An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In the quiet, medicinal herb-scented room, Duan Feng gently set down his empty porcelain bowl.

A soothing warmth began to radiate from his core, spreading outward like ripples in water—chasing away the last traces of the icy chill lodged in his bones. The freezing energy that had once threatened to lock his body in place was growing ever weaker.

He exhaled slowly and opened a small pouch beside him.

Poof.

A burst of soft, iridescent light accompanied the appearance of a large, brilliantly feathered pheasant. Its plumage shimmered with hues of red and gold—the unmistakable glow of a first-tier spirit beast, the Yangwu Chicken.

As soon as it emerged, it slumped wearily beside Duan Feng, completely devoid of its usual divine energy.

Seeing this, Duan Feng sighed.

He had been recuperating lately and was unable to feed this first-tier Yangwu Chicken. If it went without food much longer, it might starve to death.

From his storage pouch, he produced a small handful of spirit rice, fragrant and glowing faintly with vitality. The Yangwu Chicken perked up immediately and began pecking at it greedily.

Duan Feng uttered a few syllables, and upon hearing the sound, the Yangwu Chicken clucked in response.

Seeing this, Duan Feng hesitated no more, sitting cross-legged on the bed and starting to circulate his techniques.

The Yangwu Chicken pecked at the spirit rice while vigilantly keeping watch nearby.

Due to the small bottle of meridian repair liquid Luo Chen had given him, his meridian injuries had mostly healed.

However, some residual freezing energy remained in his body, which couldn’t be dispelled by the medicinal soup alone. He needed to use spirit power to expel the freezing energy quickly; only then could his bones and internal organs fully recover.

Yet, after circulating his technique for a while, Duan Feng noticed something was amiss.

”Why is the external spirit energy so thin?”

***

At that moment, not far away in another room, Luo Chen sat in the center of a softly glowing array, his posture calm and his breathing even.

”So, this is the spirit gathering array?”

Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

His gaze fell on the five array flags positioned around him, and Luo Chen sank into thought.

The activation method for this small spirit-gathering array was quite simple.

He just needed to insert five spirit stones into the ends of the array flags, and it could be used about ten times.

Once activated, the array flags would automatically absorb the surrounding free spirit energy and concentrate it in a small area.

Cultivators practicing within this area would achieve twice the results with half the effort.

But in the inner city, most of the spirit energy has already been consumed by the sect forces. Even with the small spirit-gathering array, I can’t compete with them.

The sects’ spirit-gathering arrays would undoubtedly be superior to the one Mi Shuhua had gifted him.

Even after experimenting just now, Luo Chen only felt that the spirit power concentration around him had increased by three or four parts at most.

However, another feature of the spirit-gathering array intrigued Luo Chen.

”Spirit energy is divided into yin and yang, and it also belongs to the five elements. This spirit-gathering array, when activated with a control technique and centered on one array flag, can actively absorb a specific type of elemental spirit energy.

”My life-bound technique is the Long Spring Art, which belongs to the wood element.

”If I were in a place abundant with spirit energy and used the small spirit-gathering array to convert a large amount of wood-element spirit energy, my cultivation results would undoubtedly be phenomenal!”

And Luo Chen happened to know of a place abundant with spirit energy.

That was the spirit vein cavern beneath Crescent Moon Valley.

It was a branch of the first-tier spirit vein from Fallen Phoenix Mountain, which was sufficient to support his personal cultivation on a daily basis and if he added the small spirit-gathering array to it?

***

That evening, Feng Xia returned to the courtyard full of excitement, her steps quick, almost light. Clutched tightly in her hands was a small pouch that jingled with the weight of spirit stones. She didn’t even bother removing her outer robe before seeking out Luo Chen.

“This is today’s revenue!” she announced with a spark in her eyes. “A total of two hundred spirit stones!”

She beamed, cheeks flushed with excitement. “Luo Chen, the milk tea shop is actually this profitable!”

But Luo Chen, ever calm, poured a gentle stream of cold reality over her enthusiasm.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he said, waving her to sit. “Some of those customers were ones I arranged—shills, essentially.”

Feng Xia’s smile faltered slightly.

“Once Mi Xu Ice City gains stable foot traffic, they’ll be withdrawn. If you deduct a hundred spirit stones set aside for them, the actual revenue for today is only a hundred.

He paused, letting the number settle in before continuing. “Also, don’t expect this every day. Today’s crowd was large because of the popular match at the Debate Platform. The excitement won’t last everyday.”

Feng Xia’s shoulders slumped a little, her bubbling joy slowly simmering down. But even with the reality check, she was still quite happy.

Luo Chen took one hundred spirit stones, leaving the rest with Feng Xia.

“From now on, the shop’s revenue will be settled monthly,” he said. “I’ll take care of sourcing and delivering the raw materials—tea leaves, beast milk, everything. You focus on running the place. I’ll trouble you with that, Sister Xia.”

Feng Xia shook her head quickly, her expression serious. “It’s no trouble at all. I’m earning spirit stones too.”

But her tone softened at the end, and as she looked at him, her eyes shimmered with more than professional gratitude.

She didn’t say it, but the meaning was clear.

He had given her a place, a role, and a future.

Still, Luo Chen didn’t let himself get carried away. Mi Xu Ice City, for all its flash and early popularity, was—like the Chen Yue Snack Stall—just a side venture. An experiment, nothing more.

His heart remained tied to alchemy.

Compared to the exponential profits of alchemy, whether it was snacks or milk tea, they paled in comparison.

So, just like with the snack stall, Luo Chen granted Feng Xia not just a fixed monthly salary, but also a five percent share of the shop’s profits. It wasn’t much, but it was meant to motivate her—give her a sense of ownership.

“And what about these?” Feng Xia asked, producing three items from her storage pouch.

A porcelain jar, a crystal sphere, and a slender ice-element flying sword.

The Swallowing Waves and Oceans Jar, the Heavenly Melody Sphere, and a top-grade ice-element flying sword.

“They’re yours,” Luo Chen said without hesitation. “They’re part of the shop’s operations now. I’ll try to find an enchanted artifact that heats things, too—save you from using Fireball so much.”

Though clever, using the Fireball spell for every cup of warm milk tea came with a cost—spirit power. The same went for cooling the drinks with the flying sword’s icy aura.

This was why Luo Chen gave Feng Xia a share of the profits. If the earnings were too low, the cost of spirit power consumption wouldn’t be sustainable.

Luo Chen smiled faintly. “If this milk tea business really takes off, we might hire more people down the line. And when that time comes... you’ll be the true shopkeeper.”

Feng Xia blinked, a bit stunned by the casual promotion—but she quickly nodded, a small, determined smile forming on her lips.

They spoke for a while longer, ironing out various shop-related matters—sales routines, customer feedback, and inventory tracking. Before wrapping up, Luo Chen gave one final instruction:

“Make sure to send milk tea to the cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion now and then.”

Feng Xia tilted her head. “Even if they don’t like it?”

He nodded. “It doesn’t matter whether they drink it or not. What matters is that we send it.”

Feng Xia smiled in understanding. She was beginning to realize—when it came to business, and people, Luo Chen always had his reasons.

***

The next day.

At the crack of dawn, just outside the city gates, Luo Chen stood ready.

Dressed in a top-grade green enchanted robe and layered with his signature white fox-fur coat, he cut an elegant yet imposing figure. His long hair was tied back neatly, his eyes calm, and his aura composed. Luo Chen set off for Crescent Moon Valley, escorted by two bodyguards.

Moments later, they flew at a leisurely pace, floating across the clouds like a drifting feather. As the city slowly shrank beneath them, he glanced sideways toward one of his guards, asking casually, “How’s Liu Qiang doing?”

Zhou Yuanli, flying beside him, immediately understood. “He’s recovering well. He’ll be back on duty soon.”

Then, noticing Luo Chen’s gaze flicking around warily, Zhou added in a low voice, “Don’t worry. Two of our brothers are scouting ahead. They’ll alert us to any signs of ambush or traps.”

He pointed subtly to the sky above and the ridge below. “I’ve also stationed Dongfang Liang in the rear. If anyone tries to tail us, we’ll know.”

Luo Chen gave a satisfied nod and a thumbs-up. His team had grown sharp, alert. Every man knew his role, and they were acting with increasing professionalism.

Zhou Yuanli continued, “Also, this time Gang Leader Mi sent us a top-grade enchanted artifact—one that can detect spirit power fluctuations within a wide range.”

That, above all, put Luo Chen at ease.

If anyone had set a formation trap or planned an ambush ahead of time, it would be near impossible to hide the spirit power. With that artifact, the risk of walking blindly into danger had dropped significantly.

Looks like Mi Shuhua’s truly invested in me, Luo Chen thought with a faint smile.

Soon, they arrived at Crescent Moon Valley.

As the group descended, several bodyguards split off to conceal themselves in the valley’s shadows, watching over the perimeter in silence.

At the same time, a small group approached from within the valley itself. Among them were familiar faces—Qu Hancheng, tall and steady, and Mi Li, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Luo Chen.

He didn’t pause for pleasantries.

“Let’s begin the Jade Essence pill preparations,” Luo Chen ordered, raising a hand. “Everyone, get to work!”

With that command, everyone sprang into action.

Even the previously idle pill caretakers, who often napped between batches, scrambled to clean jade bottles and prepare the equipment.

Luo Chen looked at the revitalized Alchemy Hall and nodded silently to himself. It was time to get busy!

After such a long period of failure and substantial resource investment, the benefits of the Jade Essence pills were finally becoming apparent.

With his current Grandmaster level skill, crafting lower-grade and mid-grade Jade Essence pills was almost effortless. Even with top-grade Jade Essence pills, he could achieve a fifty percent success rate if he focused.

It could be said that the long-struggling Alchemy Hall was on the verge of reaping its rewards. This was evident from Mi Shuhua’s repeated displays of support and regard for Luo Chen.

In fact, it was this leverage that allowed Luo Chen to act with such confidence. He didn’t even have to ask, yet Mi Shuhua provided him with the small spirit-gathering array and continually enhanced his security.

Perhaps, within the entire Poshan Gang, the person Mi Shuhua values most, aside from Mi Junping, is me. For a man like Mi Shuhua, who dreams of forming a Golden Core, even his family might not be as valuable as I am right now.

Luo Chen stepped into the alchemy room, placed the Four Symbols Cauldron down, as he thought to himself.