An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In the pitch-dark dungeon, the low and heavy sounds of breathing only made the silence feel even more oppressive. That stillness lingered for a long time, until a single weary sigh finally shattered it. The cultivators imprisoned within their individual cells all lifted their heads and looked toward the source of the sound.

”Fellow Daoist Hao Ranzi, how is it? Can you unlock the restriction?”

Some spoke aloud, while even more pairs of eyes burned with anxious anticipation. Faced with their questions, Hao Ranzi let out a bitter smile. ”No. My Golden Core is suppressed, and I cannot circulate any mana at all.”

”You have the highest cultivation among all of us. If even you can’t break the restriction, then we’re completely at their mercy,” said the Moon Divine Envoy.

Hao Ranzi shook his head. ”You all think too highly of me. That made five Sages flee at the mere mention of her name. I am nothing more than a mere Adept. How could I possibly break a restriction she personally laid down?”

At the mention of that, everyone’s expression changed. The fact that she could make five Sages flee on sight said more than enough. Even without having reached that realm themselves, they understood what it meant. After all, no member of Han Zhan’s group was a weakling.

Heaven Smelter, for instance, was famed for his many tricks and abilities, as well as his dual wind-and-lightning variant spirit root. Jade Cauldron had painstakingly cultivated for centuries and refined his swordsmanship to an unmatched level. Both were renowned experts of the Eastern Wilderness. And if judged by cultivation alone, Pure Crane was comparable to a mid-stage Sage. With five people of their level joining forces, it was impossible for them to fear an early-stage Sage, and even one at the middle stage would not have been too much to handle. Yet this very lineup had fled without hesitation the instant that took a single step forward. From this alone, the depth of her strength could easily be imagined.

She was definitely a late-stage Demon Emperor. And even among those at the late stage, she definitely stood at the very peak! They did not know the final outcome of the battle, but they had witnessed Cloud Crane being killed with a single strike, without even having time for his Nascent Soul to escape. Such power was simply beyond their comprehension. For Hao Ranzi to feel despondent was only natural.

Wei Wuya of Skyscraper Cliff spoke in deep confusion, ”There’s one thing I don’t get, though. Sure, there are plenty of powerful demon experts in the Great Million Mountains. But even though the techniques that used are actually straightforward, her power is simply absurd. Such a distinctive combat style should have been recorded by the upper echelons of the human sects. So why have I never heard of such a demon?”

Faced with this question, Ye Xiang replied in a hoarse voice, ”Perhaps she has only risen in recent years.”

”Recent years? How recent are we talking?”

”Every Frontier War requires the participating sects to gather intelligence, and apart from that, the Nether Origin Sect also conducts an investigation and provides a general report. I can tell you that within the past five hundred years, there has never been any mention of such a figure.”

”Five hundred? No way, you’re saying that she cultivated to this stage in just five centuries!?”

”Impossible! Absolutely impossible! With power like that, how could five hundred years ever be enough?”

”Exactly! Even the most outstanding human prodigies only reach the early stage in five hundred years. Genius among genius might reach the middle stage, but that...”

***

In the dim dungeon, voices rose and fell in constant debate . Even though everyone was separated by small black cells and unable to use divine consciousness or spirit power, that did not hinder them from communicating by voice.

Amid the lively chatter, Luo Chen was rather quiet. Like the others, he had tried every method he knew to mobilize the mana within his body, yet everything he had done had ended in failure. His divine consciousness was trapped within his sea of consciousness and was unable to extend outward. The Golden Core that contained his pure and refined mana had vanished without a trace, as though it had been sealed into some other dimension. No matter how he searched, it could not be found.

From the others, he learned that this was an exceptionally profound restriction technique. In terms of the seven fundamental restrictions, without question, this had to be based on the Void restriction. The abnormalities he could observe within his body aligned perfectly with the description—the restriction’s power was formless and untraceable, yet it existed everywhere and permeated every corner of his body.

Unsurprisingly, Luo Chen could not find any solution; this was a method used by a late-stage Demon Emperor. And as far as his understanding of restrictions went, there were only two possibilities to remove it. One was to fully comprehend the seven fundamental restrictions and apply them in a manner that made them cancel each other out. The other was the Dragon-Slaying Art, which could purge foreign energies from within the body.

Yet both paths were fraught with severe limitations. As for the former, he had only grasped the Darkness restriction to an extent, and major mastery was still far off. As for the latter, it required mana as support and therefore, in this case, demanded cultivation at an extremely high level. It also required Luo Chen to be at least at the Grandmaster level, maybe even Perfected Mastery. Even then, there was no guarantee that it would be enough to clear this Void restriction.

After thinking all of this through, Luo Chen only sank deeper into despair. Before such strength, no matter how many techniques he mastered, they were nothing more than flashy tricks, and he remained utterly powerless.

”Ten years ago, we were all convinced that we would win the Frontier War. None of us ever considered the possibility of failure. Even the appearance of Defiant Howl only seemed like an inconvenience that requires a bit more effort. Who could have imagined that in such a short time, our stance would change so drastically?”

”Indeed so. Just yesterday, we were lofty Adepts and heroes of our regions, admired by the masses. Today, we’re prisoners.”

Bitter sighs echoed through the dungeon. Hearing them, Luo Chen stopped his futile efforts, smiled bitterly, and let his thoughts drift further.

Cultivators had built immortal cities, divided shops, and preemptively carved up the territories of the Howling Moon Mountain Range before it was even taken. From Sages down to the millions of low-tier cultivators, no one truly took this Frontier War seriously in their hearts.

What everyone considered was not whether they could win, but how to secure the greatest benefit at the smallest cost. After all, with nine upper sects, eighteen major sects, and countless rogue cultivators, the force involved numbered in the millions. With such overwhelming strength brought to bear against a single domain, who would ever imagine defeat? And yet now, it could only be said that a bunch of overconfident explorers had explored their way into an abyss...

”To be fair, it was written on the wall a while back. Without the intervention of the other four Sages, just Defiant Howl could have overturned the entire battle all by himself. His talent and aptitude were in no way inferior to the finest prodigies of our human race.”

”Well, that’s not entirely accurate, now is it? We really did take the Howling Moon Mountain Range. The problem lay in our greed for merit and our reckless advance. What made us think we could just swallow the Great Snow Mountains in one stroke?”

”Hahahaha...” someone let out a mocking laugh.

Someone nearby asked with displeasure, ”Scuffy Daoist, what are you laughing at? Am I wrong?”

Scuffy Daoist leaned against the wall with his hands clasped behind his head. He curled his lips and sneered. ”Greed for merit and reckless advance? You cultivators from the upper sects should know far more than we do. I heard that when Moonbreak was first established, the three fairies of Hundred Flowers Palace were already running around making connections and had long prepared to attack the Great Snow Mountains.”

Everyone’s gaze instantly turned toward the three female cultivators in a corner.

Fairy Hundred Flowers stopped her futile attempts to free herself and opened her eyes. She parted her red lips and said, ”We were prepared, and clearly the demon race was prepared as well. Otherwise, how could a top-tier demon race powerhouse have appeared at the Whitebone Dao Palace at such a perfect time? In the end, whoever stands victorious will decide what this all means.”

Indeed, it all came down to who won and who lost. If that creature in azure robes named Azure Frost had not appeared, the Great Snow Mountains would have been theirs. They would not be venting powerless rage in this dark and gloomy dungeon, but instead clinking cups with one another in the brightly lit Whitebone Dao Palace and discussing how to divide the resources and spirit lands of the Great Snow Mountains.

Gloomy thoughts and a sense of despair spread quietly through the air, and Luo Chen was no exception. Perhaps the only thing that made him feel slightly less hopeless was that he was not the only one captured. When everyone shared the same misfortune, even the deepest despair found some small measure of release. After all, if they were to die, they would die together.

With several late-stage Adepts present, those of lower stage felt somewhat more balanced in their hearts. Of course, this was nothing more than a form of self-deception.

Someone then raised a question. ”You know, I’ve been wondering... Before that, we’re nothing but ants, and she could just squash us like ants. So why not kill us outright? Why’d she bring us here?”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. In truth, this question had been buried in everyone’s heart from the very beginning, yet no one had dared to say it directly. After all, who truly wished to die? The vast majority of those present could be said to possess the potential to reach the Nascent Soul Realm. Who would want to die randomly under a single move, without being able to offer even the slightest resistance?

No one answered. Each harbored their own conjectures. Yet they all knew that, sooner or later, the answer to this question was bound to appear.

***

Half a month later, crisp footsteps echoed through the gloomy dungeon.

Everyone opened their eyes and looked toward the source of the sound. The darkness gradually receded. A voluptuous and strikingly beautiful female arrived before them with a green lamp. At the sight, everyone’s eyes widened, and pure disbelief appeared on their faces.

”Senior Pure Crane, how are you still...”

”Shut up!”

A flash of anger crossed Pure Crane’s face as she barked at the one who had spoken.

Everyone fell silent at once, not daring to provoke her. Although none of them understood why she had not died, nor how she could walk freely within that creature’s territory, what mattered far more was the purpose of her visit. She said nothing and merely took out a blue-white feather and pressed it against the cell where Hao Ranzi was held.

”Come out!”

The door opened, and the old man slowly walked out. Hao Ranzi pressed his lips together, glanced back at the others, then followed Pure Crane out with heavy steps. As the green lamp moved away, the light vanished, and the dungeon returned to darkness. With Hao Ranzi’s departure, it felt as though a massive stone had been placed on everyone’s hearts. They did not know what awaited him next, nor whether it would be their turn after him.

Two hours later, the silence was broken once more by approaching footsteps. Everyone followed the sound with their eyes. From the darkness, Pure Crane emerged with the green lamp in one hand and an unconscious figure in the other, and came to a halt before the same small cell.

Clang! Thud!

She did not say a word. After locking the person inside, she left directly. Only after she departed did the suffocating atmosphere finally ease. Everyone looked toward the unconscious figure.

”Hao Ranzi!”

”Fellow Daoist, wake up!”

”What happened? Tell us quickly!”

There came no response. Hao Ranzi lay sprawled in the black cell as if dead. Yet everyone knew that he had not died; a dense vitality still emanated from him. For an Adept to be reduced to such a state and even to unconsciousness could only be the result of severe damage to the divine soul!

For a moment, everyone exchanged looks. Suddenly, a bitter laugh came from the cell opposite Hao Ranzi. ”Could it be me next...”

The speaker was Wei Wuya, whose cultivation stood second only to Hao Ranzi among those present. The others hurried to offer words of comfort, yet no matter how they were spoken, those consolations rang hollow.

Wei Wuya’s heart churned with unease. He wished only for time to pass more slowly, the slower the better. He was a renowned expert on Skyscraper Cliff and the cultivator with the greatest hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm. Skyscraper Cliff would never abandon him lightly. As long as matters dragged on, there was a chance that the sect would send someone to rescue him.

Even if Skyscraper Cliff’s strength fell short, there were Adepts from other upper sects imprisoned here as well. Adepts only seemed plentiful here because many forces had gathered together; in truth, even upper sects only had a limited number of them, and none would be willing to let an Adept die for nothing. At the very least, the nine upper sects presiding over this war would not stand by and do nothing. And above the nine upper sects, there was also the Nether Origin Sect that presided over the Eastern Wilderness. They certainly would not remain indifferent either.

Wei Wuya prayed silently, ”Time, please slow down...”