An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

While everyone in the hall was admiring the future prospects of Fu Qinglan and her grandfather, Seven Lamps was deeply envious of Luo Chen. He didn’t beat around the bush and simply went straight to the point with his request. ”I wonder if you could part with your Heaven Mystery Pill, Fellow Daoist Luo?”

Luo Chen came to a stop on the mountain path. Aha, so that’s what it was.

He had been wondering why Seven Lamps would stand up for him under the pressure of so many families. Moreover, the timing of his entrance had been just right, as if the elder had been waiting for him to come out of the pocket world. These were all signs of a premeditated action.

Seven Lamps took two more steps before noticing that Luo Chen had stopped. He also stopped, and turning around, he said frankly, ”You probably don’t know this yet, but the Heaven Mystery Pill plays a key role in getting a late-stage Sage like me to Divine Transformation. For you, it offers few benefits. If you consume it, it will, at most, increase your mana volume and push you one or two stages up.

”But for late-stages Sage like me, it’s a treasure we long for even in our dreams. And that includes experts from the major families. They were just too focused on the Mirage Dragon Grand Competition, and also there were too many people around, so it was difficult for them to bring it up with you. Once they remember this matter, they will definitely come knocking at your door. At that point, you will face pressure from many major families, and who knows, maybe even those grand cultivators in the main Dao Sect will show their interest. You cannot keep it!”

Luo Chen’s lips slightly curled up, and he asked, ”Then what about you, elder? If I give the pill to you, will you be able to keep it?”

Seven Lamps nodded confidently. ”Of course! I’m a late-stage Sage. I’m also one of the five great elders of the Star Gate, and this pill comes from the Saint Alchemist, my former colleague! I have every qualification.”

Luo Chen nodded in understanding. As a mere early-stage Sage, and not even a full-fledged elder at that, it was indeed difficult for him to argue that he deserved the Heaven Mystery Pill. Meanwhile, given Seven Lamps’ cultivation, status, and connection to the Saint Alchemist, no one in the entire Central Continent would try to take it from him by force.

Seeing Luo Chen nod, Seven Lamps was delighted. ”You agree?”

Luo Chen suddenly asked, ”Since this pill is so valuable, and it’s even so crucial for us Sages, what can you offer in exchange?”

Seven Lamps hesitated. He had originally intended to use the favor just now as payment, but the rogue cultivator before him was clearly no idiot. Even if he hadn’t spoken up to help Luo Chen, no one would have dared to break the rules and hurt him, especially after the appearance of the sect master. Therefore, this favor was inessential.

However, Seven Lamps was well prepared. ”During my whole cultivation life of over nine hundred years, I’ve traveled across three continents and collected countless treasures. Since you have only recently become a Sage and are also a rogue cultivator, I imagine you may lack handy tools. I have more than ten enchanted treasures you can choose from, and I’ll even throw in an offensive True Artifact.

”And that’s not all. I have three fourth-tier and an incomplete fifth-tier cultivation techniques that can fully meet your cultivation needs for the Nascent Soul Realm. And if you need any pills...”

As one would expect of an elder who had been a Sage for many years, Seven Lamps was indeed wealthy. After an array of head-spinning offers, he added, ”You are a provisional guest elder for now, so I bet you’ve been finding it quite inconvenient to operate in Heaven-Earth Peak. If you agree, I will persuade the other elders to make you an official Star Gate Guest Elder, and even promote you to retainer in two hundred years!”

Faced with these tempting conditions, Luo Chen was silent, which pleased Seven Lamps, because it indicated that the other party was tempted.

However, Luo Chen said, ”I’m sorry, I’ve already used the pill.”

Seven Lamps was stunned. The next second, his shock turned into disbelief. ”I know you were in the pocket world for fifty years, but you had to spend most of that time to protect...”

A powerful aura slowly emerged and shut him up.

The third stage of Nascent Soul!

Seven Lamps didn’t make a mistake; Luo Chen was at the third stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Although the fluctuations of his mana were slightly erratic, it actually made the leap in his cultivation base all the more credible.

Everyone knew that Luo Chen had been at the first stage of the Nascent Soul Realm before entering the Mirage Dragon Pocket World. Yet now, after only half a year in the outside world—in other words, fifty years in there—he had jumped two stages. Absolutely no amount of painstaking cultivation could achieve such a leap; only a miraculous thing like the Heaven Mystery Pill could make it possible.

No wonder he could dominate the pocket world without an opponent. Being a third-stage Sage among a group of peers who’ve only been in this realm for less than a hundred years, he’s like a crane among a flock of chickens. Of course he could crush them all!

Still, if that’s the case, I must have looked like a clown to him, acting like I’m superior and offering this and that...

Just as Seven Lamps was feeling dissatisfied, his expression suddenly changed, and he subconsciously took a few steps back from Luo Chen.

”No, hold on... It’s more than that!”

Around Luo Chen, a strange force was slowly spreading. After the slightest contact with it, Seven Lamps felt weak and withered, as though he was too old and had declining health. He felt like an old, dried up tree that shivered nonstop when winter arrived.

Seven Lamps swallowed. ”You’ve grasped a Law?”

Luo Chen gave him a slight smile, then made a hand seal. Immediately, the spreading mana and Withering-Flourishing energy were drawn back and forcibly sealed within his body. ”I’m sorry. Your conditions are genuinely good, and I would’ve taken the offer, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Seven Lamps gasped, not knowing what to say. In the end, he sighed. He had been paying close attention to the grand competition and had beaten everyone to offering Luo Chen a deal, but it was still too late.

Sure enough, you cannot force something that’s not meant to be!

He shook his head, and the dissatisfaction in his heart evaporated. Only he knew whether his attitude had changed because he couldn’t get the Heaven Mystery Pill, or because Luo Chen showed the potential to grasp a Law even at this early stage of cultivation.

”Well, it is what it is. Since you’ve used the pill, let’s forget this conversation.”

Luo Chen cupped his hands toward him with a sincere expression. ”Thank you for standing up for me. I will remember this favor.”

Seven Lamps gave a forced smile. That small favor is as good as nothing.

Luo Chen hadn’t finished, however. ”You said I could get the status of official guest elder. Is that true?”

”Mm.” Seven Lamps nodded, though he was no longer so enthusiastic. ”If you can produce another precious pill like the Heaven Mystery Pill, I will naturally do my best to help you.”

Obviously, Luo Chen could not. He still had a Law Scrutiny Pill that was far more precious than the Heaven Mystery Pill, but he absolutely would not take it out.

Perhaps realizing that his tone had been a bit stiff, Seven Lamps adjusted his attitude and curiously asked, ”Considering your age, it doesn’t actually matter if you’re an official guest elder or not, does it?”

Luo Chen nodded. ”It’s not that important to me personally; I’m more than content with a piece of spirit land and a cave residence. But... I’m not alone. I also have my Dao companions, disciples, attendants, and servants. They need a place to settle down, too.”

Seven Lamps instantly understood the situation.

Compared to a provisional position like the so-called External Affairs Guest Elder, official guest elders of the Star Gate held more powers that mattered, one of which being that they could bring their close ones into the Star Gate. Even if their followers did not meet the requirements to cultivate on Heaven-Earth Peak, the sect would still assign them jobs and places to stay. Furthermore, once Luo Chen had served the Star Gate as an official guest elder for a full 500 years, his descendants would have the opportunity to enter the Heaven Origin Dao Sect.

It seemed entirely reasonable to Seven Lamps that Luo Chen was seeking the status of guest elder for those reasons. He gave it some thought. After taking into consideration that his interlocutor, at such a young age, showed potential on par with that of a Dao Sect True Inheritor, he decided to do him a favor and reveal some insider information.

”In fact, it is not too difficult. The reason you cannot become an official guest elder is that you are too young and have not made many contributions. But it just so happens that right now, there is a great opportunity to earn merit.”

A great opportunity?

Luo Chen was rather taken aback, but then he remembered something that Hui Yuanhong had mentioned.

Before the Mirage Dragon event, Seven Lamps had introduced him to Hui Yuanhong, a prospective elder at the time. In an attempt to win him over, Hui Yuanhong had revealed to Luo Chen that he had come at just the right time for ”something good.” Afterward, Hui Yuanhong had successfully filled the vacancy left by the Saint Alchemist’s Ascension, becoming one of the nineteen elders of Heaven-Earth Peak.

Now that Seven Lamps was mentioning it again, Luo Chen asked, ”Can you tell me about it?”

Taking a deep breath, Seven Lamps switched to communicating through his divine consciousness. ”The Dao Sect has decided to send troops to the Northern Sea and Western Deserts after the Mirage Dragon competition finishes. The army that will be sent to the Northern Sea is tasked with making its cultivation world into a territory of our sect. Since you come from the Northern Sea, you must be quite familiar with that place. That’s your opportunity. You can join the troops and support the Dao Sect in this conquest. With your abilities, accumulating contributions will surely be a walk in the park.

”Once you get enough merit, I can speak to the Star Gate on your behalf, and I’m sure Fu Qinglan won’t hesitate to speak highly of you to the Dao Sect. In this way, not to mention becoming an official guest elder, even the position of retainer will be within your reach.”

With that, Seven Lamps had nothing more he wanted to say and took his leave somewhat dispiritedly.

After he left, Luo Chen frowned. He had long anticipated the possibility of the Heaven Origin Dao Sect sending troops to the Northern Sea. But... do I want to go back there?

***

Since Luo Chen left the pocket world, time had seemed to pass more slowly for him. It wasn’t due to the change in his lifespan, but that waiting in general often made one feel like a day was a year.

The grand competition was still ongoing. As long as all the True Inheritors had not come out, dead or alive, it would continue. Given what Luo Chen knew about the contestants, he had no doubt that they could hold out for another fifty years, which meant that he would half a year in the outside world.

Only after everyone had left the pocket could the ranking be determined and the rewards be distributed accordingly. Nevertheless, Fu Qinglan, being the first to grasp a Law and exiting early meant that she was in the undisputed first place. This meant that Luo Chen had fulfilled his promise to Fu Chaosheng to perfection and even beyond. At the same time, it also meant he had no more business to worry about in the Central Continent.

Regarding the Dao Sect’s plan to conquer the Northern Sea to expand its territory, Luo Chen had given it serious thought and realized that it was indeed a good opportunity for him. First of all, he knew that place well, and he could indeed contribute a lot to the Dao Sect’s plans, which meant getting that higher status he needed. Secondly, he still had some unresolved scores to settle there. Thus, by joining the expedition, he could kill two birds with one stone.

Before that, however, he really needed to make a trip back to the Eastern Wilderness. There were people he truly cared about, and there were acquaintances there whose images had almost become blurry in his memory, and he needed to bring all of these people to the Central Continent with him. He decided to leave for the Eastern Wilderness when the grand competition ended.

At present, the changes in the outside world and how people talked about him, Fu Qinglan, and the other contestants were none of Luo Chen’s concern. He sat down in Cave Residence Jia Seventy-Eight, closed his eyes, and started cultivating.

***

Just as he had demonstrated to Seven Lamps, he was indeed at the third stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Seven Lamps was wrong, however, to think that he had only reached this stage recently.

Luo Chen’s cultivation had been climbing rather quickly. He had hovered at the peak of the first state for a long time and had even used the Withering-Flourishing Divine Restriction to suppress his rapid cultivation rise. As a result, in just a few years after entering the pocket world, he had smoothly advanced to the second stage. He had basically spent the following decades consolidating his cultivation.

Luo Chen was already satisfied with his progress at that point, but then during that moment of enlightenment, he had comprehended the Law of Withering and Flourishing and absorbed a large amount of primal qi!

Primal qi was the origin of this world, spirit energy in its most concentrated, most diverse, but also purest form. When ordinary cultivators received a boost of primal qi, they were generally not able to perfectly refine it due to having their own specific mana attributes, and thus could only absorb twenty to thirty percent. Luo Chen, on the other hand, could absorb as much as ninety percent!

The enormous chunk of primal qi had directly pushed his cultivation to the third stage and then some more toward the fourth stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. At first, he had thought that this was caused by the Withering-Flourishing True Fire evolving to the fifth tier, only to realize later that it was due to his own physique.

Once he had settled down and found that his cultivation was going swimmingly, he stopped and took a look at the status panel, only to be taken aback. The ”Five-Spirit Dao Body” entry, which had always kept a low profile next to ”Fire Spirit Body,” was now glowing faintly.

”Why is it glowing? Is it because I grasped a new Law? But that’s a Law of Fire, so it shouldn’t... Huh?!”

For once, utter shock was visible on his face.

This was the first time Luo Chen had opened the status panel since the bout of enlightenment that had granted him an insight into Laws. He wanted to know his actual situation in definite data, and he was also curious as to why the Five-Spirit Dao Body had suddenly awakened. The changes he saw on the panel went beyond his expectations.

Not only was there a new section called ”Laws,” with the Law of Withering and Flourishing Law listed in it, but the attribute listed for this Law was ”Wood” instead of ”Fire.” This truly caught Luo Chen off guard.

He had switched his cultivation technique to the fire element while in the Golden Core Realm, and in the following 160 years, he had abandoned all the other spirit roots to immerse himself in this element. By all logic, the Law he had comprehended should have been a Law of Fire. Yet the Law of Withering and Flourishing was positively classified as Wood on the status panel.

Luo Chen might make mistakes, but the status panel had never made a mistake.

So... why is this the case?

Is it because I mainly cultivated the wood element during Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment? Or was I influenced by Fu Qinglan when she comprehended the Root of Wood in the Mirage Dragon Pocket World? Or maybe... Hmm, is it that the Law of Withering and Flourishing actually pertained to wood all along?

This makes the most sense, actually. During the enlightenment, most of what I comprehended was about birth, life, and death, and the transformations in-between; the growth and decline of all things... All that stuff isn’t explosive and domineering like fire, but more like the steady growth and decay of plants.

This can also explain the awakening of my Five-Spirit Dao Body, since I practically broke free from the shackles of the Fire Spirit Body to grasp a different elemental Law. Wait, does that mean... If I comprehend more Laws of the other elements, will the Five-Spirit Dao Body be fully awakened and replace the Fire Spirit Body?

Vaguely, Luo Chen saw a path to reconstruct his original Dao Body. It seemed far-fetched and even a little over-ambitious, but it was not entirely absurd!

Just as he was about to carefully study the changes on the status panel to adjust his future cultivation plan, an alarm notified him that his cave residence had just welcomed its first visitor in a long time. He reached out his hand and gestured. Immediately, a sound-transmission talisman flew in.

A few moments later, Luo Chen, with a half-smile, was staring at an old man whose face was glowing pink with happiness.

”Oh, fellow Daoist Fu... Of all the things you could’ve kept from me, you chose the one that mattered most. I’m hurt.”