An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Far away, the Hornless Dragon Sword in Li Yingzhang’s grasp answered his call. It transformed into a coiling dragon and roared as it surged toward Li Jinhuang.

Dan Yuanzi’s face turned ashen; his opponent had no hesitation in unleashing his enchanted treasure. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he immediately turned and fled, but... Li Jinhuang would never let him escape. Man and sword became one as the blazing light of the Hornless Dragon Sword wrapped around him, driving forward with unstoppable momentum in pursuit of Dan Yuanzi.

The battle erupted and surged downstream along the Qinhua River. Dan Yuanzi’s screams of pain rang out again and again.

Li Jinhuang had been right. Even with only seven days of cultivated life force, it was enough to kill Dan Yuanzi. At his peak, he had reached the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment. Now, with literally no concern for his own well-being and no need to conserve energy, he wielded his enchanted treasure with reckless abandon.

Countless eyes tracked the clash as it tore through the river.

Then a sharp cry cut through the air. ”How bold!”

Hu Changxi froze mid-step, his expression darkening. ”Don’t act smug. Li Jinhuang’s state is clearly unstable. He can barely handle Dan Yuanzi. What trump cards do you have left, Luo Chen?”

Luo Chen’s gaze remained calm; he looked at the Hu brothers like they were mere ants. ”You think I need a trump card to kill the likes of you?”

”Arrogant fool!”

”Presumptuous!”

”Prepare to die!”

The three brothers no longer held back. In perfect unison, they lunged toward Luo Chen. They knew that time was running out. If they delayed any longer, the Li family’s treasure land would be lost to them forever. Then, all they had done would have been in vain.

Luo Chen watched them coldly. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the oil-paper umbrella into the river. His left hand formed a seal, and spirit power erupted from his body.

The next moment, waves surged from the river, crashing against the shores. A massive wave rose into the sky and came crashing down upon the three brothers as if the sky itself were falling.

”A mere first-tier Wave Surge? Oh please...” Hu Changle sneered.

A talisman appeared in his hand. He drew a sharp breath, then spat blood onto it. The talisman ignited without wind, burning halfway in an instant. From within, a massive white spirit fox leapt forth, charging into the oncoming wave without a moment’s hesitation.

”A talisman treasure?” Luo Chen murmured.

He extended his right hand toward the distance, and spirit power surged again. To the astonishment of countless cultivators along the riverbanks, a small mountain tore free from the earth.

With a thunderous rumble, it came crashing down toward the three brothers. The onlookers could only stare.

”Is that Earth Summit?”

”That’s impossible!”

”You must be joking, what kind of Earth Summit can uproot an entire mountain?”

Amid their disbelief, a massive explosion rang out as the talisman-conjured spirit fox smashed through the towering wave. But as one wave fell, another immediately rose to take its place.

”What the... How can a first-tier Wave Surge have such power? It’s as if the entire Qinhua River is under his control. With just a touch of spirit power, he can keep summoning waves!”

”What terrifying skills! These are nothing but first-tier spells, and he’s casting them casually as well, but look at the effects!”

Murmurs of astonishment broke out, yet none knew that Luo Chen had cultivated both of these techniques to Perfected Mastery. Just like Fireball, they had undergone a powerful transformation.

When Luo Chen cast Wave Surge near water, he drew power from the river itself, turning nature into a weapon. Earth Summit had evolved as well; it no longer relied on conjuring mountains made of spirit power, which was both inefficient and draining. Instead, it drew directly from the surrounding terrain, lifting real earth and stone to hurl like artillery.

Luo Chen wasn’t surprised by these transformations. They were similar to Fireball’s evolution at the Grandmaster level, all centered around minimizing spirit power usage.

Ten percent effort, a hundred percent impact!

The Hu brothers’ expressions were already changing under the relentless assault of Luo Chen’s spells.

Hu Changle strained to control the spirit fox as it fought wave after wave surging up from below. He had only reached Foundation Establishment a few years ago and had just barely stabilized his cultivation. How could he compare to Luo Chen, who was using the Perfected Mastery Wave Surge at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment?

Seeing the real mountain plummeting from above, Hu Changnu moved. ”I’ll take this!”

He raised his arms high. The glowing gloves on his hands flared with power as he caught the falling mountain. With brute force, he halted its descent.

”Is that... all you’ve got?!” Hu Changnu spat.

With a shout, he began to forcefully lift the mountain upward.

In the mountain’s shadow, Hu Changxi sent his supreme-grade flying sword streaking toward Luo Chen.

Watching the approaching sword, Luo Chen’s eyes remained utterly calm. Li Jinhuang had already explained everything about these enemies to him before his ”passing.”

The Hu family was wealthy enough to nurture three Foundation Establishment Initiates, yet so poor that afterward, they could no longer afford cultivation resources. In such a state, it was no surprise they couldn’t afford enchanted treasures. Every bit of resource had gone into cultivation, leaving their combat gear sorely lacking. Their only significant trump card was the talisman treasure in Hu Changle’s hand. It was something their father had left behind years ago.

As the flying sword hurtled toward him, Luo Chen stood unmoved like a mountain. He simply formed a hand seal. From the Qinhua River, a wave surged upward and condensed into a translucent barrier, shimmering like colored glass. This was a second-tier defensive spell, Glazed Skyveil.

Zing!

Hu Changxi forced his sword forward, yet no matter how it pushed ahead, it still felt leagues away from Luo Chen.

Luo Chen shook his head. ”Why are you so weak? You’re not even worthy of me using an enchanted artifact.”

Before the words faded, he raised both hands. A blazing sun began to rise from his palms.

Upon seeing it, Hu Changxi’s expression shifted drastically, and he retreated in panic.

That was none other than the second-tier spell Solar Flare! Back when Luo Chen first arrived in Tianlan Immortal City, he had used this spell to defeat three Foundation Establishment Initiates in a single strike. Now, with his cultivation several times higher and Solar Flare evolved from the Perfected Mastery Fireball, its power was far greater. Even without a long time to charge up, it was more than enough to obliterate these three.

”Go!” Luo Chen commanded.

The blazing sun in his hands shot forward.

Having just escaped the waves and mountain, Hu Changle and Hu Changnu had no time to dodge. In an instant, the explosion consumed them, waves of searing heat rippling outward and scorching the very air.

There was no need to wonder what had become of the two men.

”You deserve to die!”

The detonation had barely faded when a furious roar split the air, thick with hatred. From the smoke burst Hu Changxi, riding his sword in a reckless charge. His eyes blazed with murderous intent, and spirit power surged violently around him. The unstable, chaotic force shook his body with every step forward, but sadly... rage alone could not truly raise a man’s strength.

”Big words. Too bad they come from a small man.” Luo Chen’s voice was like cold iron as he scoffed.

Luo Chen flicked his sleeve, and more than a dozen tiny black dots scattered into the air, darting silently toward Hu Changxi from every direction. One of them brushed past Hu Changxi’s shoulder, but he sensed no danger, just a brief flash of confusion.

Was that... a seed?

Before the thought could settle, twelve seeds burst open, unleashing barbed, vicious vines that slithered like living serpents. In the blink of an eye, they coiled around him, surrounding him completely.

Hu Changxi forced himself to halt and swung his sword, trying to cut through the vines. But no matter how he swung his supreme-grade flying sword, the vines proved unnaturally resilient. Even when he did manage to sever them, they regrew instantly, tangling around him again and again in a relentless grip.

In the distance, Luo Chen stood calmly by the riverbank, casting seals without pause.

Ever since he’d reached Grandmaster level in the Yi Wood Medicine King Codex, he had learned that refined spirit power amplified wood-element spells far beyond what he could achieve with any other element.

The problem was that most wood-element spells were auxiliary spells like Heal or Entangle. Few had true offensive potential. But Luo Chen had no intention of giving up the advantage his spirit power granted him, so he had long been finding ways to improve his combat techniques. Later, it was Yuan Dongsheng who inspired him while tending to the fields outside his cave residence.

”We spirit botanists can also use planting spells for combat. My grandmother once fought Min Longyu at the Crescent Moon Valley using a move called Sword of the Golden Harvest. She triggered cultivated crops with planting spells to unleash sword beams. I remember Min Longyu was seriously injured and even coughed up blood from it. President, if you want to improve your wood-element spells, perhaps you could try combining them with certain wood-element plants.”

From then on, Luo Chen often exchanged ideas with Yuan Dongsheng. On his recommendation, Luo Chen eventually purchased a batch of second-tier thornflower seeds from the Hall of Hundred Herbs.

With the right preparation, he could use wood-element spirit power to force them into rapid growth in an instant. Because of the accelerated growth, the vines had only a brief lifespan, like a flower that bloomed for a short moment. Still, they were covered in thorns and were brimming with lethality. In this way, Entangle, originally a mere support spell, had gained terrifying offensive potential.

Now, as Hu Changxi thrashed like a trapped beast in the writhing mass of vines, Luo Chen let out a low, mocking chuckle. ”Too bad your efforts mean nothing at all to me.”

He changed to a different hand seal, and the twelve thick vines shuddered sharply. From them erupted countless bone-white thorns, shooting out like a storm of arrows toward Hu Changxi. His soul nearly fled from terror as he hastily activated his defensive enchanted artifact.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A relentless barrage of impacts rang out. By the time the glow of Hu Changxi’s enchanted artifact began to fade, he had only just managed to withstand the storm of thorns.

”Huff... Huff... I almost—”

Before Hu Changxi could catch his breath, a massive vine coiled around his waist like a python. His expression shifted as he reflexively raised his sword, but as soon as he raised it, he found himself unable to swing. Another vine had slithered around his arm without him noticing.

One, two, three, four more...

As if to hide Hu Changxi’s look of despair, twelve thick vines completely engulfed him.

From afar, Luo Chen suddenly opened his tightly clenched hand. The vine bloomed like a flower blooming at dawn. From deep within the coils came a faint pop, the sound of a defensive enchanted artifact shattering. At the tip of the tightly wound mass, a single deep crimson flower slowly unfurled, its petals spreading like a final, fatal flourish.