An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The shores of Emerald Ripple Pool were lined with jagged rocks, and mountains rose around the still waters. A white-robed Daoist sat on a slab of greenstone with his back to the pool, facing the three figures who had come to greet him. Black King stood in his smaller form beside Heavenjade and Sang Jinghe. All three held themselves with proper respect, though the excitement on their faces was impossible to hide.

Luo Chen, however, felt a sense of melancholy. What a fall from grace...

In the past, each breakthrough had been marked by thorough preparation and grand ceremony. His disciples would busy themselves with arrangements, and invitations would be sent far and wide to gather guests from across the cultivation world. He still remembered his Golden Core Ceremony at Danxia Peak, when representatives from the great sects had come in person to offer their congratulations. It had been an occasion of unmatched scale, and nothing since had ever surpassed it.

Now, after enduring countless hardships to reach the Nascent Soul Realm and become one of the foremost cultivators in the world, he had emerged from seclusion to find only a handful of people waiting to greet him.

Still, he could not have asked for more. He was far from home, and there was no reason to fixate on the lack of ceremony. This was a joyous occasion no matter what, and even if he had no intention of sharing his insights into forming a Nascent Soul, he could at least allow this small group to share in the good fortune of the moment.

He thus began by examining their cultivation progress. ”Jinghe, you’ve improved quite a bit. I didn’t expect you to reach Perfected Mastery so soon.”

In truth, calling it ”soon” was not entirely accurate. Thirty years had passed since they first arrived on Dragon Abyss Island, and with the island’s rich spirit energy and plentiful spirit plants, Sang Jinghe’s advancement was only to be expected.

Sang Jinghe bowed. ”I could never have done so without your guidance and support.”

Luo Chen smiled. ”Since you’ve gotten this far, it’s time to start preparing for Core Formation. I gave you the Liquid Condensation Pills, so that part won’t be an issue. But what about the technique? Do you have one?”

Sang Jinghe nodded. ”Third Granduncle left me one before he passed away. But my aptitude is quite poor, and I’ve only managed to achieve minor mastery... I’m honestly not sure if I can form a core.”

Luo Chen extended a hand. ”Oh? Show it to me.”

Sang Jinghe stepped forward and offered the jade scroll with both hands.

Luo Chen scanned it with his divine consciousness and took in its contents. The art was solid enough and could be considered a proper Middle Path one, but certain aspects still fell somewhat short.

Taking Sang Jinghe’s aptitude and current progress into account, Luo Chen began revising the Core Formation art. He did not meddle with its basic principles and framework; instead, he just reinforced its weaker sections and corrected its most serious flaw by adding a technique for harmonizing spirit consciousness with mana. By the time a cup of tea could have cooled, the revisions were complete.

He handed the jade scroll back with an easy smile. ”Study it carefully. There’s no need to start over. Continue with what you have already learned, then follow my revisions when you reach the later stages. It should raise your chances of forming a core by ten or maybe even twenty percent.”

Sang Jinghe took the scroll with unconcealed excitement. Techniques passed down by a Sage were rare enough as things were, and one custom-refined to match his own aptitude and cultivation was far more valuable.

Luo Chen then turned to Heavenjade and handed her another jade scroll. She accepted it, and surprise flickered across her face when she saw the title. ”The Heavenspan Wing Codex?”

”Mhm. I revised the original and added a technique to reshape your physique and speed up your cultivation. Study it well, and you may be able to perfect your Xun Wind Body before you attempt to form your Nascent Soul.”

Heavenjade’s expression softened as she took in his words. Truth be told, Han Zhan had once told her much the same thing—she had the foundation of the Xun Wind Body, but it was imperfect. Even after soaking in the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring, the improvement had been limited, and she had only acquired the most basic traits of that constitution.

Luo Chen understood better than most how profoundly an improved constitution could shape a cultivator’s future. His own Fire Spirit Body had sped up his progress immensely, and when he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, it allowed the Nascent Embryo within his Golden Core to draw in far more natural spirit energy. By the same principle, if Heavenjade could perfect her Xun Wind Body, she would gain the same kind of advantage.

With that, he had reworked the Heavenspan Wing Codex by drawing on both his experience with the Fire Spirit Body and his knowledge of how archaic beasts tempered their bodies. As long as she cultivated diligently, she had a genuine chance of perfecting her own constitution before forming her Nascent Soul. With such a foundation in place, her eventual breakthrough would be far smoother.

Black King watched from the side as his anticipation grew by the moment. Sang Jinghe and Heavenjade had both received Luo Chen’s guidance, so surely his master had prepared something for him as well. When Luo Chen still did not turn his way, he finally lifted his head and looked over expectantly.

Luo Chen caught the look and waved it off. ”Oh, forget it. Ever since you switched to the Titan Beast path and reached the fourth tier, I haven’t even gotten a proper look at you. How am I supposed to give you advice?”

Black King’s head drooped at once, and all his earlier excitement vanished.

Luo Chen relented. ”Okay, okay. Tell me, what’s changed since you reached the fourth tier?”

The question immediately rekindled Black King’s spirits. At last, he had a chance to show what he could do!

Luo Chen had already seen Black King’s Undying Body, but what stood out now was how much more naturally he could control his size after reaching the fourth tier. He had always been able to adjust his size, but the range had been limited and the transformation had been severely uncomfortable at the extremes. Now, he could reduce himself to the size of a palm without the slightest strain, small enough to perch on Luo Chen’s shoulder. When he expanded, his body could pass the original hundred zhang and reach as much as five hundred zhang with strength still to spare. On its own, the change might not seem like much, but when paired with his devouring ability, which increased with size, its significance became clear.

Realizing this, Luo Chen felt a quiet sense of relief. If Black King had assumed such a form back when Han Zhan held subtle control over him and had expanded to that size before unleashing the ability, Luo Chen’s little Nascent Soul might well have been swallowed whole in that moment.

Black King raised his head and said, ”Master, check this out.”

He shrank back to his usual hundred-zhang form, settled onto the ground, and closed his eyes. Within moments, he had relaxed completely, and thunderous snores soon rolled through the surrounding peaks.

He fell asleep that fast? Is this Feigned Slumber? Luo Chen recognized the little trick, but what was the point?

The answer became clear moments later as strands of ambient spirit energy began to drift in from every direction toward Black King by an unseen pull. At first, the energy came only from within a few hundred li, but the pull soon extended across thousands. Even from beyond ten thousand li, faint wisps still made their way over. The farther they traveled, the thinner the flow became, yet every strand still converged on Black King as though answering an instinctive summons. Of the vast tide surging in, only a small portion was absorbed by Black King. The rest pooled around him before slowly settling into the earth.

It clicked for Luo Chen at once, and a rush of excitement followed. ”The Stone Dragon’s ability...”

He had never expected that sacrificing that incomplete Stone Dragon soul to save Black King would lead to something like this. Even in sleep, Black King’s breathing seemed to fall into rhythm with the world itself and pulled in ambient spirit energy from everywhere on a thousand-li radius!

If Luo Chen could find a way to widen the range and stabilize the output, then anchor it to a high-tier spirit vein, could the idea he had once envisioned finally come true through Black King?

Abruptly, the thunderous snoring cut off as Black King stirred and woke. ”I didn’t notice it at first either. Whenever I stopped to rest in the sea, I’d wake up and find a bunch of low-tier demonic beasts gathered around me. I didn’t really think anything of it and just ate them. Then, a while back, spirit energy suddenly started pouring out of the island, so I moved onto the island to cultivate. Ever since then, this ability has gotten stronger, and it can affect a much larger area, too. Oh, right! I almost forgot, Master. I figured out why the island suddenly started releasing so much spirit energy!”

Luo Chen was well aware of how greatly Dragon Abyss Island had changed over the past decade. Compared to the devastation left behind by his tribulation, the island was almost unrecognizable now. Spirit energy lay thick across the entire territory, rare flowers and exotic plants flourished in abundance, and even the dragonworms that had once fled had come creeping back on instinct, along with several other wild low-tier demonic beasts. To an outsider, the island could easily have passed for the stronghold of an upper sect.

Suppressing his excitement, Luo Chen looked at Black King. ”What caused it?”

Black King’s expression turned serious. ”The earth’s crust shifted and ruptured the earth veins!”