An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The moment Qu Lingjun saw Luo Chen within the cave residence, he completely lost control of himself.

Thud!

He dropped to his knees before Luo Chen, and his voice trembled as he said, ”Master, you really are safe!”

”Get up and sit. Let’s talk properly,” Luo Chen said, raising a hand and sending a gentle wave of spirit power to lift him.

After a few pleasantries, Luo Chen steered the conversation toward Qu Lingjun’s cultivation and alchemy progress.

Just as Sima Huiniang had mentioned, under the personal guidance of Li Yingzhang, Qu Lingjun’s cultivation had indeed become solid and stable. Though he wasn’t extraordinary, he exuded a steady and dependable presence.

Moreover, the Three Origins Unification secret technique he was using seemed well-suited to his four spirit roots. Even at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, he could purify the spirit power within his body, steadily refining it to a higher quality. That alone was proof of how much thought and effort Elder Li had invested in him.

As for his alchemy, Qu Lingjun had reached the point where he could consistently refine top-grade Jade Essence Pills. In addition, he had also begun producing two other first-tier medicines, the Myriad Wonders Pill and the essence-nurturing liquid, and could reliably craft low-grade ones. Considering he had only been practicing alchemy for about twenty years, his accomplishments were truly remarkable.

Without doubt, he was a prodigy in alchemy. After all, not everyone had Luo Chen’s status panel. Even if placed within a grand alchemy sect such as Green Pill Valley, Qu Lingjun would be regarded as a top-tier seed. If he one day advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm and became able to refine second-tier pills, then given another hundred years, he could even be on par with the Seven Prodigies of Green Pill Valley.

After examining him thoroughly, Luo Chen revealed a look of satisfaction. ”It seems you’ve worked hard these past years. You haven’t fallen behind in cultivation or in alchemy. I’m truly pleased.”

Qu Lingjun was overjoyed by Luo Chen’s praise. ”It’s all thanks to your guidance, Master!”

Luo Chen shook his head, unwilling to take credit. He had only given Qu Lingjun a few tips during his early years. Most of his support had come in the form of providing resources. The progress Qu Lingjun had made was largely due to his hard work and the occasional guidance from the Initiates of the Luo Tian Society that helped him out of respect for Luo Chen. Strictly speaking, Luo Chen had been entirely unqualified to be anyone’s master when he accepted Qu Lingjun.

”Lingjun, I walked the cultivation path alone, without guidance from any elder. You’re my first disciple, and I believe there are many things I’ve overlooked. If there are ways I’ve disappointed you, I apologize. I hope you understand.”

Qu Lingjun froze, then shook his head quickly. ”No, Master, you’ve always treated me well. I’ve never had any complaints!”

Luo Chen smiled gently as he looked at the man before him. There was something in Qu Lingjun’s features, an echo of the young Qu Hancheng from years past.

”Truly, no resentment?” he asked, his voice calm but probing.

”None whatsoever!” Qu Lingjun answered with firm conviction.

”And what about Mi Li?”

Qu Lingjun hesitated briefly, then replied firmly, ”Your advice came out of consideration for my well-being. I haven’t misunderstood, and I don’t blame you for it. Choosing Mi Li was solely my own decision.”

In other words, he understood Luo Chen’s good intentions, but he had chosen to walk his own path regardless.

Luo Chen sighed. ”So this is your decision, then.”

Thud!

Qu Lingjun fell to his knees again.

”It is I, your disciple, who has failed you!” he said, voice filled with emotion. ”I will do anything and everything you wish me to do, Master. But just in this one matter, please allow me to follow through with my choice!”

He had already reached the ninth stage of Qi Refinement, and this answer was far more resolute than it had been in the past! Clearly, he had pondered this matter many times over the years. Only then could he have responded so swiftly and decisively.

Luo Chen gazed at him intently, and the atmosphere within the cave residence fell into silence.

From the outside, it would have appeared that a young man was seated calmly on a stone chair while an older man knelt respectfully before him.

In the mortal world, such a sight might have seemed absurd. But in the cultivation world, it was entirely unremarkable. Many cultivators well-versed in longevity arts looked far younger than the disciples who followed them.

Eventually, that stillness was broken by Luo Chen’s sigh.

”So be it,” he said at last. ”Go and bring Mi Li in.”

Qu Lingjun trembled, and his face was filled with mixed emotions of joy and concern. ”Master...”

”Consider this an early gift from me, to celebrate reaching Foundation Establishment,” Luo Chen said with a smile.

”Thank you, Master!” Qu Lingjun exclaimed. He sprang to his feet with joy and hurried out of the cave residence. Soon after, he returned with Mi Li.

Twenty years had passed in a flash. That young girl had grown into a composed and graceful woman.

As Luo Chen’s spirit consciousness swept over them, he found that Mi Li’s primal yin remained intact, and Qu Lingjun’s primal yang was preserved. He couldn’t help but feel pleased. Though their love had deepened with time, they had respected the boundaries of cultivation.

For a cultivator to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, they had to overcome three thresholds and avoid three calamities. The three thresholds were divine soul, body, and spirit power. Whereas the three calamities were the tongue root tribulation, transforming the dantian into a spirit sea, and the loss of primal yin or primal yang.

These three tribulations corresponded to the classical theory of spirit roots being divided into three aspects.

Huangting above, Guanyuan below, Youque behind, and Mingmen at the front. Breathe through the skull into the dantian, let the Jade Pool’s clear waters irrigate the spirit root.[1] Master this, and you shall endure.

The spirit root was said to begin at the tongue. But cultivator’s spirit root did not reside in a single organ. Rather, its properties appeared mysteriously across the tongue root, the dantian, and the testicles or ovaries. This was the reason behind the widespread belief in the cultivation world that one should avoid various types of indulgence before Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen had experienced Foundation Establishment multiple times, and his grasp of its mysteries far exceeded that of most cultivators at the same realm. Now, seeing that Qu Lingjun and Mi Li had walked hand-in-hand for years yet remained respectful and true to the path he had set for them, he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

”Since Lingjun has chosen you,” Luo Chen said gently, ”then as his master, I won’t stand in your way. But to be my disciples’ Dao companion, you cannot be a mere passerby of a few short decades.”

Seeing Mi Li’s confusion, Luo Chen continued, ”If I cure your congenital defect, do you have the heart to pursue the Dao and challenge the path of Foundation Establishment?”

Mi Li froze, uncertain whether she had heard him correctly. But Qu Lingjun had already grabbed her hand. ”What are you waiting for? Thank Master!”

Still dazed, Mi Li dropped to her knees. ”Thank you, President!”

From above came Luo Chen’s light, almost amused laugh. ”Stand up. Let me take a look at you first.”

***

Under Luo Chen’s thorough inspection, Mi Li’s condition became crystal clear. The so-called congenital defect truly did exist. Her meridians were far too delicate, and the walls of her dantian were extremely thin. These two flaws made it impossible for Mi Li to cultivate diligently. Even after years of hard work, she had been unable to invest any of the accumulated resources into her cultivation.

As a result, despite her age, Mi Li remained stuck at the sixth stage of Qi Refinement, unable to even step into the late stages. Such a condition would stump even the most skilled healers. And indeed, even someone as renowned as Master Healer Sun of Tianlan Immortal City had been unable to come up with a solution.

But for Luo Chen, this was not a difficult matter, because he possessed a Blue Sea Pill! This was a third-tier spirit pill that possessed the ability to rebuild a cultivator’s meridians and reconstruct the inner walls of their dantian. At one point, it had sold for an astronomical fifty thousand spirit stones at an auction! And even if one had the money, they were not guaranteed to buy one, because the Medicine King Sect rarely put them up for sale.

However, despite the pill’s miraculous properties, Mi Li’s cultivation was far too weak. She wouldn’t be able to absorb it on her own. Thus, she would need Luo Chen to personally protect and guide her throughout the entire process.

Well, at least her condition is better than Caiyi’s back then, Luo Chen thought, narrowing his eyes. With me supporting her, there shouldn’t be any issues.

While Luo Chen was figuring out the treatment plan, Mi Li sat respectfully across from him. Even though she believed Luo Chen was able to treat her if he said so, it all still felt like a dream.

She couldn’t help but recall that day long ago, back on Xiaohuan Mountain. Back then, Luo Chen had sternly scolded Qu Lingjun while she had waited outside, helpless, lonely, and unable to do anything. Now, she had been accepted by Luo Chen, and he had personally welcomed into his cave residence. The contrast between then and now was like heaven and earth.

She turned her face slightly, her eyes filled with affection as she looked at Qu Lingjun’s hopeful expression. It was his unwavering persistence that had finally moved his master’s heart.

”Don’t worry,” Qu Lingjun whispered to her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. ”Master is amazing, there’s nothing he can’t do. If he says he’ll cure you, then he absolutely will.”

Luo Chen naturally noticed the couple’s small gestures. He merely responded with a calm smile to their heartfelt admiration. He thought, There’s no such thing as omnipotence, but healing her should be doable.

He already had a general plan in mind. Before long, he retrieved a pile of bottles and jars from his storage pouch. Alongside them, he produced several aged medicinal herbs, carefully selected, and handed them to Qu Lingjun.

”Go and brew three portions of the decoction prescribed by Master Healer Sun. We’ll need them shortly,” he instructed.

Then he turned to Mi Li. ”Go outside and use your spells to drain the spirit power in your dantian and meridians as much as possible.”

The two immediately accepted the task and left. Once they had gone, Luo Chen sighed and patted his storage pouch. A lifeless humanoid puppet appeared beside him.

”Old Man Mi, back when Miao Wen slaughtered the last of your family in Magnetic Essence Valley... I could do nothing. But if I can now heal Mi Li and restore her path to the Great Dao, I suppose I’ll have repaid your kindness in nurturing me back then,” Luo Chen murmured, his gaze resting on the unmoving puppet.

The humanoid puppet stood silently, its expression unchanged. Naturally so; it had no emotions to show. It was no more than a corpse—once a Foundation Establishment cultivator, now refined into a puppet by Tian Xingzi. Yet if Mi Li had been present, she would likely have recognized its identity at once. It was none other than her grandfather, Mi Shuhua!

Back in the Divine Transformation pocket world, when Luo Chen slew the Blood Devil, this puppet had been the only item he took from the storage pouch of a fallen Falling Cloud Sect disciple.

How could the body of an old friend be reduced to a puppet in someone else’s hands? A true man judges people by their actions, not by whatever intentions they might have![2]

Whatever sinister thoughts Mi Shuhua might have held in life, he had never truly harmed Luo Chen. In fact, Luo Chen had often turned those schemes to his own advantage, reaping considerable benefit from them.

That principle had applied to Mi Shuhua, and it applied just as well to Luo Chen now. Luo Chen was treating Mi Li not for her own sake, but for the sake of his disciple, Qu Lingjun. At the same time, if she was truly healed, then even in the afterlife, Mi Shuhua would surely feel comforted.

1. Huangting (黄庭) refers to a center located in the upper chest or between the eyebrows, associated with the Heart Spirit and higher consciousness. Guanyuan (关元) lies just below the navel and serves as a major Lower Dantian point for storing essence (精) and stabilizing root energy. Youque (幽阙), a lesser-known term from classical Daoist texts, denotes a hidden energetic gate typically aligned with the spine or upper back, symbolizing the passage between spirit and body. Mingmen (命门), located on the lower back between the kidneys, is regarded as the source of primal yang, the wellspring of vitality and life force. Together, these four points form a cardinal framework for internal breathing and spiritual circulation within Daoist cultivation. ☜

2. 君子论迹不论心 is a classical saying that reflects a traditional Confucian value that emphasizes observable conduct over speculative motives, suggesting that moral judgment should be based on concrete behavior rather than unverifiable inner thoughts. ☜