An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Hidden beneath a veil of spirit light, the cloud carriage sped through the sky while Black King lay curled at Luo Chen’s feet. Luo Chen studied him for a long moment before speaking. ”You’ve served me faithfully for many years, so this has nothing to do with trust. I removed the Origin Blood Restriction because it was hindering your cultivation, but I still need a safeguard against the unexpected. If someone takes control of you at a critical moment, they could turn you against me. Hand over your soul blood and let me place Spirit Enslavement on you.”

After Han Zhan’s betrayal, Luo Chen could no longer afford to dismiss such a possibility. Black King’s innate demonic ability allowed him to devour and refine whatever he consumed, and it bore a troubling resemblance to the capturing power of the Primordial Unity Cauldron. If a Soul Path expert seized control of him and used that power in a surprise attack, even Luo Chen could not be certain he would survive.

That danger was far from impossible. Archaic beasts possessed tremendous physical power, but their divine souls rarely developed to the same degree, leaving them especially vulnerable to soul techniques. Black King’s rapid advancement had only made that weakness more pronounced. He had simply advanced too quickly and had not lived long enough for his divine soul to mature alongside his cultivation. Luo Chen had encountered the same weakness in his early years, but his naturally powerful divine soul had allowed him to overcome it long ago. Black King, however, did not share that advantage.

Until now, there had never been a suitable opportunity to address the problem. Luo Chen had spent most of his years on Dragon Abyss Island in seclusion, while Black King had only recently broken through. Extracting his soul blood before his cultivation stabilized would have damaged his foundation. Now that they had returned to the dangers of the cultivation world, however, Luo Chen could no longer leave such a weakness unguarded. He would never again allow someone close to him to become a weapon in another person’s hands.

Black King remained silent, and Luo Chen did not press him. His hesitation had nothing to do with loyalty. Once he surrendered his soul blood, his life would rest entirely in Luo Chen’s hands, and no living being could accept such a choice without fear.

At the front, Sang Jinghe guided the carriage with his gaze fixed ahead. He pretended not to hear the conversation behind him, yet the stiffness in his posture showed that he was aware of everything being said behind him.

Meanwhile, Heavenjade stood nearby as she fixed her gaze on Black King with concern. She wanted to speak, but Luo Chen’s imposing presence held her back. Outside, fierce winds scattered the passing clouds, but within the carriage, no one made a sound.

The silence stretched on until Black King finally lowered his head. ”I am willing to remain your spirit beast.”

Before the words fully faded, a streak of crimson light rose from the crown of his head. Within it coiled the vivid image of a black-scaled flood dragon, its long whiskers streaming around its snout while four clawed limbs flexed beneath its serpentine body.

It was his soul blood!

Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction and drew the soul blood into his sea of consciousness before branding Black King with Spirit Enslavement. From that moment forward, Black King’s life or death depended upon a single thought from Luo Chen.

The beast lowered his head even further as the mark took hold. Luo Chen understood his dejection and reached down to rub the cool scales atop his head. ”Don’t worry. If I ever ascend, I’ll set you free. And I’ll promise you that when you’re ready to break through to the fifth tier, I’ll return your soul blood and make your soul whole again.”

With those two promises, Black King’s dispirited mood recovered somewhat. Luo Chen’s gentler manner also loosened the tension within the carriage, and Heavenjade finally found the courage to speak. ”Master, what about me? My slave mark was removed in the Alchemy Realm. Should I...”

Luo Chen chuckled. ”You don’t need to worry about that. At your current strength, even if someone took control of you, you still wouldn’t be much of a threat to me. Just focus on your cultivation and keep serving me well.”

”Oh...” Heavenjade fell silent, though she looked more disappointed than relieved. So I’m so weak that I’m not even worth binding as his spirit beast anymore...

At the front of the carriage, Sang Jinghe finally allowed the tension to leave his shoulders. Since Luo Chen had no intention of binding Heavenjade, it was even less likely that he would trouble himself over a mere Adept.

Tsk, what was I so worried about? Why would a Sage bother guarding against someone as insignificant as me?

Before he could settle completely, Luo Chen’s voice reached him from behind. ”Change course.”

Sang Jinghe turned slightly in confusion. ”Sage, aren’t we heading north?”

”Take us southeast first. There’s somewhere I need to visit.”

Sang Jinghe acknowledged the order and guided the carriage away from its original route.

Behind him, Luo Chen unfolded a jade scroll containing a map of the Northern Sea and traced the route with his divine consciousness until it settled upon a remote cluster of islands shaped like a swallow in flight.

The Flying Swallow Archipelago was small and insignificant compared with the great powers of the Northern Sea, yet it held a place in Luo Chen’s heart that no grand sect or prosperous sea region could replace. It was there that he had first set foot in the Northern Sea.

As he studied its familiar outline, the urge to return grew stronger, but so did the unease he had carried for years. He wanted to see what had become of the place, though part of him feared the answer waiting there.

***

The carriage continued southeast while keeping well away from human territory. Yet along the way, there were few powerful demonic beasts blocking their path. Although Luo Chen’s concealment spell certainly played a part, as it hid their aura, that alone could not explain why they encountered so few powerful demonic beasts along the way. The Demon Sea was noticeably emptier than before, and the unnatural silence left everyone with the uneasy sense that a great storm was about to break.

Several days later, the carriage slowed and came to a stop above a scattered chain of islands. Suddenly, a black figure slipped out from the veil of spirit light and dove toward the sea below. His massive form and faintly familiar aura stirred fear in the hearts of many demons on the islands and threw the demons below into panic. Cries of alarm spread from one shoreline to the next until a thunderous dragon roar rolled across the islands and silenced them all.

The black figure soon returned afterward and dropped a Demon King onto the carriage deck.

THUD!

The captive had been forced to shrink down and now lay there trembling as seawater streamed from its crimson shell.

Black King loomed over it. ”My master asks questions, you answer them. Do you understand?”

The Crimson Rock Crab nodded frantically, then risked a glance at the man seated on the cushioned couch. The moment it recognized Luo Chen, disbelief washed over its face. For an instant, it seemed to wonder whether it had fallen into a dream.

Luo Chen looked at it calmly. ”This sea region used to be ruled by five royal crab clans. So why did I only find the Crimson Rock Crab Clan? What happened to the other four?”

The Crimson Rock Crab King answered in a low tone, ”All five clans of our clan suffered terrible losses in a battle a hundred years ago. Afterward, the Overlord Crab Clan tried to seize control of the entire region, but Red Face, the patriarch of the Demon Spider Crab Clan, allied himself with demons from the outer sea and fought back. The conflict became a civil war, and the Overlord Crab Clan was destroyed.”

Luo Chen’s expression remained unchanged. ”And the others?”

”The Demon Emperors summoned them to join the Northern Sea Demon Alliance. They’re attacking the heartland of the human territories now. I had only recently advanced and I wasn’t strong enough to accompany them, so I was left behind.”

This Crab King was clearly not anyone important. Judging by its strength, it really seemed that it had only become a demon king recently. Still, one thing it had said caught Luo Chen’s attention. ”The Demon Alliance?”

”Well... the name says it all. It’s the united army of the Northern Sea demons. Great Saint Northern Departure and Lord Sea Emperor Whale command it together. More than a thousand clans have joined them, including dozens of the major clans. Their forces are said to be nearly as powerful as the army that attacked the Primordial Devil Sect back in the day.”

Luo Chen drew a slow breath as the implications sank in. Naturally, he had heard of Great Saint Northern Departure and the Sea Emperor Whale. They were two renowned Ancient Demons of the Northern Sea. Almost two centuries back, they were the ones who had raised the banner of rebellion and led countless demons into the Heaven of Northern Yama. By all reason, they should still have been trapped there. Yet they had somehow escaped, and in the years since, they had brought nearly the entire Demon Sea under a single banner.

He wanted to know when they had broken free, how the alliance had formed, and how the war against the human cultivators was unfolding. Unfortunately, the Crab King had only recently advanced and lived in this remote corner of the Demon Sea. There was little chance it knew anything beyond the rumors that had reached it clan.

With nothing else he could get out from it, Luo Chen waved his hand and tossed the dazed Crab King back into the sea. They resumed their journey southeastward, with Heavenjade now at the controls. She and Sang Jinghe had taken turns steering the carriage throughout the trip so they could conserve their strength without slowing their progress.

From inside the carriage, Black King asked, ”Master, aren’t we going to kill them? Those crabs wouldn’t stop chasing us back then.”

Luo Chen glanced at him. ”We hunted down their clansmen. Can you really blame them for coming after us?”

Black King hesitated. ”Well... I still don’t like them. They’re always waving those pincers around, and their shells are so hard they’re tough to chew and end up hurting my stomach.”

”Let it go. We don’t need anything from them, so there’s no reason to kill them for nothing.” Luo Chen paused. ”Besides, aren’t you all demons? Why are you so eager to kill your own kind?”

”Who said we’re the same kind?” Black King protested. ”’Demon’ is just what cultivators call every nonhuman beast. That doesn’t mean we’re all the same race. Actually... What race am I now? Master, do you know?”

Luo Chen chuckled. ”That’s a good question.”