An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 611: Breaking the Formation; Luo Chen’s Frenzied Slaughter(I)

Beneath a sky clear and bright, thunder rolled in waves like a surging tide. From the horizon, a vast force swept in, riding streaks of light that blazed across the heavens.

At the head of all, under countless watching eyes, stood a strikingly handsome young man, his brows sharp with unconcealed hatred. His nose stood tall and straight and his eyes gleamed with cold light; his presence stood out like a lone star blazing across the night sky.

As his steps halted, his brocade-white robes snapped fiercely in the wind. His eyes, fathomless as an abyss, fixed upon Qin Tairan.

”Old dog!” he shouted. ”You never thought you’d live to see this day, did you?”

Qin Tairan ground his teeth, his voice seething with hatred. ”What I never expected was that it would be you! Had I known this day would come, I would have crushed you back at Danxia Peak, even at the cost of my life!”

”Hahaha!” Luo Chen threw back his head and laughed. ”Elder Fei was right. Toothless old dog, you can’t do anything but bark!”

Not far away, Fei Ming’s mouth twitched. When did I ever say that? Still, he found no reason to refute it, so he let it slide.

Suddenly, Luo Chen’s tone turned sharp, and his voice cut through the air like a steel blade. ”You fail to see it, so let me say it clearly: Today, you are the one under siege, and I am the one who attacks. I am the one coming after your head, and you are the one whose survival is at stake!”

Qin Tairan’s heart jolted as his gaze shifted to the force gathered behind Luo Chen. The onlookers who had rushed to witness the clash also gasped as they realized the scale of the host assembled under his banner.

Then, at once, every gaze fell upon the woman standing at Luo Chen’s side. She wore a gown of frost-white silk, and her entire being radiated a chilling aura that kept others at bay. It was Fairy Ruthless of the Ice Fortress, who everybody knew was now at the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm.

She had not come alone. Several Foundation Establishment vassals stood behind her—from the Qu family, the Xue family, the You family, and so on. They were not many, just over twenty, but every one of them had the presence of a mountain. And that was only the contingent from Ice Fortress.

Green Pill Valley was also present. At their head stood Dan Yangzi, the eldest senior disciple of the sect; on either side stood an Adept. One was Qiu Daochun, who had formed his core more than a century ago and whose cultivation was deep and unshakable. The other was Che Xiang, who had reached the Golden Core Realm just over a decade earlier, yet wielded formidable might that could not be underestimated.

Under the command of these three marched over forty Initiates, drawn from among Green Pill Valley’s vassal forces. This display left no doubt as to the sect’s wealth and influence. Without the rise of the Falling Cloud Sect, Green Pill Valley would have been recognized as the strongest force apart from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Even without mobilizing the thousand Foundation Establishment disciples within its own walls, it could casually summon a massive force consisting of vassals alone.

Together with Ice Fortress, their combined forces numbered more than seventy Initiates. Adding in the group brought by Fei Ming, the tally swelled beyond one hundred.

And Luo Chen was not here by himself. Wang Yuan and Chu Kui flanked him like bodyguards, floating on either side of him and slightly behind. Rising talents like Min Longyu had also come, along with Luo Feng, Yue Chong, and others.

A rough count alone was enough to send shockwaves through the onlookers. Without anyone noticing, Dan Chenzi had gathered a force of over one hundred Initiates and four Adepts. And who could say how many among the tens of thousands of cultivators drifting in the skies around them were secretly his allies?

”So this is the reach of an alchemist’s connections...” someone whispered.

”I have never seen an Initiate summon so many to avenge him. Even Adepts are willing to fight at his side.”

”Remarkable! Dan Chenzi is no ordinary man.”

”Yes. He hasn’t even formed his core yet, and already all sides treat him as an honored guest. Once he succeeds, surely even those upper sects will seek him out. This battle will be worth watching!”

While the crowd marveled at Luo Chen’s strength, he himself was calculating in silence. According to the intelligence Tian Xingzi of the Falling Cloud Sect had sent him earlier, the Flame Alliance had lost nearly eighty percent of its strength after the massacre. Only three Golden Core cultivators remained: Qin Tairan, now in the middle stage, Adept Xuyang, at the second stage, and an Adept Wang who had only just formed his core.

Their Foundation Establishment numbers had dwindled to no more than sixty or seventy, and Qi Refinement disciples were irrelevant in a conflict of this scale. By those numbers alone, Luo Chen’s side had an overwhelming advantage.

Yet through a voice transmission from Fairy Ruthless, he learned that the Flame Alliance had unexpectedly gathered more than a hundred Initiates in the past days.

I wonder if they are disciples recalled from afar or vassals conscripted by force, he thought. The foundation of a major sect truly cannot be underestimated. To think that even now, they could gather ten times the force of the Luo Tian Society....

As he pondered, Qin Tairan too was assessing the balance of power. Once he reached his conclusion, a smug smile crept across his face, and he shouted into the sky, ”Luo Chen, is this the best you can muster? Our strength is nearly even, but I hold the advantage of terrain. With the Blazing Fire Grand Formation at my command, what can you do to the Flame Alliance? In my view, you would do better to kneel and surrender. For the sake of these Fellow Daoists, I might even let you die with your body intact.”

At those words, Luo Chen sneered. Unless the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect personally intervened, he would not depart without seeing rivers of blood. He could not be bothered to trade more words with Qin Tairan. Instead, his eyes shifted toward Ailao Mountain’s side.

Luo Chen said, ”Elder Fei Ming, I must trouble you.”

Fei Ming chuckled. ”No trouble at all. I came here under sect orders. The Flame Alliance has outlived its time, and it shall be erased.”

He turned back and declared, ”Fellow Daoists, follow my command and lend me your strength!”

After a few brief words, he led the group of Initiates down to the ground. Luo Chen turned to Min Longyu and said, ”Go and assist as well. Follow Elder Fei Ming’s orders, and make sure to protect yourself.”

Min Longyu’s eyes narrowed. He nodded once, then flew toward the cultivators of Ailao Mountain.

The others who witnessed this exchange immediately understood what Luo Chen’s side intended. They meant to break the formation. Without destroying it, none would dare to charge into Incense Burning Valley.

In the cultivation world, most formations, apart from rare physical constructs, were woven from the power of earth veins and spirit energy. Those with overwhelming strength might force their way through, but if the formation remained intact, even they would suffer the crushing force of its might.

Even an enchanted artifact or treasure thrown into the fray would have its power leeched away layer by layer, or have its bond to its master severed outright by whoever controlled the formation. Whatever could be gained by using one would not justify such a loss. For this reason, in the large-scale wars between sects, the struggle between those who operated a defensive formation and those who sought to break it had always been one of the eternal themes.

Within the vast Jade Cauldron Domain, few sects specialized in formations. Only the Falling Cloud Sect, the Flame Alliance, and Ailao Mountain stood out. But one walked the path of puppetry and another the path of artifact creation, while Ailao Mountain combined formations with earth veins, feng shui, and architecture, treading a completely different path as spirit architects.

Ordinary people did not regard Ailao Mountain’s formation arts as especially powerful. Yet that was simply because those who lived in a house were usually unable to tell the real skill of the workers who had built it. From alchemy rooms and cultivation chambers to markets and immortal cities, and even the construction of entire sect headquarters, Ailao Mountain’s cultivators had been involved in them all. The formation mastery required for such works was hardly something to be dismissed. At this moment, when it came to breaking the Flame Alliance’s mountain-guarding formation, Fei Ming was undoubtedly the best candidate.

Inside Incense Burning Valley, Qin Tairan’s face shifted slightly at the sight. ”Junior Brother, Fei Ming is attempting to break the formation!”

Deep underground, Adept Xuyang sat in meditation. He was one of the Flame Alliance’s few true formation masters. The only reason he had survived the Falling Cloud Sect’s surprise attack back then was that he had remained hidden and did not join the direct battle. Now, with the help of the disciples, a third-tier defensive formation had already been rebuilt, and he personally controlled it.

Xuyang’s voice came through the sound transmission, calm and steady. ”Do not panic, Senior Brother! The Blazing Fire Grand Formation is no weaker than our old mountain-guarding formation. Though it was hastily rebuilt, with me at its helm, it will not fall easily. Give me a few days to hold them back, and you can take the chance to lead men out for several strikes. As long as we blunt their momentum, the rabble will scatter like the little rabbits they are.”

The quiet confidence in his words eased Qin Tairan’s heart. His fierce eyes looked outward as he replied, ”Junior Brother, that is a fine plan! Since that is the case, I will follow your strategy. Tell me when it is time to act.”

***

After a brief exchange of words, the battle shifted into the familiar rhythm of defending and breaking formations. The process seemed monotonous, yet the onlookers possessed ample patience. Everyone understood that once the formation fell, a great slaughter would erupt. For the moment, it was only the first stirring of wind before the storm.

Luo Chen floated in the air, his cold eyes fixed firmly on the valley. Beside him, Fairy Ruthless frowned. ”Can this formation be broken? If it drags on too long, there may be unforeseen complications.”

To this, Luo Chen was utterly confident. ”You need not worry. The intelligence from the Falling Cloud Sect is clear. In that great battle, not only were eighty percent of the Flame Alliance’s cultivators slain, but their earth veins were also shattered. Even if they were forcibly repaired, they cannot run smoothly in such a short time. With Elder Fei Ming’s skill, this formation will be broken in no more than two days!”

Fairy Ruthless’s expression eased at his words. Two days to break a major sect’s guardian formation was a tremendously short time. And as if on cue, just then, Fei Ming’s voice reached her ear.

She said softly, ”I will go assist in striking at the formation nodes. Keep watch here.”

”Very well. I leave it to you.” Luo Chen nodded and pulled back slightly, lest the defenders of the valley attempt a sudden strike at him.

Under Fei Ming’s command, Fairy Ruthless, Qiu Daochun, and Che Xiang struck in rotation, unleashing the might of an Adept against the vital nodes of the Blazing Fire Grand Formation. Explosions thundered without pause. At the same time, over a hundred Initiates were mustered to join the assault.

Luo Chen watched with cold detachment, already calculating the scale of the battle once the formation collapsed. His gaze drifted at times to the rogue cultivators lingering on the outskirts, restless and hungry for advantage, and anticipation stirred in his heart.

By his side’s power alone, the Flame Alliance could be crippled, but not annihilated. To fulfill the deeper goals hinted at in Falling Cloud Sect’s intelligence, something more would be needed. If those opportunists could be driven into the fray, they would become the final straw to crush the Flame Alliance.

For this purpose, he had already made arrangements through Xing Zhonghan and others. With the Falling Cloud Sect’s promised support, the time would soon come for all sides to strike together, creating the inevitable scene of the wall collapsing as the crowd rushed in.

After days of maneuvering and countless schemes, the situation had finally taken shape. A surge of pride welled in Luo Chen’s chest.

He recalled a simulation he had once experienced within the Divine Ghost Heartmirror. In that vision, he had united many factions to strike the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect after the fall of its Nascent Soul Sage. At the time, he had dismissed it as nothing more than a wild delusion. Yet reality had taken a similar turn—though his target was just a major sect known as the Flame Alliance.

The allies he gathered now were also entirely different from those in the simulated memories. The Ice Fortress, Green Pill Valley, Ailao Mountain, and even the Falling Cloud Sect, working in secret, had all become part of his plans.

To the Ice Fortress, he had offered profit. To Green Pill Valley, he had laid out the dangers. With the Falling Cloud Sect, both sides simply took what they needed. Ailao Mountain was involved anyway, so he seized the chance to work together. As for the rogue cultivators, they were fence-sitters who fell whichever way the wind blew.

What he needed to do next was to make that wind blow in his sails as hard as possible.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Fei Ming’s movements in breaking the formation grew steadily faster.