An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In Luo Chen’s perception, the footprints, resembling little crescent moons, were not only incredibly agile but also filled with explosive power. Luo Chen immediately realized that Wang Yuan had also incorporated his creation, the Voidburst Step, into this Moon Step, making it even easier for him to pick it up.

Excited, he folded the scroll and said, ”Two isn’t half bad, but I’ll keep an eye out for more related techniques, and maybe you can complete the other two if you have more research materials. Until then, I’ll be leaving the sect in your hands. If you run into any problems, feel free to call on Black King. He’ll listen to you.”

With that, he eagerly left the Scripture Pavilion with the scroll in hand. At the entrance, he brushed past a gray-robed man who was sweeping the ground with his head bowed. Luo Chen paused for a moment in his track, but nothing was said. After he resumed on his way, the sweeper raised his head, watching Luo Chen getting further and further away with mixed feelings.

A cold wind swept by, and the sweeper felt a tickling sensation in his throat, which prompted him to cough. Perhaps his cough was a little too loud, as it seemed to reach the man in the Scripture Pavilion and draw a reaction.

Wang Yuan’s deep voice rang from inside the building. ”Zui[1], go clean the third floor. Min Longyu recently rearranged the mountain-guarding formation, and the resulting tremors from the earth’s vein caused quite a bit of dust to settle on the shelves.”

The man in gray called ”Zui” uttered a sound of acknowledgement. He trudged up the stairs and then vanished into the sea of books.

***

Countless people had been paying attention to Great-Grandmaster Alchemist Luo Chen, the powerhouse who had recently risen to prominence at a meteoric speed. Thus, it was no surprise that news of him about to come to Skypiercing Pass quickly spread throughout the entire city.

Rumors had it he came from a humble background, but due to his great charisma, he had attracted many followers while he was still only a Qi Refinement cultivator. He was reportedly a formidable fighter, once considered unrivaled among cultivators below Golden Core—the number one Initiate in the Jade Cauldron Domain! Moreover, some rumors claimed that he had entered a Holy Land of the avian demons and made it out alive!

All these tales shrouded him in an air of mystery, and that mystery had taken on something of a fabled color since he came back from the Northern Sea as a Sage, after a century of complete absence.

He had announced his return with a dominant display over Old Ghost Skyscraper. Then, he had built a wide network of connections through his alchemy skills. The lord of Skypiercing Pass had attended his Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony and personally offered his congratulations. Sage Idle Crane had publicly declared Luo Chen as his close friend. Windflower Palace was effectively linked to his sect through marriage. Even Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits, a long-established powerhouse of the Eastern Wilderness, had stated frankly that Luo Chen was a true gentleman.

Regardless of how much was true about those rumors, there was one thing that everyone knew for a fact: Luo Chen had killed Yin Sixiang in full view of countless eyes, and yet he had remained unscathed to this day.

Yin Sixiang had been a young and promising Adept of the Five Elements Divine Sect, who was at the peak of the Golden Core Realm and on the verge of breaking through to Nascent Soul, and his sect used to be the number one force in the Far East of the Eastern Wilderness. Yet as far as the world knew, their supreme elder had never sought out Luo Chen to demand accountability for Yin Sixiang’s death. This made it plenty clear that Luo Chen had become a force to be reckoned with!

Therefore, after hearing that the man in the rumors would be coming to Skypiercing Pass, many cultivators had cleared their schedules to finally see him in the flesh.

That time soon came. A massive cloud carriage glided at a steady pace through the sky of the Windflower Domain.

Compared to the past version, which prioritized lavishness and grand displays, the Six Restriction Cloud Carriage had undergone significant transformations in the capable hands of Min Longyu and now looked quite different.

Banners flew high on the ship, emblazoned with the Luo Tian Sect’s emblem of a cauldron under the glow of alchemical sunfire. Spirit cranes circled around, occasionally settling back down on the deck for a quick rest. Energetic Qi Refinement disciples stood guard on two sides with weapons in hands, while Initiates with remarkable auras patrolled in the middle. Occasionally, one or two Adepts could be glimpsed.

Palace-style buildings of various sizes had been constructed on the ship, while the gleam of formations flickered in and out of view. It was easy to imagine that, once engaged in battle, this vessel would transform into a mobile fortress and bombard its foes with tremendous firepower.

In the building at the very center, however, Luo Chen was feeling somewhat disappointed despite his satisfaction with the upgraded carriage.

Min Longyu’s modifications were nothing short of masterful as they had been made with the consideration for the current war in mind. However, even the most skilled cook can’t make anything without rice. At the end of the day, the original Six Restriction Cloud Carriage was merely an enchanted treasure Hundred Craft Mountain had built for the ostentatious lifestyle of their master. Next to its flamboyance, its offensive and defensive functions could have been non-existent.

If only they had the skeleton of a fourth-tier Demon Emperor to integrate into the cloud carriage, the fortification would greatly increase its overall quality. At that point, it would be able to cross the boundless sea, cut through all obstacles, and roam the skies unchallenged like the Heaven Origin Dao Sect’s Glaive Whale Ship.

Waking up from his wishful thoughts, Luo Chen asked the man sitting next to him, ”We’re heading into battle together again. How do you feel?”

Chu Kui answered casually, ”I don’t feel anything in particular. Now that you’re so strong, I can just have you protect me, no?”

Luo Chen laughed. ”Ahahahaa, you, oh, you! Whatever happened to the spirited man who once so eagerly invited me to roam a thousand li of desert?”

Chu Kui said languidly, ”Ugh, don’t even mention it. I was so full of myself back then, as you can tell from the Dao title I took for myself. After becoming an Adept, I’ve realized there’s always a higher mountain. Plenty of them, in fact. There are as many experts in the cultivation world as there are fish in the sea. Keeping myself alive is already an achievement, let alone standing out from the crowd.”

Luo Chen smiled and said nothing more to provoke his old friend.

People were not made the same. Some would rise against the odds, whereas others, upon beholding the depths of the clear sky and the bright glow of the moon, understood how insignificant they were and thus felt inclined to retreat. On the bright side, though, this showed they had self-awareness. In Luo Chen’s opinion, Chu Kui’s mindset was actually quite well-suited to the Luo Tian Sect as it was now. Their juniors were far too restless at the moment, and having someone like him keeping an eye on them would at least ensure they couldn’t stir up serious trouble.

At the thought of the juniors, Luo Chen said, ”I hope that when this is over, we can bring everyone back safe and sound.”

Chu Kui seemed surprised. ”Why are you talking like it can go wrong with you in charge?”

Luo Chen shook his head. ”In a conflict of this scale, even a Holy Land could be reduced to dust, let alone a mere Sage.”

Chu Kui was stunned, but then he remembered the despair he had felt about the uncertain path ahead after forming his core and started empathizing with Luo Chen to some extent. Since he’s a Sage, he definitely understands more about the reality of this world than I do. Oh well, you can never go wrong by maintaining a sense of reverence for life.

Luo Chen didn’t continue the small talk. He retrieved a book from his storage ring and started perusing it.

Tyrant Saber Domain: Controlled by the Tyrant Saber Sect, which has only flourished for 1800 years but has cultivated exceptionally strong cohesion. Since they conquered the domain in the Frontier War, this sect has held exclusive control over it, forbidding any other power from encroaching on their territory. When the tide turned against human cultivators and countless fled from the demons, the Tyrant Saber Sect remained steadfast as a mountain, resolutely holding onto their domain. Today, the Tyrant Saber Domain, along with the Blue Sky Domain and the Fire Ridge Domain, are tightly surrounded by the demon army, and the fate of the cultivators therein remains unknown.

”What’s wrong with this sect? Why didn’t they run when the demon army was upon them? Tyrant Saber... Did the saber training take up all the room in their head that’s supposed to store common sense?” muttered Luo Chen before continuing his lecture.

Blue Sky Domain: Controlled by Blue Sky Mountain. Their founder, Sage Blue Sky, practiced an ancient secret technique that allowed him to generate a beautiful Domain known as Blue Sea and Azure Sky. His successors have failed to master this technique, and it is said that Blue Sea and Azure Sky can no longer be recreated...

Tyrant Saber, Blue Sky, and Fire Ridge were the three frontline domains before Skypiercing Pass. They had been holding out for nearly a decade under demon siege. Such a feat had gotten worldwide attention and respect, but as more and more demons poured in over time, people were no longer optimistic about their chances. Everyone knew that once these three domains fell, the vanguard army of demons would then advance straight toward Skypiercing Pass!

When the cloud carriage descended before Skypiercing Pass, Luo Chen closed the book with a solemn expression. Looking up at the towering city walls, with its banners snapping in the wind, he thought to himself, Let’s just hope demons don’t come knocking at these gates during my tour of duty.

1. Zui(罪-zuì) means ”sin.” ☜