An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Inside the cultivation chamber, a Daoist sat cross-legged. Wisps of smoke surged from his body, and faint starlight shimmered through his crimson robe. It flickered brilliantly across its surface. After a long while, the Daoist slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a thick stream of radiant mist.

Luo Chen opened his status panel and glanced at it.

Golden Core Stage One (3/100)

The slight increase in progress was uplifting, but the excitement quickly faded into dissatisfaction. He had spent five months at Green Pill Valley, then returned to Luo Tian Sect, then traveled to Moonbreak, which took another month. In total, six months. It had taken him six months to rise from two to three points. He had originally estimated one point every three months

”Without a third-tier spirit land, the efficiency is just too low. And this Starfield Pill...”

Luo Chen’s face tightened. After taking the Starfield Pill multiple times, he had gradually understood more about it. Its complicated refinement process was not really an issue; it just took more time. The real problem lay in its medicinal power. It was very potent yet chaotic. Moreover, it left behind a strong cocktail of residual pill toxins. The star-like smoke he had exhaled earlier was precisely some of that poison.

Cultivators with sharp divine consciousness could remove most of it. Yet even a small remainder would make his Golden Core impure and cause his mana to be less refined. Every time he took a Starfield Pill, Luo Chen had to immediately activate the Fine Dust Primordial Art to avoid letting the poison seep too deeply.

”I wonder if increasing my mastery and raising the pill’s grade would improve these flaws. I still need to consider the issue of tolerance...”

Throughout his cultivation journey, Luo Chen had taken tens of thousands of pills. He had long since understood the strengths and weaknesses of pill-assisted cultivation. If nothing else, he understood medicinal tolerance better than most. The more frequently a pill was taken, the stronger the tolerance became, and the lower the grade, the faster and the worse it was. If possible, he had to refrain from taking too many low-grade Starfield Pills. It would be best to cultivate using mid-grade, top-grade, or even supreme-grade ones. Not only would cultivation be more efficient, but it would also greatly delay the onset of medicinal tolerance.

After reaching this conclusion, Luo Chen looked at the dozen bottles of low-grade Starfield Pills in his storage ring and had an idea. In the past, he had no choice but to take whatever he had. Now that his circumstances had improved, he could afford to be extravagant.

He would no longer consume these low-grade Starfield Pills but sell them instead. The cost of the ingredients was high, and selling some would help recover some spirit stones. More importantly, he could keep raising his mastery and focus on producing higher grade Starfield Pills.

As for whether other Adepts would accept the Starfield Pill’s drawbacks, Luo Chen did not worry at all. Adepts were always short of suitable cultivation pills. There was no reason for them to reject it. Besides, those drawbacks applied because Luo Chen was in a hurry. Normal Adepts needed several days to refine such a massive medicinal power, and during that slow refinement, the pill toxins would be naturally expelled. It was only because Luo Chen took as many as one a day that these issues emerged.

”Perfect timing, actually. The gathering Fu Jiusheng mentioned is in three days. I can sell these pills to recover some money and also raise my reputation as a master alchemist. After all, since forming my core, I haven’t shown anyone that I can refine third-tier pills.”

A faint smile rose on Luo Chen’s lips as he began planning for the gathering.

***

But before three days had even passed, an issue had already been raised before everyone. The five Adepts of the Luo Tian Alliance were gathered together, staring at the other in silence.

After a long and awkward moment, Diwu Qi spoke first. ”I sacrificed the Divine Wind Fiend for shop number eight. That cave residence should naturally be mine to use first.”

Jiang Yu waved his hands repeatedly. ”No, that is not right. My own son was gravely injured during the shop contest and is still bedridden. I should use that cave first!”

Fu Jiusheng also had something to say. ”Both of you have been Adepts for many years. I have only formed my core twenty years ago, and I am still far from reaching the first stage of the Golden Core Realm. To strengthen our alliance, I should be the one to use it first.”

Diwu Qi and Jiang Yu froze and turned to him. He was the weakest here, yet still dared to claim the strongest reason?

Cen Qiusheng wanted to argue too, but after thinking it over, he realized he had no impressive merits to bring forth. His lips quivered, yet he remained silent.

What they were fighting over was the usage rights to the third-tier cave residence attached to shop number eight.

To show gratitude to all their allies for helping construct Moonbreak, the Falling Cloud Sect had offered twenty shops and a third-tier low-grade cave residence for each. The cave residences were on temporary lease and would be reclaimed by the city, but for one century, they were to be used exclusively by the forces owning the shops.

This information had only been revealed today, during the transfer of property. None of them had expected the Falling Cloud Sect to be so generous. Or perhaps it was compensation, given the delay in starting the Frontier War?

To the upper sects, a third-tier low-grade cave residence was nothing. But to the major sects, it was incredibly valuable. It was no surprise that the five Adepts of the Luo Tian Alliance were arguing.

As the argument grew more and more heated, Luo Chen finally had enough and tapped the table.

Everyone quieted down and turned their gaze toward Luo Chen.

”Ruining our harmony for such trivial things is not ideal.”

Everyone was stunned, and then their expressions twisted strangely. Trivial things? Yes, for an upper sect. But for the members in the Luo Tian Alliance?

Fu Jiusheng was a mere rogue cultivator with some formation skills. The savings he had scraped through herb gathering had been entirely drained by his Core Formation. He was still at the stage of stabilizing his Golden Core and refining his mana—much unlike Luo Chen, who had achieved Core Formation with a Supreme Path method, whose mana grew on its own, and who had reached the first stage of the Golden Core Realm in only ten years. After forming his core, Fu Jiusheng had so few resources that he had barely enjoyed a third-tier spirit vein a handful of times.

Cen Qiusheng had formed his core when he was already quite old. Even after so many years, he had only reached the second stage of the Golden Core Realm. Although his family’s burdens had undoubtedly played a part in his lack of progress, his greatest hindrance in cultivation was the lack of a third-tier spirit land.

Diwu Qi and Jiang Yu desired a third-tier spirit land even more. The decades they spent in Incense Burning Valley had been the finest years of their lives, and it was because of that environment that their cultivation had advanced so greatly. Now, with a third-tier cave residence right before them, of course, they wanted to make full use of it every day they could.

Naturally, Luo Chen saw through their little schemes clearly.

He said helplessly, ”Although the spirit veins of Moonbreak originate from a natural third-tier vein, drawing that energy into twenty third-tier cave residences at once will cause it to thin significantly. After each session of use, such a cave needs time to recover. It cannot compare with an actual third-tier spirit vein at all. Fighting over this is truly meaningless.”

This was an experience Luo Chen had gained during his Core Formation attempt at Tianlan Peak’s Cave Residence Jia Three. It could sustain daily cultivation for one cultivator, but using it for a breakthrough attempt was dangerous. Especially for someone like Luo Chen, whose foundation was immense and required massive amounts of spirit energy. This was why he longed for natural third-tier spirit veins instead of man-made cave residences. The reasoning was sound. But still, that did not solve the problem.

Diwu Qi asked, ”Then how did you say we should divide it?”

”One person per year. When we take a third-tier spirit vein in the future, this place will either be given to the Adept stationed in Moonbreak or rented out to outsiders, and we will split the rent evenly.”

With a hundred-year term of use, this kind of division was indeed fairly reasonable. The four of them nodded. However, the problem was still not solved.

”Who uses it first?”

”Of course, that would be me!” said Luo Chen.

The four of them froze for a moment, and all turned to look at Luo Chen. As an alliance leader, shouldn’t you be selfless!? How can you think of yourself first whenever there’s a benefit!?

Luo Chen spoke as if it were only natural, ”The eighth shop was taken by Wang Yuan. It is only right that my sect enjoys it first. There is nothing wrong with that, right?”

There was nothing wrong with that. However, the four were obviously still a little unwilling. Luo Chen curled his lips, then tossed four jade bottles onto the table, one before each of them. ”Don’t say I am being unfair. Here. This is compensation.”

The four of them were taken aback, but they almost subconsciously took the bottles and pulled out the stoppers. A rich medicinal fragrance instantly spread out. Fu Jiusheng picked up a pill between his fingers, and with just a glance, he blurted out, ”Starfield Pills! You truly managed to refine them!”

The others did not understand. Fu Jiusheng immediately explained, ”This is a third-tier alchemical formula I once gave to Dan Chenzi. It requires many different medicinal ingredients, and the refining process is also extremely complicated. For that reason, although its medicinal potency is decent, this formula was abandoned long ago in the Medicine King Domain. Maybe that’s why I managed to stumble upon it. Still, even though it is an outdated formula, the Starfield Pill excels in balance. Any cultivator with any combination of the five-element spirit roots can take this pill.”