An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Luo Chen’s gaze rested for a moment on the petite young woman. Perhaps sensing attention, Jadewater Dragon looked over as well. When her eyes met his, she frowned slightly. What sharp perception!

Luo Chen sighed inwardly. A moment later, he sensed another faint gaze fixed on him. When he turned, he saw it was the deputy pavilion master of Pearl Returning Pavilion.

Why is Ethereal Rivers staring at me? thought Luo Chen.

What sharp perception! In the corner, Ethereal Rivers lowered his eyes. He was astonished by Luo Chen’s perception. He excelled in concealing his presence and stealth techniques. When he observed others, no one ever noticed him. Yet Luo Chen had reacted at once!

Such perception could only be forged through life and death situations, by possessing a divine soul wildly superior to his, or by having a foundation as exceptional as Jadewater Dragon’s heavenly spirit root. Ethereal Rivers could not determine which one it was, but Luo Chen’s ranking in his mind instantly rose.

He cannot be treated as an ordinary early-stage Adept, thought Ethereal River.

Meanwhile, when Luo Chen sensed that Ethereal Rivers was no longer focused on him, he looked away as well. There were too many Adepts present. Aside from probing newcomers, everyone maintained courtesy and refrained from using divine consciousness excessively. Thus, most interactions were spoken.

Fei Ming continued introducing the attending cultivators. ”That woman with the red mark between her eyebrows is Chu Baihong[1], the founder of the White Rainbow Sect. She looks young, but she is nearly five hundred. Her cultivation is slightly above mine, at the fifth stage. Her White Rainbow Piercing Qi is extremely formidable and once received praise from an expert of the Five Elements Divine Sect.

”There’s the old man in filthy clothing five zhang to your right. Nobody is sure what his name is, so we just call him the Scuffy Daoist. He reportedly begged for food as a child in the mundane world until he was lucky enough to step onto the Dao of Immortality, and from there, he just exploded in speed. He’s an eighth-stage Adept now. The Fish Dragon Gang he leads is a powerful force among the eighteen major sects here.

”......”

Thanks to Fei Ming’s introductions, Luo Chen gradually became familiar with the representative figures of the eighteen major sects. Combined with the intelligence that the Luo Tian Sect had collected beforehand, he now had a fairly good overall picture.

”Green Pill Valley has withdrawn, but since your alliance joined, the number stays the same.... oh? Your old friend has arrived.”

Fei Ming stopped speaking. Luo Chen lifted his head and saw a cold-looking woman stepping into the grand hall. It was Fairy Ruthless!

She paused at the doorway before walking straight toward the two of them. As she walked across the hall, Fei Ming patted Luo Chen’s shoulder and asked, ”By the way, do you know her real name?”

Luo Chen became curious. ”What is it?”

”You would never guess. She looks like the coldest beauty in the world, her methods are ruthless, and her Dao title is literally Ruthless. But her real name is Gu Xiaorou[2]. Back in those years...”

”Fei Ming!”

A cold voice rang out. Fei Ming chuckled, cupped his hands, and said, ”Fellow Daoist Ruthless, it has been a long time. I still remember clearly the days when you and I chased down that dog Qin Tairan!”

Fairy Ruthless let out a soft scoff. Then, her gaze landed on Luo Chen. ”You’re here as well.”

”Fellow Daoist G—Ruthless, I trust you have been well?” Luo Chen said with an awkward smile. He’d been so startled by her delicate and feminine name that he had nearly blurted it out.

Fairy Ruthless tugged at the corner of her lips. ”I am perfectly well. No need for a prodigy like you to worry.”

Luo Chen paused at the unexpected sarcasm. Yet as he thought about his actions after leaving seclusion, and the current state of the Ice Fortress, he understood. The fortress was not on the brink of collapse, yet it had undeniably suffered heavy losses. And when Luo Chen emerged from seclusion, he had not visited the Ice Fortress first but had gone straight to Green Pill Valley. That alone was enough to breed resentment. Moreover, although he still maintained business with the Ice Fortress for Jade Dew Pills, he rarely refined top-grade batches himself now. Most were low-grade versions crafted by his disciple, Qu Lingjun. With that in mind, her displeasure was unsurprising.

Yet times had changed. The Luo Tian Sect was no longer the Ice Fortress’s vassal force, and Luo Chen had even formed an alliance of five Adepts. Their relationship was now one between peers, so what did it matter to him that she was offended?

Meanwhile, Luo Chen did not take offense at her snappy tone. Instead, he said kindly, ”When the Frontier War ends, I hope to share a drink with you atop Heavenly Mountain.”

A drink on Heavenly Mountain? Fairy Ruthless frowned. Visiting another sect’s territory alone was an act of considerable trust. Luo Chen was making his stance clear—he wished for her survival in the upcoming war.

The tension she felt suddenly eased, so she said nothing more and stood quietly beside them. However, Fei Ming looked slightly regretful. ”It is a pity that Green Pill Valley withdrew. Otherwise, the four sects of the Jade Cauldron Domain gathering together would have been quite something.”

Although the reason for Green Pill Valley’s withdrawal had not spread widely, the major sects of the Jade Cauldron Domain knew enough. The attempt to refine a Nascent Soul Pill had failed; most senior alchemists of the Grand Alchemy Institute had died; Qing Danzi was on the brink of sitting in eternal meditation. At such a time, abandoning the enormous potential gains of the Frontier War was actually the wisest choice.

Luo Chen asked curiously, ”What about Hundred Flowers Palace? As far as I know, the three Adepts of the palace are quite active in Moonbreak. Why have they not appeared today?”

Fei Ming looked at him in surprise. ”Oh, you didn’t know?”

”Know what?”

”Hundred Flowers Palace is indeed participating, but not under their own name... They are using the name of the Silktree Sect.”

Luo Chen froze for a moment. He had vaguely heard before that the Hundred Flowers Palace was a branch of the Silktree Sect. The sect had participated in conquering the Lianxia Mountain Range and establishing the Jade Cauldron Domain, and they’d been left behind afterward. Because of that, even during the fierce civil war, Hundred Flowers Palace had remained neutral. But even so, Luo Chen had not expected them to act publicly under the Silktree Sect’s banner now. Did that not mean they had abandoned their independence and returned to the mother sect?

”Then will the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect tolerate Hundred Flowers Palace?”

No upper sect in the world would allow the vassals of another in its own domain. That amounted to nothing less than territorial expansion.

The silent Fairy Ruthless finally opened her mouth. ”Of course they will not tolerate it. But Hundred Flowers Palace has another destination.”

”To settle in the future Howling Moon Mountain Range?” Luo Chen asked casually.

But the next moment, Fairy Ruthless sent him a divine consciousness voice transmission that stunned him.

The Great Snowy Mountains?

Fei Ming seemed already aware of this and watched their silent exchange with amusement. Sage Cloud Crane’s Dao Companion and Hundred Flowers Palace were leveraging the commotion of the Frontier War to develop the Great Snowy Mountains... and even the Ice Fortress would assist!

As this information reached him, Luo Chen was genuinely shocked. He clearly remembered that during Ice Torrent’s tribulation years ago, it was Sage Han Zhan of the Falling Cloud Sect who had protected her. By all rights, if the Ice Fortress intended to assist anyone, it should have been the Falling Cloud Sect.

Luo Chen probed carefully. ”Is the Ice Fortress not on good terms with that sage of the Falling Cloud Sect? Why are they not focusing their efforts on the Howling Moon Mountain Range instead?”

Fairy Ruthless glanced at him in surprise. ”You actually know... Never mind. You misunderstood the situation.”

She did not pursue the source of his knowledge. Rumors like that circulated widely in the Jade Cauldron Domain. She simply said, ”It’s simply that Sage Han Zhan had good ties with my senior sister. He once borrowed the Ice Prison to cultivate a divine soul secret art. But something happened a while back and the debt was settled.”

Something happened... as in, the Nascent Soul tribulation, Luo Chen thought.

”From here on, the Ice Fortress will assist Sage Cloud Crane. Our position leaves us no other choice.”

That made sense. The Ice Fortress lay at the very edge of the Jade Cauldron Domain, directly bordering the Great Snowy Mountains. Its situation had always been precarious, but Ice Torrent forcefully seizing the Whitebone Dark Serpent’s territory to attempt the Nascent Soul breakthrough had well and truly shattered the fragile balance. Rumor had it that the Great Snowy Mountains had erupted with several beast tides in recent years, leaving the Ice Fortress exhausted from constant defense. If they could help Pure Crane conquer the mountains and turn them into human territory, the Ice Fortress’s crisis would finally ease.

”Luo Chen, will you be joining Cloud Crane’s Dao companion?”

”Are you here to persuade me?” retorted Luo Chen.

”No, just asking casually,” Fairy Ruthless replied with a shake of her head. Her intent clearly held no persuasion.

Luo Chen explained, ”I specialize in fire arts. Icy lands are not suitable for long-term cultivation. The Howling Moon Mountain Range fits me better.”

It was a reason, yet also an excuse. After reaching the Golden Core Realm, a cultivator was rarely hindered by external environments unless it was an extreme place like Ice Fortress’s Heavenly Mountain. Heaven and earth held balanced yin and yang, and all five elements. Spirit lands seldom had extreme elemental bias. Third-tier spirit veins varied in density, but their elemental distribution was usually balanced.

Fairy Ruthless nodded. His reasoning made sense.

As the three conversed, a streak of light appeared at the palace entrance. Two striking figures stepped into view. In an instant, they drew the attention of everyone present. Both were women: one dignified and luxurious like a peony, the other stunning and alluring like a rose.

Fei Ming whispered, ”I imagine you know both of them.”

Luo Chen replied, ”I know the Mistress of Fragrance. As for the other... she must be the famed Palace Master of Hundred Flowers Palace, Fairy Hundred Flowers?”

Fei Ming nodded. ”Not bad! It is indeed her!”

Their arrival drew immediate attention. Many cultivators approached to greet them. Female cultivators from the Silktree Sect and Hundred Flowers Palace were not famous for their battle prowess, but their interpersonal skills were unmatched. Within moments, they were all conversing cheerfully. During this time, the Mistress of Fragrance frequently allowed her gaze to drift subtly toward Luo Chen’s group.

However, Luo Chen’s group did not approach. It was obvious: if Fairy Hundred Flowers and the Mistress of Fragrance had arrived, then the upper sect representatives would soon arrive as well.

1. 楚白虹 (Chǔ Báihóng). Her given name is lterally ”white rainbow.” ☜

2. 顾小柔 (Gù Xiǎoróu). Her given name literally means ”soft/gentle.” ☜