An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The pale golden sky stretched endlessly above the pitch-black sea, the horizon blurring into a single line where heaven and ocean met. Across the boundless waters, hundreds of spiraling vortices rose and fell, greedily swallowing the spirit energy of heaven and earth. Luo Chen stood suspended in midair with his robes snapping in the wind as he looked at the sight in amazement. ”So this is the Golden Sky Black Sea... As they say, hearing about it a thousand times really doesn’t compare to seeing it once for yourself. Truly breathtaking.”

Beside him, Devil’s Cloud stroked his beard as the sea breeze drifted past. Even he could not hide his admiration. ”I really wonder what kind of technique the master of that pocket world used to create something like this. To alter the environment, and have it keep running on its own even a thousand years after his death...”

Both men were renowned artisan masters with deep attainments in formations. Faced with a grand formation capable of altering celestial phenomena, it was only natural for them to lose themselves in admiration.

Ding Yi, however, had no patience for it. ”Alright, that’s enough. It’s one thing for Azure Yang to be amazed, but we’ve both been here before. Why are you still acting like this?”

Devil’s Cloud chuckled. ”Some sights only become more stunning the more often you see them.”

”Hmph!”

With a dismissive snort, Ding Yi opened his storage pouch and released a massive beast into the sea below. The instant it struck the water, a deafening impact erupted across the ocean as though an entire continent were crashing from the sky. Fortunately, he had already cast Sound Isolation beforehand. Otherwise, the rogue cultivators lingering nearby would have rushed over immediately to investigate.

Luo Chen looked down carefully and let out a soft exclamation. ”Hm? Is that a Treasure Basin Fish?”

Ding Yi nodded. ”Correct. Remember when I told you I need to prepare a treasure for crossing the Sunken Sea? Well, this is it.”

The enormous fish floated atop the black waters like a miniature island, dozens of zhang in length and width. Thick moss covered the exposed scales across its back. Luo Chen immediately recognized it as the same middle-stage Black-Green Treasure Basin Fish King that had caused such a stir at the Jadecold City auction years ago, the one touted as a portable spirit vein and cave residence.

Yet on a closer look, it was different from before. The rocks, soil, flowers, and trees that had once covered its back had all vanished. In their place lay the shell of a strange demonic beast that resembled both a tortoise and a softshell turtle... No, in fact, it seemed to be not just the shell, but the entire creature, fused into the fish’s body as one inseparable whole. The bizarre sight made Luo Chen pause.

Seeing his reaction, Devil’s Cloud revealed a smug smile. ”Azure Yang, what do you think of my craftsmanship?”

”You did this?”

Devil’s Cloud looked even more pleased with himself. ”Even back in ancient times, this kind of living fusion technique was rare. To put it simply, I fused the Shoal Yuan with the Treasure Basin Fish, and that gave it all kinds of unique abilities. Most importantly, the Shoal Yuan has a trace of the Black Tortoise blood, so it can withstand the Void-Scorching Wind.”

Luo Chen’s eyes brightened immediately. The idea truly was ingenious. To cross the Sunken Sea, cultivators had to withstand two dangers: the all-corroding black murky sea and the Void-Scorching Wind. The former eroded mana, while the latter destabilized the soul. Yet the Treasure Basin Fish possessed an endless supply of spirit energy as a natural mobile spirit vein, while the Shoal Yuan acted as a barrier against the Void-Scorching Wind. Traveling with such a beast would allow cultivators to preserve themselves in peak condition throughout the journey.

”Marvelous! Truly marvelous!” Luo Chen praised sincerely.

Ding Yi was standing nearby in silence, continuously casting seals. Beneath them, the enormous treasure fish steadily shrank, going from dozens of zhang long to barely a single zhang in size. Only then did he finally look over at Luo Chen. ”It really is impressive. The only problem is that the beast’s vital essence was badly damaged during the refinement process. I spent more than ten years nursing it back to health. Even now, it can only carry two people. So, Devil Lord, you’ll have to make your own arrangements.”

Luo Chen raised a brow at the pettiness, but he didn’t comment on it. ”Don’t worry. I came prepared. I won’t slow you down.”

”Good.”

With that, Ding Yi descended directly onto the Shoal Yuan shell atop the Treasure Basin Fish and disappeared inside. Devil’s Cloud cupped his fist apologetically toward Luo Chen before following after him. The shell was only one zhang wide, but it was large enough to accommodate the two of them without feeling cramped.

Luo Chen smiled and slapped the storage pouch at his waist. ”Alright, come out.”

Black King emerged once more. The moment he saw the endless black sea below, his massive body stiffened. He looked around uneasily before lowering his voice. ”Master... are we really doing this?”

”Didn’t you eat that Overtide Devil Flood Dragon? You should’ve gained the ability to resist the water for a while.”

Black King looked troubled. ”But you said it’s only temporary! This trip’s going to take a long time. What if I run out of strength halfway through?”

Luo Chen glared at him irritably. ”Would it kill you if you stopped complaining? Relax. If you can’t hold on anymore, I’ll take over myself. You’re not going to die just like that.”

Black King perked up slightly but still twisted uneasily. ”Then what about the Void-Scorching Wind?”

Luo Chen shook his head helplessly and tapped his Daoist robe. Black armor immediately spread outward, gradually covering Black King’s enormous body. ”Shrink down a little.”

”Alright.” Black King obediently shrunk down to around five zhang in length. Any smaller than that would start affecting his combat strength. From this alone, it was obvious just how ingenious Devil’s Cloud’s technique truly was. The Treasure Basin Shoal Yuan could carry cultivators comfortably, while Black King had to compromise between mobility and power.

A voice soon drifted out from within the shell. ”Azure Yang, are you ready?”

”Coming!”

Luo Chen stepped onto Black King’s back and sat down cross-legged. In the next instant, the azure fish and black flood dragon moved side by side, plunging together into the black waters.

***

Inside the Shoal Yuan shell, Ding Yi peered through a narrow opening at the black flood dragon swimming outside. He frowned slightly. ”A flood dragon evolved from a Black-Scaled Giant Python? I suppose that makes sense, but how the heck is it able to resist the water? Azure Yang’s luck really is something else.”

At his side, Devil’s Cloud watched quietly for a moment before shaking his head. ”Don’t worry. That half-baked flood dragon can’t compare to our Treasure Basin Shoal Yuan.”

To outsiders, Black King did indeed look... incomplete. Though he had a flood dragon horn, he still lacked the claws, and most of his body retained the shape of a giant serpent rather than a true flood dragon. And Devil’s Cloud’s words were quickly proven true: After less than half a day of traveling through the Sunken Sea, Black King began showing signs of exhaustion. Whenever that happened, Luo Chen would activate a mana barrier, shielding him from the surrounding black seawater. The man and flood dragon alternated in resisting the environment in this manner, ensuring their speed never dropped.

Ding Yi observed silently for quite some time before finally understanding what was happening. Even so, another question soon arose in his mind. ”Then how are they dealing with the Void-Scorching Wind?”

Devil’s Cloud pointed toward the black armor covering both Luo Chen and Black King. ”That would be because of the armor.”

Meanwhile, Luo Chen remained seated cross-legged atop Black King’s back, his eyes shining faintly as he scanned the dark waters around them. Within these waters, divine consciousness was heavily restrained and could not extend very far, but his eyes, nurtured over countless decades, could still pierce through it, giving him a far broader vision than that of most cultivators.

Suddenly, Luo Chen’s entire body shivered. His divine soul stirred uneasily, and the same happened to Black King. Just moments earlier, a gentle breeze had swept past them. So that was the Void-Scorching Wind?

Luo Chen rested one hand against Black King’s back to calm him while the other touched the Profound Dust Armor covering his body. The armor was burning hot. The moment the wind brushed past them earlier, the top-grade enchanted treasure instantly reacted to it. The reaction had been so fast that no ordinary secret art could possibly compare; it was almost as if the armor retained some of the instincts of Demon Emperor Profound Rock.

Bloodline resonance?

He pondered the matter silently, but no matter how he looked at it, this explanation was the only one that made sense. No wonder the ancient cultivator’s pocket world had remained inaccessible for so many years. After all, Black Tortoises had long since vanished from the cultivation world, and demonic beasts carrying traces of their bloodline were becoming increasingly rare. A treasure like Luo Chen’s armor was practically unheard of. If this continued, future cultivators might very well find it impossible to enter the pocket world.

Perhaps coming here truly was the right choice after all.

A faint smile appeared on Luo Chen’s face as he casually swallowed a supreme-grade True Flame Pill. The moment the medicinal power spread through his body, pure spirit energy surged through his sea of qi like rolling tides. The Golden Core within the Primordial Unity Cauldron began spinning, absorbing the incoming energy. Meanwhile, the second core resting within his sea of qi remained completely still, showing no intention of competing for the spirit energy at all.