An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and three days passed in a flash.

After completing his afternoon session of refining Jade Essence pills, Luo Chen didn’t head to the barren lands beneath Huiye Mountain as usual to practice spells. Instead, he remained in the Alchemy Hall, observing Mi Li as she refined fasting concoctions.

With a steady supply of raw materials, Mi Li’s alchemy skills had improved significantly, reaching a level where she could be considered proficient. Out of ten attempts, she could successfully refine two or three batches. If judged by the status panel system’s standards, her skill level would likely be rated between skilled and perfection.

Luo Chen was pleased with her progress, though fasting concoctions were not particularly profitable. The market for them was highly competitive, but their purpose was never to generate wealth. Instead, their production was solely to sustain Luo Tian Society’s cultivators.

As winter set in, the activities of cultivators became heavily restricted. Though the Lianyun Trade Alliance had taken over the Spirit Source Pavilion’s old markets, bringing in large shipments of spirit rice from other regions, it was still far from enough to support the tens of thousands of rogue cultivators in Dahe Market. Even many cultivators within Luo Tian Society were struggling.

Under these circumstances, the Alchemy Hall’s ability to provide fasting concoctions at low prices was a godsend. Compared to ordinary grains, these pills—imbued with spirit energy and capable of sustaining fullness for extended periods were far superior.

Once Mi Li’s refining session ended, it was Tang Quan’s turn to attempt refining the Myriad Wonders pill.

Having just washed her hands, Mi Li stood quietly in the corner, holding the hand of a young boy, observing in silence. Meanwhile, Luo Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm and unreadable.

“How many times has he tried now?”

“Not sure, but it must be at least a hundred.”

“After so many attempts and not a single success? Can he really do it?”

“Who knows? But Uncle Tang Quan is Elder Zeng’s protege and he holds a high position.”

“But wasting this much material... Doesn’t the president feel distressed?”

Murmured discussions arose among the assisting apprentice alchemists and fire handlers.

Even though Tang Quan had grown used to it, he couldn’t help but feel disheartened. This was likely the last batch of materials for the Myriad Wonders pill in the Alchemy Hall.

If he failed again, the president might simply give up on this pill altogether. Everyone knew that Luo Tian Society’s primary focus now was on Jade Essence pills.

With his mind clouded by these thoughts, Tang Quan began refining once more.

Halfway through the process, a faintly burnt smell began to waft through the hall.

A scent all too familiar! Tang Quan’s heart sank.

At that moment, Luo Chen pulled him aside.

“Watch carefully, this is how you refine the Myriad Wonders pill.

“I’ll only demonstrate this one last time. If you still can’t get it right, it proves you truly have no talent for alchemy.”

Taking over from Tang Quan, Luo Chen injected a stream of spirit energy into the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace. As the spirit energy entered the furnace, it immediately halted the further breakdown of the medicinal properties.

Separate first, then fuse!

Luo Chen’s fingers danced in the air, weaving through intricate hand seals with effortless grace.

This was alchemy at its finest technique. It is so precise, natural, and efficient that it was worlds apart from what Tang Quan had attempted just moments ago.

Luo Chen paid no attention to the murmurs around him, his entire focus locked on the alchemy furnace, continuously channeling streams of spirit power into it.

Beside him, the fire handlers moved in perfect coordination, following his every command, adjusting the intensity of the flames as needed.

After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a rich and intoxicating medicinal fragrance suddenly wafted from the copper furnace.

”Rise!”

With a flick of his wrist, the furnace lid lifted effortlessly. Luo Chen reached out, his fingers swiftly closing around the newly-formed pills.

A moment later, ten deep-red pills landed in his palm, each one engraved with three intricate cloud patterns. Despite their fresh refinement, there was no residual heat, as though they had already cooled to perfection within the furnace itself.

Luo Chen casually tossed them over, leaving Tang Quan scrambling to catch them.

”Top-grade!” Mi Li gasped in astonishment. ”President, your alchemy skills have advanced again!”

Tang Quan stared at the pills in his hands, utterly shaken.

It was no secret that the president could refine top-grade Myriad Wonders pills.

But that batch had been on the verge of failure!

Yet, under such unfavorable conditions, he had effortlessly reversed the outcome, bringing the batch to completion with an air of nonchalance and even producing superior-grade pills!

What kind of mastery was this?

Shock quickly gave way to bitterness and a sense of crushing defeat. Did he truly lack the talent for alchemy?

While he stood there, dazed and lost in thought, Luo Chen had already stepped past him, making his way toward the exit without a second glance.

As he passed by the entrance to the alchemy chamber, Luo Chen paused.

Ruffling Qu Lingjun’s hair, he chuckled. ”Have you fully grasped the Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs yet?”

Qu Lingjun looked up at Luo Chen with admiration shining in his eyes.

He nodded excitedly. ”I’ve memorized it all and understand everything! Sister Mi Li can vouch for me!”

Luo Chen turned to Mi Li, who nodded gently in confirmation. ”I’ve tested him a few times. At first, he made some mistakes, but now he gets almost everything right.

”In terms of understanding the Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs, he’s among the best of the apprentices.”

He really was a bright child.

Unfortunately, his innate talent was somewhat lacking.

With a single glance, Luo Chen sensed the faintest ripple of spirit power emanating from the boy.

It was the hallmark of someone just stepping into the first stage of Qi-Refining. However, the energy fluctuations were far too weak and almost imperceptible.

As far as Luo Chen knew, Qu Lingjun had started cultivating a month ago.

As the sole hope of the Qu family’s bloodline, there was no doubt that Qu Hancheng would have provided him with ample resources.

Yet after an entire month, this was all he had achieved?

Luo Chen couldn’t help but think of Yuan Xiaoyue, she had taken only a single month to advance from the second to the third stage of Qi-Refining.

Luo Chen pondered for a moment before retrieving a small bottle from his storage pouch.

”Very good. You’ve perfectly completed the task I assigned you. This is your reward.”

Qu Lingjun’s face lit up with excitement as he eagerly accepted the bottle. Just as he was about to open it, Luo Chen reached out and stopped him.

”Look at it when you get home!”

A single deep glance from Luo Chen was enough for Qu Lingjun to grasp the underlying message. He was an intelligent child and immediately bowed in gratitude.

Luo Chen paid no further attention and turned to leave the alchemy room, leaving the others to clean up.

Qu Lingjun, despite his young age, carried himself like a little adult. Without hesitation, he joined the others in cleaning the alchemy furnace, repairing the fire pit, and replacing the fire-resistant bricks. Whenever he came across remnants of medicinal dregs, he carefully collected them rather than discarding them.

Mi Li chuckled gently and asked, ”These medicinal dregs aren’t useful. Normally, we just bury them in the wastelands. Why bother collecting them?”

Qu Lingjun widened his eyes and responded earnestly, ”These dregs come from successful refinements. If I compare them with the ones from failed attempts, maybe I can find other differences between success and failure.”

Outside the alchemy room, Luo Chen, who had been making his way back to his stone residence, paused momentarily in his steps.

He had always learned from his failures, refining his techniques through repeated trial and error. However, he had never paid much attention to the medicinal dregs left behind from successful refinements.

It was similar to solving a math problem.

Most people, when they arrived at an incorrect answer, would backtrack to identify the mistake in their calculations. However, very few would analyze a correct answer, retracing every step to fully understand why it worked.

After all, most people were simply too caught up in the joy of success.

Whether in alchemy or problem-solving, the principle remained the same.

Luo Chen chuckled softly. ”Even if it’s a minor insight, it’s still a fresh perspective worth considering.” With that thought, he let the matter go.

Upon returning to his stone house, he activated the formation, descended into the mine shaft, and ventured into Changyin Mountain.

Both Earth Summit and Wave Surge had already reached Perfection level. In the eyes of cultivators, this level of mastery was somewhere between minor and major accomplishment, enough to be wielded freely.

Today, he planned to test the fusion of Fireball, Earth Summit, and Wave Surge is a second-tier spell known as Landslide!