An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Flaming clouds rolled across the sky, stretching for a thousand miles in every direction, dyeing the heavens in shades of scarlet and gold. Even from a distance, the air felt so scorched and hot that it seemed it could burn the hair from one’s skin.

Amid the chaos of the training field, Chu Kui looked at Luo Chen with unreserved admiration. ”Your artifact control skills are truly profound. Did you learn something from Dan Yangzi during the Dao Scion competition?”

Luo Chen gave a small nod. ”That was where the inspiration came from. After returning, I studied the manuals myself and created my own method.”

Chu Kui let out a low whistle of praise. ”Not bad at all. The power isn’t any weaker than Dan Yangzi’s. Looks like your mastery over spellcraft really does live up to your reputation.”

Luo Chen furrowed his brows and asked, ”That’s it? Didn’t you say your sparring services included feedback pointing out flaws, ways to improve, that sort of thing? I don’t believe I’ve mastered this technique flawlessly on my first attempt.”

Chu Kui let out a hearty laugh before steadying himself, his expression shifting as his tone grew solemn. He turned to Luo Chen and spoke with genuine conviction, ”I could tell you were holding back. Even so, your skills are extraordinary. If you unleashed your full strength, I suspect that even some late-stage Initiates would find themselves at a disadvantage against you.”

Luo Chen didn’t deny it and nodded directly. It was just a sparring match, and he had no reason to exhaust his trump cards or go all out. That previous bout had involved at most thirty percent of his strength.

Chu Kui’s tone shifted as a frown settled on his face, and his gaze fixed on Luo Chen. “But with that said, I have, in fact, noticed a flaw in your approach.”

Luo Chen raised his brows slightly. “Hmm?”

“Strictly speaking, it isn’t a flaw,” Chu Kui continued, “but you haven’t been using your strengths to their full effect.”

”Explain in detail,” Luo Chen listened attentively, without the slightest irritation.

Chu Kui gestured toward the faint traces of fire-element spirit energy that still lingered across the training ground. “You’ve focused too much on the explosive power of fire-element spells. Although you have reached an exceptional level, fire isn’t your true strength. From what I can see, your spirit power is primarily wood-element. With spells of the same tier, your offensive power would likely be several times greater if you relied on wood-element spells. You’ve been on the wrong path since your Qi Refinement days.”

After hearing this, Luo Chen, who had initially brushed off such concerns, now felt a weight sink in his chest. What Chu Kui said was true. His cultivation techniques had always been rooted in the wood element—Long Spring Art, Yi Wood Medicine King Codex, and Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra. Step by step, he had carried them to Perfected Mastery, and as a result, his spirit power was dense and pure.

Yet in actual combat, his methods had always revolved around fire, with spells such as Fireball, Solar Flare, and Landslide forming the core of his arsenal. Even his main enchanted treasure was the Mystic Flame Sword!

From the outside, he definitely appeared utterly misaligned. The thought left Luo Chen with a bitter taste. He had doubted himself once or twice in the past, yet fire spells had never seemed problematic. Their destructive force was undeniable, and so he had set the matter aside. Now that Chu Kui had spoken so plainly, he found himself unable to offer a proper solution.

”Brother Chu, do you have any suggestions?” Luo Chen asked sincerely.

Chu Kui responded without hesitation. “Either you strengthen your wood-element spells, or you shift toward a fire-element path, perhaps even a dual cultivation method combining both wood and fire.”

The first option was not impossible. Luo Chen already possessed several wood-element spells—Entangle, Heal, Spring Wind Rain Transformation, and the newly learned Flower Fairy. The problem was that most of them leaned toward support rather than offense, leaving his combat abilities lacking. The purity of his wood-element spirit power made the support effects of those spells exceptional, yet when it came to rounding out a proper wood-element combat toolkit, the options were limited. Wood-element arts had never been known for their offensive strength.

The second option was even less feasible. Having cultivated the Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra to the Grandmaster level, how could he so easily abandon his core cultivation art? Wouldn’t that mean giving up the Great Dao altogether?

For the moment, it seemed like there was no perfect solution.

Chu Kui patted Luo Chen on the shoulder. “There’s no need to dwell on it. With your current abilities, you already dominate among your peers. Sometimes it is better to magnify strengths than to patch up weaknesses. If your fire arts grow so powerful that no one can match you, who cares about a few misalignments? Besides, most Foundation Establishment cultivators rely on external enchanted artifacts in battle. Spells alone rarely determine the outcome.”

Luo Chen answered with a quiet hum of acknowledgment before thanking him with genuine sincerity. His path might have veered off, but trying to force it back would only waste time and energy. In truth, he had never been given much choice. All he could do was maximize what was already in his grasp.

If he could refine his control over artifacts to the point of mastery, then with the Mystic Flame Sword supported by fire-element spells, he would certainly command enough strength to withstand any Initiate. He might not achieve true invincibility, but that was good enough. After all, his fire-element spells only lacked elemental amplification from his spirit power, but in terms of power, they were on par with or even exceeded those of cultivators with a fire spirit root!

After agreeing on the timing of their next training session, Luo Chen returned home. With Gu Caiyi recovered and the Divine Ghost Heartmirror under preliminary control, he suddenly found himself with ample free time outside of alchemy and cultivation. He already knew how that time would be spent. He would dedicate it entirely to sharpening his combat capabilities.

Through repeated simulations, he had witnessed how the civil war within the Jade Cauldron Domain would continue to escalate. If chaos was inevitable, then survival left only one choice. He would have to become strong enough to endure it.

***

Time continued to pass. Several months later, within a second-tier, low-grade cave residence, Luo Chen stood before Gu Caiyi. One by one, he laid out the spirit medicines he had prepared for her Foundation Establishment attempt. There was top-grade revitalization liquid, high-quality Glazed Balm, top-tier second-grade meridian protection pills, calming incense, and even a portion of Imperial Nectar infused with profound yin qi.

Gu Caiyi’s eyes widened at the dazzling array of resources. She couldn’t help but exclaim, ”Even the disciples of major sects wouldn’t have access to this kind of support when attempting Foundation Establishment!”

Luo Chen paused, then chuckled softly. She wasn’t wrong. Back when he attempted Foundation Establishment, he had nowhere near these kinds of resources; he had been forced to make do with ordinary revitalization liquid and common calming incense. Even the second-grade spirit land had to be forcibly constructed using the Ice-Fire Spirit Spring of Xiaohuan Mountain, along with formations and spirit stones. That breakthrough had been achieved purely by brute-forcing five sets of Foundation Establishment spirit medicines.

But Gu Caiyi was different. In addition to these resources, she had read through all the Foundation Establishment insights written by the Luo Tian Society’s Initiates. Not only that, Luo Chen had personally helped adjust her meridians and demonstrated the entire Foundation Establishment process several times.

He had even used the Divine Ghost Heartmirror to let her simulate the experience herself. With such thorough preparation, forget True Inheritors of major sects, even core disciples of Nascent Soul sects at the Qi Refinement Realm wouldn’t have access to such conditions.

”If I still fail after all this,” Gu Caiyi said with a playful grin, ”I might as well find a rock and smash myself to death with it!”

Luo Chen ruffled her hair, smiling. ”Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Whether you succeed or not, I’ll still take care of you.”

”Hmph, I don’t need you to take care of me,” Gu Caiyi huffed and lifted her graceful neck in defiance.

Though she said that, she still took Luo Chen’s hand and whispered, ”Thank you.”

”It’s nothing. As the old saying goes, when one rises to the Dao, even the dogs and chickens ascend with them. I may not have attained the Dao yet, but looking after you is well within my means.”

He released her hand and took a step back. ”Alright, enough overthinking. Clear your mind, focus your thoughts, and go prepare for your breakthrough.”

Just as he turned to leave, he felt a soft sensation at his back. Gu Caiyi had wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her cheek to his back. ”Wait for me to come out.”

“Mhm.”

She released him, and he stepped out of the cave residence. Pausing at the threshold, Luo Chen waved back at her. With a dull crack, the Dragon-Severing Stone descended, sealing the entrance shut.

It wasn’t that he doubted Gu Caiyi’s success; he had full confidence in her. But each time he witnessed this moment, it stirred something strange in him. Each time felt like a parting, as though he were watching someone vanish into another world.

Right now, it was merely Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment. In the future, once he reached the Golden Core or Nascent Soul Realm, a single seclusion might last decades. By the time he emerged, how many friends and loved ones would still remain?

That was why, in his younger days, he had always hesitated to grow attached. Those who couldn’t keep pace would eventually be left behind, even if he never intended to abandon them. Perhaps one day, he might walk out of seclusion and be greeted not by a warm smile, but a quiet grave.

He looked back once more at the sealed stone. Let it go smoothly. Please... let everything go smoothly.

***

High atop the summit of Tianlan Peak, the wind swept briskly through the air while the sky stretched vast and unending. Beneath a weathered pine, two cultivators sat side by side, drinking leisurely from a small wine gourd. Each sip sent a gentle warmth down their throats as their conversation drifted between cultivation insights, light and unhurried like the clouds above.

In the early days, Luo Chen had paid Chu Kui generously for sparring sessions. Over time, however, Chu Kui found less to teach, and the generous payments weighed heavily on his conscience. That sparring fee began to feel undeserved, so he occasionally shared his late-stage Foundation Establishment insights as compensation.

“Do you remember when I told you the divine soul foundation is crucial for forming the core?” Chu Kui asked, swirling the wine in his cup. ”I wasn’t just spouting random bullshit. It’s actually true. According to rumors, there are three paths to go about core formation, and methods of the highest level rely entirely on the power of the divine soul.”

He chuckled, then added, ”Think of it like alchemy. When forming pills, you alchemists use spirit power to manipulate refined medicinal essence across the air and mold it into a pill, right? Well, forming a core isn’t much different. The only difference is that, instead of spirit power, you use your divine soul. And instead of medicinal essence, you mold spirit energy.”

Luo Chen’s brows rose. He hadn’t expected such a reasonable analogy.

Chu Kui shrugged. “I heard it somewhere. Believe it or not, it’s up to you. But I feel there’s truth in it. Adepts condense all of their power into a single nucleus, apparently. If an Initiate manages to mold all the liquified spirit energy in their sea of qi into one such nucleus, won’t that count as forming a core?”

Luo Chen fell into deep thought. After a short while, he generated some droplets of liquefied spirit energy before Chu Kui, attempting to merge them into one.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

At first, it was easy, but once he reached nine drops, it became increasingly difficult. He could sense that he was slowly losing control.

”Stop right there,” Chu Kui warned him, shaking his head. ”You think I haven’t tried that before? It doesn’t work. That is the Upper Path. You really think it’d be that easy?

”The Lower Path of Core Formation is the opposite: you first condense a smaller Golden Core, then gradually merge the rest of the spirit energy from the sea of qi into it to finally achieve the Golden Core level!”

A golden core rolling, bobbing in the sea of qi? Luo Chen’s brow furrowed.

At this point, he brought up a new concept. ”This Lower Path often results in a unique realm known as the Pseudo-Golden Core Realm.”

Luo Chen raised his brows. ”Pseudo-Golden Core Realm?”

”Exactly!” Chu Kui pointed toward Tianlan Peak, but his words turned toward a certain cultivator atop Peach Mountain. ”Xuan Yu of Peach Mountain tried a method of the Lower Path and failed, he’s currently stuck in the Pseudo-Golden Core Realm.

”Of course, that realm is still technically Perfected Mastery Foundation Establishment Realm, just a bit stronger than usual. However, the consequences are serious. If he wants to try to form a core again, it’ll be even harder.”

Luo Chen withdrew the spirit liquid back into his body. He kept pondering on what he’d heard—Perfected Mastery of Foundation Establishment, Pseudo-Golden Core, and Golden Core. Yet in his thoughts surfaced a paragraph from the Dao Revelation of Nanshan, which described three distinct paths to forming a core. Because of that specific paragraph, he had assumed the differences appeared only after the core was complete, and he’d never expected the Lower Path to produce something like the Pseudo-Golden Core Realm.[1]

“Alright, that’s enough for today. Don’t come looking for me to spar again. I’ve got nothing left to teach you,” Chu Kui said as he rose to his feet.

Luo Chen looked up at him with a smile. “How could that be? Brother Chu, your skills are extraordinary. If you ask me, you surpass Dan Yangzi, and I still have much to learn from you.”

Chu Kui curled his lip. He could enjoy other kinds of praise, but when it came to strength, no one knew better than him where he truly stood. Indeed, Dan Yangzi of Green Pill Valley wasn’t particularly formidable in his eyes, but that was assuming he didn’t use that blasted Violet Skyfire.

Stretching with a yawn, Chu Kui said, ”It’s not that I don’t want to teach you. I’m heading out soon and don’t have time to spar.”

“Going far, eh?”Luo Chen asked instinctively, then quickly added, ”I mean, sorry, I’m guessing you’ve taken on a big job again?”

Chu Kui sighed. ”Not this time. It’s not a job. Well, it is not exactly a secret. I plan to try my luck on the Jilei Nine Mountain battlefield and see if I can gather anything useful for Core Formation.”

Luo Chen was surprised. ”The Jilei Nine Mountain battlefield? Brother Chu, you’re stepping into that mess too? As a rogue cultivator, no one is in a position to force you, so... how come?”

A gust of wind carrying the scent of damp stone and pine needles ruffled the thick black hair that fell along Chu Kui’s back. A rare trace of self-mockery showed in the curve of his mouth. ”Yes, rogue cultivators live freely, but behind that freedom is hardship only we know. Back in the day, I could get by with occasional work, but after reaching the ninth stage? Things are way different. Right now, only Core Formation resources can move me. I have to take action for the sake of my future.”

This time, he was going to war. Not for anyone else, but for himself. How could Luo Chen not understand the struggle of rogue cultivators? He had gone through it himself.

Luo Chen thought for a moment, then asked, ”Which side are you joining?”

With a grin that flashed fierce determination, Chu Kui answered, “Whoever pays more and gives better rewards, I’ll fight for them. If strength allows, I’ll help any of the Luo Tian Society cultivators I encounter. So, how much are you willing to pay me?”

Luo Chen froze, then cursed aloud. ”Get lost!”

Chu Kui laughed heartily and walked away. After he left, Luo Chen felt an unexpected emptiness in his heart. Though their relationship had started with mutual interests, over the years they had become something like mentor and disciple, friend and friend. And now, a mentor and a friend was willingly throwing himself into the mire of war.

Just like the simulations in the Divine Ghost Heartmirror, Luo Chen thought grimly. This war won’t stop until it swallows everyone in the Jade Cauldron Domain. I wonder... how much longer I can enjoy peace.

1. The paragraph is quoted in chapter 489. ☜