An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Back when Luo Chen traveled with the Nangong family and the Li family, bringing along every last member of their households, it took them more than a month to journey from Taishan Market to Tianlan City. This time, when he set out from Danxia Peak to return to his homeland, the trip took him only a single day.

On this particular day, high above the bustling Glowing Stream Market, a colossal shadow suddenly swept in and blotted out the sky. Countless cultivators looked up, shock spreading across their faces. It was an enchanted-treasure flying boat! In the cultivation world, aside from the Dao Scions of the upper sects, only Adepts could use such a conveyance without restraint.

”Which Adept is that?”

”Probably just passing through?”

”Don’t think so. Looks to me like it’s landing.”

”Weird. What’s going on with this Glowing Stream Market? It’s just a backwater place, but it somehow attracted the attention of two Adepts.”

”Wait a moment. That dragon boat seems to be stopping above Cypress Mountain. Could it be the Luo Tian Sect?”

Under the gaze of countless onlookers, the massive flying boat that resembled a fiery dragon gradually slowed down. Billows of cloud rose around its hull and cradled it in midair above the lush green mountain. Streams of light appeared one after another from the vessel as cultivators rode flying artifacts in and out of Cypress Mountain.

The scene alone was enough to show that the visitors came as friends rather than enemies. Some busybodies flew up to a higher vantage point and caught sight of the great banner planted on the Crimson Flame Dragon Boat. The banner bore a complex emblem of rosy clouds shining upon a cauldron as alchemical sunfire rose—indeed, the sect insignia of the Luo Tian Sect.

Once this news spread, the cultivators in Glowing Stream Market immediately began buzzing with discussion.

As one of the markets on the route that led from the rear second-line regions to the three immortal cities of Tianlan, Thousand Leaves, and Great Radiance, Glowing Stream Market had always been a coveted prize. No one had expected the tiny Luo Tian Sect to get the jump on everyone back then.

”Actually, Cypress Mountain has become even more valuable because that third-tier cypress spirit tree finally caused the land to reach the second tier. Many forces have been eyeing this territory recently. Now that the rightful owner has arrived, I wonder how they plan to deal with the situation.”

”My guess is that the Luo Tian Sect will be forced to give it up.”

”Pft. On what grounds?”

”Yeah, what are you talking about? From what I’ve heard, Luo Chen joined forces with several other Adepts to form an alliance. They are not a small force by any standards, so who can force them to give it up?”

”Hehe, then I assume you haven’t heard that the Heavenly Blade Sect has set its sights on Cypress Mountain?”

”The Heavenly Blade Sect!?”

The moment that name was spoken, it drew a chorus of exclamations. Foreign cultivators did not understand the reaction. To them, it seemed strange that an obscure little sect could provoke such a stir. But soon enough, local cultivators who recognized the name began explaining about the Heavenly Blade Sect.

The Heavenly Blade Sect had originally been known as Heavenly Blade Fort. It was an old first-rate power in the Jade Cauldron Domain and had a patriarch at the Golden Core Realm from the very start of the domain. This sect had always served under the banner of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. A hundred years ago, it had declined to the brink of collapse and its territory had been coveted by another vassal of the Sword Sect, Cold Raven Abyss.

No one had expected the Heavenly Blade Fort patriarch to fake his death on the pretext that his lifespan was at its end and lured the newly advanced Adept of Cold Raven Abyss to visit in person. The patriarch then went on a suicidal attack, and the two of them perished together.

Afterward, a younger disciple of Heavenly Blade Fort managed to form a core by chance and took control of the fort. Not only that, he conveniently annexed most of Cold Raven Abyss’s power. As a result, the Heavenly Blade Fort grew stronger than ever before, and the new Adept used his own family’s inheritance as the foundation to establish it into a proper sect—the Heavenly Blade Sect.

During the Jade Cauldron civil war, they rendered considerable service to the Sword Sect and won its favor. Although their disciples suffered heavy losses in the war, the Heavenly Blade Sect’s sect master also gained something from the Divine Transformation pocket world. With that, although the sect as a whole ended up weakened, his personal combat strength grew significantly.

Then, at the Core Formation Ceremony of the Sword Sect prodigy Lin Qingxuan, an Adept from another domain came under the pretext of discussing the Dao and issued a challenge to him. The Heavenly Blade Sect’s sect master had stepped forward in the capacity of a vassal and fought on Lin Qingxuan’s behalf. He traded blows with that outsider for a good while without falling behind in the slightest. He not only preserved the Sword Sect’s prestige but also cemented his own reputation.

It could be said that if Luo Chen had not appeared out of nowhere and founded the Luo Tian Sect, the most prominent first-rate power in the Jade Cauldron Domain over the past fifty years would have been the Heavenly Blade Sect. Now that the Heavenly Blade Sect had set its sights on Cypress Mountain, which the Luo Tian Sect used as a branch stronghold, there was bound to be quite a spectacle.

For a time, many cultivators in Glowing Stream Market gathered in groups. They were all waiting to see what kind of commotion would unfold.

***

On the Crimson Flame Dragon Boat, Luo Chen held a copy of The Flame Alliance’s Essentials of Artifact Creation in one hand and browsed through it while listening to Feng Xia’s report on the Luo Tian Sect branch.

”Cypress Mountain serves primarily as the center for acquiring medicinal materials. The Frontier War has been advancing slowly, but quite a few bold cultivators have gone deep into the Howling Moon Mountain Range to gather rare herbs. Our position is farther to the rear, so we do not compete with the upper sects for the first pick of goods.”

Luo Chen gave a faint nod at that point. This had indeed been the right strategy. The upper sects were well known, and their reputation already established. Independent cultivators who disliked hassle would naturally think of those upper sects first whenever they gathered any rare medicinal herbs. If the Luo Tian Sect tried to compete with them head-on in the medicinal ingredients trade, there was no way they could win.

”But we followed the strategy laid out by Palace Leader Gu. We have offered high prices and guaranteed the sellers’ anonymity when we did business. Over time, we have built a fairly stable network of supply channels.”

Feng Xia spoke at an unhurried pace. She had taken over the position of palace leader of the Medicine Palace that Bian Zhen had left behind many years ago. After Duan Feng had led people to seize Cypress Mountain, she had taken up permanent residence there and thrown herself into the business of buying medicinal materials from the Great Million Mountains.

Naturally, purchasing herbs was their main line of work, but they also ran some supplementary trades for other kinds of resources. As long as they bought low, then resold those goods through the Luo Tian Sect at a higher price to other major sects, they could make a tidy profit.

By now, Feng Xia handled affairs here with practiced ease and knew every detail like the back of her hand. The only thing they had not anticipated was that the Falling Cloud Sect would slow the pace of the war and pause to build an immortal city. That change had turned Glowing Stream Market, which should have been a frontline hub, into a second-line hub instead. But even in this position, there was still plenty of profit to be made, which in turn had attracted the covetous eyes of quite a few of the lower-level forces.

”Those Foundation Establishment-level forces had either been pushed back by us or frightened off by the reputation of the Luo Tian Alliance. So far, nothing significant has occurred. However, the Heavenly Blade Sect recently turned its attention to Cypress Mountain. They have visited several times and expressed a desire to work with us.”

Luo Chen furrowed his brow and set his book aside. Cooperation? The Luo Tian Sect already had a partner here at Cypress Mountain—their old friends, the Kang family. The Heavenly Blade Sect wanted a share as well, and that was something he could not tolerate.

Luo Chen steadied himself and said, ”Tell me about the Heavenly Blade Sect.”

Feng Xia nodded and began to relay what they knew about the Heavenly Blade Sect in full.

”The Heavenly Blade Sect’s sect master is very powerful. Although he is only a second-stage Adept, he exchanged blows with a third-stage Adept without falling behind at all. However, the sect itself is relatively weak. During the civil war, they contributed too much and suffered heavy losses among their mid-level and low-level cultivators. Even after all this time, they still have not fully recovered. That is probably why they want to get a share of Cypress Mountain’s business. They also seem to understand very well that the Luo Tian Alliance only has in-depth cooperation with its partners when it comes to third-tier spirit veins and that we don’t particularly favor each other in ordinary business. On top of that, they have the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect behind them...”

Luo Chen listened in silence as his eyes slowly narrowed.

***

The Crimson Flame Dragon Boat had taken only one day to travel from Tianlan Immortal City to Glowing Stream Market. After arriving at the market, it had remained there for a full three days, and it gave people the impression that it would continue to stay exactly where it was. Only when a sharp aura returned from the front line, halted above Glowing Stream Market, and entered the dragon boat did the situation finally change.

Within the market, countless cultivators lifted their heads toward the dragon boat, excitement flickering in their eyes. The sect master of the Heavenly Blade Sect had returned. His purpose was naturally that spirit land at Cypress Mountain. Now that he had personally gone aboard Luo Chen’s vessel, there was no telling when a disagreement might erupt into a fierce battle. They were all certain there would be entertainment to watch.

Yet contrary to everyone’s expectations, there was not the slightest sign of a great battle breaking out on the dragon boat. After half a day had passed, two figures walked out of the vessel with no hint of tension in their bearing at all. Instead, they were all smiles, as if they were old friends delighting in an unexpected reunion.

Under a host of curious gazes, the sect master of the Heavenly Blade Sect, Song Mi, cupped his hands in salute to the young man in crimson robes.

”Dan Chenzi, I will wait for you at Taishan Market.”

The young man returned the salute as well and said with a hearty laugh, ”Fellow Daoist Song, you may go on ahead. I will be there tomorrow.”

With that said, Song Mi did not linger and left straight away. Luo Chen watched his departing back with a cheerful smile.

People are weird. The moment they achieve something major, they suddenly find the world full of ”good” people.

Before Luo Chen formed his core, he had spent his days treading on thin ice and acting with extreme caution. After Core Formation, every matter before him seemed to unfold smoothly, and everyone he met greeted him with a smile. It had been that way at his Core Formation Ceremony, during his visit to Green Pill Valley, and now even with an Adept he had never interacted with before. The so-called conflicts of interest no longer required blades and slaughter. It was enough to sit down and talk for a bit, and a solution would be found.

Back in the days of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment, such a thing would have been unimaginable. At that time, disputes easily escalated into full-scale battles. Defeat meant bowing low and surviving under the mercy of others at best, complete annihilation at worst.

After this bout of reflection, Luo Chen stepped back inside the dragon boat. A young woman had been waiting quietly for him. When she saw him come in, she bowed somewhat nervously and greeted him, ”Senior Luo...”

Luo Chen smiled and said in an easy tone, ”It is good that your grandfather has thought it through. Crimson Toad Mountain was polluted by the River Swallowing Toad’s demonic poison and was not a wholesome place. There was no need for him to cling to it.”

Kang Xianqiong asked with unease, ”If our entire family moves here, won’t it disturb the cultivation of your sect’s disciples?”