An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

There was naturally a reason Luo Chen dared to roam the demon-infested depths of the Northern Sea without bringing Han Zhan along. Part of it was his formidable combat strength, while the other part lay in his unmatched escape speed. Even without activating the Sky Roc Transformation, the combination of the Moonbreak Wings and Ninety Thousand Li allowed him to far surpass ordinary Adepts in flight. And if given enough time to fully transform, perhaps only Sages could hope to catch him.

But now, that very advantage had been crippled. He could clearly feel an immense pressure descending from the gigantic mountain suspended in the sky above. Under that crushing force, his speed plummeted sharply. If it had only been that, he could still have transformed and forced his way out. Yet from beneath his feet, an uncanny gravitational force continually dragged at him. With the two forces bearing down on him at once, his movements slowed to a crawl. As expected, once certain trump cards were exposed before others, it became all too easy for them to devise counters.

Luo Chen’s expression darkened as he looked once more toward the colossal mountain floating in the sky. It was the treasure mountain Liang Baizao had once used to strike the Oceanseal Eight Trigram Formation during the battle years ago. Back then, Luo Chen had been using a formation to restrain others; now, the man was using a formation to restrain him in return. The reversal felt rather ironic.

And this grand formation, with Liang Baizao’s very own life-bound enchanted treasure as the core, did far more than just restrain flight and movement. Once fully activated, it likely possessed even more scary functions.

Since you won’t let me leave, I’ll just kill you!

A savage look flashed across Luo Chen’s face as he shot straight toward Liang Baizao. While racing through the air, he continuously formed seals. One blazing sun after another emerged behind him, illuminating the night sky. By the time he closed the distance within one li, he thrust out a palm. Vast mana instantly condensed into a gigantic azure palm that came crashing down from the heavens. Behind it, the nine blazing suns descended together with it, forming a scene so overwhelming it seemed almost apocalyptic.

Liang Baizao’s expression immediately turned serious. He pushed his palm forward, and a brownish-yellow shield rapidly expanded before him, firmly blocking the frightful assault descending from above. The shield’s defenses were astonishingly resilient. Even under the combined power of Luo Chen’s spells, it barely wavered. After the collision, the shield’s spirit light dimmed only slightly, which spoke volumes about its quality. It was definitely a top-grade defensive enchanted treasure.

From the very first exchange, both sides had already gone all out. A trace of madness flickered through Luo Chen’s eyes as the seals in his hands abruptly changed. Then he shouted, ”LANDSLIIIIIDE!”

B-BOOMMMMMM!!!

The mountain beneath Liang Baizao was breaking apart. Shockwaves swept outward as molten rock and shattered stone blasted through the surroundings like a meteor shower. Amid the downpour of debris, a figure staggered through the chaos, seemingly unable to regain control.

Against an ordinary Adept, Luo Chen’s triple spell assault would have left almost no chance of survival. But Liang Baizao was clearly no ordinary Adept. Leaving aside the number of enchanted treasures a great artifact creation sect master would possess, his cultivation at the eighth stage alone was enough for Luo Chen to treat him with caution. Thus, even after unleashing three spells in succession, he did not recklessly press the attack. Instead, he descended calmly to the ground.

His hair billowed despite the absence of wind, while his muscles began to swell and shift. One zhang, two zhang, three zhang... in the blink of an eye, he had grown into a nine-zhang-tall giant! The Moonbreak Wings expanded alongside him, spreading wide behind his towering figure. His casual white Daoist robe transformed into a black armored robe that covered his body from head to toe. The moment the transformation was completed, he thrust out a claw.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out through the air. Looking closely, one could see a green flying sword trapped tightly within the giant’s hand. The sword writhed like a fish caught in a net, struggling endlessly but unable to break free. Luo Chen raised his head toward the sky. ”A mere mid-grade flying sword? Are you trying to insult me?”

Whoosh!

A figure abruptly came to a halt in the air, ignoring the rain of falling rocks around him as his weathered eyes fixed on Luo Chen. ”To take my Seven Fiend Soul-Seizing Sword head-on with your body alone... Azure Yang, you’ve grown stronger.”

”That’s right, I have. And you’re weaker than you were before. No matter what, you’re the one losing this.”

As he spoke, he kept tightening his grip, trying to crush the flying sword in his palm by brute force alone. Sharp creaking sounds rang out incessantly as the sword trembled under the pressure.

Through the mental connection Liang Baizao shared with his enchanted treasure, he instantly sensed Luo Chen’s intention, and his expression darkened. ”Don’t even think about it!”

He rapidly formed seals and shouted, ”BREAK!”

BOOM!

An explosion erupted from within Luo Chen’s grasp. He frowned and involuntarily loosened his grip as the green flying sword staggered back toward the man.

So it still isn’t enough? Luo Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Compared to last time, his physique had grown countless times stronger. He could now withstand direct attacks from mid-grade enchanted treasures with his bare body alone. But enduring such attacks and outright destroying the treasures themselves were entirely different matters. Especially since the man had just triggered the fiend qi hidden within the sword.

Only after the flying sword returned to Liang Baizao’s side did he quietly let out a breath of relief. Yet when he looked toward Luo Chen again, the wariness in his eyes only deepened further. After failing to kill Luo Chen back then, he had returned to Coldlight Island and sought out the elders of the Wu family, along with several cultivators who had personally witnessed Luo Chen’s fights. From them, he had painstakingly gathered every detail about Luo Chen’s combat style. He knew all too well just how terrifying Luo Chen’s mastery over speed, physical strength, and spells truly was.

Other than defense, Luo Chen was practically without weaknesses. On top of that, Liang Baizao had personally experienced his illusion spells before. A cultivator like this, even if only at the middle stage, was not easy to deal with. That was why he had spent years preparing for this trap, using his life-bound enchanted treasure together with the terrain of the Seven Star Islands to establish the Big Dipper Seven Peaks Formation. All these just to slow down Luo Chen’s speed and strip away his greatest combat advantage. He had thought that with everything prepared, Luo Chen would become nothing more than a tiger in a cage. Yet hearing about someone and facing them personally were ultimately two different things. Luo Chen’s combat instincts and experience had far exceeded his expectations. That earlier triple-spell assault had caught him off guard and left him slightly injured. He had intended to use the flying sword amidst the chaos to wound Luo Chen, yet he had ended up nearly destroying his own weapon instead.

This kid cannot be treated like an ordinary Adept. I’ll have to go all out.

The thought flashed through his mind as he abandoned all further probing attacks. He quickly moved to form seals. Then, seven radiant flying swords weaved through the air with uncanny agility.

”Go!” With fingers pointed like a sword, he thrust down at the nine-zhang giant below.

Luo Chen showed no fear whatsoever. He strode forward calmly as the seven flying swords shot toward him, his massive hands striking out again and again to meet the incoming attack. At times, his punches blasted shockwaves through the air; at others, gigantic palms swept sideways. His fingers flicked out like a musician frantically plucking strings, while his Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw stirred the nearby winds and clouds, continuously knocking the flying swords off course. From time to time, he even attempted to seize the swords outright once again. Under his relentless assault, the seven flying swords simply could not go near him.

The sight made Liang Baizao’s eyelids twitch violently. These seven flying swords had all been made, nurtured, and advanced together into mid-grade enchanted treasures. When combined, their power even surpassed many top-grade offensive enchanted treasures. Yet even under his full power they still could not breach Luo Chen’s defenses. Just how strong had Luo Chen’s Physique Refinement become?

No! It’s still not enough to pin him down! He’s too fast! Watching the giant rampage across the plains and mountains, Liang Baizao steeled his resolve. He extended his arm to the sky, clenched his fist, and pulled it down hard.

”RESTRAIN!”

High above, the mountain rumbled as it descended. The seven islands linked like a string of stars echoed with thunderous vibrations, while the surrounding sea surged with monstrous waves that rolled toward the islands. Luo Chen’s charging steps gradually slowed. A mighty pressure descended from above even as an immense gravitational force dragged at him from below. The two forces merged into an invisible domain that forcibly brought his rampaging momentum to a halt.

Yet Luo Chen’s eyes only grew brighter as he gradually grasped the true nature of the grand formation. With Hundred Craft Mountain as its core, the formation drew upon the earth veins of all seven islands. Anyone trapped within it would feel as though the mountain itself was crushing down upon them, while the power of the earth continuously dragged at their bodies. Every living thing suffered equally beneath it.

Liang Baizao remained unaffected only because the formation’s core was his own life-bound enchanted treasure. But precisely because of that, the strain on his mana had to be immense as well. To break this formation, the only option was to overturn Hundred Craft Mountain itself. Yet the mountain was linked to all seven islands; thus, overturning it would mean overturning the seven islands altogether. And while trapped within the formation, accomplishing such a feat was easier said than done.

Luo Chen finally came to a stop. The timing’s against me, and the terrain isn’t in my favor either. In that case... let’s see whose foundation is stronger!