An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 1155: A Thousand Years Of Planning; Now, It’s Finally Time!

The creatures of this bloodline were actually clams in their lesser forms, but those that reached the highest level became Mirage Dragons.[1] They were beings that could swallow clouds and breathe out mist, command the winds, and summon rain. When they gathered, they rose like mountains; when they dispersed, they spread like the sea. At the height of their power, even space warped under their will, allowing them to contain mountains within a mustard seed or shape entire worlds of their own.[2]

Among the countless archaic beasts said to have roamed the Central Continent in the ancient era, none were more renowned than the Great Wilderness Mirage Dragon. It possessed no fixed form and could gather or disperse at will. One moment, it might wander the world in the shape of a beast or bird; the next, it could dissolve into clouds and mist large enough to blanket the entire continent. When the Dao Sect first explored the Central Continent, that single beast inflicted huge losses on the sect and claimed a great many lives.

Several thousand years had passed since, and now, the dead Mirage Dragon’s colossal maw opened once more beside the Passing River. Even the magnificent spectacle of Chu Yan’s Ascension could no longer hold the crowd’s attention, and heated discussion broke out on every side.

”So the pocket world was hidden under Heaven-Earth Peak all along!”

”That actually makes sense. A beast like the Mirage Dragon wouldn’t be so easy to kill for good. With its abilities, even the slightest mistake could let it come back to life. A place like Heaven-Earth Peak is probably the only thing powerful enough to keep it suppressed.”

”So the Dao Sect disciples will be entering it later for that competition?”

”Seems like it.”

”There’s one thing I don’t understand. Why is this limited to Sages who broke through within the last hundred years? If there are valuable opportunities inside, wouldn’t it make more sense to send in older, stronger Sages?”

”Who knows? The Dao Sect says it’s meant to give the younger generation a chance and help secure the sect’s future.”

”What a shame. Most of us in the Star Gate are already too old. We’ll probably never get the chance to see what’s actually inside.”

”Who said none of us will? Isn’t that guy going in as the Fu girl’s Dao Protector?”

The nearby Star Gate guest elders did not bother to lower their voices, and Luo Chen heard every one of their words. More importantly, he could feel their eyes wandering to the glowing orb in his hand.

Are they after the Heaven Mystery Pill?

Luo Chen chuckled faintly and gently put it away. He then looked toward the Noble Houses on the opposite side. Fu Chaosheng seemed to sense his gaze and gave him a slight nod, but Luo Chen had already caught the fleeting disappointment flashing through his eyes.

Is he also eyeing my pill?

His face betrayed none of his thoughts, however, and he simply stepped out of the crowd. Under the expectant eyes of everyone present, one figure after another also came forward until thirteen people stood at the forefront. They were the most outstanding members of the Dao Sect’s younger generation to emerge over the past century, and each had a Sage serving as their Dao Protector. Luo Chen studied the groups one by one, starting with the three young masters of the Great Houses.

The golden-robed man behind Gu Yuan was Gu Chen. The Gu House had raised him specifically to serve Gu Yuan, and his loyalty had even earned him the Gu surname. Nearby was Gu Daosu, the younger brother of the renowned Master Daoyin, and a mature beauty stood beside him as his Dao Protector. From what Luo Chen had been told, she was also surnamed Gu and came from the same house as Gu Daosu. She had married outside the family in her early days, then returned after her husband’s death. Luo Chen had not expected her to become Gu Daosu’s Dao Protector. Then, there was Shi Ju...

Luo Chen frowned at the sight. He remembered that the man had not intended to bring a Dao Protector, yet Qi Xiongcheng was now standing hunched behind him. When he looked over, Qi Xiongcheng calmly returned the look without any change in expression, and Luo Chen pursed his lips before moving on.

Next was Xiang Qi, the genius of the Xiang House. Among the Thirty-Six Noble Houses, the Xiang House stood foremost. His Dao Protector was the Wrathful Vajra, a cultivator from a Buddhist power in the Western Deserts. Yu Xu was likewise accompanied by a Sage whose appearance was completely hidden by long black robes. This Sage was known as Heavengazer and was said to have been the leader of a declining great sect in the Southern Frontier.

Lin Jingtang accompanied Lin Bufan, while Tea Mist left Mo Shouzhuo’s side and took her place behind Dragon Abyss Liu Yuan. With her arrival, all thirteen contenders and their protectors were finally gathered.

After matching each contender and protector to the descriptions in his intelligence reports, Luo Chen had a clear grasp of the situation. As for the other three hundred or so Initiates and Adepts, he didn’t pay them much attention.

The gathering fell silent as everyone waited, though not for long. Mo Shouzhuo finally lifted the finger that had been resting against the Go board. With a turn of his wrist, specks of white starlight rose into the air. A closer look revealed that they were actually Go stones condensed from mana. The stones flew out and stopped before each of the competitors and their guardians.

Mo Shouzhuo’s aged voice reached every ear as gently as a spring breeze. ”These are Illusory Go Stones, formed from my mana and the Mirage Dragon’s power. Each of you will receive one. They’ll let you move freely inside the pocket world. More importantly, if you die there, the stone can bring you back to life outside. But keep in mind, it will only save you once. After that, you’ll lose the right to enter the pocket world again. And even if you survive, you won’t come out unharmed. You’ll be weak for a long time, and your cultivation may suffer. So if you run into something you truly can’t handle, activate the stone yourself and leave. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

Luo Chen accepted the white Go stone and inspected it. The stone felt so soft against his palm that it seemed almost unreal. But he knew that this was precisely the safeguard that Fu Chaosheng had once told him about, meaning their lives would not be in danger while inside. But was this all? Luo Chen did not quite think so.

Something formed from the mana of an Ascendant and the power of Mirage Dragon? There has to be more to it than that!

He could only vaguely sense the deeper complexities hidden within it, but one detail still stood out: a faint trace of the spiritual vitality he had sensed earlier!

”Go on, and seek your own chances!”

Mo Shouzhuo closed the Go board, handed it to Go Saint Ke Lianshan, and gave the final order. Without waiting for even a moment longer, Luo Chen and the others took their leave. In an instant, streaks of light shot down the mountain and vanished one after another into the maw below.

Once they were gone, the mood across the Cloud Sea Plaza began to shift. Some watched the Mirage Dragon with anticipation, eager to see how the competition would unfold, while others showed little interest in waiting for the outcome. After all, no one knew how long that wait would be. Once opened, the pocket world could remain accessible for several months or even more than a year, and it would not close until the last cultivator inside had left. Therefore, many of those gathered had no intention of remaining on the plaza for an uncertain length of time, particularly the Star Gate Sages and the outland representatives.

The young man from the Nether Origin Sect was the first to leave. Mo Shouzhuo did not try to stop him and simply let him go. Not long after, the mysterious black-robed cultivator from the Southern Frontier also departed, though he paused briefly and cast a few glances at the dragon mouth. As for the several bald monks from the Western Deserts, they ignored the strange looks of those around them and approached the sect master with serious looks.

One of them said, ”The demonic beasts and archaic beasts in the Western Deserts have started working together, and they’re getting harder to control. But the Hanging Temple has closed off and refuses to get involved. Without an Ascendant to keep things in check, we have no choice but to ask your sect for help.”

Mo Shouzhuo smiled calmly. ”There’s no need to rush. Once my sect’s centennial grand competition is over, we’ll discuss sending people to help.”

Among the five Holy Lands, the Dao Sect had always stood at the forefront. Its strength surpassed that of the others even in the past, and more than 3000 years of recovery and development had only widened that gap. During that time, the sect had secured the finest resources of an entire continent, leaving the true extent of its power even harder to fathom. For centuries, no one in the Mountains and Seas Realm had managed to see anyone off to the upper realm, yet even the Saint Alchemist, an outsider, had found it possible to reach that point here. That fact alone spoke volumes. Now, every other territory was engulfed in turmoil and instability, which also meant it was time for the Dao Sect to act.

Mo Shouzhuo looked back and gave Ke Lianshan a little nod. The man returned the nod before pouring some mana into the Go board. Space distorted around it, and an inner realm opened up. Within that space, several figures began to take shape.

Among them were members of the Noble and Lesser Houses, along with the patriarchs of the Great Houses. All nineteen Star Gate elders were present as well, together with Hui Yuanhong, who was to become one of them but still looked somewhat awkward standing among them. Beyond them, other figures from the upper echelons of the Dao Sect had also gathered within. At the highest point of that space, five mysterious figures could be seen, with Mo Shouzhuo occupying the central position. When his voice sounded, there was no trace of the weathered air he had shown before. Instead, every word carried complete confidence.

”We’ve been preparing for this for a thousand years. Now it’s finally time. Are you all ready?”

***

Luo Chen slowly came to, and felt his head throbbing with pain. As his senses cleared, the world around him came into focus. Birds chirped among fragrant flowers, clear streams cut between mountains, and everything seemed peaceful enough to belong in some secluded paradise. It was nothing like the perilous wasteland he had expected.

So this is the Mirage Dragon Pocket World?

”Brother Luo, you’re awake!”

Luo Chen turned and found her watching him with concern. What made him frown, however, was how perfectly fine she looked. The moment he entered the pocket world, he had lost consciousness, and even his divine soul had been wracked with pain. Fu Qinglan’s cultivation was inferior to his, so how could she look as though nothing had happened at all?

Perhaps sensing his confusion, Fu Qinglan hurriedly explained, ”Everyone who enters the pocket world is affected by the Mirage Dragon’s lingering consciousness. Without the Illusory Go Stone protecting us, we’d be trapped in its illusions. But I have an advantage here. The sect had me experience the Mirage Dragon’s energy beforehand, so I was already used to it.”

Luo Chen rose from the greenstone and asked displeasedly, ”Then why didn’t you tell me before we came in?”

He had been dragged through one illusion after another just now. If he hadn’t dealt with similar things so many times over the years, he might have stayed unconscious much longer.

Fu Qinglan gave a faint smile. ”Because knowing beforehand would have only made it worse. If you knew the illusions were coming, you’d instinctively try to resist them, and that could leave you trapped even longer. It’s better to let the stone protect you, and you wake up on your own.”

Luo Chen lifted his hand and looked at the soft white Go stone once again. She was right. Even while the illusions had clouded his mind and robbed him of some control over himself, the stone had emitted a gentle light that shielded him from their influence. The experience had even been somewhat similar to what he had encountered in the Heaven of Oblivion within the Land of Fallen Devils. Back then, he had used the black Woodrot Go Stone instead, and compared to the one in his hand now, its protection had been nowhere near as effective.

”Hm?”

A tiny black speck had appeared on the otherwise pure white surface.

Fu Qinglan was also taken aback when she saw it. ”There are countless illusory beasts inside the pocket world, and some of them are extremely dangerous. The longer we’re exposed to their power, the more our Go stones will turn black. Once a stone turns completely black, it means we’ve reached the limit of how long we can remain inside the pocket world. At that point, we have to activate it and leave. If we stay any longer, we could end up turning into illusory beasts ourselves and be trapped here forever. Brother Luo, it’s already starting to affect you!”

Luo Chen studied the white Go stone in silence. The black speck covered only the tiniest fraction of its surface, nowhere near enough to concern him. Now that he finally had a moment to collect his thoughts; however, the questions that had been pushed aside earlier came rushing back.

Why did the Saint Alchemist give me one of those five pills before she left? Was it simply because we’re both alchemists? No way. I’m pretty sure the Dao Sect doesn’t lack accomplished alchemists.

More puzzling still was the Heaven Mystery Pill itself. Chu Yan had refined it almost casually, yet something about her technique and alchemy arts felt strangely familiar to him. As he turned the memory over in his mind...

Oh right!! It’s the fifth-tier Law Scrutiny Pill!

When he refined the Law Scrutiny Pill in the Alchemy Realm within the Land of Fallen Devils, he had used techniques similar to Chu Yan’s. Coupled with the pills’ names, it was hard not to see the similarity.

He sank deeper into thought, but the possible connection only led him back to the greater mysteries surrounding Chu Yan’s Ascension. He had witnessed enough to know that her Ascension had been anything but ordinary. Whatever lay beyond the Star Gate, it was clearly not the legendary immortal realm. So where had she gone? And why had she willingly abandoned the incredible spiritual vitality gathered from this world and let Mo Shouzhuo intercept it? More importantly, where had all that spiritual vitality gone afterward?

Seeing that Luo Chen remained silent, Fu Qinglan thought he was worried about the Mirage Dragon’s energy affecting him. ”Brother Luo, don’t worry. When we hunt illusory beasts later, I’ll absorb all the illusory cores we get. As long as you’re careful, the erosion shouldn’t get much worse. Besides, we disciples usually reach our limit before our Dao Protectors do. Once I can’t stay any longer, we’ll leave together.”

Luo Chen glanced at her and nodded.

The rules of the grand competition were straightforward, though the true objective differed depending on one’s cultivation. For disciples below the Nascent Soul Realm, everything came down to hunting illusory beasts. The more they killed and the more illusory cores they collected, the higher they would rank and the greater the rewards they would receive from the sect. For Sage-level True Inheritors like Fu Qinglan, however, there was no meaningful ranking of victory or defeat. What mattered was how far they could progress within the pocket world.

Their Dao Protectors would hunt illusory beasts and collect their cores, which the Sages would then refine and absorb. By using the Mirage Dragon’s power contained within those cores, they could attempt to comprehend the Power of Laws. Anyone who succeeded in gaining something from that process would become what the sect called a Divine Transformation Scion. That was the true purpose of the competition for cultivators at their level.

That said, Luo Chen’s role as a Dao Protector was simple. He only needed to hunt illusory beasts for her, then stand guard while she refined their cores so that neither other beasts nor rival competitors could disturb her.

”Let’s go. I want to see what these illusory beasts are really like.”

1. Mirage dragons (蜃龙 shèn lóng) are mythological creatures that share the traits of both dragons and shellfish, and they are described by various Chinese classics as being golden-green dragons in their true form but preferring to hide as shellfish or pearls. ☜

2. In Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain cosmology, Mount Sumeru (or Mount Meru) is the largest mountain in existence, and it stands at the center of the universe. Meanwhile, a mustard seed is considered the smallest of seeds. The analogy refers to the idea that time and space are purely a mental construct, and something perceived to be of titanic size can just as well be microscopic. ☜