An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Atop a sal tree, Luo Chen stood on a thick branch and looked toward the distance. This was the Heaventrust Sea Region. From here, they could reach the Flying Swallow Archipelago in just two or three days at full speed. The reason he stopped here was mainly that when he had teleported from Green Parasol Mountain years ago, he had landed at this very spot. A good couple of years had passed since then, and he did not know what had become of the teleportation formation whose corner he had destroyed.

At this moment, a voice entered his ears. ”Do you want to go back and take a look?”

Luo Chen remained calm and slowly shook his head. He was not some criminal who returned to the scene after committing a crime, only to be caught red-handed. Though he was curious about the state of the teleportation formation, he suppressed the thought. He lowered his gaze and said, ”I plan to wait here for a few days.”

”Wait?” Han Zhan asked in confusion. After thinking for a moment, he said thoughtfully, ”Are you worried that there might be some ambush waiting for you at the Flying Swallow Archipelago?”

Luo Chen nodded. That was exactly his thinking. Although the Flying Swallow Archipelago was his base, before his arrival it had nominally belonged to the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance, to which Yan Nantian had pledged allegiance.

However, he had killed Yan Nantian, and a good decade had passed since then. There was no telling whether the alliance might send someone to investigate. If they took issue with what he had done and set an ambush for him to walk into, thatwould be troublesome. There was also the matter of the Devil’s Snare—Wu Qi had, after all, invited him to join them. Though he seemed to take Luo Chen’s refusal in stride, who knew what follow-up there might be? Six years had already passed. The ten-year deadline Wu Qi mentioned was drawing closer, and it could easily bring new trouble. For that reason, he planned to send someone ahead to take a look.

”Heavenjade!”

”Yes, Master?”

”Follow the instructions in this jade token and go check that archipelago. Just make sure you don’t land. There’s a grand formation there. If it’s fully activated, you won’t be able to handle it.”

The Flying Swallow Archipelago had an island-linking formation passed down by the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance. Luo Chen had once studied it. When fully activated, its power was indeed formidable. Demonic beasts who did not understand the ways of formations could easily be killed even if they were a major realm higher. Therefore, he only instructed Heavenjade to circle near the archipelago for a day.

Heavenjade would fly openly, without any attempt at concealment, for an entire day. If any Adepts were truly lying in ambush, they would certainly appear in person to drive Heavenjade away or kill her. Should that happen, Luo Chen would sense it as well. And if it came to that, he naturally would not walk into the trap.

Heavenjade thus spread her wings and flew toward the Flying Swallow Archipelago. Luo Chen descended to the ground and pointed two fingers like a sword at the thick trunk of the sal tree. With mana flowing through his fingers, he quickly carved out a large hollow in the trunk. He calmly entered it and waited quietly. Although the Heaventrust Sea Region had many demonic beasts, they were not mainly sea creatures. A flock of albatross-like birds lived here in groups. These creatures had gentle temperaments and usually would not attack unless provoked. And if provoked, a flock of such birds was far from easy to deal with.

After entering the hollow, Luo Chen did not simply sit idle. He took out a pearl from his storage ring. It was the Hidden Dust Sand demon he’d caught earlier, Primal Cloak.

During his years in the Northern Sea, Luo Chen had never abandoned the habit of reading. As a result, he had come to understand many of the common materials found in this cultivation world. This Hidden Dust Sand for instance—though called a demon, it was more like a stone spirit. Like wood spirits or fire spirits, it did not possess a physical body in the classical sense, and the reason it was labeled a demon lay mainly in its method of cultivation. After gaining sentience, it would parasitize shell-type demonic beasts such as giant clams, mussels, or oysters, hence the demonic designation.

Across the vast Northern Sea, Hidden Dust Sand was an extremely common material for plenty of purposes. Even strong mortal martial artists would sometimes dive into the sea to search for first-tier Hidden Dust Sand. The creatures themselves had almost no combat ability; whether first-tier or second-tier, they could only hide. Once discovered, they were left entirely at the mercy of others.

Precisely because it was so common, the uses of Hidden Dust Sand had long been thoroughly explored. It could be used in medicine, artifact creation, formation construction, talisman crafting, or even ground into powder and scattered in spirit soil to nourish spirit plants. Its range of applications was so broad that it ranked among the most versatile of materials. Luo Chen actually had one or two alchemical formulas that required Hidden Dust Sand, but their tier was quite low.

”No way. This thing has reached the peak of the third tier. Even in the market it would be a top-tier item, much better than ordinary fourth-tier materials. If I just used it to refine low-tier pills, that would be a terrible waste.”

Luo Chen looked at the pearl and felt somewhat helpless. Having a treasure in hand yet no suitable use for it was truly a pleasant kind of trouble.

”Senior Han, do you know any way to make use of this?”

From within the Myriad Soul Banner, Han Zhan replied in a muffled voice, ”I don’t know much about this creature. I know what it is, but as to its uses, I really have no idea.”

Luo Chen frowned. In the end, he had no choice but to store it away for the time being. Perhaps later, when he had the chance to exchange insights with cultivators in the Northern Sea, they might possess a better method for utilizing it. If nothing else, he could simply refine it into an enchanted treasure! The technique the creature unleashed before its death was, in a way, quite similar to the Jade Essence waste beads Luo Chen used during his Qi Refinement days. If an enchanted treasure were crafted from Hidden Dust Sand of such quality, its might would surely not be low.

***

The remote Flying Swallow Archipelago had endured several bouts of turmoil. Only after the arrival of Devil Lord Azure Yang did it finally gain a brief period of calm. Yet beneath that peace, the seeds of trouble remained.

To exchange for the Core Formation secret art, various families had burned through their resources like mad. In the short term they could manage, but as time dragged on, some families began to struggle. The Devil Lord’s demands were simply too great, like a bottomless pit. No one understood why a single Adept’s cultivation would consume so many resources. Others were not known to be so extravagant.

Fortunately, once the Devil Lord left, that frenzy gradually subsided. With the man himself no longer on the islands, any effort to curry favor with him became meaningless. Because of this, the people of the Flying Swallow Archipelago enjoyed six years of peace.

However, that peace had now been broken. A Seagull King had somehow wandered into this sea region. For reasons unknown, it seemed to have taken a liking to the archipelago and continued circling nearby.

Under the aura of a Demon King, the cultivators of the archipelago treated the situation as if facing a great enemy. The leaders of the major families quickly reached an agreement and activated the island-protecting grand formation. If the seagull dared attempt to land, they would show no mercy and kill it on the spot!

Strangely, the seagull seemed quite smart. It only circled outside the islands without landing. It was astonishingly fast, and the cultivators of the archipelago did not dare rashly activate the formation. If they failed to slay the demon and instead provoked it, the consequences could easily turn disastrous.

On Black Swan Island, more than thirty Initiates gathered together to discuss the current predicament.

”That seagull has been circling for almost a day. What’s it trying to do?”

”Could something around here be attracting it?”

”Like what exactly? The archipelago is poor in resources. There’s only one third-tier spirit vein worth mentioning. Besides, the Devil Lord set up formations here to hide the spirit energy. A Demon King like that shouldn’t be able to detect it.”

”Then what does it want? It won’t come in, but it won’t leave either. It’s just circling outside and watching us like a hawk.”

After a round of heated discussion, an elderly cultivator of steady and seasoned bearing suddenly turned his gaze toward the woman seated in the main seat. ”Moon-Inviting Fairy, what do you think we should do?”

The so-called Moon-Inviting Fairy was considered a rising star among the cultivators at the level of family heads. She was nowhere near as powerful as the top brass here, yet no one dared to underestimate her. Aside from her astonishing talent, which had enabled her to reach the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment in little more than a decade, the most important factor was the powerful figure she represented—the very Devil Lord Azure Yang!

Under everyone’s gaze, Cheng Haixin brushed her hair back and revealed a bitter smile. ”Fellow Daoists, you really overestimate me. How could I possibly deal with a demon like that?”

Seeing her deflect the matter, the others showed looks of suspicion.

”Before Devil Lord Azure Yang left, didn’t he leave you any means to deal with something like this?”

”Even if he did, why waste it on a single Demon King? Besides, it hasn’t attacked us,” Moon-Inviting Fairy replied, avoiding a direct answer to their question.

She knew very well that they were probing. What the family heads were most curious about was whether the Devil Lord had left some contingency measures in place. The Devil Lord had been gone for a couple of years now, and his island had effectively become ownerless land. Everyone wanted a share of it, especially since there was the Azure Yang Pill Codex stele adorning its shore.

Someone in the crowd sighed. ”If only the Flying Swallow Archipelago had an Adept of our own....”

”Yeah... What a pity about Fellow Daoist Cheng Dou. He had the best chance of forming the core, yet he fell short at the last moment.”

”Wasn’t he in too much of a rush?”

”Sure was. He’d only practiced the Azure Yang Pill Codex for a few years. I can only imagine how eager he must’ve been....”

”Then doesn’t that mean the Azure Yang Pill Codex might have flaws too?”

As the discussion drifted further off course, Cheng Haixin’s expression grew increasingly dark. Over the years, the families had become more and more dissatisfied with the Cheng family. When the Devil Lord was still present, no one dared reveal even the slightest trace of it. But the Devil Lord had left and had not returned for a long time. Her elder brother, who had reached Perfected Mastery of Foundation Establishment, had failed in his attempt at Core Formation and died on the spot. The once-formidable Cheng family now no longer had a late-stage Initiate to hold the line.

As time passed, the resentment they had long suppressed gradually began to surface. From probing whether the Devil Lord had left any methods behind, to discussing her deceased brother right in front of her, to even beginning to question the Azure Yang Pill Codex—all of it was nothing less than a different form of provocation.

If only the Devil Lord were still here... Cheng Haixin took a deep breath and said coldly. ”Everyone, let’s focus on how to deal with that seagull.”

She dragged the discussion back on track. ”With a Demon King lingering nearby like this, none of our families can operate normally. Whether it’s managing our clans, working at sea, or going out to trade, everything is affected. If we don’t deal with it, we’re basically trapped here.”

Everyone’s expressions turned grim.

Finally, someone suggested, ”How about activating the grand formation and killing it by force?”

That would be the final measure. Once that was carried out...

Just as everyone hesitated, a cultivator suddenly walked in from outside and shouted, ”It’s gone! That Demon King just left!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment. They left Black Swan Island together, took the sky, and spread their senses across the surroundings. The demon was indeed gone.

”How strange...”

They exchanged puzzled looks. Yet although the Demon King had departed, none of the families dared lower their guard.

They did not lift the restrictions immediately, and they still prohibited their members from venturing out. The grand formation remained ready to activate at any moment. If the Demon King had left deliberately to make them relax before returning to strike, they would still be able to respond in time. But such a state could not last forever. No one could endure it indefinitely.

Under this tense atmosphere, the third day arrived. Above the docks, a sudden bird cry rang out. The sharp call alarmed the many Initiates who were already on edge. More than a hundred of them, practically the full force of the archipelago, shot into the sky at once.

The Demon King had returned. This time, a battle was probably unavoidable! Demonic sea birds were not known to be peaceful, and this particular seagull was one of the most aggressive and battle-thirsty among them. If a fight broke out, many people would likely die.

But while everyone else simmered in unease, Cheng Haixin suddenly brightened up and let out a surprised exclamation. ”Hey, that’s...”

Before anyone could react, she leapt out of the formation’s defensive range and flew toward the seagull. ”Welcome back, Devil Lord!”

Only then did everyone notice that atop the enormous demonic bird stood a white-robed man. His aura was perfectly concealed, and at a casual glance, he looked no different from a mortal. Yet someone who could make a Demon King bow its head and serve as a mount could hardly be an ordinary man.

All the cultivators were stunned. The Devil Lord had gone out for a trip and returned with a Demon King as his mount! Such a feat was beyond their imagination. They could only sigh and assume his cultivation had improved even further.

Without hesitation, the cultivators left the islands and went out to receive their Devil Lord. Amid the chorus of voices welcoming his return, Luo Chen’s expression remained cold. ”Alright, everyone. That’s enough. You can all go.”

With those words, Luo Chen sent out his mana and pulled Cheng Haixin to his side. They flew straight toward the ten-li lake at the center of Moon-Inviting Island. Once they arrived, he flicked his wrist. The Primordial Unity Cauldron opened, and a flood dragon swam out. Demonic energy surged as the flood dragon’s body rapidly expanded. It stretched its limbs and body, clearly relishing the release, and could not help letting out a loud growl.

”ROARRRRRRR!!”

Luo Chen watched as Black King swam into the ten-li lake, while Heavenjade landed on the little mountain at the center of the lake and began grooming its feathers. Only then did the tension in his heart finally ease.

Cheng Haixin watched the scene, and the corners of her eyes twitched. A Heavenjade Battle Gull was already shocking enough. Yet the Devil Lord had even subdued a flood dragon! The runaway leader of the Flood Dragon Gang, Kun Jiao, also had a Black-Scaled Flood Dragon. But that one’s strength had been rather ordinary. Even her late elder brother had never truly feared it. This one was different; its body was enormous, and its aura outright ferocious. Even at a glance, it was clearly not the kind to be trifled with.

Just as she was pondering this, Luo Chen turned around. ”Has anything major happened on the archipelago in the past few years?”

Cheng Haixin’s expression turned serious. ”Nothing major. But someone did come looking for you.”

”Who?”

”He called himself Blood Nightmare. I don’t know his exact cultivation, but I didn’t even dare look at him for long. He must be incredibly powerful.”

Blood Nightmare?! Luo Chen’s eyebrows shot up. A figure of that level had actually come to his door! This truly caught him by surprise.