An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The boats advanced heavily, the wind wailed bleakly, and a hundred thousand troops set out together to crush the demons. As massive flying boats rushed toward the Heavenly Drum Plains, countless cultivators stood fully prepared in strict formation.

Luo Chen had handed his Crimson Flame Dragon Boat to Xu Haizhen to transport the enormous demonic beast corpses back. As a result, he currently had no means of transportation. Fortunately, he did not need such things; the Falling Cloud Sect had long since extended him an invitation to board the Skysail Warship. At this moment, Luo Chen was standing beneath the long banners and towering sails and gazing in astonishment at the warship’s layout.

”Those are cannons, right?”

Those looked strikingly similar to the cannons of his previous life on Earth—naturally, they stood out in this world, where firearms were not exactly a thing. Under the coordinated efforts of cultivators, they were being moved into position along the exterior of the warship. The Falling Cloud Sect cultivators stuffed spirit stones into them while adjusting the formations. The muzzles were massive, and the pitch-black barrels were utterly terrifying.

”Fellow Daoist, you have sharp eyes! They’re indeed spirit energy cannons!”

Luo Chen turned toward the speaker. On her refined and elegant face lingered traces of fatigue, yet even more evident were hope and anticipation.

”Fellow Daoist Mu, it has been a while. I hope you have been well.”

”Aiyaah... How could I be well? It’s been just a few years, and look how things have turned out.So many of our people are gone...” She then turned toward the spirit energy cannons. ”These are unique war weapons from Skysail City. Each shot consumes one top-grade spirit stone, which sounds like a lot, but while the formation is intact, one shot will blast apart a second-tier demonic beast like a lump of tofu. In fact, if ten cannons fire together, they can crush a Demon King as well!”

Luo Chen gulped dryly. At a single glance, he saw that the Skysail Warship had mounted no fewer than a hundred spirit energy cannons. According to My Yunyan, even newly advanced Initiates could operate such weapons. In other words, ten early-stage Initiates working together could pose a threat to a Demon King, and perhaps even to a human Adept.

Luo Chen shook his head and sighed. ”No wonder they say Skysail City’s Frontier War back then was the easiest one. They didn’t have any major sects backing them, but they still conquered the Skysail Domain in just ten years. All it takes is a good number of weapons and enough spirit stones, and they can just steamroll whoever they want!”

After expressing his amazement, he looked toward the small flying boats stationed around the Skysail Warship. Each was only about one zhang in length, and it was long and narrow like a weaver’s shuttle. ”And what are those?”

Mu Yunyan explained, ”These are drifting skiffs. They aren’t meant for long-distance travel, only short-range flights. They rely on the grand formation of the Skysail Warship and usually hover around it. If large numbers of enemies attempt to board the warship, the drifting skiffs will launch suicide attacks. Even Qi Refinement cultivators can operate them. And if needed, cultivators can use them to fly a few li out and hunt nearby enemies.”

Luo Chen’s mouth fell open in shock. He had heard of sects training low-tier Qi Refinement cultivators to form battle formations and threaten high-tier opponents. He had not expected Skysail City to develop weapons of this sort.

Drifting skiffs... Luo Chen pressed his lips together. If the Luo Tian Sect possessed a Skysail Warship equipped with hundreds of spirit energy cannons and drifting skiffs, it could consolidate the strength of the entire sect; they could move freely across the battlefield and dominate it easily.

He could not help but ask, ”How much does such a warship cost?”

Mu Yunyan did not answer, only offering a bitter smile. Luo Chen immediately understood—the value of such instruments of slaughter could not be measured in spirit stones, and the only way to obtain one would be to offer equivalent resources in a barter. After all, these things were the very foundation of a sect. In fact, Skysail City had no intention of selling them at all. The one here was merely borrowed and would have to be returned later.

Even so, with this warship in hand, the Falling Cloud Sect could make up for the loss in battle strength caused by the fall of so many experts in the previous battle, and still maintain dominance on the battlefield.

After casting one last reluctant glance at the Skysail Warship, Luo Chen suppressed his unrealistic fantasies. He turned and fixed his gaze on the vast Heavenly Drum Plains stretching for thousands of li. Beyond countless streaks of light and the flying boats ahead, he could already see thick smoke rising skyward at the far end.

It was obvious that the Defiant Howl Wolf Court had already received the news and dispatched the entire army as well.

The great battle was about to erupt!

***

Just as Fairy Ruthless had predicted, Luo Chen was not assigned any dangerous tasks in this battle. The Falling Cloud Sect granted him considerable freedom. Thus, he did not follow the tide of cultivators charging into the front lines.

With Zeng Yilong at his side, Luo Chen stood firmly atop the Skysail Warship and quietly watched the demonic wolf army draw ever closer. With his exceptional eyesight, far surpassing that of his peers, he could see farther and more clearly than anyone else around. By the time the two sides closed to within a thousand li, he could even see the saliva dripping from the fangs of the second-tier demonic wolves charging at the forefront. A wave of ferocious killing intent surged toward them!

Suddenly, deafening roars thundered in his ears.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The abrupt explosions made Luo Chen frown. By his side, Zeng Yilong was even more startled. In the next instant, they saw over a hundred massive energy spheres crossing a distance of a thousand li and slamming into the heart of the demonic wolf army. Then they exploded, and violent shockwaves spread outward in all directions.

Across Heavenly Drum Plains, hundreds of blossoms made from flesh and blood bloomed in an instant. This single volley aimed at the densely packed army had obliterated several hundred demonic wolves!

Although Luo Chen’s expression remained calm, his heart was anything but.

Such a power and range! It is practically on par with the short-range ballistic missiles on Earth. But the price... No, the price is also about the same. A single volley burns through a hundred top-grade spirit stones, so that’s a million low-grade spirit stones for one shot. How many forces could afford to use something like this?

As he was marveling, a shout rang out from the Skysail Warship. ”Don’t just stand there! Check the spirit energy cannons, check formations, reload!”

Luo Chen followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man with a square face shouting commands and directing the disciples. It was Gongye Qian of Skysail City. Although his reputation did not rival Huyan Zhuo, his background was no less formidable. One of Skysail City’s three Sages, Heaven Smelter, was the ancestral patriarch of the Gongye family, and Gongye Qian was his direct descendant. Clearly, although Skysail City had lent the warship to the Falling Cloud Sect, the one in charge of commanding and controlling it was ultimately still one of their own.

As if sensing someone watching, Gongye Qian turned his head and glanced over. When he saw that it was Luo Chen, he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, then moved on to his business without saying a word. There was no need for words; everything was understood.

Luo Chen returned his attention to the main battlefield just in time for Zeng Yilong to wake up from his shock. ”With such a powerful weapon, why not save it for a critical moment instead of revealing it so openly?”

Luo Chen replied casually, ”In a large-scale battle like this, courage and momentum matter most. One such strike blocks them, the second weakens them, and the third exhausts them. By first shattering the enemy’s momentum and then following up with cultivator assaults, the wolf army’s formation will fall into chaos. We already hold the advantage in numbers. We just need to divide and eliminate them, and that will allow us to secure victory with minimal losses.”

Zeng Yilong pondered those words repeatedly, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

He hadn’t expected such a clear answer, but Luo Chen had accumulated considerable experience in large-scale warfare. In the most crucial battle at the Thundernet Mountains, the Falling Cloud Sect had taken the initiative by deploying puppet armies, while the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had unleashed the Myriad Sword Slaughter Formation for the same purpose. In the battle at Incense Burning Valley, Luo Chen had charged at the forefront and used Landslide to shatter the formation formed by the Flame Alliance’s low-tier disciples, also for the same reason. The only difference now was that the method used was simpler and more direct—spirit energy cannons.

And indeed, the battle unfolded exactly as Luo Chen had described. The spirit energy cannons had swept the battlefield with one volley. Immediately afterward followed a second volley: The cultivator army activated talismans one after another and hurled them at the enemies. Alongside them came long-range killing strikes with enchanted treasures. At this distance, cultivators below the Golden Core Realm could not precisely control the destructive force of their attacks, but with the demonic wolf army so densely packed, throwing an attack was success enough. Who cared about aiming when the enemy was everywhere?

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions echoed ceaselessly within the surging wolf horde. Flesh and bone were torn apart, and the blasts were accompanied by endless piercing wails across the battlefield. After two successive barrages, the wolf army’ charge that had just a minute before surged forward like a raging tide was thrown completely off rhythm. Their battle formations collapsed into disorder, and the momentum was broken.

The first burst stopped them in place and dissipated their momentum. The second drained what remained. By the time the third was to begin, the wolf army was already in disarray.

This third step was the most direct and perilous one: close-quarters combat. Under the command of the Adepts, countless cultivators rose into the air and simply charged toward the demonic wolves.

”KILL!”

”KILL!”

”KILL!”

The overlapping shouts of slaughter surged straight into the heavens. Even Luo Chen, who had been practicing Stilling Wind and Waves for decades now, felt his blood boil, and an overwhelming urge rose within him to rush forward and fight head-on. However, he restrained himself. Zeng Yilong, meanwhile, struggled to do the same and looked eager to leap into the fray.

”Keep your composure. There are plenty of enemies, and you will not lack opportunities to fight,” Luo Chen said calmly, casting a warning glance.

Zeng Yilong nodded repeatedly.

From their vantage point, they could see the battle on the field fully unfold. Across the vast Heavenly Drum Plains, multicolored light bloomed as spirit power and demonic power clashed violently. Cultivators excelled at employing external means; enchanted artifacts and treasures, talismans, and puppets were deployed in endless succession. Demonic beasts relied on their formidable physiques and thick hides, charging headlong and rampaging freely across the battlefield.

In a true one-on-one fight, demonic beasts were never a match for human cultivators of the same tier. Yet on the battlefield, the energy fluctuations were extreme, and spirit consciousness crossed chaotically. This prevented cultivators from fully spreading their spirit consciousness to precisely lock onto targets, which caused them to lose their advantage instead. Moreover, after two consecutive rounds of strikes, even the third-tier Demon Kings of the Wolf Court were compelled to act.

More than a dozen furious roars rang out, and demonic beasts that had appeared entirely unremarkable within the wolf horde suddenly swelled in size and transformed into towering giants seven or eight zhang tall. With a single bound, they leapt straight into the rear of the human formations. As claws flashed and demonic energy surged, every strike claimed more than a dozen human lives.

At the sight of this, the Adepts were enraged beyond restraint and could no longer stand by. They acted in unison and used immense mana to divide the battlefield into separate combat zones. At the same time, Cheng Yan, who was once more serving as commander, relied on a special enchanted treasure to fully extend his divine consciousness across the battlefield and issue clear commands.

”Avoid head-on clashes and surround them in groups. Make good use of our numerical advantage. Disciples of all sects, spread out on the battlefield. Golden Core Adepts, take the center of combat into the air!”