An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Outside Luo Chen’s cave residence, there was a pavilion surrounded by flowers, built years ago by Ling Yuzhi; the breeze carried the faint scent of spirit blossoms. It was a quaint structure intended as a place to entertain guests. Sadly, all those ornamental plants in the spirit field were bound to be replaced by less pretty but more profitable spirit plants. But since Yuan Dongsheng was still gathering spirit plant seeds for Luo Chen, the exotic flowers and herbs were still there for now. It conveniently provided a nice spot for Luo Chen to receive guests.

On the table before them lay fine wine, rare delicacies, and carefully prepared snacks. Even for Foundation Establishment cultivators who no longer needed food to sustain themselves, such temptations were hard to resist.

Chu Kui set down his wine cup and smacked his lips with satisfaction. “When did you move up here?”

“About half a month ago. It was a bit rushed, so I didn’t get a chance to pay you a proper visit.”

“Well, it’s good that you didn’t,” Chu Kui said, jabbing a thumb toward the horizon. “I’ve been busy outside the city lately.”

Outside?

Luo Chen narrowed his eyes. Chu Kui usually didn’t leave the city much, so this was rather odd. He asked cautiously, “Did you take on a job?”

Chu Kui grinned. “I did! At the auction, I ran into a few fellow Daoists facing some business trouble. They pooled their spirit stones and hired me to help resolve it. You know me. I’ve always lent a hand to people in need. In the cultivation world, they call me the number one Rainmaker[1] of Tianlan!”

Luo Chen nearly burst out laughing.

The number one Rainmaker of Tianlan?

Back in Dahe Market, he had once proudly declared himself the Rainmaker, too.

He chuckled and shook his head, but a thought flickered in his mind. What kind of trouble would require hiring Chu Kui and needing to pool money together? It must have been a hefty sum!

“Looks like you’ve had quite a harvest from it!”

“Not bad, not bad. I can now extend my stay in this top-grade cave residence for a while longer,” Chu Kui spoke with a proud look on his face.

It was part boast, part show of strength.

Luo Chen smiled but didn’t comment. From the way the other man acted, it was clear he wanted to win Luo Chen over as a client.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Luo Chen did not need Chu Kui’s services. Moreover, he didn’t have enough money on hand to hire him, even if he wanted to!

Seeing that Luo Chen only smiled without replying, Chu Kui’s excitement gradually cooled. The smug expression he wore earlier faded, replaced by a more inquisitive look.

He studied Luo Chen for a moment, then asked tentatively, “You’ve also been practicing Physique Refinement techniques on the side?”

“Just dabbling,” Luo Chen replied with practiced modesty, waving his hand casually.

Chu Kui shook his head. “It doesn’t look like just dabbling. Your foundation seems pretty solid.”

Well, how could it not be? From the start, Luo Chen had ensured a constant supply of spirit rice and demonic beast meat for his body. Later, he’d poured in essence-nurturing liquid and Golden Jade liquid without interruption. Moreover, while at Taishan Market, he’d even traded with Kang Dongyue for a huge batch of supreme-grade Golden Jade liquid, and he’d been using it steadily for three full years!

Even now, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he could survive on minimal food intake. But Luo Chen still enjoyed three meals a day, never skipping on the demonic beast meat and high-quality spirit rice. This body of his was not tempered quite as rigorously as Wang Yuan’s, but thanks to the sheer amount of spirit stones invested into it, it was not too far off.

Luo Chen gave a reserved smile and changed the subject. He picked a topic he thought the other man would surely know about and be eager to discuss.

“Before the auction, I heard the Sword Sect’s True Inheritor and the Falling Cloud Sect’s True Inheritor had a battle on the Debate Platform?”

“That’s right, they fought!” Chu Kui’s eyes lit up.

As expected, mention of the Debate Platform instantly piqued Chu Kui’s interest. He was a regular there, after all.

“I heard the Falling Cloud Sect’s True Inheritor won that one, though,” Luo Chen said in confusion. “Aren’t sword cultivators supposed to be invincible at the same level? They’re famous for dominating the Jade Cauldron Domain with their battle prowess, so how could that guy lose? And to someone of a lower realm, no less?”

“Pfft, that depends on the battle environment!” Chu Kui scoffed, dismissive of sword cultivators. “And it also depends on who the opponent is!”

Luo Chen pressed, “I only know that the sword cultivator is at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, someone named Meng Ziqi. They say his swordsmanship is superb, and he even got the True Inheritor position at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. He can’t be weak, right?”

“He isn’t weak at all,” Chu Kui said, “but the one he challenged is even less so.”

Luo Chen’s interest was thoroughly piqued. “Wasn’t Falling Cloud Sect’s True Inheritor only at the third stage of Foundation Establishment?”

“Indeed he is. And his name is Han Zheng!”

Luo Chen subconsciously drew in a sharp breath. That guy!

He had only heard from Sima Huiniang that there had been such a battle, but hadn’t known who the Falling Cloud Sect’s fighter was. That person had deliberately hidden their name at the time.

Now, he knew why. Han Zheng’s name was so renowned across the Jade Cauldron Domain that every random passerby had heard of him. He’d been number one on the Elite Prodigy Board rankings even back in the Qi Refinement Realm. Dozens of battles, and he’d never lost a single one.

Han Zheng even fought Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators as a Qi Refinement cultivator, achieving three wins and five losses. This was an absolutely incredible feat. Although they were just sparring matches on the Debate Platform, not life-or-death duels, it was still awe-inspiring.

Luo Chen thought to himself that, back when he was in the Qi Refinement Realm, he would never have stood a chance against a Foundation Establishment Initiate in a head-on fight.

As Luo Chen marveled, Chu Kui continued, “This Han Zheng was not an easy opponent. Even in the Qi Refinement Realm, he had already been earmarked as the Falling Cloud Sect’s True Inheritor. Although he’s only at the third stage of Foundation Establishment now, among the puppets he controls, there’s actually a late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic puppet!

“That Meng Ziqi was so arrogant, he let the others pick the battle environment. So Han Zheng chose a jungle battlefield full of obstacles, and first wore him down with numerous low-tier puppets before suddenly taking out the late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic puppet to land a decisive blow. Not only did Meng Ziqi fail to bring glory to his sect, but he also cemented Han Zheng’s reputation for fighting across tiers and added to the Falling Cloud Sect’s prestige!”

Chu Kui, as a late stage Foundation Establishment grand cultivator, had also made a name for himself on the Debate Platform in Tianlan Immortal City. Now, he was talking about a battle between an early-stage and a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet his tone was filled with admiration and praise.

Looking at him, Luo Chen thought that, given Chu Kui’s years on the Debate Platform, he must have crossed blades with plenty of sect disciples. Meanwhile, if he were to be honest, Luo Chen himself had never actually fought a top-tier sect disciple before. He made a mental note that he could consult Chu Kui more on this in the future.

“I can’t believe he can control a late-stage Foundation Establishment puppet while he’s still in the early stage. That means Han Zheng’s divine soul foundation must be incredibly strong!”

Chu Kui nodded. His tone was full of admiration as he replied, “Falling Cloud Sect disciples are like that. Their divine souls are generally stronger than their peers’, and Han Zheng is exceptional even among them. At the third stage, his divine soul is comparable to that of late-stage cultivators. He’s probably cultivated the Divine Soul Extension to an extremely high level.”

Luo Chen blinked. “Divine Soul Extension?”

“Fellow Daoist, you mean you’ve never heard of it?” Chu Kui asked in surprise. “Apparently, it was obtained by the Falling Cloud Sect’s Grand Elder Han Zhan from an ancient secret realm. With this technique, his divine soul became practically unparalleled. He instantly became an absolute master of puppetry, and he even directly broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm!”

Luo Chen was truly shocked this time.

A spell that strengthened the divine soul! It could grant Han Zheng a divine soul foundation equivalent to that of late-stage Foundation Establishment while his cultivation was in the early stages! And it could even allow Han Zhan to leap straight into the Nascent Soul Realm!

He had a divine soul technique too, none other than the Divine Breaker of Malevolence. However, that had been created by a mere martial arts grandmaster, and even after mastering it, its effects on divine soul cultivation were nothing to write home about.

The main reason his own divine soul foundation now was on par with Han Zheng’s was that, back in the Qi Refinement Realm, he had survived a Heart Tribulation and subsequently taken over a hundred Spirit Passage pills. With such a solid foundation, he had been able to reach mid stage Foundation Establishment upon breaking through. And even so, it had still required the Divine Ghost Heartmirror to advance to late stage Foundation Establishment.

Chu Kui didn’t notice Luo Chen’s shock. He simply sighed with envy. “If only I could learn that... When the time comes for the Golden Core Realm, that’s when the divine soul foundation is truly tested.”

“Who wouldn’t want that?” Luo Chen replied, his tone tinged with envy too. He had instantly caught the unintended slip of information in Chu Kui’s words. “Core Formation really tests the divine soul foundation?”

Chu Kui’s expression shifted slightly, and he fell silent. Their relationship wasn’t close enough for him to share such precious knowledge for free.

Luo Chen felt a bit disappointed and realized he had come across as overly eager.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the flower pavilion turned a bit awkward. Silence ensued.

Suddenly, the two of them raised their heads at almost the same moment and looked toward the mountain’s base.

A faint aura was slowly rising, growing stronger and stronger.

Huh?

Chu Kui uttered a soft sound of surprise, then turned his head in shock to look at Luo Chen. He sensed what was happening down there just a moment after I did? What a powerful divine soul foundation!

Luo Chen ignored that and rose to his feet.

“Sorry, I just can’t drink again today,” he said with a sigh.

What do you mean, again?

Chu Kui was stunned. “Don’t tell me the one about to break through to Foundation Establishment down there is also your subordinate?”

He recalled that a year ago, there had been a cultivator named Duan Feng, one of Luo Tian Society’s Hall Leaders, who had established his foundation not far from here.

Luo Chen was about to reply, but his expression suddenly shifted. Chu Kui’s expression also turned peculiar.

Because, from the foot of the mountain, yet another fresh Foundation Establishment-level energy flow could be sensed.

This time, even Luo Chen was a little bewildered.

1. In this context, “Rainmaker” is used as a nickname, drawing from an older cultural image where rainmakers were seen as godlike figures as they could summon rain to save drought-stricken lands. In this context, the term carries a playful yet boastful undertone, implying someone who steps in at the perfect moment to “save the day” or provide what others desperately need, whether that be spiritual resources, favors, or life-saving assistance. ☜