An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

High above the nine heavens, fierce winds howled, and the clouds surged like rolling seas. A lone and lean figure stood amidst the tempest, his eyes gently closed as if grasping some deep truth. It was Luo Chen. At this moment, he was recalling the conversation he’d had with Wang Yuan not long before.

”This technique of yours evolved from the Sky Roc Transformation. I don’t know where it will ultimately lead, but its foundation lies here. Instead of searching for new paths, why not return to the source and let your physique display its true strength in the most orthodox way?”

”You think I should transform into a demonic beast form?”

”Exactly!”

”Wouldn’t that just make my body larger and easier to hit?”

”You really underestimate the full effect of the transformation. Your speed will also explode. The Sky Roc Transformation requires a Sky Roc’s body to unleash its full potential. There’s no need to look elsewhere when what you need is already within your reach. Of course, I’ll also help design a few killing moves tailored for you to cover any weaknesses.”

Those words had struck Luo Chen like a bolt of lightning. He had spent all his time using human techniques to maximize his physique’s strength, ignoring the fact that Myriad Path Convergence had been derived from the Sky Roc Transformation to begin with. To abandon the near for the far was folly. Only by returning to one’s origin could the path forward truly open.

”Roc-type demonic beasts are famed for their incredible speed. I’ve already cultivated Ninety Thousand Li. If I now transform into the true form, I should be able to unleash the devastating attacks recorded in the original manual.”

Once his path became clear, Luo Chen wasted no time. His eyes snapped open. Following the directions in the manual, he stirred his blood qi and directed it through every bit of flesh and bone. His blood qi surged like a crimson tide, and his entire body began to transform. His hands turned into razor-sharp talons, his frame expanded, and his eyes gleamed with piercing brilliance. In just a moment, a massive avian figure resembling a giant roc appeared amidst the heavens. Yet the transformation was still incomplete.

”Armor Transformation!” he roared.

With a low shout, white armor plates surfaced across Luo Chen’s body.

Clack, clack, clack...

They overlapped like roc feathers, encasing his thirty-zhang-tall frame in a seamless suit of armor.

”Still not enough!”

Luo Chen widened his eyes as torrents of blood qi surged into his shoulder blades. The Crimson Cloud Wings he had specially refined were activated by the stimulation and unfurled instantly. Unlike the ethereal wings he’d summoned earlier through spirit power, these were generated by an enchanted artifact and fueled with blood qi. They manifested instantly into solid form.

In the blink of an eye, wings thrice the span of his body spread across the sky. As the wings unfurled, a fiery red halo slowly spread out across Luo Chen’s beastly form. Had any cultivators been watching from afar, they would surely have mistaken him for a true Blazing Cloud Roc!

His wings spread wide like curtains of cloud, and his form was majestic and divine, as if an ancient great demon had been reborn into the world once more. The red halo that radiated from him made him appear like a god of fire; his presence commanded awe with a single glance.

Yet only Luo Chen knew that this transformation went beyond the standard Sky Roc form. In the back of his beastly body, a lightning dragon-like spine pulsed with silver-white light and flashed with restrained might. It was his first time undergoing the full transformation; his movements still carried the stiffness of unfamiliarity. But there were techniques to help adapt to the change. In the very next instant, his wings spread wide, and he vanished from the sky. He was like an arrow unleashed from a bow as he shot toward the distant horizon.

After streaking a few li in a single breath, he abruptly came to a halt and soared higher into the heavens. He flapped his wings and circled the sky for a while, and with every moment he glided along the wind, he grew more attuned to the power and grace of his transformed body.

”Next, it’s time to test those killing techniques. First, the Cloud-Piercing Claw!”

The Cloud-Piercing Claw was one of three techniques of the Sky Roc Transformation, and its best feature was its devastating reach. Depending on the exact nature of the transformation, there were two other techniques that could be used—namely, the Thunder-Tearing Claw and the Steel-Shredding Claw. But although Luo Chen had gained his third-tier archaic beast physique through lightning, his transformation ultimately followed the lineage of the Blazing Cloud Roc. Therefore, the Cloud-Piercing Claw suited him best.

The colossal roc dove down from the clouds above. Giant talons swept through the sky as if intent on piercing heaven itself, pointing at a towering peak below.

Whoosh!

Five streaks of crimson flame flashed past. In the next instant, the towering mountain peak that was over a thousand zhang tall was cleaved in half! A single glance at the parts that had been touched by the claw would reveal that the cuts were as smooth as a mirror!

As Luo Chen twisted his massive form in midair, his wings quivered with power, sending waves of surging blood qi rippling outward. The severed mountain peak collapsed, crashing down to either side.

Boom!

As the mountain crashed to the ground, a deafening roar echoed for hundreds of li. Countless birds scattered into the skies in alarm, while beasts fled in a panic. Rogue cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm emerged from their modest cave residences, staring fearfully at the scene.

On a small hill nearby, Wang Yuan’s pupils contracted. ”As expected, transforming into the true Sky Roc form is indeed the best way to unleash the full potential of that physique! If that strike landed on me, even with my mastery of Transforming Force, I’d struggle to redirect it. Still...”

Wang Yuan rubbed his chin as he watched Luo Chen soar once more into the sky, his eyes glinting with contemplation. ”Too stiff. After all, it’s just a second-rate version of a true roc’s transformation... But if it’s paired with my Giant Spirit Transformation, perhaps it could cover those shortcomings? Either way, his utilization of the beast form is still far too poor. He needs practice.”

While he pondered, Luo Chen was up in the air, pushing his new form to its limits and practicing the corresponding killing moves. He practiced the Cloud-Piercing Claw and Blazing Fire Barrier, and even attempted to cast spells using his beast form. After all, the Blazing Cloud Roc was a fire-element demonic beast, and he excelled in fire arts. If the two directions in cultivation could be merged into one, then the power would surely surge dramatically, and it would be no inferior to that of a true third-tier Blazing Cloud Roc!

Finally, a breeze swept through as Luo Chen donned fresh robes and descended upon the hilltop. ”What do you think?”

”How did it feel?” asked Wang Yuan.

The words slipped from both their lips at once. Their eyes met, and they burst into laughter.

Luo Chen stretched, and the joints in his body cracked. ”It feels incredible! In this form, if I went all out, I could sweep through all Initiates around. I’d even dare to challenge a Golden Core Adept!”

The sudden mastery over his body’s full strength filled him with heady confidence. Fortunately, Wang Yuan was quick to bring him back down. ”Don’t be brash. Adepts operate on a level we can’t yet comprehend. Right now, you’re still unfamiliar with the transformation. Your attacks lack cohesion and they must be refined further. Otherwise, the flaws in your movements will get you killed.”

Luo Chen’s smile faded as he listened intently to Wang Yuan’s critique of his beast form performance. The brief swell of pride in his chest slowly faded, leaving behind a calm sobriety.

His thoughts drifted to his battle with Di Wanyun. His friend was right; the strength of an Adept truly wasn’t something he could fully comprehend just yet. During that fight, Di Wanyun had been ensnared by layer upon layer of Luo Chen’s schemes; his mind was thrown into chaos, and his momentum suppressed. Luo Chen had laid every trap he could and played every card in his hand. Still, even after unleashing his full arsenal, he had barely managed to leave a scratch on Di Wanyun. If not for the third-tier grand formation Min Longyu had given him, which summoned lightning energy accumulated across millennia around the ninth mountain, he probably would never have seriously injured Di Wanyun, let alone kill him.

If Luo Chen wanted to truly put up a fight against an Adept, he still had a long road ahead.

”Let’s go back for now. I need some time to study and patch up your combat system. I want to study Myriad Path Convergence as well, actually. I believe it will give me valuable inspiration for breaking through to the Furnace Realm,” Wang Yuan said slowly, making no effort to hide his admiration for the Physique Refinement technique Luo Chen devised.

Luo Chen nodded without hesitation. He had no intention of keeping the technique to himself. Wang Yuan had once given him his life’s work, the Wang Secret Manual and it was only right that Luo Chen return the favor.

”Oh, by the way!” Wang Yuan suddenly stopped and looked at Luo Chen’s wiry frame. ”Once we get back, eat more. Being fast as lightning is great, but you’re so skinny, you even look like lightning.”

Luo Chen blinked in surprise. The mountain wind tugged at his robes, sending them fluttering noisily around his lean frame. He wasn’t quite thin enough to be called a bolt of lightning, but with his tall build and lack of muscle, he really did resemble a walking bamboo stalk. He shook his head helplessly. I really will need to eat more when we get back.

Gu Caiyi had already complained more than once that he was too bony to cuddle comfortably. Only Sima Huiniang, with her soft curves, never seemed to mind.

”Great timing, though! I’ve got a little divine chef at home. It’s about time she gets to show off her skills!” Luo Chen muttered with a grin.

With that, he and Wang Yuan turned and left the desolate stretch of land behind them. As for the matter of supplementing his nutrition, Luo Chen wasn’t the least bit concerned. With so many helpers in the Luo Tian Society, any ingredient he wanted would be delivered straight to his doorstep. Over the years, Bai Meiling had studied countless recipes; now was the perfect chance for her to demonstrate what she was truly capable of.