An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

“I want an explanation,” Luo Chen said coldly, his voice like it came from the depths of the underworld.

If their ship had been in the lead, wouldn’t it be the Luo Tian Society cultivators being fed to that beast now? With such overwhelming demonic energy, even he wouldn’t have escaped unscathed.

Not only Luo Chen, but both Li Yixian and Nangong Jin stared daggers at Wang Haichao.

Wang Haichao turned around and forced a thin smile. “We’re allies now, why would I ever harm you?”

“I merely suspected the River-Swallowing Toad might appear. I had no certainty, so I didn’t inform you beforehand.”

Suspected? What kind of mere suspicion would compel him to assign all three lead ships to rogue cultivators?

Luo Chen held down his rising fury. At this moment, anger wouldn’t change anything.

“River-Swallowing Toad?” Nangong Jin asked.

Wang Haichao nodded. “Yes, it’s a third-tier demonic beast, the River-Swallowing Toad. It cultivates by devouring rivers, lakes, and seas, absorbing the essence of sun and moon. It’s quite a docile creature, all things considered.”

“Why would it be here?”

“That goes back to the second time Pang Renxiong visited Dahe Market.”

Hm?

“Remember? He went on a rampage, even caused the collapse of Nanwa Snow Mountain. The River-Swallowing Toad had been hibernating there. Now that Nanwa’s gone, it has no place to rest and has taken to roaming the Lancang River.

“With so many of us moving together, it was highly likely we’d draw its attention.” explained Wang Haichao.

Li Yixian was still displeased. “You could’ve warned us. We might’ve taken a detour! What need was there to sacrifice so many rogue cultivators?”

“Detour?” Wang Haichao snorted.

His ridicule left Li Yixian slightly embarrassed.

It was Nangong Jin who stepped in to ease the tension. “Taking a detour would’ve been even more dangerous,” he said calmly. “The Ninefold Mountains are home to the Nine-Camphor Deer. They command entire herds and are true third-tier beast kings.”

The Nine-Camphor Deer were nothing like the gentle Fu Zhu deer. Fiercely territorial and living in tightly packed groups, they were so fearsome that even other demonic beasts avoided them entirely. Though the three exchanged only a few quick voice transmissions, the conversation felt like it stretched on for much longer.

Meanwhile, the vortex that had swallowed the lead ship full of rogue cultivators began to shrink.

The river, moments ago filled with angry shouts and panicked screams, gradually fell into an eerie silence.

Only the ships trailing behind remained, gripped by a terror they couldn’t shake.

Luo Chen watched the scene in heavy silence. His sharp eyes seemed to pierce the murky water, catching sight of the massive creature resting below.

That vortex...

“No, it’s not done feeding yet!”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the shrinking vortex exploded outward once more. The next ship was already being pulled toward the maelstrom.

The demonic energy pressed down with such force that most Qi-Refining cultivators couldn’t even move.

As the vessel was being drawn in, Luo Chen unleashed a surge of spirit power, casting Traction to anchor the ship in place.

Everyone watching was stunned.

Li Yixian hesitated briefly before casting her own Traction to hold the stern.

Yet how could two Foundation Establishment cultivators stand against a demon king?

“Wang Haichao! Nangong Jin! If you won’t act now, then when?!” Luo Chen’s thunderous voice echoed across the ships.

Nangong Jin acted instinctively, lending his strength.

Finally, the ship’s descent slowed.

But Wang Haichao merely furrowed his brow and said coldly, “Who would’ve thought, Dan Chenzi, turns out you’re a kind-hearted saint.”

Luo Chen stared at him without fear. ”Who knows how many more people it needs to devour before it’s satisfied? Without these rogue cultivators, the road ahead will only become more perilous.

”With the four of us alone, we can’t possibly...”

”Then let’s feed it!” Luo Chen declared firmly.

Wang Haichao was momentarily stunned. Feed it how?

”The Li and Nangong families brought plenty of domesticated demonic beasts, didn’t they? Isn’t the flesh of those beasts more substantial than the mere two taels of meat a human cultivator has?”

”But...” Li Yixian and Nangong Jin both showed hesitation on their faces, these were, after all, family assets.

Luo Chen took a deep breath and stared hard at Wang Haichao. ”You charged them so much for passage, you have the obligation to ensure their safety.

”Take out some spirit stones and buy demonic beasts from both families.

”Don’t even think about bargaining, Wang Haichao. Just look at those people!”

The cold-hearted Wang Haichao instinctively glanced at the cultivators of the Dajiang Gang.

Each of them had pale faces, huddled at the back of the ship. Not only that, some were even trying to escape, with no intention of banding together to resist the demon king.

Many of them were looking at him as though he were some venomous creature.

A chill ran down his spine. The lives of rogue cultivators were indeed cheap!

But if too many of them died, the others would feel a sense of shared doom. Even members of the Dajiang Gang would start to lose faith in him. The momentum he had worked so hard to build as Alliance Leader would crumble in an instant. And even if they did make it safely to their destination, he would likely find himself isolated, abandoned by those he once led.

This time, he couldn’t refuse.

Soon, with the agreement of Li Yixian and Nangong Jin, cultivators from both families pulled out large quantities of dead or living demonic beast meat from their ship holds and spirit beast pouches.

They channeled their spirit power to carry the meat and toss it into the massive vortex.

One head, two heads... ten, a hundred... soon, the number surpassed a thousand domesticated demonic beasts. This was already the maximum number both families could afford to bring along.

Only then did the vortex begin to shrink gradually.

Taking this opportunity, Luo Chen thrust out both hands, pouring out his immense spirit power. With Perfected Mastery of the Traction, he forcibly pulled back the rogue cultivators’ large ship from the edge.

Huff... huff...

Luo Chen gasped for breath a couple of times and didn’t care about how those rogue cultivators were staring at him.

He rode the breeze and swiftly moved to the very front.

”You’ve cost me dearly this time, Dan Chenzi,” Wang Haichao said gloomily.

Luo Chen let out a cold laugh. ”Then you could have simply refused to pay those spirit stones back then.”

Uh...

Li Yixian, still shaken, stepped closer. Over a thousand domesticated demonic beasts, their flesh far outweighed that of any human cultivator. Even so, it had only barely managed to satisfy the Swallowing River Toad’s appetite.

Had they not followed Luo Chen’s advice, not just that one ship but likely two more would have been sacrificed.

Given the order, the next likely targets would have been Wang Haichao’s dragon-whale vessel and the Li family’s ship.

With Wang Haichao’s nature, he surely had methods to momentarily flee using his enchanted ship. And in that case, wouldn’t it have been her Li family’s turn?

”Is it full now?” Li Yixian swallowed nervously and looked at the vortex, which had shrunk to the size of a washbasin, with blood-colored bubbles still rising from within.

Wang Haichao hesitated and said, ”It should be full... I think?”

”If it’s not full, I’ll help it get there!” Luo Chen shouted.

With a flick of his hand, hundreds of jade bottles suddenly appeared.

Under his control, a rain of Jade Essence pills poured into the vortex. His gaze fell on a pink jade bottle. Luo Chen’s heart stirred slightly, and he shattered it, letting it fall into the river as well.

Nangong Jin stared wide-eyed at the scene.

”Top-grade Jade Essence pill!

”Luo Chen, are you crazy?”

The other two Foundation Establishment cultivators were also stunned.

In just this short moment, he had thrown out what must’ve been tens of thousands of spirit stones!

But the result was undeniably effective.

Soon, the vortex vanished amidst a series of massive bubbles rising and bursting on the surface.

Beneath the water, a colossal shadow slowly sank into the depths. Only then did the oppressive aura that blanketed the heavens finally dissipate.

”Go!” Luo Chen waved his sleeve wide, returning to the Luo Tian Society’s main ship like a weary bird returning to its nest.

Wang Haichao hesitated no longer and gave the order at once.

The fleet surged into motion, racing downstream with the roaring current, desperately fleeing from the area.