An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

As the Geng cultivators discussed amongst themselves, someone suddenly noticed a change in the formation protecting the fortress. The misty spirit light was changing from yellow to white!

”What’s going on?”

”Elder! The formation is turning on!”

”What’s going on?! We haven’t activated the formation’s offensive core!”

”It’s him! He’s seizing control of the formation!”

Panic broke out across the battlements. By the time they realized the truth, it was already far too late.

High above, Min Longyu guided the thirty-six formation flags with his spirit consciousness, fueling them with his spirit power. At the final moment, he pressed his hand onto an old, worn compass he often relied upon.

Staring down at the massive fortress beneath him, Min Longyu gave a quiet command: ”Reverse.”

In just a blink, the formation protecting the Geng family began to undergo strange changes. The glow that had shifted from yellow to white now darkened into pitch black. The once-clear sky seemed smothered beneath storm clouds. Within the fortress, several Geng cultivators sensed the danger and shot into the sky with powerful enchanted artifacts in hand.

A cold smile tugged at Min Longyu’s lips. With a flick of his finger, the formation stirred.

Whoosh!

From within the black mist, a ferocious, earth-colored long spear shot forth.

Swish!

In an instant, the foremost Geng cultivator was skewered through the chest. The sheer force behind the blow hurled him backward with unstoppable momentum. He crashed through a building inside the fortress and was driven deep into the ground like a nailed stake.

The brutal scene sent a jolt through the others. All the Geng cultivators who had been charging the formation came to an instinctive halt, their faces paling as the horror of what they’d just witnessed sank in.

”Watch out!” a sharp cry rang out.

By the time they snapped back to their senses, a chilling sight awaited them. Dozens of long spears hung suspended in the sky, each one radiating the same deadly energy as the first. Terror struck like lightning, and with souls nearly leaping from their bodies, the Geng cultivators scattered in every direction, fleeing in panic.

But how fast could Qi Refinement cultivators run?

At a wave of Min Longyu’s hand, the spears shot forth to reap lives.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In that instant, the sky above the Geng family fortress became a torrential downpour of spears. Screams of agony, curses, and pleas for mercy rang endlessly.

With calm precision, Min Longyu manipulated the inverted formation, reaping Geng family lives like stalks of grain at harvest.

A hundred years ago, he had not even been born. The story of the Min family of Danxia Peak, besieged for a year until they were starved to death, had been passed down to him by the elders. It was only after his return to Danxia Peak, when he reactivated the ancient family formation, that he began to question that history.

Given the Min family’s mastery of formations, if they could endure for one year, there was no reason they could not endure another. Once the major sect that supported the Min family reclaimed Tianlan Immortal City, their crisis should have resolved itself.

The true cause of the Min family’s fall lay in that narrow valley once visited by Geng Lie and Geng Shuzhen. From within, they had guided the enemy to the formation’s core and sabotaged its foundation.

That was originally just speculation, but the disappearance of all Min family mortals upon Min Longyu’s return, with the clues subtly pointing toward the Geng family, said enough.

Of course, it was all conjecture. But now, none of it mattered.

This was nothing more than a secondary goal. The true reason for the Geng family’s annihilation was that they had dared to provoke the Luo Tian Society.

”Who dares snore beside the lord’s bed?” Min Longyu muttered. ”You awakened the beast that is the Luo Tian Society, and still dreamed of sleeping in peace? Foolish!”

A cold laugh escaped his lips as his movements quickened and grew fierce. After the earthen spears came countless bricks and stones, rising into the air and merging into massive floating boulders. Those hiding in corners looked up at his figure in the sky, their very souls trembling with fear.

He’s a devil... a devil...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Time passed, though no one knew how long. Eventually, the fortress fell into utter silence.

”Elder Min? Elder Min!”

Min Longyu snapped out of his daze.

Behind him stood Murong Qinglian, her eyes filled with fear. ”What should we do now?”

He shook his head violently and looked at the ruined remnants of the Geng family fortress, his expression dark. After years of bitter cultivation and wandering, he had long harbored a suppressed fury in his heart. Now that he had reached Foundation Establishment and tasted real battle, the bloodlust overwhelmed him. Before he realized it, he had wiped out an entire family.

”Sorry... I think I might have gone too far...”

Murong Qinglian forced a smile, though it was more strained than reassuring. The devastation wrought by a formation master of his caliber was far more terrifying than she had ever imagined. Even a formidable Foundation Establishment grand cultivator could not have slaughtered the Geng family so effortlessly. At the very least, some would’ve made it out alive.

Min Longyu exhaled heavily. ”Go gather the resources. The formation’s damage targeted cultivators, so there should still be plenty left intact.”

”What about you?” she asked.

”Me?” Min Longyu straightened, his voice tinged with unease. ”I’ll return and confess to the president.”

Before they had set out, Luo Chen had warned them clearly not to indulge in excessive slaughter. Yet now, caught up in the heat of battle, Min Longyu had annihilated the Geng family utterly. All were gone, except the mortals.

He glanced at the fleeing mortals scattering in all directions, feeling a sense of emptiness.

After he departed, Murong Qinglian quickly led her people through the ruins to scavenge resources. As Min Longyu had said, the formation’s destruction relied mainly on earthen spears and falling stones, so much of the Geng family’s wealth remained intact.

Storage pouches, enchanted artifacts, spirit rice stockpiles, vast mineral reserves... Even their treasury held over a hundred thousand spirit stones. It seemed that in the years since the Min family’s fall, the Geng family had clearly flourished. Since they did not face any crushing pressure, they had kept accumulating wealth.

Murong Qinglian shook her head at the mountain of spirit stones now being packed into crates. Danxia Peak and Biyou Valley were practically handed over to the Geng family. It makes sense they’d accumulate such wealth. No, it’s still not enough. There should be more hidden in the storage pouches of Geng Lie and Geng Shuzhen.

As she muttered to herself, a subordinate came forward and whispered something.

”There are still surviving cultivators?”

Murong Qinglian hesitated briefly, then her expression turned cold and ruthless. ”Eliminate them. Leave no one alive.”

She had made up her mind. The Geng family’s territory was far too close to Danxia Peak. For a neighbor harboring ill intent, complete eradication was the only answer.

Min Longyu was not wrong to do what he did. The president is still too merciful, thought Murong Qinglian.

***

On Danxia Peak, Luo Chen idly toyed with several storage pouches in his hands. Those were the spoils of Hu Changxi, Dan Yuanzi, and the Geng siblings, which Min Longyu had already submitted. It was fortunate that Geng Shuzhen’s pouch had not been destroyed in the sudden eruption of groundfire.

Unfortunately, Min Longyu could keep none of it. Though his contributions had been great, the spirit stones used to activate the formation and draw on Danxia Peak’s spirit veins had all come from the Luo Tian Society’s coffer. Naturally, the spoils had to be handed in. Rewards would come later; for now, consolidation was the priority.

Outside, cultivators from the Merit Hall and Gold Hall were still bringing in supplies. Those Foundation Establishment cultivators who had attacked the Luo Tian Society were not wandering loners. They belonged to sects and families that had endured for decades, even centuries, and with time came wealth.

”Reporting in! The Danyuan Sect has fallen! Sky Eagle Peak has fallen! The Jade True Temple has fallen! The Geng family has fallen!”

One victory after another rolled in.

By the time Min Longyu returned, word of the Geng family’s destruction had already reached Luo Chen.

Even with so many victories, Luo Chen’s expression remained calm. With their enemies left leaderless, the Foundation Establishment experts had swept through the field unchallenged. That was only natural.

”Sky Eagle Peak got a little out of hand,” Zhou Yuanli reported gravely. ”Xing Zhonghan went too far. Not only did he wipe out every ninth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator of the Ying family, but he’s still hunting their low-tier disciples. President, won’t this cause trouble?”

Luo Chen’s tone was steady. ”It’s fine. He’s not one of ours. We’ll just distance ourselves afterward.”

Zhou Yuanli nodded immediately. Anyone who dared to go that far surely knew the price that came with it. The Luo Tian Society had already helped Xing Zhonghan get his revenge, and they owed him nothing. Severing ties couldn’t be considered betrayal, and he likely knew that too.

After Zhou Yuanli left, Min Longyu stepped forward to confess his mistake.

Hearing this first-hand account of the Geng family’s extermination, Luo Chen only sighed. ”What’s done is done.”

Min Longyu came to his senses belatedly, a tinge of concern rising in his chest. It wasn’t the fear of being branded a devil cultivator that troubled him; it was the possibility that he might bring serious trouble down upon the Luo Tian Society.

But Luo Chen shook his head. ”It’s not a big problem. Don’t dwell on it. But for the time being, unless I give the order, avoid acting alone.”

Though Min Longyu could not understand where Luo Chen’s confidence came from, he was moved that Luo Chen was willing to shoulder the pressure on his behalf.

Grateful yet curious, Min Longyu asked, ”President, what are we going to do next?”

”What do you mean, next?” Luo Chen replied with a question of his own.

Min Longyu scratched his head. ”The Hu family is being handled by the Li family. The Danyuan Sect, Sky Eagle Peak, the Jade True Temple, and the Geng family, we’ve taken care of. But there’s still one person left.”

His tone grew solemn. ”Lu Rong was an elder of the Divine Craftsman Sect. His death could stir up serious trouble.”

Luo Chen only smiled faintly. ”It’s not just Lu Rong. There’s also Wei Tuo of Xuchen Mountain. He offended me as well. And as far as I’m concerned, death doesn’t settle a debt.”

Min Longyu opened his mouth in shock. Is the president planning another major move?

From the pile of storage pouches, Luo Chen picked out Geng Shuzhen’s and handed it to him. ”This one counts as your personal spoils.”

”That doesn’t seem right...” Min Longyu said awkwardly. ”I only succeeded because I had the Luo Tian Society’s backing.”

”There’s nothing wrong with it. Everyone gets a share. Whatever remains will be thrown into the society’s vaults.”

Luo Chen tossed the pouch at Min Longyu. Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he paced slowly toward the entrance of the Grand Hall. His gaze stretched far across the mountains, his expression deep and unreadable.

From this point on, large-scale action was no longer appropriate. They had stirred up enough chaos. But because of Tantai Jin’s involvement, Luo Chen knew that everything so far remained within acceptable bounds. Now, the only thing left to do was wait!