An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”Cloud-like hair adorned by a golden hairpin, and a face like a flower;

A blissful night spent in the warmth of the ornamented canopy;

But such a night is all too short, and they rise when the sun is already up high;

From this day on, the emperor no longer attends morning courts.”[1]

The man lying on the large, soft bed murmured a few lines from a famous poem from his homeland, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, as if he was savoring the memory of last night.

Luo Chen smiled as he looked left and then right at the two jade-like faces next to his, both etched with both fatigue and contentment. He gently pushed away the smooth arm draped across his chest, moved the voluptuous thigh that blocked his leg from moving, and slowly sat up. Taking care not to disturb the two women, he put a thin blanket over them before getting off the bed. He casually slipped on a silk robe, let his hair fall loosely down his back, and walked barefoot out of this intimate haven. As he walked, the cool sensation from the floor tiles gradually cleared the grogginess from his head.

When Luo Chen reached the mountaintop, light mist and thick clouds were repeating the process of rolling in and dissipating with the morning mountain breeze. His divine consciousness spread out, quietly and imperceptibly enveloping the entire Hundred-Li Green River.

It was still early morning, yet in the grounds of the Luo Tian Sect, many cultivators had already begun their daily activities. The logistics department was preparing meals; some disciples were stretching their limbs doing physical exercises, while another group had voluntarily begun to clean up the mess from yesterday’s ceremony.

Overall, the scene could be described with two words: tranquil and unhurried. Gone was the sense of urgency that had previously hung over everyone’s heads at all times, and all of it was thanks to Luo Chen’s return. Even though Hundred-Li Green River wasn’t big and neither was the Luo Tian Sect, this relaxed rhythm actually made it look lively, setting the place alight with vigor.

Luo Chen slowly withdrew his divine consciousness with a satisfied smile. He had seen exactly what he wanted to see. After all, the Luo Tian Sect simply couldn’t afford any more turmoil at the moment. Still, there were some matters he needed to address. He waited at the summit of Verdant Mountain for a while until a figure flew through the clouds toward him.

The newcomer wore a high hat, a wide belt, and the Chi Dragon Sword at his waist; he was none other than Li Yingzhang, the new leader of the Luo Tian Sect.

”Greetings, Supreme Elder!” Li Yingzhang bowed respectfully, with flawless etiquette.

Luo Chen didn’t care for such formalities, however. He smilingly said, ”Good morning. Thank you for coming. Well, it isn’t anything major; I just have a few matters to discuss with you.”

Li Yingzhang’s expression turned serious, showing that he was listening with intent.

Luo Chen paced back and forth as he started speaking, ”From now on, Luo Tian needs to focus on recuperation. Our Adepts should consolidate their cultivation and recover; it’s about time they treated the hidden injuries they’ve sustained in all these years of battles. Initiates need to solidify their foundations and hone their skills to prepare for pushing toward the Golden Core Realm. Don’t worry about resources, I will provide everything. As for our Qi Refinement juniors, take the time to evaluate them one by one. Select those with decent aptitude and character, and the sect will assist them in advancing to Foundation Establishment.

”The Windflower Palace has agreed to let Qu Lingjun return to us. The relationship between our two sects has grown even closer as well, so make sure you maintain contact with them going forward. We have also formed an alliance with the White Crane Sect with the promise to stand together through thick and thin. They will be sending us spirit cranes, so make sure to prepare the payment in spirit stones and assign someone to handle the cranes.

”The Divine Talisman Sect is currently based in the Hundred Beast Domain, and they should be carrying out patrol duties at Skypiercing Pass right now, if I remember correctly. Their supreme elder has agreed to provide me ten thousand pieces of talisman parchment, but they’ll be delivered in batches, so keep an eye on that too.

”I expect quite a few visitors in the near future, and most of them will be highly accomplished cultivators. Tell the guards to pay attention and make sure not to offend anyone. Oh, and speaking of guards and Skypiercing pass, there’s no rush about the patrol duties at Skypiercing Pass for now. The city lord has granted our sect an extension; I’ll personally lead a team there when the time comes.”

”Now, as for the matter of...”

One topic after another flowed from Luo Chen’s lips to Li Yingzhang’s ears. Although there were many issues and Luo Chen’s orders were quite detailed, Li Yingzhang committed everything firmly to memory. At the same time, he couldn’t help marveling at Luo Chen’s capabilities; in such a short time since his return, he had perfectly tackled the alarming stack of predicaments the Luo Tian Sect had been in. Not only had they secured a firm foothold in the Windflower Domain, but they had also forged friendships with long-established local overlords like the White Crane Sect and the Divine Talisman Sect. No matter how hard the Luo Tian Sect worked, or how fiercely the members fought on the battlefield, they could never have achieved such feats without Luo Chen!

Of course, as the sect leader, Li Yingzhang was compelled to address some potential issues. ”Qi Yi is currently in charge of the Alchemy Institute. How should we handle Qu Lingjun’s placement when he’s back?”

Luo Chen replied calmly, ”He will not join the Alchemy Institute. Let him choose a place of his own to cultivate in seclusion.”

Li Yingzhang was startled. Although Qi Yi had surpassed Qu Lingjun, that was strictly in cultivation. When it came to the art of alchemy, the latter had been taught directly by Luo Chen, and he was far superior to the former. By all rights, Qu Lingjun should resume his position as head of the Alchemy Institute upon his return, especially since his loyalty to the Luo Tian Sect had been thoroughly proven over these years.

”Supreme Elder, isn’t this a bit—”

”Just do as I say. I know what I’m doing.”

”... Understood!”

Li Yingzhang dared not argue and immediately changed the subject. ”About the White Crane Sect’s spirit cranes... Well, they are renowned far and wide. They’re not only incredibly fast but also highly intelligent and emotionally responsive to humans. It’s a wonderful thing that you got them to sell us their cranes, but, uh, we are currently a bit strapped for spirit stones....”

Hearing this, Luo Chen was dumbfounded. Of course, Li Yingzhang immediately noticed and provided a detailed explanation, and only then did he finally understand the dire financial situation his sect was in. The nine Adepts, two third-tier Physique Refiners, and several dozens of Initiates had nearly depleted the Luo Tian Sect’s reserves. The gains from all the bitter battles with the demons over the years had been poured into them as well; otherwise, the setup for Luo Chen’s Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony yesterday wouldn’t have been so lacking.

Li Yingzhang was a great cook, to use an ancient analogy, but there was no rice in the pantry. There was nothing he could do to come up with the amount of spirit stones needed to purchase fifty spirit cranes all at once. As for Luo Chen... Had this issue arisen before he left the Northern Sea, it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. Back then, with hundreds of millions of spirit stones in his possession, he hadn’t even considered minor things like price tags. Now, however, after several transactions where he had exchanged his spirit stones for astronomical amounts of cultivation resources, he was next to penniless.

He did have a few supreme-grade spirit stones, but spending them on spirit cranes? The whole world could condemn such profligacy. Besides, the lack of spirit stones was clearly only a surface problem. The deeper issue was that the Luo Tian Sect had no stable source of income! In these turbulent times, when everyone was struggling just to survive, not many organizations could continue to amass wealth as freely as the Divine Talisman Sect.

After giving it some thought, Luo Chen came up with a solution. ”We’ll just receive the spirit cranes first, and... pay later! Let’s just tough it out for a while. There’s an upside to being a small sect right now, and that is we are all united in our determination. Let’s tighten our belts and slowly improve the situation.”

Li Yingzhang hadn’t expected the solution to be this. But since Luo Chen had put it that way, he simply accepted. At worst, he’d just have to thicken his face a little and write a promissory note.

Before he took his leave, Luo Chen gave him one final instruction. ”Have all our Initiates, as well as our most outstanding late-stage Qi Refinement disciples, master the basics of beast taming!”

1. Luo Chen is quoting 長恨歌 (Zhǎng hèn gē, literally ”Song of Everlasting Regret”), a famous poem of the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi. ☜