An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Unfortunately, Blood Nightmare had no intention of letting him leave. He slowly shook his head and raised his hand. At his beckoning, the enormous tree spread across the sea like an umbrella split open from within, and a streak of sword light shot from its trunk and settled into his grasp.

With the sword in hand, Blood Nightmare fixed Luo Chen with a cold stare. ”You woke me from my sleep and destroyed my bloodfood. Since you’ve come this far, you might as well stay here.”

Luo Chen’s heart tightened as he recognized the sword. It had been presented at the Jadecold City auction as a true spirit treasure. Han Zhan later said that it was only a pseudo-spirit treasure, but that did little to lessen the danger it posed. Its power had once been enough to threaten even Blood Hermit.

Blood Nightmare raised the Godslayer Blood Sword and brought it down in a simple and almost effortless slash. Luo Chen did not dare underestimate the strike, however, and thrust out both hands, summoning seven fire rings that overlapped before him to form the Sevenfold Skyblaze Ring. At the same time, his robes billowed as the Profound Dust Armor materialized over his body as a second line of defense.

Yet despite those preparations, the strike passed through both defenses as though they were not there. A narrow wound opened across Luo Chen’s palm, and a thin line of blood appeared along the edge of the Godslayer Blood Sword as it cut through him.

Blood Nightmare held the blade horizontally and watched the blood spread across its surface. The madness that had briefly receded surged back into his eyes, sharper and more intense than before, while the sword vibrated faintly in his grasp. ”It seems you like his blood very much!”

Luo Chen lowered his gaze to the wound; his expression turned serious. He had not expected the Sevenfold Skyblaze Ring to block the strike completely, but even the Profound Dust Armor had failed to reduce its force. The armor had recently advanced into a True Artifact, yet the sword had cut through it as though it was made of paper.

His eyes narrowed as he looked back at the Godslayer Blood Sword. Is that sword trying to feast on my blood?

As though it sensed his scrutiny, the sword trembled again, almost in excitement.

A savage grin spread across Luo Chen’s face as he slapped the storage pouch at his waist and caught the Myriad Jun Halberd[1] in his hand. ”YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!”

Before the words had even faded, the void warped under the violent shockwave. Luo Chen vanished from where he stood and reappeared directly before Blood Nightmare as he brought the halberd down toward his head.

Caught off guard by his astonishing speed, Blood Nightmare barely managed to raise the Godslayer Blood Sword in time.

CLANG!

The weapons collided, and the overwhelming force of the blow smashed him into the sea of blood below.

Luo Chen stared down at the churning waters, a wild light burning in his eyes. ”Fine then! Since you won’t let me leave, I’ll stay and settle our old score!”

Still gripping the halberd in one hand, he thrust out the other and unleashed the Azure Yang Great Handprint.

BOOOOOOOMMMM!

The enormous palm projection crashed into the sea with a thunderous impact and blasted open a passage through its depths. Luo Chen immediately plunged into the opening, chasing after Blood Nightmare.

The sea erupted around them as they clashed underwater. Each collision sent violent currents surging through the crimson waters. Several breaths later, they burst out from the sea and shot into the sky.

Blood Nightmare tried to widen the distance between them, but Luo Chen clung to him like a thistle. Whenever the slightest gap opened, Luo Chen would instantly close it with a kick as swift as lightning and blast a hole in Blood Nightmare’s body.

Fury blazed in Blood Nightmare’s gaze as two streaks of crimson light shot from his eyes and struck directly at Luo Chen’s sea of consciousness. At the same time, his devilish energy surged outward and condensed into a colossal hand that formed above them. ”You fucking bastard!”

For an instant, Luo Chen reeled under the assault on his divine soul, but he soon snapped back into clarity before the attack could strike him. Before the descending hand could strike, he exhaled a stream of azure-golden flame. The flames spread into the shape of a towering tree whose fiery branches coiled around the enormous hand and held it suspended in midair.

Even as the two forces strained against each other, Luo Chen never took his eyes off Blood Nightmare. He drew the Myriad Jun Halberd back, then hurled the astronomically heavy polearm forward like a javelin. Waves of blood surged into the sky to intercept it; as the crimson waters swallowed the halberd, the Godslayer Blood Sword drifted silently among them before darting toward Luo Chen from an angle.

Sensing its approach, Luo Chen roared, ”Since you enjoy drinking my blood so much, I’ll let you drink to your fill!”

His left hand swelled to an enormous size as its five fingers spread like talons. Rather than grasping directly at the sword, however, he used the Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw to lock down the several zhang of space around it. Sharp sword energy and overwhelming force erupted against that sealed space and rebounded into his palm, sending searing pain through his hand, yet the pain only made his vicious grin widen even more.

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!!

The Godslayer Blood Sword tore free like a blood dragon breaking its chains, yet he did not try to catch it again. He simply spread his wings wide behind him as the Withering-Flourishing True Fire cloaked his entire body until he resembled a god of fire. He had now brought out nearly everything at his disposal, short of only his Archaic Beast True Form.

Now wrapped in fire, he charged at Blood Nightmare once more. The gap in their cultivation was impossible to ignore. Blood Nightmare was two minor realms above him and had clearly spent far more time refining his techniques and combat instincts, which meant that in a normal exchange of spells, Luo Chen would be at a clear disadvantage. That was precisely why he had never intended to fight him that way. From the very start, he had been forcing the battle toward close range, where his speed and physical prowess could suppress Blood Nightmare before the man had room to fully bring his strength to bear.

So far, the fight was unfolding largely as he had expected. Only the terrifying might of the Godslayer Blood Sword and Blood Nightmare’s physical resilience had caught him by surprise. The man was most likely advanced in Physique Refinement, but Luo Chen still had greater faith in his own cultivation. More importantly, he had yet to reveal his trump cards.

Hovering in the air, Luo Chen’s eyes shone in spirit light as he activated Mirror Flower Water Moon.

Blood Nightmare, who had been closely watching Luo Chen’s every move, was caught immediately. Although he broke free almost at once, that brief lapse was enough to confirm Fu Chaosheng’s previous assessment. Blood Nightmare had long betrayed the ancestral teachings of the devil sect and attempted to cultivate all three of its lineages. Beyond the Blood Sea Lineage’s core technique and the devilish energy he had used to manifest the colossal palm, he had also mastered techniques from the Soul Refinement Lineage.

Of course, Luo Chen had never expected the illusion to hold his opponent for long; all he needed was that brief lapse.

Crackle!

A silver arc flashed through the void, and a bolt of lightning crashed into Blood Nightmare before he could fully recover. His body went rigid under the sudden strike, and Luo Chen closed the remaining distance in an instant.

His ten fingers blurred as he unleashed Overlord Stripped Bare in a relentless barrage. Every blow drove a stream of origin energy into Blood Nightmare’s body and disrupted his control over himself. Luo Chen then hooked his clawed hands over the man’s shoulders and tore outward with all his strength.

”SPLIIIIIIIITTTT!”

RIIIIIPPPPP...

Blood Nightmare’s body was torn into two halves! At that moment, the Godslayer Blood Sword was left hovering uselessly in the air without a master. Luo Chen stood in the sky, yet there was no joy on his face. ”Where is your Nascent Soul?”

Before he could examine them further, both halves dissolved into torrents of blood and poured back into the sea. He looked down and saw the bloody waves churning even more violently, and a shadow flickered in and out of view beneath the surface.

Luo Chen’s expression hardened as he understood what had happened. ”So as long as the sea of blood exists, you’re practically undying.”

The wildness in his eyes gradually receded. After glancing toward the distance, he made up his mind and muttered, ”We’ll settle this another day.”

With that, he recalled the Myriad Jun Halberd and turned to leave. But just as he was about to leave, he paused and turned his gaze toward the sword that was trying to plunge into the sea of blood.

”Well, consider this a little repayment.”

Luo Chen reached out and curled his fingers into a claw, sending a Cloud-Seizing Divine Claw toward the sword. Sensing the danger, the sword erupted with sword light and shattered the claw outright.

However, the claw had only been a distraction. Behind it, nine chains had already shot out from a small cauldron and wrapped tightly around it. The Godslayer Blood Sword thrashed with all its might, but the cauldron’s restraining force bore down upon it with a power unlike anything it had encountered before.

Luo Chen immediately used Voidburst Step, appearing a hundred zhang away. He spread his wings a moment later and fled at an almost inconceivable speed.

From within the sea, a furious roar sounded. ”GIIIIVEEE MEEE BAAACCKK MMMYY SWWOOOORDD!!!!”

What answered him was Luo Chen’s cold laugh. Before the laugh could fade, however, a far more terrifying voice rolled across the distant horizon. ”I FINALLY FOUND YOU!”

BOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

An explosion shook the sky as a darker shade of crimson light shot toward them like a meteor falling from the heavens. The moment it arrived, the sea of blood trembled. Blood Hermit emerged from the crimson radiance, his face buried under a thick beard as he reached toward the bloody waters with one hand.

”GET THE HELL OUT HERE!!!!”

1. The jun (钧) is a traditional weight measurement unit now standardized to 30 jin, or 15kg. ☜