An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

That very afternoon, the Alchemy Hall poured their efforts into refining the Jade Essence pills.

The results were delightful!

Everything failed!

Luo Chen, oddly delighted, gathered up the dozens of wasted pill stones as if they were treasures. On the way home, still irritated, he began hurling the useless stones using the Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers combined with the Primordial Pearl.

Wherever the stones flew, flowers, grasses, insects, and moths were all caught in the crossfire. Seeing him in such a mood, Gu Caiyi and the two guards sensibly chose to stay silent and keep their distance.

Back at home, Luo Chen prepared another batch of essence nurturing liquid just as he had the night before. The materials he had bought for three hundred spirit stones were enough to produce thirty full batches.

As he sat inside the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace, Luo Chen inexplicably thought of a question.

If cultivators consume Myriad Wonders pills refined in this alchemy furnace, wouldn’t they possibly carry a trace of my energy?

So when they’re doing ’that’ thing, would I technically be participating as well?

Bah, bah, bah!

These distracting thoughts vanished as the Long Spring Art circulated.

In truth, that scenario would never happen. Luo Chen was meticulous in cleaning the furnace after every medicinal bath. Not to mention, the intense heat during alchemy would incinerate any lingering traces of energy

With a stick of calming incense lit beside him, the Long Spring Art began its steady circulation, absorbing surrounding spirit energy and gradually transforming it into his own spirit power. The massive essence of the essence nurturing liquid, fused with medicinal materials, seeped into Luo Chen’s body, transforming into streams of vital energy and blood.

Time passed by slowly in this way.

The next morning arrived with the crowing of a rooster—an oddity in the inner city.

Hm? Where’s that crowing coming from?

Luo Chen’s gaze shifted, quickly settling on the east wing room.

Gu Caiyi had woken up as well and was also looking over curiously.

The door creaked open, revealing a tall man with sharp brows, cold eyes, and dressed in spotless white. He cast a brief glance at Luo Chen and Gu Caiyi but said nothing. Without a word, he turned and left the courtyard.

Luo Chen gaped and pointed at his departing figure.”How rude!”

”Is he the new neighbor?” Gu Caiyi asked with a frown. Just yesterday, they had mentioned that Fu Xiuxiu had moved out, leaving the east wing vacant. Apparently, someone new had moved in overnight—and from the looks of it, he didn’t seem the friendly type. He hadn’t even exchanged names or greeted them with basic courtesy.

”He’s a tenant brought in by Senior Sun,” came Qin Liangchen’s voice as he stepped out of his house, stretching with a yawn. ”He’s from the nearby Duan family of cultivators. Name’s Duan Feng.”

Qin Liangchen was the most laid-back among them. Wearing the title of Elder without many responsibilities, he always seemed to know these trivial matters around the neighborhood.

”The Duan family?” Luo Chen raised a brow. ”Don’t they have an Ice-Fire Spirit Spring? Not quite a full spirit vein, but close enough in quality of a first-tier spirit vein. Why would someone from there come all the way to the inner city?”

”Not all cultivation families are harmonious,” Qin Liangchen replied with a shrug. ”Duan Feng had fallen out with the family’s leader’s son. He’s the last one left in his branch.”

”So he moved to the inner city just because of that?” Luo Chen shook his head. ”That doesn’t make sense!”

Qin Liangchen shrugged. ”Who cares about making sense? He’s here for the Debate Platform. His name is still on the Elite Prodigy Board in Dahe Market, ranked nineteenth.”

With that explanation, Luo Chen immediately understood.

Indeed, there was such a group of cultivators in Dahe Market. They didn’t have any particular skills and, unlike the Poshan Gang and Dajiang Gang, they didn’t rely on rivers for cultivation.

Their cultivation method was participating in competitions at the Debate Platform to earn rewards. If they managed to stay in the top three by the end of the month, they would receive substantial rewards.

This Duan family outcast, Duan Feng, was clearly taking this route.

”So, is he good at fighting?”

Qin Liangchen paused to think before replying. ”He’s decent. A bit weaker than I was at my peak, but a little stronger than I am now.”

Over time, Qin Liangchen had grown used to his newly reattached arm. His combat strength had slowly recovered, bringing him back to the ninth stage of Qi-Refining.

Luo Chen curled his lips in a dismissive sneer. ”What’s the use of being able to fight? Out here, it’s all about influence and connections. Hmph, just a bad-mannered nobody!”

After saying that, he called Gu Caiyi and headed out the door. Despite his disdainful words, his direction betrayed a different intention—he was heading toward the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.

Perhaps it was too early, as there were hardly any people around the Sword Pavilion or the Whitestone Plaza across from it.

Huh, Xiaoyue is already out setting up her stall this early!

Just as he was about to wave, a familiar white figure stepped into view—Duan Feng. The aloof new neighbor approached Xiao Yue’s stall and casually bought a bottle of ten-year-aged pineapple wine.

Luo Chen’s eyes lit up. Not a bad-mannered nobody—he’s a treasured customer!

With a swift step forward, Luo Chen flashed a bright smile. ”Fellow Daoist, let’s get acquainted! I’m Luo Chen, your next-door neighbor. And this lovely lady here is Gu Caiyi from the main room.”

Duan Feng didn’t even blink. He simply replied with two words, curt and cool: ”Duan Feng.”

”What a great name!” Luo Chen said cheerily. ”‘The sharpness of a blade comes from honing.’ Fellow Daoist’s edge is sharp today—you’ll surely crush your opponent!”

Duan Feng gave him a slow, indifferent glance, then shook his head. ”Nangong Qin is no weakling.”

Luo Chen’s smile twitched as a vein bulged on his forehead.

Hey, what’s with that look?! Are you implying I’m a weakling?!

Hmph, if you weren’t my customer, I’d rain ten or eight Fireballs down on you.

Although he thought this, a flowery smile still spread across his face.

”No worries, no worries! After drinking our wine, your battle prowess will soar,” he said, gesturing grandly.

He turned toward Xiao Yue, who was standing dutifully nearby. ”Xiao Yue, this is my neighbor. Give him a discount from now on—buy ten bottles of pineapple wine, and he gets a free pack of celestial beans!”

”Got it, Big Brother Luo,” Xiao Yue replied sweetly, already committing Duan Feng’s face to memory.

Only then did Duan Feng seem to realize that the stall belonged to Luo Chen. He gave him a polite nod. ”Thank you.”

Then, without another word, he turned and walked straight toward the passage leading to the Debate Platform at Fallen Phoenix Mountain.

The ticket cultivator barely looked up, simply yawning and waving him through—clearly, Duan Feng was a regular and no mere spectator.

Gu Caiyi, watching the scene unfold beside Luo Chen, laughed softly. ”You, who are usually so stingy—how come you’re suddenly so generous today?”

Luo Chen puffed up his chest. ”Hehe, I’m always generous with my neighbors.”

He would never admit the truth—that it was a tactical business move

Once that guy got used to drinking wine with celestial beans, he would naturally spend extra spirit stones to buy them.

Earning spirit stones required tactics!

”Let’s go to Crescent Moon Valley,” he declared with flair. ”Failure is not an option today!”

With a grand sweep of his sleeve, Luo Chen strode away, radiating unshakable confidence.

***

With the sting of yesterday’s three failed attempts still lingering, Luo Chen entered the new day with modest expectations. Surprisingly, luck seemed to favor him—by the afternoon, he finally succeeded in refining a batch of Jade Essence pills.

The success came from his trusted Purple Cloud Copper Furnace. Perhaps it was simply familiarity, or maybe a bit of providence, but seeing twenty neatly arranged Jade Essence pills now resting in the pill room, Luo Chen let out a long, relieved breath.

At the beginner level of proficiency, the failure rate was painfully high—nearly one success in ten tries. The loss of raw materials was significant, making every successful batch feel like a small miracle. But Luo Chen knew that as his proficiency improved, so too would his success rate. The path ahead would gradually become smoother.

While the Myriad Wonders pill still brought in consistent profits, but its market remained narrow—too narrow to support the resource drain of his cultivation journey. The Jade Essence pill, on the other hand, had broad market appeal.

”I wonder how Old Man Mi Shuhua is doing with the sales channels?” Luo Chen mused to himself.

But before the thought could fully settle, a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through his eyes. His vision blurred, and thin lines of blood trickled strangely from both corners of his eye sockets. He winced and shut his eyes tightly.

”Luo Chen, what’s wrong?” Gu Caiyi’s concerned voice rang beside him.

Raising a hand to wave her off, Luo Chen forced a weak smile. ”It’s nothing. You all keep working—I’ll head inside to rest for a bit. Probably overused the Spirit Eyes during refinement. My eyes just need a break.”

Gu Caiyi watched him with furrowed brows as he staggered into his stone house. A moment later, a faint blue light shimmered in the air—the first-tier formation had been activated inside the stone house.

Inside, Luo Chen opened his eyes slowly and wiped away the blood. Everything looked... normal. Yet, he could feel it—something had changed.

In his eyes, the world suddenly became vivid and alive. The room itself emitted a soft spirit glow, and from beneath the floor, he could sense faint, continuous fluctuations of spirit energy. He could trace its origin—deep underground.

Crescent Moon Valley had once been a Star Silver mining site for the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion, and indeed, beneath the valley ran a branch of a first-tier spirit vein connected to Fallen Phoenix Mountain.

This was the very reason Mi Shuhua had rented the rights to this land—to process medicinal herbs near a source of spirit energy.

Beyond this, Luo Chen saw many other things.

The azure light curtain that surrounded his stone house wasn’t just an abstract barrier anymore—it had structure. He could now clearly perceive its source: several array flags arranged around the perimeter, drawing their energy from embedded low-grade spirit stones. Even the flow of spirit power through the formation became visible, weaving in slow, elegant currents.

Outside the light curtain were the cultivators gathered in the Alchemy Hall. They no longer appeared as mere silhouettes. Instead, each of them emitted a distinct glow—brilliant spheres of five-element spirit power.

A wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm him. Luo Chen held his breath, heart pounding with the realization: the Spirit Eyes spell had advanced to the Grandmaster level.

This spell, which he’d only picked up for alchemy, had become a tool he used constantly. It wasn’t like Fireball, which he had long since mastered, or Carefree Wander, a mundane movement technique. The Spirit Eyes didn’t just upgrade—it transformed.

And now, it has finally advanced.

However, the effects of this upgrade were completely different from other spells like Fireball, Carefree Wander, and Wind-Control.

While Grandmaster level Fireball allowed him to release ten blazing spheres at once, and Wind-Control reduced his spirit power consumption, the effects were, at their core, enhancements of spell mechanics. Carefree Wander had become more refined and proficient, but hadn’t fundamentally changed. This might be because Carefree Wander wasn’t truly a spell but merely a mundane lightness skill.

Spirit Eyes, on the other hand, felt like it had performed surgery on his very eyes.

No longer did he need to form seals or channel spirit power to activate the spell. The technique had become integrated into his vision. A thought, a flicker of will, and the Spirit Eyes came alive—effortless, silent, invisible to others.

Even if he left the Spirit Eyes active all day, no one at the Qi-Refining stage would notice. Not even Foundation Establishment cultivators might sense it easily. It had become part of his body, part of his being.

Not only that, his perception of spirit energy fluctuations had become more than ten times sharper.

His gaze wandered— up and down, sometimes left, sometimes right, and sometimes far and near.

Suddenly, Luo Chen’s gaze stopped at the ground. It was as if he could see through countless thick layers of rock and stone, reaching deep into the earth’s meridians.

”Such a dense concentration of spirit energy?”