An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 882: Luo Hai or Azure Yang? (II)

Xiang Da let out a shrill roar and threw the half-destroyed flail toward the woman with the fan. Before it even reached halfway, it exploded with a thunderous blast, and violent force spread in all directions. The nearby light barrier trembled once more; ripples spread across its surface.

Heavenjade’s expression changed. She was struck directly and failed to unleash a second strike; instead, she flapped her wings hard and flew backward to mitigate the force of the impact. By the time the air cleared, Xiang Da had already vanished.

Heavenjade parted her lips and a thin thread of blood came out. Guilt flickered across her face. She had prepared that strike in advance, yet she had still failed to kill him. Though it was obvious that the enchanted robe he wore had absorbed the brunt of the blow, the fact of the matter was that she had failed. Under different circumstances, she would have pursued him for as long as it took. But Luo Chen’s orders were absolute, so she could only remain and guard this place.

”Someone’s breaking out... that means the fight inside is going in Master’s favor. Makes sense... With Senior Han and Black King backing him, those people won’t be able to do anything to him.” Heavenjade felt a slight sense of relief, but it was short lived. The next moment, her expression changed drastically as she suddenly looked up.

In the sky, a towering mountain had appeared. Jagged rocks and lush trees covered its surface. It seemed to descend slowly, but this was only because of its tremendous size—it was actually extremely fast. Its target was the Oceanseal Eight Trigram Formation!

”How dare you!” Heavenjade shouted and swung the Nine Winds Plantain Fan.

The strike that had injured Xiang Da, at the sixth stage of Golden Core, felt like nothing more than a breeze against the towering mountain. The mountain did not slow down for even a second. Soon, it pressed down upon the formation, and the previously indestructible barrier began to creak under the pressure.

On top of the mountain stood a gaunt old man. He glanced at Heavenjade once, then ignored her and focused entirely on the formation below. He muttered, ”This formation is unique. It’s strong on the inside, but weak on the outside. It won’t stop me.”

He stomped his foot and drove the mountain down again. The next moment, the dozen-li Oceanseal Eight Trigram Formation trembled violently. Eight black pillars of light erupted upward and forced the mountain back.

”Just a last burst of strength,” the gaunt old man chuckled as he stepped onto the mountain. With force like a falling meteor, it slammed into the barrier again. This time, the barrier shook violently. Deep beneath the sea, the seabed trembled, sand churned, and spirit energy leaked out.

BOOOMMM! BOOOMMM!

Two explosions rang out in succession. The first was louder, triggered by the destruction of the spirit veins beneath the fishery. The second followed immediately after as the Oceanseal Eight Trigram Formation collapsed completely.

When the formation shattered, the battlefield inside appeared before the old man’s eyes. With a single glance, his pupils shrank. Qian Ting was reduced to only a head that stared unwillingly at the sky. The head was in the hand of a red-faced young man. Among the surging waves, a massive flood dragon flickered in and out of sight, its immense demonic energy fully unleashed.

”You are Luo Hai?” the old man asked, but he did not wait for an answer and pointed at the mountain beneath him. ”Go!”

The mountain fell once more. Luo Chen grinned savagely and tossed Qian Ting’s head into the sea. He flapped his wings, shooting forward like an arrow. His momentum was like that of a meteor, and so was the blue-green tail of flames dragging behind him. As he drew closer to the mountain, he thrust both hands forward and met the mountain head-on. ”Get out of my way!”

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

Luo Chen’s veins bulged. Blood seeped across his skin. His sheer physical power was comparable to that of a peak Demon King of ancient days, and he made use of every single bit of it. In the end, the unstoppable force prevailed—he forcibly flipped the massive mountain over!

The old man’s brows twitched as he stared in shock. With a wave of his hand, the mountain shrank into a small seal and flew back into his hand.

He looked at the now smaller young man panting heavily atop a large gray cauldron and spoke again, ”You are Luo Hai!”

The same words, but in an entirely different tone.

Luo Chen found himself naked yet again, with not a shred of clothing on him. But he felt no shame for it. He lifted his head and looked at the old man, his eyes gleaming with an eerie light. ”You’re the mountain lord of Hundred Craft Mountain, right? Are you planning to keep me here as well?”

The mountain lord was about to speak, but the moment their eyes met, he fell into a brief daze. In that instant, he seemed to see how captured Luo Hai and acquired all his treasures, how he went to sea in search of good fortune, obtained an immortal mountain, refined it into an enchanted treasure and nurtured it day by day to the top grade...

”No... something’s wrong!”

He snapped back to his senses. As his mind cleared, a blood-scented wind rushed toward him. From above, a seagull dove toward him. From below, a flood dragon surged up from the depths. The two beasts attacked without fear.

The mountain lord remained composed. He drew a circle with his hands and pushed outward. A layer of earth-yellow light spread out.

But at that moment, he heard a voice. ”Mirror Flower Water Moon!”

The strange daze struck again. Even without meeting Luo Chen’s gaze, he still fell into confusion!

It’s both an illusion and a divine soul attack! Anger flared within him, and this time he snapped back even faster. But in a clash between experts, even the blink of an eye could make the difference between life and death. The two beasts were already upon him. With no time to fully deploy his defense, he could only rely on his life-bound treasure. The small mountain expanded at once to cover him.

BOOOMMMMM!!!

Two Demon Kings collided with the mountain in brute force, and the mountain was sent flying. It shot off like a meteor and vanished.

Seeing the enemy temporarily dealt with, Luo Chen finally let out a sigh of relief.

Heavenjade flew over and looked at him with concern. His body was riddled with wounds of all sizes. Some were so deep that bone was exposed, and in some places on his abdomen, even his organs could be seen through some large gashes. His right hand was in a sorry state, reduced to bare bone—it had been scraped clean by the yin-yang sabers. Then, she looked at his face and saw two streams of blood tears flowing from his tightly shut eyes. ”Master, you...”

Luo Chen raised his hand with difficulty and cut her off. As expected, using Mirror Flower Water Moon against a grand cultivator four minor stages above him had taken its toll. Though it had worked, the backlash was severe. His divine soul churned violently, and his mind was in utter disarray.

Fortunately, they had finally dealt with this group of pursuers. Black King swam through the sea and brought back all the spoils. A streak of black light flew to Luo Chen. It was the Myriad Soul Banner! He took out a white robe from his storage pouch and put it on, then put away the cauldron and slung the banner across his back. This place was not safe by any means. It was time to leave.

Yet some things never go as people wish. Just as he was about to fly away, a soft laugh drifted through the air. ”Fellow Daoist, are you the rogue cultivator Luo Hai or Devil Lord Azure Yang?”

Luo Chen’s expression changed as he looked toward a small boat in the distance. Just how weakened had he become that he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching? And why had Han Zhan not warned him? Meanwhile, Heavenjade and Black King had already stepped in front of him and seemed extremely tense, as if they were about to confront a great enemy.

Upon the boat stood a man with an evil aura, dressed in robes as red as blood. It was He Yuan!

Luo Chen said hoarsely, ”Fall back!”

The two beasts exchanged glances and retreated behind him. Luo Chen continued, ”He Yuan, we have no relations. How did you discover my identity?”

He Yuan simply smiled. ”That’s not something you need to worry about. If anything, you should be thanking me. If not for me, you’d still be dealing with a swarm of enemies waiting to take advantage. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself!”