An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

”So this is the Ring-Head Turtle?”

In an underground cave residence, Luo Chen stared in amazement at the creature lying before him. It had the body of a turtle and the head of a snake, and its neck was long and slender. When he infused a thread of mana into it, the creature reacted instinctively and extended its neck. The length of that supple neck was astonishing. It could coil once around its own body with ease.

”So what is it supposed to be? A snake-head turtle or a shelled snake?”

Luo Chen stared at it in surprise. For a moment, it even reminded him of the mythical Black Tortoise. The difference was that the Black Tortoise was depicted as a dark serpent coiled around a turtle[1], while this Ring-Head Turtle had a turtle’s body and a snake’s head. It looked rather odd and slightly mismatched.

Black King spoke at this moment, ”Master, that’s a low-tier Ring-Head Turtle. Once they reach the third tier, they start to change.”

”Oh? They change after the third tier?” Luo Chen became interested.

The Ring-Head Turtle before him was a first-tier specimen that he had managed to capture not long ago. Since it was low-tier, it possessed little spirit intelligence, so there was little to find out from it. That said, he had assumed that differences between demonic beasts of the same species lay just in tier and strength; he had not expected that further variations existed beyond the cultivation level.

Black King flicked his snake tongue and replied, ”The Ring-Head Turtles aren’t like those with mixed bloodlines. They’re true great demons with traceable ancestry. From what I heard from the elders of my Black-Scaled Giant Python clan, they carry two bloodlines, Black Tortoise and Cliff Serpent. Both are thin, but still far purer than what most demon clans have. As their cultivation rises, their demonic power tempers the bloodline. Little by little, they refine one of the two to its limit and draw closer to their ancestral form. The third tier is the turning point. Once they reach that stage, they choose their cultivation path for good and start preparing for the Transformation Stage.”

After several years at Luo Chen’s side, Black King had become better at human speech through constant exposure. By now, he spoke with convincing fluency. As he explained the matter step by step, his words carried clear structure and logic.

Luo Chen listened in silence and nodded from time to time. Refining the bloodline in order to reach closer to the might of one’s ancestors aligned perfectly with the cultivation path of demonic beasts. The Black Tortoise and the Cliff Serpent were both renowned great demons, mentioned in the legends of the Mountain and Sea Realm. With those two bloodlines as a direction, Ring-Head Turtles possessed a far clearer direction in cultivation than Black-Scaled Giant Pythons or the various demonic crabs, whose bloodlines were comparatively mixed and diluted.

Luo Chen rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, ”So if that’s the case, when Demon Emperor Profound Rock transformed, it must’ve refined its bloodline to the limit... and evolved to become a Black Tortoise.”

As he muttered to himself, his gaze fell upon the Ring-Head Turtle’s shell. He wondered whether this armor could be used to refine Black Sovereign Paste, and what effect the finished product might produce.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. He had succeeded in refining the paste from demonic crab shells only after extensive preparation and repeated experimentation with numerous auxiliary materials. If he replaced the primary ingredient, he would also need to alter the auxiliary materials accordingly. That process would demand time and effort he could not spare.

”Black King, how’s it looking out there?”

”Master, the five royal demonic crab clans have gathered around Profound Rock Island. They’ve deployed millions of troops and it looks like they’re preparing to wipe out the Ring-Head Turtle clan for good,” Black King replied.

When he heard the figure, Luo Chen’s eyelid twitched. He had always known that the demonic crab clans were vast in number. Their reproductive capacity was astonishing, even surpassing that of the human race. That was also one of the main reasons he had chosen the Profound Rock Sea Region as his hunting ground. With so many crabs roaming the waters, grabbing a handful to refine into medicine should hardly attract notice... right?

At least, that had been his reasoning. But he had not anticipated something of this magnitude. They had mobilized millions! Even if most of them were first-tier foot soldiers, sheer numbers alone could become a crushing force. A swarm of ants could bring down an elephant. With the five royal clans united, the Ring-Head Turtle clan now faced a truly perilous situation.

”Master!” A crisp voice echoed, this time Heavenjade’s. ”I just noticed something. Those human cultivators... they seem to have joined forces with the crabs.”

”They... what?” The news stunned Luo Chen.

***

Across the vast expanse of sea, the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens and churned the waters.

Luo Chen had fully activated the Concealment Veil Formation. He erased every trace of his aura and hid within the depths of the ocean. Spirit light flared in his sharp eyes as he surveyed the battlefield through seawater stained red with blood. Countless Crab Soldiers and Crab Generals advanced in waves; one Crab King after another led the charge against islands of varying sizes.

Upon those islands, the Ring-Head Turtle clan’s experts stood firm, showing that they were ready to fight to the death rather than retreat. Although the disparity in numbers was immense, the islands had remained under their control for many years and had been integrated into the grand formation. Through this formation, the Ring-Head Turtle experts could draw upon the spirit energy of the land and alternate between offense and defense as needed.

For the moment, the situation remained balanced. Yet in Luo Chen’s view, the stalemate would not last. As their effective fighting strength diminished, the balance of victory would gradually tilt. After observing for a time, a trace of regret surfaced on his face.

”These three islands will probably fall too.”

He saw it clearly. The Ring-Head Turtles were technically in control of the grand formation, but in reality, only a handful of experts seemed actually capable of controlling it. Given the overwhelming disparity in numbers, the fall of those outer islands was inevitable unless reinforcements were sent.

Luo Chen did not dare release his divine consciousness. He feared attracting the attention of an existence whose divine soul foundation surpassed his own. Fortunately, his keen eyesight allowed him to observe events from a great distance.

In his line of sight, several enormous demonic clouds flew in from the direction of Profound Rock Island. Those who could ride demonic clouds to fly were at least second-tier demonic beasts. And to control such massive demonic clouds, there had to be Demon Kings within.

The Ring-Head Turtle clan had indeed dispatched Demon Kings as reinforcements. Yet before those clouds could approach the three islands, more than a dozen streaks of light burst out from nearby waters and converged upon them. The battle erupted!

The five royal crab clans had joined forces and waited in ambush. They had the advantage of both preparation and numbers, and no intention of letting the reinforcements join the defenders.

Within the span of less than half a cup of tea, the outcome became clear. The few survivors retreated toward Profound Rock Island, while on the three islands below, the sounds of slaughter began to fade.

Suddenly, a furious roar split the air. Several streaks of light rose from the islands at once as the Ring-Head Turtle experts attempted a breakout. Sadly, that attempt was shut down as quickly as it had begun. Several nearby Crab Kings struck in unison; their combined assault drove the fleeing figures straight back onto the islands.

”How many times has this been now?”

The scene felt strangely familiar, as if it had unfolded multiple times elsewhere. Luo Chen watched in surprise. He was not really shocked by the sheer size of the five royal clans’ joint forces. But he had assumed they would simply swarm in once the fighting began; he had certainly not expected their methods of breaking the formation to be so orderly.

They divided their targets and crushed them one by one, pinning down key positions and cutting off reinforcements. From the outer island, the advance pressed inward in stages. Under that relentless attack, the Nine Palace Eight Trigram Formation had already lost nearly thirty islands. Once they seized a full half, the remaining defense would likely crumble. At that point, the demonic crabs would only need to march straight toward the inner thirty-six islands and launch a final attack upon Profound Rock Island itself.

”This isn’t how demonic beasts usually fight...”

Luo Chen took a deep breath, and a name surfaced in his mind. Gu Shaoshang!

Heavenjade’s intelligence had been clear. A Crab King from the Demon Spider Crab clan had boarded the Flying Cloud Ravine demon-hunting ship. When it departed, Gu Shaoshang accompanied it. When he later returned, he came alone and without injury. After that meeting, the two sides seemed to maintain frequent contact.

The implication was obvious. Flying Cloud Ravine and the demonic crabs of the Profound Rock Sea Region had joined forces. Together, they now targeted the Ring-Head Turtle clan. In Luo Chen’s judgment, only Gu Shaoshang could have kept such vast numbers of demonic crabs under one command and directed them in such an orderly manner. The methodical dismantling of the formation bore the mark of human intervention.

At the thought of that man, a trace of frustration appeared on Luo Chen’s face. Under such tight coordination, he would find it difficult to fish in troubled waters and quietly seize heavily wounded Crab Kings as he’d initially planned. In fact, if the situation continued, he might end up watching the royal demonic crabs return in triumph while he left empty-handed.

”Gu Shaoshang... How and why are you doing this?”

What terms could possibly persuade human cultivators and demonic beasts to cooperate? And did that man not fear betrayal? The disparity in strength was absolute—the Flying Cloud Ravine representatives were just six Adepts. Against the united royal crab clans, they did not even stand a showflake’s chance in hell.

1. This is what the Black Tortoise is represented as. ☜