An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Inside a silent chamber, a man sat cross-legged and motionless with an expression so hollow that he looked more dead than alive. He had fully directed his consciousness into the Nascent Soul within his Purple Mansion as he did everything in his power to restrain the Netherfire.

Luo Chen extended a hand and sent his own true fire into the man’s body. The azure-golden flames gathered into the shape of a great tree whose branches spread until they embraced the man completely. After searching him over, one of them came away with a strand of deathly pale fire at its tip.

Luo Chen leaned in to study it. ”So this is Netherfire?”

The flame carried a heavy aura of death, and faint wails of countless resentful souls seemed to echo from within it. Luo Chen’s expression turned solemn. He had never imagined that someone, anyone, could raise the most ordinary ghostly fire to such a level.

The name of Netherfire did sound quite impressive, but in truth, it was hardly rare in the cultivation world. At its core, it was nothing more than ghostly fire formed from the souls, blood, and flesh of the dead. And in terms of tier, it was actually even inferior to the artificially created Azure Yang Devil Flame. Yet Sage Netherfire had forced this particular flame up to the fourth tier and had even poured in a large amount of resources until its spirituality far outstripped anything its origins should have allowed.

By Luo Chen’s judgment, it now stood level with most of the fourth-tier Sourceless Flames he had encountered in Blazing Purgatory, and it simply lacked a concrete form. It had developed sentience without transforming, so it was hardly strange that it had turned on its master and tried to seize his body. Whatever it was, forcing growth prematurely was never a good thing.

He shook his head and urged his own true fire to melt away the wisp of Netherfire in his hand. Just as he was about to continue, a sudden thought flashed through his mind. Eh? How about I devour it instead?

A fourth-tier Sourceless Flame of this quality was exceedingly rare. If the Withering-Flourishing Fire Sprite could absorb it, it would not only neutralize the threat but also strengthen itself in the process. As for Netherfire himself, the treatment would leave his body unharmed. He certainly wouldn’t complain; in fact, he might even thank Luo Chen for it.

Without delay, Luo Chen began to draw in energy using the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture. The Withering-Flourishing True Fire immediately became gentler under the influence of the technique, then flowed deeper into the man’s body and began consuming the fragments of Netherfire dispersed throughout his flesh.

Time passed little by little.

While Luo Chen remained inside the chamber with Netherfire, the gathering in Origin Convergence Palace ended late into the night. When neither Netherfire nor Wilderness Hermit returned, the other Sages understood what had happened.

Old Ghost Nan Qi’s face darkened, and he made no effort to hide his fury. However, Duskmist Court lay within Devil’s Snare’s territory, so even he did not dare cause trouble there. In the end, he could only leave with his resentment unresolved.

Elsewhere in a rear hall of Origin Convergence Palace, Fu Chaosheng slowly polished the bronze mirror in his hand. As the tarnish faded from its surface, the image of a graceful woman appeared within it, so vivid that she seemed almost alive. He looked at her, and the smile on his face gradually deepened.

***

On the ninth day, Netherfire opened his eyes in the silent chamber and slowly let out a breath. After feeling the state of his condition, his expression softened with relief, though a trace of regret remained. The affliction that had tormented him for so long was finally gone, and once he recovered, he would be free to continue pursuing the Great Dao. Yet the Netherfire he had spent centuries nurturing had vanished with it, and that filled him with a sense of loss.

I was right about him. His mastery of fire is every bit as great as mine. In only nine days, he burned away every last trace of the Netherfire inside me.

Still marveling at the result, Netherfire left the chamber and found Fu Chaosheng waiting outside. ”Where’s he?”

”Let him rest for now. Treating you took a great deal out of him. He’s recovering in the Valley of Myriad Streams.”

”I see.” Netherfire smiled. ”He went through a lot to help me. I wanted to thank him myself, but I have something urgent to deal with. Could you give him the soul essence for me?”

Fu Chaosheng chuckled. ”It was a fair exchange. There’s no need to be so formal.”

After Netherfire hurried away, Fu Chaosheng strolled leisurely through the winding paths of the palace until he reached a mountain ravine where countless waterfalls met.

Waterfalls poured down the cliffs through a steady curtain of rain that blurred the entire landscape. A white-robed Daoist sat quietly in the downpour with his hair loose over his shoulders. Around him, boundless vitality and a chilling deathly intent cycled without end, while azure-golden flames rose from his body like savage beasts. Their heat turned the falling rain to mist and warped the air around him.

At the sight before him, Fu Chaosheng drew in a sharp breath. The composure he had maintained until now could no longer be kept up. He’s using fire as the vessel for his soul and trying to merge his spirit with heaven and earth!

At that very moment, the man in front of him shuddered, and every wisp of flame swiftly withdrew into his body.

Fu Chaosheng blinked. ”Did I interrupt you?”

Luo Chen rose with a slight frown. ”No. I just felt like something was missing.”

Fu Chaosheng sighed in relief. ”What a shame. For a moment, I thought you were about to touch upon the Power of Laws.”

Luo Chen smiled. ”The Laws aren’t that easy to comprehend. You’re giving me too much credit.”

Fu Chaosheng shook his head. ”In other places, perhaps. But the Mountains and Seas Realm is different. Spirit energy is abundant, and the world itself is rich with spiritual resonance. Some powerful archaic beasts naturally awaken to the Laws when they reach adulthood.

”Humans may not have that same advantage, but our ability to comprehend the Dao is no worse. And then there’s you, Devil Lord Azure Yang. You went from the fourth stage of the Golden Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm in barely a hundred years. With talent like yours, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d already touched upon the Laws.”

Luo Chen’s lingering confusion disappeared. He turned and looked directly at the plump man. ”I thought my disguise was flawless. My face, my name, even the aura of my power are completely different from a hundred years ago. How did you recognize me?”

Fu Chaosheng burst out laughing as the bronze mirror appeared in his hand again. ”Your disguise really is convincing. If we’d crossed paths by chance, I probably wouldn’t have recognized you. But that demonic beast attendant of yours left quite an impression on me.”

The mirror’s surface rippled, and a faint image of Heavenjade emerged within it.

Luo Chen narrowed his eyes at the mirror. ”What kind of treasure is that?”

”The True Spirit Treasure Mirror. It’s my life-bound True Artifact, modeled after a legendary spirit treasure. It can see through disguises and identify treasures, but it’s especially effective against demonic beasts. Once it records their aura, they can’t hide from it again. This peace conference is far too important to take any chances. I had to make sure no transformed Demon Emperor slipped inside, so I’ve kept the mirror active the entire time.”

Everything fell into place. Luo Chen had taken every precaution to conceal Heavenjade’s movements, lest a Sage discover her true form and bring them needless trouble. Whenever something needed to be handled, he sent Sang Jinghe in her place. Yet despite all his precautions, someone had still noticed a clue.

However, this was not necessarily a bad thing. One of his reasons for attending the peace conference was to find Fu Chaosheng. He hoped to use the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance’s connections to reach the Central Continent before returning to the Eastern Wilderness. Moreover, Fu Chaosheng knew the name Luo Chen yet had not connected it to the events in the Eastern Wilderness. From the looks of things, the matter of his alleged collusion with the demon races had not caused too great a stir, if it had been found out at all.

That made sense. Back then, he had only recently reached the Golden Core Realm. He had some reputation within the Jade Cauldron Domain, but in the broader Eastern Wilderness he was still an insignificant figure. The incident itself had also been tightly contained. From Fu Chaosheng’s reaction, it seemed likely that word had never reached anyone outside the circle directly involved.

Now that he had already been recognized, Luo Chen saw no reason to continue pretending. He cupped his hands and offered the man a bow.

Fu Chaosheng quickly stepped aside. ”What are you doing?”

Luo Chen straightened. ”Your advice helped me greatly back then. The least I can do is thank you.”

Fu Chaosheng waved it off. ”It was only a few words. There’s no need to make so much of it.”

”I don’t see it that way,” Luo Chen said. ”Blood Nightmare tried to recruit me himself. If you hadn’t warned me, I might really have walked straight into that lair of the devil.”

”Oh, that part.” Fu Chaosheng smiled faintly.

At the time, he had been the first to notice that something was wrong. No one else knew that Blood Nightmare was trying to unite the three lineages or that he had refined the devil sect disciples under his command into Blood God Clones. But with the help of the True Spirit Treasure Mirror, Fu Chaosheng had picked up a few clues; he had then warned Luo Chen to stay away from Devil’s Snare.

”And that wasn’t all. You guided me in cultivation, gave that treasure to Heavenjade, and introduced me to people who later helped me greatly. I might not have reached the Nascent Soul Realm without you.”

He meant every word, though he was rather generous with his praise. Gratitude from a Sage carried considerable weight, and Luo Chen hoped it would make the favor he intended to request easier to raise. Oddly enough, he had always found it more comfortable to ask for help from someone who had once helped him than to pressure someone who owed him a debt. The reasoning seemed somewhat backward, but that was simply how things were.

What he had not expected was for Fu Chaosheng to seize the opportunity first. ”If you’re truly that grateful, then help me with something.”

Luo Chen stared at him, momentarily speechless.