An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The road back to the inner city was bustling with people, but Luo Chen walked ahead with steady steps, his posture composed.

Behind him, his two bodyguards followed closely, their movements in sync as they remained vigilant, ensuring his safety. The earlier meeting had put them on edge, stretching their nerves to the limit.

Yet, if only they knew—it wasn’t them who had just escaped danger. It was Luo Chen, the very man leading the way, who had just breathed a massive sigh of relief inside.

The sword that had been hanging over his head had finally been loosened by an inch today!

His encounter with Gao Tingyuan had been unexpected yet entirely within reason. From the moment he had decided to see off Fu Xiuxiu and Old Man Chen, he had anticipated this possibility and prepared multiple contingencies.

Every action, every word, every shift in his tone had been carefully calculated. From his posture to knowing when to yield and when to push back, everything had been crafted to appear natural—full of flaws yet entirely reasonable.

When Luo Chen first learned from Wang Yuan that Gao Tingyuan’s dantian had been shattered and his qi sea crippled, he knew their confrontation was inevitable. But he refused to let it happen on their terms. If this meeting was destined to take place, then he would ensure it happened on his terms, with him in control.

Thus came today’s bold move—his deliberate step into the tiger’s den. It may have seemed as if he had simply been summoned, but in truth, wasn’t he the one who had walked into the situation willingly?

Of course, Luo Chen had never interacted with Gao Tingyuan directly before and didn’t truly know what kind of person he was dealing with, though he had gathered plenty of intel. But some things could only be learned face-to-face.

However, with his cultivation path severed, there was no telling if Gao Tingyuan’s temperament had grown more extreme. That uncertainty was precisely why Luo Chen had prepared multiple contingencies before setting foot in Lancang Dock.

His first safeguard was simple—before heading out, he had casually mentioned his plans to Sikong Shoujia. And if Sikong Shoujia knew, then Foundation Establishment cultivator Mi Shuhua would undoubtedly hear of it as well. Given his current valued status in Mi Shuhua’s eyes, there was no way the elder would allow anything to happen to him. Even if Gao Tingyuan attempted to detain him, Mi Shuhua would intervene before things escalated beyond control.

Second, as soon as he arrived, he made it a point to meet with Wang Yuan. If anything went wrong inside Qingjiang Restaurant, if Gao Tingyuan lost control and acted recklessly, Wang Yuan would be close enough to step in immediately. Luo Chen had an almost blind trust in his senior brother.

As long as no Foundation Establishment cultivators interfered, there was likely no one in Dahe Market who could rival Wang Yuan’s dual cultivation. His ranking on the Debate Platform’s Elite Prodigy Board spoke for itself—he was still the number one Qi-Refining cultivator in Dahe market.

Of course, Luo Chen wasn’t the type to place his life solely in the hands of others. His frequent sparring matches with Qin Liangchen had given him firsthand experience with the offensive techniques of late stage Qi-Refining cultivators. If an ambush were to occur, as long as he remained vigilant, he was confident he could hold his own—at least long enough to escape.

Offensively, his options were somewhat limited. A Perfected Mastery Fireball was his only real trump card. But when it came to running away? That was an entirely different story.

If there was a competition for escape skills, Luo Chen would confidently claim first place—no other Qi-Refining cultivator would dare to claim second.

Armed with Grandmaster Level Carefree Wander, Grandmaster level Wind-Control, and a top-grade enchanted artifact, the Cloud-Stepping Boots, he had every means necessary to escape the moment danger loomed. No matter how formidable Gao Tingyuan was, he simply didn’t have the ability to stop him.

With all these considerations in mind, Luo Chen had no reason to hesitate—he attended the meeting without fear. His goal was simple: gloss over the past as much as possible and avoid unnecessary conflict. Whether or not Gao Tingyuan actually believed him no longer mattered.

Simply put, Luo Chen was no longer just a nameless rogue cultivator struggling to survive. He was the Hall Leader of the Poshan Gang’s Alchemy Hall, one of its nine major halls. In the future, he would bring an endless stream of profits to the gang.

Even now, they had invested significant resources into him. Until those resources were recouped, anyone who dared to lay a hand on him would not just be opposing him—they would be challenging Mi Shuhua and the entire Poshan Gang!

He smirked slightly to himself. Now that I have a place to belong, my demeanor carries a touch more poise and grace.

As he reached the city gate, he turned and waved farewell to his two bodyguards. He knew exactly where they were headed—rushing off to report today’s events to Mi Shuhua.

Good! The sooner, the better!

For situations like this, it was always best to have an influential figure step in and clean up the loose ends. Only then could he truly put his mind at ease.

***

”The Gao brothers?”

Mi Shuhua muttered, his expression unreadable. Casually, he asked, ”In your opinion, was it Luo Chen?”

Liu Qiang hesitated, recalling that moment in the restaurant—the sip of wine Luo Chen had spat out, the way he had handled the entire situation.

But before he could respond, Zhou Yuanli had already spoken. ”That doesn’t matter.”

”Hehe, yes, it doesn’t matter. Just the life or death of a mid stage Qi-Refining cultivator,” Mi Shuhua said with a faint smile, slowly sipping his hot tea.

After swallowing the spirit tea, he frowned slightly. ”However, it’s best if such matters don’t arise again.”

His decision was already made. He would send a message to Wang Haichao—reminding him to keep his subordinates under control. The conflict between their two factions had only just begun to settle, and he had no intention of letting some reckless underlings stir things up again.

After all, securing a waterway wasn’t a one-sided benefit. He had also arranged for other forms of cooperation with Wang Haichao. Their interests were now intertwined, and unnecessary disputes would only bring unnecessary complications.

In the future, the relationship between the two gangs was likely to become increasingly harmonious. If Gao Tingyuan ended up cutting off his revenue stream, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

”You two, be diligent in your protection duties. This is a sound-transmission jade token containing a trace of my spirit consciousness. If you encounter an unbeatable enemy, activate it immediately to notify me.

”Luo Chen must not come to harm!” Mi Shuhua ordered.

Zhou Yuanli nodded emphatically and carefully accepted the jade token.

***

Luo Chen shut the door behind him, boiled some spring water, and brewed a pot of bitter tea. Finally able to relax, he settled into his desk and pulled out the item Old Man Chen had given him before leaving.

It was a piece of gauze—faint gray, translucent, and so light it felt like nothing at all. If one didn’t look closely, it was easy to overlook its presence entirely.

”That old miser rarely gives gifts, yet he gave me this as he left.

”I’ll have to see what it is.”

Luo Chen spread the gauze open with a smile. It looked ordinary, with only some strange patterns on it. They resembled the symbols on talismans but were not quite the same.

”A talisman drawn on cloth?”

Frowning slightly, Luo Chen instinctively infused a trace of spirit power into it.

The moment his spirit power seeped into the gauze, the strange symbols wriggled like earthworms, shifting and pulsating. At the same time, an unfamiliar method of circulating spirit power surfaced in his mind, as though it had been directly imprinted into his consciousness.

Luo Chen’s expression shifted as he studied the technique closely.

Half an incense stick’s time later, he finally set the gray gauze down, his emotions a tangled mix of surprise and admiration.

”Fellow Daoist Chen, you’ve really given me your livelihood tool.”

The technique recorded within the gauze was called the Spirit Suppression. Once mastered, it allowed cultivators to suppress their own aura entirely—including physical scents, blood qi, and even spirit power fluctuations.

At its Perfected Mastery, the technique could manipulate spirit power waves at will, making it possible to hide one’s cultivation realm entirely. Only those in an entire major realm above him would be able to see through the deception. Even cultivators of the same tier, using techniques like Spirit Eyes, wouldn’t be able to detect his true cultivation realm.

In other words, once achieving Perfected Mastery, the Spirit Suppression would be invaluable for evading enemies, disguising his true strength, and moving undetected.

Luo Chen wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with this technique.

After all, Old Man Chen’s famous qi-concealing talismans were derived from this very method. However, Old Man Chen’s talent in cultivation techniques had always been mediocre. Despite years of practice, he had only ever achieved minor mastery.

That was why his talismans could only mask blood qi, physical scents, and minor fluctuations of spirit power. Had he perfected the Spirit Suppression, his talismans would have been worth at least double their current price.

Old Man Chen lacked talent, but Luo Chen’s aptitude for techniques was quite good. Several first-tier techniques he had mastered purely on his own, without relying on the status panel system’s achievement points.

Moreover, with the system’s support, Luo Chen was confident he could cultivate the Spirit Suppression to Perfected Mastery—perhaps even surpassing its original form!

”This is quite the gift—makes that feast at Zhongding Restaurant worth it.” Luo Chen smiled faintly and spread the gray gauze out once more.

He repeated the technique’s incantation in his mind over and over. Once he had it committed to memory, he began practicing.

”First, form a spirit power seed outside the dantian...”