An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

In the small SiHeYuan courtyard. Luo Chen sat at his desk, retrieving a dark-colored wooden token from his brow. His expression was grave, with a hint of hesitation. In the end, he slowly shook his head.

”This path to Foundation Establishment... unless absolutely necessary, it must not be taken!”

This wooden token was part of Gao Tingyuan’s legacy. However, its true origin traced back over two hundred years to the cave estate of the devil cultivator, Gu Yue.

It contained an incomplete technique known as the Soul-Refining True Art.

Yes, it was incomplete. It only recorded up to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment and everything beyond was missing.

Even the earlier sections were riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies. Perhaps the key to resolving these contradictions lay in the missing portion.

Luo Chen was not particularly interested in the technique itself—what caught his attention was the Soul Path Foundation Establishment method described within.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine souls fused into oneself—Foundation Establishment achieved!

Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine souls—Golden Core achieved!

Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine souls—Nascent Soul achieved!

And to reach Divine Transformation... one would require a full million souls!

This was a true devil path technique—a method that relied on quantitative change leading to qualitative transformation. Slaughter and soul devouring were essential steps to advancement.

It was shocking at first glance, but understanding the details made it even more terrifying. The required souls had to be from cultivators of the same realm as one’s current realm.

For Perfected Mastery Qi-Refining, one would need over nine hundred late stage Qi-Refining souls.

For Perfected Mastery Foundation Establishment, over nine thousand Foundation Establishment souls were required.

The requirements for later stages followed the same pattern.

Who would dare cultivate such a heinous technique?

Luo Chen, for one, did not dare. Not only did he not dare, but he wouldn’t even touch the technique, even if there were no consequences.

The fragmented text described the soul fusion method but said nothing about mitigating the consequences of merging thousands of souls. Just imagine—thousands or tens of thousands of souls fused within oneself... the madness it would bring was unthinkable. Gu Yue, the rogue cultivator, had turned to this path out of sheer desperation.

He had succeeded—achieving Foundation Establishment and earning the title Soul-Refining Hermit.

But his end had been tragic.

He had been hunted relentlessly by the righteous sects, ultimately self-destructing—both his physical body and the massive soul entity he had become—leaving behind only a wisp of his soul that had returned to his cave.

Judging by the rambling, incoherent style of Gu Yue’s autobiography, it was likely that his mind had fallen into madness after Foundation Establishment.

Gao Tingyuan had truly been desperate—his dantian was shattered, and conventional Foundation Establishment was no longer possible.

He had been forced onto this perilous path. But before he could achieve anything, his pursuit of vengeance led to his death at Luo Chen’s hands.

”Though this path is forbidden, a few of the minor techniques recorded here... might be worth studying.”

Two techniques from the Soul-Refining True Art surfaced in Luo Chen’s mind.

***

Two complete spells surfaced in his mind.

Soul Intimidation

Upon reaching minor mastery, it could intimidate enemies and exert additional pressure on ghostly entities. Upon reaching major mastery, it could not only intimidate but also seize weaker souls. If divine sense could be projected externally, the effectiveness of Soul Intimidation would be greatly enhanced!

This was not a particularly heretical spell; rather, it focused more on honing one’s control over their soul and divine sense. If one’s soul foundation was sufficiently robust, they would naturally hold an inherent advantage when battling opponents of the same tier.

If one’s soul foundation was not sufficiently strong, one must exercise caution when using this technique. At best, it would fail to produce results; at worst, it could backfire, inflicting severe, incurable damage to the soul.

As for the latter, Luo Chen believed it was to be expected.

Anyone who achieved Foundation Establishment using the Soul-Refining True Art would inevitably possess an exceptionally powerful soul foundation.

For such individuals, the Soul Intimidation would be adding flowers to brocade [1] or like adding wings to a tiger [2].

For them, the risk of backlash was nothing more than empty talk.

Luo Chen assessed his own soul foundation—it was quite decent. After surviving his Heart Tribulation, his soul had become twice as robust as that of an ordinary cultivator. As a result, he had been able to double his alchemy sessions.

Later, when he began cultivating the Divine Breaker of Malevolence, the technique primarily honed his willpower. Yet, with each bout of excruciating torment, his soul was tempered as well. The progress was slow—almost imperceptible—but his soul gradually became more refined and resilient. It might not have expanded in size, but its density far surpassed that of most cultivators. With this as his foundation, it seemed feasible to cultivate Soul Intimidation.

”Hm?” Upon seeing the specific cultivation method for Soul Intimidation, Luo Chen let out a soft exclamation.

During the Qi-Refining Realm, when divine sense could not be projected externally, the technique mainly relied on the eyes as a medium—resulting in a fairly ordinary effect. However, Luo Chen’s eyes had been imbued with Spirit Eyes, giving him a unique advantage.

What surprised him was a memory that surfaced in his mind. At Qingjiang Restaurant, Gao Tingyuan had once locked eyes with him for an extended period. At the time, Luo Chen had thought Gao Tingyuan was simply using silence to seize control of the conversation which was a common negotiation tactic.

However, looking back now—it was clear that Gao Tingyuan had been using this very technique. The more Luo Chen thought about it, the more certain he became.

”He had already started cultivating the Soul-Refining True Art back then!

”Exactly. To devour and fuse with external souls, one must first draw the enemy’s soul from their body.

”This Soul Intimidation is a prerequisite for the Soul-Refining True Art. He had to learn it first.”

However, at that time, Luo Chen’s soul foundation had been no weaker than Gao Tingyuan’s. As a result, Gao Tingyuan had gained nothing from the attempt.

”What a pity I didn’t know how to leverage my own soul back then—otherwise, I could have made him suffer backlash!” In addition to his lingering fear, Luo Chen felt a hint of regret.

Upon confirming that Gao Tingyuan had practiced this technique, Luo Chen’s desire to master it grew even stronger.

He recalled, just before Gao Tingyuan’s death, his eyes had turned an eerie green. That had clearly been the Soul Intimidation at work—attempting to seize a weaker soul.

Unfortunately, Gao Tingyuan had not even reached minor mastery but had dared to employ the methods of major mastery. Especially against Luo Chen, whose willpower had been tempered by Divine Breaker of Malevolence, and whose soul was solid and stable.

Gao Tingyuan had been unable to budge his soul at all.

Not only did Luo Chen resist the extraction, but he forcefully shattered the technique’s hold.

Learning it was inevitable. But using it—that could never be done lightly.

Otherwise, the backlash would lead to a miserable end like Gao Tingyuan’s.

He hadn’t even had the chance to utter a last, defiant threat like ”I’ll haunt you even in death” before his soul was silently extinguished.

Apart from Soul Intimidation, this Soul Stabilization Oath is also worth considering. Luo Chen thought of the other technique, his eyes gleaming with interest.

Unlike Soul Intimidation, Soul Stabilization Oath was a spell that was not difficult to practice—in fact, it was quite simple. The difficulty lay in its requirement for a medium!

”I’ll learn them all! Moreover, I won’t stop at just these two techniques!”

Luo Chen muttered to himself as several books appeared on his desk.

At the top of the pile was the second-tier technique he had purchased for nine hundred spirit stones from the Precious Dragon Black Market.

Its name was Landslide.

During the time he had been preparing to flee, he had briefly studied the technique.

However, once he truly began practicing it, he realized that it was worthy of being a second-tier spell—it was incredibly difficult.

So difficult, in fact, that he hadn’t known where to begin.

To fully master Landslide, he first needed to learn three prerequisite techniques.

First-tier Fireball Technique, first-tier Earth Summit, and first-tier Wave Surge.

Only after mastering all three could they be fused into this powerful second-tier fire spell.

It was only after delving into the text that Luo Chen understood why a fire-based technique carried a name with an earthy connotation. It was because one of the prerequisites was the earth-based Earth Summit.

Landslide was undoubtedly worth learning. He had paid a hefty sum for it, and the power described in the text was indeed formidable.

Even among other second-tier spells, it was not inferior to the famed Sword Storm, Frost Soul Divine Needle, or Thunderquake—all renowned for their destructive power.

”I thought the price was a bit low before, but upon closer inspection, I realized it didn’t come with the three prerequisite techniques.

”If those had been included, the price would easily have exceeded a thousand spirit stones.”

Had this been some time ago, Luo Chen would have fretted over where to obtain the other two first-tier techniques besides Fireball.

But now, such concerns were long gone. Among the belongings of the cultivators who had perished in Crescent Moon Valley were numerous technique manuals.

That was perfectly normal!

Luo Chen himself had always carried a copy of Five Essential Techniques for Qi-Refining Cultivators in his storage pouch—others would surely have similar manuals.

Among the spoils, Luo Chen had found both Earth Summit and Wave Surge.

With this, he had gathered all three prerequisites. Especially his Fireball, which he had cultivated to the Perfected Mastery—its power was anything but ordinary. As long as he achieved minor proficiency with the other two, he could attempt to practice Landslide.

”This is perfect. With the Luo Tian Society still in the middle of restructuring, it’s not yet time for me to personally resume alchemy.

”In the meantime, aside from cultivating my core techniques and refining spirit power, I can dedicate my efforts to mastering these spells.”

1. 锦上添花 (jin shang tian hua) – A Chinese idiom meaning ”adding flowers to brocade.” It describes enhancing something already good, making it even better like an extra touch of beauty or success. ☜

2. 如虎添翼 (ru hu tian yi) – A Chinese idiom meaning ”like adding wings to a tiger.” It signifies greatly increasing one’s power or capabilities, making someone who is already strong even more formidable. ☜