An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Cultivation was the path to immortality!

For mortals, it was a word of mystical wonder. In their imagination, cultivators lived apart from the world. They rested beneath ancient trees from dawn until dusk, cleansed themselves in clear streams, watched drifting clouds in the heavens, and listened as flowers bloomed and withered. When the whim carried them, they traveled to the Northern Sea at dawn and roamed through Cangwu by dusk[1]. They visited friends and discussed the Dao in freedom.

In truth, both the cultivation world and the mortal realm were floating in the same boundless sea of misery. If anything, the waves of suffering striking cultivators were orders of magnitude greater.

Tianlan Immortal City was a blessed land crafted by human hands. It gathered countless rogue cultivators, and each day resources flowed through it in quantities too great to count. The relationships and deals there appeared orderly on the surface, and the competition fair; but in reality, the struggles happening in the shadows were far more perilous than those in the distant markets.

This was especially true during the decennial city management rotation, when conflicts inevitably erupted in full force. Each decade, countless flourishing small sects and other organizations vanished without a trace, reduced to a ripple in the long river of history. No one noticed them, and no one cared.

This time, however, the struggles in Tianlan Immortal City drew attention from both within and beyond its walls. Cultivators inside the city and those scattered across the surrounding regions all turned their attention toward it.

There was a reason for this: At the very heart of the conflict stood the Luo Tian Society. A force that had been founded barely thirty years back, and had taken root on Danxia Peak for less than twenty.

When they first settled in the city, they seemed rather ordinary, neither strong nor weak. Yet as the years passed, their fangs began to show. They proved to be relentlessly aggressive. Whether in matters of trade or in expanding their territory, they advanced like wildfire, consuming everything in their path. Time and again, they drove their rivals to the brink. At their most ruthless, they even destroyed entire sects and toppled mountain strongholds.

If arrogance alone had defined them, they might have eventually tripped and fallen into ruin like so many other upstart powers. But their president, Dan Chenzi, possessed both extraordinary talent and vision. From the very beginning, he had secured the backing of Fairy Ruthless. With the Ice Fortress as their patron, so long as the society did not provoke the vassals of the Nascent Soul sects, no ordinary faction could threaten them.

Moreover, Dan Chenzi’s mastery of alchemy was unrivaled. Through that brilliance, he had drawn a host of allies to their side. Even Dao Scion Tao, the future leader of Green Pill Valley, regarded him with favor.

It was no exaggeration to say that as long as the Luo Tian Society avoided reckless mistakes, their path would remain smooth and unimpeded until the day Dan Chenzi either perished or transcended.

That was the belief held by all who watched them rise.

Yet fate rarely followed expectations. On the battlefield of Jilei Nine Mountain, Dan Chenzi had actually crossed realms to perform the incredible feat of slaying a Golden Core elder of the Flame Alliance!

Even though the Flame Alliance and Ice Fortress publicly claimed that Di Wanyun’s death had been nothing more than misfortune, saying he had accidentally triggered a mechanism within the Divine Transformation pocket world and been struck down by the endless lightning accumulated there, the world was not so easily deceived.

Other sects took the chance to stir the waters, spreading rumors far and wide that he had perished under Luo Chen’s scheming until the tale became common knowledge. Because of that, the Flame Alliance could not let the matter go. From then on, their hatred toward Dan Chenzi was firmly set in stone.

But in the years that followed, Dan Chenzi vanished without a trace. The Flame Alliance, seething with fury yet unable to vent it on him, turned its sights on the Luo Tian Society. Striking directly at a weaker faction would have harmed their prestige and given the Ice Fortress a reason to intervene, so they chose another path.

As a major sect focusing on artifact creation, the Flame Alliance was as wealthy as Green Pill Valley, and its vassals were as numerous as carp crossing a river. All they had to do was casually throw a hint and opportunists rushed to harass the Luo Tian Society. The lure of the Core Formation secret arts only added to their eagerness.

At the center of the storm stood Rolling Dragon Ridge, a colossal spine of earth raised by the thrashing of subterranean dragons. Bursts of earth fire erupted there from time to time, creating a land rich in natural spirit veins.

The Zheng family ruled this territory. Although they no longer enjoyed the glory of their founder Zheng Tianfang, who had once formed a Pseudo Golden Core, they had still maintained formidable strength with three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Few factions dared provoke them.

Once their leader fell on the battlefield of the Jilei Nine Mountains, decline seemed inevitable. Yet in the years that followed, the Zheng family instead nurtured a new wave of Foundation Establishment cultivators!

These men not only possessed deep cultivation but also carried a savage and ruthless aura. Those with discerning eyes could tell at once that they were survivors of the Jilei Nine Mountains, the battlefield known throughout the Jade Cauldron Domain as an indiscriminate meat grinder.

Because of their presence, Rolling Dragon Ridge did not wither. On the contrary, it flourished, rising to become the third great force within Tianlan Immortal City, surpassed only by Iron Sword Hall and the Luo Tian Society.

On this day, the Zheng family of Rolling Dragon Ridge received a great many guests. Wei Bufan of Xuchen Mountain, the head of the Chang family from Changliu Gorge, the leader of the Yuhua Sect, and Shen Gongyi, the patriarch of Black Panther Mountain, all arrived in person.

Zheng Kejian, the new head of the host family, welcomed them warmly. The group gathered in the main hall, their voices rising in a lively clamor as they conversed.

Wei Bufan slammed the table, his face flushed with fury. His voice thundered with indignation. ”Luo Chen slew my sect’s Grand Elder, Wei Tuo, without cause or reason. This hatred, I have kept close to my heart. I have never forgotten it for even a single moment!”

Righteous anger poured from him as he struck the table again and again, listing Luo Chen’s so-called crimes one after another.

”If it were only that, I might have endured. But he leaned on the Ice Fortress to suppress us, forcing my family to bow in submission! Fellow Daoists, have you ever seen such shamelessness in your lives?”

The family head of the Chang family from Changliu Gorge frowned and shook his head. ”That thief Luo Chen is utterly shameless. What logic is there in killing a man, then forcing his kin to bow afterward?”

Wei Bufan let out a bitter laugh. ”Not only did he demand our submission, he also forced me to pay heavy reparations, claiming that Xuchen Mountain had disrespected him first. He even boasted that if I refused, he would personally storm our mountain and tear it apart. At that time, my cultivation was shallow, only at the third stage of Foundation Establishment. I had no choice but to swallow my pride. But I will endure no longer!”

As his words fell, another furious voice rang out across the hall. ”Fellow Daoist Wei speaks the truth! The cultivators of Luo Tian Society have gone too far!”

Everyone turned toward the speaker and saw an old man with a pale face and depleted vitality. They recognized him as Shen Gongyi of Black Panther Mountain. His pale cheeks now carried an unnatural flush.

”Conflicts between cultivators should never go beyond limits,” Shen Gongyi said coldly. ”Years ago, my friend Dan Yuanzi went only to mourn Li Jinhuang. Yet Luo Chen ambushed him, driving Li Jinhuang’s restless soul to destroy him! If it had ended there, perhaps it could have been overlooked. But they accused the Danyuan Sect of coveting the Li family’s resources and used that excuse to wipe the sect out. In truth, they simply desired the Danyuan Sect’s alchemy resources. And the Li family cultivators even abetted them, betraying themselves to become disciples of Luo Tian Society!”

The others listened, fully aware that today’s gathering was meant to create a pretext for war. Still, the sheer brazenness of Shen Gongyi’s twisted tale left them briefly stunned.

Dan Yuanzi went there just to mourn a friend?

Perhaps realizing that his words lacked weight, Shen Gongyi quickly changed tack. ”Dan Yuanzi was my friend. I could do nothing when he died, but out of loyalty and righteousness, I swore to protect the sect he left behind. I only wished to reason with the Luo Tian Society, to plead for the Danyuan Sect’s survival. Yet that cultivator named Wang Yuan showed no reason at all. While I spoke earnestly, he struck me with a cowardly sneak attack! Years have passed, and I still cannot step into the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. All of this is because of that wretched Wang Yuan! This time, whether for Dan Yuanzi or for myself, I must exact revenge!”

Many present twitched when they heard this. A sneak attack? They remembered clearly that he had been defeated head-on. And with Wang Yuan’s strength, would he truly need to ambush an old man like Shen Gongyi?

Still, since they all stood on the same side, none of them exposed the lie.

Instead, the old master of the Yuhua Sect stroked his white beard and spoke with grave agreement, ”That Wang Yuan is rumored to be the Blood Devil of the Jilei Nine Mountain battlefield. His cruelty and bloodlust rival those of Luo Chen himself. I have heard the two were close; if not blood brothers, then as good as. From the looks of it, they truly were two of a kind.”

At the mention of the Blood Devil Wang Yuan, faces across the hall darkened. He was indeed a bringer of calamity.

On the battlefield of the Jilei Nine Mountains, countless cultivators had perished at his hands. It was said their corpses were left mangled and with their very blood essence devoured. No one knew why the Four-Sect Alliance had spared him after the war, but his strength was far beyond what this gathering of mid-stage Initiates could ever hope to withstand.

For a moment, the fiery mood within the hall cooled into uneasy silence.

Wei Bufan finally broke it, his voice edged with frustration. ”As despicable as Wang Yuan’s actions are, no one can deny his strength. When the time comes, who among us will be able to deal with him?”

The old Sect Master of Yuhua Sect also spoke, his tone heavy with worry. ”Wang Yuan is troublesome enough, but the true problem lies with Danxia Peak’s Mountain-Guarding Formation. I once observed the terrain of Danxia Peak in secret. It was clearly altered and arranged with great care. If we move against them, how are we supposed to break such a formation?”

Even ten years back, the formation of Luo Tian Society had already revealed its might. It had effortlessly annihilated two Initiates of the Geng family. Now, after so many years, their formation master, Min Longyu, had become even more accomplished, earning the Dao title of Lei Zhenzi on the battlefield of Jilei Nine Mountain. That title was acknowledged by cultivators from both the Four-Sect Alliance and the Sword Sect Alliance. Under his command, the stronghold of the Luo Tian Society might as well have been a mountain of steel, utterly unbreakable.

Shen Gongyi’s eyes flickered, ”The Zheng family has plenty of experts. Surely such matters are not for us to worry about?”

As the discussion continued, footsteps sounded from outside. Moments later, a hearty laugh rolled into the hall.

Everyone turned to look. Zheng Kejian had entered with a one-eyed cultivator and a scholar in a green gauze cap, a sword hanging at his waist. The three of them walked in together, speaking cheerfully as if they were old friends. The hearty laugh had come from the one-eyed cultivator.

Faces across the hall stiffened when they saw him because that man was Xiahou Kun! He was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and his strength was unfathomable. In recent years, he had led the Xiahou family of Silver Gorge in a fierce struggle against Luo Feng’s Luosha Market. Even Luo Feng himself had once clashed with him, only to be forced back. Xiahou Kun’s power lay in his unyielding ferocity and fearless courage. Yet even now, the smile on his face bore a weight of solemn respect.

”Fellow Daoist Zhou, with you leading Iron Sword Hall to support us, the Luo Tian Society will surely be crushed in one stroke!”

1. The phrase 朝游北海，暮访苍梧 originates from 列子·汤问 (Liezi, Tang Wen), a Daoist classic compiled around the 4th century CE. It describes the boundless freedom of Daoist immortals, who can traverse the extremes of the world within a single day. The Northern Sea symbolized the farthest northern boundary, often identified with the Bohai Sea in present-day northeastern China, while Cangwu was an ancient southern region roughly corresponding to modern Guangxi and Hunan, famed in myth as the burial place of Emperor Shun. ☜