An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

With that, their discussion of combat came to an end. Luo Chen returned to his original question, though he now found himself even more confused. ”If advancing our cultivation mainly comes down to increasing our mana, and the difference between each stage isn’t that great, why does it often take a Sage a hundred years to advance even one minor stage?”

Zhou Yunshen pointed toward the sky. ”The higher our cultivation rises, the stronger our mana becomes and the more natural spirit energy we can draw. But the more power we borrow, the greater the backlash. Our Nascent Souls become more vulnerable to losing themselves and being absorbed into heaven and earth. That’s why we have to be even more careful as we advance. We must constantly refine our mana and make sure it remains completely under our control. The slightest mistake could have terrible consequences.”

”But is there not still the barrier of the Purple Mansion?”

Zhou Yunshen laughed. ”Don’t you know that the Purple Mansion barrier develops from the spirit roots themselves?”

The answer stopped Luo Chen short, but the underlying principle soon became clear. Spirit roots were commonly spoken of as a single thing, yet they were actually composed of three foundations: one at the tip of the tongue, one in the dantian, and one within the reproductive organs.

The spirit root at the tongue governed a cultivator’s sensitivity to external spirit energy and the efficiency with which they absorbed it. Cultivators who had lost limbs were not uncommon, but it was exceedingly rare for a high-tier cultivator to lose this particular foundation. As for the third foundation, it was less important in the long term. A cultivator merely needed to preserve their primal yang or primal yin until reaching Foundation Establishment.

The dantian, meanwhile, formed the true core of cultivation. It opened during the earliest stages, expanded into a sea as cultivation deepened, and eventually evolved into the Purple Mansion. Strictly speaking, the Purple Mansion had never been separate from the spirit roots. It was simply the final form produced by their continued development.

Zhou Yunshen had only explained the basic principle, but once Luo Chen heard it put so plainly, something clicked that he hadn’t thought of before.

”The fewer spirit roots a cultivator has, the easier it is for them to sense and absorb the spirit energy of the corresponding attributes. Naturally, that allows them to cultivate faster. That’s why those born with a single heavenly spirit root are called the favored children of heaven and earth. But that advantage only lasts until the Nascent Soul Realm. Once the spirit roots evolve into the Purple Mansion, having fewer spirit roots means the Purple Mansion itself is smaller, and the barrier protecting it is thinner. That may bring a cultivator closer to heaven and earth, but becoming too close is hardly a good thing. None of us would dare let ourselves merge with them completely.”

He smiled at Luo Chen. ”You must have heard the common saying about how quickly cultivators with heavenly spirit roots advance, right?”

Luo Chen recited right away, ”Foundation Establishment in ten years, Core Formation in a hundred, Nascent Soul in two hundred, and Divine Transformation in five hundred...”

His voice gradually faded toward the end, yet he felt that he had suddenly been enlightened. Combined with the insights Resonant Jade had shared during the few days they traveled together, the explanation resolved the question that had troubled him for so long.

Zhou Yunshen did not yet realize that Luo Chen had already understood and continued his simple explanation. ”Those born with a single spirit root have a tremendous advantage in the early realms. Even with a few setbacks along the way, most of them form their Nascent Soul before they turn 300 years old. With a lifespan of a thousand years, that leaves them plenty of time. But going from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Divine Transformation Realm can still take another 500 years.

”The problem is their Purple Mansion. Because it was formed from a heavenly spirit root, its barrier is simply too thin. They cannot afford to rush their cultivation. They even have to be careful with cultivation pills. The toxins left behind can damage the barrier. It is already as fragile as a thatched hut, and if too many holes appear, the Nascent Soul will have nowhere left to shelter.”

At this point, Zhou Yunshen could not help sighing with emotion. In the end, the Great Dao showed no favoritism. Every advantage granted early in one’s cultivation demanded repayment later, while those who struggled through the lower realms often found the path opening before them once they reached greater heights.

Truthfully, Zhou Yunshen’s own aptitude had never been poor. With dual spirit roots, he had reached Nascent Soul by the age of 400, but the next four centuries proved far more difficult. Every step forward demanded painstaking caution, as though he were crossing a frozen river over thinning ice. At one point, he had nearly been assimilated into the surrounding world. The damage left him trapped at the fourth stage for many years, which was why outsiders still believed his cultivation had never advanced beyond it.

Even after recovering, he only managed to advance two more stages. Now, at more than 800 years old, he could only hope that his remaining two or three centuries would be enough for him to step into the late stage and earn him a chance at Divine Transformation.

When Zhou Yunshen looked at Luo Chen again, the bitterness in his eyes gave way to sympathy. He could sense how young the other man was and knew that Luo Chen had only been in the middle stage Adept back when he was at the Society. To have reached the Nascent Soul Realm so quickly at such a young age, he most likely possessed a fire-attribute spirit root. In the past, Zhou Yunshen would have regarded someone like him as a sect prodigy and the pillar of a great clan. Now, however, he could only pity him. Luo Chen had crossed one of cultivation’s greatest thresholds, only to discover that the road ahead was steeper than ever. He must have felt utterly lost and hopeless, which was why he had sought him out for guidance.

Luo Chen noticed the sympathy in his gaze but offered no explanation. Instead, he changed the subject. ”Do you know anything about binding and enslaving spirits?”

”I actually know a little about that.” Zhou Yunshen thought for a moment before continuing. ”Spirit Tamer was a close friend of mine, and his title should tell you what he specialized in. He taught me several techniques, and after experimenting with them, I even incorporated a few into the Coral Sea’s Blood Coral Formation. The results were surprisingly effective. I can explain what I know, but these techniques do not work equally well for everyone. Think carefully before you try any of them.”

Luo Chen had not expected his casual question to be such an unexpected windfall. He had recently been struggling to control the powerful souls housed within high-tier puppets, and the techniques Zhou Yunshen had learned from Spirit Tamer gave him several promising ideas.

Their exchange continued until he had asked everything he could think of. When it was time for Zhou Yunshen to leave, Luo Chen accompanied him down Little Jade Mountain. Only as they neared the foot of the mountain did he raise the question that had been on his mind. ”Fellow Daoist Zhou, now that the Coral Sea is gone, where will you be heading?”

”Hm?” Zhou Yunshen looked briefly puzzled, but his expression soon hardened with resolve. ”I have to secure a future for the surviving members of my family. I plan to go to the Central Continent and join Heaven-Earth Peak. You’re thinking of doing the same, aren’t you? Once we arrive, perhaps we can look out for one another. The Central Continent may be nice to powerful cultivators from across the world, but outsiders are still treated with suspicion. Unless we stand together, they’ll only see us as tools they can use and discard.”

Luo Chen smiled. No wonder Zhou Yunshen had held nothing back earlier. Gratitude toward Black King for rescuing the Zhou family was one reason, and the fact that the experience he shared was not particularly profound was another. More importantly, however, he wanted to establish a relationship before they both reached the Central Continent. Luo Chen had no intention of remaining there any longer than necessary, but that did not make the proposal any less valuable. Should he ever need an ally, someone whose background and character he already understood would be far more trustworthy than a stranger.

Since Zhou Yunshen had extended his goodwill first, Luo Chen saw no reason not to reciprocate. He flicked his wrist and held out a storage pouch.

Zhou Yunshen glanced at the storage pouch but did not take it. ”What’s this?”

Luo Chen smiled. ”Three low-grade defensive enchanted treasures. I made some of them myself. I heard your family lost many of its most talented cultivators at the Coral Sea, so give these to those who survived. They may help keep them alive.”

Zhou Yunshen hesitated. ”But I haven’t done anything to deserve such a gift.”

”How can you say that?” Luo Chen replied. ”What you taught me today may save me years of wasted effort. Besides, these treasures are no longer useful to me. If anything, three is hardly enough. You guys once sent me a batch of medicinal materials to support my alchemy. In return, I promised to make a defensive enchanted treasure for the cultivator who had just formed their Golden Core. But I fled into the depths of the Demon Sea before I could keep that promise. Consider this my way of finally making good on it. Please accept them.”

With Luo Chen insisting, Zhou Yunshen finally accepted the pouch. Low-grade enchanted treasures were not particularly valuable to a Sage, but defensive treasures were exactly what the surviving juniors of the Zhou family lacked. So few of them remained that Zhou Yunshen could no longer bear the thought of losing even one more.

”In that case, thank you.”

Zhou Yunshen cupped his hands in farewell and departed. Luo Chen watched him leave with a smile before turning back up Little Jade Mountain.

The matter that had troubled him for so long now seemed surprisingly straightforward. Resonant Jade had already pointed him toward the answer during their brief journey together, but his explanation had been too general for Luo Chen to understand the full picture. Zhou Yunshen’s account had finally connected those scattered clues and revealed the reason behind his astonishing cultivation speed.

Although Luo Chen’s Purple Mansion appeared to have developed from a single fire spirit root, its true foundation encompassed all five elements. Those spirit roots had also been transformed by the Spirit-Shaping Sacred Spring within the Alchemy Palace of the Heaven of Bright Illumination to an exceptional quality. The Purple Mansion that evolved from them was therefore far larger and more stable than one formed from an ordinary heavenly spirit root. Such a powerful barrier allowed him to draw upon the natural spirit energy without fearing that his Nascent Soul would lose itself within that power. At the same time, his Fire Spirit Body gave him exceptional affinity with fire-attribute spirit energy, which allowed him to absorb and refine it with greater efficiency.

Together, those two advantages fully explained his rapid progress.

In fact, the Grand Origin Pill could accelerate it even further. Once his proficiency reached the point where he could eventually produce middle-grade or top-grade pills consistently, his progress speed would rise to yet another level.

The irony put Luo Chen in an excellent mood. Poor aptitude had plagued him throughout the lower realms, which forced him to spend enormous amounts of time and resources merely to keep pace with true geniuses. Only after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm had those former disadvantages transformed into advantages that others could only envy. In such an uplifted mood, his study of puppet techniques seemed to progress more smoothly after he returned to the mountain.

A month later, once he had adjusted himself to his peak condition, he summoned the Primordial Unity Cauldron and fixed his divine consciousness upon a certain item inside it.