An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

After thinking it over carefully, Luo Chen realized that the war between the righteous and devilish forces in the Northern Sea had already dragged on for nearly a century, from its earliest skirmishes to the full-scale war that followed. Once war was officially declared, the two sides had spent fifty years locked in a relentless struggle. At first, the Penglai Immortal Sect and Devil’s Snare had joined forces and launched a sudden assault on the Blue Sea Alliance, relying on their overwhelming advantage to seize half of the Northern Sea’s human territories. Yet after that initial surge, neither side could push the other anymore, and the war gradually sank into a tense stalemate.

That stalemate was the closest thing the Northern Sea cultivation world had known to peace since the destruction of the devil sect. The so-called Immortal-Devil Coalition held roughly half of the human territories, while the Blue Sea Alliance controlled a substantial portion of what remained. Although the Alliance possessed less land overall, it still held the inner sea, the richest region of the Northern Sea and the heartland that generations of cultivators had developed over thousands of years. The remaining scattered regions fell into the hands of the Society, the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance, and various smaller forces tucked away in remote waters.

For a time, the situation remained relatively calm. Even when conflicts broke out, they were mostly limited to the righteous and devilish factions, while trade between the other forces slowly began to pick up. It was the same as back when Luo Chen traveled around—in general, no one bothered people as long as they didn’t go looking for trouble.

Unfortunately, that peace had been completely shattered several months earlier. After the Golden Sky Black Sea phenomenon above the Sunken Sea disappeared, the Penglai Immortal Sect inexplicably began reducing its military presence and recalled large numbers of disciples stationed abroad. With Penglai’s withdrawal, the balance between the righteous and devilish factions collapsed. After being forced onto the defensive for fifty years, the Blue Sea Alliance finally cast off its restraints and launched a full counteroffensive, reclaiming many islands and sea regions that Devil’s Snare had occupied years ago.

The sudden intensity of the fighting caught many smaller forces completely unprepared. Before they could even understand how the situation had changed, the flames of war had already swept toward them. The Sui family had been wise to turn away at the edge of the battlefield. By comparison, Luo Chen’s decision to charge straight into the heart of the warzone seemed utterly reckless. Under ordinary circumstances, a late-stage Adept could dominate a region and roam the Northern Sea without much to fear. Yet on a battlefield involving tens of thousands of cultivators, even that level of strength meant very little.

Riding his wooden kite, Luo Chen plunged straight into the warzone, his mana barrier holding back the raging winds and waves as he pressed forward without the slightest hesitation. Suddenly, a flying sword tore through the air toward him, its blade blazing with immense mana. Luo Chen did not so much as flinch. He simply extended his right hand and spread his fingers wide to meet the sword head-on.

Seeing this, the Adept from the Blue Sea Alliance who had launched the sword sneered at the sight. Someone actually dared to catch his flying sword barehanded? Did this fool not know that enchanted treasures moved according to their master’s will? There was no way it would be that easy to grab. Even if that moron had some hidden trick, the Adept needed only to steer the sword slightly to slip past his grasp, slash in from the side, and sever his arm. Once that happened, the battle would already be decided.

With a thought, he redirected the flying sword to curve around Luo Chen’s hand and strike from the side. Yet in the next instant, Luo Chen’s hand flicked sideways, so fast it almost seemed to teleport, cutting off the sword’s path once more. Then, his fingers snapped shut.

The flying sword writhed as though it were alive. Its rigid blade softened and coiled around Luo Chen’s fingers like a snake. Yet Luo Chen remained perfectly calm, smoothly turning his wrist as he guided the flexible blade into a smooth spiral around his forearm before giving it a light shake.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

With his life-bound enchanted treasure shattered, the Blue Sea Alliance Adept suffered a devastating backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Luo Chen did not spare him another glance and casually flicked away the shattered fragments in another direction. At that moment, a mountain came rumbling toward him, seemingly unfazed by the scattered sword shards. Yet Luo Chen’s effortless motion concealed exquisite technique. The moment the fragments left his hand, origin energy surged into them, wrapping each shard in crimson light as they shot straight toward the oncoming mountain.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Then, the fragments sliced through the mountain as easily as blades cutting through tofu, then continued onward without losing momentum. Beyond the mountain stood a Devil’s Snare cultivator with eight others at his side. Before they could react, the crimson-lit shards reached them and exploded.

Panicked screams and agonized cries erupted behind Luo Chen, but he did not look back. Standing atop the wooden kite, he cut straight through the battlefield. The righteous and devilish cultivators who had been locked in fierce combat moments earlier all faltered at his sudden intrusion, and for a brief instant, the abrupt silence that followed felt strangely unsettling.

On the Blue Sea Alliance’s side, Shang Junshu hurried over to the pale cultivator who was still coughing up blood. He was the very man who had unleashed the flying sword moments earlier.

”Second Uncle, are you okay?”

”I’m fine, but my life-bound enchanted treasure has been destroyed, and my divine soul suffered a backlash. I can’t fight anymore.” The man wiped the blood from his lips and stared fearfully at the black-robed figure. ”He’s definitely a Sage!”

That man had shattered an enchanted treasure with his bare hands and then severely wounded eight Devil’s Snare Adepts with the broken fragments. Aside from a Sage, the Blue Sea Alliance Adept could not imagine anyone else capable of such a feat.

Shang Junshu stared after the black-robed cultivator in surprise. The man’s aura clearly belonged to the Golden Core Realm. His mana was extraordinarily pure and domineering, far beyond that of an ordinary Adept, but it was still nowhere near the level of a Sage. Yet the longer Shang Junshu watched, the more puzzled he became. For some reason, that figure felt vaguely familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

With Shang Junshu’s support, the injured cultivator withdrew from the front line. Only after putting some distance between themselves and the battlefield did the man glance at him in confusion. ”Young Master, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be in the back, taking care of supplies for the association?”

Although Shang Junshu called him Second Uncle, the cultivator still observed the proper family etiquette. The former, however, seemed distracted, barely registering the words as his gaze lingered in the direction Luo Chen had gone with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. ”My father is here, so I came with him. He may need to speak with Heaven Splitter later.”

Shang Junshu’s father was none other than the founder of the Four Seas Merchant Association, Sage Four Seas.

The injured cultivator’s eyes lit up with surprise. ”The Sage came to the front line in person?”

”Mhm,” Shang Junshu answered absently, still searching his memories for the source of that strange familiarity. ”There are some things I can’t explain right now, but if this battle goes well, this sea region may become our association’s headquarters in the future.”

As he spoke, the image buried in his mind gradually grew clearer. After a long while, a crimson-faced figure slowly overlapped with the black-robed cultivator he had just seen.

Is it him? Has he really reached this level?

Before the recent escalation of the war between the righteous and devilish factions, the hottest news in the Northern Sea had undoubtedly come from the Sunken Sea pocket world. It was said that the experts of the Society had become the greatest winners there, but among all those rumors, one had drawn Shang Junshu’s attention more than any other.

Devil Lord Azure Yang, the rising star of the Society, defied the gap between realms and slew Sage Flying Cloud, the master of Flying Cloud Ravine.

Many years ago, Shang Junshu had dealt with that same Devil Lord Azure Yang. It had been at an auction in Jadecold City on Coldlight Island, and that was where this man had first made his name in the Northern Sea cultivation world.

In just fifty short years, the nameless nobody who had once fled under the pursuit of a group of Adepts had become an absolute powerhouse far beyond Shang Junshu’s reach. He was now a legend of the Northern Sea, a leading figure of his generation.

***

Luo Chen’s gaze paused for an instant, but the wooden kite beneath his feet did not slow or veer aside. It carried him straight ahead, cutting through the battlefield as if nothing had happened.

A cold voice suddenly rang out across the battlefield. ”You think you can leave so easily after you injure my people?”

As the words fell, a strange pressure descended from the sky and swept over Luo Chen. It was a Nascent Soul Domain!

Almost at the same moment, a giant, dark palm condensed from mana came pressing down with suffocating force. Luo Chen only gave a soft snort as he sent out crimson light that flowed over his body. Even inside the Domain, his movements remained smooth and unimpeded. He moved through that invisible pressure like a fish through water, drawing his elbow back before driving his fist forward in one smooth motion.

His right arm stretched like melting wax, elongating in an unnatural, wavering arc as crimson light wrapped around it. In the next instant, he slammed fiercely into the giant mana palm.

BBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!

The strike blasted a large hole through the giant palm. Without losing the slightest bit of momentum, Luo Chen guided the wooden kite through the opening and continued forward. ”Heaven Splitter, you should worry about the Sages of the Blue Sea Alliance instead!”

Far in the distance, a man in a black-gold enchanted robe stared at Luo Chen in surprise. How can a mere Adept slip past my Domain and take a strike head-on? What exactly is that strange crimson light? And what Sages? Isn’t Old Ghost Nanqi the only one here? It’s been ten years, and he still hasn’t been able to do anything to me. The hell am I supposed to fear?

But in the next instant, his expression changed completely, as though clear skies had suddenly turned to storm clouds. From the rear of the Blue Sea Alliance side, three powerful auras rose into the sky, each one no weaker than his own.

Old Ghost Nanqi! Shang Sihai! Madam Mi! Why are all three of them here at once?