An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Dream Return Ridge was unlike Snow Wolf Flats; it was not a single peak but a mountain range. Several large mountains encircled the ridge on all sides.

As the earth veins converged along the contours of the land, the terrain gradually gave rise to a scattered, small third-tier spirit vein. Its final point of emergence gathered beneath Lost Dream Mountain, one of the peaks of this mountain range. The mountain appeared eerie and illusory; thick fog rose ceaselessly, and drifting clouds shrouded the peak. Ordinary creatures who wandered inside easily lost their way.

Of course, such a natural maze posed no obstacle to high-level cultivators whose spirit consciousness could extend outward or whose divine consciousness could pierce illusions. Once the He family set their sights on this place, the natural formation might well have not existed. Only combat would decide the outcome.

Across the gentle mountain slopes, the once green turf had long been dyed red. After a day and night of fierce battle, the struggle for Dream Return Ridge was in a deadlock.

The reason was not complicated. There were two third-tier demonic wolves entrenched on Dream Return Ridge. However, the He family had only their Grand Elder at the early stage of the Golden Core Realm. He already struggled badly to handle one third-tier wolf alone. The other could only be hemmed in by a formation formed by the He family’s three late-stage Initiates.

He had intended to kill one wolf first, then turn to the second. Yet plans conceived on paper are shallow. Reality often changes faster than any strategy could account for. After a full day and night of holding the line, the three Initiates of the He family had nearly exhausted their spirit power.

”Grand Elder, we cannot hold on any longer!” one of them cried.

As if on cue, the moment that panicked scream echoed, the assault formation shattered. Under the He family Grand Elder’s bloodshot stare, the third-tier demonic wolf crushed a valued junior to death with its bare claws. Then, it fixed its eyes on him without the slightest hesitation.

”Enough! The blessings of this land were never meant for my family,” the Grand Elder muttered in despair.

He let out a long sigh and withdrew without hesitation. As he threw out enchanted treasures to force the wolf to chase him, he sent a voice transmission to the surviving members and ordered them to regroup and retreat.

The plan sounded good in theory. In practice, once their line broke, what awaited them was a mountainside of demonic wolves closing in for the kill. One low-tier cultivator of the He family after another fell dead. One of the third-tier wolves even gave up pursuing him and instead turned to slaughtering the weaker cultivators. If this continued...

Is my He family truly going to be exterminated here?

Just as despair rose in the Grand Elder’s heart, the wolf king chasing him suddenly halted.

”Hm?” The Grand Elder froze and instinctively looked upward.

A hundred zhang above him, three figures hovered in midair. The face of the man standing at the center could not be seen. Only a pair of eyes stood out as his sleeves billowed and he slowly pressed a palm down.

Boundless winds and clouds gathered. Mana roiled out, and azure flames coiled around the edges of the massive palm projection that appeared out of thin air. It was the Great Handprint of Primordial Qi! The strike covered an enormous area, even enveloping the He family’s Grand Elder within it. As the palm roared down, his expression changed drastically.

”Fellow Daoist, stop!”

”Despicable humans!”

The second cry came from the wolf king, who spoke in the human language. Unlike the Grand Elder, it did not drop to evade. Instead, it surged upward to meet the palm head-on, its claws pulling apart to either side as a crescent moon slash tens of zhang long materialized before it.

Shhhhhkkkk!

A sharp force ripped through the air. An instant later, a rift appeared across the massive palm.

Luo Chen watched without the slightest disturbance in his mind. Using fire-element mana to power the Great Handprint of Primordial Qi did not grant it the solidity of earth or wood. Yet in exchange, it possessed far greater destructive might. As the palm projection was split open, he simply clenched his right hand sharply.

”Close.”

In midair, just as the wolf king reveled over breaking a human spell, it saw the torn palm reform. The two halves swept inward from left and right to seize it, and the air itself seemed ready to melt from their heat. A violent jolt struck its heart.

What kind of technique is this?

Panic seized it, and it tried to flee. Yet whether it dashed left or right, it remained trapped within the reach of the massive hand. Crescent-shaped blades of energy erupted from its claws again and again, yet no matter how it struck at the massive hand, it could not hinder it in the slightest.

In despair, it opened its jaws and spat out its demon core. The demon core floated before the wolf and blossomed into a cyan-colored barrier that wrapped tightly around it.

Boom!

Boom!

The massive palm closed around it, and searing Withering-Flourishing Fire burned relentlessly against the barrier. For the moment, it seemed the flames still could not break through. Meanwhile, its companion was already racing over to help.

Luo Chen remained untroubled. He first gave Diwu Qi and Jiang Yu a glance. The two of them moved at once to intercept the other wolf king. In Luo Chen’s own hand, a black nail appeared.

”Go,” he commanded.

Whoosh!

The streak of inky light flickered once and arrived before the cyan barrier.

”Break,” Luo Chen whispered.

The Qi-Disrupting Nail shot forward and stabbed into the barrier. The cyan barrier that had been able to withstand the Withering-Flourishing Fire suddenly cracked. Streams of fire poured in through the gaps. Then came...

Aaaah...

Woooooo...

Human screams and wolf howls rang out in turns. A massive fireball hung in the sky, terrifying to behold.

Luo Chen held the blazing sphere in place with a distant grasp of his hand. Diwu Qi was already driving the other third-tier wolf further south, while Jiang Yu dropped down onto Dream Return Ridge. Luo Chen lowered his gaze to the He family Grand Elder, whose face had gone pale with terror.

”Dream Return Ridge now belongs to the Luo Tian Alliance. Fellow Daoist He, do you have any objections?”

The Grand Elder’s mouth opened and closed. In the end, he could only bow his head in defeat. ”No objections. I... Thank you for your timely aid.”

This was what it meant to be a wise man who knew when to yield! Luo Chen had taken his territory, and he was still thanking Luo Chen for saving his life!

Luo Chen smiled slightly and nodded. ”In that case, please be on your way.”

That was a dismissal. The Grand Elder gritted his teeth and gathered his people to withdraw.

The low-tier cultivators of the He family were extremely unwilling. They had fought for a full day and night to seize this land, only to hand it over to someone else. Who could accept that? The Grand Elder understood their feelings all too well, but what could he do? The He family had never had the strength to gnaw through this hard bone in the first place. There were two wolf kings here; how could he possibly defeat them? Meanwhile, the Luo Tian Alliance had arrived with three Adepts!

As he looked up at the sky, a massive enchanted treasure flying boat slowly approached. There were no fewer than five late-stage Initiates upon its deck. Their excited yet cruel eyes looked down on the He family cultivators like prey.

”Let us go. We will return to Moonbreak and plan anew. In the Great Million Mountains, there will definitely be a place for our family.”

The members of the He family withdrew unwillingly. The hundreds of low-tier demonic wolves scattered across the ground of Dream Return Ridge also fled in panic with their tails tucked low. They surged like a tide toward the depths of the Howling Moon Mountain Range.

Jiang Yu casually slew several second-tier late-stage wolf demons and then flew to Luo Chen’s side. ”Diwu Qi has followed the plan and driven that wolf toward Azure Iron Mountain. As for us...”

His gaze shifted to the enormous fireball still writhing and screaming in the sky. A trace of fear flickered in his eyes. Luo Chen really does possess countless trump cards. He can control three enchanted treasures at once, and look at his mastery of spells.... He’s not even at my level in cultivation, but he’s casting spells as if consumption is not a thing. I probably don’t have anywhere near his mana reserves. They say that when Luo Chen formed his core, the entire Tianlan City was shaken. He spent an entire hour just absorbing heaven and earth’s spirit energy. What a foundation...

Yet he had no idea that beneath Luo Chen’s calm exterior, he felt immense strain. He had originally planned to use Withering-Flourishing Fire to refine the wolf king and absorb its life force, but that was not going anywhere near as planned. Clearly, I was thinking far too highly of myself. At least for now, there is no way I could refine a third-tier creature.

Luo Chen drew in a deep breath and flicked his fingers. The Armor-Piercing Nail and Soul-Breaking Nail shot out and plunged into the enormous azure fireball.

A wretched howl tore across the sky. The wind-attribute demonic wolf fell dead in an instant. With a casual wave of his hand, Luo Chen drew its demon core into his palm. The wolf’s corpse, charred like a lump of coal, crashed to the ground like a meteor.

After stowing away the wolf king’s demon core, Luo Chen spoke without turning back. ”Chu Kui, Xu Haizhen, hold Dream Return Ridge until we return.”

”Yes, Supreme Elder!” they answered.

Once the orders were set, Luo Chen nodded to Jiang Yu. ”Let us go. Fellow Daoist Diwu is probably growing impatient.”

Jiang Yu gave a brief grunt of assent, summoned a flying sword, and followed Luo Chen. The two streaks of light tore through the sky like thunderbolts, chasing after the direction Diwu Qi had gone.