An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

A piece of news, or rather, an established fact, quickly spread among the nearly one hundred cultivators of Luo Tian Society.

A new ”director” had been appointed! This was a new position distinct from hall leaders, elders, stewards, and even junior managers. Yet, despite its novelty, the title was quickly accepted by everyone.

The title ”director” literally meant ” directing and making final decisions on matters.”

The emergence of such a position was not surprising. In a cultivation family, this would be the equivalent of a family head, second only to the patriarch. In a sect, it would be akin to the sect leader, second only to the sect’s supreme elder.

Its primary role was to handle and make decisions on all affairs on behalf of the true leader of the organization. Luo Tian Society had simply chosen a more straightforward and understandable title.

What surprised many was that the role of director did not go to the well-known Murong Qinglian or Qin Liangchen, who held a nominal position but had little to do other than maintaining a close relationship with the president.

Instead, it went to a female cultivator from the Gold Hall—Sima Huiniang!

Everyone was quite familiar with her. She was the key figure in the well-known rogue cultivator trio of Dahe Market, one of the three Sima.

She had always carried a strong reputation, was composed in her dealings, knew how to advance and retreat strategically, and had both a flexible and firm approach when needed. After joining Luo Tian Society, she became one of the four female cultivators at the ninth stage of Qi-Refining and naturally attracted significant attention.

Among the four, Granny Yuan was too old, and Murong Qinglian was already spoken for. The Gold Hall Leader, Gu Caiyi, had close ties with the president, making her off-limits to any suitors.

That left Sima Huiniang, capable, strong, yet without a major position, constantly drawing attention from the male cultivators.

Previously, people wondered why the other two brothers in the Sima trio had become an elder and a stewards, while the most competent among them, Sima Huiniang, remained idly in the Gold Hall.

But no one expected President Luo to be so decisive.

He directly elevated her to the position of director.

With this, her status in Luo Tian Society instantly became second only to Luo Chen, ranking above everyone else. Even the four hall leaders, with Granny Yuan being the deputy leader of the Alchemy Hall, had to take orders from her.

All major and minor affairs that previously required Luo Chen’s approval now had to be reported to her, and it was she who would make the decisions.

Such a meteoric rise naturally became a topic of discussion.

Before long, the news spread throughout Luo Tian Society.

However, unlike the low-ranking cultivators who gossiped, the senior members of Luo Tian Society remained silent on the matter. In fact, instead of reporting to Luo Chen, all matters were now being directed to Sima Huiniang.

Luo Chen, observing in secret, paid close attention to how everyone reacted.

Seeing that no chaos erupted, he sighed in relief.

Elevating Sima Huiniang to a role akin to a sect leader while positioning himself as the supreme elder was, admittedly, a risky move. After all, the Luo Tian Society was still a young organization. But for the sake of cultivation, this was a necessary step. Otherwise, being entangled in countless affairs, even someone with a heavenly spirit root would be worn down.

Luo Chen had carefully considered his choice before selecting Sima Huiniang.

First and foremost, her abilities were undeniable.

In this stage, anyone who could lead two brothers, travel across the land, and stand on their own was undoubtedly capable!

Second was her character. If she were ungrateful or purely profit-driven, Luo Chen definitely wouldn’t trust her.

However, Luo Chen had a good grasp of Sima Huiniang’s character.

She treated low-tier cultivators with kindness while she showed no undue deference to stronger cultivators.

Before summoning Sima Huiniang, he had consulted Gu Caiyi and Zeng Wen to learn more about her. She was socially adept and had quickly built good relationships with her colleagues after joining the Gold Hall. Also, when dealing with difficult customers, she never backed down without reason. Someone who could maintain internal harmony while not fearing external conflicts was ideal for such an executive role.

Finally, there was her background.

Yes, this was something Luo Chen valued highly. She was not an old member of the Poshan Gang nor was she one of Luo Chen’s closest friends. She was merely an outsider, a rogue cultivator, with no backing in Luo Tian Society except for her two brothers.

Placing someone like her in a position akin to a sect leader had many advantages. The benefits were numerous.

She wouldn’t become too powerful, nor would she be constrained by too many internal connections. Most importantly, she could serve as a role model for low-tier cultivators.

It showed that the president promoted talent based on merit rather than personal ties. If someone had the ability, even an outsider could rise to an absolute position of power!

Considering all these factors, Luo Chen finally made his decision.

Once the appointment was announced, Luo Tian Society, which had previously been somewhat chaotic, running around like headless flies, underwent a tangible transformation.

The three hall leaders no longer ran to the Alchemy Hall over every little matter. For important decisions, they no longer had to wait outside, hesitant to disturb Luo Chen while he was refining pills. They only needed to report to Sima Huiniang, and after discussion, decisions could be made swiftly.

Luo Tian Society’s operations became increasingly efficient. The use of manpower and resources reached an optimal balance.

Most importantly, Luo Chen was finally freed from trivial matters. Aside from alchemy and cultivation, no one would bother him unless it was a major issue.

Moreover, he had no concerns about being sidelined by Sima Huiniang. After all, Luo Tian Society had been built and developed entirely by him. Every key position was occupied by people he trusted.

As time passed, Luo Chen discovered another advantage of appointing Sima Huiniang as director.

She took on the role of offending people!

All this time, Luo Chen had always treated the cultivators of Luo Tian Society with kindness. He rarely reprimanded or punished anyone.

This was related to the composition of Luo Tian Society’s members.

After all, many within the organization were either his old subordinates or his personal friends. It wasn’t appropriate for him to scold his friends over trivial matters.

In the short term, this was fine, but over time, it could negatively impact the healthy development of the organization.

Luo Chen understood this, but he found it difficult to change. It was like how founding emperors, after conquering the world, would always be criticized for executing meritorious officials.

But now that Sima Huiniang had taken over as director, things were different.

She was an outsider with an unstable foundation, so she naturally leaned toward a stricter approach in handling matters. Though she didn’t go as far as making severe examples of people, she did change the culture of idleness among many.

Take Luo Chen’s old friend Zeng Wen, for example.For repeatedly neglecting his responsibilities in the Gold Hall, he was reprimanded by Sima Huiniang and even had his salary docked.

Zeng Wen even asked Tang Quan when Luo Chen would be available and came specifically to complain to him.

Luo Chen, of course, joined him in cursing Sima Huiniang. But he also made it clear that he had delegated authority and that her decisions needed to be respected.

In the end, to soothe Zeng Wen’s grievances, he gave him one or two bottles of medicinal pills as a friendly gesture, without overturning her decision.

After sending Zeng Wen off again, Luo Chen couldn’t help but smile.

”This must be management science!

”In any organization, someone has to play the good cop, and someone has to play the bad cop. If I, as the leader, always played the villain, I would eventually offend too many people and cause Luo Tian Society to fall apart.

”Now that Sima Huiniang is taking on that role, she’s actually doing quite well!”

After his reflections, Luo Chen stepped into the alchemy room.

It was time to refine Spirit Passage pills.

In the past few days, he had been busy transitioning responsibilities to Sima Huiniang and occasionally supporting her authority.

As a result, his alchemy work had been sporadic.

The few times he did try, he mostly failed.

Today, he could finally calm down and refine pills properly.

He lit the fire and heated the cauldron. He placed the medicinal ingredients inside and applied various alchemical techniques.

About two hours later, Luo Chen looked with satisfaction at the three freshly refined medicinal pills.

With these three Spirit Passage pills, his cultivation would be supported for at least another month.

Not only did they strengthen his soul foundation, but every time he took one, he could also practice Soul-Intimidation. It helped him absorb medicinal properties while also improving his spell proficiency.

In the past, he always felt like he didn’t have enough time for everything.

But now, everything seemed orderly and well-structured.

”Not only has Luo Tian Society gotten on track, but my cultivation has also become well-organized.”

***

The abundance of time gave Luo Chen an unprecedented sense of freedom in his cultivation journey. There was no one above him suppressing or monitoring him, and those under him followed his commands effortlessly. He could do whatever he wanted and refine whatever pills he desired.

Luo Chen’s in-depth research on Fireball had reached a critical breakthrough. He was no longer content with simply absorbing the Fu family’s talisman crafting insights, he had begun to incorporate his own understanding into the technique.

When refining Jade Essence pills, he had developed several innovative techniques. Now, applying those same principles to Fireball yielded unexpected results.

At its core, Fireball is about the seamless control of gathering and dispersing energy.

Gathering spirit power to form the Fireball, that’s ’gathering’. Detonating it upon impact, that’s ’dispersing’.

If I could control the timing of gathering and dispersing in advance, just like I did with Jade Essence Pills, then wouldn’t I be able to...?

With a thought, Luo Chen waved his hand and launched ten small fireballs.

Instead of exploding immediately, the fireballs hovered in place. Guided by Luo Chen’s Traction, they orbited around him.

”Merge!”

The ten fireballs instantly merged into an enormous sphere. If developed further, it would be the prototype of Solar Flare.

But then, with a slight shift in thought, the massive fireball transformed into a thick circular shield with a thin outer layer.

Fire Shield!

Across the dueling platform, Liu Qiang who had been sparring with him stared in shock.

His enchanted artifact was blocked layer by layer by the shield. Though his weapon struggled forward, the intense heat gradually burned away the spirit imprints he had placed on it.

Suddenly, Luo Chen extended his hand.

Under Liu Qiang’s shocked gaze, his enchanted flying blade fell right into Luo Chen’s grasp.

He swallowed hard and said in disbelief, ”President, did you just melt away the spirit imprint I placed on my weapon?”

Luo Chen smiled and casually tossed the flying blade back to him.

He even threw in a bottle of medicinal pills as compensation.

”Sorry about that, you’ll have to spend some time re-tempering it.”

Liu Qiang quickly shook his head. For a Qi-Refining cultivator, re-attuning a weapon was an easy process. It was just a matter of re-inscribing spirit imprints, which wouldn’t take him long.

What truly shocked him was that Luo Chen possessed such a technique.

Luo Chen, paying no mind to Liu Qiang’s astonishment, walked away with his hands behind his back, deep in thought.

The Fire Shield derived from Fireball isn’t particularly strong in terms of defense. Its advantage lies in using extreme heat during defense to burn away the enemy’s spirit imprints on their weapons.

Combined with my Perfected Mastery Traction, I can effectively disarm my opponents barehanded.

In terms of combat effectiveness, to be honest, the Fire Shield was only average.

A battle was always rapid and unpredictable, an enemy’s attack wouldn’t rely solely on a single enchanted artifact.

However, having this ability allowed him to catch his opponents off guard.

After all, in the heat of battle, if one’s primary weapon was suddenly snatched away, Anyone in such a situation would be momentarily shaken.

What delighted Luo Chen the most was that he had mastered the seamless control of Fireball’s gathering and dispersing aspects. If he extended this concept further and merged it with Solar Flare, it would be within his grasp.

”The Solar Flare, derived from a Perfected Mastery Fireball, would undoubtedly be a second-tier technique.

”In just three to five more days, I will completely possess an attack technique comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

This minor breakthrough in power pleased him greatly.

However, life was not just about cultivation.

That night, Luo Chen once again slipped away from the valley in silence.

***

At the Precious Dragon Black Market, Luo Chen met with Tian Xingzi.

Under Tian Xingzi’s expectant gaze, Luo Chen took out a large bottle.

As he shook it slightly, the sound of pills colliding echoed from within.

”Be careful!” Tian Xingzi quickly took the bottle with great care. ”All fifty inside?”

”Yes.”

Luo Chen replied indifferently, his gaze wandering around the black market hall.

At this moment, the spontaneous auction by cultivators was taking place.

Today was unusual, there were very few Foundation Establishment cultivators present, except for the rogue cultivator who had previously sold him and Wang Yuan the Sky Roc Transformation.

Tian Xingzi counted the pills and, satisfied, put away the jade bottle.

”Your friend truly is a master alchemist! They’ve had the Falling Clouds Mist for just a month and have already made breakthroughs in alchemy.”

Luo Chen chuckled lightly. ”This is thanks to how refined that water-based technique is, far superior to those common alchemy methods.

”Even in major sects, this could be considered an entire branch of study...”

Luo Chen’s heart trembled.

His gaze focused on one spot.

Suddenly, he extended his hand, pointing at the Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator.

”I want that!”

Tian Xingzi was stunned and turned to look.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator had just taken out a massive demonic beast corpse for auction. The corpse was enormous, nearly occupying the entire center of the hall.

Its wings, spanning three to four zhang, were particularly striking.

Had the beast been alive, its outstretched wings could have blotted out the sun!

”So it’s a Blazing Cloud Roc!”

Tian Xingzi stroked his beard and said with a smile, ”This is one of the most formidable second-tier demonic beasts. It may not be known for its speed, but it is feared for its immense attack power. Once its demonic flames are unleashed, they engulf everything, melting metal and shattering jade, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t dare approach.

”Fellow Daoist Xiong Kun being able to hunt such a beast is truly admirable.”

So this man was named Xiong Kun.

Luo Chen pondered. With his greatly enhanced soul foundation, his thinking had become sharper and quicker.

Some things he had barely recalled before were now becoming clearer.

After all, he hadn’t been cultivating for very long. All in all, it had only been three years.

This person had actually crossed paths with him before.

Back when the Debate Platform first opened, he had been reselling tickets at Whitestone Plaza. The last ticket had been bought by this very person for two hundred spirit stones.

Previously, he hadn’t made the connection and had even conducted a beast hide trade with him.

But after some thought, he finally recalled where the familiarity stemmed from.

”Young friend, if you’ve taken a liking to a specific part of the Blazing Cloud Roc, feel free to say so.” Tian Xingzi chuckled. ”I have a decent relationship with Fellow Daoist Xiong. On my account, he could give you a discount.”

In his mind, Luo Chen had most likely set his eyes on either the demonic core or the wings of the Blazing Cloud Roc. These were the most valuable parts of the creature.

Yet Luo Chen’s response left him utterly stunned.

”I want it all!”