An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Luo Chen continued his research into using lightning to open his acupoints. After all, the battles on the frontlines had nothing to do with him. The Four-Sect Alliance’s determination to defend the sixth mountain was obvious, but unless they truly ran out of people, the Luo Tian Society would likely remain undeployed.

Several days later, Luo Chen sat cross-legged among the Thunderstruck Tree grove. Faint threads lightning snaked across his body, drawn by the lightning net. For an ordinary Initiate, the sensation would have been unbearable, like venomous serpents sinking their fangs into flesh. However, Luo Chen’s physique was far from ordinary. Years of cultivating using the Eternal Youth Evergreen Sutra had granted him exceptional vitality and regenerative strength.

This level of lightning posed no threat to him. Instead, he used his refined fiend qi control to direct these weak strands of lightning to strike the thin spirit membranes blocking his acupoints. With his eyes closed, he focused his spirit consciousness inward, observing every subtle change within his body. Under his careful control, a streak of lightning pierced one of the membranes like a sharp needle.

Suddenly, a low groan escaped Luo Chen’s throat, and his eyes flicked open. Joy bloomed in his gaze like spring after frost.

”It works! It really works! I may not be able to control lightning or cultivate with it, but using lightning to open my acupoints is entirely feasible. In the end, fiend qi and lightning are both forms of energy. If I can control one, then I can certainly control the other, at least briefly. Still, I need to be careful. Too much lightning at once would damage my body, and that would be disastrous.”

With that, Luo Chen ended his cultivation session for the day. Just as he emerged from the Thunderstruck Tree grove, Xu Haizhen rushed toward him.

”President, Adept Ruthless requests your presence!”

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. What does she want from me?

He was right to be surprised. Since their brief meeting on Golden Sand Floating Island, she had returned to the sixth mountain without another word to him. He had expected things to grow distant; after all, she was likely still displeased with how he’d used Adept Moonshade to pressure her.

However, Luo Chen had no regrets. If he hadn’t done that, the Luo Tian Society would have been the ones thrown onto the front lines by now. So much for their current peace—they would’ve been swimming in blood and ash, not enjoying this peaceful vacation. In fact, the Luo Tian Society was living more comfortably these days than some of the inner disciples of the Ice Fortress!

”Well, if she wants to see me, then I’ll go,” Luo Chen said with a chuckle.

With no further delay, he turned and made his way toward her camp.

***

Inside the tent, Fairy Ruthless watched him with a cold expression before speaking in a low voice. ”You seem to be living quite well these days.”

Luo Chen offered her a respectful bow, hands cupped in greeting. ”It is all thanks to your care, Adept.”

Fairy Ruthless gave the faintest twitch of her lips but said nothing. From her perspective, Luo Chen would have been better off never coming to the Jilei Nine Mountains. As for the Luo Tian Society cultivators, they were just cannon fodder in her eyes, not worth the effort.

”I heard you’ve been looking for a large quantity of second-tier Earth Fire Fiend Qi,” she said abruptly.

Luo Chen’s heart stirred, and he nodded without hesitation.

”I happen to have quite the stockpile, roughly five hundred portions. Do you want them?”

A spark of joy lit Luo Chen’s face. Of course, he wanted them. How could he not? Although his experiments with lightning had proven effective for opening acupoints, his control over it was not quite there yet. Each session left behind injuries that required extensive healing afterward. On the other hand, Earth Fire Fiend Qi was something he could manipulate with complete confidence. Why struggle through danger when a safer and more efficient method lay before him?

”That would be indeed appreciated, Adept. How many spirit stones?”

”Just pay the standard rate from Golden Sand Floating Island,” Fairy Ruthless replied. ”Oh, and the gourd that holds the fiend qi is a top-grade enchanted artifact. Add another five thousand for that.”

”Of course.” Luo Chen nodded and produced thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch, handing them over without complaint.

This was a proper trade, not a favor. Still, he appreciated that Fairy Ruthless had taken the initiative to consider his needs and offer the deal herself.

Fairy Ruthless watched Luo Chen happily tuck away the gourd full of fiend qi and let out an inexplicable sigh. She looked as though she wanted to speak, yet in the end, no words escaped her lips.

Noticing her hesitation, Luo Chen asked quietly, ”Adept, is there something else?”

Fairy Ruthless paused for a while before finally speaking, ”In six months, you all will return.”

Luo Chen froze. He was about to object until something clicked.

”You all?” he asked cautiously. ”Do you mean all of Luo Tian Society?”

”Yes, but it’s not a dismissal. You’ll be transferred to the rear lines. From there, your people will handle logistics and supply routes. More importantly, you’ll keep an eye on the Sword Sect’s vassals. They’ve been getting bold, eyeing our territories,” Fairy Ruthless spoke plainly.

As soon as she finished speaking, Luo Chen could no longer contain his joy. What he had been scheming toward from the very beginning was now being granted freely, and all because he had taken the risk of forcing her hand. Still, he masked his delight with a look of concern. ”But if we leave, what about your lineage, Adept?”

”That’s not your concern. The Ice Fortress will dispatch a team to replace Tantai Jin and the others. The operations in those immortal cities still need a supervising hand,” she replied.

Luo Chen had only been pretending to care. Her tone was composed, but something in her words unsettled him. Could the assistance he had provided have been valuable enough to earn her such sweeping benefits? Not only was the Luo Tian Society being pulled back from the battlefield, but even her lineage was being granted a reprieve. That level of reward felt far too generous.

Fairy Ruthless must have seen the doubt flash across his face. At that moment, she stopped concealing the truth. ”The sect has made its decision. You are to be appointed as a guest elder of the Ice Fortress. More specifically, you will be the only Foundation Establishment Realm elder in the entire sect.”

Luo Chen’s expression went still. Then, in the next instant, realization dawned. So that was it! She had traded him away at a handsome price!

Adept Moonshade’s warning echoed in his mind: ”If the sect wants him, you won’t be able to keep him to yourself.”

In the end, Fairy Ruthless hadn’t tried to keep him at all. She had used him as needed, then offered him up as the bargaining chip that secured her own freedom and favor within the sect.

Her actions were entirely logical, yet being sold like this left Luo Chen with rather mixed feelings.

Fairy Ruthless watched him closely and asked, ”Do you object?”

Luo Chen gave a faint, wistful smile and said freely, ”To become an elder of a major sect while still in the Foundation Establishment Realm is truly my honor.”

That answer marked his acceptance. Fairy Ruthless’s expression softened, her gaze turning distant, touched faintly by melancholy. ”In that case, you may go. From now on, the war will no longer concern you.”

Luo Chen gave a rare formal bow. ”I will take my leave.”

Behind him, Tantai Jin emerged from the shadows, concern written across her face as she looked at Fairy Ruthless. ”Master, why didn’t you try to win him over? Once he’s appointed as our sect’s guest elder, he won’t serve just our lineage anymore. If we built a better relationship now, maybe—”

”You’re speaking out of turn.”

Fairy Ruthless’s tone was cold and dismissive.

Tantai Jin fell silent, like a cicada struck by winter[1].

Fairy Ruthless looked away and said coldly, ”There’s no point in putting on a show. I was never going to keep him if the sect wanted him. Besides, Luo Chen is not a fool. He’s sharp enough to know the situation without me saying it out loud.”

That remark was quite the praise by Fairy Ruthless standards. Tantai Jin suddenly understood and looked much less worried. What she didn’t notice was the trace of reminiscence in Fairy Ruthless’s eyes.

After so many years, the Ice Fortress would once again gain an alchemist master, just like when Shang Hu first joined. And by coincidence, Fairy Rutheless herself was the one who had brought him in.

Her gaze lingered on Tantai Jin, whose expression and bearing resembled her own from years ago. For an instant, an unfamiliar feeling flickered through her heart. But she quickly suppressed it.

Why let the past repeat itself? Marriage alliances only bring harm to both sides. I’m not my master, nor am I Moonshade. I won’t let her walk the same path I did. This will not do!

***

Outside the tent, Luo Chen walked alone along the winding path back toward the Luo Tian Society’s encampment. His heart was heavy yet oddly calm, filled with a mixture of relief and unease.

If he were to be honest, he wasn’t upset that Fairy Ruthless had sold him off. Now that his name as an alchemist master had spread across the Jade Cauldron Domain, it was only a matter of time before the major sects came knocking. No major sect could afford to overlook him.

Back at the Celestial Palace in Green Pill Valley, Adept Chi Ding and a Golden Core cultivator from Ailao Mountain had already tried to recruit him as a guest elder. In the end, they had given up only because Fairy Ruthless was there. In truth, they hadn’t been doing it for Fairy Ruthless’s sake, but as deference to the authority of the Ice Fortress. Naturally, they had no way of knowing that Luo Chen had never truly belonged to the Ice Fortress—his service was to the Ruthless Lineage alone.

Three years had passed since then, and Fairy Ruthless could drag things out no longer. The sect had finally taken notice of him. Adept Moonshade had once tried and failed to win him over with promises and threats; Fairy Ruthless had stopped her. Now, the Ice Fortress headquarters had issued a formal appointment. And at this point, Fairy Ruthless had no choice but to yield. From her standpoint, she had done all she could, so she sold him off in exchange for the best possible outcome.

But what was Luo Chen’s perspective, then? How did the pros and cons of becoming a guest elder of Ice Fortress truly weigh against each other?

In all fairness... At present, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks! Whether it was safeguarding the Luo Tian Society or pulling out of the war, the arrangement was nothing short of ideal. Not only that, he might even obtain resources for Core Formation from the Ice Fortress!

As for the long term, the outcome depended entirely on whether he succeeded in forming his core. If he failed, there was nothing much to worry about. With a major sect backing him, his life would still be safe and stable. If he succeeded, he’d be permanently tied to Ice Fortress. His actions might be restricted, and his freedom compromised.

That might have seemed like a disadvantage, but in truth, no one in this world lived entirely free of constraint. Every cultivator carried the weight of circumstance. So in the end, becoming the Ice Fortress’s guest elder brought far more benefits than drawbacks.

”Fairy Ruthless really played this well,” Luo Chen mused with a faint smile. ”Everyone came out of it with something.”

The only real loss lay in the long-term prospects of the Ruthless Lineage. Still, given how she had supported him both openly and in secret over the years, he felt it only right to repay that goodwill when the opportunity arose. That kind of loss could easily be mended with time. Her moment of hesitation earlier was probably because she’d thought of saying something along those lines yet she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

A weight lifted from Luo Chen’s chest, and a quiet sense of satisfaction welled within him. Before he knew it, though his cultivation hadn’t seen a breakthrough, his status as an alchemist master already placed him on equal footing with the Adepts of the Jade Cauldron Domain. And rightly so a skilled alchemist deserved nothing less! How could such a value be measured by the cultivation alone?

***

Back at the encampment, Luo Chen’s days grew simpler. Although the environment wasn’t ideal, with his fully opened meridians, he could comfortably absorb two top-grade Ascending Dragon Pills each day. Due to this, his cultivation hadn’t fallen behind much at all. The gains were modest but steady, more than enough for someone at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Beyond pills, he also continued his practice of opening apertures with Earth Fire Fiend Qi, and his physical resilience and energy circulation strengthened with each successful attempt. A subtle but profound transformation was taking place.

In his spare time, he resumed studying the Lightning Physique Refinement method he had previously paused. He had a hunch that this might be the key to reaching the latter stages of the Sky Roc Transformation.

Time passed quietly in this peaceful rhythm, and a month later, it was time for another rotation.

At dawn, every cultivator in the Luo Tian Society encampment stood ready for departure. Compared to the bloodied and exhausted vassal troops around them, they looked far more energized.

The scene before them hardly resembled a wartime garrison. The atmosphere felt closer to that of travelers passing through a battlefield than soldiers stationed at one. Their deployment had been more symbolic than functional.

Amid countless envious gazes, the Luo Tian Society handed over the encampment to Ice Fortress’s new vassal force and flew away from the sixth mountain. As they departed, Xu Haizhen glanced back at the Jilei Nine Mountains wreathed in flames and smoke, his expression dazed. How the hell was it this easy? What kind of hell were we living in those first two years? Everything changed the moment the president arrived!

Luo Chen, meanwhile, couldn’t be bothered to even look back. He walked alongside Duan Feng, listening as the latter reported the latest developments among the Ice Fortress’s vassal forces.

”Qu Zhenbiao is dead!” Duan Feng’s voice was low, carrying neither satisfaction nor sorrow. ”His unit was assigned to the frontlines. During the battle, his old injuries reopened, and he was blasted out of the sky by enemy cultivators. The Qu family suffered heavy losses, and only one Initiate survived.”

The news took Luo Chen by surprise. Qu Zhenbiao had already been wounded. Shouldn’t he have been recuperating at the rear? Why send a crippled Initiate back to the frontlines? Could it be that he lost his value? Was Adept Moonshade still bitter over failing to recruit Luo Chen, and for that reason, they had simply thrown him to his death?

It wasn’t an unreasonable guess, and Luo Chen didn’t dwell on it. They had been enemies, after all. His death only spared him from future trouble. Still, the thought lingered: If I hadn’t been here, would Duan Feng and the others have shared that same fate?

A flicker of sorrow passed through him. ”What about the Yuan family?”

”They were one of the Ice Fortress’s strongest vassals,” Duan Feng said grimly. ”But they suffered as well. Their Second Elder, a late-stage Initiate, was killed in action. Only the Grand Elder escaped, bringing with him a handful of survivors.”

The mention of a late-stage Initiate’s death made Luo Chen’s brow tighten. So this is how the major sects treat their vassals like mere tools to throw away.

”I don’t know about the other sects, but the Ice Fortress has definitely taken some serious hits these past two months.”

If not for Luo Chen, the Luo Tian Society might’ve been right there among the casualties.

”Any news of Wang Yuan?” Luo Chen asked.

”I made inquiries at the sixth mountain encampment,” Duan Feng replied. ”A few claimed to have seen him near the ninth mountain, but after that, he disappeared.”

Hearing that, Luo Chen finally let out a breath of relief. If he’s alive, that’s enough.

With half a year remaining before the full retreat, he would have time to search for his friend personally.

As he looked toward the distant horizon, a sudden sight made him stop short.

”Why are there so many cultivators arriving at the sixth mountain? Isn’t the rotation over?”

Beyond the mountain, streams of cultivators were descending from the skies on enchanted artifacts. Yet most lingered outside, waiting, rather than entering.

Duan Feng looked equally puzzled. The two exchanged glances, confusion mirrored in each other’s eyes. Has the Four-Sect Alliance come under this much pressure?

Still puzzled, they returned to Golden Sand Floating Island. But the moment they landed, they were met with a deafening uproar from the island.

”It’s coming from the center!” someone shouted.

”Come on, let’s take a look!”

Without hesitation, Luo Chen ordered Bu Junjie to escort the Qi Refinement cultivators back to camp, then led Xu Haizhen and Duan Feng toward the towering Merit Rankings stele. The moment they arrived, the three of them, along with the crowd, looked up at the massive stele. In that instant, all three of them held their breath.

Four glowing lines of text hovered vividly atop the stone. Those four redeemable resources had stirred every Foundation Establishment cultivator on the island into a frenzy.

Xu Haizhen swallowed hard and exclaimed in shock, ”What a massive offer! President, we...”

Luo Chen’s mind was in turmoil as well. Core Formation secret methods! Four different ones, even an Upper Path one! Has the Falling Cloud Sect gone mad? No... have the Four Sects gone mad?!

1. A classical idiom to vividly describe a state of extreme fear, suppression, or enforced silence. ☜