Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Chapter 18: Soul Breaking Nail, Calming incense_1

The connection between Luo Chen and Wang Yuan was actually not that complicated.

Both of them entered The Great River District as rogue cultivators around the same time.

But unlike Luo Chen, who was only at the first level of Qi Refinement, Wang Yuan was a preeminent grandmaster in the mundane world, who by chance transitioned from the Path of Martial Arts to the Path of Immortality.

Therefore, when Wang Yuan first entered The Great River District, he showcased extraordinary combat power.

He even joined a hunting team, daring to venture into the mountains to hunt lower-order demon beasts.

Luo Chen did not possess much strength at that time, but for the sake of survival, he also followed them to help with sundry tasks and transportation.

At that time, due to his personality and experiences, Wang Yuan was unlike the cautious rogue cultivators; his actions were bold and clear-cut, embodying the spirit of a martial arts grandmaster.

However, his bold spirit brought trouble for him in The Great River District.

He was robbed by several cultivators at the middle stage of Qi Refinement, who took away all his possessions and inflicted severe injuries on him.

After Wang Yuan recovered from his injuries, his demeanor changed.

In order to gather resources for cultivation, he planned on venturing to the mountain again.

A few familiar friends lent him some things, Luo Chen could refine the Fasting Elixir by then, and he lent him several bottles as well.

In the Eastern Wasteland Million Mountains, demon beasts were innumerable

Cultivators seldom dared to cook food due to the beasts, hence the Fasting Elixir was incredibly essential.

That time, Wang Yuan ventured alone into the Ancient Plains Mountain Range in silence.

A month later, he returned with the corpse of a first-order demon beast.

Not long after that, each one of the cultivators who had robbed Wang Yuan died suddenly. Everyone knew that Wang Yuan must have secretly taken his revenge.

But nobody dared to trouble him, for Wang Yuan had joined the Broken Mountain Gang.

As the biggest local rogue cultivator group, the Broken Mountain Gang was somewhat famous. Coupled with Wang Yuan’s ruthless methods, he managed to gain a firm footing in the outer city district..

Especially in the following days, Wang Yuan would sell magic tools and cultivation techniques at the market every now and then.

All of them were of dubious origins. Considering the rumors surrounding Wang Yuan when he started out, everyone grew even more afraid of him.

It was a somewhat bitter fact that Luo Chen and Wang Yuan arrived at The Great River District around the same time.

Ten years passed.

Luo Chen barely reached the third level of Qi Refinement, but Wang Yuan already became a rogue cultivator in the late stage of the seventh level Qi Refinement.

It is undeniable that the gap between people can be larger than that between humans and dogs.

”He asked me to join the Broken Mountain Gang and said he would protect me in the future. Why this sudden action?”

After arranging his medicinal materials, Luo Chen sat in front of the main entrance, playing with the iron token that had the character ”mountain” engraved on it.

”Because of our past relationship?”

”Or is it because I killed that short-lived ghost at a higher level?”

Luo Chen didn’t know, he could only cherish and carefully keep the token.

...

The following days were rather monotonous.

He managed the various raw materials, cultivated the Longevity Technique, and healed his injuries.

It was only after nine days that the wound on Luo Chen’s abdomen had completely healed.

According to his previous plan, he could officially start the refinement of the Allure Pill tomorrow.

But Luo Chen’s attention was drawn to something else.

”This Soul Breaking Nail is actually an Ascendant Grade magic tool!”

In his hand was a pair of dark and heavy long nails, sharp on one end and bulky on the other.

Both nails emitted a strong smell of blood. The streams of blood, under the concealment of the black color, were somewhat creepy.

He continuously channeled his Qi power into the Soul Breaking Nail which buzzed and flew out suddenly.

Swish!

A Soul Breaking Nail, at an extremely fast speed, plunged deeply into a large rock in front of the small courtyard without a trace.

”They are incredibly sharp!”

”If there are no accidents, an Armor Breaking Array must have been etched on them!”

Magic tools have ranks, the top, middle, and the bottom.

The criterion for determining the rank lies in the quantity and quality of the engraved arrays.

On this pair of Soul Breaking Nail, there’s only one array etched, but the Armor Breaking Array is a second-order array, which makes it extremely powerful.

”No wonder I was seriously injured without a chance to fight back at that time.”

”According to the words of that damned short-lived ghost before he died, even Wang Yuan couldn’t defend against it which shows that its penetrability has reached the extreme even within magic tools.”

Wang Yuan is not a simpleton. Before he converted to the way of immortality, he was a grandmaster of martial arts in the mundane world.

After embarking on the path of cultivation, he had killed countless people and demon beasts.

His realm was high, and his combat ability was strong.

The short-lived ghost, at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, managed to harm Wang Yuan, and the Soul Breaking Nail contributed significantly to it.

”But, it seems the disadvantages are also quite obvious.”

”To use a Soul Breaking Nail, it drains half of my spirit power. If I were to launch two at the same time, wouldn’t I instantly become devoid of spirit power?”

”Moreover!”

Luo Chen continuously stimulated his spirit power, but the Soul Breaking Nail within the large rock remained stationary.

It was a one-way ticket!

The pros and cons of this Ascendant Grade Magic Tool were too obvious.

Its defence-breaking ability was top-notch.

But it has huge spirit power consumption and can’t be controlled - once it’s launched, you can’t summon it back with spirit power.

The material was hard enough that it wouldn’t easily get damaged, otherwise, it would be considered as a disposable magic tool.

Perhaps for these reasons, it’s an Ascendant Grade Magic Tool, which is engraved with the Second Order Array, not the rumored Top Grade Magic Tool.

Luo Chen broke through the rock, dug out the Soul Breaking Nail and diligently put it into the storage bag.

”The fact it can’t be retrieved is actually not a disadvantage for me, because I have never learned the Attraction Technique.”

”Compared to my old rusty Lower Grade Magic Sword, this can be considered an upgrade from a birdgun to a cannon.”

After a moment of joy, Luo Chen returned to the room and lit a Calming Incense.

Under the scent that was as sweet as orchids and musk, his restless soul gradually calmed down.

A deep sense of comfort from his soul made him almost groan.

However, Luo Chen didn’t have time to enjoy this, he quickly activated the Longevity Technique.

One Calming Incense per day can let a cultivator practice their Natal Qi Technique five more times on the basis of their current foundation.

With Luo Chen’s usual limit of two or three times, he can now activate Longevity Technique eight times!

What does eight times mean?

Each time recovers twenty percent of spirit power, eight times means one hundred and sixty percent, which is enough to cast the Fireball Technique thirty-two times.

It can be said that the value of Calming Incense in this harvest only lags behind the Storage Bag and the Soul Breaking Nail.

It’s worth more than the Lower Grade Robe, the Qi Nurturing Pill, and the other items.

Because this box of Calming Incense allows him to practice more times, improve the proficiency of the Longevity Technique, and it can also be used to increases the proficiency of other skills.

”When I earn more money in the future, I need to buy not only a house, but also lots and lots of Calming Incense!”

After finishing his practice, feeling that half of the spirit power consumed by the Soul Breaking Nail had been restored, Luo Chen sighed.

After sighing, under the Calming Incense, in the calm and focused state, he began to recall the conditions of that night ten days ago.

It can be said that in the last ten days, he has been constantly reminiscing about that night.

Even in his dreams, he has re-lived that scene several times.

That was the first time he had come face-to-face with death since his transmigration!

His constant reminiscing was not due to fear, but because he wanted to remember the situation then and take precautions for similar situations in the future.

With the help of the Calming Incense, Luo Chen suddenly realized he could have handled that battle better.

The Soul Breaking Nail was fast, but he had practiced the Carefree Wandering, he should’ve tried to dodge it.

Even if he couldn’t avoid it, he would not have been hurt so severely and nearly died on the spot.

Moreover, the enemy was in such a poor state then, what if he struck first?

Could he have caught the enemy off guard?

Strike first and gain the upper hand, hesitate and get hurt, he was overcautious and harbored a trace of luck in his heart.

Even in the later direct combat process, there was a lot of insufficiency.

Clearly, the third Fireball Technique had penetrated the enemy’s defense. He just needed to supplement it with two more Fireball Techniques.

But in agitation, he squandered all his spirit power in one breath.

As a result, after that, he didn’t have any combat power left.

It’s just good luck that he met Wang Yuan.

What would have happened if he had met someone else?

Isn’t it likely other people would know him too? Would they let him off?

Well, even if they knew him, they probably won’t resist the temptation, right?

After all, the properties of two Qi Refinement State Cultivators were quite a lucrative harvest.

”I have far too little combat experience!”