An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Boss Hu scoffed. ”Relax, I’m not an idiot. We’ll let those guys charge in first. If a strong Initiate shows up, we’ll just back off.”

Together, they looked toward the group of Qi Refinement cultivators loitering outside the valley. The men were buzzing with excitement, eyes gleaming with anticipation at the prospect of a big score under the leadership of two Foundation Establishment seniors.

Kou Ji nodded, feeling somewhat reassured. Still, to be safe, he asked one more question. ”This convoy from the Luo Tian Society is supplying resources to the Ice Fortress, right? Wouldn’t attacking them offend a major sect?”

Boss Hu let out a dry laugh. ”Little Brother, you’re way too cautious. Even if they do feel offended, we’re on opposite sides to begin with. So what if they blame us?”

He grinned. ”If we seize this shipment, we’ll gain resources and earn a solid reward on the Sword Sect’s merit board. Let me tell you, cutting off logistics is the safest and most rewarding path to gaining merit!”

Kou Ji froze for a moment before conceding that the reasoning held. As he watched Boss Hu bask in smug self-satisfaction, he sneered inwardly. Well, from how smoothly you’re talking, you’ve clearly done your homework. You’ve probably thought this through better than I have. But either way, when the ambush starts, I’d better keep something in reserve. Call me a coward if you will, but I’d rather live.

”Alright, they’re about to pass through Heaven Pillar Peak. The terrain there is high. If they don’t want to detour, their flying boat will have to ascend, and that’s the perfect timing for us to strike!”

Boss Hu waved his hand grandly and gave the order to act. The group of Qi Refinement rogue cultivators he had dragged into this charged forward, full of excitement.

***

”In this day and age,” Luo Chen murmured, standing alone on the deck of the flying boat, ”Golden Core Adepts no longer uphold their status. Foundation Establishment Initiates are treated like cannon fodder, and rogue cultivators switch masks to become raiders at the drop of a hat.”

He was clad in his old, faded crimson Daoist robe with embroidered clouds, the fabric rippling slightly in the wind as the vessel cut through layers of actual clouds. ”We’ve truly lost the essence of what cultivation is meant to be.”

”President, why did you come out here?” Qin Liangchen approached, curiosity written all over his face.

”Nothing. Just needed some fresh air,” Luo Chen replied with a slight smile.

At that moment, he didn’t look like anything special. Though his cultivation had reached the sixth stage of Foundation Establishment, his aura had been suppressed to nearly nothing, due to the combined effect of Spirit Suppression at Perfected Mastery and Turtle Breath. Right now, he gave off the impression of an ordinary ninth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

Watching as the flying boat ascended, stirring the clouds and wind, Luo Chen suddenly asked, ”If we encounter a small group of Qi Refinement raiders on the road, what would you do?”

Qi Refinement? Qin Liangchen raised a brow, then laughed heartily. ”If that’s the case, there’s no need to talk about how I’d respond. It’d be their fault for not knowing who they’ve run into.”

He pointed at the hundred or so cultivators on the flying boat, along with the falcon-riders patrolling the skies around them. ”These are all Battle Palace cultivators trained to fight from the backs of falcons. None of them is weak. The cultivators I brought from the Outer Hall are all late-stage Qi Refinement experts. If ordinary raiders cross our path, it’ll be like throwing eggs at a boulder.”

He smirked, tapping the hilt of his weapon. ”Besides, I may have failed to establish a foundation, but I’m still a peak Qi Refinement cultivator. I’m not afraid of some nobodies!”

There was no mistaking the confidence in his voice! Luo Chen’s eyes lit up slightly as he nodded to himself in approval. Although Qin Liangchen had failed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, his Dao companion’s success had restored much of his cheerful and optimistic spirit.

After overseeing the Outer Hall for quite some time, he had become increasingly confident. If not for his physical shortcomings, that kind of mindset would have made him a strong candidate for Foundation Establishment.

Just as Qin Liangchen was about to speak again, his expression shifted slightly. The next moment, as he spotted over a dozen Qi Refinement cultivators swarming in from a distance, he looked at Luo Chen in surprise. ”You noticed this earlier?”

Luo Chen smiled and nodded. ”Go on. I’ll hold the line behind you.”

Qin Liangchen sighed and summoned a golden warhammer into his hand before soaring into the sky. Behind him came Luo Chen’s voice, laced with laughter. ”No need to waste words on them. Just kill them outright.”

”Got it!” Qin Liangchen responded with a shout.

”Cultivators of the Luo Tian Society, prepare for battle!”

In the next instant, streaks of cultivators from the flying boat rose into the sky, riding the wind through Wind-Control. The dozen or so raiders rushing toward them couldn’t help but flinch at the sight, their eyelids twitching as the wave of opposition rose to meet them. Still, they weren’t too rattled. After all, they had two Initiates behind them. That was more than enough.

One of the more seasoned among them, a ninth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, recalled Boss Hu’s orders to test the waters first. They needed to know if the enemy’s flying boat carried Initiate guardians.

”We are cultivators of the Flame Alliance,” he began loudly as he flew forward. ”We humbly request the Foundation Establishment senior...”

Before he could finish, his face turned ghostly pale—the man leading the Luo Tian Society group didn’t even bother listening!

Of course, since Qin Liangchen had been ordered to kill on sight, then he would kill on sight! Under his command, the cultivators of the Luo Tian Society surged forward like wolves and tigers. Enchanted artifacts and talismans poured down like a rainstorm.

”Wait—no—Let’s talk! Why are you being so unreasonable?!”

The raiders panicked, scattering as they fled while crying for mercy, looking so pitiful it almost seemed like they were the ones being ambushed.

Qin Liangchen ignored their attempts to talk and simply ordered his men to strike them down without mercy. His warhammer struck with brutal precision, each blow causing blood to burst out in midair.

Bang!

One raider at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement Realm barely escaped the encirclement. He cried out in despair, ”Senior Hu! Why are you not acting?!”

A sigh echoed from the nearby valley; then, two figures emerged, riding the clouds. Seeing this, the raider let out a breath of relief, elation blooming on his face.

But that joy had no time to settle.

A crescent arc of light shimmered past his neck like the hand of a ghost. The next moment, he saw his own headless body falling down.

On the deck of the flying boat, Luo Chen raised an eyebrow as he looked at Yuan Xiaoyue, who was standing at the bow looking somewhat pale. ”Not bad, not bad. Caiyi taught you that?”

That brutal, head-lopping maneuver had been one of Luo Chen’s signature moves back during his Qi Refinement days. It was indeed ruthless, but effective. Only a handful who truly knew him had learned that style, and Gu Caiyi was among them.

Yuan Xiaoyue caught the crescent light, revealing it to be a curved blade. She offered a shy smile. ”The palace leader did teach me quite a bit... but really, I only managed it because I caught him off guard.”

Luo Chen chuckled and shook his head. ”To take down a ninth-stage Qi Refinement cultivator while you’re only at the eighth stage? Even if it was a surprise attack, that’s still impressive.”

The mood on the flying boat remained light, laughter lingering in the air. Meanwhile, over in the nearby valley, Boss Hu and Kou Ji were far from amused. Truth be told, they couldn’t care less about that band of rabble dying; in fact, they had even planned to kill those pawns themselves after the job, to avoid splitting the spoils. But killing them personally and having someone else do it were two very different things. That eighth-stage Qi Refinement girl had just humiliated them.

”That little bitch... Once she falls into my hands, I’ll make sure she regrets it,” Boss Hu muttered darkly, his glare locked on Yuan Xiaoyue. Then he turned toward Qin Liangchen, and his brow furrowed.

Strange... Why isn’t he afraid in the slightest after seeing two Initiates?

Qin Liangchen finished off the last of the scattered raiders and turned to face them. He said calmly, ”I don’t believe I’ve caught your names, seniors. What is it that you want?”

Boss Hu sneered, ”Foolish junior, you killed someone dear to me. You have to pay the price in lives and cargo, so how about you stay right there?”

As he spoke, his flying sword appeared in his hand, poised to strike.

The very next instant, an overwhelming surge of aura erupted from the distant flying boat, shooting skyward like a pillar.

Boss Hu’s face changed in a flash, paling in horror! ”A grand cultivator!”

The words had barely left his mouth before he spun around and bolted. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Kou Ji had already taken off, even faster than him.

”Damn bastard!” Boss Hu cursed under his breath, terror hammering in his chest as he followed.

The Luo Tian Society is just some upstart force that’s appeared in Tianlan Immortal City in the past decade. How could they possibly have a late-stage Initiate in their ranks? People like that are leagues beyond us! We haven’t even managed to hurt a single one of them. Surely they won’t bother chasing us down... right?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a blinding surge of sword light erupted up ahead.

”Ah......” Kou Ji, the one who had fled first, only managed half a scream before he was consumed by the light. Blood and flesh sprayed in every direction; some of it even splattered directly across Boss Hu’s stunned face.

Then came the voice, light and casual. ”You’ve come all this way... Why leave so soon? Fellow Daoist, how about you stay right there?”