An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Within the silent passageway, the echoes of their footsteps were the only sounds that broke the stillness.

Crack!

Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out. Ding Yi stopped and looked down at the piece of bone on the ground. ”So this is the Tortoise Abyss?”

The bone belonged to a Black Tortoise, and similar fragments were scattered throughout the passage. Beside him, Devil’s Cloud sighed in admiration. ”Who knows how many Black Tortoises died and were buried here? The Void-Scorching Wind was ultimately born out of them. Then, that Monarch amplified it until it covered the whole Sunken Sea using formations and artifact creation techniques. It’s hard to imagine someone capable of something like that.”

As he spoke, he exchanged a glance with Ding Yi, and they subtly observed Luo Chen out of the corners of their eyes. Luo Chen, however, continued forward without even looking, seemingly uninterested in the Black Tortoise remains. Of course, the scattered bones littering had long since lost any value. The true source of the Void-Scorching Wind lay elsewhere.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the other two, Luo Chen was speaking with Han Zhan. ”Senior, did you already know all this?”

”I didn’t know any more details than you, but I did suspect the Monarch part. Otherwise, why would I have come here myself?”

”What do you mean?”

”It’s simple. Do you remember what I told you about secret realms?”

Luo Chen searched his memories before recalling the answer. ”You said that the resting place of an Ascendant isn’t a place Sages can casually enter. The area would be saturated with the power of the Laws they comprehended in life, making it extremely dangerous for anyone who was close to grasping such powers.”

”Heh, your memory’s not bad. That’s exactly the part I was thinking about.” Han Zhan chuckled, and there was a hint of anticipation in his voice. ”When I heard there was a pocket world that even a Holy Land couldn’t do anything about, yet Sages could enter freely, I realized it had to belong to someone beyond the Divine Transformation Realm.”

Luo Chen frowned. ”Oh? So this really won’t affect Sages?”

”You still don’t understand what Void Refinement really is, now do you?”

Luo Chen chuckled sheepishly. ”Senior, I’d be grateful for some guidance.”

Han Zhan explained without reservation. ”Strictly speaking, Void Refinement is the level where the power of Laws is completely under the cultivator’s control, and they begin to turn intangible Laws into something tangible. For that reason, it’s also known as the Manifestation Realm or Phenomenon Realm. And when I say that Laws are completely under their control, I mean it; even after their death, those who have not touched upon a Law will be entirely unable to even sense it. Naturally, Ascendants would suffer anyway. They have all grasped a Law, but their understanding is still shallow, and precisely because they can feel it, they can fall into deviation.”

The lofty concepts left Luo Chen’s head spinning. Instead of satisfying his curiosity, the explanation had only led to a new set of questions. ”Senior, you’re just a Sage and not even from a Holy Land. How do you know so much about things like this?”

Han Zhan laughed. ”You call this a lot? What I’ve told you is only the basics. The founding elder of the Falling Cloud Sect once obtained an inheritance from an ancient cultivator’s cave residence and used it to establish the sect. Among that cultivator’s inheritance were records describing these things. I’m merely stating what others recorded long ago.”

During the ancient war between humans and demonic beasts, countless cultivators had fallen. As the ages passed and the world changed, who knew how many experts had been buried beneath the dust of history? Yet traces of their existence remained. Whenever later generations stumbled upon the inheritances they left behind, some rose to prominence themselves, while others went on to establish sects. Such opportunities were blessings in their own right.

Luo Chen was not one to rush at secret realms, but that was not due to a lack of interest. He had simply understood long ago that every opportunity carried corresponding risks. More often than not, the greater the opportunity, the greater the unknowns that surrounded it. This pocket world was especially so. It seemed shrouded in mystery from beginning to end, and the more he learned about it, the more questions arose in his mind.

”Ding Yi said this particular ancient cultivator may have been the strongest Monarch in history. Why the strongest? How could someone that powerful die? More importantly, wasn’t the Mountain and Sea Realm supposed to cap at Divine Transformation? How could it even accommodate someone at that level? And where does the ’devils’ part in the Land of Fallen Devils come from? Was this person a devil cultivator? If so, I doubt the pocket world they left behind will be very welcoming...”

Many of these questions had already been posed to Ding Yi, yet the chubby man had not been able to answer them. Now, even Han Zhan seemed unable to offer an explanation. For a long while, neither of them spoke.

”Hm?”

Luo Chen’s footsteps slowed. A metallic scent of blood drifted into his nose. Looking ahead, he saw corpses piled into mountains and rivers of blood stretching into the distance. Amidst the slaughter stood a man holding a sword, his back facing Luo Chen. As though sensing his presence, the man slowly turned around and looked at him with a trace of confusion. ”Devil Lord Azure Yang? Luo Hai?”

Luo Chen stared at the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar face before him. After a brief hesitation, he said, ”He Yuan?”

The moment the words left his mouth, a chilling sense of terror shot straight through him. ”Wait—No! You’re Blood Nightmare!”

Blood Nightmare nodded calmly. ”So you still remember me.”

The tip of his sword trembled before leveling toward Luo Chen. ”I will give you one more chance. Submit to me.”

Luo Chen frowned, but his movements did not hesitate for the slightest. His Golden Core spun, and with the amplification of the Primordial Unity Cauldron, a tide of mana surged from his body. The Infinite Blaze Prison descended, engulfing everything in a sea of flames. At its center, Luo Chen raised a hand and struck out with a greenish-blue palm manifestation.

Blood Nightmare instinctively mobilized his mana to resist, only to discover that under the influence of the Infinite Blaze Prison, his mana had become wildly unstable and difficult to control. He tried to pull back at once, but it was already too late; the giant azure palm was already upon him.

BOOOOMMM!

Luo Chen stepped forward and appeared beside He Yuan, who now lay sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life. He shook his head and said, ”If Blood Nightmare himself was standing here, I’d have to be careful. But you’re just an avatar. You think you have what it takes to talk this big?”

With a cold laugh, he summoned a wisp of azure flame in his palm and reduced the man at his feet to ashes. Then, he wasted no time moving forward.

As he walked away, the battlefield gradually faded behind him. The stench of blood dissipated, as though the scene had never existed.

When he looked up again, a bright moon hung high in the night sky, its light spilling across a tranquil lake that stretched ten li in every direction. Somehow, he had arrived on a small island at its center, and a wine cup had appeared in his hand without him noticing when. Before he could make sense of the scene, a sallow-faced man suddenly dropped to his knees before him. ”Fellow Daoist, spare my life! You attacked Moon Inviting Island for cultivation land, didn’t you? I’ll hand it over. I ask only that you let me live!”

Looking at Yan Nantian’s lowered head, Luo Chen was somewhat tempted. After a long silence, he spoke coldly. ”I can spare your life, but you’ll have to submit to me and serve me for a hundred years. If you refuse, then I won’t show any mercy.”

As he spoke, he slowly raised the Mystic Flame Sword higher. Yan Nantian’s expression turned grim as he faced the shameless bandit who had seized everything by force and now demanded even his servitude. But after a moment of internal struggle, he finally acquiesced.

Luo Chen smiled. Good. Looks like I have another Adept working for me.

Yet before the satisfaction could linger, the powerful aura surrounding him quietly receded, and his cultivation fell back to the Foundation Establishment Realm. The moonlit lake was nowhere to be seen. In its place were jagged rocks that stretched across the land, and an empty valley lay ahead between the mountains. Sword lights flashed across the battlefield below as several Initiates fought desperately for their lives.

Before Luo Chen could make sense of the scene, he was already diving toward the valley with his sword in hand. The sword descended toward a man’s neck, only for the latter to cry out in terror. ”I am the son of an Adept from the Flame Alliance! You cannot kill me!”

Yan Leizi’s face had gone pale. While desperately retreating, he hurriedly revealed his background in hopes of saving his life.

Across from him, Luo Chen thought for a moment. Offending an Adept for his sake doesn’t seem worth it.

Thus, he took a step back. Yan Leizi let out a sigh of relief. After hastily thanking Luo Chen, he rushed away. Only after putting a considerable distance between them did he finally stop and turn back with hatred in his eyes. ”I will remember this. Just wait!”

Half a month later, Luo Chen was slaughtering his way across a battlefield when an old man descended from the sky amidst the golden clouds. ”Luo Chen! Pay with your life for my son!”

He shouted back in fear, ”I spared him! You can’t kill me over this!”

The man sneered and raised two fingers like a sword. The golden clouds transformed into countless golden swords that shot down from the sky. Luo Chen fled in panic, while Chu Kui stepped forward to shield him. Yet the man produced a mirror that froze Chu Kui in place; the countless swords swept past him unhindered and shot straight toward Luo Chen. Watching the sword light rapidly approach, Luo Chen’s eyes widened. ”NOOOOOOOO!!!”

With a shout, he suddenly jolted upright from behind his desk. A graceful woman hurried forward and supported him. ”President, what’s wrong?”

He was covered in sweat and gasping for breath. He looked at the worried Sima Huiniang. ”I had a nightmare. An Adept was hunting me down, and I almost died. In that dream...”

As though finally finding an outlet for the lingering fear in his heart, he recounted everything from beginning to end. Sima Huiniang did not rush him; she patiently waited for him to finish, and then her gentle voice echoed across the hall. ”President, you’re definitely too stressed out. The burden of the Luo Tian Society rests on your shoulders, so it’s only natural to have dreams like that. There’s no need to worry so much. You take care of matters outside, and I’ll handle things within, and we even have Fairy Ruthless watching over us. The Luo Tian Society will only continue to grow stronger.”

Thanks to her comforting words, the tension in Luo Chen’s heart gradually eased. His gaze drifted across her magnificent palace robes, her dark hair, and the glimpse of fair skin visible at her collar, lingering a moment longer than it should have. Sensing his gaze, the woman gently leaned against his shoulder. ”President, it’s already late. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

Luo Chen instinctively raised a hand, intending to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Then the scenes from his dream surfaced once more. The Immortal Dao stretched endlessly ahead. Even he could barely protect himself as he walked that path. If danger lurked around every corner, what right did he have to draw someone else into it? The hand he had raised slowly fell. With a quiet sigh, he gently pushed her away.

Tears immediately welled in Huiniang’s eyes. ”President, I...”

”This has nothing to do with you. You’ve already done more than enough.”

After leaving those words behind, he rose and walked out of the hall. The palace remained as magnificent as ever, yet the lively atmosphere of the Foundation Establishment Ceremony had long since vanished. The huge hall felt strangely empty now, leaving only silence and the sound of quiet sobs behind.

As he stepped outside, an inexplicable emptiness settled over his heart. Looking up at the bright moon hanging overhead, he suddenly felt as though he had lost something precious.

”Luo Chen, what do you think?”

The unexpected voice pulled him from his thoughts. A man was standing nearby with a smile on his face.Luo Chen’s wandering gaze shifted past the man and fell upon a frail young girl kneeling on the ground. She clutched the corpses of her loved ones as tears streamed down her face. It was Mi Li!

The answer came out of his mouth before he could even think about it. ”Kill her, of course!”

A sword flashed across the sky. The girl died with her eyes still open. Beside her, Qin Liangchen stared at Luo Chen in disbelief. ”You...”

Me? Luo Chen froze and stared blankly at the dead girl before him, unable to understand what had just happened. Before he could gather his thoughts, Miao Wen walked past him and lightly patted his shoulder. ”You are quite impressive.”

The praise should have sounded approving, yet an inexplicable chill lurked beneath the words. Under Miao Wen’s icy stare, with Qin Liangchen staring at him in disbelief and Mi Li’s lifeless eyes still fixed upon him, Luo Chen felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into confusion. No! This shouldn’t be happening! How did it come to this?

The more he struggled to understand, the more chaotic his thoughts became. At the same time, his aura continued to weaken. A splitting headache made him stagger backward while clutching his head.

Yet after several steps, he suddenly realized something strange. He was not moving backward at all, but forward. The moon still hung overhead, and the moonlight remained unchanged, but the world around him had transformed at some point. The bloodstained ground and corpses had vanished, replaced by a bluestone path stretching into the distance.

A plump man stood ahead. Half his face was hidden in shadow, while the other half wore a warm smile as he looked at Luo Chen. ”You are Luo Chen, right? The Poshan Gang has the Seven Tiger Hall and the Flood Dragon Hall, led by Wang Yuan. But we also have the Alchemy Hall, and that one has no leader. Are you willing to take the position?”