An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

A crimson-robed man stood before them with black hair flowing down his back. His brows were sharp as swords, his eyes bright as stars, and a cold authority clung to every line of his stern face. Though his appearance had changed drastically from the man they once knew, the Angler and Purple Empress recognized him instantly. There was no mistaking him. The figure standing before them was none other than Devil Lord Azure Yang, the master of Surging Lake.

Even so, recognition only made what they had just witnessed harder to accept. Ghost Spirit Child had been one of the Society’s eight-star demon hunters and had long been a pillar for the division. He had cultivated for many decades longer than either of them, stood at virtually the same realm, and was well known for his versatility and unpredictability in combat. Yet all of that had amounted to nothing. During what could barely be called a probing exchange, Luo Chen had killed him outright.

From what little they had seen, Ghost Spirit Child had barely managed to activate his defensive treasure before Luo Chen’s kick smashed through both the artifact and the man behind it. Such an outcome left no room for speculation—Luo Chen’s strength had already reached a level that neither of them could properly measure.

Purple Empress was the first to recover. After a brief hesitation, she said, ”Devil Lord... Luo Hai?”

Holding the Eightspire Pavilion in one hand, Luo Chen glanced at her and nodded slightly. ”Fellow Daoist Purple Empress, it has been many years. You’re still as elegant as ever.”

Now that she had received confirmation, the woman in purple became even more alarmed. She quickly steadied herself and forced a smile. ”How could I compare to you, Fellow Daoist? You’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you.”

”Changed” was hardly sufficient to describe it. Luo Chen’s transformation was nothing short of earth-shattering.

The Angler studied him for a long moment before remarking in a voice laced with caution, ”Fellow Daoist, your Physique Refinement attainments have truly exceeded all my expectations.”

Even though he had repeatedly overestimated Luo Chen’s physique in the past, he now realized he had still fallen far short of the truth. Killing someone of the same realm with a single kick was in no way something a third-tier physique cultivator should have been capable of. Most likely...

Luo Chen seemed to understand exactly what he was thinking and said, ”I don’t have a Sage standing behind me. Without a few tricks to keep myself alive, how would I dare venture into the Sunken Sea? Surely you understand that, Angler.”

The Angler’s lips twitched. His gaze dropped to the pavilion resting in Luo Chen’s palm. ”The three of us paid a heavy price for that treasure. We fought for it, risked our lives for it, and now you’re taking it saying it’s fated to be yours? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

”A bit much?” Luo Chen echoed.

The Angler nodded. ”More than a bit.”

Luo Chen chuckled softly. ”So when you killed people and took their treasures, did that seem excessive to you? I’m only doing what you’ve done before. Seems fair enough to me.”

The Angler’s expression immediately darkened. The wrinkles on his face tightened like gathering storm clouds before a downpour, while the black-golden fishing rod in his hand began to tremble. The bells hanging from it rang sharply, their chimes betraying the killing intent rising within him.

Luo Chen raised a brow and snorted. ”You want to fight?”

The Angler tightened his grip on the rod. ”We’ll have to settle this sooner or later, so why wait?”

Before the last word had fully left his mouth, he flicked the rod. The charred Heavenly Broken Line lashed through the air like an unfathomable course; the way it whistled made it sound as though space itself were being sliced apart.

Then, just as it was about to strike, Luo Chen casually extended a hand and clenched it.

Thwack!

Under the Angler’s stunned gaze, Luo Chen actually caught the end of the Heavenly Broken Line with his bare hand. A few twists of his wrist were all it took for the deadly thread to coil around his palm like an ordinary piece of string.

”What the...”

The Angler was completely caught off guard. Never in his wildest imagination had he expected someone to dare catch his treasure barehanded, let alone succeed.

Luo Chen lowered his gaze to the charred filament wrapped around his hand. ”Every time I see you use this treasure, you always manage to reel in something impressive. I’d say this fish is a little too big for you, though.”

Beneath his Daoist robe, muscles rippled and tightened. He steadily increased the force in his grip; he was going to snap the Heavenly Broken Line through sheer strength alone!

Almost immediately, mournful cries echoed through the Angler’s mind through his connection to the treasure. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted, ”LEEEEETT GOOOOOO!”

He slapped the black-golden fishing rod, sending a strange energy wave racing along the Heavenly Broken Line. The filament regained its terrifying sharpness and bit into Luo Chen’s palm, drawing fine streaks of blood even from his incomparably tough palm.

Luo Chen merely raised an eyebrow and loosened his grip. Freed from his grasp, the Heavenly Broken Line shot back toward the Angler. Only then did the Angler notice a wisp of azure flame clinging stubbornly to its tip. The fire spread rapidly, and the filament visibly shrank as it was consumed.

The Angler let out an enraged shout. ”Azure Yang!!!!”

He then bit through the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Pfft—

The blood extinguished the azure flame, but only after nearly half the precious filament had already been burned away.

Before he could feel any relief, a thunderous explosion erupted nearby. Next moment, Luo Chen had already crossed the distance between them; he drew back his hand, then pushed it forward.

BBOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The impact sent the Angler flying several zhang through the air like a burlap sack thrown aside after being emptied. Only after the shockwave faded did Luo Chen slowly withdraw his hand and look ahead with a slight frown. A crescent moon had risen above the battlefield, and its cold radiance enveloped the old man from head to toe.

An ordinary Adept should never have survived a full-power strike from Luo Chen. Even the defensive treasure the Angler had activated in desperation had shattered on impact. In other words, the thing that had saved the old man’s life was actually this pure white moonlight.

”Moon Hermit’s art?” Luo Chen muttered to himself. No wonder the Angler had still dared to make a move after witnessing Ghost Spirit Child’s fate. This had been his confidence from the very beginning.

”Cough, cough...”

The Angler staggered back to his feet. His ashen face suddenly flushed red, and after struggling to suppress it for a moment, he finally failed.

Pfft—

A mouthful of blood splattered onto the ground. Only then did the crushing pressure in his chest ease slightly.

He had never imagined that even with a Sage’s protection, Luo Chen’s strike would be so difficult to deal with. Most of the impact had been absorbed by the moonlight, yet what little slipped through had still struck him like a bolt of heavenly lightning. Had he not spent the past few years tempering his physique and building some foundation in Physique Refinement, that single palm strike would have displaced his organs and left him severely wounded.

He raised his head and stared at the red-robed figure in the distance holding the pavilion aloft. ”Devil Lord, that pavilion belongs to Moon Hermit. Aren’t you afraid she’ll come looking for you afterward?”

Luo Chen frowned slightly. He genuinely had not expected Moon Hermit to have specifically asked for this treasure. Until now, he had assumed this was nothing more than a straightforward dispute over spoils. If others could kill for treasure, then naturally he could do the same. But the situation changed the moment a Sage became involved, especially one of the Northern Sea’s Three Hermits.

Sensing the change in Luo Chen’s expression, the Angler quietly let go of the thoughts that had been running through his mind. The tension in his heart eased, and he quickly seized what he believed was an opportunity. ”Give me the pavilion, and we’ll forget what happened to Ghost Spirit Child. I won’t mention any of this to Moon Hermit either.”

Backed by the prestige of a great hermit, the Angler seemed to regain much of his confidence. The stoop in his back eased, and even his bearing grew firmer.

Luo Chen said nothing.

Taking that silence as hesitation, the Angler finally relaxed. At first, he had believed Ghost Spirit Child’s death was nothing more than a consequence of being caught off guard. But after exchanging blows with Luo Chen himself, he had realized how ridiculously wrong that assumption had been. Ghost Spirit Child had failed to survive a single kick, while he himself could barely withstand a single punch. Even the treasures that had earned him his reputation had proven useless. The Sound-Capturing Bell, which should have disrupted anyone’s mind, had no effect whatsoever on Luo Chen. The Heavenly Broken Line had fared no better, its power completely countered by that strange azure flame. At this point, even if he brought out his life-bound treasure, he doubted he could gain any advantage.

After spitting out the last traces of bloody foam, he steadied his breathing and spoke in a hoarse voice. ”I’m not lying to you. The Moon Protection should be proof enough. If you still don’t believe me, ask Purple Empress.”

Luo Chen turned toward the purple-robed woman. She gave a slight nod and parted her red lips. ”It’s true. After we found the Penglai Immortal Sect disciples, Moon Hermit personally gave the order. She’s also in the Land of Fallen Devils and has already chased them into the Heaven of Bright Illumination. Before she left, she specifically instructed us to bring the Penglai Eightspire Pavilion back to her. Luo... Devil Lord, this really isn’t worth it.”

Having witnessed Luo Chen’s overwhelming display of power, she no longer felt comfortable using any other form of address. Whether it was ”Fellow Daoist Luo Hai” or ”Azure Yang,” neither felt appropriate anymore. In the end, only ”Devil Lord” remained, and that alone was enough to reveal how deeply she feared him.

Now everything depended on Luo Chen’s decision. Under their anxious gazes, he slowly lowered his eyes to the pavilion resting in his palm. This was a True Artifact, and not an ordinary one at that. It was a portable garden whose true value extended far beyond the artifact itself. No one knew how many rare spirit herbs had been cultivated within it over the years. All else aside, there was almost certainly a substantial number of Divine Irises inside.

When he descended earlier, he had seen the situation for himself. The valley had been picked clean, leaving behind little more than a few scattered clumps of soil. The disciples of the Penglai Immortal Sect had clearly uprooted every Divine Iris they could carry before fleeing. Was he really supposed to hand over a treasure that had already fallen into his hands?

As the thought crossed his mind, Moon Hermit’s figure surfaced in his memory, and he found himself genuinely hesitating.