”Deal? There’s not much to it. Just two or three nobodies in the whole sect. They got lucky, picked up some decent forging techniques, greased the right palms, and managed to carve out a slice of the docking yard and a few small businesses in the city.”

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ”I only help out because—”

”Details,” Luo Chen interrupted him, his voice calm but firm.

”Uh... right,” Xu Xiaoliu muttered. ”Inside the sect, there are three Foundation Establishment Initiates. They take turns running things...”

***

Before they knew it, they were back outside the city moat.

”Senior, are all of you planning to enter the city?”

Luo Chen nodded casually. ”Mm.”

Xu Xiaoliu scratched his head, his tone half-apologetic, half-testing. ”It’s one low-grade spirit stone to enter the city, and it only covers you for a single day. Step out and try to come back in? Gotta pay again. Bit pricey, just saying!”

As he spoke, he stole a glance at Luo Chen, still trying to gauge him. He honestly couldn’t tell whether this man was flush with wealth or pinching every coin.

After all, back at the docking yard, Luo Chen hadn’t even been willing to pay for a simple boat cleaning. Yet his robes were clean, his bearing composed, and he certainly didn’t carry himself like someone struggling to afford a meal.

Luo Chen smiled and gestured lightly toward Sima Huiniang. Catching the signal, she stepped forward without a word, motioning for Xu Xiaoliu to follow. The two of them made their way toward the registration area to pay the city entrance fees.

As the group lingered near the city gates, Li Yixian and Nangong Jin quietly stepped closer.

With concern in his eyes, Nangong Jin said in a low voice, ”Luo Chen, don’t you think you were a bit too harsh back there? Publicly embarrassing Lu Rong like that... it might cause trouble.”

Luo Chen turned his head slightly, giving Nangong Jin a calm, unreadable glance. Then he looked at Li Yixian. ”You think so too?”

Li Yixian hesitated. Her brows furrowed faintly, lips parting as if to speak. Then, after a brief pause, she gave a small nod.

However, Luo Chen only let out a cold snort, amusement and disdain woven into the sound. ”He tried to pull tricks first. So what if I embarrassed him? Just because we’re outsiders, we’re supposed to bow our heads and eat the loss? And let’s be honest. When it comes to business, face is the cheapest thing you can trade. If someone can’t afford to lose a little face, then they shouldn’t be doing business at all.”

Li Yixian’s heart trembled slightly. Nangong Jin, meanwhile, recalled Luo Chen’s rise in Dahe Market. He had crushed the Dajiang Gang and Xuanyi Society coalition. He had destroyed the Fu family to make a statement. And under pressure from all sides, he had seized Xiao Huan Mountain, defeated the Duan family, and gained a seat equal to other Foundation Establishment factions. That victory had bought him the breathing room to build his foundation at his own pace. It was clear that Luo Chen was never one to accept being beneath others.

Still... things were different now.

Nangong Jin sighed. ”We don’t know the lay of the land here. What if we offend someone we really shouldn’t?”

Luo Chen shot him a cold look. ”If someone’s only capable of scraping pennies at a boatyard, do we really need to fear offending them?”

Li Yixian hesitated. ”Some do rely on powerful backers to exploit their positions.

Luo Chen let out a cold snort. ”Then I doubt his backers are strong. He still has to split profits with two other factions.”

The docking yard was shared. Lu Rong wasn’t the only player.

Seeing the lingering uncertainty in Li Yixian and Nangong Jin’s eyes, Luo Chen couldn’t help but shake his head.

After all, they’d been heads of two great Foundation Establishment families back in Dahe Market. In those days, they had stood tall and proud, commanding respect wherever they went. But now, in Tianlan Immortal City, they had become cautious and hesitant, afraid to make waves.

Luo Chen understood the logic, of course. In unfamiliar territory, it was wise to keep a low profile. But there was a limit; if someone held a knife to your throat and you simply hid inside your shell and hoped they didn’t flip you over, that wasn’t cultivation, unless you were cultivating to become a turtle..

What I seek is a life of unrestrained freedom and longevity, not some pathetic eternity spent cowering like a tortoise!

With that thought in his heart, Luo Chen stepped past the two and walked up to Sima Huiniang.

Behind him, Nangong Jin suddenly let out a sigh. He recalled that moment when the Bai family and their Glowing Stream Market raiders ambushed his family. If he hadn’t fought back with reckless abandon, willing to die to take the enemy with him, the Nangong family would’ve already been wiped from the registry of cultivation families.

Li Yixian opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words. Maybe... Luo Chen really was right all along.

Since leaving Dahe Market, she had begun to feel the weight of her shortcomings more and more. She lacked a firm will and had no head for strategy. Her foresight was shallow, and her command over her people weak. Everything felt like she was stumbling forward blindly, one uncertain step at a time.

Can I really lead the Li family to survive in Tianlan Immortal City like this?

She had no answer to that question.

In her mind, she saw the final moment of the Fu family’s annihilation. They had fled from Tianlan Immortal City only to meet their end in Dahe Market.

Did they die because they had no Foundation Establishment Initiate to protect them?

Perhaps... that wasn’t the real reason.