An Alchemist's Path to Eternity Chapter 831: (The Sword Formation Reveals Its Power, (ChatGPT)

Chapter 831 — The Sword Formation Reveals Its Power, The Demon-Slaying True Person

(from An Alchemist’s Path to Eternity)

Chapter 831 — The Sword Formation Reveals Its Power, The Demon-Slaying True Person

“Kill!”
“Kill!”

The mountains shook with the roar of slaughter. Beastly howls thundered through the sky, mixing with endless explosions—rolling together into the chaotic yet unified symphony of war.

Across the horizon, ten figures hovered in the air, gazing from afar at the colossal fortress rising from the earth—Lingtian Pass.

Below them, the fortress shone with fluctuating layers of formation-light. Cultivators gathered like clouds, filling the skies above the walls. And above everything, in the ninth heaven, the stars glimmered—beautiful yet carrying an ominous, deadly radiance.

Someone in the group sighed.

“The Xuanwu Four-Directions Formation in front, and the Heavenly Constellation Formation above… Lingtian Pass truly is a tortoise shell. There’s no place to break in.”

His words drew murmurs of agreement.

“Forget it. We don’t need to attack with full force. The commander instructed us—consume the enemy’s strength above all.”

“Then let’s begin.”

“Be careful of the Nascent Soul cultivators inside the city. If you can’t handle them, withdraw immediately!”

“I’ll take the southern wall.”

“I’ll head west!”

One figure after another erupted with violent demonic aura. Winds howled as enormous demon clouds surged outward from every direction, rushing toward Lingtian Pass like a black tidal wave.

This overwhelming sight—if seen during the early days of the war—would have struck terror deep into the hearts of countless cultivators.

But now, after year upon year of battle, it was no longer shocking.

It was the same pattern: another wave of fourth-rank demon emperors here to harass Lingtian Pass, forcing the city to burn through resources.

Low-level cultivators did not fear this. Nascent Soul True Persons would naturally rise to counter them.

And indeed—

Just as the demon emperors made their move, a signal seemed to pass through Lingtian Pass. Multiple figures shot into the sky, turning into streaks of light as each one sped toward a different opponent.

The invading demon emperors were intercepted before they even drew close to the fortress.

Among them was a burly man in a black robe, mottled leopard-spots covering his face. His eyes were fierce, and his charge was incredibly fast.

Suddenly—

A massive azure palm imprint burst out from Lingtian Pass.

Its speed was neither fast nor slow, but its power was unmistakably overwhelming.

The leopard-spotted demon emperor snorted coldly and punched outward before the palm imprint could fully expand.

The collision shattered the palm imprint into dazzling sparks, scattering like exploding fireworks.

By the time the sparks cleared, a figure had silently appeared before him.

“I am Luo Chen of the Dan Sect. How should I address fellow Daoist?”

Hearing this name, the leopard-spotted man’s pupils constricted.
His charging momentum halted instantly.

He looked at Luo Chen with far more caution than moments before.

“This emperor is Taobao—lord of the Blue-Amber Grasslands.”

The Million Great Mountains were merely a general name. The region was not only mountains—there were roaring rivers, broad lakes, deep valleys, high plains, and endless grasslands.

Luo Chen nodded mildly.
“A ruler of the Blue-Amber Grasslands ought to stay on his plains. Why come here and stain yourself with dust?”

Taobao sneered.
“You may not know… but five thousand years ago, my clan’s territory was exactly beneath our feet.”

Luo Chen raised a brow.

Looking down, he had to admit—the terrain did match a flattened plain. If one ignored the towering man-made fortress of Lingtian Pass, the surroundings truly felt like former grasslands. Only decades of bloodshed had left the land barren and devoid of green.

“So, you insist on entering Lingtian Pass?”

“Enough talk. Let’s settle this with our hands!”

With that, Taobao lunged, his figure blurring as multiple afterimages appeared—uncertain which was real.

Luo Chen sighed softly, but there was no hint of fear on his face. On the contrary, his eyes showed anticipation.

His amber-like pupils dissolved, leaving only faint golden irises that swept over the approaching illusions.

In a moment, he smirked.

A thin streak of sword-light flashed from his lips.

His fingers struck rapid hand-seals, and his mana surged.

The instant the illusions came within ten zhang of him, a phoenix of pure flame shrieked from behind Luo Chen, circling once around him as its fiery wings sliced through every illusion like silk.

The phoenix shot upward into the sky—
A loud explosion burst in the clouds.

A yellow flash erupted from above.

Taobao’s heart jolted.
“He really can locate me… the rumors were true!”

But before the shock faded, he suddenly spun around and jabbed a finger.

A sword orb had appeared behind him—and he barely managed to block it.

The sword orb blossomed like a lotus, releasing threads of sword-light.

“A sword cultivator?” Taobao was briefly startled, but the sword-light emerged too slowly for his liking. He scoffed. “A false alarm. Such crude sword techniques can’t harm me!”

“Break!”

He slammed a fist down.

With a boom, the sword orb was smashed into the earth.

As he watched Luo Chen gathering power for a new technique, Taobao exhaled deeply.

Both the human and demon clans had long exchanged intelligence on notable experts.

Dan Sect’s Luo Chen, though only having acted three times, had two confirmed direct kills, and his information was memorized by many demon emperors.

“This person specializes in fire arts, sees through illusions, and slew both the Shadowless Demon Emperor and the Frosthawk Demon Emperor.”

“To fight him, close-quarters combat is necessary. Only the monstrous physique of the demon clan can suppress him.”

With this thought, Taobao surged his demonic essence, yellow winds gathering under his feet.
His speed doubled—he shot toward Luo Chen like an arrow.

His claws swung repeatedly, sending arcs of claw-light tearing through the air.

Luo Chen remained calm.

“You want to fight up close?”

“Do they not know I also practice body-refinement…?”

“Well then. Let’s test my new methods today.”

His steps shifted into Moonstep, his figure flickering like a ghost. He dodged every attack gracefully.

When blocking was unavoidable, his Profound Dust Armor absorbed the blows without issue.

Meanwhile, he spat out sword orb after sword orb.

Shh! Shh! Shh! Shh!

But Luo Chen was not a formal sword cultivator—his control was imperfect. Most sword orbs were struck down before reaching Taobao.

Still, he remained patient, observing every movement coldly.

A punch grazed past him as he twisted aside.

Taobao paused, astonished.
“How did my divine-sense lock miss?”

Then realization struck—
“An illusion that confuses the soul!”

A slight error was fatal in battles of this level.

Afraid of giving Luo Chen an opening, Taobao swung his blade horizontally, unleashing a massive arc of knife-light.

Luo Chen floated back effortlessly, not attempting to counterattack.

It looked like he was toying with him.

Taobao gripped his long blade tightly, suddenly unsure whether to advance or retreat.

“This man destroys illusions, moves unpredictably, wears treasure armor, and even a full-force blow can miss because of his strange soul-arts.”

“Killing him alone in a short time is impossible.”

Once he realized this, he made his decision—
he turned and fled without hesitation.

Luo Chen’s mocking voice came from behind:

“Fellow Daoist comes as he pleases and leaves as he pleases. Do you not think you’re looking down on me?”

“You want to—”

Before he could finish, Taobao’s instincts screamed danger.

A sharp, oppressive aura spread across heaven and earth—like lotus petals blooming, like ancient wood sprouting new buds.

Sword-qi filled the world.

White-gold, emerald-green, azure-blue, ochre-yellow, scarlet-red—

five-colored radiance burst forth.

“The sword orbs!”

Taobao instantly understood—those harmless-looking sword orbs were, in fact, hidden traps.

His reaction was swift.
He cleaved hundreds of zhang of space with a slash, opening a vacuum corridor.
Then he shot upward like an arrow.

Luo Chen didn’t fear his escape.

His ten fingers danced.

The five sword orbs, meticulously refined beforehand, revealed their true form—

The Five-Elements Grand Sword Formation!

Sword-threads wove through heaven and earth.

The vacuum corridor Taobao created was instantly sealed shut.

Threads of sword-light crisscrossed, carving thin bloody lines across Taobao’s face.

Luo Chen had changed his mana into five elemental attributes—strengthening the suppressive force of the formation.

The Five-Elements Grand Sword Formation was not famous for sharpness. Its true terror came from elemental suppression—
a crushing pressure from five forces cycling endlessly.

Taobao’s speed visibly slowed.

Even though his long blade hacked out paths of escape, his slowed movements prevented him from fleeing through them.

Worse—his powerful beast body began splitting open under the dense sword-threads.

Blood sprayed across the sky.

In moments, he became drenched in his own blood, looking thoroughly battered.

Luo Chen controlled the formation while analyzing its performance:

“Using the Thousand Clouds, Ten Thousand Transformations Sword Scripture to refine sword orbs is slower, but the connection is strong—no worse than orthodox sword sects.”

“Among the five sword orbs, the white-gold and green-wood ones are my main attackers. The other three… still flawed.”

“Controlling five sword orbs at once is taxing. My soul is comparable to Nascent Soul stage five—nearly stage six—yet even I feel strain.”

“No wonder Palace Master Li coveted the Jade Emperor Clear-Sight Liquid. Good eyes reduce spiritual pressure immensely.”

Within the sword formation—

Taobao tried repeatedly to break free but failed.

He suddenly halted.

Then—
he sprayed blood everywhere, each droplet transforming into a clone identical to himself.

The clones shot toward all directions, seeking a gap.

But—

Under the whirl of countless sword-threads, each clone was shredded instantly, unable to resist in the slightest.

One clone in particular drew much harsher fire.

Because—
Luo Chen’s golden-sight eyes saw through reality and illusion.

He could not be fooled.

Suddenly—

The remaining clones converged toward the heavily attacked one—
shua shua shua!
They fused together, revealing Taobao’s true beast form—a massive spotted leopard over a hundred zhang long, stepping on black clouds, holding a wild golden blade in its jaws.

But his majestic form was covered in deep wounds, blood pouring freely.

He roared and bolted toward Lingtian Pass, swinging the golden blade in his jaws and releasing a terrifying arc of blade-light.

Luo Chen sighed.

“No wonder Han Zhan insisted the formation needed five true-artifact-grade sword orbs.”

“To a Nascent Soul expert, those flaws really can’t be hidden…”

“But… this much is enough.”

He began preparing another spell.
A streak of blood-light quietly formed—a small blood-colored sword darted out.

A thunderous explosion resounded—

Taobao burst from the formation in a spray of sword-qi, soaring into open sky.

Breathing the fresh air above, he was overjoyed.

“Dan Sect’s Luo Chen! Your sword formation cannot hold this emperor!”

His wild golden blade flew back into his jaws.

He laughed and shot upward.
If he could not enter Lingtian Pass, he would flee into the heavens instead!

He kept his eyes locked on Luo Chen.

Down below, in his white robe, Luo Chen recalled the five sword orbs with a wave of his hand, expression cold.

Taobao relaxed a little.
“So he gave up?”

“Fine!”

His mockery hid genuine dread.
If not for discovering the formation’s flaw at great cost, he might truly have been carved to death inside.

He resolved to sell this intelligence for a high price when he returned.

But then—

Just as he relaxed—

The heavens changed.

Clouds of flame gathered, radiant light bursting forth.

A colossal dragon’s head emerged from the fire.

Its eyes instantly locked onto Taobao.

“ROAR!!!”

A Flame Dragon Descended!

Caught completely off guard, Taobao could not dodge.

The Flame Dragon crashed into him head-on.

His blade-light flashed—

But under the descending dragon, it was pitifully weak.

When the flames dissipated—

Half of Taobao’s body was gone.

Terror filled his eyes.

He didn’t even dare look at Luo Chen.
He turned and fled in blind panic.

But—

The blood-sword flew out, slicing the wild golden blade in half, then piercing Taobao’s skull—
a thin red line drilling inward, stabbing directly into his Nascent Soul.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH—!!”

His shriek echoed for hundreds of li.

Demons and humans alike felt their hearts tremble.

Everyone understood:

Another demon emperor had fallen.

His huge corpse slammed to the ground, sending up waves of dust.

Under countless stunned gazes, Luo Chen casually waved his hand, signaling the Luo-Heaven Pavilion’s cultivators to collect the body.

He himself drifted away, returning to Danluo Mountain amid countless murmurs.

“How many demon emperors is this now?”

“This is the third one! Luo Chen has slain three demon emperors—first under the heavens of Lingtian Pass!”

“Not just first in Lingtian Pass! All of East Desolation can’t name a second person like him!”

“Why call him ‘Dan Sect’ anything? With such slaughter, calling him the Demon-Slaying True Person is more fitting!”

“Yes! The Demon-Slaying True Person!”

As Luo Chen fought again and again, this new title spread rapidly among cultivators—
and even demons took note.

Rumors circulated among the demon clans:

“Those who encounter the Demon-Slaying Daoist—may flee without shame.”

Luo Chen saw this rise in reputation but paid it little mind.

He knew:

The stronger his fame, the stronger the enemies who would target him.

Frequent battles would only expose his trump cards.

So he specifically requested Lingtian City Lord not to dispatch him too often.

Given his achievements, the City Lord agreed.

Thus, over the next two years, Luo Chen intervened only occasionally—far less frequently than other Nascent Soul True Persons.

He even reined in his killing intent.
Once, when a fleeing demon emperor abandoned its body, Luo Chen chose not to pursue in front of other watching demon emperors.

One day—

In Danluo Mountain, Luo Chen sat cross-legged before the Mysterious-Origin Cauldron, eyes full of anticipation.

“By my calculation… the Heart-Testing Mirror should be ready to emerge.”

(End of Chapter 831)