An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

He Lianyun let out a bitter sigh and looked toward Luo Chen. ”Dan Chenzi, you heard her. Let’s part peacefully. Hand over what you have, and I’ll personally guarantee your safety. My name is my guarantee.”

Your name? Luo Chen gave a cold laugh. So, my title as Fire Spirit Lord means nothing to you now?

Seeing that icy smile curve at Luo Chen’s lips, the three immediately understood, there would be no reconciliation through words. Yousha, having finally persuaded the other two to unite with her, felt her confidence swell. She smiled faintly, her voice almost teasing. ”Dan Chenzi, I know your strength is formidable, but we are hardly insignificant ourselves. Besides, this terrain doesn’t suit your famed speed. Why don’t you—”

”Why don’t I what?” Luo Chen cut her off, his tone just as cold as the smile still on his face. ”Surrender? Wash my neck for you to cut it?”

”Fellow Daoist, you’re being too harsh!” Yousha protested quickly, her tone sharp but uncertain.

Luo Chen shook his head. ”Harsh? It is simply the truth.”

Under their tense gazes, he let out a low, derisive laugh. ”The pit of desire can never be filled.”

The three remained unmoved. Luo Chen continued, ”You covet my Nether Origin Pills, the Heavenly Mountain Revitalization Liquid, and my Core Formation arts, yet do you not also desire my so-called wealth?”

The three exchanged glances, their eyes flickering. Indeed, they had not forgotten that part. But Luo Chen went on, ”You fear my combat prowess, yet you do not fear the Luo Tian Society? You ignore my ties to the Ice Fortress? Oh, and perhaps you have also forgotten that I am a retainer of the Dao Scion of Green Pill Valley.”

At those words, all three blanched.

”So really, what’s the point of all your excuses? In the end, it comes down who can leave this place alive.”

Before his voice had even faded, a massive sword appeared in his hand. Its hilt and guard were black as obsidian, its blade a burning crimson—it was the Mystic Flame Sword. The three immediately tensed, as though facing a deadly foe. Yet before they could make a move, the cavern itself began to change. A dense black mist suddenly spread out, enveloping the entire underground cavern in an instant.

”Not good!”

”He’s playing tricks on us!”

”Be careful!”

Within the black mist, Luo Chen caught sight of Bai Meiling’s figure gliding into view. He gave her a brief nod and said nothing more before gripping the Mystic Flame Sword tightly and surging forward.

Bai Meiling stood nervously before a massive banner, forming seal after seal as waves of black mist surged and rolled. It was not the Soul-Refining Banner, but the Soul-Nurturing Banner from the Valley of Ghosts and Divinities.

After years of painstaking cultivation, she had finally become a second-tier Ghost General. Through long tempering and refinement, she had also gained enough control over the banner to wield a fraction of its power. Though its offensive might was limited, in such cramped terrain , the mist it created was more than enough to tilt the field to Luo Chen’s advantage. From there, he could defeat them one by one. With terrain in his favor, he only needed to manage the people...

Hermit Xiao must go down first!

Hermit Xiao was an expert in the arts of the divine soul. With Fu Jiusheng gone, he was the greatest threat. In the black mist, Luo Chen flickered through the darkness and quickly located Hermit Xiao. In truth, there was little need to search. The echo of a flute melody had rung out the instant the mist appeared, spreading in all directions. That was precisely why Luo Chen had told Bai Meiling not to engage.

Divine soul attacks were brutally straightforward. The strong overwhelmed the weak. Even the slightest disparity could create a gulf that no defense could bridge, and at this point, Bai Meiling was still far beneath Hermit Xiao.

”Go!” Luo Chen commanded.

With a sharp cry, the Mystic Flame Sword shot out from his hand, streaking through the mist with a piercing sound. Within the black mist, Hermit Xiao stood tense and wary, every sense sharpened. The rush of air from the incoming sword did not surprise him in the least. His flute melody shifted abruptly.

Hiss!

From beneath the ground, a Six-Ring Snow Python burst forth, scales glistening in the dim light. The beast’s furious cry echoed through the cavern as it rose to shield its master. Hermit Xiao had deceived them all; the serpent he commanded had never fallen. It was still alive.

The python surged up from the earth and fearlessly blocked the blow. The Mystic Flame Sword scraped along its scales with a shrill screech.

”I found you!” Hermit Xiao cried.

Though his spirit consciousness could not transmit sound through the mist, his flute melody swelled to guide his aim. At the same time, waves of sound condensed into rippling currents that streamed toward Luo Chen like flowing water. Each wave carried hidden attacks against the divine soul, insidious and cruel in nature.

Yet Luo Chen did not attempt to evade. He charged straight ahead, cutting through the waves as though they were nothing but air. In the span of a breath, he closed the distance to within a single zhang of Hermit Xiao. By rights, the closer one drew to such attacks, the heavier the burden upon one’s divine soul; yet Luo Chen’s eyes remained bright and clear, utterly unaffected, without the faintest hint of confusion or pain.

Hermit Xiao’s heart trembled and whispered in disbelief, ”How is this possible?”

At that very instant, Luo Chen’s gaze locked onto him. Their eyes met, and their spirit consciousnesses clashed violently.

Boom!

A storm seemed to erupt through their seas of consciousness. Hermit Xiao relied solely on the depth of his divine soul foundation to resist, while Luo Chen drew upon the power of the Forsaken Black Chess Piece, which steadied his mind and anchored his spirit.

A moment of confusion welled up within him. When Hermit Xiao snapped back to himself, he saw Luo Chen’s hand protruding from his chest, and in that hand was a heart that thumped and pulsed.

Puh!

He spewed blood and staggered back in panic. Blood streamed from his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and even his ears, staining his pale face. A wretched howl tore from his throat.

”It was you!” he screamed.

That sensation of the violent collision of divine souls, the searing backlash of pain... In all his years of cultivation, he had felt it only once. It was in the pocket world beneath Thundernet Nine Mountains, within the palace of Bai Ye, that he had encountered the mysterious white figure. Now, as his vision swam, he stared at Luo Chen’s right hand. The pale qi armor covering it was the very same mark that figure had borne back then.

Watching his expression, Luo Chen remained composed. He raised his hand in a single fluid motion. The Mystic Flame Sword, which had been entangled with the Six-Ring Snow Python, broke free and streaked through the air, aiming straight for Hermit Xiao’s neck.

The higher a cultivator’s cultivation, the less one relied on the physical body. Leaving aside Sages and Adepts, even an Initiate had powerful spirit consciousness. Even if their heart was destroyed and their body thus ruined beyond recovery, they could still attempt to possess another body.

Thus, when cutting weeds, one had to pull them out by the roots. As the Mystic Flame Sword streaked toward him, Hermit Xiao’s eyes widened in panic. He tried desperately to gather his spirit power for a counterattack, but with his heart destroyed and several major meridians severed, his spirit power faltered midway.

That single instant of delay was enough.

The Mystic Flame Sword slipped past the jade flute’s guard and sliced off his head with ease. But Luo Chen wasn’t surprised by how easily he had slain such a formidable enemy. Defeating the opponent head-on in the very domain they excelled in and relied upon the most was bound to inflict a devastating blow to their mental defenses.

And there was still the aftermath to deal with.

Behind him, the air split apart with a sharp, tearing sound. A crimson ribbon whipped through the darkness, straightening into a spear-like line that came crashing down with thunderous force.

Luo Chen gave a cold snort and thrust out his palm. Faintly, claw shadows spread through the air. Under the barrage of strikes, the crimson ribbon shattered apart, reverting into a soft length of silk that snapped back toward its master.

At that moment, a sharp voice rang out. ”Disperse!”

A burst of white light flared, and a cloud of white mist billowed outward, colliding violently with the black ghostly miasma Bai Meiling had summoned. A harsh sizzling sound filled the cavern as the two forces clashed and devoured one another. Within moments, the choking darkness dissipated, and the cave was once again clear and bright.

He Lianyun looked up to see Luo Chen holding a heart still pulsing with life in his right hand, his gaze cold and unyielding. Behind him stood a slender young woman clutching a massive banner, poised and graceful.

Hiss!

A wisp of flame rose from Luo Chen’s palm, reducing the heart to ashes in an instant.

”Hm?” Luo Chen murmured in surprise. Something felt slightly off, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But he quickly suppressed the discomfort, and his cold gaze bore down on Yousha and He Lianyun from above.

”You don’t actually think that terrain alone could hinder my spells and leave me helpless against you, do you?”

Yousha and He Lianyun’s expressions turned grim to the extreme. They had known from the beginning that this battle would not be easy, but not even in their wildest dreams had they imagined that in just a single exchange, Luo Chen would slay the most formidable among them.

Abrupt and unprompted, the title of ”foremost Initiate of the Jade Cauldron Domain” surfaced in their minds, its weight pressing down on them until they could scarcely breathe. For a fleeting moment, thoughts of retreat and even the desperate urge to plead for mercy flashed through their hearts.