An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

On the other side of the field, Luo Chen was locked in battle with two Wolf Kings, and he naturally noticed the scene as well. A trace of relief rose in his heart. By deliberately keeping his cultivation at the first stage, he had only drawn the attention of two early-stage Wolf Kings. Although he appeared to be fighting at full strength, he kept the battle locked in a balance. Had he stood out a bit more earlier, those three late-stage Wolf Kings might have turned their sights on him instead.

However, he quickly realized that luck could not be on his side forever. One of the two Wolf Kings from earlier was now charging toward him. Holding back two Wolf Kings without killing them was his absolute limit; if another one joined, he would be forced to show his actual power or suffer the consequences.

Well, that’s that. I can no longer hide my strength.

Luo Chen’s gaze turned icy. The wings behind him flapped violently, and he instantly broke free from the assault of the two Wolf Kings, soaring straight into the sky.

The sudden burst of speed caused the enemies to freeze for an instant. Earlier, Luo Chen had only been slightly faster than they were. If he had unleashed this level of speed from the start, they might have been killed.

”AAAWOOOOO!”(Something’s off with that guy!)

”AAAWOOOOO!”(Be careful!)

Luo Chen did not speak wolf, nor did he have time to consider second-language acquisition. He shot straight into the sky. One hand moved his sword to trace a circle while the other pressed down with a crushing force.

Solar Flare erupted, followed by the Great Handprint of Primordial Qi, which came crashing down with a thunderous roar.

After launching the two attacks, his mana stalled for a brief instant. Luo Chen ignored the sharp pain running through his meridians and forced himself to draw on the mana stored in his Golden Core. His fingers moved rapidly, forming spirit seals in such quick succession that they left behind faint afterimages.

Above the battlefield, an illusory mountain took shape, magma coursing down its surface as searing heat radiated with terrifying intensity. Overwhelming force pressed down so heavily that low-tier demonic wolves within a hundred li were pinned in place, unable to even lift their limbs.

Luo Chen let out a low shout. ”Landslide!”

In the next instant, the illusory mountain exploded violently. Terrifying power converged into a single point.

A Wolf King that had just been blasted away in a miserable state by the two spells looked on in terror as the strike descended.

BOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

The explosion echoed in all directions, even more violent than the earlier detonation of the third-tier puppet. With this single blow, the two early-stage Wolf Kings were annihilated without the slightest chance to resist. All that remained was a massive crater on the ground.

At that moment, the Wolf King that had been charging over arrived within close range. It froze briefly, then unleashed a surge of demonic energy and rushed straight at Luo Chen. It had to seize this chance to kill the despicable human.

”DIEEEEEE!!!!”

Luo Chen watched the massive demonic wolf rushing toward him like a bolt of lightning with a grim expression on his face. Even unleashing three of his best spells at full force in such a short span had not drained too much of his mana. However, the rapid succession of casting left him with a short window of vulnerability.

Others might have been helpless in such a situation. Yet Luo Chen was different. Although he could not access the mana within his sea of qi for the moment, the over seven hundred acupoints he had opened also contained vast reserves of mana. At the very least, those reserves were not inferior in quantity to his sea of qi—the very reason he had once called them a ”second sea of qi.”

All it took was a thought; 720 acupoints vibrated at once, and mana surged forth in a rush. The Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheels hovering above his head flew out like geese heading south, constantly shifting their arrangement in the air.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Cutting force tore through the air in sharp lines that crossed each other. It was like spreading a net, waiting for the Wolf King to charge straight into it. But a fraction of a second later, another sound pierced the air.

”WOOOOOOO!”

A piercing howl, seemingly thin as a strand of silk, slipped into Luo Chen’s ears. His entire body stiffened at once. The spinning blades in the air froze instantly, their rotation coming to a dead halt.

Not far away, Cheng Yan had just slain another Wolf King. When he saw this scene, his expression changed, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, ”WATCH OUT!!!”

Unfortunately, the warning came too late. Without their master’s control, the blades destabilized, and gaps appeared in the net. The early-stage Wolf King, now encouraged by its comrade’s action, did not hesitate for even an instant. It closed the distance to within ten li of Luo Chen and spat out a spinning blade of demonic energy that shattered the formation. Its massive body followed immediately, and a gigantic claw swept downward.

At that instant, a black halo flashed across Luo Chen’s body, then vanished. His eyes snapped open, and his cold gaze fixed on the Wolf King that had already reached him.

This time, it was the Wolf King that could not move.

Luo Chen raised one hand before his chest, and a blue barrier unfolded like glazed glass, easily blocking the lingering force of the Wolf King’s demonic energy strike. Then, his other hand clenched; the flying blades that had previously fallen in disarray rose from the ground and started spinning once more, closing in around the Wolf King.

CHHHHHHHH...

Shrill sounds rang out. Blood and flesh sprayed in all directions as the Wolf King’s hide was stripped away, its bones shattered completely, and even its demon core burst apart.

As the Wolf King let out a final howl of agony, a soft exclamation drifted from the rear of the battlefield. ”That man is not affected by my howl. Fine, I will kill him myself.”

”Let’s go.”

A low response followed as the three late-stage demonic wolves overseeing the battle finally moved. The foremost among them was a massive Wolf King whose fur gleamed with golden brilliance like gold. It took a single step forward, but that single step carried it one-third of the way to Luo Chen.

Behind it, a black Wolf King cast a glance toward the companion who had repeatedly howled earlier. ”Not you, Third Brother. The Falling Cloud Sect has no more hidden cards, so Big Brother and I will sweep the battlefield. You stay in the rear and keep doing what you were doing. Target human Adepts as much as you can.”

The demonic wolf addressed as Third Brother slowly licked its lips. ”Mm, sure. I have to say, though... These human cultivators really have powerful divine souls. I did not expect that a mere first-stage—oh, second-stage Adept, could resist my divine soul attack.”

As the black Wolf King prepared to leave, it paused again. ”Ah, don’t provoke that old man. He might be old, but his divine soul is much stronger than yours. Be careful of backlash.”

”Ughh, fine. You’re so annoying...”

”Hmph!”

The black Wolf King shook its head and no longer concerned itself with the so-called Third Brother, also known as the Wolf Emperor’s favorite child. It selected a target and charged forward. But even during its flight, much of its attention remained fixed on its eldest brother.

That human cultivator cut down three of our kin in a few moments. That will definitely make humans feel good. Big Brother has to wipe that man from the battlefield. Well, Big Brother has the strongest physique. Shouldn’t be much of a problem.

***

In a single burst, he had annihilated three Wolf Kings. In the process, he had unleashed three large-scale spells, activated three enchanted treasures, and even drawn upon his trump card, Mirror Flower Water Moon.

At this moment, Luo Chen was not completely spent, but he had nevertheless fallen into a state of absolute weakness. Yet under such circumstances, not a single demonic wolf on the battlefield moved to attack him. It appeared strange on the surface, but in truth, the atmosphere had grown unbearably tense.

Because at this moment, a streak of golden light tore through the darkness as if chasing stars and moon alike and charged straight toward Luo Chen. That dazzling golden light was enormous, like a blazing sun turning night into day. Wherever its surging demonic energy passed, gales rose. At the same time, an overwhelming divine consciousness locked onto Luo Chen, sealing off every avenue of escape and leaving him nowhere to evade.

”If you insist on forcing my hand, then so be it!”

Luo Chen clenched his teeth and let out a low roar. Instead of retreating, he advanced and charged recklessly toward that golden light!

Seeing this, Cheng Yan shouted from afar, ”NOOO!!!!”

Yet Luo Chen seemed not to hear him at all. He charged faster and faster, and his body began to undergo violent transformations. His Daoist robe burst apart as his frame expanded at a terrifying rate. His hands thrust forward as sharp claws formed at the tips of his fingers, seemingly capable of tearing through the sky. Streams of terrifying blood qi spiraled around him, then condensed into plates of pure white qi armor that wrapped tightly around his entire body.

When man and wolf were still thirty li apart, a massive figure resembling a massive bird of prey abruptly appeared in the night sky. It was more than four zhang in height, yet even so...

”Still not enough!”

Luo Chen’s eyes widened. A vast torrent of blood qi surged into the Moonbreak Wings. Stimulated by this, the wings expanded and stretched to their limit. One mighty flap of the wings later, Luo Chen, who had originally been vastly smaller than the golden wolf, was now only a third smaller! His speed also soared severalfold!

And even then, he did not stop! Within his sea of qi, his true fire responded to the stimulation and burst outward, instantly wrapping around his entire body. In the blink of an eye, another sun-like figure appeared on the battlefield; this one was majestic, like a great roc spreading its wings to cover the sky. The roc was shrouded in a green-red radiance, looking like a god of fire descending upon the world.

The transformation was complete.

The distance between the two had already closed to just a few li, and the overwhelming momentum ensured that this clash could no longer be prevented. Beneath the night sky, two massive figures, one gold and one greenish red, collided head-on with resolute force.

BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!

Flames blasted outward in all directions like a volcanic eruption, and tremendous shockwaves rolled outward. The dark clouds that had gathered in the sky earlier were blown apart, revealing clear moonlight once more. The human-wolf battle groups nearby were forced to scatter. On the ground, a thousand-zhang-deep crater appeared, a gaping hole horrifying to behold. Firelight blazed fiercely as azure flames surged toward the golden radiance, seemingly attempting to devour it completely.

Yet in just an instant, the blue-red figure was blasted backward like an arrow loosed from a bow. It shot straight into the human encampment. Meanwhile, the golden figure was forced back dozens of steps through the air. It shook its head violently and let out a surge of demonic energy, extinguishing the strange flames that sought to burn its flesh. Only then did it steady itself and gaze toward the figure that had been hurled back more than a hundred li.

”What a physique! Again! Come at me again!”

Wolf howls thundered across the land. Their response was a brilliant curtain of light that rose abruptly from the ground, illuminating the night sky. The Falling Cloud Sect’s defensive formation had finally been restored.

Cheng Yan shouted and called for the remaining Falling Cloud Sect disciples to retreat into the formation. But countless wolves pressed in with ferocious resolve, surrounding them and refusing to allow any retreat. Two enormous Wolf Kings advanced together, leading a host of other Wolf Kings as they closed in.

”AWOOOOOOOOOO!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!” (Those human shells can’t stop us! Charge in and kill them all!)