An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Once the cultivator had left, Bi Dan’s companion approached him with a wary look. ”Brother Bi, who was that? Was he from Blackwing Island? Did he come looking for trouble?”

Bi Dan waved away his concern. ”No, nothing like that. His name is Jing He. He used to be a rogue Initiate, but he didn’t want to get caught up in the war, so he found somewhere remote and went into seclusion. He recently formed his Golden Core and came back after hearing about the ceasefire.”

”Jing He?” His companion repeated the name, but he could not connect it to anyone he knew.

Bi Dan smiled. ”His name doesn’t matter. Rogue cultivators rarely use their real identities anyway. What matters is that one of his close friends was a member of Flying Cloud Ravine. When he heard the sect had been destroyed, he came to ask me what happened. You could say we have a common enemy.”

His companion nodded in understanding. ”I see.”

Bi Dan sighed. ”Who would’ve thought a sect as famous as Flying Cloud Ravine could be wiped out almost overnight?”

Had Flying Cloud not disappeared for several decades and left such a powerful sect without anyone to preside over it, it would never have fallen so far. It was such a pity about his younger sister...

***

”Sage, I’ve looked into everything.” Sang Jinghe stood respectfully behind Luo Chen and recounted everything he had learned in full detail. ”Thirty years ago, the Blue Sea Alliance launched a major attack in the hope of bringing the fighting among the human factions to an end as quickly as possible. Without the Penglai Immortal Sect’s support, Devil’s Snare started losing one battle after another...”

That matched what Luo Chen had witnessed while passing through human territory on his way to Purple Spirit Island. He had seen how fierce the Blue Sea Alliance’s offensive was. At one point, it had even sent three Sages to deal with Heaven Splitter, which showed just how determined it was to crush Devil’s Snare.

”The cultivators of Devil’s Snare refused to accept defeat. Before retreating, they looted everything they could. Around the same time, news about the Land of Fallen Devils spread, and about the fact that Sage Flying Cloud was killed by Azure Yang...”

At this point, Sang Jinghe looked at Luo Chen with reverence.

”Go on.”

”After Sage Flying Cloud died, Flying Cloud Ravine was left without anyone to protect it, so everyone saw it as easy prey. Several major sects stormed the estate, seized the inheritances, and took away the resources. They were afraid that the survivors might come back for revenge, so they slaughtered all three thousand disciples and members of the sect.”

”Did no one survive?” Luo Chen asked.

”A few, but only insignificant figures who escaped by chance.”

”What about the Gu siblings I asked you to investigate?”

Sang Jinghe immediately grew alert and answered carefully, ”I did ask about them specifically. Neither of them was seen during the attack, and no one found any trace of them afterward. I also questioned several Initiates to make sure, but they all gave me more or less the same answer.”

”More or less? What was the difference?”

Sang Jinghe paused before replying, ”Someone did claim to have seen a woman who might have been Gu Xiaolian among the ruins. But it was never confirmed, and she disappeared soon afterward.”

Luo Chen fell silent for a moment. ”You may go.”

Sang Jinghe bowed and took his leave.

After he departed, Luo Chen remained beside the railing and tapped one finger lightly against it as he turned his thoughts to the final moments within the Heaven of Bright Illumination. He remembered Moon Hermit’s fury and Blood Hermit teetering on the edge of madness, yet what lingered most clearly in his mind were the two figures at the palace entrance. The woman had stood there with tears in her eyes and a hand covering her mouth, while the man beside her said nothing as his killing intent rose without restraint.

Truth be told, that was not the first time he had met them. Years earlier, while hunting a Ring-Head Turtle in the Profound Rock Sea Region, Luo Chen had crossed paths with these two. They were Gu Shaoshang and Gu Xiaolian, the children of Flying Cloud.

Under ordinary circumstances, Luo Chen would not have given them much thought. The siblings were only Adepts and posed little threat to him now. What truly concerned him was that the siblings had emerged from the Palace of Light and the Palace of Darkness, respectively. In particular, Gu Xiaolian had come out of the Palace of Light wearing a golden crown that closely matched the True Yang Crown described by the Heaven Refiner Cauldron’s artifact spirit. Like the cauldron itself and the Black Devil Jar, it was a mighty Transcendent Spirit Treasure. And since it had acknowledged Gu Xiaolian, she had almost certainly inherited the inheritance of the Palace of Light.

Gu Shaoshang, meanwhile, had emerged from the Palace of Darkness. If his experience mirrored his sister’s, then he had most likely received the inheritance hidden there as well. With the inheritances of both palaces in their hands, there was no telling how far the siblings might advance.

That alone would have been enough to draw Luo Chen’s attention, but the blood feud between them made the situation far more dangerous. The siblings had watched him kill their father, and no amount of time would erase that hatred. At present, they were still too weak to act against him, but that would not necessarily remain true forever. If he could find them before they fully took control of those inheritances, he could remove the danger once and for all. However, if he allowed them to grow unchecked...

The thought left Luo Chen deeply uneasy. And here I thought I could search for them at Flying Cloud Ravine... Now that the sect’s been destroyed, I don’t even know where to start.

The fact that he had no idea where they were made the situation all the more unsettling, especially with the possibility that they might be watching him from the shadows.

Fortunately, Luo Chen still had one reassuring advantage. During his earlier travels through the Northern Sea, he had concealed his real identity behind the name Azure Yang. Since leaving Dragon Abyss Island, he had resumed calling himself Luo Chen and introduced himself to others as Wilderness Hermit. He had also altered his appearance, so no one would easily connect him to the renowned Devil Lord Azure Yang.

Perhaps I could appear as Devil Lord Azure Yang again and lure them out...

The idea seemed workable at first, but Luo Chen dismissed it after a few moments. The Gu siblings were not the only ones searching for him. Moon Hermit was a far greater threat, and revealing that identity might attract her attention long before it drew out the siblings. He had no intention of being hunted across the Northern Sea a second time merely to eliminate two enemies who had yet to grow strong.

In the end, there was no need to take such a risk. As long as he continued cultivating and remained far ahead of the siblings, even the inheritances of the Palace of Light and the Palace of Darkness would not be enough for them to threaten him. It would be best if they never crossed paths again, but if they did, Luo Chen would not allow them another chance to escape.

***

The rain had not stopped since morning. It fell in a steady sheet over Duskmist Court, as though it meant to wash away all the bloodshed of the century-long war.

Luo Chen walked beside Resonant Jade along a greenstone path toward one of the side halls, where the gathering of Sages would be held later that afternoon. Resonant Jade had already spoken on Luo Chen’s behalf and secured him an invitation, and he was now taking the chance to explain who else might attend.

”Quite a few Sages from the Blue Sea Alliance have come to attend the peace conference. Since Mulan Gaoxiong is leading them and he’s only at the middle stage, none of the others should be much stronger than him. Still, cultivation isn’t everything. Most of them rule territories of their own and they’re well known throughout the Northern Sea. Take Sage Four Seas, for example. His real name is Shang Sihai[1], and he leads the Four Seas Trade Alliance. The alliance is so powerful that it even has two early-stage Sages serving as retainers. It’s one of the strongest forces in the Blue Sea Alliance, and he was the one who arranged this gathering. Oh yeah, you should’ve heard of Old Ghost Nan Qi, haven’t you?”

Luo Chen thought for a moment, then nodded. ”Isn’t he the cultivator who was refined into a Soul-Refining Banner by someone from the devil sect, only to turn on his master and steal his cultivation?”

”That’s him. You truly are well-informed, Fellow Daoist.” Resonant Jade smiled, but his expression soon turned solemn. ”There’s a good chance he originally came from the Southern Frontier and is skilled in the use of Gu. Think about it: How could an ordinary cultivator be refined into a soul banner, turn the tables on his master, and come out even stronger than before?”

Old Ghost Nan Qi came from the Southern Frontier? Luo Chen nodded slightly and committed the man’s described appearance to memory. He had already known Old Ghost Nan Qi was dangerous, and this gave him one more reason to avoid dealing with the man unless absolutely necessary.

”Madam Mi came from... Mulan Gaoxiong probably will not attend this gathering... The elder of the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance has rarely shown himself lately, but I’ve heard he enjoys meeting other cultivators, so he may show up.”

Once Luo Chen had a general sense of the Blue Sea Alliance’s attendees, Resonant Jade moved on to the experts from Devil’s Snare. ”Netherfire will definitely be there. He was the one Mulan Gaoxiong badly wounded. In fact, this gathering was held at his request. He’s probably hoping to trade for something that can heal his injuries. He used to be strong enough to fight Mulan Gaoxiong on equal footing. But after that battle, he wasn’t just left seriously wounded. His reputation within Devil’s Snare also took a major blow, and many of the people under him drifted away.

”There’s also a woman named Du Feiyan. You should be careful around her. She’s the only woman among Devil’s Snare’s twelve lineage masters, and anyone capable of standing among people like them can’t be underestimated. Then there’s Heaven Splitter. You may already have heard of him. He was one of the most dangerous figures in the war between the righteous and devilish factions.

”He’s only a third-stage Sage, but his wind-attribute cultivation art is incredibly powerful. He appears and disappears without warning, and in a fight, he’s every bit as dangerous as a middle-stage Sage. The Blue Sea Alliance once sent three Sages after him, and they still couldn’t catch him. More importantly, he was one of the few people in Devil’s Snare who remained close to Blood Nightmare. Now that Blood Nightmare has been driven into hiding, he should be in a difficult position. By all common sense, he should be lying low, and no one knows why he volunteered to attend this gathering.”

1. His given name actually means ”four seas,” while his surname means ”trade.” ☜