An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Thirty li beyond the walls of Tianlan Immortal City, a steep and expansive ridge cut across seven jagged peaks, like the spine of some colossal beast buried beneath the earth. This natural formation was known far and wide as Rolling Dragon Ridge.

A first-tier spirit vein ran through it, and the occasional volcanic eruptions along the ridge had created a volatile, ever-shifting environment. All sorts of resources were scattered across the seven peaks and the ridge that seemed shaped by the twisting of an earth dragon.

Such a spirit land was naturally a dream cultivation haven for low-tier cultivators. Even without setting foot on the ridge, the spirit energy in the surrounding foothills already rivaled that of a first-tier spirit vein.

However, this land had long been claimed, and ordinary rogue cultivators didn’t dare approach.

The Zheng Family of Rolling Dragon Ridge!

A famed Foundation Establishment cultivation family within the territory of Tianlan Immortal City. Their roots ran deep. Rumor had it that the founding Grand Elder had reached the Pseudo-Core Formation hailed from the Flame Alliance.

Though that elder had long since passed, he had left behind a powerful legacy. And that legacy was more than just spirit stones and enchanted artifacts. It also included connections, cultivation insights, and a craft that could sustain the entire family.

It was alchemy!

The Zheng family was among the few cultivation families whose livelihood came from alchemy. They specialized in a first-tier pill called the Flame Ganoderma pill. It was rich in spirit energy, though violently potent, often damaging meridians during use.

Still, it was a proper orthodox cultivation pill and much cheaper than those sold by the Spirit Herb Pavilion or the Green Pill Valley. As a result, it remained quite popular among rogue cultivators.

Over the centuries, the Zheng family had lived in relative prosperity off their Flame Ganoderma pill business. They had secured their dominance over the seven peaks of Rolling Dragon Ridge.

At present, their family boasted three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their Supreme Elder had reached the sixth stage of Foundation Establishment, just one step from the late stage. The family head, Zheng Kejian, was at the mid stage. Even among the younger generation, one had advanced to Foundation Establishment two decades ago. Three generations had all reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. Truly a sight to behold!

Yet outsiders saw only their glory, not the crisis now upon them. The Flame Ganoderma pill remained in demand, but it was costly to produce and difficult to refine. Even after years of training, the family’s alchemists could only consistently produce mid-grade versions.

Under such conditions, the profits were far from what rogue cultivators imagined. At present, the income from pill sales barely covers the needs of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators. As for the rest of the family, it was becoming impossible to provide for them.

To save resources, Zheng Kejian, knowing he had no hope of reaching the Golden Core Realm, even gave his second-tier cave residence on Tianlan Peak to his son.

However, misfortune never came alone! Just as he was contemplating ways to expand income and reduce expenses, the very foundation of their livelihood, the Flame Ganoderma pill business, began to decline.

”When did it start?” Zheng Kejian struggled to suppress the fury in his heart.

Lately, he had been less focused on cultivation, which gave him time. So he decided to review the family’s financial ledgers from the past year. He would’ve been better off not looking because once he did, something was clearly wrong.

In the past, after covering the cultivation needs of two Foundation Establishment Initiates, they still had tens of thousands of spirit stones left to support the younger generation. But in the past year, those surpluses had dwindled.

Twenty thousand... ten thousand... five thousand...

And in the past three months, even the resources for the Grand Elder and his own son had been affected.

As for the juniors? Their supplies had been completely cut off.

Such a major issue, yet no one had reported it to him!

The Zheng family cultivators facing him trembled at the look of rage on his face, unable to form a coherent response.

”I don’t know. Maybe the past two months? No, maybe a year ago? Wait, no...”

”Calm down! What are you stammering for?” Zheng Kejian glared at him, unleashing a wave of spirit consciousness and pressured the man like a bucket of ice water.

The man shuddered violently, and his words only became more muddled.

Zheng Kejian took a deep breath and swept his gaze across the people in the hall.

These people...They’d been coddled under the family’s protection for too long.

Arrogant outside and complacent within, even the family’s most vital pill business was now being neglected. If I hadn’t happened to review the ledgers, I wouldn’t have discovered this massive financial shortfall at all.

”Get out and investigate! Find out exactly when, who, and what caused the decline of my Zheng family’s pill business,” barked Zheng Kejian. ”Within three days, no, one day! I’m giving you just one day. Bring me every last detail.”

With a wave of his hand, those below fled the hall in a hurry, scrambling to action. Watching them scurry like rats only fueled his anger; he slammed the expensive wooden table into splinters with a single palm.

”Relying on those useless fools... they probably won’t uncover a thing. I’ll have to investigate this myself!” he muttered to himself.

***

After altering his appearance, concealing his energy flow, and disguising himself, Zheng Kejian stepped into Tianlan Immortal City.

This was the first time he had entered the massive city since surrendering his second-tier cave residence on Tianlan Peak to his newly advanced Foundation Establishment son. He had to admit that upon entering and seeing other Foundation Establishment cultivators freely buying cultivation resources from one shop to the next, he felt a deep envy.

But that wasn’t his purpose today!

He needed to find out why the Zheng family’s pill business was failing.

Truth be told, the cause was easy to guess. Perhaps raw material costs had gone up, causing profit margins to fall, or maybe a new competitor had emerged.

As for the quality of their own pills? That had never crossed his mind.

Those rogue cultivators should already be grateful to have cheap pills to consume. Who were they to be picky? thought Zheng Kejian.

He planned to first find a few familiar Foundation Establishment peers and ask about the current trends in Tianlan Immortal City. But before he could take a step, he was intercepted at a crossroads by a Qi-Refining Realm cultivator.

”Fellow Daoist, interested in some Jade Essence pills?”

At the moment, Zheng Kejian was suppressing his cultivation as mid-stage Qi-Refining. It was a crude disguise. Any Foundation Establishment cultivator could see through it instantly. But in the eyes of a lowly Qi-Refining cultivator, he was just another low-tier nobody.

Zheng Kejian asked curiously, ”And what kind of pill is that?”

The cultivator grinned and stuffed a paper full of text into his hand.

”What’s this?” he asked as he glanced at it.

It was roughly palm-width and twice as long. The small page was crammed with all kinds of text.

Jade Essence Pill: A must-have for any Qi-Refining cultivator cultivating at home!

Top-grade only eighty-five spirit stones! Grand opening promotion!

Myriad Wonders Pill: Revive your manly vigor! Don’t let the Great Dao slip away, cultivate hard and still enjoy bliss!

Essence nurturing liquid...

Fasting concoction...

A dazzling array of products filled every inch of the page, and on the back was a hand-drawn map.

Starting from the city gates, it passed through Nanyang Street, Spirit Beast Street, and continued almost a quarter of the way across Tianlan Immortal City, finally ending at the remote Yuelu Street.

The level of detail in the route was absurdly meticulous! It even marked notable specialty shops along the way. One could say, even if the pills didn’t interest you, the route map alone was worth collecting for any rogue cultivator. Especially those who had just arrived in Tianlan Immortal City. Whether they were at the Qi-Refining Realm or the Foundation Establishment Realm, none of them would refuse such a map. With this guide, they could at least gain a general sense of the city’s layout and avoid being ripped off by local guides.

Holding the flyer, Zheng Kejian asked, ”What’s this?”

”It’s a flyer for Danxia Hall!” the cultivator handing them out replied with a grin.

Zheng Kejian restrained his irritation and asked seriously, ”I mean, are these pills really sold that cheap? They’re not some low-quality trash, are they? And this Danxia Hall? Who owns it?”

”Danxia Hall is a property of our Luo Tian Society,” the cultivator, who was supposedly a member of the Luo Tian Society, said with pride. ”As for the prices listed, Fellow Daoist should come see for yourself. You’ll leave satisfied!”

The cultivator continued, ”Oh, by the way, Danxia Hall is a bit far from here. But there’s a shortcut marked on the back of the flyer, it’s the quickest route there...”

When Zheng Kejian realized that he wasn’t going to get any more useful information, he chose not to press further.

Just then, a beast-drawn vehicle passed by. He beckoned and got on.

The Luo Tian Society cultivator had still been cheerfully chatting when he saw Zheng Kejian board the beast carriage. He paused in confusion.

Then muttered, ”A wealthy rogue cultivator, huh... Riding a beast vehicle just to get around the city.”

Inside the Black Python beast carriage, enduring the faint gamey stench of demonic beast blood, Zheng Kejian began studying the flyer carefully.

A pill worth eighty spirit stones? And top-grade at that!

His instincts screamed that this Jade Essence pill was likely the culprit behind the drop in sales of his family’s Flame Ganoderma pills!

”Danxia Hall... Luo Tian Society...” Zheng Kejian’s eyes narrowed sharply.