An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”Whoa....”

On the battlefield, there was utter silence. From the moment the two Nascent Soul-level powerhouses clashed, everything had remained within reasonable expectations. However, the moment another four Sages suddenly appeared and each unleashed their ultimate moves to encircle the Wolf Emperor, all expectations were cast out the window.

Many things happened, and a written account can only be lengthy, yet in truth, the entire process had lasted only an instant. The arrogant Wolf Emperor who had been chasing Han Zhan and pressing the attack had suffered a miserable defeat in a snap of the fingers. His physical body was destroyed, and his Nascent Soul was captured. A Demon Emperor came to an abrupt end, just like that.

However, Han Zhan’s words gave the allied cultivators no time to ponder or discuss how . After the tasks were assigned, he began reciting the names one after another.

”Hao Ranzi, Wei Wuya, Scuffy Daoist...”

All the Adepts whose names were called hurriedly handed over immediate matters to their sect members, then ascended the Wind Lightning Pavilion.

At the edge of the battlefield, Luo Chen watched those being summoned. They came from various sects; some were strong and some weak, but all shared one common trait—their combat strength was intact, and none had suffered injuries. Those like Linghu Jie and Fairy Ruthless, who had been heavily injured earlier by Defiant Howl’s casual strike, were passed over entirely.

The sole exception was Cheng Yan. He was, naturally, left here to oversee the situation and preside over the subsequent battlefield cleanup. And when even the early-stage Jadewater Dragon had her name called...

”It seems I will not be an exception either,” muttered Luo Chen.

Sure enough, a moment later, Han Zhan calmly called out, ”Dan Chenzi.”

As Han Zhan’s gaze swept over, Luo Chen pressed his lips together and gave the elder a slight nod. Han Zhan glanced at him briefly, then continued calling other names.

”Daoist Uncle, are you—”

Luo Chen did not hesitate in the slightest and quickly instructed Zeng Yilong, ”This trip to the Great Snowy Mountains should be safe. The Wolf Court is missing its head, which means the Howling Moon Mountain Range has been settled and will inevitably be renamed the Falling Cloud Domain or something. Little Long, you don’t need to stay on the battlefield anymore. Return to the Luo Tian Sect headquarters at once and inform Sima Huiniang of this. She will understand what to do.”

Upon receiving the order, Zeng Yilong nodded repeatedly. ”I understand. In that case, I will go now.”

Luo Chen turned around and prepared to fly to the Wind Lightning Pavilion. Yet Zeng Yilong called out to him, stopping him in place.

”Is there something else?” Luo Chen frowned.

Zeng Yilong hesitated for a moment before saying, ”Daoist Uncle, take care. You must return safely.”

Luo Chen’s brow relaxed. He smiled and waved his hand before leaving. With five Sages and top-tier experts from all sects traveling together, the Great Snowy Mountains could be taken over with a flip of the hand. Even if a few more powerhouses like Wolf Emperor Defiant Howl emerged from the Great Million Mountains, it would not matter. At the very least, he would have every chance to escape.

As Luo Chen ascended the Wind Lightning Pavilion, he glanced back once more. Sage Han Zhan had already finished calling names. But he did not rush to depart; instead, he first recalled the puppet avatar that had been knocked down earlier and also collected Defiant Howl’s massive remains.

The other Sages took action as well. Cloud Crane’s Dao companion went to the other side of the Heavenly Drum Plains, and each unleashed a move to crush the Wolf Court’s final defensive forces. Sage Jade Cauldron moved across the battlefield and gathered the four puppet corpses that had once been disciples of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. He then reinstalled the four sword orbs he had previously collected.

Could they possibly return from death?

Curiosity stirred in Luo Chen’s heart, but he did not linger. He stepped straight into the Wind Lightning Pavilion. The instant he entered, waves of gazes swept toward him. He paid them no heed, however; he simply found a chair, and took his seat. Only then did the pavilion erupt into heated discussion over the battle that had just occurred.

***

The battles of Sages were something low-tier cultivators could not even see clearly, let alone evaluate. Only Adepts above the middle stage could truly catch a glimpse of them. Because of this, the lower-level Adepts in the grand hall were surrounding higher-level ones to ask questions. Although Luo Chen did not join in, he listened attentively all the same.

”Winning or losing comes down to strength. That’s normal enough for any level, so it goes without saying at the Nascent Soul level. But actually capturing or killing Sages or Demon Emperors? That’s a whole different story.”

”Exactly. Who knows what price Han Zhan paid to get four Sages to step in together? And even with the five of them, they barely managed to kill Defiant Howl, and his Nascent Soul almost slipped away.”

”The Demon Locking Pagoda truly lives up to its name. The Valley of Ghosts and Divinities’ foundational treasure! The suppressive force doesn’t feel like much physically, but what makes it terrifying is that it acts directly on the Nascent Soul. Without that thing, the five of them might have been able to kill Defiant Howl, but capturing his Nascent Soul? Fat chance.”

”From the looks of it, Han Zhan might’ve swapped out his life-bound treasure and turned the Demon Locking Pagoda into his new one.”

”No, I don’t think so. Far as I’ve heard, the Falling Cloud Sect has a secret art that allows the simultaneous refinement of two life-bound treasures. He most likely didn’t replace anything; that Nascent Soul puppet avatar is probably his original life-bound treasure. He just refined an additional one on top of that.”

”A puppet avatar that excels in both offense and defense, the Demon Locking Pagoda that binds and captures, and a sword formation with insane killing power... Damn, I have nothing to say. Those who can reach the Nascent Soul Realm are monsters.”

”Still, that sword formation was basically wrecked, and the elemental puppets were taken back by Sage Jade Cauldron. Han Zhan has lost a major trump card now. That’s a bit of a pity.”

”A pity? For what? He got the Wolf Emperor’s body and its Nascent Soul. Once the battle ends, he can make it into a puppet. Just think about it. How strong will he be once he gets his hands on a puppet like that?”

Luo Chen listened to the discussions of these veteran sect powerhouses and benefited greatly.

Nascent Soul-level beings could win or lose just like anyone else, yet killing or capturing one was exceedingly difficult. In the earlier battle, it had taken five Sages acting together to capture the Wolf Emperor Defiant Howl alive, which demonstrated how daunting the task truly was.

As for Han Zhan, Luo Chen felt nothing but admiration. The man was not very old; he had not yet reached five hundred years of age. Yet in less than half a millennium, he had not only advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm but also secured an entire domain for his sect, and his personal strength had not fallen behind in the slightest. If given enough time, he would come to possess two Nascent Soul-level puppets—one human and one demon. Within the same realm, who could possibly fight against him? Moreover, with the Demon Locking Pagoda in his hands, even a defeated enemy who only thought about escaping would have no chance to do so!

”This is how cultivators ought to be,” Luo Chen murmured.

As for accusations of fighting many against one, such matters were hardly worth mentioning. To him, demonic beasts were nothing more than cultivation resources for the human race. If one human cultivator could not win alone, then fighting together was simply the right way.

A long time passed without any other newcomers. While everyone was engaged in a heated discussion, three more people entered through the gates. Everyone turned toward them as the three smiled and clasped their sleeves in greeting.

”Everyone, I am sure you are wondering what comes next. It will depend on us all working together to secure the Great Snowy Mountains!”

They were precisely the three masters of Hundred Flowers Palace: Fairy Hundred Flowers, Grand Elder Peach Blossom, and the Mistress of Fragrance.

With the appearance of these three, everyone could confirm one more thing: This expedition into the Great Snowy Mountains was part of a different Frontier War. It was not for securing territory on behalf of the Falling Cloud Sect, but rather for carving out a new domain for the Silktree Sect’s branch led by Cloud Crane and his Dao companion.

Moreover, this time the mode of warfare was completely different from the previous large-scale battles that advanced step by step. If it truly had to be described, it closely resembled the strategy once employed by the Wolf Emperor Defiant Howl to strike straight at the heart!

For this operation, cultivators from every sect and forces had been gathered, totaling thirty Adepts. It had to be said that not a single one among these thirty was weak. Among them alone, six had reached the late stage: Hao Ranzi, Wei Wuya, Fairy Hundred Flowers, the Scuffy Daoist, the Moon Divine Envoy, and the Supreme Elder of Dreamspring Cave.

Those at the middle stage were either sect masters of sects like the Blazing Sun Sect and Lotus Sect, founding ancestors such as Chu Baihong, or upper sect elders like Ye Xiang and Jin Buque. Among the early-stage Adepts were figures like Luo Chen, Jadewater Dragon, and the Mistress of Fragrance, people who had excavated some of their innate talents to produce extraordinary combat strength.

Such a lineup was something that the vast majority of upper sects could not muster. Once sent out, it would indeed be enough to sweep across an entire domain. More importantly, presiding above it all were five Sages. Against such strength, what could the Great Snowy Mountains possibly do to resist?