An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

His gaze moved downward to the spell section.

There had been little change overall. His mastery over Ninety Thousand Li, the third-tier flight spell, had risen to Grandmaster level. Once he transformed into the true form of a Sky Roc, its power multiplied. On the other hand, he had practiced Mirror Flower Water Moon to the Skilled level, yet he still could not use it in combat. His proficiency in Water Mirror had risen swiftly toward Grandmaster level, and that was because its growth was tied directly to the depth of a cultivator’s divine soul.

Two new spells had been added: Organ Realignment and Bone Mending. With more practice, they could serve as a lifesaving means should his cultivation go awry.

In the martial arts section, two additional entries had emerged: Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw and Blazing Fire Miasma. These were offensive techniques of the Sky Roc Transformation; originally, they had been inaccessible, but since Luo Chen could actually transform into a Sky Roc, he could wield them freely. They bore a strong resemblance to the innate divine abilities of demonic beasts.

As for alchemy, most minor matters could be set aside. What could not be set aside was that his progress in the Clear Origin Mystical Pill had stalled at the Grandmaster level. The sluggish pace of its progress almost defied belief.

Years had slipped by, and the Perfected Mastery he had expected within a decade had never come. Though Luo Chen had achieved major mastery, the final step remained beyond his grasp no matter how he tried. He even suspected that back then, Huo Hu had exaggerated its virtues and concealed the truth just to sell it.

Meanwhile, his achievement points had risen almost without him noticing. He’d reached twenty-nine, soon to cross the threshold of thirty.

After reviewing everything in his panel, Luo Chen gained a clearer sense of his current state. Much of the uncertainty clouding his future path had also lifted.

From here on, what he had to do differed little from his earlier plans. First, he needed to reach the eighth stage of Foundation Establishment, and that as quickly as possible. Next, he had to refine a large supply of supreme-grade Spirit Passage pills for Chu Kui and himself, as preparation for Beaded Curtain Lock. He also had to refine Jade Dew pills from time to time to maintain relations with the Ice Fortress, since that remained one of his main sources of wealth.

He had to raise his proficiency with Soul Intimidation and Spirit Beguilement to Perfected Mastery. Not only would that strengthen his divine soul’s offensive means, but they could also provide some support for when he started working on Beaded Curtain Lock. And last but not least, he had to unlock the trove of storage pouches as soon as possible. Thankfully, with the power of his divine soul coupled with the formation knowledge passed onto him by Min Longyu, he could do this quite efficiently.

He had amassed a large pile of storage pouches, all taken from late-stage and mid-stage Initiates. If he could make full use of these resources, he would not only recover from the destitution left by the battle of Danxia Peak, but also fortify the society’s foundation.

With his objectives clear, Luo Chen began dividing his time carefully. Cultivation, alchemy, spell practice, study, and unlocking storage pouches filled his schedule. Every day, every moment, was arranged to the fullest.

***

Time flowed swiftly, vanishing like a fleeting steed. A year later, Luo Chen sat in the main hall with a storage pouch placed before him. His eyes remained tightly shut as his spirit consciousness extended outward, moving like a tiny hand that deftly probed the narrow compartments within the pouch. At the same time, his fingers wove a steady stream of intricate spirit seals. Anyone watching closely would have noticed that his gestures mirrored the very techniques used by formation masters when setting up formations.

Suddenly, a sound like tumbling blocks crashed into the air. The sturdy spirit imprints within the pouch unraveled layer by layer in a chain reaction. With a thought, Luo Chen directed his spirit consciousness into the pouch.

”Come out!” he commanded.

A great clatter filled the hall as a small mountain of items spilled forth. Luo Chen opened his eyes but did not immediately examine the spoils. Instead, he flexed his wrists with quiet satisfaction.

This was the third storage pouch belonging to a mid-stage Initiate that he had successfully unlocked. The greatest gain was not the tens of thousands of spirit stones or the various resources within, but the growth he had achieved in his understanding of restrictions.

To dispel the spirit consciousness imprints on these storage pouches, Luo Chen had borrowed countless formation manuals from Min Longyu. He no longer intended to brute-force his way through as he once had, relying on patience alone to wear them down. Instead, he resolved to study formation theory, then apply that knowledge to dismantle the imprints with precision. He had touched on similar matters decades ago, though always passively. Now the effort was active and deliberate, and it had already borne fruit.

”Low-tier formation masters set up formations using tools, spirit stones, and terrain,” Luo Chen mused. ”But as their cultivation advances, they merge their divine souls into the process, enabling them to lay, control, and break formation through restrictions. This is the principle of using the small to overcome the great. I’ve now mastered over a hundred common minor restrictions. Unlocking these storage pouches is no longer difficult at all. Perhaps I could even attempt setting up formations.”

The strength of formation masters was widely recognized throughout the cultivation world. Among the four great auxiliary paths—alchemy, formations, artifact creation, and talismans—formations ranked an undisputed second, a clear measure of their importance.

Luo Chen had heard of and seen many powerful formations. The Heavenly Spirit Seizing Formation of the Valley of Ghosts and Divinities had endured for centuries. The Myriad Sword Slaughter Formation of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect was said to terrify even gods and spirits. Within Tianlan Immortal City stood the Heaven’s Springwater Formation, and beyond its walls lay the massive Tianlan Grand Formation, shielding the entire region.

These might have seemed distant from his immediate concerns, but Min Longyu’s repeated displays of brilliance proved that there was merit to this knowledge. Whether during their conflict at Crescent Moon Valley, the battle at Gaoling Plains, or later, after joining his side, with the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Formation, the Ninefold Flame Dragon Formation, or the Tempest Thunder Torrent Grand Formation, all the formations he used were fearsome, enabling battles across realms once properly set.

It was fair to say that, given enough preparation, a formation master could perform miracles. Whether against multiple foes or those of higher cultivation, such an ally inspired unshakable confidence. After all, a skilled formation master could create a battlefield entirely under their own control, where heaven and earth alike belonged solely to them.

”Perhaps I should consider going deeper down this rabbit hole as well,” Luo Chen mused.

As he gazed at the mountain of spoils before him, his thoughts deepened. It was not envy for Min Longyu or longing for the might of formation masters; instead, he realized that he already possessed the foundation to become a competent formation master himself.

First, he had abundant resources. The Luo Tian Society’s resources could be mobilized at his command. Second, his divine soul foundation was stronger than even Min Longyu’s. Third, his Spirit Eyes, honed over the years, allowed him to observe the flows of qi and vitality. With some study of fengshui, he could even serve as a qualified fengshui master. Formations and fengshui overlapped in many essential places. Lastly, he had Min Longyu as a teacher. Even Wang Yuan, who once knew nothing about formations, had managed to learn one or two under the instruction of Duan Feng and Min Longyu. If Wang Yuan could achieve that, why couldn’t Luo Chen?

Throughout the years, alchemy had been Luo Chen’s only true craft. Healing arts, though within his grasp, had merely been a byproduct of spell practice and Physique Refinement, never something that demanded real effort. He had even obtained manuals on talismans and artifact creation, yet he had never considered them seriously. Such auxiliary paths existed mainly to earn cultivation resources, and alchemy by itself was more than enough in that respect. But formations were different. Even if they were not used to earn resources, they were invaluable in a more direct role, for battle and cultivation support.

After weighing the matter, Luo Chen suppressed his restless impulse. ”I must not rush. Alchemy alone has consumed so much of my focus. If I were to take on formations now, it would scatter my efforts too widely.”

He had always understood the importance of choosing and giving up at the right time. Even Physique Refinement, for all its power, had been set aside once he judged it a distraction from his main path. Formations could be reserved for long-term planning, but for the present, they were not worth pursuing with full devotion.

It would be better to dabble, to slowly accumulate knowledge, and wait until after he reached the Golden Core Realm before deciding to truly commit. That realm would bring not only a surge in strength and a leap in cultivation but also the gift of a vastly extended lifespan. With such time at his disposal, he could afford to broaden his path.

Only a long lifespan could give a cultivator the confidence to dabble in other pursuits. The truly powerful high-tier cultivators often trained in multiple crafts. Among those Luo Chen knew, Fairy Ruthless was the clearest example—she had clearly mastered talisman-making. That Black Ice Talisman was not something an ordinary talisman maker could have crafted.

Shoving these thoughts in the back of his mind for now, Luo Chen swept his gaze across the mountain of spoils before him. With practiced ease, he selected what he needed. Spirit stones made up the bulk of the loot, worth a total of seventy thousand. Most were low-grade, about two hundred mid-grade, and not a single one top-grade.

It was a shame, but Luo Chen did not start pouting just because of that. Top-grade spirit stones were rare and usually circulated only among Golden Core Adepts. In all these years, he had managed to save just three, all of which had been spent during the last battle.

Next he examined the pills, quickly sorting through the bottles and jars. Only two bottles of top-grade qi-consolidation pills proved worthwhile; the rest were of little value. Beyond that were other miscellaneous resources. From these, Luo Chen picked out two second-tier defensive talismans and a supreme-grade defensive artifact, clearly something the former owner had prepared as a backup. Everything else he swept into a separate pouch for later disposal. In a few days, someone would come to collect them.

”Step by step. I still have plenty to open,” he murmured with a faint smile. Each one let him refine his divine soul and polish his skill with restrictions, while also yielding resources. And the unexpected rewards made this endeavor akin to opening blind boxes one after another. This supreme-grade defensive artifact, for instance, was a bell, something suitable to give away as a gift.

From the remaining pouches, he placed two at the forefront. One had belonged to Xuan Yu of Peach Mountain—or rather, the infamous Blood Devil of the Jilei Nine Mountains battlefield. The other had been carried by Zheng Xian, the discarded disciple of the Flame Alliance that had led the assault against the Luo Tian Society.

There was no doubt these two pouches contained treasures. One owner had been a Pseudo-Adept, the other had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. There was no way either of them was poor.