An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Above the sea, bubbles surged and waves scattered. Beneath the surface, two figures dove deeper and deeper, until they reached an immense trench in the very depths of the seabed.

The Black-Scaled Flood Dragon stopped and said respectfully, ”Master, this is the most well-hidden of the three backup bases.”

Luo Chen surveyed the trench stretching thousands of zhang, with its far end unseen. Along both sides of the chasm, clusters of strikingly red coral swayed gently. They were second-tier sentient invertebrates known as Blood Coral, a highly aggressive species. Their vivid appearance often lured sea creatures close, only for the coral to turn them into prey. As a result, this region was considered dangerous, and ordinary low-tier demonic beasts rarely ventured here.

He nodded in satisfaction. The exposure of Heavenjade Island had been within his expectations; it was bound to happen eventually. For that reason, he had instructed Heavenjade and Blackscale well in advance to seek alternative bases. This place was one of them, and the most hidden of the three they’d found.

Blackscale hesitated for a moment, then said, ”Master, the spirit energy here is only second-tier, and also water-element. I fear it’s not suitable for your cultivation. Why not relocate to Skidding Bone Island instead?”

Luo Chen waved his hand and walked toward the coral trench. ”Skidding Bone Island is too dangerous. Sure, it has a third-tier spirit vein, but it’s crawling with Hidden Dust Sand, and it’s right next to the Nine-Legged Poison King Crab territory. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Besides, I’ve already reached the fourth stage. For now, my priority is stabilizing my cultivation. I don’t need some exceptional spirit vein.”

After entering the coral trench, Luo Chen surveyed the surroundings before stopping beneath a section of rock wall. ”This place will do.”

Before he could take out the Mystic Flame Sword to carve a cave residence, Blackscale swam over. ”Master, let me do it! Such trivial matters are not worth expending your precious mana.”

As it spoke, it rammed into the rock wall. Its demonic power surged, turning into sharp blades that sliced through the hard stone.

Seeing his obsequious manner, Luo Chen could not help but laugh. ”Big Black, you really don’t need to go that far.”

But as he spoke, Luo Chen recalled how Blackscale had ignored its depleted demonic power and stepped forward to help him fight, as well as its hard work over the years. Even if its loyalty stemmed from enslavement and the lure of Imperial Nectar, it still deserved acknowledgment for its hard work. Calling it Big Black seemed a little bit too casual, and so was Blackscale. Even the gull was called Heavenjade.

With that in mind, Luo Chen asked, ”Speaking of which, do you have a proper name?”

Blackscale paused in its excavation and answered, ”When I was young, my clansmen called me Little Glutton because I could eat a lot. Later, I grew a bit fat, so they called me Big Black. Kun Jiao called me that too.”

Little Glutton, Big Black...

Luo Chen’s mouth twitched. No wonder the flood dragon had never found anything odd when he and the seagull addressed it as Big Black. That was its actual name! Even so, it was far too casual.

”That’s not good enough for you. I’ll give you a good name.”

The Black-Scaled Flood Dragon immediately stopped moving and looked at Luo Chen eagerly. ”You’re going to give me a proper name?”

Luo Chen nodded and looked at the sharp and imposing horn on the flood dragon’s head. It had awakened a powerful demonic ability that could devour anything, which would undoubtedly allow it to surpass the limitations of its original form. If it did not fall in the future, it would surely rise to prominence in the future and perhaps even become the sovereign of its kin.

With these thoughts in mind, Luo Chen said gently, ”From now on, you shall be called Black King!”

”Black Thing?” The Black-Scaled Flood Dragon froze, unable to react. Wasn’t that sort of... awful? He was a male, not a thing.[1]

Luo Chen laughed helplessly and repeated, ”Not Black Thing, Black King!”

This time, he heard it clearly. ”Oh, Black King? Black King!”

After murmuring the name to himself twice, his face lit up with unrestrained joy. ”Master, thank you for giving me this name!”

Luo Chen shook his head. ”Alright, that’s fine. Continue with your work.”

He then walked a short distance away. After a brief survey of the surroundings, he gradually formed a plan in his mind. Constantly using mana to resist the pressure of the deep sea and block the erosion of seawater was not a sustainable solution. He had originally intended to set up a second-tier Water Repellent Formation. But now, he had a better way to solve this.

He took out the compass he had recently obtained and extended his divine consciousness to erase the lingering imprint left behind by Red Seven. Demonic beasts were formidable in physique but comparatively weak in terms of the divine soul. Although Red Seven had been a mid-stage Demon King, its divine soul foundation was only equivalent to that of an early-stage Adept by human standards.

Meanwhile, Luo Chen’s divine soul foundation had grown alongside his cultivation to rival that of ordinary late-stage Adepts. He was also proficient in the Darkness restriction. Once he put his power and knowledge into action, it barely took a few breaths to completely erase the former master’s imprint.

Then, he infused mana into it. The three interlocking rings of the compass began to rotate slowly. The power of the earth vein below and the water-element spirit power around him were drawn in. Streams of water started to swirl around Luo Chen, and the nearby Blood Coral swayed instinctively in fear. Gradually, a curtain of water spread outward, steadily pushing aside the surrounding seawater. At the same time, strands of mist began to diffuse and expand, enveloping the area in a hazy veil.

It was the Surging Cloudmist Formation! It possessed powerful concealment properties and could seamlessly blend with its surroundings. After diffusing for a while, the mist transformed into streaks of red light that mirrored the appearance of the nearby Blood Coral. Anyone seeing it would think it was merely the coral’s reflected glow.

Luo Chen nodded in satisfaction at the sight. ”That should do it. With this setup, we can move without worry. Though it does burn through quite a bit of mana... Well, spirit stones are the way to go.”

While he set up the formation, Black King had also carved out a crude cave residence. Luo Chen stepped inside and offered a word of praise before embedding the formation disc at the center of the cave. He then arranged a Spirit-Gathering Formation around it. Once everything was completed, the place was finally suitable for short-term dwelling.

Clang!

Luo Chen summoned the Primordial Unity Cauldron. With a hand seal, Heavenjade was kicked out from within. ”Alright, wake up now. I will remove that Demon Suppression Talisman.”

This was not particularly difficult for him. The key issue lay in the high-tier cultivator’s mana imprint, which made it almost impossible to remove without the master talisman. But Luo Chen was no novice; all he needed to do was employ the fourth-tier Dragon-Slaying Art to sever the mana imprint directly.

Over the years, in order to eliminate the pesky medicinal fiend qi of the True Flame Pill, he had used the Dragon-Slaying Art day after day. His proficiency had already reached the Grandmaster level and was approaching Perfected Mastery. Severing the mana imprint of a seventh-stage Adept was well within his capability.

In less than half a day, the imprint completely dissipated. The original form of the Demon Suppression Talisman gradually surfaced upon Heavenjade’s forehead, where Luo Chen simply reached out and peeled it away. It drifted lightly to the ground, slowly losing its radiance.

The moment it was removed, a sense of freedom surged through the gull. As it activated its demonic power, it felt its entire body grow light and unburdened.

It lay on the ground and said joyfully, ”Master, thank you for removing the talisman!”

Luo Chen smiled faintly. ”You are my spirit beast. This is what I should do.”

As he spoke, the smile gradually faded from his face. When striking a dog, one must consider its master. Someone had dared to seize his spirit beast, and such a matter could not be dismissed lightly—particularly since they’d even fought Han Zhan for it. That made it all the more unforgivable.

”Do you still remember the aura of those people on that ship?”

Heavenjade froze for a moment before saying resentfully, ”Of course I do!”

The Battle Gull clan was notorious not just for being aggressive, but also for holding grudges. Remembering the aura of an enemy was an instinct etched into their very blood.

Luo Chen nodded. ”In that case, rest for a while, then track down that ship. Find out where they are and what they intend to do.”

A thought surfaced in the seagull’s mind. Could it be that Luo Chen intended to enact vengeance for it? The memory of being toyed with, captured, and suppressed stirred unrestrained hatred within it. If revenge was possible, it would be immensely satisfying. But...

”Master, are you intending to avenge me?” Heavenjade asked hesitantly. ”But... There are many Adepts aboard that ship. There are two mid-stage Adepts like you, and even a late-stage one.... Uhhh...”

A cold smile curled on Luo Chen’s lips. ”Don’t worry. Go take a look first. Just get a sense of the situation, and don’t alert them.”

Seeing its master’s resolve, Heavenjade did not try to persuade him anymore. It was even more eager for vengeance than he was, and it was unaccustomed to the oppressive environment of the deep sea. Hence, it immediately departed from the coral trench.

Watching its departing figure, Luo Chen let out a faint snort. He was actually rather curious as to why this ship brought no fewer than seven Adepts to the dangerous Profound Rock Sea Region. If they were merely passing through, he could swallow this grievance for now. But if they intended to conduct some major undertaking here, it would affect his grand plan of refining Black Sovereign Paste. Should that prove to be the case, then for the sake of safety, he might divert the disaster onto the five royal demon crab clans and borrow their strength to settle the score.

Amid chaos, he could also seize the opportunity to hunt more demonic crabs. In recent years, the number of demonic crabs he had captured had steadily declined. He had some, yes, but the number was far from sufficient to refine and stockpile the quantity of Black Sovereign Paste he required for his future cultivation plans after departing this region.

After thinking through everything, Luo Chen closed the cave residence door. He had just broken through and required stabilization. He could not allow trivial matters to cause this hard-earned cultivation to drop.

Soon, the steady rhythm of his breathing echoed softly within the coral trench cave. Though he had changed locations, it seemed to make no difference to him at all.

1. This is an untranslatable pun. Luo Chen says 就叫黑王吧 (jiù jiào hēiwáng ba, literally ”Then let’s call you Black King!”). 黑王(hēiwáng) means ”black king,” while the last character 吧 (ba) is a sentence-final particle with multiple meanings, in this case a soft suggestion/command. However, it also sounds like the number eight (八 bā), and what Blackscale hears is ”let’s call you 黑王八 (hēi wángbā).” The word 王八 (literally ”king eight”) actually refers to a turtle and is an insult akin to ”bastard,” because turtles lay their eggs and then leave, so they are of unverifiable parentage. Basically, Blackscale thinks LC is calling it ”black turtle/bastard.” ☜