An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

At daybreak, Luo Chen stepped out of his cave residence and walked toward the towering Xuyang Tree that grew beside the spirit fields. The morning breeze carried a moist freshness, and beneath the tree’s swaying shade, faint threads of spirit energy seeped quietly into his body.

The Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra, which he had cultivated to the Perfection level, not only produced extraordinary results but also preserved the finest qualities of the lower-tier versions that he’d previously cultivated. Features such as automatic recovery of spirit energy and the production of exceptionally pure spirit power remained.

As a result, his body remained saturated with spirit power whenever he was not engaged in battle. Even the liquefaction of spirit energy progressed without any conscious effort on his part.

As expected of a cultivation technique from a Nascent Soul sect! he thought with quiet satisfaction. He had felt that the speed of his advancement was not on par with his expectations, but in fact, he had been advancing more than he’d realized!

Luo Chen sighed with emotion and pulled out a thick booklet. It wasn’t a spell manual, alchemy text, or cultivation journal. It was the Luo Tian Society Memoranda, a record of all the major events within the Luo Tian Society.

There were three copies of this. One was kept in the society’s library, another remained with Sima Huiniang, and the last was in Luo Chen’s possession. Usually, Sima Huiniang’s copy would be updated regularly and exchanged with his, allowing him to remain informed of the society’s affairs without leaving his residence.

He opened the Luo Tian Society Memoranda and studied its contents carefully. The restructuring efforts were advancing in an orderly fashion, and the nine palaces of the Luo Tian Society had largely taken shape.

With the exception of the Beast Palace, most of the Palace Leaders had already been appointed. Even the Battle Palace, which had once presented difficulties for Sima Huiniang, had now been formally established.

The palace was led by Palace Leader Sima Xian, Law Enforcement Elder Zhou Yuanli, and Luo Network Elder Su Xiaolin. The Luo Network was the alias for the intelligence department. These three formed the core leadership, merging the former Battle Hall, Law Enforcement Hall, and other agile members of the society into a newly forged Battle Palace.

Examining this arrangement, Luo Chen nodded in approval. Sima Huiniang had avoided the pitfalls of nepotism. Although she had entrusted her elder brother with leadership of the Battle Palace, the two most critical departments beneath him were led by Luo Chen’s own handpicked confidants.

In addition, Sima Huiniang had appointed Qin Liangchen as the head of the Glorious Light Palace. Its name, derived from the radiant clouds of Danxia, complemented the society’s most vital Alchemy Palace, forming a balanced structure of inner and outer support. Murong Qinglian had expressed doubts about this decision, but under Sima Huiniang’s firm insistence, the appointment was ultimately approved.

Qin Liangchen himself had no objections. In fact, he seemed quite content to retire to the outer hall and oversee its affairs.

The other Palace Leaders were all people Luo Chen knew well. Even Wang Yuan had been appointed head of the Succession Palace by Sima Huiniang. According to her, Wang Yuan enjoyed studying various techniques and had created quite a few unique spells. From now on, all techniques within the Luo Tian Society would fall under his jurisdiction and be available for his review at any time.

It was a perfect example of assigning responsibility where talent was most suited to it. Wang Yuan had no objections, and in fact, he seemed quite pleased with the arrangement.

Beyond the restructuring, Sima Huiniang had also spent a hefty sum to purchase a mystical enchanted artifact from the Treasure Pavilion, one capable of testing spirit roots—the Spirit Testing Disc!

With the disc and Min Longyu’s skill in formations, they could now establish a complete Spirit Testing Formation comparable to those found in the major sects. Naturally, this was intended as preparation for the Luo Tian Society’s future large-scale recruitment of disciples. Such opportunities would never be granted to older cultivators; they would be reserved for the younger generation, who still had time to cultivate their potential.

Sima Huiniang had written something regarding the requirements for that. According to her memorandum, those undergoing spirit testing would have to be under the age of twenty-five. Most major sects restricted testing and disciple intake to the age of sixteen, but Sima Huiniang had wisely adapted to local conditions by relaxing the age requirement.

That’s a good call. Luo Chen nodded in approval.

The next entry concerned the most pressing matter the Luo Tian Society faced right now: recruitment of cultivators. The society had already begun recruiting people some time ago, and to manage them properly, they had even established a dedicated Outer Hall.

Since the end of the great battle, Sima Huiniang had accelerated efforts to expand the Luo Tian Society, aggressively recruiting individuals with clean backgrounds. Rogue cultivators possessing unique skills were especially welcomed.

In the past, it had taken years of painstaking effort to barely bring in a hundred rogue cultivators. This time, another hundred had been recruited within a single month, despite stringent vetting. Had the criteria been relaxed, four or five hundred might have flocked in. According to Sima Huiniang’s estimates, the Luo Tian Society could gather a thousand people within six months; once that number was reached, recruitment could be slowed, if not paused altogether.

The reason behind such rapid growth was not difficult to grasp. Amidst the recent chaos, the Luo Tian Society had truly stolen the spotlight. They had struck decisively in all directions, reaping victory after victory. Even late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators were compelled to show them respect.

Most importantly, the title of Fire Spirit Lord carried immense weight among rogue cultivators. Luo Chen was not only powerful but also possessed a reputation that few could question.

The effect was amplified by Sima Huiniang’s promotion of his image. Word had spread that the Fire Spirit Lord delighted in mentoring promising young cultivators. The current four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Luo Tian Society—Wang Yuan, Min Longyu, Duan Feng, and even Sima Huiniang herself—had all been personally nurtured by the Fire Spirit Lord. Each of them only had average talent, and yet each had since risen to the Foundation Establishment Realm, earning renown as Initiates in their own right.

For rogue cultivators, the message was irresistible. Join the Luo Tian Society, and there’s a chance to follow in their footsteps, and maybe one day stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Reading this detailed account, Luo Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. Sima Huiniang was truly making full use of every resource at her disposal. Even he himself was a resource; despite the fact that he hardly left his cave residence, his own name was being used as a banner to attract skilled rogue cultivators.

Still, this isn’t a bad thing.With our old numbers, it was impossible to support the growing base of Foundation Establishment Initiates. If we can gather a solid thousand without dead weight, that will be good enough. Beyond that, three thousand at most. Without a Golden Core cultivator to oversee things, anything larger would only invite problems.

By now, Luo Chen had formed a clearer understanding of the major powers within Tianlan Immortal City. The largest by numbers was the Lianyun Trade Alliance, which had once boasted more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and commanded nearly ten thousand Qi Refinement disciples. But in spite of these numbers, in Tianlan Immortal City itself, they maintained only three thousand staff, while the rest were dispersed into market-based business ventures. Clearly, their leadership had thought carefully about balance and sustainability.

Time passed quietly as Luo Chen continued reading. The morning mist dispersed beneath the rising sun, and by the time he finished reviewing all the memoranda, it was already midmorning.

Just as he was about to rise, his instinct stirred. Ah, finally here! I thought you’d hold out for longer.

Luo Chen gave a faint smile and switched the book in his hands to Shang Hu Alchemy Insights.