An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Outside Danxia Peak, the once-withered Purplemist Bamboo Grove had flourished again under the Luo Tian Society’s management. The dense stalks now grew tall and strong, their misty purple leaves spreading freely in the mountain breeze. At this rate, by year’s end, this crop alone would bring the Luo Tian Society a hefty profit. No rogue cultivator dared plunder it anymore, because doing so now would mean challenging the Luo Tian Society itself.

Beyond the grove, three battlefields raged fiercely. Yet within the bamboo grove, two figures walked side by side, their spirit power carefully concealed. Any local rogue cultivator would have recognized them instantly: two Foundation Establishment Initiates, the Geng siblings!

”Big Brother, shouldn’t we go help Fellow Daoist Lu?” Geng Shuzhen asked.

”Help him? Shuzhen, that guy tried to take advantage of you back then,” Geng Lie replied as he walked ahead, seemingly uninterested in the distant battlefield.

”I just think that since we’re working together against the Luo Tian Society, we shouldn’t abandon them,” she said, keeping close behind.

”Working together?” Geng Lie’s voice dripped with contempt. ”They’re here to grab what they can and leave. Our Geng family, on the other hand, plans to establish a long-term presence in this region. Why let them hold us back? We will infiltrate Danxia Peak and destroy the Luo Tian Society’s foundation, that’s what we came here to do today!”

Even though she had long known her brother’s ambitions, Geng Shuzhen still felt a trace of unease. Over the years, she had grown close to Sima Huiniang; if not for Sima Huiniang’s lower cultivation, the two have even been considered bosom friends. Now that the Geng family had turned on the Luo Tian Society, she found it hard to accept.

”Big Brother, didn’t we agree to put aside our grudges and work together to build Biyou Valley Market?” asked Geng Shuzhen.

Geng Lie stopped and turned to face her. ”Who told you we had put aside our enmity? That so-called cooperation was nothing but a favor from the Luo Tian Society! Biyou Valley was abandoned for years. It was our Geng family who put in the effort to develop it, only to have the Luo Tian Society swoop in and reap the rewards. Today, we’re here to take back what’s rightfully ours.”

Geng Shuzhen hesitated, her brow furrowed. Memories of Sima Huiniang’s admiration for the Luo Tian Society’s president drifted through her mind, leaving her uneasy.

”Big Brother, the Luo Tian Society has the Ice Fortress backing them. If we destroy their foundation, won’t we bring big trouble on ourselves?”

Geng Lie scoffed. ”The Ice Fortress? Tianlan Immortal City is about to change hands. When that happens, most of the Ice Fortress’s Foundation Establishment Initiates will return to their sects. Who’s going to care about a small faction like the Luo Tian Society? And besides, doesn’t our family have ties to Ailao Mountain? At worst, we can spend some resources and have them smooth things over with the Ice Fortress until the matter is forgotten.”

Geng Shuzhen’s frown eased slightly, but Sima Huiniang’s words of admiration for their president still lingered in her thoughts. ”What about Luo Tian Society’s president? How will we handle him then?”

Geng Lie dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. ”There’s no need to handle him. The Luo Tian Society will fall by my hand today, and Luo Chen will die at the Qinhua River. That’s the promise from the Hu brothers.”

”But the Hu family has clashed with us before,” she countered. ”Can we really trust their word?”

”Of course not,” Geng Lie said, ”but I’ve promised Dan Yuanzi to regularly buy pills from the Danyuan Sect. With that profit at stake, Dan Yuanzi won’t let Luo Chen return alive.”

At the mention of Dan Yuanzi’s involvement, Geng Shuzhen’s eyes widened in shock. That was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert! If he made a move, no matter how much he deserved Sima Huiniang’s high praise, Luo Chen would likely not survive. No wonder her brother was so confident and composed.

”Shuzhen,” Geng Lie’s voice was quiet but edged with sharpness as it reached her ears, ”are you feeling sorry for the Luo Tian Society because of Sima Huiniang?”

Geng Shuzhen lowered her head in admittance.

Geng Lie sighed. ”You’re too kind-hearted. You can’t see through Sima Huiniang’s scheme. She only got close to you to lull our family into a false sense of security. Danxia Peak is right beside us, within spitting distance. When the Min family was at its peak, they suppressed us for a hundred years. If the Luo Tian Society rises again, we’ll never get another chance to stand tall.”

A chill ran down Geng Shuzhen’s spine. She knew the history well. A century ago, the Min family of Danxia Peak had dominated the region, oppressing the surrounding factions. The Geng family had been among the victims, forced to craft formation discs for their enemies. That humiliation still burned in her memory. In the end, it had been the Geng family that organized alliances and lured powerful enemies to besiege the Min family for a full year, finally wiping them out.

If Luo Tian Society rose to power, would they become like the Min family, dominating everyone around them? Would the Geng family fall victim again?

”How can we sleep peacefully with such a threat beside us?” Geng Lie said.

As they reached the mouth of a narrow valley, a cold snort escaped his lips. Geng Shuzhen looked ahead, and realization struck her.

”Big Brother, is this the place where our ancestors destroyed the Min family’s guardian formation?” she asked.

”Exactly.” Geng Lie’s eyes gleamed with reverence. ”It was our ancestors who coordinated from within to break the formation, allowing our allies to slaughter the Min family’s cultivators. Thanks to their efforts, the Geng family escaped oppression, prospered for a century, and nurtured the two Foundation Establishment cultivators we are today.”

Outside, Lu Rong and the others were fighting desperately, but Geng Lie had already grasped the situation. Danxia Peak had reactivated the Min family’s guardian formation, and no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could break it.

”To destroy the Luo Tian Society, we must first shatter their formation,” he said grimly. ”They say Luo Tian Society has a formation master named Min Longyu. His origins are unclear, but I believe he actually is a survivor of the Min family.”

He clenched his fists. ”I thought I’d wiped out all the Min family members, but one survived and even reached Foundation Establishment.”

As the rain ceased and the wind fell still, Geng Lie lifted his head toward the towering Danxia Peak. Above the clouds, a rainbow bridge arced across the sky.

”The grudges of a hundred years ago will all be settled today.”

”Big Brother, what did you say?” Geng Shuzhen’s voice trembled.

Geng Lie lowered his head and looked at his sister. ”Little Sister, kindness is the greatest sin in the cultivation world. For the family’s sake, sometimes friends must be abandoned. Sima Huiniang was never a friend; she was always an enemy. And it’s not just her. Every cultivator on that peak is an enemy of our family. For the sake of the Geng family, you must abandon kindness, kill our enemies, and destroy the Luo Tian Society! You will take the first step in breaking this mountain and destroying this faction!”

Geng Shuzhen’s lips parted in hesitation, but doubt soon hardened into resolve.

”For the family,” she said.

”Exactly!” Geng Lie’s voice carried an unshakable certainty.

Geng Shuzhen felt a surge of resolve as she stepped into the narrow valley. Urged on by her brother, she unleashed strike after strike, spirit incantations pounding against the valley’s very foundations.

”Once the formation base is gone, Danxia Peak’s guardian formation will collapse like a house of cards,” Geng Lie called from outside the valley.

He stood there, his expression brimming with confidence, and continued instructing Geng Shuzhen until his voice gradually faded into silence.

A faint, cold foreboding rose in his chest. ”Little Sister, get out, quickly!”

”Huh?” Geng Shuzhen turned back, confusion clouding her face.

The next moment, a violent surge of spirit energy burst from deep underground.

BOOOMMM!!!

A torrent of earth fire shot skyward like a blazing dragon, spewing tongues of flame into the heavens. Blood mist exploded in all directions, vanishing instantly into vapor.

Geng Lie froze, staring in shock. For a moment, his heart and mind felt hollow, only to be then consumed by a flood of regret.

When did this happen? Who connected the earth fire here?!

She was dead.

His little sister was dead.

Nothing was left of her but a fistful of ashes.

”I should never have let my little sister break the formation,” he whispered, voice trembling. ”Little sister...”

A voice dripping with killing intent echoed from within Danxia Peak. ”Geng Lie, I’ve been waiting for you!”

Within the shimmering light of the mountain’s defensive formation, a massive face took shape. Its features were indistinct, but its eyes glowed like lightning.

It was Min Longyu!

Geng Lie’s head snapped up, his eyes bloodshot and bulging with rage.

”Despicable bastard!” he roared.

He shot into the sky, unleashing the full might of his third-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. A massive hammer enchanted treasure expanded in his grip and he lifted it high, as if to smash Danxia Peak to rubble.

Inside the Grand Hall of Danxia Peak, Min Longyu sat cross-legged before the Wandering Eighteen-Formation Disc that Luo Chen had given him. Though the enchanted treasure had been incomplete, his mastery of formations had allowed him to replace its missing core and forge an entirely new formation center. He had then merged the Min family’s ancient guardian formation with the formidable Heavenly Spirit Seizing Formation he had obtained from Wang Yuan.

That formation had been a third-tier one, capable of holding out against a Nascent Soul Sage at its peak. While he could not replicate it in full, Min Longyu had comprehended its essence and fused it with the Min family’s formation to create a new guardian formation for Danxia Peak.

In the process, he had uncovered multiple vulnerabilities, including the narrow valley the Geng family had exploited a century ago to shatter the Min family’s defenses. Every single one of those cracks had been sealed, and traps had been laid in every single one of those places. He had not expected those measures to work so perfectly—catching not one but two intruders.

Now, as he eyed the massive hammer hurtling towards his mountain, Min Longyu let out a cold laugh.

”You and your ilk betrayed your own family for personal gain, and you dare to call me despicable?”

Min Longyu’s fingers brushed lightly over the Wandering Eighteen-Formation Disc. In the next moment, boundless spirit energy gathered around Danxia Peak. Myriad streams of rainbow light gathered and flowed into the formation screen—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

With a thunderous hum, a Seven-Colored Spear materialized in midair, its tip gleaming with a brilliance like sunlight woven through clouds, its presence sharp enough to pierce the heavens.

”This fused Seven-Colored Danxia Formation is only a second-tier formation,” Min Longyu murmured, ”but with the strength of Danxia Peak behind it, it can withstand even late-stage Initiates. And it continues to draw in ambient spirit energy, slowly evolving.”

His eyes narrowed. ”And you, an early-stage Initiate, dare to challenge Danxia’s glory?”

Min Longyu flicked his fingers as if brushing away a speck of dust. At his touch, the Seven-Colored Spear shuddered once, then shot forth like a streak of divine light, tearing through the sky straight toward Geng Lie.

Blinded by rage, Geng Lie swung his hammer down without hesitation. Yet the difference in power was like heaven and earth.

In the next instant, Geng Lie’s body was riddled with countless holes, the beams of light passing clean through him until, from behind, he looked like a sieve. His eyes went wide in silent horror before his lifeless form plummeted from the sky.

A third-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, slain in an instant by a first-stage opponent.

Few would believe such a thing possible, but once they found out he had attacked a formation master in his own domain, everyone would shake their head and accept reality. It could not have gone any other way.

”He really was a fool,” Min Longyu muttered coldly.

Within the Grand Hall at the heart of Danxia Peak, Min Longyu watched the corpse fall. There was a flicker of unmistakable satisfaction in his eyes, but he didn’t allow himself the luxury of relaxing.

He reached out again to adjust the formation disc. Outside, the Seven-Colored Spear that had pierced Geng Lie’s body was already half transparent, but at his command, it started vibrating, producing a high-pitched hum.

”There’s enough power for one more strike,” he murmured.

With a final, decisive flick of his fingers, he sent it hurtling toward the mountain’s perimeter.