An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Upon a rugged cliff stood an ironwood tree; vines were twisting around its many branches. Suddenly, something moved. At first sight, it appeared as though a lurid, evil flower was blossoming among them. Yet a closer look revealed that it was not a flower at all, but the mouth of a giant python.

”Black King, well done!”

At Luo Chen’s praise, Black King responded with two soft hisses. The gigantic black-golden viper that had swallowed Luo Chen had been, of course, Black King in disguise.

The deception had succeeded so flawlessly because Luo Chen had never been stingy in nurturing the two demons by his side. Whether it was enchanted treasures, pills, cultivation resources, or spells, he had never held back from sharing. Even Spirit Suppression, a technique that had once been one of his greatest assets, had long ago been passed on to both Black King and Heavenjade.

But while both practiced the same technique, their strengths eventually diverged. Black King, in particular, displayed exceptional talent for concealment. Over the years, he had pushed Spirit Suppression to an astonishing level, far beyond Heavenjade’s, while his awakened devouring ability further enhanced his ability to imitate the auras and characteristics of other beasts. By now, hiding his presence, blending into his surroundings, and disguising himself as another beast had become second nature. This was the main reason Luo Chen had entrusted him with finding and infiltrating Purple Spirit Island alone in the past. While his strength certainly played a role in that decision, it was his ability to remain hidden that truly set him apart.

That same talent had proven invaluable after entering the pocket world. While scouting ahead of the group, Black King had remained hidden the entire time. After discovering this colony of black-golden vipers, he quietly observed them for days, memorizing their aura and habits before disguising himself as one of their kind and blending seamlessly into the swarm. The tactic was much like the one Luo Chen had once used while exploring the Howling Moon Mountains, when he disguised himself as a demonic wolf to move among the local beasts unnoticed. And Black King enjoyed an even greater advantage—as a former python himself, he possessed a natural advantage when disguising himself as a snake, making the deception almost effortless.

Once everything was in place, Luo Chen simply waited for an opportunity. And that opportunity arrived when Devil’s Cloud’s greed got the better of him. Under Black King’s subtle guidance, the black-golden vipers erupted into a frenzy and launched a relentless pursuit of the three of them. Then, the swarm drove them farther from their original route and deeper into dangerous territory until they finally crossed into the territory of the Nine-Sun Golden Eagle. And all that was only one part of Luo Chen’s plan.

”Heavenjade, are you okay?”

A soft cough sounded from within the spirit beast pouch. ”I’m fine. That golden eagle is crazy strong. It’s neither a modern demonic beast nor an archaic beast, yet it nearly caught me several times. If not for Ninety Thousand Li, I wouldn’t have been able to shake it off at all.”

”You’ve done very well. Can you still fight?”

”Yes!”

Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction. Some might call it cold-blooded, but he had never been one to let sentiment cloud his judgment. Exploring an ancient cultivator’s pocket world was dangerous enough as it was. Every ounce of strength at his disposal had to be put to use. If sacrifices became necessary, then so be it.

After confirming their condition, he turned his attention back to the battle unfolding ahead. By this point, Ding Yi and Devil’s Cloud had already brought their full capabilities into play. The first to catch Luo Chen’s eye was Devil’s Cloud. The sheer variety of treasures the man wielded was staggering. Golden silk nets crisscrossed the sky while flying swords darted in every direction. Explosive beads detonated; banners, spears, and halberds came in one after the other. Individually, none of them was especially remarkable, yet together, they launched a tide of attacks that repeatedly interrupted the golden eagle’s offensive momentum.

Even Luo Chen was taken aback by the spectacle. Just how much mana does he have? How is he keeping control of so many enchanted treasures at once?

Although he was not controlling them all simultaneously, every piece he brought out was wielded with proficiency that left little to criticize. Each enchanted treasure moved with seamless precision, as though it were an extension of his own body. Such mastery could only have come from years of refinement and nurturing. More importantly, in the short span Luo Chen had been watching, seven or eight enchanted treasures had already entered the fray. Commanding so many demanded an exceptionally powerful divine soul, yet despite using them without rest, Devil’s Cloud showed no sign of fatigue.

Han Zhan’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind. ”He probably hasn’t fully refined every one of them. Even a Sage wouldn’t squander the mana required to do that.”

Luo Chen frowned. ”Then how’s he controlling so many like they’re his own?”

Han Zhan thought for a moment before replying, ”I’ve heard of a formation from Skysail City called the Myriad Treasure Formation. It lets a cultivator use the mana normally required for a single treasure to refine multiple ones. At its peak, it can even put hundreds of treasures under one person’s control. I imagine wealthy cultivators do their best to get their hands on it.”

Luo Chen’s eyelids twitched wildly. The notion sounded almost unbelievable. Over the years, he had accumulated no few powerful enchanted treasures; unfortunately, limitations in mana, divine soul strength, and the time required for refinement meant that many of them remained unused in storage. He had never been willing to part with them, but neither could he fully utilize them. If he could master such a formation, then...

For a moment, he was actually tempted. Han Zhan seemed to sense his thoughts and chuckled.

”Don’t get your hopes up. Something that amazing must come with a price, no?”

”Oh?”

”First, you need to understand every treasure you intend to use like the back of your hand. Ideally, you should use items that you’ve made yourself. Second, once a treasure is incorporated into the formation, its future growth is basically cut off. Third, no matter how well you use it, you’ll never be able to bring out its full power. Lastly, the Myriad Treasure Formation requires constant upkeep. So in the end, it might not even save much mana. Look at Devil’s Cloud. He’s already at his age, yet he’s still stuck at the seventh stage. Maintaining that formation for all these years may well be one of the reasons.”

Just hearing the first two drawbacks made Luo Chen frown. By the time he heard the third, he abandoned the idea entirely. Anyone capable of reaching great heights in a particular craft was bound to possess something extraordinary; he could appreciate that much. But although he had some attainments in artifact creation himself, he had never intended to devote all his time and energy to it. The Myriad Treasure Formation was impressive, but it clearly was not meant for him.

With that thought, he put the matter aside and shifted his attention to Ding Yi. The man’s tactics were undeniably effective. Yet in Luo Chen’s eyes, that style of combat felt somewhat unremarkable. It possessed no glaring weaknesses, but neither did it have any particularly outstanding strengths. At the very least, it was not a style he found appealing. However, the more he watched, the more puzzled he became.

Admittedly, the gourd was of excellent quality, at the very least a middle-grade treasure and possibly even a top-grade one. Yet Ding Yi was a ninth-stage Adept who had roamed the cultivation world for centuries. Someone like him should have acquired far more than a single powerful treasure over the years. No matter how Luo Chen looked at it, there was no way that the yellow gourd was all he possessed.

”Is it that he doesn’t want to use something else... or is it that he can’t?” Luo Chen murmured to himself as his eyes narrowed slightly.

After a while, Han Zhan suddenly said, ”Luo Chen, have you noticed something odd about the creatures in this Thousand Blade Mountain Range?”

Luo Chen nodded. ”Of course. The more I look at them, the stranger they seem. If you call them modern demonic beasts, they don’t seem intelligent enough. But if you want to call them archaic beasts, they’re lacking that terrifying physique. Earlier, Ding Yi said this place was called the Land of Fallen Devils, so I wondered if they might be related to the legendary devil beasts. But I can’t sense a trace of devilish energy from any of them... Honestly, I have no idea what they are. I’ve never seen anything like them.”

”No!” A firm denial rang in his ears. ”You’ve definitely seen them before.”

Luo Chen blinked. ”I have?”