An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The Blazing Fire Miasma originated from the incomplete Physique Refinement technique Luo Chen had acquired a long time ago, Sky Roc Transformation. Since the main technique imitated demonic beast cultivation, this complementary spell was naturally also based on the ferocious fiend qi belonging to fire-type demonic rocs.

Luo Chen had begun studying this spell very early on and used large amounts of Earth Fire Fiend Qi to bring it to minor mastery. This spell was highly practical and, at the same time, rather awkward.

Its practicality lay in the fact that once unleashed in battle, it could create an environment perfectly suited to his combat style. Moreover, the dense fiend qi contained within carried an exceptionally strong contaminating effect against enemies’ enchanted treasures, divine souls, and bodies. The awkwardness stemmed from the fact that the spell could only be used while Luo Chen was in the Sky Roc True Form. Otherwise, if he absorbed too much fiend qi in his basic human form, he would suffer serious physical injuries.

Furthermore, improving this spell was extremely difficult. His own proficiency was limited by the number of uses, while the sheer power of the spell depended on the grade of fiend qi used. The fiend qi Luo Chen had gathered in his early years was mostly first- and second-tier Earth Fire Fiend Qi, nothing of noteworthy quality. Even later, when he incorporated third-tier Earth Fire Fiend Qi, it was still of the most common variety.

Luo Chen had once expended great effort instructing the Luo Tian Sect to look for rare varieties of fiend qi, but the results were utterly unimpressive. In the end, they managed to bring back large quantities of third-tier Earth Fire Fiend Qi, but that merely strengthened this spell in volume rather than quality.

Fortunately, these problems had been gradually resolved over time. First was the issue of being unable to release the Blazing Fire Miasma in human form. After refining his life-bound treasure, the Primordial Unity Cauldron, he could now nurture the Blazing Fire Miasma within it. At the same time, thanks to the constant nourishment of mana, his body was gradually becoming capable of withstanding the fiend qi. Second was the issue of high-tier fiend qi—he had obtained a gourd of Withering-Flourishing True Fiend from the Flame Alliance. This was a rare variety not inferior to the Flame Yang True Fiend, and most importantly, it stemmed from his very own Withering-Flourishing Fire. As a result, his adaptation to and control over the Blazing Fire Miasma advanced to an even higher level. Finally, he had now switched to the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture. His domineering and pure fire-element mana allowed him to deploy the spell with much less effort.

The Blazing Fire Miasma could now be considered one of Luo Chen’s signature methods now. Using it to deal with Yan Nantian’s Soul-Refining Banner was the perfect approach.

As for whether it was moral for Luo Chen to strike at Yan Nantian despite having no enmity or even any prior interaction, he felt no burden at all. Such was the way of the cultivation world. When raiding cultivators blocked his path and tried to kill him, there had been no talk of grudges either. And when Mi Shuhua pulled him into the Poshan Gang, did Luo Chen truly have the option to refuse? Through years of such exposure, he had long since grown accustomed to this manner of conduct.

Not offending those who don’t offend you is a beautiful notion, but terribly impractical in real life.

Back when he stormed Xiaohuan Mountain, Duan Qiankun had not even acted against him yet. And when he first arrived in Tianlan, he employed every possible means to promote his Jade Essence Pills into the market, driving rival alchemical forces into misery. Had the Zheng family of Rolling Dragon Ridge, the Danyuan Sect, or the Li family of Qinhua River ever provoked him beforehand?

In business, the deadliest blows are the ones that draw no blood.

Reducing pill profits meant fewer spirit stones, fewer cultivation resources, and slower cultivation progress. That was the true obstruction of the Great Dao. It was precisely for this reason that events such as the Li family of Qinhua River being forced into alliance through marriage, and the repeated turmoil within the Danyuan Sect, later came to pass. And Luo Chen’s modus operandi had been established long ago—while he was no hardened killer, he leaned toward the survival of the fittest. This was likely why Cheng Haichang and Cheng Dou had instinctively associated him with remnants of the Primordial Devil Sect when they first met him. In this respect, his way of acting was indeed reminiscent of theirs.

Some might wonder why Luo Chen still enjoyed a decent reputation despite conducting himself like this. The reason lay in the fact that he did reserve plenty of gentleness for his own people. He treated those within his circle as well as he could, and while he was often ruthless to those outside it, he did not bully those who posed no threat. In the cultivation world, even such a stance was actually rather rare.

This time, Luo Chen’s actions were simply more direct and blatant. He was no good man, and Yan Nantian was no virtuous soul either. With Cheng Dou acting as the intermediary, everything aligned perfectly.

***

Half a month later, Moon-Inviting Island still lay shrouded in black fog, but moonlight no longer reflected over the lake.

The island was not large; it was barely a little ring of land around the ten-li freshwater lake at the center. Yet in spite of this modest size, it was the very core of the thirty-six islands. Among them, thirty-five possessed first- or second-tier spirit veins; only Moon-Inviting Island had a small third-tier vein.

In earlier years, although the island had been controlled by a family with three late-stage Initiates, the third-tier spirit vein had effectively been shared by the entire archipelago. Any cultivator who reached Perfected Mastery in the Foundation Establishment Realm could, by long-standing agreement, go there to attempt Core Formation.

That privilege, however, had become a hollow promise a century ago. Ever since Yan Nantian seized Moon-Inviting Island, any Initiates who reached Perfected Mastery had lost any safe and peaceful place to attempt a breakthrough.

Core Formation? If someone dared to form a core, where would that leave Yan Nantian? Because of this, even though they possessed the island-linking formations to defend against demonic beasts and the archipelago was considered safe for cultivation, Initiates still left from time to time and never returned. And why would they when there was no path forward? Yan Nantian, the ruler of the archipelago, couldn’t care less about ”his” people. As long as his own foundation remained intact, he could just keep cultivating. And that foundation was naturally the vast population of the islands and Moon Inviting Island’s third-tier spirit vein.

Within a quiet chamber on the island, a gaunt and sallow-faced middle-aged man sat cross-legged in meditation, greedily devouring the surrounding spirit energy. Within his sea of qi, a blue core spun rapidly, gulping down streams of partially refined spirit power. A powerful aura was suppressed deep within his body, faintly on the verge of surging forth.

A hundred years of recovery and bitter cultivation... At last, I’m on the verge of the fourth stage. Once I break through, unless the Devil’s Snare lineage sends a late-stage Adept, no one will be able to stop me. This miserable place will no longer hold me. I’ll return to Labored Swallow Island and restore the Yan family with my own hands!”

As his thoughts turned, the accumulated momentum within his body grew stronger and stronger. His cultivation advanced steadily, as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

All of a sudden, a sharp premonition erupted in his heart. Yan Nantian let out a muffled groan as the inflow of spirit energy abruptly stalled.

The Myriad Soul Grand Formation is under attack? Has Devil’s Snare finally come knocking? Should I flee, or fight? No... No way. All my years of effort come down to this moment. I can’t afford to let it go to waste. The formation can still hold for a while. I still have time.

With his thoughts racing, the man slapped his storage pouch. A pill flew out, and he swallowed it directly. The next instant, his core spun even faster. The stalled spirit energy surged wildly around him again, pouring into his body like fledgling swallows returning to their nest.

***

Outside the small lake on Moon-Inviting Island, a lone figure stood by the water. Beside him floated a gray cauldron. From within it, wave after wave of blazing fire surged forth, spreading across the expanse of the placid lake.

As though provoked, the pitch-black fog blanketing the lake began to churn violently. Shrill howls echoed skyward. The surging aura was so fierce that even the clouds shrouding the night sky were torn apart, revealing a bright full moon.

The clear moonlight poured down, attempting to flood the land, yet it could not advance even a hair’s breadth beneath the fiery light and black fog. Within the fog, countless ghostly figures writhed, frantically spewing ghostly energy to disperse the incoming fiend qi.

Luo Chen watched the scene unfold and felt a sense of reassurance. As expected, the Blazing Fire Miasma was highly effective against the grand formation centered around the Soul-Refining Banner. Fire fiend was technically just higher-grade filth, yet it embodied fierce intent of almost pure yang, the natural nemesis of the ghostly yin. He only needed to wait for the miasma to be fully released and saturate the ten-li lake before he could fight without restraint.

But Luo Chen frowned. ”At a time like this, Yan Nantian is still not showing himself?”

His hands did not slow in the slightest; mana surged as the Blazing Fire Miasma was released in full! Within the dense blaze, a streak of ashen white light emerged. It was the fiend qi left behind after the Withering-Flourishing Fire had devoured vast amounts of life force, known as the Withering-Flourishing True Fiend. Its last appearance had been during the defense of Danxia Mountain, where it destroyed the Seven-Colored Danxia Grand Formation painstakingly arranged by Min Longyu. Among the many types of fiend qi, this was likely the most corrosive of its tier!