An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Explosions rumbled through the heavens, their deafening roar shaking the very air. Between the mountains, shrill cries and anguished screams echoed endlessly, weaving a haunting symphony of chaos and death.

Luo Chen drew his gaze away from the Falling Cloud Sect’s position. Beside him, Chu Kui’s voice rose, calm yet edged with restrained excitement. ”The moment war begins is always the bloodiest. There’s no need for us to rush in. Let the Four Sects’ vassals take the brunt first. We’ll move to the flanks. Once the battlefield turns into chaos... that’s when we strike. That’s when we harvest.”

Luo Chen gave a low grunt in agreement. With that, the two stepped forward, riding currents of wind and cloud through the void, angling toward the edge of the battlefield. The two maintained utter calm as the frontlines raged with shouting and crashing spirit energies. Not even a flicker of emotion crossed their expressions. As Luo Chen moved, a pair of eyes in the night sky stayed locked on his back.

”Senior Sister, that little man you picked doesn’t seem very grateful, does he?” The teasing voice rang softly, light and clear as the chime of jade.

Fairy Ruthless didn’t turn around. She ignored the mockery in the woman’s tone and said coldly, ”He wants to make something of himself. Are we supposed to stop him?”

Moonshade paused for a moment, her lips curled into a faint pout. After all, Luo Chen had been invited by the Ice Fortress as a guest elder. In terms of status, he was now their equal and exempt from conscription. If he wanted to fight on the frontlines, neither she nor Ruthless had much ground to stop him.

Still, Moonshade murmured, ”We should keep an eye on him. If anything happens to the little one, neither of us will be able to explain it to the Supreme Elder.”

Fairy Ruthless shot her a cold glance, ”Spare me your concern. I know what I’m doing. You should focus on coordinating the battle. If your disciples suffer too many losses, even the sect leader won’t go easy on you.”

Moonshade let out a disgruntled hum and finally withdrew her divine consciousness, no longer tracking Luo Chen’s movements. After all, this battle wasn’t just about the seventh mountain. Their true goal also included the eighth mountain. They didn’t need to win the entire war in one stroke, but they had to seize at least four mountains to restore balance. Otherwise, the Falling Cloud Sect wouldn’t have gone all-in with their forces.

***

At the base of the seventh mountain’s flank, the ground shimmered with golden streaks of flowing sand. This stretch of land was known for its abundant deposits of second-tier Quicksand Fine Gold. Though the area lay along the relatively secure flank of the battlefield, it was still heavily guarded for this reason.

The sect assigned to watch over it was the Bladewatch Sect. Strictly speaking, with one late-stage and three early-stage Initiates, the Bladewatch Sect didn’t qualify to be under the Sword Sect’s direct command. Their true patron was the Heavenly Blade Sect, itself a vassal of the Sword Sect.

When war erupted, the Heavenly Blade Sect was immediately summoned to the frontlines because they had a Golden Core Adept in their ranks. They, in turn, passed command of this region down to the Bladewatch Sect. It was much the same arrangement as the Ice Fortress summoning the Luo Tian Society, which had then dispatched the head of the Li family, Li Yingzhang, to the battlefield. A vassal of a vassal might not bear the title openly, but it was still a piece moved by another’s hand.

Fortunately for them, though the Bladewatch Sect had suffered casualties since the war began, they had managed to preserve their most valuable Initiates’ strength intact. At that moment, Sect Master Ximen Wuhai stood on the golden sands, flanked by his three disciples. His gaze was fixed on the distant battlefield, where deafening blasts and blazing light turned night into chaos. A trace of worry lingered in his expression.

”Master, should we—” one of his disciples began hesitantly.

”There’s no need to continue,” Ximen Wuhai interrupted, his tone grim. ”If the battle turns against us, we retreat at once. Yulang, you’ll lead the first group to fall back. Dezhu and the rest will remain with me. We’ll fight while retreating.”

”But... won’t that offend the Heavenly Blade Sect?” Jiang Yulang couldn’t help but ask.

Ximen Wuhai let out a sharp laugh. ”Heavenly Blade Sect? They’re barely holding it together. That puppet barrage from the Falling Cloud Sect struck their formation first. Why should we risk ourselves for them? In fact, if we manage to survive this battle and things swing in our favor... who’s to say the Bladewatch Sect can’t take over the Heavenly Blade Sect and rise as a true first-rate power?”

With those words, he laid out both immediate orders and future ambitions. Ximen Wuhai was no fool chasing short-term gains; his mind was sharp, and his ambitions bolder than most. Behind him, his disciples voiced their approval with genuine admiration.

”Master, your foresight is unmatched!”

”We will follow your orders without hesitation!”

”If you can obtain the Sword Sect’s secret technique for Core Formation, perhaps the Bladewatch Sect will one day produce a Golden Core Adept!”

Before their voices faded, a sudden change flickered across Ximen Wuhai’s face. His head snapped upward.

”Rats in the dark, show yourselves!” he barked, voice like a blade slicing through the wind.

At the same time, his hand moved subtly behind his back. The three early-stage Foundation Establishment disciples quickly understood and moved back to activate the second-tier offensive formation.

Under Ximen Wuhai’s sharp gaze, two figures emerged from the darkness. One wielded a Heaven-Equaling Staff that radiated fierce, unrestrained battle intent. The other bore a longsword across his back, his cold gaze gleaming with the clarity of honed steel.

The sight made Ximen Wuhai’s expression harden. One ninth-stage Initiate, and the other one at the sixth stage!

”Fellow Daoist...” he tried, his tone cautious.

The two intruders didn’t bother with a reply.

”You take the formation. I’ll handle the late-stage one,” Chu Kui said flatly.

Luo Chen responded with a low grunt. Not a word more was exchanged. The next moment, Chu Kui brought his Heaven-Equaling Staff down in a mighty strike.

Across from him, Ximen Wuhai felt a jolt of fear in his chest, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground. With a flick of his sleeve, a massive saber flew into his grasp. He roared as a surge of saber light surged to clash with the descending staff.

Boom!

The clash exploded like thunder across the battlefield, its shockwave rippling out for several li. In the Quicksand Fine Gold camp, the impact was so fierce that numerous late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were thrown off their feet, some even knocked unconscious on the spot.

Ximen Wuhai’s eyes flared with anger as he bellowed, ”I’ll take you on!”

”Good to hear that!” Chu Kui shouted with glee and charged after the soaring Ximen Wuhai, staff spinning.

Luo Chen lifted his gaze toward the sky, his eyes settling briefly on the two figures clashing high above. The chaos of their battle did nothing to disturb his composure. Without haste, he began walking deeper into the heart of the Quicksand Fine Gold camp. His eyes fell upon the center of the battlefield, where a blinding golden radiance surged skyward. A massive formation was in the midst of activating, its power rapidly coalescing into a monumental blade of light.

As the war intensified, both sides were investing massive efforts and resources into anything that could boost their strength. Proper defensive formations, especially those suited for guarding a sect’s headquarters, were notoriously difficult to set up in a short time. But offensive formations were everywhere.

Now, from the center of this formation, a golden blade nearly twenty zhang long rose into the sky, its sharp glow slicing through the night and casting long, burning shadows over the sands.

Sky Severing Blade Formation!

It was a second-tier metal-element offensive formation. When manned by three Initiates in unison, it could deliver an attack rivaling even that of a late-stage Initiate.

”He’s only at the sixth stage,” one of the cultivators muttered, his eyes fixed on the crimson-robed figure.

”Activate the formation and end him quickly,” another replied. ”Once we’re done here, we’ll reinforce Master!”

”Junior Brother, you know the formation best. You’ll handle the final strike.”

”Yes, Senior Brother!”

Their communication was quick and efficient. They were fellow disciples, long used to working seamlessly together. Since everything had been prepared in advance, the formation’s offensive power reached its peak within moments.

With practiced hands, they channeled spirit energy into the formation. The golden blade grew brighter, its edge honed with intent to kill. Then, the enormous light came crashing down!

Its target was none other than the man clad in a crimson robe.

Jiang Yulang’s eyes gleamed with excitement and his cheeks tinged red with fanaticism. He personally controlled the strike, making certain it would not stray by even a fraction. Whether the enemy fled or fought back, the outcome would be the same—death!

Yet the man in crimson robe was doing neither.

He stood motionless, eyes calm as still water, watching the massive golden blade come screaming down. The crimson robe he wore rippled faintly in the breeze, but his expression remained unchanged; neither fear nor surprise touched his face. He did not attempt to dodge, nor did he summon a defensive item. Instead, he just slowly raised his hand.

”What... what is he doing?” Jiang Yulang murmured in disbelief. ”Is he trying to block the Sky Severing Blade with his hand?”

Even as the words left his mouth, spirit energy surged from the crimson-robed man’s palm. A torrent of sapphire light burst forth. In the next instant, a screen of shimmering sapphire light burst into form before him, gleaming like polished glass. The golden blade struck the sapphire barrier head-on.

Clang!

Blade and glass made contact, and glass proved itself stronger. The blade could not penetrate even half a cun. With no force sustaining it, it then wavered and dissolved.

Jiang Yulang was stunned. What spell was that, capable of stopping the Sky Severing Blade so effortlessly?

Before he could dwell further, his senior brother’s voice roared beside him. ”Watch out!”

A crimson sword light came streaking down like a meteor from the heavens, heading straight for the center of the formation. Jiang Yulang’s face changed drastically as he hurriedly leaped away. The next moment, the sound of tearing talismans echoed as the Sky Severing Blade Formation shattered!