An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The atmosphere in Green Pill Valley had grown unbearably heavy, like stagnant water sealed without air. Only the pill refining grounds in Inner Pill Valley, where thirty streams of earth fire converged, burned more fiercely than ever. Two powerful streams of divine consciousness crossed and intersected overhead. They belonged to Heaven Smelter and Cloud Crane, the two Sages in quiet exchange.

”It truly deserves its reputation as the Land of Fallen Phoenixes. Sourceless Flames are rare everywhere else, yet this small sect alone has four of them.”

”Daoist Brother Heaven Smelter, have you perhaps taken a liking to them?”

”Hehe, my Skysail City has no shortage of such low-tier Sourceless Flames.”

”Then I misunderstood. Of course, with your sect’s Hundred Currents True Flame at the fifth tier, such low-tier flames would hardly catch your eye... Hm, that junior there...”

Revered Cloud Crane’s gaze settled upon the back of a man clad in white robes with ink bamboo patterns. If he was not mistaken, the primordial true fire that man wielded actually appeared to be a fourth-tier flame. Furthermore, the man did not appear to belong to Green Pill Valley.

”That would be the Withering Flourishing Fire. The Flame Alliance spent three hundred years using the spirit seizing methods of the Valley of Ghosts and Divinities to forcibly cultivate that fourth-tier Sourceless Flame. Fellow Daoist Cloud Crane, are you perhaps tempted?”

Heaven Smelter’s amused voice drifted over. Cloud Crane’s eyes flickered, but he was not surprised that Heaven Smelter could so sharply identify the flame’s origin. Those who watched from the sidelines had seen all too clearly how Skysail City had targeted the Flame Alliance in secret. They understood Skysail City’s intentions perfectly well.

In the past, the Six Domains of the Far East had not exactly stood as one, but there had been an unspoken understanding. Each major force held its own primary trade and rarely encroached upon another’s livelihood. The Medicine King Sect specialized in alchemy, so the pill trade across the six domains rested almost entirely in their hands. The Divine Talisman Sect specialized in talisman making, and the talisman market of the six domains belonged largely to them as well.

By that logic, Skysail City, with its unrivaled methods in artifact creation, should have dominated the artifact trade as well. Yet they had encountered the anomaly that was the Jade Cauldron Domain.

The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, ruler of that domain, excelled in battle but lacked talent for management and development. As newly established rulers of merely a few centuries, their control over the major sects within their domain was far from firm.

The Sword Sect had its own intentions and had deliberately allowed the Flame Alliance, Green Pill Valley, and several other sects within its domain to grow. The Flame Alliance in particular had concealed more than a dozen Adepts and had painstakingly cultivated a fourth-tier Sourceless Flame, becoming increasingly formidable in the art of artifact creation. Before its fall, it had nearly begun suppressing Skysail City’s artifact trade. And because of that...

Skysail City had not resorted to open war, but that did not mean they’d stood with their hands in their sleeves. They had mobilized sect resources and flooded the Jade Cauldron Domain with large quantities of poor-quality enchanted treasures. That had crushed the Flame Alliance’s business selling high-end enchanted treasures.

It was obvious to anyone that a low-grade enchanted treasure that greatly benefited Adepts could not possibly be sold for only a few tens of thousands of spirit stones. In other major domains, low-grade enchanted treasures started at a hundred thousand spirit stones at least. That the Jade Cauldron Domain’s prices were so low had been the result of Skysail City’s deliberate suppression.

Not only that, Skysail City had even pushed Falling Cloud Sect into starting a civil war, and then slipped into the chaos to eradicate the Flame Alliance. Of course, the Falling Cloud Sect had clearly held its own considerations in the matter. They had not severed the Flame Alliance’s path entirely and had left it a chance of survival. They had not expected Luo Chen to leave it no chance at all, nor the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to remain completely indifferent.

By now, the Frontier War had fully erupted, and the enchanted artifacts and treasures Skysail City had been preparing for years finally came into play. In this war, regardless of the final outcome, Skysail City would profit enormously.

Cloud Crane’s thoughts had drifted far. He studied Luo Chen’s back and subconsciously rubbed his chin.

The woman beside him suddenly spoke, ”You said you wanted to found a sect of your own. That junior is said to be the famed Dan Chenzi of the Jade Cauldron Domain, and his greatest backing is only a major sect. If you take him under your banner, you would gain a capable assistant and never lack low-tier pills again.”

Cloud Crane nodded lightly. ”You understand me best, my lady.”

That was exactly what he had in mind. However, when Heaven Smelter let out a quiet and amused laugh, a sense of unease crept into him.

He probed carefully. ”This junior seems extraordinary. Your sect dominates an entire domain and has three Sages. Surely you could make room for him. Daoist Brother, are you not tempted in the slightest?”

Inside the Wind Lightning Pavilion, Heaven Smelter paused for a moment of consideration. Then he stated bluntly, ”I advise you not to set your eyes on him.”

”Hm?”

”If you doubt me, you may try. But your new sect might find itself embarrassed the very moment its gate opens.”

Cloud Crane’s expression wavered with uncertainty. Could this Dan Chenzi possess some backing he was unaware of? Perhaps he should investigate the youth’s origins more carefully.

”Do not overthink it. Focus on Qing Danzi. If he truly refines Nascent Soul Pills, you and I will each take a few. If we can help our disciples form nascent souls, then the trip here will have been worth it.”

Cloud Crane could not help agreeing. He had come to Green Pill Valley precisely for the Nascent Soul Pills. With the Falling Cloud Sect’s rising momentum, he could finally separate from the Silktree Sect, choose another domain, and establish a sect of his own. This was the intention of his sect’s Supreme Elder, and it was also the wish of both himself and his wife. If he could use a Nascent Soul Pill to raise a new Sage, the pressure he would face in a new domain would diminish significantly. However...

”Can Qing Danzi truly succeed?”

His gaze drifted toward the valley. Compared to Heaven Smelter, he had reached the Nascent Soul Realm much later. In truth, Qing Danzi was his true peer. He understood the man’s alchemical skill well. It was formidable! Yet to refine a fourth-tier pill across realms, and one that was the most difficult among breakthrough pills, was likely beyond his reach. Even with Green Pill Valley’s full foundations mobilized, how much could it raise the odds?

While Cloud Crane, Heaven Smelter, and the gathered cultivators watched with growing anticipation, the pill refinement in Inner Pill Valley continued step by step. Time crept forward. This attempt felt unusually long.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the eleventh day, violent winds rose; clouds surged, thunder roared, and heavy rain poured down through the oppressive atmosphere.

Suddenly, a deep shout resounded like thunder. ”If not now, then when!”

Qing Danzi swept his sleeve, and the alchemical flame blazed fiercely. The main cauldron before him spun rapidly in midair, releasing a resonant hum. Below him, Luo Chen and the other four withdrew their primordial true fires and sat cross-legged in exhaustion.

The crucial moment of pill formation had arrived once more. Would it succeed this time?

Luo Chen stared upward with wide eyes. He let the rain soak his cheeks. Suddenly, a warning flared in his mind, and a familiar sense of danger rose sharply within him. Something is wrong! This is the sign of a furnace explosion!

His expression instantly changed. Layers of blue light spread across his body, while thin sheets of white qi armor gathered across his skin. Almost the very moment he acted, a pained laugh rang out from the sky.

”Ha...”

Before the laugh even faded, a terrifying surge of spirit energy blasted through the air. Under that overwhelming force, Qing Danzi stepped forward instead of backward. His expression took on a wild edge as he pressed his hand firmly upon the main cauldron.

With that motion, the erupting spirit energy raced downward along the channels of the Green Pill Valley’s grand formation. Chi Ding, Xing Yun, Dan Yangzi, Qing Danzi, and Luo Chen bore the full brunt of it.

The other four reacted instinctively, each rushing to shield the child cauldrons. However, Luo Chen clenched his teeth and continuously unleashed defensive spells.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A chain of muffled explosions rang across Inner Pill Valley like a mournful dirge.

A long moment later, the valley fell silent.

Qing Danzi no longer looked young as usual. His hair was now white as frost, and he was swaying unsteadily as he lowered his gaze toward the valley.

Chi Ding had blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, while Xing Yun’s complexion had turned starkly pale. Qing Yunzi was wrapped in coils of bluish-black flame that refused to die even under the pounding rain, a clear sign of his primordial true fire losing control. Dan Yangzi was unconscious. Luo Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, his ink-and-bamboo robes torn into shreds, with jagged pieces of white qi armor scattered across his body.

Besides them, the thirty second-tier alchemists lay in tatters. They had been caught in the backlash as well, with twenty-one dying instantly and only nine surviving. Not only that, several secondary sub-cauldrons had shattered, and even one of the five primary ones was destroyed.

Qing Danzi opened his mouth slightly as a transparent liquid dripped down his face. Whether that was rain or tears, perhaps even he himself didn’t know.

”At least the main cauldron was preserved...”

As he murmured, the Wind Lightning Pavilion slowly lifted and flew away from Green Pill Valley. The white crane cloud carriage turned in the same direction, leaving without a trace of hesitation.

Qing Danzi watched the two vessels disappear and managed a smile more painful than weeping. ”Hehe... at least the sect survived.”