An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Now that he knew the formula was genuine, Luo Chen suppressed the ecstasy rising in his heart and turned his attention to the achievement points he had left.

Before entering the Land of Fallen Devils, he had accumulated a total of 334 achievement points over many years, and since then, he had spent 84.

The first 34 had gone toward the Open Thatch Art, a fourth-tier divine soul art Han Zhan had taught him. At the time, having lost his Woodrot Go Stone and knowing that his divine soul foundation was still lacking, he had used those points to forcibly learn the art in order to guard his soul against opponents like Merman Emperor Liu Jun, who could use various illusion and bewitchment techniques to ensnare people.

Then, during the third trial, he had wanted to overwhelm his competitor, the Seagon Matriarch, with his alchemy speed and shake her state of mind. To accomplish that, he had spent another 30 achievement points to attain Beginner proficiency in three alchemical formulas required to temper the devil race’s physique. Of course, given enough time, he could have refined these three pills with his own abilities, but he was not all that regretful about it.

The final 20 achievement points had been spent during the fourth trial. Of the three Transformation Pill formulas, he had only comprehended the human version on his own, so he had used the system to attain Beginner proficiency of the Devil Transformation Pill and Demon Transformation Pill. That expense, however, had been necessary. At his current level, understanding a fourth-tier formula through ordinary study would have taken him years. The Nascent Soul Pill formula was a prime example. After obtaining the formula from Han Zhan, Luo Chen had studied it for decades and remained uncertain about certain details.

Thus, at this point, he had exactly 250 achievement points remaining in the system.

At first, Luo Chen had been worried that he might not have enough points to go through the inheritance assessment. Now that the fifth trial required a fifth-tier pill, however, he suspected that this was the final stage.

Throughout his cultivation journey, he had, more than once, refined pills beyond his cultivation realm. While at the Qi Refinement Realm, he had refined the second-tier Imperial Nectar. At the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had refined the third-tier Nether Origin Pill. After reaching the Golden Core Realm, he had gone on to refine several fourth-tier spirit medicines, including fourth-tier Black Sovereign Paste, Poison-Repelling Pill, and four Transformation Pills. But this time, the gap was far greater than before. His alchemy was at the fourth tier, yet his actual cultivation realm was only Golden Core, while the Law Scrutiny Pill was a fifth-tier pill. If so, was he crossing one major realm or two?

Luo Chen could not determine the answer. If the system considered it a single major realm, the cost was probably manageable. From the patterns he had observed over the years, the price generally ranged from 10 to 100 achievement points. But if it counted as crossing two major realms, the cost might as well reach 1000 points. In that case, would his remaining 250 achievement points be enough? There was no guarantee.

He stared at the entry on the status panel for a long time but still could not bring himself to make a decision. In the end, he suppressed the agitation in his heart.

”I cannot act recklessly!”

No matter how precious the Law Scrutiny Pill formula was, it would mean nothing unless he could refine it successfully. The status panel was his greatest advantage, and achievement points were the reason he had been able to leave the Seagon Matriarch so far behind despite falling short of her in experience and, indeed, in alchemy skills. These achievement points were what allowed him to bypass years of trial and error and reach basic proficiency directly.

This time, the possible losses far outweighed the possible gains. If he invested the points now, only to discover that they were not enough to reach Beginner proficiency, he would have no shoulder to cry on. He could not possibly take the risk. Thus, instead of using the system panel, he would first study the formula as thoroughly as he could.

The patterns he had observed in the panel’s functions were not determined by tier differences alone. So long as certain prerequisites were met, some things could be forcibly learned across tiers for far fewer achievement points than expected. The Open Thatch Art was the clearest example. Although it was a fourth-tier divine soul art, it had not cost him a full hundred points to reach Beginner proficiency. Likewise, for high-tier pills, the deeper his understanding of the formula and the higher his alchemy attainment, the fewer achievement points would be required when forcibly attaining Beginner proficiency across tiers. His earlier mastery of Imperial Nectar during the Qi Refinement Realm had proven exactly that.

”Let’s take it one step at a time.”

Having made his decision, Luo Chen rose from the floor and left the dim stone house.

***

Luo Chen sat cross-legged atop a lofty peak as the fierce wind struck his face and tugged at his Daoist robe. His expression remained calm while his fingers formed one hand seal after another, though each movement seemed somewhat sluggish.

More than half a year had passed since he entered the fifth trial. During that time, he had devoted himself entirely to studying the Law Scrutiny Pill formula and had even copied out two versions. He imprinted one copy on a jade scroll using his divine consciousness, while he wrote the other onto bamboo scrolls with brush and ink so that he could refer to it at any time.

Even so, his progress had been painfully slow.

Normally, fifth-tier pills could only be refined by fifth-tier alchemists. Certainly, formidable fourth-tier alchemists could also refine them across tiers, but such people could be counted on one hand. If cultivation realms were used as a comparison, that was the difference between the Nascent Soul Realm and the Divine Transformation Realm; how many Sages could fight Ascendants? Thus, to successfully refine this pill involved many conditions that seemed simple on the surface but were actually impossible for lower-level cultivators to fulfill.

To put it simply, it was like how certain pills often required a cultivator’s true fire to assist at critical moments. True fire could only be used by Initiates, so no matter how skilled a Qi Refinement cultivator was, they could not possibly do it.

Fifth-tier pills naturally came with many similar requirements. Since Luo Chen did not yet understand the principles behind them, he could only dismantle the formula and study it piece by piece. He began with the medicinal properties of every ingredient, then moved on to the refinement process before finally turning to the complicated alchemy arts involved. Only then did he realize how much the first three trials had helped him.

The primary and auxiliary ingredients required for the Law Scrutiny Pill had all appeared in the bamboo scrolls from those earlier trials, so he had little trouble understanding their properties. He also found that he had already learned most of the alchemy arts required for the refinement. Beyond the basic Unadorned Heart and Star-Plucking, the art he needed to master most urgently was the Qi Control Art.

This technique was used to sense, guide, and control ambient spirit energy. It was not exactly what most people thought of as an ”alchemy art.” In fact, it was an ordinary spell, for all intents and purposes, though it could be used in alchemy to great effect.

”If I were a Sage, this would be effortless for me. But unfortunately...”

The spirit energy around him stirred, then scattered beyond his control. Luo Chen gave a bitter smile.

The Qi Control Art was not difficult for Sages because they possessed true Nascent Soul Domains. With such a Domain, they could distinguish the attributes of the spirit energy drifting through the world and control it accordingly. Even if they could only truly command the attribute in which they excelled, they could still draw upon the spirit energy of other attributes when they were not in battle. Han Zhan had once explained the specific operation to him. It was nothing more than a small trick of borrowing force to redirect force. But an Adept’s understanding of heaven and earth was far too shallow. Amid such chaos, how could they clearly distinguish one energy attribute from another?

”Alright, slowly but surely. As long as I reach Beginner proficiency, everything will be fine!”

Despite his bitter smile, he was not without confidence. This was precisely where the panel showed its value as a fallback. The worst thing possible was not failing to master an art to a profound level but being unable to step through the door at all.

And now, even without the system, he had actually grasped the key to this door. With his mind clear, he circulated his mana through his body and sent out his divine consciousness. Not only that, but he also unfolded the Infinite Blaze Prison directly around him. Within its range, the fire-attribute spirit energy in the air seemed to stir in response.