An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”President.”

”Greetings, President.”

”President, you’re here.”

As Yuan Dongsheng bowed respectfully, Luo Chen came to a halt. ”Didn’t she say she had two or three more years? Why so soon?”

Luo Chen clearly remembered Granny Yuan candidly telling him she had a couple of years left just one year ago and yet...

”It was those twenty new spirit fields,” Yuan Dongsheng choked out. ”My grandmother thought the Luo Tian Society didn’t have enough arable land, so she wanted to create more.

”We didn’t expect... a Black-Spined Stone Drake was sleeping beneath the field. When it was awakened, it flew into a rage and injured many. Grandma fought it herself and brought it down but the cost was heavy. It damaged her core. So...”

Stone Drakes were a common species of demonic beast, frequently hunted by cultivators and processed into first-tier medicinal ingredients. Under normal circumstances, they posed little danger, were easily subdued, and were rarely aggressive.

However, the Black-Spined Stone Drake was a rare exception. Unlike its more docile kin, this variant possessed a volatile and aggressive temperament that made it both dangerous and unpredictable. It would either slumber for centuries or erupt into violent rampages, attacking anything in sight. Even second-tier or third-tier demonic beasts failed to deter it; the drake would hurl itself into battle without hesitation, snapping and tearing with a ferocity that bordered on reckless suicide.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how much effort Granny Yuan must have spent suppressing such a creature. Her body had already been frail, her blood qi nearly exhausted. To engage in such a violent battle at her age was tantamount to shortening her own life. That desperate struggle had only accelerated her decline.

She had been bedridden and semi-conscious for the past month. Sima Huiniang had already mentioned it through a voice-transmission talisman, quietly preparing Luo Chen for the worst.

Luo Chen gave a quiet hum and walked straight into the room. A thick wave of medicinal fragrance met him, sharp enough to sting the nose and almost draw a cough, but his expression did not change. His gaze moved past the pungent air and settled on the figure lying on the bed.

As if sensing his presence, the old woman, though previously unresponsive, slowly moved her clouded eyes and settled them on Luo Chen.

In that moment, Luo Chen knew she was awake.

His spirit consciousness swept out, carefully examining her condition, and for an instant, a rare flicker of shock passed through him.

Granny Yuan’s divine soul was barely holding together, as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind. It is on the verge of being extinguished at any moment. Yet each time it threatened to vanish, it reignited, stubbornly clinging to life. She wasn’t alive by natural means anymore; she was staying alive through sheer, indomitable will. The reason for that persistence was clear. She had been waiting for him.

There was no need for sentimental pleasantries. Luo Chen opened his mouth to speak, only to find his throat dry.

”Granny Yuan... Yuan Yuejiao,” he began softly. ”Hall Leader of the Luo Tian Society’s Medicine Hall. She served with devotion for more than seven years. During her tenure, she worked tirelessly, coordinating ingredients for the Alchemy Hall, ensuring the supply of spirit rice, and giving her all to heal the wounded during multiple battles. The Luo Tian Society remembers her with deep gratitude. She cultivated and maintained over four hundred spirit fields on Danxia Peak and opened twenty new ones. This is a foundational legacy.

”I, Luo Chen, as President of the Luo Tian Society, stand here now to confirm and honor her contributions. As a reward, twenty bottles of top-grade Jade Essence pills, ten portions of essence nurturing liquid, three Spirit Passage pills, one complete second-tier water-element cultivation technique to be passed down as the Yuan family’s inheritance, and enchanted artifacts. Furthermore, the Yuan family shall retain fifty percent of the profits from the twenty newly opened spirit fields for life.”

Luo Chne’s tone was even and resolute, leaving no room for doubt. Each word was a formal seal, a final chapter to the life of Yuan Yuejiao, inscribed with fairness and honor. Especially her management of over four hundred spirit fields, which alone was an unquestionable feat. Even if she passed away now, those rewards would be delivered to her heir, Yuan Dongsheng.

As Luo Chen spoke, the dull haze in the old woman’s eyes slowly lifted, and a faint light began to glimmer within them like starlight.

When his voice dropped to a whisper, he said softly, ”Rest easy now. Danxia Peak’s spirit fields will continue to flourish year after year, and the Yuan family’s legacy will endure.”

He fell silent after that. Without looking back, he turned and left the room in quiet steps.

Behind him came the muffled sound of Yuan Dongsheng’s heartbroken sobs.

Outside, Murong Qinglian stood waiting. Luo Chen didn’t meet her eyes. His gaze lingered instead on the summer blooms still swaying gently in the breeze.

”Did you record everything?” Luo Chen asked.

Murong Qinglian nodded solemnly. ”Yes. Once the burial is complete, all rewards will be issued to Yuan Dongsheng.”

”Where’s the cemetery going to be?”

”I have discussed it with the director,” Murong Qinglian replied calmly. ”We plan to designate the rear side of Danxia Peak as our burial grounds. In the future, any cultivator who renders great service to the Luo Tian Society will be eligible for interment there after death.”

”Good,” Luo Chen nodded. ”You’ll handle the burial arrangements. I trust you.”

His gaze, which had been lingering idly on the blooming flowers, finally drifted back to the courtyard and the mourners gathered within it.

At the gate stood Xiugu, holding little Zeng Yilong’s hand, quietly weeping. She had always belonged to the Medicine Hall. First under the Poshan Gang, and later, after the founding of the Luo Tian Society. It was Granny Yuan who had once persuaded her to let go of her resentment toward Zeng Wen, paving the way for their marriage. Now, with Granny Yuan’s passing, no one grieved more deeply than Xiugu, except perhaps Yuan Dongsheng himself.

Yilong stood beside her, dazed and silent, his eyes fixed on the room where Granny Yuan had lain. He sucked on his finger without thinking, too young to understand, yet not untouched by the grief that filled the air.

Luo Chen waved. The boy broke free of Xiugu’s hand and trotted over.

”Come,” Luo Chen said softly. ”Let’s go play. Give your mother and the others some time.”

Yilong glanced back once. Xiugu forced a faint smile through her tears and gave him a small wave. The child smiled in return, wrapped his small fingers around Luo Chen’s larger hand, and followed him out of the yard.

As they walked down the mountain trail, the sound of crying slowly faded behind them. Ahead, Yilong skipped over stones, leapt from tree roots, and bounced up and down the path’s steps, his energy pure and bright, a stark contrast to the heaviness behind them.

”He’s six now, isn’t he?” Luo Chen murmured. ”By my count, he was born two years after I entered Foundation Establishment. I secluded myself for three years after that... and I’ve been in Tianlan Immortal City for another year.”

A quiet chill settled over Luo Chen’s heart.

When a person dies, what do they truly leave behind? Is it their bloodline, or the incense burned in remembrance? Or is it the few words that judge their life’s deeds and misdeeds? If he were to die, what would be left behind?

Suddenly—

”Xiaolong, what’s your dream when you grow up?”

Zeng Yilong dangled from a tree branch, his chubby frame swinging like a little pendulum. ”I wanna earn spirit stones and get a wife!”

”...Uh.” Luo Chen’s expression stiffened. ”Who taught you that?”

The boy nimbly flipped onto the branch and stood with ease, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ”Uncle Yuan taught me! He always told Granny Yuan he was gonna marry a wife, have kids, and pass on the Yuan family name!”

Luo Chen frowned. Whatever thought had crossed his mind slowly eased the crease between his brows.

He’s right. Everyone had their own dreams, their own goals.

Qu Lingjun, influenced by Luo Chen since his youth, had aspired to become a respected alchemist. Zeng Yilong had grown up in the care of women, constantly nurtured by the teachings Zeng Wen left before his death. Naturally, his ideals would be shaped by that. These were personal choices, and he had no right to interfere.

Then... what about himself?

Legacy, bloodlines, glory for the ages, none of these mattered to Luo Chen.

Longevity. Immortality. That was all that mattered.

There were still far too many wonders in this world he had yet to witness. A fleeting century of life, and it was far too short.

Drawing a deep breath, Luo Chen reached out and grabbed Zeng Yilong. ”You’ve been getting a little too wild lately! Can you read your characters yet? Have you studied your books?”

The boy pouted miserably as Luo Chen dragged him by the hand toward the Luo Tian Society’s Grand Hall atop Danxia Peak.

At that moment, Sima Huiniang, buried in her work, twitched at the sound of a sudden voice transmission.

”Come to me. Immediately!”came Luo Chen’s voice.