An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

He could not afford the slightest carelessness on the journey to the Sunken Sea. That was why he intended to use this time to reach the fourth tier. As for how long it would take, he could not say, but at the very least, he had everything he needed to make that attempt. With a large supply of fourth-tier Black Sovereign Paste still on hand and the immense life force he had absorbed over the past year, he was confident he could cross that final threshold.

Of course, as his strength grew, his other techniques had to keep up as well. The Sky Roc True Form was powerful, but it was too straightforward, lacking the versatility needed in prolonged combat. That weakness had surfaced in his clash with Liang Baizao.

During the past year, his focus had been on developing the Infinite Blaze Prison, so he had set it aside. Now that he finally had the time, he could no longer ignore it. His solution was simple: He would once more learn what many others had done before him, then refine that knowledge into a complete system that belonged to him alone.

Before, this might have proven a monumental and costly task, but now, he actually had the means to achieve that. As a seven-star demon hunter, he had access to deeper reserves of intelligence and a wider range of techniques and secret arts. While cultivating and refining his methods, he could also keep a close watch on developments in the Sunken Sea.

***

The day after his report, Blood Hermit personally went to the Sunken Sea and defeated the Merman Emperor, forcing him to retreat farther into the Northern Sea. Not long after, the three eight-star demon hunters led fifty Adepts, tens of thousands of Initiates, and countless Qi Refinement cultivators from the Society to sweep through the battlefield. At the same time, under Moon Hermit’s orders, Endless Valley and the two cultivation families dispatched their elites to the outskirts of the Heaven of Northern Yama. They attacked the Ruined City of the Surging Sea and blocked off the low-tier demonic beasts from escaping. During this, Supreme Elder Spirit Tamer personally took action, breaking through the Ruined City and reinforcing the outer sealing formation.

Though it sounded straightforward, by the time all this information reached Luo Chen, more than half a year had already passed.

Inside a heavily guarded hall of the division, he moved along rows of shelves, scanning one ancient record after another. He paused with a greenstone slab in hand, his brow tightening slightly as he read its description.

[Six Forms of Extreme Mountain]

An ancient Physique Refinement art, representing the purest form of physical killing techniques. Its tier cannot be assessed. The two key techniques, Split Mountain and Extreme Mountain, have been lost.

Those who walk the path of Physique Refinement enter the Dao through comprehending the transformations of blood qi to achieve an immaculate physique. In terms of raw physical strength, they far surpass qi cultivators. This art places little emphasis on the manipulation of blood qi, focusing instead on the body itself and how it is wielded. It requires the practitioner to have a sufficiently powerful physique.

Luo Chen felt a trace of disappointment when he saw that the two strongest forms were missing. But as he read further and understood its focus, his interest returned. ”Not bad. I’ll take it.”

He put the greenstone slab away and continued browsing. After spending half a day in the Society’s library, he gathered what he needed and headed down to the first floor.

”Senior Azure Yang, have you made your selection?”

”Mm, these will do. Please make copies for me.”

”Alright, no problem. Let me have a quick look and tally up the cost.”

Luo Chen handed over a stack of jade scrolls, some beast hides, and the greenstone slab. The sheer number made the Initiate pause for a moment, but after noticing that most of them were incomplete Physique Refinement arts, his expression quickly settled. It was not uncommon for Adepts, especially those in the late stage, to collect such texts. He checked them one by one against the Society’s catalog while telling Luo Chen the prices.

”Four Aspects Immortal Tread. Wind Leg, Moon Step, and Cloud Tread are missing. Only Lightning Kick is left. This will be 70,000 spirit stones.

”Five Stele Hand. The tier cannot be evaluated. Only the Golden Stele Hand and Jade Stele Hand remain. 20,000 spirit stones.

”Six Forms of Extreme Mountain. This is relatively well-preserved; we have four of the six forms. 120,000 spirit stones.

”Flowing Cloud Immortality-Seizing Finger. The description of the technique is there, but no explanation as to how it’s supposed to be practiced. That’ll be...”

...

”Senior, there are twelve manuals in total. That comes to 780,000 low-grade spirit stones.” The Initiate looked up as he gave the final price.

Luo Chen blinked. ”That expensive?”

The Initiate smiled. ”That’s normal. Qi cultivation is the main path these days, and Physique Refinement’s been on the decline for a long time. These manuals are scattered all over and hard to gather. Plus, qi cultivators often need to strengthen or recover their bodies, so these techniques are still used as reference. With that kind of demand, the price goes up. Hope you understand, Senior.”

Luo Chen nodded and let out a quiet breath. Physique Refinement techniques were indeed rare. Back when he and Wang Yuan trained their bodies, they had little to rely on and had to figure most of it out themselves. Even the Qi-Physique Origin Method they obtained in Tianlan had served only as a reference. In the end, they had been forced to carve out their own techniques. For the Society to gather this many high-tier techniques, even incomplete ones, was no small feat.

”Fine. 780,000 it is. Here’s my token. Apply the discount.”

”Uh...”

The Initiate froze for a moment before taking it. A seven-star demon hunter enjoyed a seventy percent discount, reducing the total to just over 230,000. Though inwardly amazed at Luo Chen’s rank, he said nothing. It was absolutely none of his business; his job was simply to make copies and collect fees. The real loss was on the Society. He simply told Luo Chen to wait for a while.

Luo Chen nodded and stepped out while the copies were being prepared and made his way to the Treasure Pavilion. He was soon back again with some purchases, having been warmly seen off by a Pseudo-Adept. He had acquired three spirit beast pouches of enchanted-treasure grade. They had been crafted by a Sage from the Blue Sea Alliance and were capable of holding even top-tier Demon Kings. In addition, Luo Chen had also bought a large batch of artifact creation materials.

When he returned to the library, the Initiate had already finished copying the manuals into jade scrolls. Luo Chen checked them and found nothing missing.

”Wait, no restrictions? No oath required to prevent resale?”

The Initiate shook his head. ”These are incomplete Physique Refinement techniques. The rules aren’t that strict. Still, it’s best to be careful.”

”Heh, got it.”

With jade scrolls and materials secured, Luo Chen returned fully loaded. Not long after, Heavenjade returned from her errands as well. ”Master, I’ve secured all the materials for the True Flame Pills. Five thousand batches!”

”And how much did you spend?”

”For the portion sourced through the division, I used your seven-star status to get a discount. As for the rest, once they heard your name and the quantity you needed, they offered their best prices. Altogether, it came in under ten million spirit stones.”

Ten million? Luo Chen nodded, clearly satisfied. The cost of refining True Flame Pills was far higher than the cost of Starfield Pills. Even after refining them extensively and raising his success rate for the supreme-grade version from the original ten percent to twenty percent, the overall cost remained high. Normally, purchasing five thousand sets of materials would have cost up to 40 million spirit stones. Now, with his seven-star status and his rising reputation, he had managed to get a ridiculous cut! Reputation, it seemed, was useful after all.

With five thousand sets of materials... I won’t be refining top-grade ones this time. I’ll use everything to make supreme-grade ones! Not just for cultivation, but also as reserves to restore mana during the Sunken Sea expedition. I should be able to get around ten thousand pills. Hmm... That should be more than enough!

After running the numbers in his head, Luo Chen asked, ”How’s Black King doing?”

Heavenjade replied, ”Ever since you gave him the corpse of the Overtide Devil Flood Dragon, he’s been digesting it. From what I’ve seen, it’s just a matter of time until he reaches the late stage.”

That guy... just eats, sleeps, and grows stronger. Lucky bastard.

Luo Chen laughed and cursed under his breath, though there was no real surprise in it. After years of consuming large amounts of supreme-grade Imperial Nectar, Black King had long since broken free of the limits of his Black-Scaled Giant Python bloodline and built a stable foundation. Combined with the many demonic beasts he had devoured, including the corpse of the Cliff Serpent that had failed to reach the fourth tier, further advancement was only to be expected. However...

”Heavenjade, you can’t fall behind either.”

Heavenjade’s expression dimmed. Even with a technique tailored to her and a transformed body, she had been stuck at the third stage of Golden Core for years, unable to break into the middle stage. It was hard not to feel ashamed. She wanted to argue she had been occupied with his affairs, but she knew that was no excuse. With Luo Chen’s guidance, she had already been given more than enough.

In the end, it still comes down to my aptitude...

Just as that thought weighed on her, a storage pouch drifted toward her. ”Inside are the third-tier Starfield Pills I refined before leaving the Flying Swallow Archipelago, along with the Imperial Nectar I’ve accumulated over the years. Take them, and don’t hold back. Use as many as you can safely, and aim to reach the fourth stage within the next few years.”

Heavenjade froze, then her face lit up with joy. ”Master, I—”

”Focus on your cultivation. Leave everything else for now. Let the Zhang family handle business.”

He gave her shoulder a light pat before turning and stepping into the Starry Palace. Everything he needed was already in place. With the techniques in hand and abundant life force to support him, there was nothing left to hold him back. Now, all that remained was to push forward and break through all at once!