An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Unfortunately, there were no such ifs. After forming his core, there was nothing in his arsenal of pills that could strengthen his divine soul. The growth of the divine soul depended solely on the tempering of time, the advancement of cultivation, and the slight improvements brought about by the Fine Dust Primordial Art.

This was precisely why Luo Chen had hesitated when facing Han Zhan. The Falling Cloud Sect specialized in puppet techniques and all its members were proficient in divine soul refinement. As far as he knew, the three core arts and two techniques of the Falling Cloud Sect had been obtained by its founding ancestor from a secret realm. If practiced over a long period of time, they could steadily strengthen the user’s divine soul. That was precisely why their cultivators could control numerous puppets of a higher level than themselves and challenge opponents across realms. If he could learn such core arts from Han Zhan, he would surely be able to make up for this shortcoming.

Yet a sect’s core inheritance could not be granted so lightly. After hesitating for a while, he chose not to speak, in order to avoid a refusal that would lead to unnecessary awkwardness between them.

After setting aside that regret, Luo Chen steadied his thoughts and retrieved the green gourd from his storage ring to tally the results. Indeed, as the spectators had counted, there were four hundred twenty-seven top-grade pills!

But this figure differed considerably from what he had expected. Judging by the success rates at each proficiency level, after reaching Perfected Mastery, he should have been able to achieve a fifty percent success rate when refining top-grade pills. With the support of his life-bound treasure, that success rate should have risen even further. Even if it did not reach six or seven hundred pills, it ought to have been above five hundred. Yet the final outcome stood at just over four hundred.

After a brief silence, Luo Chen reached a conclusion. It was likely because this was his first time refining at such a scale and he was not yet familiar with it. Handling so many ingredients simultaneously had led to some wasted movements, and being drenched in sweat was hardly surprising. With more attempts, once familiarity set in, the results would surely improve.

Luo Chen put the green gourd away. Then, he opened his mouth and expelled the Primordial Unity Cauldron to examine it carefully. In the end, he nodded in satisfaction. As expected of one of the three great alchemical cauldrons of Green Pill Valley, it could be continuously nurtured and refined through daily alchemy. Even a single refinement at such a large scale once had infused a tremendous amount of pill energy into the cauldron, causing its fire-element power to surge to an extraordinary degree. Some of the materials that had not previously been fully refined also began to integrate into the cauldron. Half a month of such work surpassed the effects of half a year of ordinary refinement!

”If this continues, then in ten years, I should be able to refine it completely, remove all impurities and bring it up to the peak of the top grade. It was born top grade to begin with, so the moment it gets there, it should immediately become supreme grade.”

In his delight, Luo Chen put away the cauldron. It was impossible to continue refining pills at this point. His divine soul could not endure it, and his mana also needed time to replenish. Hence, he decided to rest for half a month.

Naturally, that half a month could not be wasted. Before setting out, many matters needed to be prepared in advance, and cultivation pills were only a part of it.

After washing up, Luo Chen first enjoyed a hearty meal under Cheng Haixin’s attentive care. As he digested the bloodfood, he began reading books detailing the customs and culture of the Northern Sea.

Reading was a habit he had maintained for many years. Even after arriving in the unfamiliar lands of the Northern Sea, he continued it whenever circumstances allowed. Although some things could only be truly understood through personal experience, many others could be grasped ahead of time through books. When the moment came to face them in reality, he could respond with composure.

Broad knowledge is not gained solely by traveling thousands of li; reading ten thousand books is also a path, and a rather efficient one at that.

After finishing reading the Chronicles of Jadecold City, Luo Chen went to the side hall.

”Senior, I am here to study formations again.”

From the gloomy side hall filled with ghostly energy, a three-cun-tall figure drifted out. Han Zhan looked at Luo Chen in surprise and said, ”You’ve already mastered those first-tier formations?”

The next moment, batches of basic materials floated out from Luo Chen’s storage ring as he arranged them along precise patterns and infused them with mana. Lines of light immediately spread across the ground. It was the first-tier Flame Gathering Formation!

The formation itself was not particularly complex, but to set it up as effortlessly as Luo Chen had was genuinely astonishing. After Han Zhan’s initial surprise, he studied Luo Chen carefully for a long moment before beckoning him closer.

”Come in. I’m not some top-tier formation master, but formations from the first to the third tier are well within my grasp, and I have a bit of experience with some fourth-tier ones as well. Your foundation is solid, and you’re already at the Golden Core Realm. Learning the basic formations of each tier shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

Aside from his cultivation, Han Zhan had embarked on the path of puppetry, with formations as a secondary pursuit. It was the combination of the two that gave rise to the Two Poles Five Elements Formation that had once forced Defiant Howl into a rather miserable state.

Luo Chen’s knowledge in formations originated from Min Longyu, and had been later refined under Fu Jiusheng’s guidance for a time. Now that he had Han Zhan as a companion, there was no way he would not squeeze out some of the formation knowledge Han Zhan possessed. The Falling Cloud Sect’s core arts were beyond his reach, but Han Zhan would not be stingy with these common formations. And if Luo Chen could master them, they would be of tremendous benefit to him, whether in cultivation or in battle.

For an ordinary cultivator, pushing a single path to its limit already marked them as geniuses. If they pursued additional skills, even the abilities of a prodigy like Han Zhan would at best be considered as broad competence, not true mastery. But Luo Chen was different. With the system at his disposal and with his alchemy having reached a bottleneck, he had great confidence that studying formations as a secondary path would allow him to reach a profound level. Moreover, he had realized long ago that the essence of formations lay in replication. That meant repeated execution, which perfectly aligned with the underlying principle of his system.

Thus, Luo Chen looked forward to it greatly. One day, he would become a true formation master too!

***

Half a month later, the white mist over the lake dispersed once more. The nine-zhang giant cauldron stood again upon the islet. This time, fewer than half of last time’s spectators were present. However, many young Qi Refinement cultivators had appeared among the crowd. Clearly, the families intended to use the opportunity of observing Luo Chen’s alchemy to start raising alchemists of their own.

Luo Chen did not drive them away. He merely instructed Cheng Haixin and his new disciple Xu Muxian to observe carefully. After that, the process proceeded just as before. Only this time, Luo Chen was far more composed and did not end up in the embarrassing situation of sweating profusely as he had the first time.

What had been unfamiliar became familiar with repetition, and the second time, refining a hundred batches at once was not as taxing.

Thus, after another half month passed, the familiar scene of pill collection played out once more, and even though the crowd had already witnessed it once, they were no less astonished the second time. Many even revealed expressions of admiration.

***

Half a month of alchemy followed by half a month of rest. Six months later, the ingredient stockpiles gathered for Luo Chen by the Flying Swallow cultivators were finally exhausted. By then, Luo Chen’s reserve of True Flame Pills had reached an absurd total of 3,200.[1]

As for how such a number came to be, the reason lay in his steadily rising success rate. From the third refinement onward, he maintained a success rate above fifty percent. The fourth refinement produced 550 pills. The fifth yielded 590. The sixth produced 630. Combined with the earlier stock, the total reached 3,200.

Such results were only to be expected. Luo Chen had grown familiar with the process of large-scale alchemy and grasped its underlying principles. With the Primordial Unity Cauldron further enhancing pill grade and yield, such abundant gains naturally followed.

At this point, his mana cultivation was ensured. Next, it was time to venture out to seek that special location to refine Black Sovereign Paste for his physique cultivation.

***

At the Flying Swallow Dock, seven cultivators bowed respectfully.

Cheng Dou had grown increasingly weathered with the years. He carefully instructed the elder Cheng Ji as he occasionally glanced at Luo Chen with a hint of joy in his eyes.

Luo Chen was departing. Before leaving, he had entrusted Moon-Inviting Island to Cheng Dou so he could attempt a breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm. This was something Cheng Dou had long yearned for. After several years of practicing the Azure Yang Pill Codex, he was already on the verge of minor mastery. With the support of a third-tier spirit vein and his cultivation, the Golden Core Realm was indeed within reach.

Cheng Haixin stood beside Luo Chen, looking somewhat worried. ”Is it truly necessary to go to the Profound Rock Sea Region?”

Luo Chen glanced at her. She lowered her head at once and said no more. By her ear, only Luo Chen’s instructions sounded. ”Xu Muxian’s alchemy may have reached the first tier, but his foundation is still unstable. The formula I gave him is rather complex. Provide him with all the ingredients the families have submitted and let him practice more.

”Also... I’ve heard the Cheng family intends to marry a daughter to Xu Muxian and have a marriage alliance. That’s fine by me. But before he reaches Foundation Establishment, his primal yang must remain intact. And the Starfield Pill ingredients I told you to collect—make sure you gather them as fast as you can.”

Cheng Haixin nodded, firmly committing each matter to memory. She then asked softly, ”Should we continue inquiring about those three ingredients as well?”

”Yes. If there is any news, inform me immediately. If you can secure them, do so. If not, wait until I return.”

”Alright.”

At this point, there was nothing left to linger over. Luo Chen cast a final glance at the Cheng family cultivators, at the young Xu Muxian, who was standing by the dock, and at the Flying Swallow cultivators in the distance, who were craning their necks to watch. A faint smile appeared on his face.

He leapt aboard the Cheng family’s demon-hunting ship. The Cheng family’s most seasoned sailor, Cheng Ji, raised his voice and called out, ”Set sail!”

The great ship slowly set into motion. Beneath the surface, five Blue-Ringed Great Fang Sea Serpents swam around it. There was also a massive black flood dragon that rolled around once, splashing out countless waves, then surged ahead at the very front of the demon-hunting ship.

1. The original says 3,500, but the math isn’t mathing. ☜