An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”Splendid, truly splendid! Come again! Come at me again!” he shouted.

If Luo Chen’s battle held the greatest weight on Snow Wolf Plateau, then Fu Jiusheng and Wang Yuan’s was unquestionably the most shocking. The reason was simple: The battle between man and wolf was brutally direct. They discarded fancy treasures and abandoned fancy spells; all that remained was a man and a beast ramming into each other with reckless abandon.

Of course, a direct clash did not mean they fought with physique alone. Neither man nor beast was foolish. Wang Yuan fought with blood qi, while the wolf king had demonic power coating its body. Every collision generated waves of invisible force that blasted the place, sweeping up waves of snow. And with every collision, Wang Yuan grew only more exhilarated.

Ever since he had embarked on the path of cultivation, he’d had few chances of fighting this freely. It had been a very long time since he’d last felt like this. After all, his past opponents either ganged up on him or suppressed him with higher cultivation; as for those who faced him one-on-one, they often relied only on technique instead of brute force.

In terms of pure physical combat, perhaps only Luo Chen could match him. Yet Luo Chen was focused on his qi cultivation. He had to conserve his mana and avoid causing too much commotion, so they seldom sparred.

But today was different. With Fu Jiusheng supporting him, he no longer had any fear of falling. He could throw his full strength into battling this early-stage Snow Wolf King. Even though he took the worst of every clash, he still rushed back in the moment he steadied his footing. He threw himself at the beast again and again, refusing to fall behind.

Throughout the fight, he constantly cycled through the four internal forces he had comprehended: Bright Force, Dark Force, Transforming Force, and Pill Force. He alternated and intertwined the forces throughout his body to defend against each blow. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, yet his eyes were full of excitement.

Luo Chen was right. My opportunity isn’t on a dueling platform. It is here on the battlefield. That feeling from before... Yes, this is it! If I grasp it once more, I can definitely condense my will and embrace the core!

While he suffered new wounds one after another, his fighting spirit only burned hotter.

Behind him, Fu Jiusheng shouted with delight, ”The formation is ready. Wang Yuan, pin that beast down!”

The formation is ready? Wang Yuan felt a pang of regret. The sensation that had surfaced several times in the heat of this life-and-death struggle marked a clear opportunity to break through!

If I keep going... No, forget it. There will be plenty of battles ahead. No need to rush. Better to finish this fight first.

With that thought, his eyes blazed, and he strode forward again. As he charged, blood serpents manifested behind him, formed from Pill Force. He was forced to take a claw slash head-on, but that moment allowed him to close the distance and send the blood serpents to wrap tightly around the Snow Wolf King.

The moment he restrained the wolf, Fu Jiusheng activated his formation. Radiant light surged from the ground and converged high above, forming a polished mirror in midair. The mirror flipped and produced a pillar of light as thick as a bucket. It crashed downward and struck the wolf king squarely.

Boom!

A wretched scream erupted. Under the radiant light, the wolf king was forced to the ground, unable to move.

Fu Jiusheng said with satisfaction, ”Good. Now that it’s caught, there’s no way it can break free. Wang Yuan, you can withdraw.”

Fu Jiusheng no longer intended to kill the beast. Instead, he wanted to capture it alive. Wang Yuan’s ferocity had bought him enough time to do so. If it can be captured alive, why kill it? A third-tier wolf king can be used as a guardian beast or sold for a fortune. Hell, it might well fund my future cultivation!

On the ground, the blood serpents slowly withdrew into Wang Yuan’s body. His Giant Spirit Transformation reached its limit at the same time, and his body shrank back to normal. He looked at his torn flesh and dislocated joints and let out a long breath. He had won at last! As for breaking through his cultivation, he had not done it mid-battle, but he had already grasped the feeling. If he just took a little time to reflect on it later...

At that moment, as he relaxed his mind, a faint sound rippled through the air. It was like a small serpent flicking its tongue. It was sharp and sudden.

Whooosh!

A chill seized Wang Yuan’s soul. A deep sense of death flooded him, and he in turn flooded his body with every shred of qi force he could possibly produce.

One fraction of a second later, a streak of white light flashed across his vision.

***

Atop a small hill five hundred li away from Snow Wolf Plateau, a man dressed in Daoist robes stood watching a Water Mirror with clear satisfaction.

”That should do. Task complete,” he said smugly.

Just as he prepared to leave, a furious roar exploded across the sky. ”Bastard!”

Along with the thunderous sound came a massive palm print wreathed in endless azure flames, crashing down.

The Daoist frowned and raised a shield. ”What the...”

The moment the shield touched the palm print, his expression changed drastically.

Boom!

A horrific explosion burst without warning. The shield held for only a heartbeat before it shattered completely. The blazing palm imprint crashed down and leveled the entire hill in an instant. A terrifying shockwave surged from the heart of the ruined hill and rolled out like a sweeping tide. Strange flames that seemed able to devour life itself billowed within the wave.

Swoosh!

A crimson figure descended upon the flattened hill. Luo Chen’s face darkened as he took in the massive crater and the choking dust. His powerful divine consciousness spread over the land like a net as his glaring eyes scanned every direction.

”He escaped? You slippery bastard, you better not let me catch you!” Luo Chen spat a threat into the wind and shot back toward Fu Jiusheng.

”What is the situation?” he asked.

”Far from good. The one who attacked Wang Yuan is clearly an Adept, and their mana has an extremely insidious nature.”

”I will handle it.”

Luo Chen did not hesitate. He pressed a hand against Wang Yuan’s unconscious body, letting pure wood-element mana surge into him. He probed along his friend’s meridians in search of the insidious mana eroding Wang Yuan from within.

”Don’t waste time here. Go and finish off the wolves,” instructed Luo Chen.

Fu Jiusheng hesitated. ”What about this wolf king?”

Luo Chen’s expression hardened for a brief instant. He lifted his left hand, and the Mystic Flame Sword shot forward in a streak of light, piercing the skull of the thrashing wolf. When the sword returned, the beast had already lost all trace of life.

”Do not let petty gains blind you. You should know the priorities in our strategy.”

Fu Jiusheng cast a regretful look at the corpse before plunging into the battlefield.

Once he joined the fight, the struggle between humans and wolves tilted at once. The final wolf king was swiftly brought down when Diwu Qi and Jiang Yu joined Cen Qiusheng, and that marked a decisive victory.

Snow Wolf Plateau was theirs.