An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”The fastest route into the Myriad Pythons Grotto would naturally be through the valley, but there are far too many snow pythons there. They might be low-tier, but any disturbance will surely startle them,” Fu Jiusheng explained. ”I only discovered the Nine-Pattern Snakespit Fruit by chance. I was following a young python that hadn’t yet matured and found another entrance along the outer mountains. That passage is well hidden. When I last checked, it was still intact. All of you know how to conceal your aura, right? Whatever means you have, make sure you make full use of them; we can’t afford to alert the beasts.”

In the depths of an underground passage, five figures advanced in silence. Fu Jiusheng took the lead, occasionally explaining through spirit consciousness voice transmission to address their doubts. Luo Chen remained surrounded at the center, listening quietly while his Spirit Eyes swept over their surroundings. Indeed, this tunnel was obviously a snake’s burrow. The walls around them gleamed with a slimy sheen, proof that demonic beasts still passed through from time to time.

”The Nine-Pattern Snakespit Fruit takes ninety years to mature. When nine white lines appear across its surface, it’s ripe. Dan Chenzi, you must be careful! Once those white lines begin to darken, it means the fruit is decaying, and its spirit energy will become deadly venom. When it turns fully black, don’t even think of touching it with your bare hands.”

Listening to Fu Jiusheng’s warning, Luo Chen replied evenly through voice transmission, ”Fellow Daoist, thank you for the reminder. Fear not. This is common knowledge, and I have done my research.”

After all, this spirit fruit was nurtured by the venomous saliva of the Seven-Ring Snow Python. It would have been weird if its extraordinary medicinal potency naturally hadn’t come with an equally extreme toxicity.

Suddenly, a faint rustling drifted from ahead, followed by the sound of rocks grinding and falling from the wall. Something enormous was moving just beyond the curve of the tunnel.

Scchhh, Scchhhh...

Hearing the sound, all five halted instantly. They suppressed their auras to the utmost and pressed flat against the tunnel walls. None even dared to breathe as they stared into the darkness ahead.

Moments later, a Ringed Snow Python with three black rings slithered into view. It paused midway, flicking its enormous tongue through the air as though tasting for intruders. After a long, tense moment, it shook its head, seemingly uncertain, and continued on its way.

Only after it vanished did the five exhale in relief. Fu Jiusheng watched its fading silhouette and sighed. ”The last time I saw that little python, it had only two rings. Now it’s reached three. It’s probably not far off from a breakthrough to the second tier.”

According to the records and observations of cultivators, each ring on a Seven-Ring Snow Python corresponded to one minor realm of advancement. The strongest of their kind ever recorded bore seven black rings, which made it an early-stage third-tier demonic beast, comparable to a human cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core Realm.

It was said that seven rings marked the limit of their bloodline. Cultivators spoke of spirit roots; beasts spoke of bloodlines. The purer and stronger the lineage, the higher the ceiling of potential.

The Seven-Ring Snow Python descended from the fourth-tier demon emperor known as the Whitebone Dark Serpent, though it was only a distant offshoot of that bloodline. Hence, their growth could reach no higher than seven rings, and they were thus bound to stop at the early stage of the third tier.

”From birth, these beasts live under the protection of the Whitebone Dark Serpent,” Fu Jiusheng continued in a low voice. ”Their battle prowess isn’t particularly outstanding. Still, caution is necessary. They excel at constriction, their venom is corrosive, and, like most snake-type demonic beasts, they have an innate sensitivity to auras. If combat becomes unavoidable, the key is to control the distance and strike swiftly and accurately from afar. Whatever you do, don’t allow the alarm to spread.”

Fu Jiusheng went on to brief them carefully on every known trait of the Seven-Ring Snow Python. Everyone listened attentively at first, but impatience soon surfaced.

”We’ve been crawling underground for half a day now. How much longer until we reach the destination?” Yousha complained.

Fu Jiusheng stopped in his tracks and turned toward her. Yousha froze for an instant, then forced a faint smile. ”Fellow Daoist, don’t take offense. I only feel a little suffocated, being trapped in such a dangerous place for so long.”

Fu Jiusheng merely shook his head. He raised a hand and pointed toward the stone wall behind him, his lips moving soundlessly. ”We’re here.”

The others stared in surprise at the wall. But the next moment, as their spirit consciousness quietly passed through the rock and touched upon three powerful presences within, their spirits instantly stirred.

”The Nine-Pattern Snakespit Fruit is the treasure most prized by the Seven-Ring Snow Python King,” Fu Jiusheng whispered. ”Apparently it can help snake-type beasts break through their cultivation bottlenecks. Hence, this place is a forbidden ground to the Snow Pythons, and it’s guarded year-round by three late-second-tier beasts. Though it lies within the Myriad Pythons Grotto, it’s far deeper underground and also far from the main dwellings.

”That’s why I’m confident that once those three are slain, Fellow Daoist Dan Chenzi will have ample time to refine the pills without disturbance. So what comes next is figuring out how to quietly kill those three great beasts without alarming anything outside.”

That final line left everyone uneasy. They were all exceptional rogue cultivators, confident enough to rival peers from the major sects. Killing late second-tier beasts posed little challenge. But killing them without a trace, without even the faintest sound to alert the rest... that was another matter entirely.

After all, their earlier battle with the Earth-Burrowing Earth Dragon had already shaken half the mountain range. Fu Jiusheng looked at their troubled faces, showing not the slightest surprise. He turned his hands over, and in his left palm appeared a compass surrounded by dozens of small formation flags. In his right hand floated a faintly glowing white talisman.

”What are those?” Luo Chen asked curiously.

”This is the Divine Steel Earth-Firming Array,” Fu Jiusheng explained. ”It’s commonly used by smaller sects when building their estates, for reinforcing the foundations. And this is a third-tier soundproofing talisman. Once it’s activated, no sound can escape its range. I’ll first activate the soundproofing talisman to ensure no noise leaks out. After that, I’ll deploy the formation. Whatever happens, do not damage the chamber where the Nine-Pattern Snakespit Fruit grows. Any mistake could destroy the spirit fruit.

”When I give the signal, Fellow Daoist Lianyun, Fellow Daoist Xiao, and Lady Yousha—you will each strike one of the pythons. Kill them instantly, before they can make a sound. Dan Chenzi, you won’t be standing idle either. Protect the fruit. If those beasts grow desperate, they might try to destroy it before dying.

”Are we all in agreement?” he finally asked, eyes sweeping across the group.

The four looked him in the eye, then nodded in unison. At such a critical moment, there was no room for hesitation.

”Prepare,” Fu Jiusheng commanded.

With this last word, he gathered his spirit power before the group. The wall before him dissolved like melting snow, without a sound. At the same moment, the cavern hidden behind the wall came into view.

Three massive pythons coiled like black-and-white hillocks in a pinwheel-shaped formation, encircling a small tree about two chi tall. As the wall melted away, the three pythons opened their eyes almost simultaneously; like bears roused from deep hibernation, they lifted their heads sharply, glaring up at the five figures above.

Their vertical pupils, each the size of a fist, burned with anger.

Hiss... Hiss... Hiss...

The three hissing cries rang out together, as if to alert the outside. However, the sound was instantly swallowed by the pale radiance of the talisman floating near the ceiling of the cavern. Not only that, formation flags shot out in all directions and plunged into the ground.

Holding a compass in his hand, Fu Jiusheng sat cross-legged in midair. Waves of black-yellow light rippled outward from him, spreading through the entire cavern.

”Why are you still waiting? Strike now!” he shouted.

Just as the last word left his lips, four figures leaped into the cavern. One rushed straight for the center. Before even touching the ground, a mass of blue-green light surged from his mouth, transforming into a great bowl-shaped item that descended to cover the small tree. Then, with rapid hand seals, he summoned layer upon layer of azure barriers, smooth and translucent like glazed glass, sealed off a one-zhang circle at the center of the cavern.

This was Luo Chen, of course. The moment the three giant pythons saw his movement, fury erupted in their eyes. Their hill-like coils unfurled in an instant, revealing massive bodies that filled the cavern. Each snow-white serpent bore six broad black rings circling its body, their scales glinting coldly under the flickering light.

Those were Six-Ring Snow Pythons. Just as Fu Jiusheng had said, these were indeed three late-second-tier great demons. Each one appeared no weaker than a human grand cultivator at the ninth stage of Foundation Establishment, and the pressure they gave off even seemed greater.

Too bad you have to face us, though, Luo Chen thought.

They weren’t random passersby, but cultivators aiming to step further toward the Grand Dao and had come fully prepared to kill as needed.

Luo Chen’s gaze turned cold as he swept his eyes across the three charging beasts. The pythons’ reckless charge did not shake his composure. With his strength, he could have handled all three beasts alone, let alone with allies beside him. The next instant, a sharp cry rang out.

”Beast, prepare to die!” Yousha shouted.

Once again, the crimson silk ribbon unfurled from her sleeve. This time it did not stretch for hundreds of zhang, but condensed to match the pythons’ size. But precisely because it was smaller, its power was sharper and more focused.

Crack!

With a single lash, she sent a python hurtling several zhang away to slam into the cavern wall.

Boom!

The thunderous crash shook the cave, yet the sound was completely confined within, not a whisper escaping beyond. Yousha’s fingers moved rapidly, forming a series of spirit seals. From the silk ribbon, a rain of blood poured down, thick and steaming, its stench far fouler than the musk of the Snow Pythons. The moment it struck the ground, the blood rain surged and twisted, morphing in the blink of an eye into a blood flood dragon.

Roar!

With a deafening bellow, the blood flood dragon lunged, its fanged maw snapping toward the Snow Python. At the same time, the silk ribbon swept forth, seeking an opening to coil around and bind its prey.

For a time, the Snow Python struggled fiercely, forced to contend not only with the blood flood dragon’s crushing strength but also with the corrosive fiend qi seeping from the Amber-Crimson Silk Ribbon.

Luo Chen frowned. So this is the true killing ability of that silk ribbon...

Water-Absorbing Dragon Transformation, when prepared beforehand, could summon a spirit dragon with power nearly equal to its master’s. In that respect, it seemed that Yousha hadn’t been lying about using it. Yet this woman’s method of refinement had clearly strayed onto a heretical path. Instead of nurturing the artifact through pure spirit power and will, she had relied on external force, using the flesh and blood of living beings to refine it. Only through such methods could she have reached this level of refinement, one that few in the Foundation Establishment Realm could ever achieve.

It was nearly ninety percent! Such an extremely high refinement he had seen only once before, between Tao Wan and her Flowing Cloud Sleeve in Green Pill Valley’s competition.

That python’s gone. Yousha will finish it off in a minute.