An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Seven years ago, when the Withering-Flourishing True Fire began to refine the Heaven Mystery Pill, an abundance of spiritual vitality burst out from the pill. The sheer amount far exceeded anything Luo Chen had expected. If the spiritual vitality contained within an ordinary fourth-tier illusory core could be described as a wisp, then the amount within the Heaven Mystery Pill could be called a raging fire. It was formed from dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of wisps of spiritual vitality!

Only after seeing it for himself did Luo Chen truly understand why Xiang Qi, Shi Ju, and the other True Inheritors had coveted the Heaven Mystery Pill so fiercely. Even if someone spent the full hundred years inside the pocket world hunting illusory beasts, they might still fail to accumulate this much. For a moment, he could not help feeling a trace of regret.

But what was done was done, so there was no point in second-guessing his decision now. To guard against any mishap, he left only his first subsidiary soul outside to remain vigilant and concentrated the rest of his attention on the true fire’s transformation. If something truly went wrong, he would at least have time to intervene.

Fortunately, the process unfolded smoothly. The influx of spiritual vitality quickly restored the Withering-Flourishing True Fire’s exhausted strength, and its aura began climbing once more.

At the heart of the green flames, the remnant of Nirvana Sacred Fire remained as stubborn as ever. It still resisted refinement and continued to obstruct the true fire’s advance. However, the Heaven Mystery Pill was doing far more than simply providing primal qi.

Through the spiritual vitality contained within the pill, the Withering-Flourishing True Fire began to resonate with the Mirage Dragon Pocket World itself. Using that spiritual vitality as a bridge, the fire sprite slipped deep into the ocean of primal qi that underlay the world, searching for the root power corresponding to its own nature. As a natural child of heaven and earth in its purest state, it encountered little resistance. It drew forth large amounts of primal qi, which continuously poured through Luo Chen’s body and into the Withering-Flourishing True Fire within his Purple Mansion.

With that seemingly endless supply supporting it, the true fire once again reached its last stage of transformation. Its azure flames surged higher, forcibly suppressing the Nirvana Sacred Fire that had previously held it back, while its aura rose at a frantic pace. With things working like this, Luo Chen did not need to do anything; he could simply sit back and wait for the transformation to be complete.

Yet as time passed in this fashion and he watched the endless cycle of withering and flourishing unfold within the flames, certain insights stirred his mind.

From the moment all things in the world were born, they lived while inevitably moving toward death. Yet anything with awareness would instinctively resist that end, striving to flourish and pursuing immortality and yearning to escape the decay brought by time.

Fire was the same. No matter how fiercely a flame burned, it would eventually die and leave only ashes. However, even within those ashes, embers could remain, waiting for the right moment to ignite once more. Trees followed the same cycle. Their crowns might spread across the sky, but as the seasons turned and the sun and moon continued their course, even the most luxuriant growth would eventually wither. Still, the roots buried deep beneath the earth would continue gathering strength in silence, waiting for the season when they could flourish again. Such was the cycle set by heaven, the Dao of Withering and Flourishing.

Luo Chen did not know whether his understanding was truly correct. All things were impermanent, forever changing, and ultimately destined to die. Perhaps what he had glimpsed through the transformation of the true fire was only the surface of something far greater.

But opportunities in cultivation often arrived in unexpected ways. He had sacrificed the Heaven Mystery Pill to help the Withering-Flourishing True Fire advance. Yet by doing so, he had unexpectedly opened another path for himself.

As primal qi streamed through his body toward the true fire, Luo Chen sensed that his connection to the world outside his Purple Mansion was deepening. Because he was the master of the Withering-Flourishing True Fire, he could even vaguely perceive the strange place its sprite had entered.

A powerful longing suddenly rose within him. I want to go there too!

The moment the thought appeared, azure flames surged around Luo Chen’s Nascent Soul; his divine consciousness plunged into them and followed the distant path trod by the fire sprite, which acted as a beacon.

Then, without warning, Luo Chen found himself within the ocean of primal qi. It was a place so strange that even he could not put it into words. Five colors flowed and mingled everywhere he looked, shimmering together in a brilliance so dazzling that even a moment’s lapse in concentration threatened to swallow his awareness completely.

And yet, despite how weird everything seemed, the place also felt inexplicably familiar. It was like returning to a mother’s womb after wandering far from home, so intimate and comforting that the desire to stay there forever arose almost naturally.

Luo Chen drifted through the boundless haze. Little by little, his sense of direction faded. He began to forget where he had come from and even where he was supposed to go.

Then a lively voice suddenly reached him. ”Master, I’m here!”

***

Seven years later, Lin Bufan crouched beside a mountain stream and scooped up a handful of icy water. He watched the snowmelt trickle through his fingers and frowned. ”Why is the snow melting?”

Lin Jingtang barely spared it a glance. ”Why are you wasting time with that? Shi Ju and the others already went ahead. Come on, let’s see what’s going on.”

Lin Bufan shook the water from his hand and followed him north.

Not long after, they passed a small hill covered in blooming flowers, and Lin Bufan slowed again. ”Why are the Seedseeker Flowers blooming already?”

Lin Jingtang looked over, then frowned as well. ”I don’t know about that. But now that you mention it, why are the Sourceroost Flowers beside them already dead?”

Neither of them had an answer. Instead, a furious roar suddenly thundered across the mountains. ”LUO CHEN, GET THE HELL OUT HERE!”

Shi Ju’s voice had barely finished echoing when Qi Xiongcheng struck.

An enormous palm projection slowly materialized high in the sky and descended. Before it even landed, the pressure alone began crushing the surrounding mountains. Several snow-covered slopes collapsed one after another, and the hidden formations throughout the region were forced into view.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Without anyone actively controlling them, the concealment and defensive formations Luo Chen had laid down could not withstand the blow. One after another, they shattered under the descending palm until the final barrier collapsed and revealed a lone figure seated atop the mountain.

Avalanches roared like a white sea below the mountain, and fierce winds swept between the peaks, whipping Luo Chen’s white robes and blowing his long hair behind him. Through it all, however, he remained perfectly still and never opened his eyes.

At the sight, Shi Ju’s face immediately lit up with satisfaction. After searching for so many years, he had finally found Luo Chen. Yet the complete lack of reaction from the man before him stirred a hint of vigilance in his heart.

”Go. Kill him!”

At Shi Ju’s command, Qi Xiongcheng attacked without hesitation. He produced a long black saber and shot toward the mountain. Wang Yifu, who had followed them all the way here, needed no prompting. Hatred burned in his eyes as he charged after his peer, sweeping his bamboo staff forward and unleashing wave after wave of staff shadows before he had even reached the mountain. Meanwhile, Shi Ju held his folding fan half-open in his hand; wisps of golden flame seeped from it, ready to launch a follow-up strike at any moment.

High overhead, the white eagle shrieked incessantly and fixed its gaze firmly on Luo Chen. Clearly, it had not forgotten the man who had stolen so much spiritual vitality from it and then nearly killed it with a single sword strike. Farther back, Gu Yuan’s group and Lin Bufan’s group quietly watched the scene as though they intended only to observe from the sidelines. Yet judging by the restless movements of their respective Dao Protectors, they had no intention of remaining spectators forever.

”He’s completely exposed this time. He never had a chance to build up power for that sword strike, and he’s still trapped in enlightenment.”

”He can’t even fight back. How is he supposed to hold off Shi Ju and the other two?”

The comments came from the Gu and Lin families as they watched from a distance.

Atop the mountain, Luo Chen’s eyelids twitched as if he were about to wake, but after a moment, they settled again. The subsidiary soul he had left behind let out a faint sigh and summoned the Primordial Slaughter Sword. His main soul was still with the Nascent Soul, and he barely had any mana to work with. I won’t be able to hold them off for long. Grrrr. I’ll buy as much time as I can. If I have to shatter this subsidiary soul, then so be it.

Just as Luo Chen’s subsidiary soul was about to risk everything, someone suddenly appeared in front of Luo Chen.

It was Fu Qinglan! Years of seclusion had left her face noticeably thinner, but that did nothing to diminish her beauty. She glanced back at Luo Chen with complicated emotions passing through her eyes. ”This time, let me protect you.”

Fu Qinglan parted her lips, and a tender green leaf emerged from her mouth. The moment it appeared, she poured mana into it, and the tiny leaf rapidly expanded, stretching across the sky like a green curtain.

Qi Xiongcheng’s saber light and Wang Yifu’s staff shadows struck it almost simultaneously. Yet there was no violent collision, and not even a single sound rang out. The attacks simply sank into the enormous leaf without breaking through, leaving its surface completely intact.