An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Now that Han Zhan understood how far he had come, he stopped holding back and began explaining things in greater detail.

Reaching the ninth stage wasn’t simply about gathering more power. Before anything else, the Three Treasures had to be brought into balance. Only when that foundation was steady could one begin condensing the Nascent Embryo.

To do so, both the blood essence and the divine soul had to enter the Golden Core and merge within it, using the core as the womb for the embryo’s formation. This was nothing like the early stages of the Golden Core Realm, where the divine soul merely brushed against mana for an instant before withdrawing. This time, it had to remain inside together with the blood essence for an extended period and slowly blend until they became a unified whole.

When the right moment came, the Nascent Embryo would naturally resonate with heaven and earth, giving rise to a subtle movement that only the cultivator could sense. That quiet change marked the true beginning of Nascent Soul formation. From there, tribulation would follow, the Golden Core would break apart, and the Nascent Soul would form. Only after passing through that transformation could one truly step into the Nascent Soul Realm and begin to perceive the nature of heaven and earth.

Luo Chen listened closely while constantly comparing Han Zhan’s words against what he had read in ancient texts. In those earlier eras, qi cultivation had not been divided so rigidly, and many stages had gone by different names. What was now called the Qi Refinement Realm had once been known as Qi Guiding or Spirit Light, while the Foundation Establishment Realm had included stages like Aperture Opening, Spirit Resonance, Meridian Division, and Qi Liquefaction. The Golden Core Realm had been even less clearly defined. Between Golden Core and Nascent Soul, there had been terms like Soul Infusion, Fiend Purging, Origin Seeking, and Embryo Movement. Luo Chen had heard those names before, but without a clear structure, they had always felt fragmented. Now, as Han Zhan laid out the modern path step by step, those scattered fragments gradually fell into place.

In the end, all paths led to the same destination. Though the names shifted with time, the principle of cultivation remained the same. With Han Zhan’s guidance, everything that had once felt scattered and disjointed finally came together into a path he could follow.

By dusk, their discussion of the Dao finally came to an end. Luo Chen rose from his seat and bowed deeply to Han Zhan. ”Senior, we’ve helped each other over the years, but the truth is, I owe you more than I can say. You’ve guided me many times, and I’ve never forgotten that. Please accept my gratitude.”

”Uh...”

For a moment, Han Zhan did not know how to respond. Luo Chen had never shown him such formal respect before. In the past, Han Zhan had been a little Nascent Soul, barely surviving under Luo Chen’s protection. Although his cultivation had been higher, his situation had forced him into dependence. Especially in order to secure a suitable body for possession, he had painstakingly helped Luo Chen improve his strength and refine his combat techniques. He had done those things with his own motives in mind. Yet now, faced with Luo Chen’s heartfelt words, Han Zhan found himself unable to treat it lightly. His gaze grew complicated as he looked at Luo Chen, and for a long while, no words came.

Suddenly, Luo Chen straightened up and turned toward the sea. Han Zhan was puzzled at first, but in the next instant, his expression changed as well. Deep beneath the distant waters, a powerful aura was building up. At the same time, dark clouds began to gather overhead, rolling in from all directions and quickly swallowing the clear sky.

A bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, and thunder rumbled across the sky.

Han Zhan blurted out, ”A tribulation!”

Luo Chen hesitated for a moment, then focused his senses on the subtle shifts in the surrounding aura before shaking his head. ”No... this isn’t a tribulation. It’s a natural breakthrough. The lightning is just heaven and earth responding.”

Almost as soon as he spoke, the dark clouds began to thin and drift apart. Just as they had gathered for no reason, they dispersed just as quietly. There was no more lightning, no wind, no rain, or anything else. Only the sea near Dragon Abyss Island stirred as streams of spirit energy gathered into the shape of a funnel and poured down into the ocean.

Han Zhan watched quietly as the scene unfolded, his surprise fading as a sense of familiarity took its place. He had seen such a strange heavenly phenomenon once before, and it had been connected to none other than Luo Chen. Back at Surging Lake, Luo Chen had undergone some transformation that had given him an archaic-beast-like body.

”Has Black King started walking the path of the Titan Beast?” Han Zhan asked.

Luo Chen nodded. ”Looks like it. His demon core was shattered, and the Blood Pill I made for him was only a temporary replacement. And besides, Black King told me more than once in the past that he didn’t want to follow the usual demonic beast path and transform into human form. By instinct, he probably wanted to cultivate like an archaic beast. I guess this is the choice he made in the end.”

When demonic beasts reached the fourth tier, their path usually changed completely. They could shed their original forms, take on human form, and condense a Nascent Soul just like human cultivators. From that point on, they were regarded as Demon Emperors who walked a path much closer to that of humans. With a human form, their understanding of heaven and earth also deepened more quickly than it ever could in a purely beastly body. Archaic beasts, however, had followed a different route. Luo Chen surmised they gained origin energy once they reached the fourth tier, but they reportedly retained most of their original nature and they underwent far less of a change in appearance. Because of this, their growth was slower and more difficult; thus, after the ancient war, most demonic beasts abandoned that path and chose transformation instead.

Black King had made his choice, and there was no clear answer as to whether it was right or wrong. For now, though, the reaction of heaven and earth made it appear acceptable.

Han Zhan watched the last of the clouds fade and let out a quiet breath. ”People used to say ancient beasts were the true favorites of heaven and earth. Even when they advanced to the fourth tier, this world wouldn’t send down lightning tribulation. Back then, I thought it was just a rumor. But after seeing you and Black King, I have no choice but to believe it. Oh, speaking of the lightning tribulation... Have you thought about what you’ll do when it’s your turn? How are you planning to face it?”

Luo Chen gave a small nod but did not respond to Han Zhan’s question. Instead, he rose into the air on a wisp of cloud and made his way to the shore, where he remained through the night, quietly observing the changes unfolding beneath the sea.

Early the next morning, the surface of the water began to stir. The waves slowly parted, and an enormous black flood dragon head emerged from the depths. Its features were broad and heavy, and the horn that rose from its head was now etched with subtle spiral patterns. Long yellow whiskers trailed from either side of its mouth, swaying gently with the motion of the sea. Its slightly parted mouth revealed rows of ivory-white teeth, making it seem as though it was ready at any moment to tear apart anything that dared challenge it.

Whoosh...

As it exhaled, two streams of mist burst from its enormous nostrils and sent sprays of seawater into the air. Beneath its protruding brow, its golden eyes stared straight ahead, their vertical pupils filled with terrifying intent. A single glance was enough to reveal the savage ferocity hidden within.

Luo Chen did not move away. He simply raised his hand and held it out. For a brief moment, something uncertain flickered in those vertical pupils. In the end, however, it slowly lowered its head and affectionately leaned closer. Luo Chen placed his palm against the smooth black scales and smiled in satisfaction. He could still feel the connection between them, though it was no longer tied to the slave seal. That mark had shattered long ago during the Nirvana of Flesh, and Heavenjade had lost it as well. What remained now was a bond rooted in blood.

Black King’s choice to walk the archaic beast path had likely not come from instinct alone. The drop of blood essence Luo Chen had given him must have influenced that decision. After all, Luo Chen himself cultivated a path that traced back to an archaic beast.

A weighty voice rumbled from Black King’s throat. ”Master...”

Thump!

Luo Chen patted his face and smiled. ”Alright, go back for now. You just broke through, so focus on stabilizing your cultivation. No wandering around. I’ll be trying for Nascent Soul Realm soon. When I do, I’ll need you to guard Dragon Abyss Island for me. Don’t let anyone cause trouble.”

Black King let out a low snort and sank beneath the surface. Moments later, he burst back upward and dived back down in a swift arc. As the waves crashed and scattered, Luo Chen caught a glimpse of the four limbs beneath his belly. Though he still bore only a single horn, Black King now had limbs and had finally become a proper flood dragon, no longer the incomplete creature he once was.

Luo Chen turned around with the morning glow falling across his shoulders as an easy smile settled on his face.

Heavenjade had been standing nearby the whole time. Seeing the scene, she stepped forward and asked, ”Master, has Black King advanced?”

”Yes.” Luo Chen passed by her and gave her shoulder a casual pat. ”You should keep up as well.”

There was no trace of awkwardness in him, nor any sense that he felt overshadowed by Black King’s breakthrough. If anything, he found it natural. He had already reached the level of a fourth-tier archaic beast before Black King, so there was nothing to compare or compete over. What remained was a sense of satisfaction—the effort he had poured into Black King over the years had not been wasted, and the result now stood clearly before him. The only question now was just how powerful Black King had become.

***

After returning to the abyss, Luo Chen shut himself away completely. He did not visit Han Zhan again, and from that day forward, he devoted himself wholly to seclusion.

Time continued to pass.

His mana grew and filled his sea of qi little by little until it reached a point where he could no longer absorb even the faintest trace. The moment that happened, Luo Chen knew he had reached Perfected Mastery.

At this stage, there was nothing more to gather or refine. Within his sea of qi, only a single crimson core remained. It had been compressed to the limit and blazed with a presence so fierce it seemed like a crimson sun suspended within him.

With his foundation complete, Luo Chen began the process of Unifying the Three Treasures. He guided his divine soul down from the sea of consciousness and into the Golden Core, while at the same time drawing out his blood essence from every part of his body. Slowly but surely, it flowed inward and gathered around the core. As his blood essence was consumed, his powerful physique gradually weakened and thinned, yet deep within his sea of qi, a far more profound transformation was quietly taking shape.

The blood essence, Golden Core, and divine soul began to draw closer, circling and intertwining as they slowly moved toward fusion. The process unfolded naturally, without rush, as the three adjusted to one another and gradually merged into a single unified whole.

Three years passed in this manner. Then, in the stillness of the thatched hut—

Thump!

A faint pulse rippled through Luo Chen’s body. It was so subtle that it might have been missed entirely, yet it carried a quiet weight that carried outward with no need for an overt manifestation.

In response, the entire abyss quaked.

Luo Chen opened his eyes. The embryo is moving!