An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

What an annoying thing is excessive fortune, one might say.

Another great surprise was the increasing speed at which the Moonbreak Wings were being nurtured. Due to their original materials, the Moonbreak Wings were an extremely pure fire-element item. Now that they were nourished by the equally pure fire-element mana, they changed dramatically with each passing day. The Mystic Flame Sword was the same. The only drawback was that the offensive might of the Heavenly Moon Purple Gold Wheel and the three piercing nails had declined significantly.

With the loss of the other four attributes of mana, Luo Chen could no longer pursue balanced five-element development, and he inevitably gained certain shortcomings in his methods. However, his strengths had also become far more pronounced. Regarding this, Luo Chen felt only slight regret, nothing too excessive. All he could do was shrug and accept that gains and losses walked hand in hand.

Finally, another surprise came from his own creation, Myriad Path Convergence. Although the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture fundamentally pertained to Qi Refinement, due to its demonic origins, it also incorporated certain features useful for Physique Refinement. The predecessor of Myriad Path Convergence was the Sky Roc Transformation, which was likewise a form of demonic-beast-like cultivation. The concepts behind the two were somewhat similar. Luo Chen had a feeling that if he could integrate those parts of the scripture into Myriad Path Convergence, he would further accelerate the speed of his physique cultivation.

”What a pity. Living under someone else’s roof may feel like you have all the time in the world, but in reality, you don’t get to decide anything. If I could take my time and really work through all of this, the gains would be immense. But I’ve been in seclusion for too long. The beings outside are probably getting impatient by now.”

Luo Chen had no choice. The abrupt advance in cultivation speed had not made him forget his own status. They had not given him such an excellent cultivation technique for nothing; they simply wanted him to contribute more. Thus, after making a few simple adjustments over the course of a day, he resumed his usual routine and moved about Green Parasol Mountain as before, refining Imperial Nectar for the demonic birds of the region.

The Imperial Nectar he had refined back then was already being consumed, and the effects soon became evident. Several first-tier avian beasts had advanced to the second tier after taking the spirit medicine.

***

In the mountains, there was neither sun nor moon, and a thousand years could pass unnoticed. Days spent toiling for another’s benefit were even more numbing and dull.

For Luo Chen, fatigue itself was hardly an issue. In fact, he was filled with a quiet sense of satisfaction because of the explosive increase in his cultivation speed that steadily brought him closer to the third stage. Yet the passage of time was unavoidable, and before he knew it, a year slipped by. Over that year, Luo Chen flew across Green Parasol Mountain so frequently that many of the denizens had come to know him by name.

Those with gentler temperaments addressed him as Dan Chenzi. Those who had received guidance from him in the Dao of Alchemy and began to step onto the path of alchemy respectfully called him Master Luo. As for those with vicious dispositions, who looked down upon the human race, they either spat out the word ”human” at every turn or simply called him by his name.

Luo Chen paid none of it any mind. He continued to live reclusively, only leaving his residence when he had to. Each day was spent on three things alone: processing medicinal materials, refining pills, and cultivating. Amid such a monotonous routine, his proficiency with Imperial Nectar had long since reached the level of Perfected Mastery. Even though he refrained from concocting supreme-grade Imperial Nectar, he could already achieve a fifty percent success rate when refining top-grade one. Such progress was truly astonishing.

His mastery over the Withering-Flourishing True Fire had likewise reached a frightening level. One time, while dealing with a third-tier demonic beast that was not yet completely dead, Luo Chen took advantage of the absence of the crowd and quietly incinerated and refined it with the Withering-Flourishing True Fire. The entire process took no more than fifteen minutes before the beast was completely gone. After that, he immediately felt a surge of vigorous vitality arise within his body.

He immediately opened the status panel. In the lifespan section, the upper limit had increased by a full year! A single third-tier demonic beast had actually extended his lifespan by one year! That left Luo Chen both shocked and delighted. If he were to abandon restraint, hunt down third-tier demonic beasts in large numbers, and refine and devour their life force, would immortality not be within reach? Sadly, it was obvious that he could not bring himself to act so recklessly. He thus pressed those thoughts firmly into the depths of his heart.

During this same period, as his fire control advanced by leaps and bounds, his alchemy likewise underwent a significant rise. This was something everyone could plainly see. And because of that, certain matters inevitably found their way to him.

***

Inside the Transcendence Palace, Luo Chen stared at the thin sheet of parchment in his hand, and his fingers trembled slightly. Meanwhile, the crow paced lightly atop the black jade steps of the palace, wings tucked behind her back as if mimicking a human clasping their hands behind them. Her strange cadence echoed endlessly from her beak in a manner that sounded unbearably harsh in Luo Chen’s ears.

”The archaic wild beasts of the Mountains and Seas Realm suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of human cultivators in ancient times. That loss forced them to reflect deeply. In the end, they chose to abandon their old cultivation path. They no longer relied on the slow, natural transformation and growth. Instead, they began to imitate human cultivators, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and forcefully drawing in the spirit energy. Thus, they embarked on a path of demon cultivation modeled after that of humans.

”It was because of this shift that distinctions emerged between wild beasts and demonic beasts. To walk the demon cultivator path, a demonic beast begins forming a core as early as the second tier, refining the transverse bone so that its body gradually approaches human form. The most critical stage comes at the transition from the third tier to the fourth. Under the lightning tribulation, the demon transforms fully; it takes on humanoid form complete with meridians, acupoints, and a Purple Palace that is equivalent to the sea of qi. Only then can it practice human techniques at human speed.

”It’s not something we really want to do, but there is no helping it. Demonic beasts are born with long lifespans, but their advancement is painfully slow. Only by transforming can they barely keep pace with the human race. In this sense, their choice is simple: learn from the strengths of others and survive... or perish.”

All of a sudden, Nether Spring halted her steps. She cast a glance at Luo Chen’s darkened expression and changed direction as she continued pacing.

”Even so, it is still far too slow. The lands that can sustain our races grow fewer with each passing age, and the number of fourth-tier demonic beasts capable of transformation continues to dwindle. Some, like Pure Crane, even abandoned us after taking human form, seduced by human Dao legacies and defecting of their own accord.

”For that reason, the great powers of the demon races devoted themselves to studying bloodline inheritance and human cultivation texts, searching for a solution. Whether others succeeded, I don’t know. But Primal Sovereign Rosycloud of our Green Parasol Mountain was uniquely favored by the heavens and managed to create an alchemical formula. This formula draws upon human alchemy principles, taking their strengths to remedy our weaknesses. It is called the Transformation Pill.”

The piece of parchment suddenly felt unbearably heavy in Luo Chen’s hand.

He spoke hoarsely, ”According to this description, a third-tier demonic beast that consumes this pill can take on human form and cultivate your improved demon cultivation techniques?”

Nether Spring cackled. ”Exactly. In this way, levels that would take demonic beasts thousands of years to cross can be shortened to the same span as humans. In four or five hundred years, they can condense a Nascent Soul and step into the fourth tier.”

The pride in her laughter was unrestrained and unreserved. She clearly held absolute confidence in the formula. And from Luo Chen’s perspective as an alchemist, that confidence... was not misplaced. The pill formula was grand in conception, ancient in structure, and nearly flawless. It was truly feasible.

But if so, would that not mean demonic beasts could possess both their innate long lifespans and the same cultivation speed as human cultivators? In the long run, the balance of power in the Mountains and Seas Realm would inevitably reverse. And when that happened, Luo Chen would be the one to blame.

He shuddered violently. With a bitter expression, he said, ”Deputy Palace Leader, aren’t you overestimating me? This is a fourth-tier pill. I am merely a third-tier alchemist. I fear I cannot refine it.”

”No, you can!”

”I—”

”Are you saying you cannot?!”

Nether Spring came to a halt and fixed her gaze on Luo Chen. As their gazes met, Luo Chen let out a muffled groan. He had long guarded his divine soul with Mirror Flower Water Moon, yet the barrier shattered instantly under her divine soul assault. He unconsciously said, ”It might be worth a try.”

Nether Spring blinked, and Luo Chen immediately came back to his senses. He was clear-headed again, yet his expression only grew darker. The power of her divine soul was something he simply could not resist at his level, even with prior preparation.

”I highly suggest that you forget those little schemes of yours. The Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture was not given to you for nothing. You have a fourth-tier true fire, your fire control has reached its peak, and you will have the full support of Green Parasol Mountain. Refining a fourth-tier pill is hardly an impossible task. Moreover, the Primal Sovereign has said this formula is not particularly difficult to refine. With your solid foundation in alchemy, you shouldn’t need more than a few attempts. Luo Chen, do not disappoint me!”

Luo Chen’s mouth twitched, and he found himself unable to voice any rebuttal. He merely said that he needed time to study it carefully, then walked out of the Transcendence Palace in a daze.

After stepping outside, he once again took a look at the parchment with the alchemical formula.

The Transformation Pill.

Primary ingredients: human cultivator’s Nascent Soul, human cultivator’s blood essence

Just these two points alone were enough to make one’s scalp prickle. He had always believed that pills were refined from herbs and demonic beast materials. Yet this time, cultivators themselves were to be used as ingredients, and not just any cultivators, but Sages! That was the crystallization of a cultivator’s entire lifetime of cultivation, something that could rightly be called a Dao Fruit! Using such a thing to refine pills was no different from falling into the evil path.

”Well, what can I say. This is a demon’s alchemical formula to begin with. Using humans as the main ingredient is no different from how I’m refining medicine from demonic beast flesh and blood.”

He lifted his gaze toward the azure sky. The sky stretched ten thousand li without a cloud, and it was perfectly clear. It should have been a sight to lift the spirit, yet he only felt himself sinking deeper and deeper, his entire body heavy and powerless, as though he would never be able to escape this mire for the rest of his life.

At that very moment, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in the sky. Luo Chen froze. Azure Frost? Why did she come out for no reason at all?

In the next instant, Azure Frost lightly clenched her fist and threw a punch toward an empty stretch of space.

Boom!

As the punch landed, space trembled, and ripples spread like waves upon water. Spirit light burst forth between heaven and earth. A gauze-like enchanted treasure shattered instantly into fragments. Beneath the hazy veil, three figures appeared without the slightest concealment and fully exposed themselves before Green Parasol Mountain.

With just a single glance, Luo Chen’s face lit up with wild joy. However, before he could rush out, a gust of black wind surged from within the Transcendence Palace, wrapping around him and dragging him deep into the palace.

At the same time, the crow crossed paths with him, shooting out of the Transcendence Palace. As they passed each other, a divine soul transmission rang in Luo Chen’s ears. ”Stay where you are and do not stir up trouble. Three late-stage Sages aren’t enough to breach Green Parasol Mountain.”

At the same moment, three voices exploded like thunder from the clear sky.

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am the Grand Elder of Silktree Sect.”

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am the Divine Origin of the Five Elements Divine Sect.”

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am Huiping from the Heavenly Apex Chan Sect.”[1]

1. Chán (禅) is the original Chinese version of Zen Buddhism. ☜