An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

On the way back, countless eyes followed him, filled with curiosity. Who was this man, and what kind of confidence did he possess to dare claim the sword orb?

Was he truly unafraid of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect’s retribution?

Beyond confusion, envy simmered, and for some, even jealousy.

A sword orb, comparable to a supreme-grade enchanted artifact! And it barely drained spirit power! As long as one possessed exceptional artifact control, it was a perfect weapon.

Though most people lacked such skills, for a weapon of this caliber, they could certainly train for it!

Normally, an artifact of this level would fetch at least seven or eight thousand spirit stones. Yet this man had secured it for only five thousand six hundred.

How could others not be envious?

Luo Chen could feel hundreds of eyes on him, including the gaze of his dear brother, Wang Yuan.

But he paid them no mind. Such a treasure rightfully belonged to him!

He had already witnessed the terrifying power of the sword orb.

On the Lancang River, despite all the devil cultivator’s tricks, he had been no match for Pang Renxiong and his single sword. Even though he lacked the corresponding sword techniques or an externalized spirit consciousness, he possessed extraordinary artifact control!

No, his control wasn’t just refined. It was unparalleled.

With his Perfected Mastery Traction made his mastery control over enchanted artifacts had already reached its peak.

Even someone as formidable as Qiu Bai, at the peak of Qi-Refining, could only unleash six flood dragons from his supreme-grade Blue Musk Gathering Serpent Banner with all his might. Yet back when Luo Chen was only at the eighth stage of Qi-Refining, he had already been capable of summoning six.

All thanks to his Perfected Mastery Traction.

Thus, after acquiring this treasure, he had no concerns about controlling it. His purchase was driven by the need to expand his combat arsenal.

The Blue Musk Gathering Serpent Banner was powerful, but its spirit power consumption was immense. It excelled in versatility and, when paired with the Blue Musk Poison Incense, was highly effective in prolonged battles.

However, when it came to direct assaults, his combat power still felt somewhat lacking.

Even at full strength, Qiu Bai had failed to kill the three Sima in one strike. When Luo Chen had faced Fuzhang, he had needed to complement it with his Perfected Mastery Fireball.

This proved one thing, the offensive might wasn’t overwhelming.

But the sword orb was different. He had seen the Giant Sword in action!

Pang Renxiong’s earth-shattering strike on the Lancang River, the dragon-shaped sword energy atop Fallen Phoenix Mountain, all of them were variations of the Giant Sword.

With this treasure, he could finally make up for his lack of direct offensive power.

Five thousand six! What a steal! Luo Chen smiled as he put away the sword orb, watching as the others continued bidding on the various treasures Tian Xingzi presented.

He knew that deals like this didn’t come often.

He had merely capitalized on the current circumstances. No one else dared to claim this scorching hot potato!

Even the Foundation Establishment experts had backed down after a few hesitant bids.

But he was different!

Firstly, if the Precious Dragon Black Market dared to auction this off, they must have had a strong reason for it and secondly, there was his special relationship with the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Even if the sect returned and sought him out, he had an excuse ready!

I had earned Elder Pang’s trust. Even in the face of difficult circumstances, I had done my best to recover the belongings of the sect’s fallen cultivators. Luo Chen thought. Perhaps the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect might even reward me for it.

”One bottle of Clarity Essence!” Tian Xingzi’s voice rang out. ”A second-tier spirit medicine from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. With prolonged use, it enhances a cultivator’s eyes. At minor mastery, it allows one to distinguish truth from illusion. At major mastery, it can pierce through deceptions, seeing through formations and restrictions as if they were nonexistent.

”There are no realm restrictions for its use.

”Starting bid: five hundred spirit stones, with a minimum increment of ten.

”Gentlemen, please bid freely!”

Another item from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect! The auction hall, which had been growing increasingly lively, suddenly quieted once more.

What exactly was this Precious Dragon Black Market? Could they have been involved in that Golden Core battle? Or had they already outpaced the nearby factions, sneaking into the ghost city ahead of everyone to unearth the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion’s treasures?

This time, however, the atmosphere wasn’t as frigid as before. A spirit medicine was different from a sword orb. Once purchased, it could simply be used without issue.

”Five hundred twenty spirit stones!”

”Five hundred thirty!”

***

Among the crowd, the moment Luo Chen heard the name ”Clarity Essence,” his interest immediately piqued.

This was an advanced version of Runming Pearl Essence! Or rather, Runming Pearl Essence was merely a diluted form of Clarity Essence. He had been using Runming Pearl Essence consistently for a long time but had yet to see any tangible effects.

However, his Perfected Mastery Spirit Eyes had already provided him with great advantages. He could see through basic spirit energy disguises and even scan a hundred li radius with a single glance.

During the battle on the Lancang River, any other Qi-Refining cultivator would have struggled to follow the fight from start to finish like Luo Chen had.

”Spirit Eyes has already reached Perfected Mastery; it cannot advance further.

”However, the sharper my eyes, the better.

”This item, I must have it!”

When the bidding reached six hundred spirit stones, the fervor in the hall began to wane. At the end of the day, this was just a second-tier spirit medicine. Moreover, there was only one bottle, sustained use would be impossible.

At this moment, Luo Chen joined the bidding.

”Six hundred fifty!”

Compared to the previous slow-paced bidding, with mere ten-spirit-stone increments... Jumping by fifty in one go was a bold move.

Many cultivators turned their heads in surprise. When they realized it was the same person who had bid on the sword orb earlier, many among them felt uneasy.

Who was this man, exactly? Why did he seem intent on acquiring every single item related to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect?

For a moment, no one else placed another bid. Tian Xingzi remained unfazed.

”Six hundred fifty, going once.

”Going twice.

”Six hundred fifty... sold!

”Congratulations to this esteemed fellow daoist!”

This time, Luo Chen didn’t bother walking up to hand over the spirit stones in person. The only reason he had done so earlier was to inspect the sword orb’s quality in front of everyone.

This time, he simply used his spirit power to levitate six hundred and fifty spirit stones over. Tian Xingzi, in turn, had someone deliver the Clarity Essence to Luo Chen.

Once he received it, Luo Chen inspected the bottle briefly before putting it away.

Excellent! Once I return, I’ll test its effects!

Next, Tian Xingzi brought out even more treasures.

Especially pills and enchanted artifacts the quantity of these alone had increased nearly tenfold compared to before. Even common pills from the Spirit Herb Pavilion, like qi-nourishing pills and Dust Transformation pills, were available.

Though the prices were significantly higher than those in the Spirit Herb Pavilion, qi-nourishing pills easily fetched one hundred twenty or even one hundred thirty per bottle and people still eagerly bought them.

For no other reason than this—

With the Spirit Herb Pavilion gone from Dahe Market, even the spirit energy leaking from Fallen Phoenix Mountain couldn’t adequately sustain late-stage Qi-Refining cultivators.

Luo Chen himself even placed a bid and secured five bottles of Dust Transformation pills.

He spent thirteen hundred spirit stones, a full three hundred more than the usual price. That was nearly enough to buy another bottle and a half.

But for something like this, the more, the better.

Given the current circumstances, there was no harm in stockpiling as many as possible.

After spending another thousand spirit stones on ten portions of Golden Jade Liquid from Taishan Market, Luo Chen could hardly contain himself.

Just how many pills and enchanted artifacts has this Precious Dragon Black Market been hoarding?!

It’s as if they knew this situation would happen and deliberately stockpiled everything to make a fortune! If that’s truly the case, then releasing the three Ghost Kings and ambushing Pang Renxiong wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment decision, it was a well-planned conspiracy.

But when exactly did it begin?

Was it when Pang Renxiong returned to Dahe Market? Or when the late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator Fei Bowen was killed in Ai Lao Mountain? Surely they hadn’t planned this all the way back when the Debate Platform was first opened?

Luo Chen couldn’t pinpoint the exact timing. Back then, he had only been at mid stage Qi-Refining, and his connections weren’t deep enough to have any real insight into such matters.

All he knew was that this Precious Dragon Black Market was making an absolute killing this time!

The auction continued.

Not only had Luo Chen gained a great deal, but other rogue cultivators were also actively participating.

Even Wang Yuan had bid multiple times, securing the resources he needed. One of the items, a supreme-grade enchanted glove, was won by him at the relatively low price of sixty-five hundred spirit stones.

If this had been before, it would have sparked a fierce bidding war.

But today, it barely caused a ripple.

The drawbacks of that glove were simply too severe. Beyond the usual high spirit energy consumption, it required a physique comparable to that of a second-tier demonic beast otherwise, it would devour the cultivator’s flesh instead.

A supreme-grade enchanted artifact with a strong devil cultivation inclination.

Luo Chen wasn’t concerned about this at all. When it came to physical toughness, few in Dahe Market could compare to Wang Yuan.

The lengthy session of reserved auctions finally ended with the sale of a complete second-tier demonic beast corpse.

”Now that’s quite the feat, managing to slay a second-tier demonic beast.” Luo Chen muttered to himself, then stepped forward to auction off his own goods.

Nothing else but Blood-Burning pills!

There was no denying it, this stuff was in high demand. Even more so in the current circumstances.

Luo Chen brought out ten Blood-Burning pills, ready to make a major sale.

To his surprise, just as the pills were put up for bidding, Tian Xingzi suddenly spoke up.

”One hundred fifty spirit stones per pill, I’ll take them all!”

As soon as those words were spoken, no one else dared to bid. The host of the black market still commanded a certain level of respect. Even the other six Foundation Establishment cultivators tacitly refrained from competing.

Luo Chen had no objections. One hundred fifty per pill was a full fifty percent markup compared to previous auctions. It also saved him quite a bit of effort. With the transaction settled, he recovered one thousand five hundred spirit stones.

Luo Chen let out a small sigh of relief. He had spent a total of seven thousand five hundred fifty spirit stones today on the sword orb and various pills, a considerable splurge. His remaining balance was now just under thirteen thousand spirit stones. This small recovery could at least slow the bleeding a little.

Looks like aside from refining Jade Essence pills daily, I should also spend more time making Blood-Burning pills. Not only is it quick money, but there’s no shortage of buyers.

Just as Luo Chen was making his calculations, a voice transmission entered his ear. Raising an eyebrow, Luo Chen left his spot and walked straight toward Tian Xingzi.

Many noticed this exchange. Though curious, no one dared to eavesdrop, continuing instead to participate in the ongoing bidding.

Wang Yuan’s gaze followed Luo Chen, a trace of concern flickering in his eyes.

As Luo Chen approached Tian Xingzi, the latter didn’t wait for him to speak and immediately cast a surge of spirit power. A thick soundproof barrier enclosed the two of them.

”Senior, what guidance do you have for me?”

Tian Xingzi smiled. ”Young friend, are you an alchemist? I’ve observed that in all three of your visits, you’ve auctioned off quite a few Blood-Burning pills.”

Luo Chen’s brow twitched, but he avoided the topic. ”I am not an alchemist. I merely have a friend who is.”

”Is that so?” Tian Xingzi didn’t press the issue and got straight to the point.

After hearing Tian Xingzi’s proposal, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

”Collaboration?”