An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Sang Jinghe stood on the field outside the caldera and bowed to the man ahead. "Senior, I've made up my mind."

Luo Chen did not turn around. "What have you decided?"

"I am willing to follow you and serve you with all my heart."

Hearing this decisive answer, Luo Chen smiled faintly. "Good. Such resolve is rare."

That faint smile made the tension in Sang Jinghe's chest loosen at last. This decision had not come easily; by choosing to follow Luo Chen, he was also choosing to give up everything his granduncle had left behind, including the Earth Mulberry Sect, which had finally gained some standing within the Myriad Immortal Society. Yet after thinking it through, Sang Jinghe knew the sect's prospects were not as bright as they seemed.

It had many disciples now, but no truly influential figure to support it. Even if he returned, setting aside whether he could form a Golden Core himself, simply keeping the sect stable would be difficult. At most, he would only be preserving what already existed. By comparison, following the renowned Adept Azure Yang would bring far greater possibilities.

Only now did Sang Jinghe finally understand why his granduncle had refused to let him return to the sect and had instead made him stay on Purple Spirit Island for so many years. It was so he could hold tightly to Azure Yang's powerful support.

After a brief pause, Luo Chen added, "There's something I didn't tell you earlier. During my trip to the pocket world, I managed to offend Moon Hermit. With her temperament, she won't let me go. Anyone connected to me in the Myriad Immortal Society may be dragged into this, and the Earth Mulberry Sect is no exception. If you had chosen not to follow me, I would still have advised you not to return to the sect too soon. For Fellow Daoist Sang's sake, I would have also left you some means to protect yourself, but..."

A chill ran down Sang Jinghe's spine as he listened, and cold sweat broke across his back. If that were true, then the Earth Mulberry Sect might already be nothing more than a hollow name.

He lowered his gaze toward the caldera. Below, the Purple Monkey Flowers swayed in the wind, soon to be uprooted and taken away. As he watched them, a sense of sorrow rose in his chest. From this moment on, he too would leave his homeland behind and drift without roots.

***

A black city stood tall and imposing, with its banners fluttering in the wind. People moved through the streets in a constant stream, while carriages and horses passed by in an unbroken flow. Amid the bustle, elegant white buildings stood out one after another. Voices overlapped everywhere—vendors hawking their wares, customers haggling, laughter and shouts weaving together until the entire city hummed with life.

A breathtakingly beautiful woman walked alone into this thriving city. She swept her gaze across the unfamiliar architecture, so different from that of the Northern Sea cultivation world, and gave a cold snort. "Are the cultivators of Divine Origin City all cowards who only dare hide in the shadows and spy on others?"

Her voice was not loud, but under the support of her divine consciousness, it swept across the whole of Divine Origin City. Every Sage who heard it felt their heart tremble.

"Late-stage Sage!"

"She really broke through!"

"Who would have thought that in the last three generations of the Penglai Immortal Sect, the one to become a late-stage Sage would not be the sect master everyone had placed their hopes on, but this traitor instead?"

"So the rumors are true. Moon Hermit really is at the late stage. Then what about that spirit treasure? Could that be true as well?"

***

As one of the five greatest immortal cities in the Northern Sea, Divine Origin City saw no fewer than five Sages pass through in any given year. Over the past few months, however, even that number had become insignificant.

After the Myriad Immortal Society returned in triumph from the Sunken Sea pocket world, experts from everywhere had begun pouring into the city that neighbored the Society's territory. The number of Sages gathered here, whether openly or in secret, was well into the double digits.

At any other time, such a gathering would have been shocking enough. Now, with the war between the righteous and devilish factions at its fiercest, it was even more unbelievable. After arriving, these Sages contacted one another, exchanged information, and formed their own secret alliances, all while keeping their attention fixed on the Society.

Yet no one had expected Moon Hermit, the very person at the center of this storm, to disregard all that pressure and come to Divine Origin City in person. She even mocked these people openly, right under their eyes. Such composure could only stem from unwavering confidence or a remarkable ability to bluff.

Whatever the case was, it worked. Gradually, the gazes lurking in the shadows began to withdraw.

Then, someone approached slowly and came to a stop before her. "Fellow Daoist, I trust you've been well."

Moon Hermit narrowed her eyes slightly as she sized up the newcomer. "Fellow Daoist Shen, are you standing here as the grand elder of the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance in the Northern Sea, or as an elder of the Heaven Origin Dao Sect's Star Gate?"

Shen Wandou frowned. "Does it matter? I may live in seclusion in the Northern Sea, but I am still part of Heaven Origin."

"Of course it matters." Moon Hermit's lips curved slightly. "If you are here as the former, then honor the agreement between the Society and your alliance and let me use the city's teleportation formation. But if you are here as the latter, then forgive me. I don't trust people from other provinces."

Shen Wandou fell silent. After a long while, he stepped aside and extended his hand in invitation. "Please go ahead."

Moon Hermit smiled and walked past him, the hem of her dress fluttering softly with each graceful step.

Two incense sticks later, a pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky from the central hall of the city. The expressions of the many Sages changed at once. There was no doubt that a teleportation formation had been activated, and based on its magnitude, it was evidently not intended for a short hop. At the very minimum, it had the capacity to send someone across the entirety of the Northern Sea.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, how could you let Moon Hermit leave just like that?"

"Is she really abandoning the Society?"

"This is bad. If she leaves, won't everything we planned here go to waste?"

One divine consciousness transmission came after another, but Shen Wandou only stood there with a bitter smile and gave no reply. Instead, he left the Teleportation Hall and descended into an underground chamber, where another Sage was waiting for him.

When the Sage saw Shen Wandou, he raised one hand in salute. "Greetings, Daoist Uncle."

Shen Wandou waved it off. "Liu Yuan, you are a Sage now, and I'm not your father's brother or anything. There's no need to bother with that old seniority nonsense. We are peers, so act like it."

The man named Liu Yuan, whose Dao title was Dragon Abyss, could not help but smile. "Then... Greetings, Senior Brother Shen."

"Now we're talking. Welcome, Junior Brother Liu."

Once their relationship had been redefined, the atmosphere between them relaxed considerably. Dragon Abyss pointed upward. "Has she left?"

Shen Wandou nodded. "She has. But from the way things look, she will probably come back."

"She will?" Dragon Abyss frowned slightly, but his expression soon eased. "Hm, I think that's fine. From what I saw, the seal on the Heaven of Northern Yama is close to breaking. Now that the archaic beast Ghost Immortal Tower has entered as well, the demons inside are likely preparing to force their way out. When that happens, Moon Hermit and the Myriad Immortal Society can stand on the frontlines and buy time for the Heaven Origin Dao Sect."

Shen Wandou clearly shared the same thought. He sighed. "These Northern Sea cultivators have grown reckless without the devil sect hanging over their heads. They even dare to set their sights on a late-stage Sage. They truly have no idea how close they are to death."

Dragon Abyss chuckled. "Senior Brother, can you really say you have never had such thoughts yourself?"

Shen Wandou looked somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly waved a hand. "I would not dare. Unless Junior Brother Fu and the other two return and you join us as well, in which case we could use the Five Calamities Killing Formation. But even then, our chances against her would be slim."

"With just that formation?" Dragon Abyss said softly. "Calling those chances 'slim' is still an overestimation. I have dealt with her several times. Her cultivation is deep, and she has countless abilities and items at her disposal. And now, she even has a spirit treasure. Even if all five of us are here and we use the Five Calamities Killing Formation, I doubt we can do anything to her."

Shen Wandou looked slightly surprised. He had not expected his junior brother to hold Moon Hermit in such high regard. In his eyes, she was only a cast-off from Penglai, and that sect itself was nothing more than a minor outpost the Heaven Origin Dao Sect had established long ago in the Northern Sea. Could someone who had betrayed even that sect truly rise beyond her past?

After a moment, Shen Wandou set the thought aside. "Forget it. There's nothing we can do about her anyway, and that spirit treasure is out of our reach. Let's talk about you instead."

His expression turned solemn. "Have you decided to take part in our sect's grand competition and go to the Mirage Dragon Pocket World?"

For disciples of humble backgrounds like Dragon Abyss, it was difficult to attract the sect's attention, and opportunities such as the Mirage Dragon Pocket World might never come in a lifetime. It was only after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm that he finally qualified for this rare chance.

A much younger and weaker Liu Yuan had abandoned a comfortable life in the Central Continent and had come alone to struggle in the Northern Sea. Step by step, he had fought his way from the sixth stage of the Golden Core Realm to become a nine-star demon hunter. Later, relying on the resources of the Society, he had finally managed to form his Nascent Soul. Everything he had endured was for the chance to seek an opportunity for Divine Transformation in the Mirage Dragon Pocket World, which opened only once every five hundred years.

Dragon Abyss also put away his smile and replied, "Yeah. I've already come this far, so there's no reason for me to turn back now."

Shen Wandou frowned deeply. "Since you have such ambition, then why not borrow the power of the Land of Fallen Devils?"

Dragon Abyss gave a soft laugh. "Senior Brother Shen, do you really not know? The Land of Fallen Devils was the Monarch's portable estate. Even if there is an inheritance inside that leads straight to Divine Transformation, it must be tied to them. And as far as I know, the Overlord disliked them. I wouldn't dare get tangled up in anything related to them."

His tone was calm, as if he was talking about an argument between two ordinary neighbors, but what he had just said was a secret unknown even to Shen Wandou.

The latter's face was full of shock. "Where did you learn about that?"

Dragon Abyss shook his head. "That's not something I can speak of. Right now, I only want to return to the sect as soon as possible, have my name entered into the register, and enter the Mirage Dragon Pocket World."

Seeing that he was unwilling to reveal anything, Shen Wandou decided against pressing the matter further. Even so, he still asked one more question. "You know how dangerous the Mirage Dragon Pocket World is, right? Every five hundred years, when the grand competition is held there, it's always the most brutal. Most people go in groups just to survive. Do you already have someone in mind?"

"Yes," answered Dragon Abyss without hesitation. A lonely figure surfaced in his memories.

"Very well, then. Since you have made up your mind, I will not try to discourage you." Shen Wandou pointed outside. "However, the teleportation formation to the Central Continent is the same one used to cross the Northern Sea. Moon Hermit just used it, so it needs time to recover. You will have to wait a few days."

"That's fine. I have already waited a hundred years. What difference will a few more days make?"

Dragon Abyss said with a smile. His mood seemed calm, but in truth, a trace of restlessness had already stirred within him. A hundred years had passed, and the man once looked down upon by his fellow disciples had reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Now was the time to return home in glory!

***

High above Clam Leaf Island, a burst of light flared deep within the clouds, and a graceful figure stepped out from it. Moon Hermit swayed slightly before regaining her balance. When she lowered her pale face toward the sea below, a faint uneasiness crept into her heart.

"The Heaven Origin Trade Alliance's long-distance teleportation formation can send someone this far?" she murmured to herself, then her eyes narrowed. "The Trade Alliance... No, the Dao Sect... What exactly are they trying to do?"

After a moment, she chose a direction and sped away like wind and lightning.

Ten days later, she appeared above an empty stretch of sea. She swept her gaze over the waters, then gave a cold snort. "You think you can fool me with a cheap smokescreen like this?"

With a casual point, Moon Hermit sent towering waves rising into the sky. As the spray crashed back down, an island slowly emerged from hiding with thick streams of purple energy rising from it. The moment Moon Hermit sensed the potent poison within that energy, she finally let out a faint breath of relief. "So this is Purple Spirit Island. Let me see if that brat came here."

She sent out her divine consciousness to cover the entire island. Soon, a cold smile appeared on her lips, and cruelty flashed in her eyes. "How foolish. You should have run while you had the chance... Good. This saves me a lot of trouble."

With a single step forward, she disappeared from where she was and reappeared directly on Purple Spirit Island. As her hand reached downward, a vast torrent of mana plunged into the earth, tearing through stone and soil as it swept toward the figure hidden deep within the earth veins.

Rumble...

The seal shattered in an instant. Deep underground, a black-robed Daoist sat cross-legged and motionless. Just as Moon Hermit's mana was about to close around him, his body suddenly radiated an intense crimson light.

Moon Hermit's expression changed. Something's wrong!

She shot toward the sky at once, but it was already too late.

BBOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

A destructive force erupted from within the earth veins, and the formations buried across the island for decades guided the explosion outward. In an instant, the whole island was torn apart and reduced to dust. Fragments of stone, dirt, and wood were propelled outward in all directions under the force of the explosion. Any Adept caught in the blast would have died on the spot, and even a Sage would have suffered grave injuries if taken by surprise.

Yet before the dust and smoke had fully cleared, Moon Hermit stepped out from the roiling aftershock. Her aura remained steady, and no sign of injury was visible, though her expression had grown somber. Between her fingers was a fragment of something that resembled neither gold nor iron, with an aura so faint it was almost gone. As she examined it, the last trace of that aura disappeared. Mana surged from her hand, and the piece—a wooden chip, as it turned out—was reduced to powder.

Moon Hermit snorted coldly. "Using a Sage-level puppet as bait to lure me onto the island. Quite bold. That was definitely not Azure Yang's work. It must have been that black-robed man, the one who sent the White Tiger puppet against me. Hmph! They still think too little of me."

Towering waves surged behind Moon Hermit in the wake of Purple Spirit Island's destruction. She took a deep breath and summoned a painting in which phantoms of birds and beasts seemed to stir and shift. After forming a hand seal, she shouted, "Star-Chasing Devil Beast!"

In the next moment, a gigantic beast resembling a moth stepped out from the Myriad Beast Scroll. The moment it appeared, it turned toward Moon Hermit and unleashed a series of deafening roars.

"You beast! Even the artifact spirit has acknowledged me as its master, so how dare you bear your fangs at me?"

Though she scolded it, she still forced out a drop of blood essence and fed it to the devil beast. The moment the beast swallowed it, the ferocity in its aura faded, and it lowered itself obediently before her.

Moon Hermit pointed toward the ruins of the island. "Devour every aura here. Find the strongest one, then chase it down!"

The moth-like beast cried out and opened its mouth. Streams of lingering aura rose from the aftermath of the explosion and poured into its maw.

A trace of excitement spread across Moon Hermit's face. The more she refined the Myriad Beast Scroll, the more she understood just how vast its potential truly was. Within it lived countless demonic creatures and rare beasts; some were fierce, some had great strength, and even the weakest among them possessed remarkable innate abilities. With such a spirit treasure in her hands, tracking a mere Adept was no trouble at all. In time, she would be able to roam the entire Northern Sea unhindered.

Crack!

A sharp sound came from her waist. Moon Hermit frowned and looked down, then picked up a broken jade token. Did something happen to the Society?

Purple Empress would have never used that jade token unless the situation had become dire. If she dared to send the signal, it meant nothing short of an imminent annihilation of the Myriad Immortal Society.

Moon Hermit stood there for a few moments, weighing her options. In the end, she chose to return to the Society first. It was the foundation of her rise, the tool she would use to bring down the Penglai Immortal Sect and claim dominion over the Northern Sea. As for Azure Yang...

With this beast following him, that brat won't escape. I'd like to see what he can do against a late-stage Demon Emperor.

With these words, she flicked her sleeve. A wisp of dark light slipped from between her brows and entered the beast. The beast let out a thunderous roar before plunging into the sea and bolting away in pursuit.

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