An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 858: Heavenjade Ambushed; Signs of Nascent Soul Formation (I)

The chubby cultivator was in utter shock. As the Holy Land of the Central Continent, the Heaven Origin Dao Sect had the best intelligence, and he was also privy to a lot of things unknown to ordinary people.

A dignified Demon Emperor had actually infiltrated a human Immortal Island. This was no small matter. Once exposed, it could easily spark a war.

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, humans and demons had never coexisted. Since the end of the ancient war and the signing of the armistice, no large-scale wars had broken out on the surface; only smaller, domain-level conflicts remained. But everyone knew it would not last. More than three thousand years had passed, and that fragile peace was already beginning to collapse.

The Central Continent no longer faced demon threats, but the other four regions had already begun to reignite war to varying degrees. The Northern Sea was the worst of them. More than a hundred years ago, the demon alliance army had invaded the Heaven of Northern Yama and annihilated the Primordial Devil Sect. That was the clearest sign that things were going awry. With the Holy Land destroyed, the Northern Sea cultivation world had been left leaderless. Even though new forces like the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance had emerged, their influence was no more than a drop in the proverbial—and literal—ocean.

Everyone knew that once the demon races fully reorganized, war would sweep across the entire Northern Sea. Because of this, the human side moved to settle internal strife first. Major forces had been clashing both openly and in secret, each trying to seize the upper hand. When the time came, one of them would have to lead the resistance against the demon races.

Under such circumstances, an unknown transformed demon had quietly entered a major southeastern city. There was no way it was just casually taking a stroll, so there had to be a purpose to it. Was it a scout sent ahead to probe the situation? Had it come to gather intelligence? Or was it here to sabotage the alliance between the Penglai Immortal Sect and Devil’s Snare?[1] It might even be acting alone, with no broader implications at all, but in that case, what was it doing here?

For a few moments, the chubby cultivator stared at the bronze mirror as his thoughts raced and his expression gradually turned uncertain. Hmm... its true form is a Heavenjade Battle Gull? Once a demon reaches the fourth tier, their Nascent Soul can hide their real body. Even this demon-revealing mirror can only tell it’s not human. Could it really just be a third-tier demonic beast? But a third-tier beast shouldn’t be able to transform... unless it got lucky and swallowed a Transformation Herb?

Numerous thoughts surged in his mind. Regardless, the chubby cultivator could no longer sit still and sent out a transmission. Then he concealed his aura and made his way down from the seventh floor. He entered the main hall on the first floor and saw the slightly bewildered female cultivator, and walked straight toward her.

”I am the manager here. My name is Fu Chaosheng. If you need anything, I’ll be happy to assist.”

Heavenjade’s expression tightened when she saw the round-faced man approach with a smile. She had wondered why no one had received her after she entered the shop and had assumed the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance simply did not bother with such courtesies. She had not expected an Adept to receive her in person. Although he was still in the early stage, he stood behind the sect itself.

Heavenjade did not dare show any negligence and said, ”I am Heavenjade. I have a batch of demonic beast materials. Does your shop accept them?”

Fu Chaosheng raised a brow. ”Demonic beast materials? What kind? May I see?”

Heavenjade hesitated. ”It’s not something I can just take out here.”

Fu Chaosheng smiled and gestured. ”Then let’s move somewhere else. This way, please.”

Heavenjade did not refuse and followed him upstairs. The spiral staircase seemed to stretch without end, giving people the illusion of an endless ascent. When they entered an empty room, she felt as though she had passed through a watery veil.

She took out the last batch of materials from her storage pouch—body parts of Crab Kings, with the most eye-catching being the pincers and legs. There were also thick tendons, eyeballs, and other such. In a separate jade box, there were even ten demon cores of varying attributes.

Seeing this, even someone as well-versed as Fu Chaosheng couldn’t hide his surprise. ”Azure Emperor Crab Kings, Overlord Crab Kings, Demon Spider Crab Kings... even Nine-Legged Poison King Crabs! Fellow Daoist Heavenjade, which part of the Demon Sea did you obliterate to get all this?”

Heavenjade’s expression stayed cold. ”That’s none of your concern. Just tell me, are you buying or not?”

Fu Chaosheng rubbed his hands and chuckled. ”Of course we’re buying. How could we not? But I’ll need to take a closer look first. You don’t mind waiting a bit, do you?”

”It’s fine.” Heavenjade nodded and took a seat to the side. Fu Chaosheng examined the materials while casually chatting with her. Although she avoided many questions, he did not actually care about the answers and only watched her reactions

In the end, Fu Chaosheng gave a fair price: three million, paid in top-grade spirit stones. Heavenjade had initially been somewhat dissatisfied, but the moment she heard it would all be paid in top-grade spirit stones, she agreed without hesitation. She hadn’t understood the difference between the grades before, but after seeing Luo Chen use top-grade spirit stones to power formations with the Divine Seal Compass, she had begun to grasp their true value. Thus, she happily agreed to the transaction.

With this batch, plus what I sold earlier, that makes ten million. With this many top-grade spirit stones, Master should be pleased.As expected of the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance... They really are generous, settling everything in top-grade spirit stones.

With that, the deal was struck. Heavenjade carefully placed the three hundred top-grade spirit stones into her storage pouch. Fu Chaosheng clapped his hands and smiled. ”Fellow Daoist, you’re not from around here, are you?”

”Mm.”

”I’m sure this is a rare occasion, so why not take a look around our shop?”

Heavenjade was tempted.

Fu Chaosheng pressed on, ”Our shop not only has the most comprehensive cultivation resources in the Northern Sea but also some special resources from the Central Continent. Take a look, you might find something worthwhile.”

Heavenjade thought for a moment and nodded. The matter was basically done, and nothing had gone wrong. Luo Chen had been in seclusion for over half a month with no sign of emerging anytime soon, so there was nothing for her to do. She might as well look around and broaden her horizons.

With Fu Chaosheng accompanying her, Heavenjade began to browse the goods in the Heaven Origin Tower. There were minerals of various attributes, medicinal ingredients of different grades, potted spirit plants, and all kinds of enchanted artifacts and talismans. Even rare formation discs and high-tier pills were in no short supply.

Throughout, Heavenjade paid special attention to several ingredients Luo Chen had specifically mentioned. After memorizing the prices and stock of those materials, she stopped at the enchanted treasure section on the sixth floor. The shelves displayed various treasures emitting powerful spirit fluctuations, each with unique forms and mysteries. In particular, her gaze locked onto a fan.

She could easily perceive the wind-element spirit energy lingering around it. Even without being activated by mana, it stirred the surrounding space from time to time. Among all the shelves, this one was the cleanest, without a speck of dust, and not even a trace of residual mana from those who had tested it.

”Fellow Daoist, you’ve got a sharp eye. This is the Nine Winds Plantain Fan. It was crafted from the trunk of a spirit plantain tree that was over a hundred thousand years old. Afterward, nine strands of Immaculate Wind were infused into it, giving it tremendous power. It’s a top-grade enchanted treasure, one of the signature items in our shop. If an Adept takes it as a life-bound treasure and refines it properly, it can quite literally summon wind and rain and even split mountains and shatter the earth. And if you happen to have a wind-element spirit root, its power will be even greater.”

Heavenjade listened as Fu Chaosheng spoke and kept her gaze fixed on the fan, unable to hide her interest. She asked instinctively, ”How much is this?”

Fu Chaosheng smiled faintly. ”It is not cheap, but not overly expensive either. An ordinary Adept would have to exhaust their entire fortune to buy it. But you, Fellow Daoist, just happen to have earned three million spirit stones!”

1. 蓬莱 (Pénglái) is a legendary immortal island in the eastern seas, most famously recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is a paradise where immortals dwell, and the name carries a lofty status, signifying ancient prestige and immortal power. ☜