An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

He had never expected that within this Lightning Essence vein, there would be a top-grade enchanted-treasure ring. Luo Chen thought, Could this be what they call a fated opportunity?

It was often said that the path of cultivation had three pillars: aptitude, fortune, and temperament. Aptitude came first—it determined the height of one’s beginning and the limit of one’s potential. Fortune was second—with enough luck, even a pig might stumble into a great opportunity and ascend to immortality. Temperament came last, yet still essential—countless cultivators with unshakable resolve and tireless perseverance had been brought low by poor aptitude. At the same time, many prodigies had met tragic ends simply because their temperament was lacking.

Of the three pillars of cultivation, the only one Luo Chen truly possessed was unwavering resolve. His aptitude was too poor, and he had relied entirely on willpower to make up for it. All those years of hardship, the endless schemes, the sleepless cultivation... wasn’t it all just to close the difference in his lack of talent?

As for fortune, he did have some. After all, wasn’t the status panel he possessed a kind of fortune, too? Yet this kind of fortune, where you could stumble across a top-grade enchanted treasure just by walking around, was a first for him.

Or was it?

Once he injected his spirit consciousness into the ring, he immediately realized what kind of ”fortune” he had stumbled upon.

”I thought it was some powerful offensive or defensive enchanted treasure... turns out it’s just a storage ring? Damn...”

Inside the ring were small iron shovels, clumps of soil, and other mundane supplies. Luo Chen instantly understood its purpose: Just as mining tunnels required carts and picks, this ring had been designed specifically for storing Lightning Essence. Its grade likely hadn’t been so high initially; it had probably evolved over centuries of exposure to the energy of Millennial Lightning Essence, gradually transforming into a top-grade enchanted treasure. But with a thousand years of lightning constantly surging over it, it had only just reached the top-grade threshold. This meant that its base materials weren’t anything special to begin with.

”Still, this is like finding a pillow right when you’re about to fall asleep. Not bad,” Luo Chen murmured.

He had just been fretting over how to harvest the Millennial Lightning Essence and where to store it properly. Now, he didn’t need to worry about that. Without hesitation, he formed a bond with the unclaimed spatial ring... and named it the Jilei Hoard Ring.

Then, from inside, he pulled out a specially crafted shovel. It was only when it was in his hand that he realized it was also an enchanted treasure! Although it was only low-grade, it was a genuine lightning-element enchanted treasure!

”What kind of person owned this place? Not only did they produce a mountain of Lightning Essence, but even their mining tools were enchanted treasures! That’s a whole new level of extravagance, and this spot seems to be one of the outer edges. If I head toward the center... There must be even greater treasures waiting.”

Luo Chen remembered clearly: Back when he first opened the door of this pocket world, he had deliberately fled in the most remote direction to avoid running into any cultivators following behind. That decision had led him to a small, half-ruined palace cluster tucked away in a hidden corner. When powerful cultivators inevitably entered the area, their attention would naturally be drawn toward the central zones, where the richest resources lay. The fact that no one had disturbed him in a full year proved that his decision had been wise.

”Who cares who the original owner was? Mining comes first!”

No one would have imagined that Dan Chenzi, the man who once fought against Adepts, would wake up from the long slumber of cultivation only to start digging like a random miner. Thankfully, even though most of his spirit power was depleted, Luo Chen’s physique was so powerful that even he wasn’t sure what realm it had reached. This made the work proceed with incredible ease.

One by one, the Millennial Lightning Essences were excavated with a sweep of his enchanted shovel. He gently placed each bloom into the specially prepared soil stored inside the Jilei Hoard Ring.

This soil was not meant for nurturing but for containment. The lightning energy within each blossom was far too pure; in fact, the power sealed inside a single Millennial Lightning Essence could rival the lightning tribulation faced by a Sage. Without this specially treated soil, even the slightest leak of energy would obliterate an ordinary storage artifact in an instant. With its aid, the Lightning Essences could be safely stored within the Jilei Hoard Ring.

After a full day’s labor, Luo Chen finally dug out the last cluster from the lightning vein. Though fatigue tugged faintly at his spirit, satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. With the Millennial Lightning Essences now in hand, if he ever succeeded in forming his core, he would never need to scour the lands for this elusive material. His path to crafting a life-bound enchanted treasure was already secured.

Turning the Jilei Hoard Ring over in his fingers, Luo Chen admired its craftsmanship, then slipped it onto the index finger of his left hand.

”It looks good, and it’s convenient, too.”

The black lightning ring against his pale skin looked strangely bewitching. Luo Chen paused briefly, then dumped the mountain of resources from his various storage pouches directly into the Jilei Hoard Ring. After all, it was a top-grade enchanted treasure, and its capacity was far beyond what any ordinary storage artifact could offer. Even after loading five entire storage pouches, there was still plenty of space left inside.

The only things he left untouched were the few unopened storage pouches. Storing one storage space inside another was a foolish move; it could cause the artifacts to clash, sometimes violently enough to explode. Luo Chen was well aware of that danger.

When everything was properly organized, he pulled out an elegant white brocade robe, one that Gu Caiyi had purchased for him long ago, and changed out of the Firecloud Daoist Robe that had been shredded beyond repair. Its defensive power was long gone, leaving it little more than a tattered reminder of what had once been.

A quiet sigh escaped him as he gazed at the ruined garment. Though he had slain Di Wanyun and earned a victory of unimaginable weight, the cost and reward were far from balanced.

In that battle, he had lost the Thousandfold Summit, the Firecloud Daoist Robe, and over a hundred second-tier thornflower seeds. Even the Wandering Eighteen-Formation Disc, which had been painstakingly restored by Min Longyu, had shattered completely after shielding him during his entry into this place. And that was after he had burned through five hundred mid-grade spirit stones to trigger the third-tier Thunderwave Tempest Formation. Worst of all, he had used up the Black Ice Talisman, a priceless gift from Fairy Ruthless, worth more than most treasures combined! And what had he gained from all that? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Even the Thousand-Phantom Gold Cloud enchanted treasure he had coveted had been destroyed under the barrage of lightning!

”What a goddamn massive loss!” Luo Chen grumbled. ”Never again! I’m never crossing realms to kill someone ever again! Only an idiot would!”

Still grumbling to himself, he began to make his way out, only to freeze after two short steps. He wasn’t the only one. At that very moment, the eight cultivators who had just broken through the formation also caught sight of Luo Chen, who was standing in the rear section.

”Damn it! Someone got here first!” someone cursed.

”Seal the palace and capture him!”

”You little thief, come over here!”

Amid the chorus of furious shouts, a figure wreathed in dense fiend qi lunged forward, charging straight toward the rear hall.

Inside, Luo Chen’s expression turned cold. Without a moment’s hesitation, he summoned up the last shreds of his power; layers of radiant white armor burst across his body, encasing him entirely. In the next breath, he transformed into a streak of white light. Without pause, his figure shot forward like a streak of white light.

In a flash, the two figures locked eyes. Yet neither paused, and both charged toward the other with full momentum.

A savage grin twisted Mingsha’s face as he clenched his fists tightly. He had reached major mastery in Physique Refinement with fiend qi, and this idiot actually dared to clash with him head-on?

”Seeking death!” Mingsha roared.

With a deep growl, he hurled a punch. A black demonic tiger erupted from his gauntlet, roaring as it tore through the air toward the white figure. Yet the white figure didn’t even try to dodge. He simply threw out a punch of his own.

Crack!

The demonic tiger phantom shattered in an instant. As the white figure brushed past Mingsha, he turned and struck out with his palm. In the latter’s horrified gaze, a tide of blood qi surged out, powerful enough to shatter stone and cleave mountains. It was the Mountain-Cleaving Monument-Breaking Palm!

Mingsha roared and activated his defensive enchanted artifact.

Boom!

The moment they clashed, he was sent flying several zhang back and smashed into the palace wall. A web of lightning arced across him in the aftermath, jolting him several more times before he finally dropped to the ground. There, he rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

”My love, are you alright?” Yousha rushed in from the side and quickly helped him up.

As Mingsha lifted his head, he caught sight of the white figure charging into the encirclement of the Four Elders of Liancang.

”Out of my way!”

The figure gave a cold shout and unleashed a flurry of strikes with his bare hands. A tide of raw force forcibly knocked the four elders back. But at that very moment, a massive sword came slashing down from above!

An enchanted-treasure flying sword, guided by sword control that had been practiced to major mastery. Its power was nearly on par with the elite sword cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Domain! Yet the figure paid it no heed. He charged straight for Zuo Song, whose fingers had just formed a sword seal.

”You think you can ignore my sword like that, you little th—ugh!”

Zuo Song looked down at his chest in disbelief. A massive, gaping hole had been punched clean through his abdomen. His sword had landed a direct hit... and the man had just shrugged it off! That was a top-grade enchanted flying sword!

In that brief, hazy moment before death, he seemed to recall the faint shimmer of a figure wearing something white.

Some kind of defensive armor?

By now, the white figure had already broken through the formation and was about to exit the grand palace. To the side, Hermit Xiao gave a faint smile. ”Fellow Daoist, why not stay a little longer?”

He raised his jade flute to his lips and flicked his finger. A wisp of soul-seizing music shot forward, invisible and soundless to all but the target. This was his signature secret art, soul snatching through sound! He did not need to fear numbers; so long as his opponent’s divine soul was weaker than his, they would be helpless to resist. Even those with stronger divine soul foundations would be wounded. Once the white figure’s divine soul faltered, the seven of them would move in for the kill. There would be no way out.

But then something occurred that utterly shocked Hermit Xiao. A black halo abruptly shimmered across the white figure. With a single pulse of darkness, all soundwaves vanished into nothingness. In the very next instant, the figure was gone, slipping out of the grand palace and off into the distance.

When the Twin Fiends of the Netherworld burst out in pursuit, they found no trace of him. Hermit Xiao walked to the doorway. His face was pale, and blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. The backlash from his flute had seriously wounded him. He stared blankly, his mind trembled, and his expression was dazed.

”Who was that? To treat the eight of us like mere dust... to come and go as he pleased, without the slightest pause. Was he an Adept?”

No one answered him. Even if that white figure had been an Adept, it was still inconceivable that he could have escaped so effortlessly from the combined strength of all eight of them. None of them were nobodies. Even the weakest among them, Zuo Song, was a sect leader not inferior to the True Inheritors of any major sect. Yet in the end, the results were one dead, two wounded. Even Zuo Song’s Songyang Iron Sword[1]had been casually taken away.

As Hermit Xiao stood stunned in disbelief, an overwhelming surge of killing intent suddenly swept toward him from behind. ”Despicable!”

The Four Elders of Liancang had struck without warning, launching four enchanted treasures at him simultaneously. The Twin Fiends of the Netherworld paled and swiftly retreated.

”My love, let’s fall back first!” Yousha urged.

Mingsha no longer dared to act rashly. He had taken a blow from that mysterious white figure in the grand palace, and he was in no shape to fight. They paid no heed to Hermit Xiao, now left alone against the Four Elders, and immediately took flight.

Just before retreating, Mingsha turned back and threw one final, ruthless punch. The blow struck true, sending a surge of fiend qi surging into Hermit Xiao’s body like a hammer of pure malice.

”You cowardly scum! None of you are getting out of here alive!” Hermit Xiao howled.

His piercing shriek split the air, wave after wave of soul-shattering sounds. The Four Elders focused their minds and faced him with full force. If they didn’t kill him here, they’d leave this place with nothing, and that would be a loss too bitter to accept. Thus began a deadly battle among elite Initiates.

Far away, several dozen li from the chaos, the streak of white light finally came to a halt. A flicker of surprise flashed across his face as he felt the sheer strength of his body and the defensive armor enveloping him that rivaled even top-grade enchanted treasures.

”Could it be... they were weaker than I imagined?” he murmured to himself. ”No, it must be that I’ve become stronger!”

He flexed his fingers, feeling the power running beneath his skin. ”This power... and speed...”

With a single thought, a pair of crimson wings unfolded from his shoulder blades. Thin arcs of lightning rippled across the feathers. The Crimson Cloud Wings had transformed together with him, reaching the supreme grade!

”If I were to face Di Wanyun again... even without the Thunderwave Tempest Formation, I’d say the odds would be seventy-thirty in my favor.”

Luo Chen chuckled under his breath, then retracted the wings and leapt into the sky, soaring away from the palace ruins.

He had no intention of heading to the center of the pocket world. Opportunities were always meant for those prepared, and he was very much unprepared. More importantly, this place had already caught the attention of the Jade Cauldron Domain’s Six Great Sects. Even the powerful Initiates he’d met earlier had been forced to scavenge on the outskirts. That alone spoke volumes about how fierce the struggle had to be in the central region.

Though his physique was now formidable, Luo Chen had yet to cultivate any real killing moves based on it. He was still relying purely on his physical strength. His strongest domain, spellcasting, was currently restricted by his depleted spirit power. In this condition, charging into battle for some fortune would be nothing but a death wish. Thus, leaving was the only wise choice.

Luo Chen refrained from tapping into his limited reserves of spirit power; instead, he simply used his Perfected Mastery Carefree Wander to slip away swiftly. Along the way, he kept his presence tightly concealed; few could even detect his passing. Still, he caught glimpses of the battles erupting across the land. Rogue cultivators were few. Most of the fighting involved disciples from the major sects.

”The war... hasn’t ended yet? Or maybe it just shifted forms, changed locations... but it’s still the same,” Luo Chen muttered as he abruptly came to a halt.

Up ahead, a fierce battle was underway, and both sides in that fight were familiar faces!

A cold glint flickered in Luo Chen’s eyes. My, my, fate sure loves its little ironies!

Ethereal wings fluttered faintly behind him. In one hand, he grasped a sword. On his other hand, a gauntlet of gleaming white plates emerged like the talons of a great roc!

1. In this context, ”嵩阳铁剑” (Songyang Iron Sword) likely derives its name from its owner, Zuo Song (左嵩), using his given name 嵩 and pairing it with 阳 (the yang part of yin-yang). For that reason, we chose to transliterate it rather than translate it. ☜