An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Seven Rings!

Instantly, a name appeared in their minds. At that moment, Red Face suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky. Lightning writhed and thunder roared. The surging spirit energy over Profound Rock Island had completely fallen into chaos. They had thought the disturbance was the result of their fierce battle, but this no longer seemed to be the case. The spirit energy whirling around them was not the demonic energy they refined; it was pure heaven and earth spirit energy. It rose from the earth veins and descended from the sky. The feeling was like...

”Turning the false into reality... Ancestral Transformation! This is bad! Seven Rings is forcing the lightning tribulation right now!”

Seafall did not seem to care that they’d figured it out. He had delayed them long enough. All preparations had been made, and all resources had been exhausted. He had even prepared himself to die today. Now it was time to witness that final chance of survival.

The next moment, what looked like a gigantic serpent shot into the sky from the highest peak of Profound Rock Island. It spiraled around the peak and rushed toward the sky. At a closer look, it became clear that this was not exactly a serpent, but the neck of a turtle Demon King!

Within the Ring-Head Turtle clan, Patriarch Seafall walked the path of the Black Tortoise, while Grand Elder Seven Rings walked the path of the Cliff Serpent.

Seafall was old and frail. Though he had reached Perfected Mastery of the third tier, it could never take the final step. Seven Rings was different; he was a powerhouse of the same generation as the five crab patriarchs. After centuries of cultivation, relying on the resources left by Demon Emperor Profound Rock, he was now finally taking the final step under the immense pressure of the clan’s impending destruction.

The lightning tribulation landed with a thunderous crash. The immeasurable lightning crashed down on Seven Rings’s head in the first wave. Seven Rings raised his forelimb and summoned a massive turtle shell above his head. It was actually his very own shell that he had shed during his Cliff Serpent cultivation. Such a shell could have been tempered by the lightning tribulation into a life-bound treasure, and with enough time and refinement, even advanced into a True Artifact. However, with only a single strike—

Crack!

The supposedly indestructible shell shattered into ashes. The remaining lightning struck Cliff Serpent Seven Rings and tore open his flesh. At once, his aura weakened.

When they saw this scene, the five patriarchs, who had been on edge, finally let out a breath of relief.

”His foundation isn’t enough. Forcing a breakthrough like this will only end in failure. There’s nothing to fear anymore!”

High in the sky, beneath the vast thunderclouds, Seven Rings waited quietly for the second wave of lightning tribulation. He let out a bitter laugh. ”Patriarch... it still won’t work after all.”

On the battered battlefield, Seafall felt his heart sink. Their ancestor had attained enlightenment as a Black Tortoise, and the resources left behind favored that path. Very few of those things could help Seven Rings. If Seven Rings had followed the Black Tortoise path, he could have at least relied on the ancestor’s remains to endure a few waves of lightning. But now, he had barely survived the first wave. With Seven Rings’s lacking foundation, he would never survive the remaining waves.

”Then so be it. Let the two of us give our lives and hope that this Profound Rock Armor will give our clan a chance of survival,” Seafall murmured.

As it spoke, a bright yellow light emerged from within his body and transformed into a massive turtle shell that flew toward the surviving Ring-Head Turtles nearby.

Seeing this, Golden Mud blurted out, ”The Demon Emperor’s remains!”

As he spoke, he had already moved to seize the shell. Upon hearing his words, Crimson Flame, Nine Legs, and Red Face also took action at the same time.

Yet when faced with their attack, Seafall only sneered. ”You’d better worry about yourselves first.”

The four demons did not understand what he meant, but they were too focused on the Demon Emperor shell to care.

Meanwhile, the second wave of lightning tribulation had already formed in the sky. Seven Rings no longer put up his defenses, seemingly intent on letting the lightning strike him directly. Yet he did actually do one thing: He faced the ground, let out a roar, then drew in a deep breath.

This deep breath drew in not just air, but a few dozen strands of energy.

At that instant, every Crab King present felt a faint connection to him.

It was the innate demonic ability of the Cliff Serpent clan—Horizon Convergence! It allowed the user to draw in the energy of those who stood besides them and fight with the power of many. Legends said that in ancient times, the Cliff Serpent was not a particularly powerful demonic beast, yet it was qualified to stand alongside famous divine beasts like the Black Tortoise, Heavenly Wolf, and Lightning Roc. The reason was that the kings of this clan could absorb the power of their people and merge it into themselves. With the strength of an entire clan, they could confront top-tier Ancient Demons while they were still far below that level.

However, such an ability could never be used to cross a tribulation. Lightning tribulation was the test of the Heavenly Dao for those who sought ascension, and allowed no interference. When the powers of multiple people merged together, the tribulation’s power would surge proportionately, and its range would expand from the one person undergoing the tribulation to everyone connected to them.

Seven Rings was, of course, not at the level where he could summon the clan’s power and confront an Ancient Demon. But what he could do was forcibly draw in the aura of every Crab King on the battlefield, the energy they naturally emanated. As a result, the lightning tribulation would strike them all. Of course, he would die doing so, but the others would suffer just as much.

The demonic beasts here lacked the knowledge to grasp what he was trying to do. But when thick bolts of lightning passed through Seven Rings’s body and then fell toward every Crab King on Profound Rock Island, they all panicked.

”How can this be?”

”Heavens! I only just reached the third tier. I can’t withstand a lightning tribulation!”

”Patriarch, save me!”

Screams erupted at once. Some fled in panic and tried to escape the island, while the stronger ones knew they could not escape and used every method they had to resist the lightning tribulation. Even the five patriarchs cursed in anger but had no time to care about others. They could only deploy their defenses and do their best to withstand the lightning.

The punishment of heaven descended upon the island, and silver light flooded the land. Thunder roared and shook the earth. At this point, the lightning tribulation no longer targeted specific individuals; anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby was struck as well. The entire island fell under a devastating storm of destruction.

***

Within the swamp, Han Zhan had originally intended to leave. However, after witnessing the course of the great battle with his own eyes and seeing the tribulation clouds begin to gather, he abandoned that thought.

He had once survived a Nascent Soul lightning tribulation and had even guarded his friend Ice Torrent during one. It could be said that his understanding of lightning tribulations far surpassed that of ordinary people. When the tribulation clouds began gathering, he immediately sensed what was going on. Yet he also felt puzzled.

”Is the demon race’s transformation lightning really this weak? It only gathered for a single day. Or is it because the one undergoing the tribulation lacks sufficient foundation?”

Because of this curiosity, he stayed and witnessed the moment the lightning tribulation descended. When he saw dozens of Demon Kings were dragged into the tribulation, Han Zhan could not help praising it aloud. ”What a move! In the middle of this great battle, the one crossing the tribulation secretly gathered the auras of all the Demon Kings. Then it used that connection to draw more heavenly lightning and drag everyone down with him. What a clever method, and the resolve behind it must be downright ruthless!”

But while he showered Seven Rings with praise that didn’t help the latter in the slightest, a thought suddenly struck him. He glanced at the Black-Scaled Flood Dragon trembling on the ground. ”Black King, I have something for you to do. Do it well, and your master will reward you generously.”

Black King lifted his head. ”What is it?”

Han Zhan explained the task step by step. After hearing it, Black King hurriedly shook his head. Terror filled his eyes. ”Uh... I won’t survive that.”

”Don’t you want supreme-grade Imperial Nectar?” Han Zhan asked with a smile. ”Your devouring ability only awakened from your mixed bloodline because of Imperial Nectar. If you complete this task, you will have as much Imperial Nectar as you want.”

Black King was tempted, but the danger ahead still made him hesitate.

”Don’t worry. Just go and do it. With your master and me here, you won’t die. And there’ll be another reward for you afterward.”

”My master is here too?” Black King asked in surprise.

Han Zhan smiled slightly. ”You don’t think he’d just ignore such a huge commotion, do you?”

Hearing that Luo Chen was nearby, Black King gritted his teeth. ”Fine. I will do it!”

***

Once Seven Rings failed his tribulation, the lightning dispersed on its own. The dark clouds that covered the sky slowly faded, leaving only ordinary clouds that proceeded to shower everything with torrential rain.

Under the immense power of the tribulation, the already battle-battered island actually sank hundreds of zhang deeper; seawater flooded in and submerged everything but the leftover mountains. The surviving Crab Kings on the island were all in miserable condition and filled with fear.

Fortunately, the lightning tribulation had finally dispersed. This meant the battle had reached its ultimate end. Seven Rings had drawn the lightning into himself and failed the tribulation. Seafall had fought fiercely against the five patriarchs and died under the calamitous power of the lightning. But the crab side had fared no better—among the five patriarchs, who had been most deeply entangled by the aura link, Green Sleeve and Nine Legs had died as well!

As for the three surviving patriarchs, they were gravely injured. Their auras were weaker than they’d ever been, and more than half their cultivation had been ruined. Even centuries of bitter cultivation might not restore them to their peak. The other surviving Crab Kings numbered only a dozen or so.

Red Face struggled to keep his eyes open and looked at the seawater flooding in from all directions and the surviving Crab Kings of the five clans. The structure of the fourth-tier spirit vein had been utterly wrecked. With the methods of the demon races, it would likely take a thousand years to repair. Worse still, the strength of the five clans had tanked, and they would be unable to fend off major clans from other sea regions that might try to seize the land.

Clearly, while the Ring-Head Turtle clan’s attempt at mutual destruction had technically failed, it had worked well enough for all practical purposes.

”Seafall, Seven Rings, you two are truly ruthless!”

Just as Red Face was sensing the situation around them, Golden Mud suddenly shouted from the side, ”Golden Pincer, take the troops and seize the Demon Emperor’s remains!”

From a crater, a streak of golden light burst out of the water and rushed toward the collapsed towering mountain. At the same time, Golden Armor—also a Great Crab King—and five Crab Kings ignored their injuries and followed Golden Pincer.

At that moment, the seven demons moved together and tried to get the shell of Demon Emperor Profound Rock floating above the surviving Ring-Head Turtles. However, before they could approach, a terrifying devouring force erupted from beneath the ground. It moved ahead of them and swallowed the yellow radiance.

Golden Pincer recognized the familiar aura at once. ”Flood dragon bastard, how dare you!”

Black King did not hesitate. After swallowing the Demon Emperor Profound Rock’s shell, he plunged toward the depths of the sea. The seven Overlord Crabs were about to intercept him when terror seized them. A heaven-shaking aura descended from above.

The seven demons raised their heads at once. A figure resembling a great roc stood in the sky and pressed down with one hand. Vast mana gathered in that strike, and endless azure flames coiled around it. The gigantic palm manifestation was thousands of zhang wide, and it was obvious that the caster had gathered power for a long time before crashing down.

BOOOOMMMMMMMM!

Profound Rock Island was already on the verge of collapse, and this palm strike became the final blow. The last remaining peaks were turned to dust, and the entire island was submerged even further. The seven demons at the center of the Azure Yang Great Handprint range let out miserable screams, while a voice came from above. ”Fellow Daoists, thank you for the present!”

The voice echoed seemingly without end. By the time the lingering sound faded, the speaker was already far away, flying toward the horizon.