An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Cave Residence Jia Three on Tianlan Peak was one of only three dwellings in this man-made third-tier spirit land. The moment Luo Chen stepped inside, a dense wave of spirit energy greeted him; its density was no weaker than that of a natural second-tier spirit land. And this was only within the main hall. If he entered the meditation chamber designed for cultivation, the concentration would surely be even greater.

His gaze drifted across the residence. Several rooms stood sealed by restrictive formations, places barred from his use. Hao Ranzi had allowed him to use this cave residence for the time being, but that did not mean he could just snoop around wherever he liked.

After pacing through the halls, his heart finally settled. Three rooms were open to him: the cultivation chamber, the earth fire chamber, and a small study room. Including the main hall, the total came to four, which was more than enough for his needs. What truly mattered was the cultivation chamber; the others were merely additions.

Luo Chen first went to the earth fire chamber and retrieved a rather odd-looking cauldron from his storage pouch. It was the Shangshu Cauldron[1] once given to him by Fairy Ruthless—a damaged enchanted-treasure. Its defensive and offensive powers were gone, leaving only the function of pill refinement. In the past years, the Ice Emperor Cauldron had remained untouched. Each attempt at alchemy had instead relied on this vessel, and repeated practice had made him thoroughly familiar with it.

After setting down the cauldron, Luo Chen made his way to the study. The room lay empty, stripped of anything that had marked it as belonging to somebody. With a wave of his hand, streaks of light shot forth, arranging books neatly onto the shelves. There were paper books, beast-hide manuals, bamboo scrolls, and jade slips, each carrying records of many kinds of knowledge.

Not only that, but Luo Chen also spread open a cloth bag he had brought along. Within were countless storage pouches. They came in various styles, marked with different emblems that told stories about their different origins. Luo Chen’s gaze swept across them; traces of blood, fiend qi, and spirit energy still lingered—also telling stories of their former owner’s identity and fate.

The strength of those owners could not have been ordinary. At the very least, every pouch had once belonged to a mid-stage Initiate. Some carried marks of the Sword Sect, others of the Flame Alliance, and a handful even of the Four-Sect Alliance. All of them were trophies Luo Chen had claimed over the years but left unopened due to a lack of time. With the Luo Tian Society short on spirit stones and with his own resources stretched thin, these pouches could finally be unraveled as a much-needed supplement.

”There must be quite a few pouches from True Inheritors of major sects. There’s going to be quite the harvest,” he muttered to himself.

After tidying away his belongings, Luo Chen moved into the main hall. With a single thought, a spirit beast pouch opened in his hand. Several small demonic beasts emerged one after another, only to be confined within formations that he had already prepared.

My methods for the divine soul are still too few, he reflected. Soul Intimidation and Spirit Beguilement both require living targets to practice on. This batch of demonic beasts won’t be enough. I’ll have Huiniang bring more later.

After tossing in a few Spirit Feed Pellets, he sealed the formation.

”The basic preparations are complete. From here on, we’re back to steady grinding.”

Luo Chen adjusted his robe, and he calmly opened the door to the cultivation chamber. A surge of spirit energy rushed at him. He frowned but forced his way inside. Now that he had achieved the third-tier Archaic physique, the lesser third-tier spirit land that once pressured him no longer posed a challenge. He even felt capable of withstanding a true third-tier spirit land. Yet cultivation required steady accumulation; there was no need to invite unnecessary risks. For the time being, this lesser third-tier spirit land would serve him well.

He shut the chamber door behind him and was just about to take out his own meditation cushion when he noticed one already placed inside.

”Oh, so Hao Ranzi did leave me something after all!”

The cushion was an enchanted treasure! Its shape was ancient and rustic, a simple shape that carried the weight of years and was clearly not a product of recent craftsmanship. Perhaps it had been overlooked when the cave residence was cleaned?

Luo Chen shook his head and examined the cushion thoroughly. Upon confirming it was safe, he sat down. He steadied his breath and mind, regaining a serenity as deep and still as water in a well. Gradually, his spirit power started flowing, following the path dictated by the Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra. From his sea of consciousness, his divine soul that had now reached a level akin to the ninth stage of Foundation Establishment also stirred; his spirit consciousness pulled in and guided the flow of spirit energy.

His lips parted slightly at times, and streams of spirit energy like tiny dragons flowed into his body. This was the qi absorption method of Myriad Path Convergence, effective for both physique and qi cultivation. With three methods working together, his efficiency in absorbing and refining spirit energy multiplied instantly.

Time flowed quietly onward.

***

Ten days passed before Luo Chen finally stirred.

As awareness returned, he observed the state of his body and released a long, contented breath. The benefits brought by his formidable physique in cultivation were not obvious on a regular basis, but within this lesser third-tier spirit land, its true potential was finally displayed.

He recalled the year spent in the Dao Scion Palace of Green Pill Valley. Back then, his use of the lesser third-tier land had been far from thorough. The increase in cultivation speed had been sevenfold, yes, but that was still not optimal. This time, the increase reached a full tenfold!

In this way, it makes up for my problems with pills.

A harsh reality stood before him—due to relying on the Ascending Dragon Pills to push his way up for a long time, he had developed tolerance. When he consumed top-grade Ascending Dragon Pills between the fifth and seventh stages, their effects had been limited, and once he reached the seventh stage, they lost all effects entirely.

At the time, powerful enemies surrounded him, leaving no room to consider what pills his future cultivation might require. Now, with the support of a lesser third-tier spirit land, he could set aside pills for the time being and rely solely on direct cultivation. And his progress was nothing short of astonishing!

With a thought, Luo Chen opened his status panel, and a curtain of light flowed down like water.

[Status Panel]

Name: Luo Chen

Lifespan: 53/260

Spirit Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage Seven (2/100); Archaic Tier Three (5/100)

Achievement Points: 29

[Techniques]

Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra: Grandmaster (680/1000)

Myriad Path Convergence: Proficient (250/300)

Myriad Beast Sutra: Beginner (10/100)

[Spells]

Tier Three

Tier Two

Tier One

Perfected Mastery Spells (click to view details)

[Alchemy]

Clear Origin Mystical Pill: Grandmaster (970/1000)

Essence Restoration: Perfection (412/500)

Scaled Shift: Beginner (45/100)

Star Plucking: Perfection (344/500)

Perfected Mastery Alchemy Techniques (click to view details)

[Martial Arts]

Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw: Proficient (271/300)

Blazing Fire Miasma: Beginner (75/100)

Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers: Grandmaster (571/1000)

Mountain Cleaving Monument Breaking Palm: Perfected Mastery

[Skills]

Second-Tier Alchemist, Second-Tier Healer

Second-Tier Pills

First-Tier Pills

Perfected Mastery Pills (click to view details)

At first glance, Luo Chen’s eyes went straight to the Realm section of the panel. He barely paid attention to the increased lifespan that came with his cultivation advancement. Instead, his focus lingered on the progress bar, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Ten days of cultivation in a lesser third-tier spirit land had raised his progress by a full point. This meant that in a thousand days, a bit less than three years, he could reach the peak of the seventh stage and step into the eighth. Such was the power of a good spirit land—though it was just a lesser version of a proper third-tier one, the boost to cultivation speed was truly astonishing.

Without such land, even if he had secured pills no weaker than top-grade Ascending Dragon Pills, advancing through this minor stage would have taken twenty or thirty years. No wonder that when he last saw Tao Wan, she had already been on the verge of Perfected Mastery. Her access to resources and spirit lands was no less than his, and her rapid progress had been only natural.

”If I could cultivate long-term in a lesser third-tier spirit land, I would need only a few decades to reach Perfected Mastery myself,” he muttered. ”Unfortunately, this cave residence is only on loan from Hao Ranzi. If he were to die in battle...”

The thought surfaced unbidden, but he quickly shook it off. Hao Ranzi was a decent man, and wishing for his violent death was far beneath Luo Chen. With his own long lifespan, he could eventually reach the peak of Foundation Establishment through steady cultivation. There was no need to covet another’s possessions. More importantly, Hao Ranzi was not all that tight-lipped when it came to cultivation knowledge. Insights into such secrets was of far, far more value than possession of a third-tier spirit land. Adepts with such a kind heart were rare, and for this reason, Luo Chen very much wished him a long life.

In terms of Qi Refinement, Luo Chen was very pleased with his progress, but his advancement in Physique Refinement fell short of his expectations. In three years, he had managed to push forward by only five points, and that was during the earliest—and naturally fastest—stage. Later stages would only drag on even longer. To reach the fourth-tier of the Archaic physique might require three to five centuries, perhaps more. He had no such leisure.

The sluggish pace came from the very art he had crafted for Physique Refinement, Myriad Path Convergence. This method was the condensation of his immense foundation, but it was precisely this depth that made it ridiculously complex. Every realm and minor stage carried its own intricate methods, demanding corresponding resources: pills, herbs, minerals, and even fiend qi. Unless Luo Chen abandoned Qi Refinement and devoted himself entirely to Physique Refinement, the endless, cumbersome steps would be impossible to manage.

”Well, whatever. The purpose of tempering my body has always been to optimize my immortal cultivation. I cannot afford to mistake the means for the end.”

With that resolve, Luo Chen dismissed the thought of pushing further down the path of Physique Refinement. The road ahead in that discipline remained obscure, requiring him to explore blindly, while the path of Qi Refinement had already been charted by countless predecessors. There was no reason to shred his shoes in the thorns of an unmarked trail.

Moreover, the Myriad Path Convergence clearly followed the path of refining a human into a demon’s body. The archaic demonic beasts, though renowned for their formidable physiques, had achieved them through the slow accumulation of countless years. They were born with lifespans stretching into millennia, even tens of millennia. Even if Luo Chen managed to shorten each stage by tenfold, the process would still consume centuries, if not longer.

The pace was far too slow, even less efficient than the blood qi path cultivated by Wang Yuan. For the present, his powerful physique already sufficed to carry him through Foundation Establishment and eventually the Golden Core Realm. Whether he would need a sturdier vessel in the future was a decision better left for the future.

1. 尚书 (Shàngshū) or the Classic of History is the title of one of the Five Classics in the Confucian canon, also called the Book of Documents. It’s a collection of historical records and speeches. Of course, the name of the cauldron likely also references its previous owner, Shang Hu. ☜

2. It feels a bit odd that it’s displayed here instead of being organized under the Perfected Mastery Pills section. ☜