An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 806: Blood Nightmare Devil’s Snare; The Twelve Lineage Lords (II)

While Luo Chen was digesting this information, Wu Qi was also continuously surveying the surroundings and occasionally sniffing lightly. At last, his eyes settled on Luo Chen with faint yet undeniable astonishment.

Facing that strange look, Luo Chen frowned. ”Yan Nantian is dead, and we have clarified the misunderstanding between us. I believe that concludes our matters. Fellow Daoist, is there anything you want to say?”

This was a clear dismissal, yet Wu Qi hurriedly waved his hands. ”I do, I do!”

At last, it seemed he could not hold it in any longer.

”Fellow Daoist, you are a third-tier alchemist, aren’t you?”

Luo Chen tugged at the corner of his mouth, neither confirming nor denying it. Wu Qi pressed on, ”From what I can tell, you would be considered a master even among third-tier alchemists!”

”Oh? And what is it that you can tell?” Luo Chen asked in return.

Wu Qi sniffed lightly, then said with a hint of reminiscence, ”Within the Devil’s Snare, there is a lineage lord who also practices the Dao of Alchemy and has reached the third tier. Sometimes, when he refines a top-grade third-tier pill, he holds a little celebration for it. Now, although I did not receive one such pill myself, I was fortunate enough to observe one. The fragrance of that top-grade pill was like orchids and musk, subtle yet profound... and yet! It falls far short of the lingering pill fragrance you carry!”

At this point, his expression grew excited. ”Fellow Daoist, could it be that you can refine supreme-grade third-tier pills?”

A thought stirred in Luo Chen’s mind, and he carefully sniffed his own body. Before the battle, he had indeed refined supreme-grade True Flame Pills, and it made sense that there were faint traces of fragrance left on him. In the past, he would habitually remove such traces with Cleanse. However, after arriving in the Northern Sea, in order to preserve his killing aura to deter petty threats, he had reduced the frequency of using the cleaning spell.

As he lived among fragrant surroundings and grown accustomed to them, he had inadvertently overlooked the pill fragrance. He had not expected Wu Qi to be so keen as to glimpse a portion of his true depth. But since that was the case, there was no need to hide it anymore.

”I merely succeeded once by luck. I hardly deserve to be called a master,” Luo Chen said lightly.

Wu Qi hurriedly shook his head. ”No, no, no. Kun Jiao may have deceived me in other matters, but he mentioned your attainments in alchemy more than once. At the time, I assumed he was just a piece of trash with shallow knowledge, mistaking the ordinary for the extraordinary. Now it seems he truly was a piece of trash, but for the exact opposite reason. He knew that you were a third-tier alchemist, but he had no idea that even among third-tier alchemists there are vast differences. Alchemy at your level can only be described as masterful. Within the Devil’s Snare, someone like you would be an honored guest. Even the lineage lords would likely set aside their loftiness to befriend you.”

The corner of Luo Chen’s mouth twitched. How exaggerated!

Yet on second thought, someone capable of refining supreme-grade third-tier pills would indeed be a first-rate figure even in the Eastern Wilderness. At their peak, Qing Danzi and Meng Changshou could only refine top-grade third-tier pills, and even then with no guaranteed success. Qing Danzi had previously succeeded in refining fourth-tier pills, but that was while assisted by an entire alchemy department; Meng Changshou had never succeeded at all. Yet even so, both of them were renowned figures in the Eastern Wilderness cultivation world, in no way inferior to ordinary Sages.

Having thought it through, his mood grew noticeably calmer. Seeing this composed demeanor, Wu Qi took a deep breath.

Ah... so that was it.

No wonder he had not cared in the slightest when Wu Qi mentioned Devil’s Snare earlier. Someone capable of refining supreme-grade third-tier pills was exactly the kind of figure any Nascent Soul-level power would scramble to invite. With such exquisite alchemy skills, he was in no way inferior to a Sage, even if his cultivation realm was lower. In fact, it was obvious even to a fool that befriending him was a better idea than befriending a random Sage. So why would he bow?

Wu Qi swallowed hard and shoved all his greed down into the bottom of his heart. He said seriously, ”Fellow Daoist, would you be interested in joining Devil’s Snare?”

”Not at all!”

The refusal came without the slightest hesitation. Had an ordinary person spoken so bluntly, Wu Qi would have flown into a rage. But the man before him was a master alchemist; pride born of competence was only natural. He did not take offense and continued to talk warmly.

He listed in detail how large the Devil’s Snare was, how each of the lineage lords wielded immense authority, and how the resources under their control across various regions were boundless. There were hundreds of Adepts, tens of thousands of Initiates, and Qi Refinement cultivators like grains of sand. If Luo Chen joined, he would become the chief alchemist at once, enjoying unparalleled honor!

Seeing that Luo Chen showed the slightest sign of wavering, he pressed on, ”Master Azure Yang, it is a fact that you killed Yan Nantian. Although Yan Nantian was not particularly important, he had at least nominally joined the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance. That may not be a Holy Land just yet, but they have an Ascendant. Are you not worried they might come looking for trouble?”

If the benefits failed, then he would present the dangers. Yet, unexpectedly, Luo Chen snorted in disdain. ”Why, Fellow Daoist Wu, that is an excellent question. What if they do come for me? Any idiot would know who’s better between me and Yan Nantian, and the cultivators of the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance are certainly no fools. Once I reveal my abilities, would they not treat me as an honored guest? And by your own words, that force has an Ascendant. Is that not even better than Devil’s Snare?”

Wu Qi was stunned, yet he was unwilling to give up. After a long while, he said uncertainly, ”Everyone knows that although the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance is a righteous power, as the name says, it’s also extremely loose. That Ascendant Li keeps to himself and never handles the regular affairs, which is as good as to say he’s not there. Most of the forces opposing the alliance either hail from the Primordial Devil Sect, like in our case, or have overseas powers backing them. In my judgment, the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance will not last long. Fellow Daoist, why join a power that will sooner or later become a thing of the past?”

Luo Chen frowned. This indeed changed his understanding of the situation of the Northern Sea. It was no wonder that forces without Ascendants dared to oppose the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance.

The remnants of the Primordial Devil Sect were regarded as the orthodox power of the Northern Sea. As for the overseas forces, they were almost certainly Holy Lands from the other four territories. Seen in this light, it also explained why the Ascendant surnamed Li remained secluded and detached from worldly affairs and delegated all mundane matters to the Sages below. He likely had no desire to offend the others where it was not required.

But if that was the case, then Luo Chen was even less willing to join Devil’s Snare. When such great powers clashed, it was always people like him who suffered most.

Seeing that Luo Chen remained unmoved, Wu Qi felt a heavy sense of frustration well up within him. This man was no weaker than him, and an outstanding alchemist at that. If he truly didn’t want to move, then nothing could move him.

Wait a moment...

Wu Qi carefully recalled the exchange. When he spoke of the Devil’s Snare’s vast resources and enormous manpower, Azure Yang had seemed ever so slightly tempted. It was only logical: Master alchemists were almost always surrounded by followers and people who ran errands and handled logistics on their behalf. This both reflected their exalted status and proved that they required manpower.

Azure Yang appeared indifferent to gain, but if he were truly a carefree wanderer, why would he have acted so decisively to kill Yan Nantian, with whom he had no personal enmity? In the end, wasn’t it all for the manpower and resources of the Flying Swallow Archipelago?

As realization dawned, Wu Qi felt relaxed. A smile spread across his face once more. ”Fellow Daoist Azure Yang, the benefits of joining Devil’s Snare are many, and I need not elaborate. But the lineage lords are all Sages. They can surely produce some precious insights on forming the Nascent Soul. Are you truly not tempted? Of course, perhaps you fear trouble. But even if the sky falls, it will never fall upon an alchemist to hold it up. You don’t need to worry about being exposed to trouble. So how about this...”

Wu Qi had no intention of nagging his interlocutor. He took out a blood-red rhombus-shaped token from his storage pouch. ”This is the Blood Nightmare Token, a keepsake bestowed by Devil Lord Blood Nightmare upon those who render him great service. If you are willing to join us, then ten years from now, you may bring this item and seek me out in Jadecold City.”

”Ten years, you say?” Luo Chen asked.

Wu Qi nodded. ”I can’t give you an exact date, but yes, ten years or so. I will certainly travel from Divine Witch Island to Jadecold City during that time. Of course, if you wish, you may also come directly to Divine Witch Island.”

As he spoke, he also handed Luo Chen a map. With that, he had truly concluded what he had to say, and after exchanging a few polite words, he departed with unforced ease.

Luo Chen stood on the shore of Moon-Inviting Island and watched the departing streak of light while playing with the blood-colored token. A look of hesitation surfaced in his eyes.

An aged voice came from behind him. ”Tempted?”

Without turning his head, Luo Chen said, ”A little, but I am also worried about trouble.”

”The path of cultivation will always be full of trouble. It cannot possibly be smooth forever.”

Luo Chen shook his head. He lowered his gaze to carefully examine the token in his hand, then stored it away in his ring. ”We’ll talk about it later. With my power right now and your current state, I still can’t deal with that trouble.”

From within the Soul-Refining Banner, Han Zhan let out an awkward chuckle. ”Actually... if you help me replenish the souls within the Myriad Soul Banner, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

There was no response to those words. Luo Chen had already returned to his cave residence and taken out the bottle of supreme-grade True Flame Pills.