An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 1244: An Unprecedented Fortress; the Nether Origin Sect’s Plan? (II)

”Skypiercing Pass is the number one city in the Eastern Wilderness today, and dare I say, the strongest fortress in the Eastern Wilderness throughout history! It was built with immense effort after careful planning. The financial resources for the construction were pooled from the sixteen domains in the rear, and the refugees from the twelve fallen frontline domains provided the labor. Now, the city straddles the borders of the Skypiercing Five Domains, and covers an area of no less than 8,000 li!

”From our estimation, the number of cultivators here has already surpassed 10 million, with at least 100,000 Initiates! The city lord’s mansion has recorded roughly 3,000 Adepts, and that’s only the ones who’ve registered themselves! Aside from the Holy Lands, no other force ever had so many Adepts at once.”

As Luo Chen listened to Wind Listener, the cold, hard numbers gave him a concrete impression of this mighty fortress. And although he had anticipated the situation here to some degree, his pupils still contracted when he heard the words ”3,000 Adepts.”

”How are there so many Adepts?”

Wind Listener replied matter-of-factly, ”When great disaster strikes, the most powerful have the highest chances of survival. Low-tier cultivators die in droves, but Adepts don’t go down so easily. Everyone knows this, and high-tier Initiates in distressing times know this especially well. Also, now that people have been, well, dying, more and more cultivation resources have become available with time. That means more resources for promising Initiates, who will take any risk to reach Golden Core. You’ve gone through the process yourself, so I’m sure you understand the most crucial factor in Core Formation is unyielding determination.”

Luo Chen nodded.

In the Qi Refinement Realm, the focus of cultivation shifted with each minor stage breakthrough. In the Foundation Establishment Realm, the focus was on purifying spirit energy to lay a good foundation for one’s path. Then, breaking from Foundation Establishment into Golden Core was also a unique process with countless paths to choose from, and Core Formation methods were as varied as they were bizarre. To advance from Golden Core to Nascent Soul, one pursued profound cultivation, unification of their Three Treasures, and powerful techniques or anything that could help them withstand the calamitous bombardment of tribulation lightning. Throughout this whole journey, the one essential thing was an unwavering resolve to press forward without hesitation, to either succeed or die trying!

And yet, this resolve was most vital when one formed their core, which Luo Chen knew full well. Fail, and one might end up like his old friend Taitai Jin, who had perished in seclusion, or like Chu Kui, who had suffered injuries so severe that they had nearly claimed his life. Succeed, on the other hand, and one could let out a mighty roar at the sky: ”With a Golden Core inside me, my fate is no longer bound by heaven!”

Under extreme pressure, sufficient cultivation resources would indeed give rise to a great number of Adepts. The Luo Tian Sect, for instance, had produced a whopping nine Adepts in the span of a hundred years under the demon scourge.

However, Adepts produced in a rush were usually lacking in many respects. Their mana might not be sufficiently refined. They might have hurried into a new cultivation technique and thus reached Golden Core with cracks in their foundation. They might have sustained hidden injuries from forcing the breakthrough. Most likely, they didn’t have the luxury of carefully choosing their life-bound treasures.

Skypiercing Pass might have over three thousand Adepts, but as far as Luo Chen was concerned, probably not even half of them were adept fighters.

”As for Sages, we have five of them perpetually stationed in Skypiercing Pass, with a rotation every three years.”

”We have enough Sages to manage such a rotation?”

Wind Listener gave Luo Chen a faint smile. ”Of course we do. The Skypiercing Five Domains have twenty Sages. If the situation escalates, Skypiercing Pass can have up to ten, or even all twenty of us! Furthermore, the sixteen domains in the rear will dispatch their Sages to our aid. In short, plans have been made to ensure that Skypiercing Pass won’t be lost.”

Twenty Sages?

Luo Chen was stunned by this number, because he’d expected far fewer. However, as he took some time to look back, it actually added up. Twelve Sages had attended his Nascent Soul Formation Ceremony. Adding that to those who had remained in their own sects, those garrisoning Skypiercing Pass, and those in seclusion, twenty was entirely reasonable.

He couldn’t help comparing this with the dominant powers in the Northern Sea. Twenty... The Blue Sea Alliance, when I was there, probably had around twenty Sages as well. Devil’s Snare, the Ten Myriad Immortal Society, and the Penglai Immortal Sect combined probably had many Sages as the sixteen rear domains here. So, not including the two Holy Lands, the two territories have roughly the same number of grand cultivators?

Hmmm, no... I’m forgetting something here... Right! The archipelago! While the three overlords fought for hegemony over the Northern Sea, quite a few forces across the archipelago, like the Ice Pole Sect, steered clear of their war. The Northern Sea back then definitely had more Sages than the Eastern Wilderness does now. Well, expect no less from a great territory known for its abundant resources.

Luo Chen compared the Eastern Wilderness to the Northern Sea continents, but out of instinct, he didn’t take the Central Continent into consideration even though he had also stayed there for quite a while. The reason was that he would be comparing apples to oranges—the Central Continent was solidly dominated by a single sect. Inherently, there was hardly anything there that could substantially cut down their number of Sages.

Even Luo Chen never found out exactly how many Sages that place housed. There were definitely far more than a hundred, and two hundred was merely the number on the surface. He reckoned three, or even four hundred was possible. If this mighty tiger of a force were to roam unchecked, the four other territories of the Mountains and Seas Realm would have to team up just to barely measure up!

This is the advantage of monopolizing an entire continent; they can develop to their heart’s content. If the Nether Origin Sect had been able to take sole control over the Eastern Wilderness thirty-six domains and maybe clean up the Great Million Mountains, it might have grown to the same level as the Dao Sect...

Luo Chen’s brow twitched when he thought of the Nether Origin Sect. The situation in the Eastern Wilderness was as precarious as that of an egg about to roll off a cliff, so precarious that even someone as powerful as Primal Sovereign Nine Spirits had been observing with concern. Yet the Nether Origin Sect still refused to deploy an appropriate amount of cultivators of their own. In fact, appointing Ye Lingtian to hold the front lines was the single notable thing they had done in this regard, if it could even be considered notable at all.

Luo Chen found that difficult to fathom. Couldn’t the Nether Origin Sect see that the demon race was growing ever more powerful? Had they learned nothing from the annihilation of the Primordial Devil Sect? By lumping the refugees into this so-called ”Suicide Army,” was it really giving the various remnant forces a chance to pave a path to survival out of a dead end?

Surely the Nether Origin Sect isn’t planning to have us wear down the demons, and then they’ll just swoop in after everything’s settled to clean the aftermath? Are they... trying to follow the Dao Sect’s example and bring the whole Eastern Wilderness under their authority?

When this possibility struck him, Luo Chen subconsciously clenched his fists. He glanced discreetly at Wind Listener, who was still absorbed in his own speech.

Do they know? Or rather, have they ever considered this possibility? Or maybe they have, but under the might of the Holy Land, they have no choice but to tacitly comply, all while struggling desperately for a sliver of hope to preserve their own sect?

Luo Chen didn’t have an answer, and he didn’t dare ask for one.

Meanwhile, Wind Listener, after a series of goodwill gestures, finally stopped beating around the bush and asked Luo Chen to personally refine a fourth-tier pill for him!

Luo Chen had known his intentions from the start, given Wind Listener had sought an audience with him twice while he was refining the Nine Separation Pill in seclusion. Apparently, Wind Listener going out of his way to welcome him outside the city earlier was an attempt to mimic Nine Spirits, all to give Luo Chen face in public and thus further boost his reputation.

Therefore, Luo Chen had been expecting his request. When it came to the price of his service, however, it was a separate matter. He didn’t have to state it out loud, because anyone who cared enough to commission him would have done a little bit of digging and gotten a rough idea from the precedents of Old Tal and Nine Spirits.

Amusingly though, for someone expected to be well prepared, Wind Listener revealed an embarrassed look.

Luo Chen instantly caught on. Well, well, well, we’ve got a pauper!

But he didn’t let his thoughts show. His smiling expression remained unfaltered as he said, ”There’s no rush. Let’s discuss the details in private after I pay my respects to our fellow Daoists.”

Wind Listener softly breathed a sigh of relief. From Luo Chen courteous response, he received the signal that there was already more or less a deal despite his tight pocket. He couldn’t help feeling grateful.

Talking on the way, the two of them arrived at the city lord’s mansion.

This was Luo Chen’s second time here, and he was much more relaxed this time. Unlike the hostility he had sensed in his last visit, there was only pure friendliness radiating from the streams of divine consciousness probing out from the building today.

The moment he entered the grand hall with Wind Listener, Luo Chen was greeted by the sight of four figures. Aside from the city master in his usual seat, the other three were Xiao Shiniang, Qin Baixiang, and Luo Chen’s ”close friend” Idle Crane.

Xiao Shiniang was the lord of Ancient Fireworks Isle, whom Luo Chen had met once. Qin Baixiang was the leader of the Hundred Beast Sect. Between Luo Chen and either of them, there was no ill will or past grudges. Meanwhile, Wind Listener needed a favor from him, and Idle Crane was on good terms with him. From Luo Chen’s perspective, the selection behind the Nascent Soul roster for this patrol mission was full of tact.

After he quickly worked out the situation, he reacted accordingly. With his left hand cupped over his right, he slightly bowed. ”Luo Chen, reporting for duty! My apologies for being late, fellow Daoists.”