An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 833: Lying in Wait for the Rabbit; The Cliff Serpent’s Corpse (I)

Across the vast sea region, fierce winds swept the waters. Suddenly, a massive figure shot in from the distance like a meteor. When it stopped, the sea burst into countless sprays of water. The rain had just ceased, and the splashes gave birth to rainbows under the sunlight. Within the hazy radiance, the enormous figure gradually shrank. His qi armor dissipated, and the wings folded away. Layer after layer of steam-like waves pushed aside the surrounding seawater.

As the water fell back into the sea, Luo Chen finally returned to his human form. He looked at his completely bare body and frowned. Whether it was the Sky Roc Transformation or Wang Yuan’s Giant Spirit Transformation, both had the same problem: the transformation would cause the user’s clothes to be torn apart. At the lower levels, the user’s body expanded only one or two zhang, and ordinary enchanted robes could stretch with it. But now that Luo Chen had advanced to the late stage of the third tier, his full transformation could reach dozens of zhang. Even his supreme-grade enchanted robes could not withstand that.

”Well, whatever. May involuntary nudity be the worst problem I ever have.”

He cast Heal and stabilized the injuries on his body, then put on a loose moon-white Daoist robe. Afterward, he sank to the seabed and waited quietly.

With his speed earlier, he had left the Profound Rock Sea Region behind by one or two thousand li. Ordinary Demon Kings could not catch up to him. Moreover, the demonic beasts on Profound Rock Island were mostly crabs and turtles, not particularly known for speed, and most of them had also been severely injured by the lightning tribulation. The only ones with the strength left to pursue Luo Chen were Golden Pincer and the other Great Demon Kings. Yet they had been on the receiving end of Luo Chen’s full-power Azure Yang Great Handprint and were now barely able to look after themselves. Therefore, Luo Chen was not worried about being chased.

He thus waited here to meet Han Zhan and Black King. The escape route had been set by Han Zhan upon close survey of Profound Rock Island and the surroundings. With the Surging Cloudmist Formation of the Divine Seal Compass, they could cover their escape with ease. Moreover, Luo Chen had bought them enough time, so it was unlikely for any accidents to happen.

But after waiting for about half an incense stick, Luo Chen opened his eyes, looking rather puzzled. ”Why are they not here yet?”

Splash!

Luo Chen rose to the surface and swept both his Spirit Eyes and divine consciousness around, yet found nothing. This was without a doubt the meeting point he had agreed on with Han Zhan, yet there was still no sign of them.

Luo Chen’s heart sank. ”Don’t tell me Han Zhan ran off?”

If that were truly the case, Luo Chen would feel at a loss. Not having Han Zhan was one thing, but the latter also had a number of great treasures: the Myriad Soul Banner that had been nurtured for many years, the indispensable Divine Seal Compass, and the Demon Emperor’s remains that Black King had seized. These three items alone could not even be bought for millions of spirit stones. The Demon Emperor’s remains were especially precious—the body of a Transformation Stage demon was not something one could casually fish out of the water. If handled properly, it might be turned into an extraordinary treasure. That was precisely why Luo Chen had risked so much to seize them in the first place.

Oh, right! There was also Black King. He was not particularly talented to start with, yet he had been raised carefully by Kun Jiao and then by Luo Chen. After consuming large amounts of supreme-grade Imperial Nectar, a legacy demonic ability had emerged, and his future prospects were limitless. If Han Zhan ran off with him, Luo Chen would have nowhere to cry.

Only then did he realize the actual loophole of the Great Dao Oath they shared. The oath Han Zhan had sworn only prevented him from harming Luo Chen before the latter advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm. It did not restrict Han Zhan from leaving if he so desired

For a moment, Luo Chen’s joy at having obtained some great treasures faded. ”No... I have to go find them.”

He checked his own condition and found that he had more than half his mana. Although he had suffered injuries, they would not affect his battle performance. Thus, even if he encountered enemies, he had enough strength to protect himself. With that in mind, Luo Chen summoned a mana cloud, activated the Concealment Veil Formation and flew quietly over the sea.

During the flight, he constantly watched for divine soul fluctuations. After all, Black King was his spirit beast, and when Luo Chen enslaved it, he formed a connection between them. As long as the distance was not too great, he could roughly sense the flood dragon’s location.

After flying for a while, the cloud suddenly stopped above the sea. At the same moment, Luo Chen looked up at the sky, where a streak of light passed by seemingly in panic, emanating the aura of a seventh-stage Adept. The aura felt very familiar to him. Gu Shaoshang? Why is he here, and why does he look like he’s fleeing?

While Luo Chen wondered about this, a whirlpool appeared in the sea ahead. Then, a Black-Scaled Flood Dragon rose from the water. Its body was thick and massive, and a ferocious horn adorned its head. Appearance aside, even its aura showed clearly that it was no ordinary beast.

It was Black King! Luo Chen felt a surge of joy and deactivated the Concealment Veil Formation.

Black King quickly noticed him and swam over. ”Master, I completed the task!”

He opened his mouth and spat out a mass of yellow radiance that floated above them. Instantly Luo Chen felt an ancient and heavy aura. He focused his gaze and saw through the yellow light—a turtle shell was slowly rotating within it. Dense hexagonal patterns covered its surface. Only beings of exceptional talent could form such well-arranged shell patterns.

”So this is the Demon Emperor’s legacy? I think the old turtle called it Profound Rock Armor...”

Luo Chen reached out and grabbed it. After examining it carefully, he stored it in his storage ring and looked at Black King. ”What’s going on with Gu Shaoshang?”

Black King looked confused. ”I don’t know either. I had just escaped from the seabed spring, and I found him blocking the exit. It was Senior Han who stepped in and scared him off.”

Scared him off? Luo Chen was still wondering when a scale on Black King’s back flipped open and the Myriad Soul Banner flew out.

Luo Chen caught it, and Han Zhan’s voice slowly reached his ears. ”That youngster is not ordinary. He’s quite skilled in formations. Perhaps, like us, he saw through the hidden escape paths on Profound Rock Island and waited along our route to catch us.”

”Huh? You guys fought?”

”Fought? Please. All things aside, I am a dignified Sage. How could I keep fighting Golden Core juniors? I merely released a trace of my aura and scared him away.”

”I see.” Luo Chen nodded, though he still felt puzzled. If Gu Shaoshang was scared off so quickly, why were you delayed for so long?

Thankfully, Han Zhan wasted no time clarifying Luo Chen’s unvoiced doubts. As it turned out, the Ring-Head Turtles had also prepared several escape paths. Once they saw their patriarch and grand elder about to fall, some Ring-Head Turtle Kings led some of the surviving clansmen to retreat. Their path happened to be one of those routes. To avoid an unexpected clash, Han Zhan and Black King had to slow down, and that was why it had taken them so long to leave the perimeter of Profound Rock Island. As soon as they emerged, they encountered Gu Shaoshang lying in wait, which was the scene Luo Chen saw when he arrived.

”Alright, we’re still too close to Profound Rock Island. Just to be safe, we’d better leave first,” Luo Chen said.

”Are we heading back to the Flying Swallow Archipelago?” Han Zhan asked.

Luo Chen shook his head. ”Not yet. I still need to deal with these Crab Kings we just obtained. If we wait too long, they won’t be suitable for refinement.”

As he spoke, he swept his mana and grasped the Myriad Soul Banner in his hand. Han Zhan slipped inside and handed over the Divine Seal Compass, while Black King shrank his body and curled beneath Luo Chen’s mana cloud. Then, he formed a hand seal, and they disappeared into the distant sky.

***

Tens of thousands of li from Profound Rock Island stood a small island without spirit energy. A seagull perched upon it. One day, a streak of light descended there. The seagull hurried to meet it. ”Master, you’re back!”

”Has anyone found the coral trench cave residence?” asked Luo Chen.

Heavenjade hurriedly shook her head. ”I checked. No one’s been there. Even if a few low-tier sea demons wandered into the coral trench, the nearby Blood Corals ate them. The place still hasn’t been discovered.”

Luo Chen nodded. If no one had discovered it, it meant it was still safe for the time being. He would go there first and process the shells of the Crab Kings. Once that was done, he could leave this region at leisure.

After instructing Heavenjade to stand guard nearby and watch for enemies, he returned to the cave residence with Black King. As soon as he arrived, he took out the Divine Seal Compass and prepared to set up the Surging Cloudmist Formation.

”You’re still so cautious,” Han Zhan said with a laugh.

While manipulating the compass, Luo Chen casually replied. ”It’s always better to be a bit more cautious while away from home. If I wasn’t this cautious, I would have been completely surrounded by the Demon Spider Crab clan back at Heavenjade Island.”

Once he was surrounded, breaking through was bound to be difficult. In that battle on Profound Rock Island, he had cut through the encirclement precisely because he had prepared in advance. But if someone set an ambush at his cave residence, he feared he would find it hard to escape even with his full strength. In particular, if the enemy were demons like the Demon Spider Crabs, who were perceptive and excelled at trapping others, he would have no chance of escape.