An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

The first ever alchemical text Luo Chen ever came across was given to him by Mi Shuhua. It was calledthe Treatise of Qing Yuanzi, a work that recorded Qing Yuanzi’s insights on refining low-tier pills, along with several foundational techniques such as Flowing Creek and Jade Fracture. Back when Luo Chen’s cultivation was still low, those techniques had been of great help to him.

Of all the arts recorded in the treatise, the one that left the deepest impression on him was the pill nourishing technique. When Qing Yuanzi wrote the text, he had only been an Initiate, yet he had still managed to refine a third-tier pill. Unlike Luo Chen, Qing Yuanzi possessed no status panel or similar cheat, and his success had come from relying on this very technique.

However, the technique itself was very demanding. The furnace had to be at least a top-grade enchanted artifact, preferably a supreme-grade one and ideally an enchanted treasure. The pill itself also needed to be supreme grade, and it had to be supported by no fewer than ten portions of its original ingredients throughout the process. The environment was just as important—ideally, the pill would be nourished directly atop a spirit vein, though a location that suited the pill’s nature was also fine. Throughout the entire process, the alchemist had to continuously temper the pill with true fire, and even under the best conditions, the nourishing period could range from half a year to as long as a century.

The process was truly complicated and time-consuming, but Luo Chen remembered it vividly even after all these years. Back then, he had only been a Qi Refinement cultivator and then an Initiate. At that point, those requirements had been almost impossible to fulfill. Now, however, those same conditions were nothing but the absolute basics. As a fourth-tier alchemist, Luo Chen could even work backward through the technique and see the flaws and gaps within it.

But recognizing its shortcomings did not mean dismissing it entirely. On the contrary, Luo Chen still saw value in the technique, and he had everything needed to make it work. He had a fourth-tier spirit vein, his Withering-Flourishing True Fire had developed a spirit of its own, and as for time, that was the least of his concerns. As for the remaining conditions...

”The pill needs to be supreme-grade, but that’s only because low-tier pills don’t have enough medicinal power. This Nascent Soul Pill is at the fourth tier, and compared to anything below that, it’s basically the very peak of the supreme grade. As for the ten portions of ingredients, that’s even less of a problem. I might not have many scraps left, but I do have ten finished pills. If anything, they should work even better. The only thing I’m missing now... is the right tool.”

Luo Chen made up his mind to nourish the Nascent Soul Pill and push its grade even higher. As he had told Han Zhan, if there was a way to ensure absolute success, there was no reason to gamble everything on a lesser chance.

What troubled him now was the lack of a suitable alchemy tool. The Primordial Unity Cauldron was out of the question, and the three backup alchemy tools he had been relying on recently had been reduced to just one. Two had been destroyed during refinement after failing to withstand the heat of the Withering-Flourishing True Fire, and the remaining one, the furnace, was barely holding together and could crumble at any moment. For a little while, he was at a loss.

Yet he then realized there was still one item in his possession that might serve the purpose.

Whoosh!

Light flashed by, and a yellow copper basin appeared before him. It was the Dragon-Nurturing Basin, a treasure that could slowly refine items, stripping away their impurities and elevating their grade over time. In the past, he had used it to nurture the Primordial Unity Cauldron, and the results had far exceeded his expectations. A process that should have required two or three centuries of gradual refinement had been shortened to only a few decades. Thanks to that, the cauldron had shed its impurities and revealed its true potential far sooner than it would have originally.

At the time, he had believed the basin existed solely to nourish artifacts. But later, after reflecting on his own assumptions and recalling how its former owner, Qian Ting, had used it, Luo Chen had come to realize how narrow-minded that view had been. The basin could also nurture pills, and even minerals and spirit herbs could benefit from it to a certain extent. Its abilities were extraordinary and far beyond anything modern cultivators could hope to reproduce.

For now, Luo Chen didn’t have the leisure to research the Dragon-Nurturing Basin’s origins. What mattered was that, at this moment, it was the most suitable tool he had for nourishing the Nascent Soul Pill!

After spending two full days thinking through every detail and confirming that he had overlooked nothing, he began his preparations. He set the basin down in the part of the abyss where spirit energy was densest, arranged formations around it, and placed nine Nascent Soul Pills inside.

Yes, only nine. Just in case something went wrong, the final pill would serve as the insurance. That way, he would not be left with nothing.

Once everything was in place, Luo Chen summoned the Withering-Flourishing True Fire and split off a wisp, a so-called fire seed. That single wisp could burn slowly for an entire year. When the year was up, he could simply return and replenish it. As for the technique of separating fire seeds, it was something he had comprehended during his years of seclusion. In the past, his true fire had existed as a single, indivisible flame. But after devouring numerous fire sprites, its foundation had grown deeper, and Luo Chen had come to grasp this little technique on his own. When he gave Heavenjade three wisps of fire for her protection, it was precisely this technique he had employed.

Now, as the formation began to operate, the medicinal power of the eight surrounding pills slowly gathered toward the pill at the center of the copper basin. Luo Chen observed the process for a while, then gave a satisfied nod. Given the circumstances that rendered him unable to obtain more ingredients, improve his alchemy proficiency, or indulge in repeated refinements until he produced middle-grade or top-grade Nascent Soul Pills, this pill nourishing technique was undoubtedly a valuable shortcut. Even a slight increase in a finished pill’s grade would make a significant difference.

Luo Chen looked at the pill at the center of the basin. ”I don’t need it to reach the fifth tier. As long as it can reach the top grade or even just the middle grade, that’ll be enough.”

After murmuring those words, he returned to the thatched hut and glanced at his status panel. In the realm column, his progress at the ninth stage of the Golden Core Realm had already passed the halfway mark. At this rate, he was less than ten years away from Perfected Mastery. Perhaps it was time to push himself to move faster.

***

The urgency Luo Chen felt was real, but it did not drive him into recklessness. After giving up on forcibly merging his vital essence, qi, and spirit, his cultivation at the ninth stage became much simpler. He only needed to steadily accumulate mana and refine it until it reached the level he required.

With his path so clearly defined, he did not need to remain in constant seclusion. Every now and then, he would go out to see Han Zhan, sometimes just to talk, sometimes to ask about the finer points and precautions involved in forming a Nascent Soul. Most of their meetings took place on Rosy Hill, the highest and most scenic spot on Dragon Abyss Island.

During these years, Luo Chen had also re-engraved the Concealment Veil Formation, with enhancements that allowed his origin energy to circulate through his body at all times and conceal everything about him. Even Han Zhan could no longer see through him and could only piece together fragments of the truth through their conversations. There was only one thing he could still tell: Luo Chen’s Three Treasures were still separated.

On this particular day, the two of them sat facing each other on Rosy Hill as usual, drinking wine and talking leisurely. After a long moment, Han Zhan finally voiced the question that had been weighing on him for years. ”It’s been seventeen years since we came to this island. From what I can see, you’re already just a step away from Perfected Mastery. But your Three Treasures are still not merged. Luo Chen... are you sure you didn’t take the wrong path?”

Luo Chen laughed when he heard that. ”Surely you’re familiar with the principle of keeping the Three Treasures in balance, right? Before they’re absolutely balanced, how could I forcibly merge them together?”

Han Zhan fell into thought. ”Balance? You’ve always cultivated all aspects and you’ve never really had any obvious weaknesses. So how—Oh, wait. Is it because your body has become too powerful?”

Luo Chen smiled and gave a small nod.

Han Zhan had not suspected it to be a problem in Luo Chen’s divine soul foundation because it had always been solid. Even back when he was only at the sixth stage, his soul was already comparable to that of an eighth-stage Adept, not far from the ninth stage. Now, as he stood just short of Perfected Mastery, his divine soul had advanced to a point infinitely close to that of a Sage. Thus, the real issue could only lie with the imbalance between his body and his mana.

Fortunately, even that gap was finally starting to close. Luo Chen lifted a finger, and a faint thread of spirit light gathered at its tip. It was barely visible, almost microscopic in size, yet the moment it appeared, Han Zhan’s gaze sharpened. He studied it closely and was barely able to believe what he was seeing. Its purity was striking, very much at the level needed to form a Nascent Soul.

At last, he shook his head and let out a quiet sigh. ”I honestly don’t know how you managed to purify it to this extent. But now that I think about it, losing your Nascent Core might’ve been a blessing in disguise.”

Luo Chen felt the same way. In the past, raising two cores at once had led him to pursue quantity and caused him to unconsciously neglect the refinement of his mana. Even though his mana had been purer than most of his peers’, it had still fallen short of what he could truly achieve. Only after spending more than a decade on Dragon Abyss Island had he calmed his mind and corrected that imbalance.

Since then, every strand of mana within his Golden Core had been repeatedly purified and constantly tempered with the Withering-Flourishing True Fire until it underwent a fundamental transformation. Now, although its depth still could not rival his origin energy, its purity had reached an entirely different level. With the support of his divine soul, he could finally bring his Three Treasures close to actual fusion. Truth be told, he had already decided that once he reached Perfected Mastery, he would attempt to form his Nascent Soul right away.