An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Luo Chen drew a deep breath and set aside all other thoughts. Now was not the time to roast himself for being stupid. Treating his injuries was the most pressing matter. He cast a glance at the golden light clinging to his body like a starving leech before shifting his focus to his remaining wounds.

”The external wounds can wait. Internal injuries come first.”

Slaying three Wolf Kings in succession had not been done without cost. If he had taken his time and killed them in an optimal manner, he was confident that he could have gone without suffering any injuries. Unfortunately, the battle had erupted far too suddenly and was far too perilous. He’d had no choice, so in the space of a single breath, he had slain the three in rapid succession. The violent surge of mana had inflicted severe damage upon his meridians, and even his sea of qi showed signs of instability.

Luo Chen carefully drew upon the remaining mana within his Golden Core and cast the Spring Wind Rain Transformation to mend his damaged meridians. As water and wood spirit energy suffused his body, a tingling and numbing sensation spread through his limbs.

Luo Chen could not help letting out a low groan. ”Damn it... No, that won’t work. I have to stabilize the internal injuries, then start with the external ones as soon as possible.”

This would have sounded rather strange to the average cultivator. External wounds were rarely of great concern, while internal injuries were the true hidden danger. Yet in this battle, what had truly dealt Luo Chen a grievous blow was not his overuse of mana, but his thunderous exchange with the Golden Wolf King.

His physique was undeniably formidable. He had reached the third-tier by ancient wild beast standards, focused purely on strengthening the physical body rather than following the path of blood qi transformation. Unfortunately, he was still only hovering at the early stage. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolf King had clearly cultivated demonic energy while placing special emphasis on strengthening its demonic body. Luo Chen had no way of directly comparing the physique cultivation of modern demonic beasts with those ancient wild beasts, so he didn’t know how the Golden Wolf King’s body compared to that of an Archaic beast, but at the very least, it definitely surpassed his own body. That was why he had been easily overpowered and smashed into the ground.

The Golden Wolf King had not only left behind strands of demonic energy within Luo Chen’s body that sought to tear him apart, but had also inflicted an insane amount of damage directly to his physique. For this reason, Luo Chen had to stabilize his internal injuries to be able to mobilize his mana properly, and then immediately deal with his external wounds rather than finishing internal treatment first.

Well, it seems like I haven’t learned all those medical techniques for nothing, he thought with a trace of bitter amusement.

***

”Dan Chenzi... Senior!”

The pale-faced Luo Chen looked at his visitor with weary eyes. Although the young man was obviously worn out by long combat and travel, he still carried a heroic and upright bearing.

”Ah, Han Zheng! What brings you here, my friend?”

Han Zheng felt slightly uneasy. In the past, although Luo Chen’s reputation had been great, that was all; his cultivation had been ordinary and his background laughably poor. Even with a life-saving debt between them, they could still interact as peers. But now, Luo Chen had formed his core and had achieved formidable battle records as an Adept. By comparison, Han Zheng fell far short, so the relationship between them was bound to shift somewhat. Still, this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

Han Zheng flipped his wrist, and a tray appeared in his hand.

Luo Chen saw a gourd, a black jar, and two jade bottles placed upon it. ”What are these?”

”These are healing medicines my family instructed me to deliver to you. The two jade bottles contain Sea Stabilizing Pills and Meridian Replenishing Pills, enough for ten full courses of treatment. The black jar is Black Sovereign Paste. Apply it over your entire body, and it will help you heal your physical injuries much faster. In fact, if you can fully absorb it, it might even help your physical cultivation somewhat.”

Sea Stabilizing Pills and Meridian Replenishing Pills were one thing. Luo Chen had heard of these two third-tier healing pills long ago. The former was an exclusive pill refined by Mu Yunyan, while the latter was a specialty of the Medicine King Sect, supplied only to Adepts of major sects. However, the Black Sovereign Paste was unfamiliar to him.

He narrowed his eyes. ”Is it really that good?”

Han Zheng nodded with confidence. ”I am not exaggerating. As you know, our sect excels in puppet techniques, and... well, we have beast puppets, but we also create humanoid puppets. Once a humanoid puppet is damaged, it often cannot repair itself, since it doesn’t have a consciousness and cannot cultivate. In such cases, we rely on Black Sovereign Paste to restore it, and it works amazingly well. In fact, the reason our puppets are far sturdier than those of other similar sects is precisely that we apply small amounts of this paste periodically, and that makes them more and more resilient with time.”

This immediately stirred Luo Chen’s interest. His gaze finally fell upon the gourd. ”And what is inside this?”

”That’s Spirit-Dissolving Solution. My elder said that a mass of highly refined demonic energy is lodged within your body. That demonic energy is extremely powerful, and ordinary methods will likely be insufficient to remove it. For that reason, we have prepared this fourth-tier spirit solution for you so you can use it to dissolve the demonic energy and expel it little by little.”

Looking at these valuable items, Luo Chen fell silent. Everything was accounted for, both internally and externally. Coupled with his own considerable medical skills, this medicine would likely allow him to heal several times faster than he had originally anticipated.

However, the treatment was almost too generous. Was there a catch of some sort? He could not help but ask, ”Is this only for me, or are the others treated the same?”

Han Zheng was momentarily taken aback. He had not expected such a question. Still, he answered honestly, ”The other injured cultivators have also received compensation, but this level of treatment is just for you alone.”

Luo Chen frowned slightly. ”I am grateful, but how come you’re showing such favor to me?”

Han Zheng replied calmly, ”What favor? You held your ground, you killed three Wolf Kings in succession to protect our people, and then you directly confronted a late-stage Wolf King to block its advance into the formation. Such great merit naturally deserves this kind of compensation. If anything, our elders feel that even this is still insufficient. We would offer more, except that... Well, resources are tight right now, as you know. But I have heard my master say that once the Howling Moon Mountain Range is secured, they will expand your sect’s territory by another thousand li.”

Luo Chen’s brows lifted. This was clearly more than simple compensation. There was also the intent of honoring merit to set an example for others. Since they were willing to state these terms openly before him, they would likely publicize them later to showcase the Falling Cloud Sect’s generosity. After a moment of contemplation, Luo Chen ultimately chose to accept everything. It was reasonable compensation, and given the situation they were in, the sooner he recovered to his peak combat strength, the better.

”Please convey my gratitude to Sage Han and Adept Cheng Yan.”

”On the contrary, we owe a lot to you. I shall take my leave and let you heal, then. There are many matters I need to attend to.”

After Han Zheng departed, Luo Chen turned his attention to the four spirit medicines. He examined them with his divine consciousness and tested them with mana. Not only that, but he also took out silver needles from his storage ring and employed an alchemist’s unique method of testing medicine to probe their properties[1]. After a thorough inspection confirmed that there were no issues, Luo Chen finally revealed a bright smile. The Falling Cloud Sect was indeed willing to spend heavily!

However, his smile did not last long—Fairy Ruthless soon arrived, and as expected, she was bringing bad news. Of the ten Luo Tian alliance cultivators, only seven had been found. Three were missing, and on a battlefield like that, it was clear what ”missing” meant. As for the seven who had been found, they weren’t faring much better. Five were dead, and two were injured.

After a long silence, Luo Chen asked quietly, ”Who are the survivors?”

”Zeng Yilong from your sect, and Wan Ting from the Myriad Phenomena Sect. When I found Wan Ting, he was barely clinging to life. He had relied entirely on sheer willpower to crawl out from underneath a pile of corpses; I may not have found him otherwise.”

”And Xing Zhonghan?”

”I’m sorry... He died in a forest not far from the main battlefield. It seems that he was surrounded by demonic beasts and he had no way to escape....”

Luo Chen parted his lips, then slowly closed his eyes. ”Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist.”

Seeing the sorrow on his face, Fairy Ruthless could only let out a long sigh. Ever since ancient times, this had always been the outcome when large-scale beast tides struck. The Ice Fortress bordered the Great Snow Mountains, and similar incidents had occurred frequently over the years. All she could say was, ”My condolences.”

Luo Chen gave a soft acknowledgment. But when he opened his eyes a moment later, the grief on his face was gone, replaced by quiet determination. ”How is Zeng Yilong doing?”

”He suffered some injuries, but nothing serious. Murong Qinglian is personally taking care of him.”

”That is good then,” Luo Chen murmured.

1. In ancient China, silver needles were used to test for poison, based on the belief that the metal would react (e.g., turn black) with certain toxic compounds. In cultivation lore, alchemists extend this principle by infusing such tools with energy to probe the properties of medicine. ☜