An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”Lingjun, stop playing in the mud. It’s time for your cultivation.”

”Grandpa, I’m not playing in the mud!”

Qu Hancheng sighed indulgently and pulled the dirt-covered Qu Lingjun away from the basin. As he glanced down, a faint but distinct aroma, fragrant yet laced with a hint of burnt residue drifted into his nose.

”Are these medicinal dregs?”

”No, these aren’t just ordinary medicinal dregs!” Qu Lingjun grinned proudly. ”These are dregs that exist on the fine line between failure and success!”

”Hmm?”

”Never mind, Grandpa, you’re too old to understand this.”

”Tsk, you little rascal. Go wash up.”

As Qu Lingjun ran off to clean himself, Qu Hancheng gazed at the darkening sky, his eyes lingering on the ruins of Dahe’s inner city.

Once a thriving center, it was now nothing more than a ghost city.

And within its depths, his bloodline had been extinguished, his son, his daughter-in-law, and even his two grandsons, who had lacked spirit roots, had all perished inside.

”Dexian, rest in peace! I will make sure Lingjun grows into a powerful cultivator.”

With firm resolve, Qu Hancheng retrieved two jade bottles from his storage pouch.

The first contained low-grade Jade Essence pills, which he had stockpiled back when he was in the Poshan Gang at an internal discount. These pills were highly suited for Lingjun’s current cultivation level.

The second contained qi-nourishing pills, a recent acquisition from the southern outer district’s black market, bought at an exorbitant price. Produced by the Medicine King Sect, their effects were mild yet potent, leaving no harmful side effects.

”Consuming too many lower-grade Jade Essence pills can lead to dantian petrification, turning it into jade.”

”By right, I should let Lingjun take qi-nourishing pills instead, but I...”

Qu Hancheng thought of his dwindling lifespan, the grave injuries he had sustained, and how few years he had left to live.

Even as a fire-handler steward in the Alchemy Hall, despite the president increasing his wages multiple times, his monthly earnings barely reached what a late stage Qi-Refining cultivator could make.

”Qi-nourishing pills are getting more expensive. I can’t afford to buy many of them.

”I’ll hold onto these for now. Once Lingjun reaches mid stage Qi-Refining, I’ll stop giving him Jade Essence pills and switch to qi-nourishing pills.”

Having made up his mind, Qu Hancheng carefully stored away the qi-nourishing pills.

When Qu Lingjun finished washing up and came running out stark naked, Qu Hancheng chuckled and scolded him, telling him to put on his clothes and start cultivating.

To his surprise, Qu Lingjun stood on the bed, completely unabashed, and declared righteously, ”No! I heard the president say the other day that to cultivate, one must embrace nature and experience the Great Dao firsthand. If I wear clothes while cultivating, it will hinder my absorption of external spirit energy.”

Qu Hancheng was utterly bewildered. Was there really such a theory?

After all, it was just a single layer of inner clothing. But since it was Luo Chen who said it, he couldn’t help but half-believe it and decided to let it slide.

”Fine, suit yourself. Here’s your pill for today, take one before you start cultivating.”

As he spoke, the old man lit a brazier in the corner. The charcoal flames crackled to life, filling the space with a comforting warmth against the cold night air.

Qu Hancheng cracked the window open slightly, allowing thin wisps of cold air to seep into the room. He couldn’t let his grandson freeze, but he also couldn’t risk the room becoming too stuffy. It was a delicate balance, one that took some effort from the old man.

But when he turned back, he noticed that Qu Lingjun hadn’t started cultivating right away. Instead, the boy was crouched on the bed, staring blankly at the pill in his hand.

”It’s just a low-grade Jade Essence pill, what’s there to...”

Qu Hancheng’s voice trailed off as his expression froze.

The pill in the child’s hand clearly bore three distinct cloud patterns, which meant it wasn’t a low-grade Jade Essence pill.

It was a top-grade Jade Essence pill!

He snatched the pill from the boy’s hand, his face tense. ”Where did you get this?”

Qu Lingjun pouted. ”The president gave it to me as a reward. He said I did well in memorizing the Illustrated Compendium of Hundred Herbs.”

It was from the president!

At first, Qu Hancheng had been worried that Lingjun had stolen it, but upon hearing that Luo Chen had personally given it to him, the heavy weight in his chest eased.

The Qu family had built its reputation whether in the Poshan Gang or in Luo Tian Society by being honest and diligent, rising from the ranks of rogue cultivators through sheer hard work and integrity.

Stealing was a grave taboo! It was something they could never afford to be associated with.

Only after his relief settled did Qu Hancheng fully process what had just happened.

”A top-grade Jade Essence pill!

”Heavens!

”The president’s alchemy skills have advanced to such a level? It’s only been a short time, and he’s already refining top-grade Jade Essence pills!

”If Old Gang Leader Mi were still alive, he would surely be ecstatic.”

As he muttered to himself, Qu Lingjun tugged at his sleeve.

”Grandpa, you can’t tell anyone about this!”

”Hmm?” Qu Hancheng didn’t understand. Why couldn’t they share the news that the president’s alchemy skills had reached a new height?

Qu Lingjun straightened his face, mimicking Luo Chen’s serious demeanor from earlier in the day, his eyes fixed firmly on his grandfather. He spoke with firm conviction. ”You absolutely can’t tell anyone. This is the president’s instruction!”

Qu Hancheng opened his mouth, momentarily stunned by the boy’s serious expression and tone. For a brief moment, there was an uncanny resemblance to Luo Chen.

Since that was the case, he abandoned the idea of spreading the president’s fame. It wouldn’t be to try and flatter the wrong person at the wrong time.

However, this left him with a dilemma.

Should he let his grandson take the low-grade Jade Essence pill, or the top-grade one?

Let’s go with the top-grade one!

If the president gave him an entire bottle, he must have considered Lingjun’s cultivation realm. Besides, he seems to like the kid. If Lingjun advances in cultivation sooner, he might be able to help out and even earn the president’s favor.

I’ll just keep the low-grade pills for myself. I’ve barely had the chance to take any pills in my lifetime anyway.

Having convinced himself with that reasoning, Qu Hancheng urged his grandson to start cultivating. He stood by the doorway, leaving the indoor air to his grandson, ensuring that the spirit energy wouldn’t be divided between them.

Facing the biting cold wind, Qu Hancheng pulled out a smoking pipe from his waist.

With practiced ease, he cast a Fireball to light the pipe and took a deep drag. The once-harsh tobacco smoke curled in the cold night air yet somehow, tonight, it carried a faint hint of sweetness.

***

A bitter expression crept onto Luo Chen’s face. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and took a small sip of Meridian Repair Liquid. Lowering his gaze, he stared at the small mound of earth nearby.

”So this is the power of a second-tier spell?

”Damn it!

”Did the Precious Dragon Black Market scam me with a counterfeit manual?!”

Muttering a string of curses, Luo Chen retraced the events that had just transpired.

According to the manual, as long as the three prerequisite spells reached minor mastery, he should be able to practice Landslide.

His Fireball was at Perfected Mastery, while Earth Summit and Wave Surge had both reached Perfection level, far beyond mere minor mastery and yet, the three spells refused to merge!

”Where did it go wrong?”

He had met all the fundamental requirements. There was no logical reason for failure.

Luo Chen never doubted his talent for spellcasting. If anything, it was even more authentic than his alchemy skills—skills that even Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators envied. Unlike many of his other abilities, every spell he had mastered was learned through his own relentless training, without relying on his status panel system.

Deep in thought, Luo Chen glanced at the mound of earth once more.

This was the result of the Earth Summit. If properly executed, the spell should have raised a towering formation dozens of meters high. Instead, it had barely formed a pathetic pile of dirt.

Yet during the casting, his internal spirit energy had surged chaotically, nearly spiraling out of control. Not only did the spell fail, but it also caused minor damage to his meridians.

Thankfully, he had the Meridian Repair Liquid he obtained from Gao Tingyuan’s inheritance. Otherwise, today’s experiment would have ended in serious injury.

But something still didn’t add up.

”Where’s the water?”

He had activated Wave Surge, yet not a single drop appeared and not even a trace of water-element spirit energy.

”It can’t be that Earth Summit and Wave Surge still aren’t refined enough, right?!”

As confusion clouded his mind, a sudden realization struck Luo Chen.

Perhaps the problem wasn’t with the two prerequisite spells.

The issue wasn’t with Earth Summit or Wave Surge. It was that his Fireball was too advanced. At Perfected Mastery, when Fireball pushed to its limits, it could rival even the second-tier Solar Flare. The key to combining the three spells was achieving balance, only then could they be unleashed.

Without first achieving harmony between them, how could they ever merge into a single devastating force?

As a result, the spell prematurely detonated. And when that happened, it was the caster who suffered the consequences.

”So, what I need to do is improve the other two prerequisite spells.

”Or... reduce the spirit energy input of Fireball?”

The first option would take time—at least months of dedicated practice.

The second? He could attempt it right now.

If given enough time, he could deplete all his spirit power and unleash a dazzling, destructive strike. But if it was just a matter of controlling the spell’s energy input, that was something he could fix immediately.

Just as Luo Chen was about to continue practicing, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Beneath the night sky, a powerful old wolf climbed to the mountain peak a hundred li away. A deep, mournful howl echoed through the desolate mountains and ancient forest.

”Tonight doesn’t seem ideal for further training.

”Forget it. Now that I’ve identified the issue, I’ll master this spell sooner or later.”

Without hesitation, Luo Chen turned and left. Carefree Wind-Control unfolded beneath him, carrying him forward on a raging gust. Dark clouds swirled around his figure, concealing him from sight.

In the blink of an eye, Luo Chen vanished from Changyin Mountain.

***

Upon returning to Crescent Moon Valley, Luo Chen did not immediately begin cultivation.

Over the past few days, the preparation of materials for the Spirit Passage pill had been completed. Ten portions of refined primary ingredients now rested safely in his storage pouch.

”Fine. Defensive techniques exist only to safeguard the path, but cultivation itself is the foundation.

”I’ll refine the Spirit Passage pill first and enhance my cultivation before anything else!”

System, Beginner!

Without a moment’s hesitation, ten Achievement Points disappeared from his status panel.

A new entry appeared on his status panel.

Spirit Passage Pill (1/100)

From past experience, Luo Chen knew that the ”1” signified a default successful refinement, acknowledging that he now had an Beginner level mastery of the technique.

Do not underestimate that ”1.”

Without it, one could not predict how many failures might have come before success.

At the very least, Luo Chen had seen that sense of frustration firsthand through Tang Quan, who had yet to achieve a single success.

Tang Quan had already attempted to refine the Myriad Wonders Pill over a hundred times, still unable to grasp the technique. At a cost of five spirit stones per attempt, he had wasted over five hundred low-grade spirit stones.

What kind of concept was that?

When Luo Chen had first started out with nothing, his entire wealth had amounted to no more than fifty spirit stones. To accumulate five hundred, he would have had to start over ten times and even then, there would have been no guarantee of success.

Only by achieving that first success could one engrain the memory of success itself, drawing further successes from it.

In short, success begets success!

A fleeting thought crossed his mind as Luo Chen summoned the Four Symbols Cauldron.

It was the alchemical vessel he was now most familiar with, surpassing the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace, Drain Cloud Cauldron, and Divine Wood Cauldron in his mastery.

Old Man Mi, I kind of miss you!

With a brief moment of nostalgia, Luo Chen ignited the flames himself before adding the ingredients one by one.

”Luminous Star Grass, Bamboo Yellow...

”Phantom Shade Herb, followed by Blue Citrus Grass extract...

”Finally, the snow fox blood, and that should—wait, something’s wrong!”

In just an instant, Luo Chen snapped out of his trance.

Yet that single moment of distraction was all it took—a sharp, rancid stench flooded the air!

Leaping into the air, he peered down into the cauldron.

Inside, a thick, white, semi-liquid sludge oozed and bubbled, the overwhelming stench of failure wafting from its depths.

Luo Chen’s expression darkened—failure!

It had failed even before reaching the medicinal fusion stage, let alone forming the pill itself.

”Just the hallucinogenic effect from activating snow fox blood made me lose focus for an instant. And that single moment of distraction caused the entire refinement to fail!

”This is the first time in all my years of alchemy that I’ve encountered a backlash from the pill itself.”

Such occurrences were exceedingly rare.

Or rather they did exist!

This phenomenon typically only occurred in high-tier pills.

For instance, high-tier alchemy involving the refinement of living creatures often required the suppression of raw ingredient backlash to prevent the process from spiraling out of control.

Unexpectedly, even a mere Spirit Passage pill exhibited such a reaction.

It’s possible that my completed formula lacks a suppressant for the hallucinogenic properties of snow fox blood. But now that I’ve already reached the Beginner level, it’s too late to modify and optimize the formula.

I need to find a way to avoid being affected by the hallucinations during pill refinement.

A problem encountered must be a problem solved!

Luo Chen did not feel discouraged, he had experienced failures far too many times.

Without failures, how could one accumulate more successes?

However, today’s events had left him mentally drained. In a single day, he had endured a failed spell fusion and a failed alchemy, it was no surprise that exhaustion weighed heavily upon him.

Perhaps it’s also due to overexertion these past few days.

It just so happens that my meridians are slightly damaged today, so I should take some time to recover. I won’t cultivate tonight, I’ll just take some Golden Jade Liquid and Clarity Essence, then head to bed!

Luo Chen understood well the principle of moderation.

He did not hesitate and chose to rest.

And indeed, that night, he slept deeply and peacefully.