An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The voice sounded aged and rather ordinary. It did not shout; it merely uttered an ordinary sentence in a normal tone, yet even though it seemed to echo from an extremely distant place, every word reached Luo Chen’s ears with perfect clarity.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Luo Chen’s mind. It was a divine consciousness voice transmission! Across a distance of many hundreds of li, and not even a focused or targeted transmission! How powerful was the divine soul foundation required to make it sound so clear?

Luo Chen swallowed hard and steadied his mind. Then, with a sharp shake of his head, he looked up once more. Within his dim gaze, he seemed to glimpse another scene beneath the endless thunderclouds.

A young Daoist—presumably, the Whitebone Dark Serpent—sat upon a chariot carved of bone, wearing a robe adorned with intricate ivory patterns. Its cold eyes gazed down upon the endless mountains below. The chariot was drawn by a three-headed flood dragon, each head baring its fangs and glaring viciously at the elder before them.

The old man wore a plain azure robe, and his gray-white hair hung neatly down his back. He revealed no overwhelming aura, yet before Whitebone and the three-headed flood dragon, he remained unafraid, even wearing a faint smile.

Whitebone stared hard at the old man before him and asked, ”Do you know me?”

The old man smiled. ”The lord of the Great Snowy Mountains, the Whitebone Dark Serpent. Who does not know you?”

Whitebone looked at him with disdain and said, ”Yet I do not know you.”

The old man smiled slightly and said, ”Human cultivators emerge and perish one after another; I am merely a newly advanced Sage. It is normal that you do not know me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Han Zhan of the Falling Cloud Sect.”

A slight movement appeared on Whitebone’s brow. It had no memory of such a person. The other’s Nascent Soul cultivation was indeed stable, but it was clearly only the early stage. With that realization, the sense of threat lessened.

Its gaze drifted past Han Zhan and fell upon the vast Great Snowy Mountains. The Whitebone Dao Palace had been crushed to powder; only the Moon Radiance Ice Fortress still stood upon the site. From the fourth-tier spirit vein that Whitebone normally used for cultivation, vast streams of spirit energy surged toward the Moon Radiance Ice Fortress and gathered upon the female cultivator on its ninth stage.

Its expression darkened at once and it roared, ”You destroyed my palace and occupied my spirit land. You human cultivators crossed the line.”

Han Zhan remained unruffled and said, ”My friend only borrowed your land to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm. She deeply apologizes for the disturbance. When it is done, whether she succeeds or fails, she will offer a generous gift as compensation.”

Whitebone gave a feral grin and said, ”A generous gift? What do you take me for?”

As it grinned, it struck with a thunderous palm. Han Zhan remained unperturbed and answered with a palm of his own. In the next instant, immense spirit power collided. The shock spread through the Great Snowy Mountains, and rumbling echoed endlessly across the peaks.

***

”The Supreme Elder of the Falling Cloud Sect...”

A long distance away, Luo Chen grew solemn. It was his first time seeing the Jade Cauldron Domain’s newly risen Nascent Soul Sage. His figure looked thin yet vigorous; his face was calm even in the midst of danger; every word and movement of his an air of immortal composure. A faint thought crossed Luo Chen’s mind. Was he invited to serve as guardian for Senior Sister’s breakthrough?

While that question lingered, the two Nascent Soul powerhouses clashed again. Waves of spirit power spread through the air, shaking heaven and earth. The haze soon thickened until their figures could no longer be seen. Even so, the presence of both remained clear in his perception. The thunderclouds above grew denser with each passing moment, and a smaller knot of storm formed abruptly, drifting to shroud the combatants.

Not good. Their battle is interfering with her breakthrough, and even the lightning tribulation has intensified because of it. Even Han Zhan and the others will be affected by the tribulation. But will this impact Senior Sister’s breakthrough? Or will it actually assist it...

While Luo Chen’s thoughts continued to turn, the two Nascent Soul powerhouses exchanged several more blows and seemed to realize something was wrong. Both drew the battle farther away by instinct.

After they had moved to a certain distance, a sudden change took place. From deep within the mountain range, five figures emerged. Each held a sword and rose from the peaks into the sky. In the next moment, a hazy grand formation took shape at once.

At the instant the formation was completed, countless strands of sword energy erupted outward. Five sword lights of different colors weaved through the air like swimming fish, darting straight toward the Whitebone Dark Serpent.

A thunderous roar exploded from the serpent’s mouth. ”A sword formation! Did you think that stopping me would be enough for that woman to pass her tribulation safely? Wishful dream!”

The furious cry seemed to awaken the mountains themselves. Waves of powerful demonic shot into the sky and charged fearlessly toward the Moon Radiance Ice Fortress.

Every one of those auras came from a third-tier demon king, among which some whose strength rivaled a late-stage Adept! They all jumped into the fray from hundreds of li away, speeding toward the fortress.

Damn, this is bad! thought Luo Chen once more.

As he saw one third-tier demon king after another charging toward the Moon Radiance Ice Fortress, his expression changed. He was technically far from the area, but not far enough; in fact, he was close enough that he would inevitably encounter those demon kings.

This was not the same as being hunted by the Seven-Ring Snow Python. The Seven-Ring Snow Python was not overly strong. Even with its special bloodline, it could only summon other serpents and pythons to besiege him. Those pursuers could never gather quickly enough, and their scattered attacks failed to trap him. By relying on his unmatched speed, Luo Chen had managed to evade their attacks again and again.

The situation now was entirely different. If this region became filled with third-tier demon kings, a lone human cultivator among them would be the first target to be wiped out. He could not remain here.

He glanced at the towering fortress wrapped in thunderclouds and clenched his teeth. He whispered, ”Senior Sister Ice Torrent, forgive me. At present, I have little power, and my being here holds little weight. I am unable to guard your path. May the three flowers gather atop your head, five qi return to the origin, and may you achieve the Great Dao of Nascent Soul.”[1]

He clasped his hands in salute, then beat his wings once and fled close to the ground. The farther he flew, the more demonic beasts he saw, and it wasn’t just third-tier demon kings. Even second-tier and first-tier demonic beasts seemed to have been summoned, and they were all rushing toward the Whitebone Dao Palace.

Luo Chen skimmed the earth, the azure flames on his body blazing. Wherever he passed, a path of blood and fire opened, a path—he hoped—toward survival.

1. 三花聚顶 refers to the union of the three: vital essence, qi, and spirit, signifying harmony and enlightenment in Daoist internal alchemy. 五气朝元 is associated with the balance of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. ☜