An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Luo Chen occasionally went down into the depths of the dungeon to check on Heaven Smelter. The latter remained completely motionless, with his entire focus poured into the massive furnace dedicated to artifact crafting. The Wind-Lightning Hammer continued to strike again and again within the furnace.

After three months, Luo Chen arrived once more, this time accompanied by Azure Frost. Heaven Smelter nodded at them, then lifted the furnace lid.

A small cauldron with three legs and two handles floated out, accompanied by hazy spirit light. Its round body seemed capable of containing all things beneath heaven and earth. At the sight of it, Heaven Smelter showed a deeply satisfied smile.

”The embryo is excellent. Once the formations are engraved and the remaining materials are added, it will be considered a success.”

Heaven Smelter made it sound easy, but in truth, this was the hardest step of all. He suddenly asked, ”When I craft artifacts, I usually have a formation master from the sect assisting me. Do any of you understand formations?”

Luo Chen was stunned. He did understand formations, but only the basics. Over the years, he had occasionally practiced the most basic formations of the five elements. Sadly, he was quite far from calling himself a formation master.

Azure Frost frowned slightly. ”I don’t.”

Heaven Smelter let out a soft sound of acknowledgement and said casually, ”In that case, why not invite Fellow Daoist Han over to help?”

”Han Zhan?”

”Yes. He has close ties with Skysail City. Actually, the bodies of those sword puppets and even that Nascent Soul avatar puppet of his were all refined by me. He’s well-versed in formations, which makes him the perfect helper.”

Luo Chen hesitated and instinctively looked toward Azure Frost. The demoness’s slender brows knit briefly, but then she extended her hand and beckoned. In the next moment, a three-cun-tall figure appeared within the prison. Upon arriving, Han Zhan looked understandably confused, but he didn’t require much persuasion; hearing the request, he just nodded.

Heaven Smelter then blinked at Luo Chen. ”Junior, your life-bound enchanted treasure is being refined personally by two Sages. Don’t let it go to waste later on.”

”I am looking forward to it,” Luo Chen replied.

Though he spoke lightly, the light in his eyes showed that he truly looked forward to it. Soon, under the joint efforts of Heaven Smelter and Han Zhan, the formations required for the Primordial Unity Cauldron were carefully laid down, one by one. The process involved many steps, but each was carried out swiftly. First came the most basic Compliance Formation, followed by the Five Elements Mutual Generation Formation, along with the three major spirit formations—Spirit Gathering, Spirit Nurturing, and Spirit Stabilization...

Formation after formation was laid down, each more intricate than the last. At the very end, Heaven Smelter and Han Zhan exchanged a glance.

”Reverse!”

The grand formation abruptly reversed. The Five Elements Mutual Generation Formations shifted from mutual generation to mutual restraint, then under the three major spirit formations, it returned to a state of primordial unity.

Azure Frost watched attentively from the side, and a contemplative look appeared on her face. Seeing Luo Chen look somewhat lost, she spoke softly, ”Artifact creation can also be regarded as part of cultivation. I am not even an amateur when it comes to formations, but even I can see the cultivation principles behind it. First the five qi disperse, then they return to the origin. When the three spirits converge, the three flowers gather upon the cauldron. It’s a method that refines the treasure and the self in equal measure.”

Luo Chen nodded in understanding. It made sense for the Dao of Artifact Creation to be profound—when he refined pills in the past, he had often experienced similar moments of insight.

Suddenly, Heaven Smelter’s expression changed. ”Wait! Something’s wrong... Damn, it’s that drop of blood!”

A strange force slowly seeped out from the small cauldron. As it spread, the already formed embryo began to show signs of melting. The formations that had been clearly engraved upon it gradually blurred.

Luo Chen asked anxiously, ”Is everything okay?”

Heaven Smelter’s thoughts raced as realization struck him. ”The materials—take out all the materials you collected! Now!”

Luo Chen did not wait even a second longer. In an instant, the empty dungeon cell was filled with materials once more. This time, Heaven Smelter had no time to process them in advance and directly cast them toward the Primordial Unity Cauldron floating above the furnace.

Before long, Luo Chen’s storage pouch was nearly emptied. Heaven Smelter’s expression turned both frantic and exhilarated.

”Not enough... still not enough! Bring the Cold Marrow Ice Essence! Oh, and the Millennial Lightning Essence too! Damn... is there any more? Even ordinary Lightning Essence will do, just give me some! Ughh... It’s still not enough!”

Luo Chen clenched his teeth and, ignoring the astonished gazes of the others, took out two more Millennial Lightning Essences from his storage pouch. With three Millennial Lightning Essences reinforcing it, the violent tremble within the furnace finally began to reduce.

Seeing this, Heaven Smelter pressed his dry lips together. ”Since it has come to this, I really want to know just how far this treasure can go.”

As he spoke, he tapped his storage ring, and a stream of eerie wind appeared in his hand. Luo Chen’s eyelids twitched. Azure Eerie Wind! Diwu Qi’s secret killing move!

Yet Diwu Qi barely had a wisp of it, while Heaven Smelter had just produced an entire stream. It was at least ten times more than what Diwu Qi had. Heaven Smelter was truly sparing no expense, and it wasn’t even for his own item!

As the Azure Eerie Wind flew inside, the furnace immediately erupted with wind and lightning, while five-colored radiance continuously bloomed. Below, the raging flames burned without cease. Above, the Cold Marrow Ice Essence drew in every last trace of cold energy in the surroundings.

Faintly, a trace of blood-colored light could be seen seeping into the small three-legged cauldron.

Yet Heaven Smelter still seemed unsatisfied. He suddenly raised his head and turned toward Azure Frost. ”Can you please lend me a hand?”

Azure Frost looked puzzled. ”Why should I help?”

Heaven Smelter said bitterly, ”We all know what awaits me in the future. I have no other wishes now; all I want is to leave behind one piece I can truly be proud of before I die. Because of that strange drop of blood, the Primordial Unity Cauldron has absorbed too many raw materials that were never properly refined. Right now, its power is more than enough, but its purity is lacking. I hope you can infuse it with a trace of the void law you’ve comprehended. With that, it will gain enough internal space to properly merge and settle everything within.”

Azure Frost still hesitated. Luo Chen clenched his teeth and took out two more Millennial Lightning Essences from his storage ring. ”I hope you can lend me a hand.”

Azure Frost raised an eyebrow and glanced at the storage ring on Luo Chen’s finger. With a sweep of her sleeve, the two Millennial Lightning Essences vanished. ”Tell me, how do you want me to help?”

Heaven Smelter was overjoyed and carefully explained. Azure Frost listened attentively. After making sure she understood everything, she began to act according to Heaven Smelter’s instructions, sending streams of demonic power into the small cauldron within the furnace. Each time demonic power was infused, the small cauldron—now bloated as if it had eaten too much—would shrink slightly in size.

Gradually, it became smaller and smaller, until it finally condensed to roughly three cun in diameter. Throughout this process, Heaven Smelter and Han Zhan continued to recreate the previously arranged formations, ensuring that they were perfectly engraved on both the inside and outside surfaces of the cauldron.

Time passed, but none of those involved could tell how long it was. Until one day...

DING!!!

A clear chime echoed throughout Green Parasol Mountain. The three Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously withdrew their hands. A brand-new five-colored cauldron floated above the dungeon, and rich spirit energy surged toward it. The entire cauldron emanated an unmistakable sense of hunger.

Luo Chen examined it closely. There were lines that crisscrossed on the cauldron’s surface, interweaving into patterns that carried an inexplicable rhythm that seemed to originate from the Great Dao itself. There were no carvings of flowers, birds, insects, fish, mountains, or rivers, as customary on such items. Yet that subtle Dao rhythm alone caused a sense of extraordinariness to arise the moment one laid eyes upon it.

”Primordial unity, perfectly fused.... A top grade cauldron! Hahahahahaha... As expected of me! Truly as expected of me!”

Within the dungeon, Heaven Smelter let out unrestrained laughter. He laughed until tears flowed from the corners of his eyes!

”Congratulations, Senior. You have my deepest gratitude.” Luo Chen bowed deeply.

Heaven Smelter waved his hand. ”Come, bind it to yourself. From this day onward, you will have a treasure that belongs to you alone.”

Luo Chen swallowed and stepped forward. He forced out a drop of his blood essence and let it fall upon it. As the blood stained it, the five-colored radiance on the small cauldron gradually merged, eventually turning into a hazy gray.

Han Zhan watched this scene with envy in his eyes. ”At the early stage of the Golden Core Realm, you already have a top-grade enchanted treasure as your life-bound treasure. What incredible fortune this is! If you can reach the Nascent Soul Realm in the future, this will naturally become a True Artifact.”

Heaven Smelter nodded with satisfaction. ”That’s the least it can do to live up to the glory of my final masterpiece.”

Han Zhan nodded and quietly glanced at the silent demoness. Three Sages had acted together, supplemented by countless precious materials. Even treasures like Millennial Lightning Essence had been consumed in multiples. For such a creation to reach the top grade was to be expected. In fact, it was not that it had reached it, but that it started from it. The top grade was merely the baseline!

Azure Frost seemed to notice Han Zhan’s gaze. With a casual wave of her hand, his figure vanished from where he stood, returning to his own cell. Seeing this, Heaven Smelter understood—everything would soon return to its original course. He sighed softly and his gaze lingered unwillingly on the small gray cauldron.

”This treasure was made according to the instructions, more or less. But we added too many materials, not to mention that strange drop of blood and a trace of Fellow Daoist Azure Frost’s void power. Its effects will be entirely different from the Primordial Unity Cauldron of Green Pill Valley. If you have time in the future, come find me. We can explore it together.”

Luo Chen nodded heavily and accepted the offer. After Azure Frost reestablished the restrictions upon Heaven Smelter, he left the dungeon.

The moment he emerged into daylight, Azure Frost’s voice sounded by his ear. ”Take out three more Millennial Lightning Essences. Nether Spring wants them.”

Luo Chen had already expected this. In truth, he had been prepared to hand over all of them. That she only asked for three was already very considerate. Without hesitation, he took out three more Millennial Lightning Essences from his storage ring and handed them over.

In total, he had possessed eighteen. Three were consumed by his life-bound enchanted treasure, two had been given to Azure Frost, and another three now went to Nether Spring. Now, he had ten remaining.

Who cares, it’s all worth it!

Luo Chen placed a hand over his lower abdomen. Within the boundless sea of fire inside him, a small gray cauldron with three legs and two handles floated quietly, unmoving. A crimson core zoomed around the gray cauldron in delight, like a child who had just obtained a new toy.