An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Blackscale was originally a kind of demonic beast known as the Black-Scaled Giant Python, which lived within the Boundless Strait. This creature’s body was enormous, yet its strength was not particularly outstanding. If it had been powerful, it would not have been captured and subdued by someone like Kun Jiao.

The reason it had later evolved into a flood dragon was that Kun Jiao had nurtured... or rather forcefully grown it with a secret technique that forcibly awakened its bloodline and gave rise to that single dragon horn. Even so, its battle prowess had not undergone any qualitative leap. Against demonic beasts of the same realm, the outcome was a stalemate at best. Now that it had encountered the Overlord Crab, a demonic beast famed for its combat strength, it was being utterly suppressed.

Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and fierce winds howled. Luo Chen concealed himself upon the back of Heavenjade Battle Gull and carefully observed the battle below. The joy that had originally flickered in his eyes slowly vanished as his divine consciousness spread outward to probe the surrounding area.

”This many...”

Within the several hundred li of sea encompassed by his divine consciousness, countless demonic crabs lay hidden in the deep waters. Even farther away, indistinct shadows rose and fell amidst the rolling waves. How could he not understand the situation? Blackscale had walked straight into an ambush!

”I was careless. Letting Blackscale hunt in the same region for so long was bound to draw attention, especially from large demonic clans that move in groups. Now it’s more difficult for me to intervene.”

The conflicts among demonic beasts still lay within the limits of their internal order. But once an outsider intervened, the nature of the matter would change entirely. This was the case especially after the fall of the Primordial Devil Sect; although the demon powerhouses who had seized the Heaven of Northern Yama had not launched any large-scale offensives, their mere presence signaled that demonic beasts now held the upper hand in the Northern Sea.

”I’ll just leave that third-tier Overlord Crab be for now.”

Taking action was irrational, and Luo Chen abandoned that thought almost immediately.

Below, the heavily injured Blackscale had already grown terrified. As it watched its scales shatter inch by inch beneath those indestructible massive pincers, fear spread through its entire body. Worse still, it could sense countless hostile gazes converging from all directions. At this moment, it truly had no path to heaven and no door to the sea... Wait, heaven?

The moment it glanced upward, it found that there was indeed a lithe figure circling continuously under the dark clouds. When it saw this figure, Blackscale could no longer care about its dignity and shrieked hoarsely, ”Heavenjade! Save me!”

At that very moment, the Heavenjade Battle Gull flapped its wings furiously. A gust of wind blew, turning from a little breeze to an immense tornado. And as the tornado swept across the sea, a terrifying waterspout formed beneath it.

The waterspout enveloped precisely the place where Blackscale and the Overlord Crab fought. Under the pressure of that external force, both were forced to halt their struggle.

An opportunity! Heavenjade dove down and used its talons to seize the massive body of Blackscale. In a voice equally reassuring and commanding, it said, ”Don’t resist!”

Then, with a powerful beat of its wings, it rode the rising momentum of the waterspout and shot upward into the sky. A few rapid beats of its wings later, its figure had vanished into the horizon.

BOOOMMM!

With a thunderous roar, a massive creature shining with golden light raised its two golden pincers and violently shattered the waterspout. The third-tier Overlord Crab stepped out from within and stared savagely in the direction where Heavenjade had flown, letting out furious roars. After the waterspout dispersed, powerful demonic crabs that had been hiding everywhere in the vicinity gradually surrounded the area.

”Lord Golden Pincers, how did that mongrel escape?”

”If we let it get away, it might get us into trouble later!”

”I’ve heard that this black flood dragon had some kind of assistance. The Green Emperor clan circled it many times and it escaped every time. Now it seems those rumors were true.”

”Now that it has escaped, it will be harder to set up another ambush next time.”

At the waves of questioning voices, Golden Pincer’s brutal gaze swept across them. Wherever his eyes passed, silence fell. It snorted coldly. ”After taking that beating, even if that mongrel flood dragon doesn’t die, it doesn’t matter. It’s gravely wounded. It won’t be able to move for quite some time. And even if it can move... hmph. You think it’ll have the courage to come back?”

It then shifted its gaze toward the distant sea. On the horizon stood the island with the largest landmass in the Profound Rock Sea Region.

As it spoke, the pincers he brandished grew ever colder and sharper. The world only knew that demonic crabs ran rampant in the Profound Rock Sea Region. Yet they did not know that the true ruler of this sea was instead a Ring-Head Turtle bearing the bloodline of the Black Tortoise. Even the name of the sea region had originated countless years ago from that turtle’s true name.

***

On Heavenjade Island, Luo Chen looked at Blackscale, now curled into a tight mass in the cave residence. It was covered in grievous wounds, and it was barely moving. The corner of Luo Chen’s mouth twitched—earlier, he had not realized from afar how severely injured it was. These horrifying wounds would have killed a human cultivator a thousand times over. Blackscale survived because what it lacked in combat strength, it more than made up for in formidable vitality. That was the only reason it had endured. At the same time, from this incident, it could be inferred that the Overlord Crab was actually not at the middle stage of the third tier, as it appeared from the outside.

”Could it be a late-stage Demon King?” muttered Luo Chen to himself as he began treating Blackscale.

Ordinary cultivators had little recourse for such severe wounds; they could only wait, let time heal them, and pray for no hidden scars. Thankfully, Luo Chen was no ordinary cultivator. He used his power to the fullest, casting medical spell after medical spell. He repaired organs and reconnected bones; he removed damaged tissue and stopped the bleeding; he stimulated the flesh to regenerate like spring rain nurturing new life. With the addition of the medicinal ointments he had brought with him, Blackscale gradually escaped from danger. However, its body was simply too big. The entire course of treatment took Luo Chen a full ten days. Unlike in earlier years, he could no longer freely deploy the full medical arts, as they pertained to all five elements. He could only manage limited applications.

Luo Chen looked at Blackscale, which still appeared somewhat pitiful, and his heart softened for once. ”You have worked hard this past year. Take these as your reward.”

As he spoke, crystal clear pellets fell before Blackscale. Its eyes lit up at the sight. Demon cores! And all of them were second-tier at that! Normally, it could only nibble on scraps, mostly internal organs. It had never expected that after such grievous injury, its master would reward it with precious demon cores!

Ordinary demon beasts found it difficult to digest the demon cores of other races, but the Black-Scaled Giant Python was different. Its enormous body and exceptionally vigorous vitality both stemmed from its unparalleled digestive ability. Not to mention demon cores, even rocks and giant trees would do when food was scarce.

Its former master had been far too stingy. Every second-tier demonic beast it hunted had been then consumed by Kun Jiao, and he hadn’t even left it some scraps. After changing masters, it had still been treated as a mere tool, and it had naturally assumed that its life would continue in misery. Who would have expected that this master had a generous side?

”Thank you for the reward, Master!” Blackscale said ingratiatingly. ”With this batch of demon cores, my foundation will not decline. I will recover well and hunt even more demonic crabs for you.”

Luo Chen shook his head. For the time being, Blackscale would not be of use. Fortunately, he had already harvested a large number of demonic crabs. Many had yet to be refined into Black Sovereign Paste, so there was no urgency. Moreover, he still had Heavenjade at his command. With its freedom of movement, capturing low-tier demonic crabs was effortless.

Just as he was about to send Blackscale away to recuperate, a thought stirred. Your foundation?

A jade bottle appeared in his hand. ”Here, have a sip.”

Blackscale accepted the jade bottle doubtfully and opened it slightly. Inside, a viscous liquid shimmered like starlight.

”What is this?”

”Something you’ll really like.”

***

Giving Imperial Nectar to Blackscale was a decision Luo Chen had made on a whim, but it was no experiment. He knew all too well that Imperial Nectar was one of the most suitable spirit medicines for demonic beasts to establish their foundations. Otherwise, Nether Spring would not have taken notice of it.

On Green Parasol Mountain, he had refined many batches of Imperial Nectar and even brought his proficiency to Perfected Mastery. Although he had handed most of it over to Nether Spring, he had also retained a portion for himself. Naturally, every bottle he kept was supreme grade. Now, he wanted to see what effect such supreme-grade Imperial Nectar would have on Blackscale, whose aptitude was poor, whose build was cumbersome, and whose greatest talent lay in eating and drinking.

Of course, this was merely something casual he did with no particular expectations. If it proved effective, so much the better. If not, the loss would be negligible. Luo Chen’s true focus remained on his own cultivation; he didn’t want to become a beast tamer.

Batches of third-tier Black Sovereign Paste were refined and stored in black jars. Even with daily consumption, his reserves continued to grow. Heavenjade no longer lived leisurely and was forced to take over Blackscale’s duties, capturing second-tier demonic crabs for him. However, having learned from Blackscale’s lesson, Luo Chen became even more cautious. Each time Heavenjade went out hunting, he warned it to be careful. If it encountered enemies, it was to get away from them and not lure them back home. For this reason, he had Han Zhan prepare a warning method that could be triggered instantly and had Heavenjade carry it at all times.

***

The days slipped by unnoticed, and before he realized it, five years had already passed since he came to the Profound Rock Sea Region. During these years, through the joint efforts of Blackscale and Heavenjade, countless demonic crabs had lost their shells to Luo Chen’s genocidal refinement.

Throughout this process, the two demonic beasts encountered countless dangers. The encirclement of the Overlord Crab clan was only one example. On one occasion, Blackscale tried to capture a second-tier Crimson Rock Crab for Luo Chen but accidentally provoked a group of them that had come ashore to bask in the sun. By the time it narrowly escaped, its entire body had turned bright red, as if it had been steamed alive. Luo Chen expended great effort before he managed to heal it.

Heavenjade was not unscathed either. Knowing that Luo Chen favored the tender flesh of the Demon Spider Crab, it paid special attention to tracking them whenever it went out hunting. However, this demonic beast was extremely bizarre, and the ”spider silk” it produced was extremely tough. Even the swift and agile gull found it difficult to break free once entangled. Had Blackscale not repaid its life-saving debt by desperately restraining that third-tier Demon Spider Crab until Luo Chen arrived to rescue them, Heavenjade might have perished beneath the crab’s deadly pincers.

That dangers occurred so frequently over these years was only to be expected. With such large-scale hunt of second-tier demonic crabs, how could the royal crab clans remain indifferent? Especially since Luo Chen demanded that his crabs be brought alive. That gave the third-tier powerhouses among those royal clans sufficient time to respond. As long as the prey held out long enough, reinforcements from their clan would arrive.

Thus, the two demonic beasts under Luo Chen’s command frequently faced danger. Yet even so, they pressed on tirelessly, doing their utmost to hunt more demonic beasts for him. And the reason they were so eager to fight for their master was... Imperial Nectar!

After consuming Imperial Nectar several times over the course of four years, Blackscale underwent a transformation. Not only did its cultivation improve, but it even inexplicably became able to use a demonic ability. This ability generated a tremendous suction force across a radius of a hundred li, and within ten li, even Luo Chen struggled to resist that terrifying pull. Under that dreadful suction, everything could be devoured. Once swallowed into Blackscale’s body, it would be refined by the acidic fluids within and turned into nourishment for its cultivation.

Regarding this ability, Han Zhan took no time to offer an explanation. ”Bloodline inheritance!”

The ancestry of Blackscale was unknown. The Black-Scaled Giant Python was a relatively ordinary demonic beast race, and after countless generations of interbreeding, its bloodline had become mixed, with who-knew-how-many variants. Because of this impurity, such demonic beasts found it difficult to evolve, or rather revert, their bloodline into that of a higher-level demon ancestor. When Kun Jiao used a secret technique to force an evolution into a third-tier flood dragon, he merely stimulated the faint trace of flood dragon bloodline within it. Sadly, that trace was simply insufficient to trigger a fundamental transformation.

Yet thanks to Luo Chen’s abundant supply of supreme-grade Imperial Nectar, Blackscale finally unearthed something within its bloodline. If this devouring ability was properly utilized, its future potential was limitless. Because of this transformation, Blackscale began working wholeheartedly for Luo Chen, and it no longer complained. The proud Heavenjade did not complain much, yet it also exerted itself even more diligently in hopes of receiving additional supreme-grade Imperial Nectar.

Unfortunately, once Luo Chen’s reserves were exhausted, there was nothing more he could do. The main ingredients of Imperial Nectar were not the issue; he lacked everything but second-tier demonic beast flesh and bones. Yet at the same time... he really lacked everything but that. The seemingly minor supplementary ingredients became the true limitation. After refining two more furnaces of supreme-grade Imperial Nectar, they were completely depleted. Moreover, as his current focus was not on nurturing two beasts, he had no intention of wasting time finding a solution.

After dismissing Blackscale yet again, even as it looked at him expectantly, Luo Chen activated the formation to isolate the cave from the outside world. He swallowed one of his few remaining supreme-grade True Flame Pills and began cultivating. A majestic aura gradually surged forth as spirit energy flowed ceaselessly into his body. If not suppressed by the grand formation, it would have spread over a hundred li.

Outside the formation, Han Zhan was working on the Myriad Soul Formation, which now sported over a thousand second-tier demon souls and two Ghost Kings. He instinctively glanced in the direction of the cave.

”Oh my, are we breaking through now? Damn... He came here to temper his physique, but after all that steady work, his qi cultivation also reached the fourth stage. I’d say it’s fortunate, but how many people are hard-working enough to enjoy such fortune? Luo Chen... In all my years of cultivation, I’ve rarely seen people like you.”

As Han Zhan sighed, his mind suddenly stirred. With a beckoning gesture, a dull-witted little ghost flew before him. ”Hm? My transmission ghost has vanished. Did something happen to Heavenjade?”

He glanced toward Luo Chen’s cave. After leaving behind a transmission talisman, he controlled the Myriad Soul Banner and departed from Heavenjade Island.

Luo Chen had never mentioned anything of the kind, but after all this time, he had grown somewhat attached to the two beasts. They bore the heavy responsibility of hunting for him. If there was a chance to preserve them, Han Zhan had to act.

Above the wide sea, a mass of black clouds swept southward.