An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

At the height of his wealth, Luo Chen had possessed several hundred million spirit stones, a fortune comparable to the lifetime savings of a Sage. Most of that wealth had eventually been exchanged for cultivation resources, but, of course, not all of those resources were techniques or medicinal ingredients. He had also purchased various supplementary items useful to Sages.

The Foolish Truth Pill he had given Nine Spirits was one of them. Just as he had said, the pill had little use beyond relieving pain. More precisely, it could temporarily weaken the connection between a cultivator’s Nascent Soul and divine soul. If something went wrong during cultivation, taking one could dull the resulting agony and reduce the risk of that pain triggering cultivation deviation. For Nine Spirits, who had just lost blood essence directly from his Nascent Soul, it was exactly what he needed.

After resting at the Luo Tian Sect for a few days, Nine Spirits quietly took his leave. After all, Luo Chen had already told him that refining the Nine Separation Pill would take time, so there was no reason for him to stay away from his sect for too long. Before leaving, however, the two exchanged communication tokens so they could contact each other quickly if anything came up.

Once Nine Spirits was gone, Luo Chen’s life returned to its previous rhythm. Most of his time went toward consolidating his cultivation and refining Crimson Firmament Sword Energy, but he also devoted part of his attention to the Nine Separation Pill formula engraved across the back of the bronze figure.

His goal was to have the status panel recognize the formula and bring it to beginner proficiency. Once that happened, his chances of refining the Nine Separation Pill successfully would rise considerably. But before the skill could be recognized, he still had to do the basic work himself and thoroughly understand the formula. Part of that was simply his responsibility to Nine Spirits, but more importantly, it was a safeguard for his own craft. No matter how useful the status panel was, blindly refining pills he did not truly understand was not a habit he intended to develop. Besides, Luo Chen was genuinely curious about the so-called Spirit Nascent Souls.

The Nine Separation Pill separates those nine tumors from the Nascent Soul, and afterward they are cultivated into nine Spirit Nascent Souls?

The idea was truly strange. Judging only from the final result, it seemed somewhat similar to the second Nascent Soul, yet from Luo Chen’s own experience practicing the Nascent Core Art, the two followed very different paths. One focused on an external object as its foundation, whereas the other seemed to be formed entirely from power cultivated within the body itself.

What interested Luo Chen even more was that the ingredients were listed in the formula. Several came from the devil realm. This made him suspect that the pill itself belonged to the devilish path and perhaps even that Nine Spirits Into Sainthood had originated from some cultivation technique of the devil race.

Because of this, while studying the Nine Separation Pill formula, he also consulted the many alchemy texts left behind by Heaven Refiner in search of its actual background.

Half a year passed in this manner.

By the time Luo Chen finished refining his fourth wisp of Crimson Firmament Sword Energy, he had already understood a good deal of the Nine Separation Pill formula and finally began preparing to refine it. At this point, even without relying on the system, he was confident that he could eventually succeed after enough trial and error. The problem was that the materials Nine Spirits had provided were far too precious to waste on repeated experiments. Therefore...

Improved Nine Separation Pill Formula detected. Would you like to reach Beginner proficiency?

”Enter!”

Light flickered across the status panel, and below the category for fourth-tier pills, a new entry slowly appeared: Nine Separation Pill: Beginner (1/100).

The moment he saw it, Luo Chen’s remaining uncertainty vanished. Now he was completely confident that he could refine the Nine Separation Pill successfully. Thus, without wasting any more time, he headed straight for the alchemy room.

Not long afterward, Qi Yi hurried over as well. Luo Chen swept his divine consciousness over him and nodded in satisfaction. ”In just half a year, your mana has already become much purer. Looks like you haven’t been slacking.”

Qi Yi smiled gratefully. ”It’s all thanks to your guidance, Supreme Elder. That Spirit Tempering Art really is something else. My cultivation hasn’t risen much, but compared to half a year ago, I feel completely different.”

Luo Chen waved it off. ”Your cultivation is still your own. You don’t need to thank me for that. Anyway, I called you here because I’m going to refine a new pill. You’ll be helping me.”

A new pill? Qi Yi’s eyes immediately lit up.

Even though the kind of pills Luo Chen was refining were far beyond him, merely assisting from the side and watching the process would benefit him greatly. All the more so, Luo Chen was never stingy with his guidance. Thus, once Luo Chen explained what needed to be done, Qi Yi immediately got to work preparing some of the less important ingredients.

As the chief alchemist of the Luo Tian Sect’s Alchemy Hall, he had already earned a pretty good reputation outside the sect. Yet here, he handled scraps and auxiliary ingredients with the same patience and care as an ordinary herb boy. If word of this ever spread, plenty of people would probably be dumbfounded. Qi Yi, however, could not have cared less. Forget acting as a herb boy; if all Luo Chen needed was someone to sweep the floor, he would have done that just as willingly.

Luo Chen was very satisfied with this junior who maintained the mindset of an apprentice. He’s not as talented as Lingjun, or even that disciple I took in the Northern Sea... but he is very willing to learn and put things into practice. Once this is done, he should go into seclusion. If he can form his core, he might actually go pretty far.

When it came to the younger generation, Luo Chen had never placed too much importance on talent alone. In his view, cultivation depended on three things: aptitude, temperament, and opportunity. Aptitude was something one was born with, while opportunity, as the name implied, could only be encountered by chance. Of the three, temperament was the one thing a cultivator could truly shape for themselves.

Luo Chen understood that better than most. His own aptitude had never been outstanding, yet he had still fought his way to the Nascent Soul Realm and carved out a place for himself. Wang Yuan was much the same. He had come from humble beginnings and chosen the path of physique refinement at a time when that path had already fallen into decline. Even so, he had stubbornly forced his way forward until the cultivation world came to know him as Battle Devil.

Had both of them not relied precisely on that unyielding perseverance?

Because of that, the longer Luo Chen watched Qi Yi work, the more he liked him. At first, he had only allowed Qi Yi to assist him because of the many years the man had devoted to the sect. Now, however, he had genuinely begun considering how best to nurture him for the future.

Still, that could wait. For now, refining the Nine Separation Pill came first. Luo Chen set aside those thoughts, focused his attention on the preparations before him, and formally began the refinement.

***

Time passed quietly, and life within the Luo Tian Sect remained peaceful.

By now, the disciples had grown used to their supreme elder rarely leaving his residence. Luo Chen might seldom appear before them, but that did nothing to diminish his standing within the sect. If anything, his return had completely changed how the Luo Tian Sect was treated throughout the surrounding region. The cultivators of Skyscraper Cliff and the Five Elements Divine Sect were not particularly friendly, to say the least, but no one dared bully the Luo Tian Sect’s members as they once had, and anyone who encountered them treated them courteously.

The sect members themselves, however, did not take advantage of that change. Under Li Yingzhang’s orders, everyone kept a low profile and focused on cultivation. At the same time, they had also begun learning how to ride and control the spirit cranes recently delivered by White Crane Sect.

This was not optional. Every Initiate, along with some of the stronger late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, was required to master the art of controlling spirit cranes. This was an absolute order issued by the sect master, and no one dared to ignore it!

One day, several figures hovered above the lower reaches of the Blackwater River, each mounted on a second-tier spirit crane. They were all Initiates, yet hardly anyone was paying attention to their own mount. Instead, they were watching the confrontation unfolding over the river below.

”Do you think Senior Brother Zeng can actually tame that spirit crane?”

”It won’t be easy. That’s the strongest one the White Crane Sect sent over. It’s a proper Demon King.”

”No wonder the sect leader gave it to him.”

”Yeah. Senior Brother Zeng put his life on the line for the sect through who knows how many battles. If anyone deserves it, he’s that person.”

”But can he even tame it? He’s a physique cultivator, so his divine consciousness isn’t as strong as an Adept’s. He can’t just force a Demon King into submission.”

”I don’t think he’d want to anyway. I heard spirit cranes are different. If you make one acknowledge you willingly, it’ll fight alongside you without needing to be ordered around all the time. That’s probably what Senior Brother Zeng is after.”

Among the Luo Tian Sect’s younger generation, Zeng Yilong was undoubtedly the most outstanding. He had long since earned the Dao title Dragon Fiend and had even single-handedly defeated the outstanding Qi Emei from the Five Elements Divine Sect. Over the years, he had always looked after his junior brothers and sisters. Whenever he led them on missions, he was often the first to charge forward, and when they retreated, he would frequently remain behind alone to cover them.

Because of that, every cultivator watching from above genuinely hoped he would succeed. If Zeng Yilong could tame this mutant spirit crane and gain its recognition, then with such a powerful companion at his side, his strength would rise to another level.

Just as everyone waited expectantly, a thunderous shout suddenly rang out across the river. ”Wretched beast! Submit already!”

Zeng Yilong had both hands locked firmly around the neck of a golden-crowned spirit crane, and the two crashed together into the Blackwater River. The impact sent waves surging outward, and in an instant, the river was churning violently.

Everyone watching from above held their breath. Forcing a third-tier spirit crane to submit through nothing but physical strength was already difficult enough, but doing so without seriously injuring it was another matter entirely. Even knowing how strong Zeng Yilong was, none of them could be certain if he could truly pull off.

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Zeng Yilong’s surging blood qi repeatedly clashed with the spirit crane’s demonic energy under the waters.

About the time it took an incense stick to burn, a massive figure slowly floated to the surface. It was the golden-crowned spirit crane! The watching disciples immediately searched the surrounding water, but Zeng Yilong was nowhere to be seen.

When worry began to spread among them, Zeng Yilong suddenly surfaced, hauled himself onto its back, and lay there panting heavily for a moment. Even though he looked battered, a wide grin quickly spread across his face. ”I won in the end!”

On the riverbank, everyone watching erupted into cheers.

Before the excitement could fully settle, however, the golden-crowned spirit crane suddenly let out a sharp cry. Every white feather across its body stood on end, and its entire posture changed as though it had sensed a powerful enemy approaching.

Zeng Yilong frowned. ”Goldie, we already settled this. Don’t tell me you’re planning to go back on your word.”

The so-called Goldie ignored him and fixed its sharp eyes firmly on the distance. Zeng Yilong immediately realized something and rose to his feet on its back, looking in the same direction.

From a distance, a flying boat approached at low altitude. Three figures stood upon it, with the wind blowing around them. At the front was a woman with sharply arched brows and an aloof expression. There was an unmistakable pride about her, along with a natural air that warned strangers not to approach lightly.

As the boat drew closer, her gaze swept across the Blackwater River and soon settled on the spirit crane beneath Zeng Yilong. What a magnificent crane!

Zeng Yilong could tell that the woman’s cultivation was extremely high, but there was something aggressive about her bearing, as though she might start fighting at any moment. However, this was the Luo Tian Sect! Behind him were junior brothers and sisters who looked up to him, while the Goldie had already exhausted much of its strength in their earlier struggle. Under such circumstances, retreat was not an option.

Without hesitation, he gathered what strength he had left. Fortified qi surged around his body as a pair of fiery red wings unfolded behind him. He faced the approaching flying boat and called out in a firm voice. ”Fellow Daoists, please stop. You have entered the Luo Tian Sect’s territory.”

The woman at the front froze the moment she saw those wings. Her aura flared at once, and the hostility she radiated could not possibly be mistaken for something else. Then, just as quickly, she seemed to realize something. The aura around her vanished, and after taking another careful look at Zeng Yilong, she raised her hands in a graceful salute.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone below, a faint smile appeared on her face. ”Tell your supreme elder that Heavenjade is here.”

At that moment, a tiny black snake suddenly poked its head out from behind the shoulder of another beautiful woman standing farther back on the boat. ”Are we there yet?”