An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Luo Chen was somewhat surprised. He had assumed the formula came from Green Pill Valley, because as far as he knew, only three parties had possessed this exact version: Skysail City, Han Zhan, and Green Pill Valley. But Han Zhan had gone with him to the Northern Sea, while Skysail City had still been protected by two Sages before its destruction. Of the three, Green Pill Valley had clearly been the easiest target. For that reason, if the Divine Talisman Sect had obtained the formula through less-than-peaceful means, Luo Chen would naturally have suspected Green Pill Valley first. Yet unexpectedly, the formula had not come from Green Pill Valley at all, but from another incredibly wealthy upper sect!

Once Old Tal mentioned the Medicine King Sect, he seemed to shed some burden from his heart and began recounting the past. ”Before the Jade Cauldron Domain fell, Green Pill Valley was actually the first sect to be destroyed. But it wasn’t destroyed by demonic beasts. A disciple named He Yun colluded with the Medicine King Sect and helped them absorb Green Pill Valley. All of Green Pill Valley’s treasured alchemical inheritances were seized, including this Nascent Soul Pill formula.

”Of course, the Medicine King Sect didn’t fare much better in the end. They had accumulated an incredible amount of wealth over the years, but they weren’t strong enough to protect it. When everything descended into chaos, plenty of people started eyeing what they had. Their foundations were badly damaged, and eventually, they couldn’t even keep the sect together. I was one of the people who took advantage of the situation. At the time, I was after the Nascent Soul Pill itself for one of my juniors. But in the end, Lin Qingxuan somehow got his hands on the pill instead. All I managed to take were some of the Medicine King Sect’s alchemical formulas, and this one was among them.”

Old Tal had glossed over much of what happened, but Luo Chen could already imagine how chaotic the situation must have been. More importantly, one question had finally been answered.

So that’s how Lin Qingxuan managed to form his Nascent Soul!

As for He Yun, Luo Chen remembered him as well. The man had come from the Yuxuan He family and once used the Dao title Xuan Yunzi. Luo Chen had even discovered signs that he might have been possessed, but realizing that He Yun was actually a spy planted by the Medicine King Sect within Green Pill Valley had still been a shock for him.

Too many things had happened back then, and too many secrets were buried with the people involved. Even the Medicine King Sect he had once looked up to was now gone. But the past was in the past, and there was little point in digging any deeper. Still holding the jade scroll, Luo Chen looked at Old Tal. ”I can refine it, as long as you provide the ingredients.”

Old Tal let out a long breath of relief. As expected, exposing even such an embarrassing part of his past had earned him some measure of trust and goodwill. ”Of course. My sect may not be the wealthiest sect around, but we’ve already gathered everything needed for the pill. Just tell me what you need.”

Luo Chen smiled. ”I’m not worried about the ingredients. I’m asking about my payment.”

”I have three wisps of crimson firmament energy!”

”Not enough!”

”Then I’ll add seven alchemical formulas from the Medicine King Sect.”

”Still not enough.” Luo Chen shook his head. ”Old Tal, you should know all too well how hard the Nascent Soul Pill is to refine. If it were easy, you wouldn’t have waited til this late.”

Old Tal frowned. ”Then what do you want? Ten million spirit stones on top of everything else?”

Luo Chen laughed. ”If spirit stones were enough to get me to refine this pill personally, we wouldn’t need to bargain this long. As far as I know, you guys are good at talismans...”

”You want high-tier talismans? That’s easy enough. I can give you ten third-tier talismans and one fourth-tier talisman.”

”No. I want talisman parchment, as much as you can give me! And if your sect has a good technique for controlling and using talismans, throw that in too.”

Old Tal stared at him. He had been prepared for Luo Chen to demand precious finished talismans, yet what he wanted instead was the raw material used to make them.

Did I hear him right?

***

The Divine Talisman Sect’s techniques for controlling and wielding talismans were part of its core inheritance, so, of course, Old Tal could not hand them over to Luo Chen. Mere talisman parchment, however, was no problem. The Divine Talisman Sect possessed its own technique for processing beast hides, and with the man-beast war still raging, there was practically no shortage of raw materials.

After another round of bargaining, Old Tal agreed to increase the quantity by fifty percent, and the two finally settled on Luo Chen’s payment for refining the Nascent Soul Pill. Thus, Luo Chen would receive three wisps of crimson firmament energy, seven alchemical formulas from the Medicine King Sect, and a total of ten thousand talisman parchments ranging from first-tier to third-tier. In addition, Old Tal extended him another favor, promising that if Luo Chen ever wanted fourth-tier talisman parchments in the future, the Divine Talisman Sect would do its best to supply them.

With that, their agreement was finalized. Even so, what Luo Chen stood to gain from the arrangement extended far beyond the payment itself.

Late that night, he slowly withdrew his divine consciousness from the storage pouch Old Tal had left behind. Inside were all the ingredients needed to refine the Nascent Soul Pill, enough for a full twenty tries. More surprisingly, among them were two precious Five Elements Lotus Pods. He could not help marveling at it. ”The Divine Talisman Sect is seriously rich!”

With his proficiency, twenty batches of ingredients were more than enough to produce two or three Nascent Soul Pills. Needless to say, whatever ingredients remained afterward would belong to him. That was an unspoken rule among alchemists, and few clients would object to it. So long as the commissioned pills were successfully refined, any materials saved in the process were generally treated as part of the reward.

Of course, everything depended on skill. Back then, Green Pill Valley had once mobilized the strength of the entire sect in an attempt to refine a Nascent Soul Pill, yet in the end, they had failed to produce even one. All the manpower and precious resources poured into the effort had ultimately gone to waste.

”Perfect. There’s even a spare lotus pod!”

Although this extra one was not as good as the one he had obtained in the past, it could still serve him well for his cultivation.

By now, Luo Chen was thoroughly satisfied with how the day had unfolded. The overall course of the banquet had unfolded largely according to his expectations, and once the Sages returned to their respective sects, word of his alchemical attainments would undoubtedly spread with them.

What he needed to do next was therefore quite simple. He would refine pills and continue building his reputation, use the resources he obtained to strengthen himself, deepen his study of the Dao of Talismans, and pass what he learned on to the members of the sect whenever possible. There were undoubtedly a great deal of things waiting to be done, but so long as he dealt with each matter one at a time, none of it felt especially burdensome.

Just then, a faint fragrance drifted toward him. ”Dear, it’s time to rest.”

Luo Chen turned and saw Huiniang standing beneath the dim glow of the lamps with a lantern in one hand, obviously waiting for him. He did not linger and strode toward her. With one hand, he took the Red Firefly Lantern from her, while the other slipped around her waist and drew her close.

”Where’s Caiyi? Is she still feeling shy?”

”She’s preparing the warm pool. She said you should have a proper soak and wash away the fatigue from today.”

”Good.” Luo Chen guided her forward. ”Then we’d better hurry. The night is cold, and the dew is heavy. We shouldn’t let the water cool.”

With the abilities of cultivators like them, how could a pool of warm water possibly cool so easily?

Obviously, Huiniang understood what he was really getting at. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she let him lead the way.