An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Han Zhan’s tone turned serious. ”Not just you. Both of us have seen similar things.”

Han Zhan’s words made Luo Chen pause. While keeping his attention on the enormous golden eagle rampaging through the mountains, he desperately searched through his memories.

At first, nothing came to mind. Then, as he went over those exotic creatures they had encountered since entering the mountain range, a faint sense of familiarity gradually surfaced.

After a long pause, he said uncertainly, ”My Nascent Core... Hidden Dust Sand?”

”Exactly!” Having voiced the theory, Han Zhan seemed even more convinced of it himself. ”That’s it. If my eyes haven’t failed me, all of the beasts we’ve encountered are the same kind of existence as Hidden Dust Sand. They’re sprites, the spirits of heaven and earth!”

Sprites were among the rarest forms of life in existence. Unlike demonic beasts, they possessed neither fleshly bodies nor souls at birth. In fact, some originated from stones, and others from trees and plants. More unusual examples could even be born from entire mountains, flames, bodies of water, or even wind. After countless years of exposure to spirit energy, they would gradually develop sentience, then intelligence, and they would become lifeforms somewhat similar to demonic beasts. But because they differed fundamentally from ordinary demonic beasts, cultivators generally referred to them as sprites.

Luo Chen’s Nascent Core was a perfect example. Hidden Dust Sand parasitized other lifeforms, but originally, it was a pearl sprite born from a pearl deep beneath the sea. Once killed, it would revert to its original state, nothing more than a giant pearl once again. Using that as a point of comparison, everything suddenly made sense. The so-called Golden Gourd Mosquitoes were not true insects at all, but Golden Gourd Stones that had developed sentience. The ants were manifestations of Iron Swarf Ash. The deer were born from Clear Light Sand...

Luo Chen swallowed hard and turned his gaze toward the golden eagle. ”Then you’re saying that eagle is basically Geng Metal?”

”Most likely,” Han Zhan paused. ”Didn’t that guy mention it earlier? The thing feeds on solar fire and Geng Metal deposits. Nine-Sun Geng Metal is just Geng Metal that has absorbed a huge amount of solar energy over the years. That’s where the name ’Nine-Sun’ comes from.”

The confirmation allowed Luo Chen to glimpse the truth hidden beneath the place. But as that realization settled in, a chill crawled up his spine. The Thousand Blade Mountain Range stretched for tens of thousands of li, and within it lay countless minerals of every kind. If each deposit had the potential to give rise to a corresponding sprite race, then these mountains could easily be home to thousands of different races.

And that was under the assumption that there was only one race for each type of deposit. The reality was likely far more alarming. The black-golden vipers alone had several colonies, each numbering in the thousands. If the other sprite races had populations on a similar scale, then the total number of sprites inhabiting this mountain range would be beyond imagination.

Luo Chen felt his scalp tingle. ”This has to be a joke... How could so many sprites gather in one place?”

For once, even Han Zhan had no answer. Neither of them could come up with a reasonable explanation.

As the two pondered the mystery, the battle ahead continued to intensify. The battlefield occupied by the two cultivators and the golden eagle had shifted locations several times. Hidden among the mountains, Black King continued weaving through the terrain, never straying too far from the fight and always remaining within a distance where Luo Chen could intervene if necessary.

B-BOOOMMMMM!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the stalemate. The Nine-Sun Golden Eagle beat its wings and dispersed the golden sand filling the sky. The golden sand that had overwhelmed countless opponents in the past posed no threat whatsoever to this eagle. The next moment, it let out a sharp cry and dove straight toward Devil’s Cloud. It was so fast that it looked less like a living creature and more like an arrow loosed from a divine bow.

Devil’s Cloud’s expression changed dramatically. He waved both hands repeatedly, sending several flying swords hurtling forward to intercept the attack. Yet before they could even form a proper defense, the golden streak tore through them as if they were nothing. Gritting his teeth, he slapped the back of his head and spat out a small furnace. The furnace rose into the air and expanded in size, and white flames poured from within.

The moment the flames appeared, the surrounding space seemed to distort from the heat. Clearly, this was the primordial true fire that he had painstakingly refined over many years and likely the greatest reason he had achieved such remarkable accomplishments in artifact creation. The sea of white fire spread outward and transformed into countless fiery birds that charged toward the golden eagle.

However... the Nine-Sun Golden Eagle merely opened its beak and inhaled. In an instant, countless fiery birds were drawn into its mouth. Not only did the attack fail to harm it, but its aura actually grew more violent and overbearing than before. The color drained from Devil’s Cloud’s face. ”Damn it, it’s not working! Even the five elements’ mutual suppression can’t restrain this—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the golden eagle was already upon him. Devil’s Cloud was smashed from the sky and sent hurtling into the earth below. Had the furnace not shielded him at the critical moment, that single strike might have killed him outright.

High above, Ding Yi’s expression darkened. For the entire battle, he had been continuously striking the yellow gourd beneath his arm, directing wave after wave of golden sand toward the eagle. Now, seeing Devil’s Cloud’s reckless attempt, he could no longer hold back his frustration. ”Idiot! I already told you it feeds on solar fire. Even if it’s mainly metal-attribute, how could it possibly fear your fire!?”

At that moment, the Nine-Sun Golden Eagle’s savage eyes locked onto him.

”Damn it!” Ding Yi drew a deep breath and shot a glance in a certain direction. The next moment, he tossed aside the yellow gourd, slammed his palms together, and shouted, ”BURNNN!!”

The moment the word left his mouth, Ding Yi’s rotund body began to shake violently. His flesh rippled like a pond struck by a stone, and as the ripples grew more intense, an illusory manifestation slowly drifted out. At first glance, it resembled a giant umbrella... or maybe a giant mushroom. As the phantom gradually solidified, Ding Yi’s body visibly shrank. The mountain of flesh that had once made him resemble a rolling ball rapidly diminished, until he appeared little different from an ordinary man. The process was clearly not without cost. Pain contorted his face, but his eyes still gleamed with excitement.

”This should be enough.”

The umbrella-shaped phantom swept across the battlefield and descended upon the distant Nine-Sun Golden Eagle. The eagle immediately sensed the danger and let out a sharp cry, but before it could escape, Ding Yi abruptly brought his palms together. ”Reveal your true form!”

Whoosh!

The giant umbrella snapped shut in an instant. A mournful screech tore through the sky. The enormous golden eagle immediately lost its stable form. Its body twisted and blurred before plummeting from the sky and crashing into the ground below.

For a brief moment, dust and shattered rock filled the air. When it finally settled, the battlefield fell silent. Devil’s Cloud stared blankly at the crater. There was no Nine-Sun Golden Eagle. Instead, there was a piece of white-golden metal the size of a millstone.

”Nine-Sun Geng Metal... Damn, that’s a massive piece!”

Not only was it huge, but its surface was smooth and lustrous like jade, and there was not the slightest trace of the coloration normally associated with the raw Geng Metal. Such purity could only mean that this was supreme-grade Nine-Sun Geng Metal! As an artisan, Devil’s Cloud understood its value better than anyone. If a material of this quality was incorporated into an offensive enchanted treasure, the resulting weapon would possess unimaginable sharpness. The mere thought of it caused his entire body to tremble uncontrollably with excitement.

”Fellow Daoist Ding, look at this...”

Devil’s Cloud could not mask his excitement and looked up at Ding Yi, eager to tell him about the discovery, only to discover that the man was paying no attention whatsoever to the chunk of metal. Instead, his eyes burned intensely as he stared toward something in the distance. Even now, his palms remained pressed tightly together, showing no sign of relaxing after killing the golden eagle.

The next moment, Ding Yi shouted, ”Azure Yang, get out here!”

Azure Yang? Wasn’t he eaten by a black-golden viper?

Following Ding Yi’s gaze, he looked in the same direction. Amid the rugged mountains, a massive figure slid out from between cliffs and rocky outcrops. As it drew nearer, its imposing form became clearer: black scales, a white underbelly, vertical pupils, and a single horn that rose from its head. Devil’s Cloud’s eyes widened as recognition struck—it was none other than Azure Yang’s flood dragon!

Atop his head was a crimson-robed Daoist. His robes snapped in the wind, yet his expression remained calm. Faced with Ding Yi’s accusation, he showed neither surprise nor anger. He simply raised a hand and formed a seal, and an indescribable aura spread from his body. It was not particularly overbearing, yet it carried a faint trace of heavenly authority, as though the surrounding world itself was responding to his will.

Devil’s Cloud’s expression changed. As he reflected, the earlier scenes flashed through his mind one after another. Before long, it all clicked together—none of it had been a coincidence. He hastily shouted, ”Azure Yang, we’re companions. We should be working together. Why turn on one another now?”

”Companions?” Luo Chen let out a cold laugh. ”I’m afraid the one who brought us together as companions died within the Heaven of Oblivion long ago. Isn’t that right, Flesh Ganoderma?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Luo Chen shot into the sky and charged straight at Ding Yi. At the same time, a savage glint flashed through Ding Yi’s eyes. The giant umbrella phantom reappeared above the battlefield and descended upon Luo Chen with its enormous canopy closing around him. Yet just as the umbrella was about to close, its movement slowed. It was as though an invisible force had wedged itself beneath it and was preventing it from shutting completely.

Ding Yi’s expression darkened. The little remaining fat on his body quivered violently as he exerted greater force. Gradually, the unseen force resisting him revealed itself. An ocean of crimson mana was surging toward the heavens, its rolling waves colliding with the umbrella from below and preventing it from descending any further.

Ding Yi’s expression shifted slightly. ”A Domain?”

Luo Chen did not explain. Instead, he let out a low shout. ”COME OUT!”

The next instant, the sword case on his back rang. Seven sharp swords flashed like meteors as they appeared behind him, filling the air with resonant sword cries. In addition, a long banner soared into the sky. As black mist billowed forth, one Ghost King after another emerged, their presence blanketing everything within a hundred-li radius.

Luo Chen had never been one to hold back once he decided to act. As the black mist swallowed the battlefield, the Infinite Blaze Prison unfolded in full. Behind him, the Seven Fiend Swords buzzed sharply, their tips angled upward and pointed directly at the deathly pale Ding Yi.

”I’ve come all this way to explore the Land of Fallen Devils. But there’s one thing I’m sure of: I can’t trust something that isn’t even human. So let’s end this now.”