An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

After several months of examination, Luo Chen had come to understand Black King’s condition clearly. The damage went far beyond what ordinary treatment could heal. His body had been damaged down to its foundation, his demon core had shattered, and the demonic power he had cultivated for centuries had either scattered completely or sunk into his broken bones. Even his soul had weakened until it was little more than a wavering flame, so faint that it seemed it might be extinguished at any moment. Anyone who saw him now would only think that this demon was barely hanging on to life.

Honestly, it was not surprising he ended up like this. The detonation of a Transcendent Spirit Treasure carried terrifying force, and although the Alchemy Palace’s formation had weakened the blast substantially, the remaining power was still far beyond what Black King could endure head-on. If not for the foundation he had built over the years, the time he had spent soaking in the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring, and Luo Chen’s protection after his Nirvana of Flesh, he would have died in the palace that day. Even then, he had only managed to survive until now because of the Cliff Serpent’s natural hibernation ability.

But survival was all that ability could give him. Luo Chen had tried everything he knew, yet he had only managed to mend a small portion of Black King’s injuries. In Heavenjade’s eyes, even if Luo Chen somehow dragged him back from the brink of death, Black King’s future was bleak. With his demon core shattered and his Great Dao cut off, he was little different from a cripple. Even so, she could not bear to give up on him. They had entered Luo Chen’s service one after the other, and though they had never been particularly close, they had fought and lived under the same master for many years. That alone was enough to make them companions.

Luo Chen was, of course, not looking at the matter through sentiment alone. Black King had always been capable, and he had poured no small amount of resources into nurturing the flood dragon. Giving up on him now would be a waste. But more than that... Luo Chen could not forget the unwavering loyalty Black King had shown at the final moment.

After weighing everything, Luo Chen finally reached a decision and murmured, ”I need to build the Blood Pool first.”

If this had happened before he entered the Land of Fallen Devils, he would have had no way to save him. But over the past three months, as he sifted through the alchemy inheritance, he had found a possible solution.

Besides the Heaven Refiner Cauldron, the Monarch had also left behind 72 volumes of alchemical texts and 36 alchemical formulas, of which three top-tier formulas: Soul Stabilization, Void Refinement, and Dao Integration. Though the top-tier formulas were still sealed, the rest were open to him. After skimming through them, Luo Chen gained a general understanding of how the inheritance was arranged.

Its contents were categorized according to which of three major races—humans, demons, and devils—it targeted, then further sorted by realm and purpose. The twelve formulas prepared for humans, for example, covered every stage from Qi Refinement to Nascent Soul, with three formulas assigned to each major realm. Among them, he even found what he assumed was the original version of the Spirit Root Pill, something far more complete and profound than the crude formula he had once devised.

Moreover, the three formulas within each realm served different purposes. One was meant to help break through cultivation bottlenecks, another supported ordinary cultivation, and the last covered more specialized uses, such as healing wounds, preserving life, calming the mind, stabilizing the soul, removing pill toxins, and so on.

The twelve formulas prepared for demons followed the same structure. Among them was a fourth-tier blood pill that could reconstruct the body, heal injuries, and replace one’s blood. It was exactly the kind of formula Black King needed, but Luo Chen could not refine it immediately. Before that, he first had to construct a Blood Pool. Fortunately, he already had a rough plan for how to build one.

***

What in the world is this for?

Three days later, Sang Jinghe stood beside a large pit, nearly ten zhang across, and was unable to hide the grief on his face. This had once been one of the few patches of fourth-tier spirit soil on Dragon Abyss Island, and he had planned to divide it into several plots to grow rare spirit plants. Yet now it was gone. Luo Chen had thrown all manner of ores into the pit and used his true fire to fuse them, turning a mere crater into a crystalline pool.

While Sang Jinghe stared at the ruined spirit soil in misery, Luo Chen looked down at the pool beneath his feet and suddenly asked, ”Jinghe, those dragonworms have been causing trouble with the Dragonspit Grass, haven’t they?”

Sang Jinghe froze for a moment before nodding.

Luo Chen smiled faintly. ”Good. I’ll take care of that problem for you today.”

Sang Jinghe was taken aback. Has he come up with a concealment formation to keep them away?

Before he could think further, Luo Chen released his aura in full, and in an instant, a pressure as overwhelming as the might of an ancient beast swept outward to cover nearly half the island. Then he raised his foot and stamped it heavily onto the ground.

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!

A powerful force rippled through the earth, making the island tremble as though caught in a violent quake. Beneath the surface, the countless dragonworms hidden in the soil felt as if the end of the world had arrived. Between Luo Chen’s crushing aura and the relentless tremors spreading through the ground, they could no longer remain buried. One after another, they began crawling out.

Rustle... Rustle...

All across the ground, gray worms writhed in confusion. The sight was enough to turn anyone’s stomach, yet Luo Chen remained completely unfazed and merely raised both hands. Behind him, a tiny azure-golden spark flickered into existence. As the flames brightened, branches unfurled from the light, growing into a magnificent azure fire tree that drifted high into the sky. Its radiance was ethereal and mesmerizing, and it gave off neither the searing heat nor the violent intensity of ordinary flames. Even so, its presence alone was enough to throw the dragonworms into terror as they fled toward the edges of Dragon Abyss Island. The fear that drove them away was not just the logical fear of someone stronger, but something far more primal, an instinctive dread carved deep into their bloodline.

But escape was no longer possible. Under Luo Chen’s control, the fiery tree drifted higher into the air. Its branches spread wide, scattering countless flickering sparks that floated lazily downward like fireflies. Wherever those embers landed, the dragonworms froze in place.

Watching the scene, Luo Chen nodded to himself in satisfaction. Before he realized it, the Withering-Flourishing True Fire had already grown to a formidable degree. It had already acquired sentience and given rise to a spirit, and it was now beginning to manifest a tangible form. If he had not deliberately kept it in check, it might have well ignited into a fully independent will, just like the fire sprites born from the Sourceless Flames of Blazing Purgatory. For now, however, he could not allow that to happen. He was not a Sage yet, and if he allowed his true fire to develop free will before then, it could very well slip beyond his control and turn against him.

Thus, the matter would have to wait until after his breakthrough. Once he stepped into that realm, he could begin loosening those restraints, and given the formidable foundation of this flame, it would undoubtedly become one of his greatest killing moves. Even now, the Withering-Flourishing True Fire was already powerful enough to threaten even Sages, so restraining these hundreds of thousands of low-tier dragonworms required little effort.

Since the swarm had been completely subdued, Luo Chen turned his gaze from the island and gave the order. ”Heavenjade, Jinghe, gather all the dragonworms.”

Heavenjade immediately bowed. ”Alright, Master!”

Sang Jinghe also recovered from his shock and answered, ”Yes, Senior.”

The two of them immediately rose into the air and began collecting the dragonworms scattered across the island. The beasts had only been restrained by the embers of the Withering-Flourishing True Fire, and not a single one had been burned to death. That alone showed how refined Luo Chen’s control over fire had become. Even the smallest flicker of flame carried exactly the strength he intended.