An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Sang Jinghe returned soon afterward with news that Fu Chaosheng was expected to reach Divine Origin City before long, though no one knew exactly when. Before leaving the Northern Sea, the man still had to settle the many affairs under his authority, particularly the new arrangements involving the righteous and devilish forces. Fu Chaosheng’s role in ending their war had gone far beyond persuading both sides to attend the peace conference. The agreement also established extensive cooperation between the two sides and the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance, which left him with countless details that required his personal attention.

The situation revealed plenty about the trade alliance’s internal hierarchy. Although four elders nominally governed its Northern Sea operations together, Shen Wandou clearly stood above the others. While he remained comfortably at the headquarters and oversaw affairs from the city, Fu Chaosheng and the other two elders were constantly sent from place to place to handle matters.

The reason for this disparity was not merely a difference in cultivation. It was also connected to the families supporting them. The declining Fu family depended almost entirely on Fu Chaosheng and the newly advanced Sage, Fu Qinglan, to hold its standing. Meanwhile, the Shen family was also not among the foremost of the Thirty-Six Noble Houses, but it sported a few Sages, which gave it a far deeper foundation. Thus, it was not a matter of the capable taking on more, but of the weaker side being forced to shoulder the heavier burden.

Luo Chen had no interest in unraveling the politics behind the arrangement. Since Fu Chaosheng would not return immediately, he suppressed his impatience and turned his attention back to cultivation. Tempering his soul with lightning remained far too dangerous to attempt recklessly. The slightest mistake could damage his mind and leave his divine soul severely depleted, so he kept each experiment brief and gave himself time to recover. Moreover, he also continued taking one Great Soul Pill every month while also devoting most of his energy to advancing his cultivation.

Based on the progress bar on his status panel, he made a rough estimate of his cultivation speed, and the result left him astonished. Even with Perfected Mastery of the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, its efficiency was just barely sufficient for his level. With an ordinary fourth-tier spirit land supporting him, he would still need roughly ten years to advance to the second stage. Yet if he took one Grand Origin Pill every half month, that period might shrink to seven years, perhaps six, or maybe even as little as five!

The estimate overturned everything he thought he understood about cultivation. Cultivation was supposed to become increasingly difficult after forming a Nascent Soul. Was that not why reaching the realm doubled a cultivator’s lifespan, giving them enough time to endure the long centuries required for each subsequent advance? At Luo Chen’s current pace, however, his next breakthrough was already within reach!

He could not understand why he was progressing so quickly. His first thought was that the Fire Spirit Body might be responsible, but that explanation soon seemed inadequate. Anyone capable of forming a Nascent Soul already possessed exceptional aptitude and extraordinary resolve, yet most still measured their progress in decades or centuries. Those who entered the realm late in life might exhaust their entire remaining lifespan without ever approaching the late stage.

He moved on to search through every text at his disposal, but none offered any explanation for his extraordinary cultivation speed. His failure to find an answer drove home the greatest weakness of cultivating alone—without a teacher to guide him, a sect’s accumulated knowledge to draw upon, or fellow cultivators with whom he could compare experiences, he could observe the changes in his cultivation but had no way to understand what caused them.

For the first time, he seriously considered exchanging insights with others.

Divine Origin City now sheltered many Sages who had lost their footholds during the upheaval in the Northern Sea. Most hoped to join the Dao Sect and leave the region altogether, so gatherings and exchanges among them had become increasingly common. In truth, even Zhou Yunshen himself had begun visiting these cultivators after he had arranged a place for the surviving members of his clan. Thus, when Luo Chen invited him to Little Jade Mountain, he readily accepted.

Zhou Yunshen was visibly surprised when Luo Chen explained the reason for the invitation. ”You want to know how Sages normally progress?”

Luo Chen saw no reason to hide his situation and replied frankly, ”Well... yeah. I’m a rogue cultivator, after all. There are many things the major forces consider common knowledge that I’ve never had the chance to learn. The further I cultivate, the more questions I run into. So I would appreciate any guidance you can offer.”

Zhou Yunshen hesitated, but when he saw the eagerness in Luo Chen’s eyes, he smiled. ”I understand. Very well. None of this is secret knowledge, merely the experience accumulated by generations of cultivators.”

His expression then grew solemn. ”Before I explain, activate your Nascent Soul Domain and let it touch mine.”

Luo Chen nodded. At his command, the Nascent Soul within him slightly opened its eyes. Its aura seeped out of his Purple Mansion and drew in the natural spirit energy. He did not go as far as to activate the power of Void Melting, however; he only used the Domain itself at full strength.

At once, fire-attribute spirit energy surged over Little Jade Mountain and gathered into a canopy of crimson clouds that dyed the sky the color of a burning sunset. A moment later, azure and green currents rose to meet them as Zhou Yunshen unfolded his own Domain.

The moment the two Domains touched, Luo Chen’s fiery clouds were forced backward. Zhou Yunshen did not crush them violently, but the steady pressure of his Domain left no doubt about the huge gap in cultivation.

Both men then withdrew their Domains.

Luo Chen said with sincere praise, ”I have to admit, Fellow Daoist Zhou, your Domain is far stronger than mine.”

What he did not know was that the brief confrontation had astonished Zhou Yunshen just as much. Although Luo Chen’s Domain had been ultimately forced back, its foundation was exceptionally stable. More remarkably, it commanded far more ambient spirit energy than a first-stage Sage should have been capable of drawing upon. Naturally, Zhou Yunshen allowed none of his surprise to show. Once his Domain had fully receded, he calmly asked, ”Did you notice anything unusual?”

Luo Chen fell silent. At first glance, the exchange seemed straightforward: Their Domains had collided, and the stronger one had prevailed. Yet once he recalled the sensation more carefully, he realized that the difference between them had not come entirely from their own mana.

Ultimately, a Nascent Soul Domain was a combination of a cultivator’s own mana with spirit energy drawn from the surroundings. Zhou Yunshen certainly possessed greater mana reserves, but the gap was nowhere near large enough to account for how decisively his Domain had suppressed Luo Chen’s.

Luo Chen looked at him thoughtfully. ”The difference in our mana reserves doesn’t seem that great. So the real difference must be how much spirit energy we can draw from our surroundings.”

Zhou Yunshen smiled. ”You truly deserve your reputation, Wilderness Hermit. To reach the Nascent Soul Realm as a rogue cultivator, you truly are sharp. You noticed the key point almost immediately.”

”Then please explain it plainly.”

Zhou Yunshen’s expression grew serious. ”Unless one of them has reached the late stage, the difference in mana between Sages is rarely overwhelming in and of itself. Indeed, the true disparity lies in how much power they can draw from the environment. Once that ambient spirit energy is added to their own mana, even a small gap in cultivation will be magnified several times over. At our level, battles are no longer decided by simply trading blows or clashing enchanted treasures. What matters most is how well you can control the spirit energy around you. Whether it is a Nascent Soul Domain or a True Artifact capable of communicating with the surrounding spirit energy, both are expressions of this principle.”

Luo Chen translated the explanation into the numerical framework he understood best. Suppose the mana possessed by cultivators at the first six stages of the Nascent Soul Realm could be represented by the numbers one through six. Viewed purely as reserves, the difference between one and two was hardly insurmountable. Even the gap between one and five remained comprehensible.

Battle, however, was not decided by simply comparing numbers. A cultivator with a lower level of mana could only draw a limited amount of ambient spirit energy to match it, while someone with greater mana could pull in far more from the surrounding world, sometimes several times over. The final strength was therefore not a simple addition of the two but a multiplication of mana and the spirit energy it could command, with the gap widening rapidly as cultivation increased. As cultivation advanced, the disparity would grow increasingly severe. One multiplied by one could never compare with five multiplied by five, much less five multiplied by six, seven, or eight.

That was why Zhou Yunshen’s Domain had overwhelmed Luo Chen’s so completely when Luo Chen refrained from using Void Melting. By the same reasoning, his Domain had also been at a natural disadvantage against Blood Nightmare and Heaven Splitter. It was only through the secret art he had created that he was able to erase the gap between them.

Once he understood this, several more questions arose. ”So before the late stage, the difference in mana itself isn’t overwhelming. What really separates cultivators is how much natural spirit energy they can draw on.”

”Yes.”

”Is there any way to make up for that difference?”

”Of course. Powerful spells, secret arts, special physiques, and even the True Artifacts can all compensate for it to some degree. As for the exact effect, that varies from person to person.”

Luo Chen paused before asking, ”Forgive me for being direct, but did you use your full strength just now?”

”Heh, I am already old. Going all out would take too much out of me. Besides, you held something back too, didn’t you?”