An Alchemist's Path to Eternity - Chapter 1115 (Gemini MTL-edited)

Chapter 1115: Astral Fire Burns the Realm, a Descendant of an Old Friend
Rolling yellow sands stretched for thousands of miles across the parched earth.
An immense abyss lay open in the vast desert like a bloody mouth ready to swallow anyone whole. The searing heat caused the surrounding space to ripple and distort. Within that distorted void, several streaks of light shot forth, landing simultaneously before the bottomless pit.
"It should be inside!"
"There are fragments of the meteorite scattered around that were shattered by the Master; the main body should be within."
"For an extraterrestrial meteorite of such magnitude to withstand a divine killing move from Husband—if there are any remains, its defensive power must be staggering!"
The group exchanged looks before Kong Chan stepped forward to volunteer. "Allow this humble monk to go down and investigate. If the situation is dire, I can withdraw gracefully."
Among the five, Kong Chan was the strongest. Originally a Great Demon Emperor of long-standing fame, he had gained many benefits from following Luo Chen over the years, even learning the Soul-Transformation secret technique, the Moonlight Heart-Cleansing Incantation. His current prowess placed him at the pinnacle of the late Nascent Soul stage. This was evident from the fact that he had been the primary force in several previous battles against Rank 5 Desolate Beasts.
Since he volunteered, the others naturally did not contest him. Gu Caiyi said, "Go ahead, Fellow Daoist. We shall stand guard for you."
Kong Chan smiled faintly. "I must trouble you all to wait a moment." With that, he leaped into the bottomless pit gouged out by the meteorite.
Watching him, Gu Caiyi couldn't help but sigh. The rumors of the "Demonic Monk Kong Chan" made him out to be ill-tempered, yet he didn't seem so bad! His polite demeanor was exactly like that of an accomplished high monk.
But then she remembered the terrifying, hideous sight of Kong Chan in his true form and the skull prayer beads around his neck—that was likely his true, ferocious nature. His current good temper was solely due to her husband. Her gaze swept over the three Great Protector Spirits beside her; she suspected they were the same.
Tian Xuan was bellicose, Black King was cunning, and Xuan Ming was solitary. Not one of them had a "normal" personality; they only gathered peaceably because they were suppressed by her husband's hand. She wondered what would happen to these four Protector Spirits if her husband were to ascend in the future.
The group waited patiently. As time ticked by and half a day passed without a sign of him, anxiety began to set in. Suddenly, there was a movement within the pit.
Shoom!
A tentacle shot up, gripping the edge of the abyss. Then, a figure used the leverage to fly out. It was Kong Chan. He held a fist-sized ore that emitted a deep, eerie light. Looking at that black radiance, the others felt as if their very souls were being sucked in.
"I have not failed my mission. Though it was troublesome, I managed to bring it out. I do not know what material this meteorite is made of, but it can actually absorb magic power, making it difficult to move. It was only by relying on pure physical strength that I could retrieve it." Kong Chan sighed with emotion as he held the black stone.
Right then, a surprised voice drifted from the sky.
"It is actually a Spirit-Refining Crystal!" The surprise quickly turned into wild joy. "With this, I can forge a handy Dharma Treasure that will perfectly counter the spells and techniques of Human Race cultivators!"
On the ground, Gu Caiyi and the others snapped their heads up. When they saw the majestic, Golden Winged Great Peng, their expressions changed instantly.
"A Primordial Beast!"
"To approach us so silently without any of us noticing... could it be a Rank 5?"
"It speaks the human tongue and knows of mineral ores. It must possess high intelligence. This is trouble."
Primordial Beasts were terrifying primarily for their powerful physical bodies. In terms of wisdom, they were usually lacking, acting mostly on instinct. Compared to this giant golden bird, even the cleverest beasts they'd met seemed dim-witted. A Rank 5 Primordial Beast with high intelligence was no less formidable than a standard human Soul Transformation cultivator. Relying on Kong Chan alone, they might not even survive.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng looked down at the trembling group with disdain. "Juniors, hand over the Spirit-Refining Crystal voluntarily. If I am in a good mood, I might keep you as slaves."
Gu Caiyi took a deep breath and forced herself to stand forward. "Senior, we are traveling the Barren Lands with the Great Power Luo Chen. This item was obtained by my husband after he resisted the heavenly might and shattered the meteor. For you to forcibly demand it now is a bit..."
"A Human Great Power?" The Great Peng blurted out, his eyes flickering with suspicion. He subconsciously scanned the surroundings but found no trace of a Soul Transformation cultivator. "Are you trying to deceive me?"
The Peng huffed in anger. "Even if a Great Power is here, so what? I survived the terrifying battlefield in the Central Province; why should I fear some nameless nobody? I suspect the 'Great Power' you speak of is merely a newly-advanced Soul Transformation cultivator!"
Without waiting for a reply, he lunged, extending a claw toward the group. He figured that even if a Great Power were nearby, he could simply seize the meteorite and the crystal and flee. With his speed, how could a mere human cultivator catch him?
However, the moment he reached out, he felt a sharp, piercing intent. He instinctively retracted his hand, but he was a moment too late.
Slash!
A sword mark, deep enough to see bone, appeared on the Peng’s golden-cast talons. He looked at the spot where the strike originated. At some point, a blood-colored longsword had appeared, spanning the void. This single blade had wounded his mighty physical body. Such a sharp sword was rare in the world; the Great Peng had only seen such skill once before from the avatar of a Sword Dao expert who descended to the Central Province.
"A Spiritual Treasure!" A sense of foreboding gripped him, and the Great Peng felt a hint of regret.
But it was too late for regret. Or rather, it had been too late since the moment he demanded the meteorite and threatened to enslave Gu Caiyi and the others.
The dim sky suddenly became as stagnant as a swamp. Boundless magic power swept across the firmament, churning the primordial Qi. The heat left behind by the falling meteor gathered once more under the manipulation of this power.
In the Great Peng's vision, millstone-sized stars condensed in the twilight sky, radiating light and heat as they crushed down toward him in unison. Under this terrifying power that contained the might of Heaven and Earth, the Great Peng felt his soul shiver. He fled frantically, screaming:
"Fellow Daoist, it’s a misunderstanding!"
The response was a single sentence:
"Remember, this technique is called: Astral Fire Burns the Realm!"
In the next instant, stars fell and astral flames bloomed. The entire twilight sky was filled with boundless fire. The Great Peng’s body, which resembled golden glass, scurried pathetically through the flames, melting as drops of golden liquid fell from him. He fled for his life, his speed even greater than when he attacked the Central Province years ago.
He knew that the strength of the Soul Transformation cultivator who unleashed this technique surpassed even those Upper Realm avatars from the Central Province war. If he didn't escape now, he wouldn't survive the cultivator's personal arrival.
"Luo Chen, I will remember you!" A frustrated, indignant cry echoed from the distant horizon.
Gu Caiyi and the others watched in a daze. Radiant astral fire fell around them, but protected by the sword-shield of the Yuan Tu Sword, they remained unscathed.
Just one move! Her husband, from a thousand miles away, had defeated a Golden-Winged Great Peng that they were powerless against with a single strike. Even if they were both Rank 5, why was Luo Chen—who had only recently reached Soul Transformation—so overwhelmingly powerful?
A figure stepped through the air amidst the fading astral fire. With every step, the smoke dissipated. As the others looked on, they felt the staggering sensation of the entire world pressing down on them.
"Husband..."
Luo Chen tilted his brow and instantly withdrew his consciousness. The connection between his Primordial Spirit and Heaven and Earth snapped, yet he still felt a lingering tether to this world.
"By observing the celestial phenomena and using the residual power of the falling meteor, I forcibly unleashed a divine technique I grasped in the moment. But the price..." Luo Chen sighed softly.
He truly couldn't stay in this Mountain and Sea Realm much longer. If he continued like this, he would eventually be assimilated by the world's laws and lose the strength to ascend.
"Let’s go."
"Where to?"
"Back to the Eastern Wilderness."
"Are we going back the way we came?"
"Not necessarily. We have crossed the Wild Lands and reached the extreme east. This boundless desert should be the Boundless Desert. Beyond here lies the Western Desert Cultivation Region."
A look of nostalgia appeared in Luo Chen's eyes. "Let’s go to the Western Desert first. I promised a certain friend years ago that I would return to burn a stick of incense for him after I reached Soul Transformation."
The group boarded the Frost Eagle Shuttle without further question. As for the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Luo Chen didn't pursue it. The creature’s speed was among the best in the world; even if he could catch it, killing it would be a chore. Furthermore, in his current state, his connection to the Mountain and Sea Realm was too tight; frequent combat would only deepen the Heavenly Shackles upon him.
His goals for this trip—hunting powerful beasts and tempering his skills—were complete.
________________________________________
In the Boundless Desert, a figure moved at high speed, shrouded in a bloody light. Anyone seeing this would recognize it as the famous Blood Escape technique of the Demonic Path. However, this technique consumed one’s origin essence and was only used in life-or-death situations. It was strange to see a Nascent Soul cultivator using it so desperately when no one appeared to be chasing him.
Only Qi Ying knew why he was running for his life. If he were any slower, the Great Peng would catch him and force him to refine those Sarira Pills again. Yet, despite his speed, unease gnawed at him.
"The drop of blood in my body is too overbearing, too sharp. It's about to pierce the barriers of my Purple Mansion. My secret techniques can't suppress it anymore."
He had to stop. Thud. Qi Ying stumbled and tumbled across the dunes. The moment he stopped, he desperately mobilized his magic power to restrict a single drop of golden blood within him. He became so absorbed in this that he lost track of the outside world.
When a surprised soft “Eh?” reached his ears, he opened his eyes to find the first light of dawn. In the morning mist, a young, white-robed Daoist descended before him.
"Little friend, the aura on your body is somewhat familiar. Where did you study, and who is your master?"
To call a Nascent Soul True Person a "little friend" would usually be a joke. But Qi Ying didn't dare be careless; to his eyes, the man before him felt like the vast Heaven and Earth itself.
Soul Transformation Great Power!
Qi Ying swallowed hard. He had just escaped the cave of a Rank 5 beast only to run into a legendary Soul Transformation cultivator. "Junior Qi Ying... studied at the Dark Abyss Sect..."
He felt his heart sink as the young man's brow furrowed.
"The Dark Abyss Sect?" The young man hadn't expected to find a remnant of that sect while passing through the desert.
Qi Ying trembled. Did this Great Power have a grudge against his sect? He forced out the rest of his sentence: "...disciple of Master Xuan Yan."
To his surprise, the young man smiled. "So you are Master Xuan Yan's only personal disciple. No wonder you felt familiar."
Qi Ying froze. "Senior... knows my master?"
The man smiled. "I am Luo Chen. I had quite a friendship with Master Xuan Yan. You should recognize this, right?"
A pill recipe appeared before Qi Ying. It was titled: [Englightenment Pill].
It wasn't a complete recipe, but the remnant draft co-authored by Master Xuan Yan and the Pill Saint, Chu Yan. Qi Ying recognized his master’s handwriting immediately. And the name "Luo Chen" was like a thunderclap to his ears—the man who had attacked the Tianyuan Dao Sect and fought the Great Power Lian Cheng.
"Since you are the descendant of an old friend, I shall lend you a hand."
Luo Chen saw the dire state of the junior. Without waiting for Qi Ying to speak, he pointed two fingers like a sword at the man’s abdomen. A streak of scorching power surged in, finding the golden drop of blood.
"Primordial Beast Source Blood, containing the Essence of Metal... It happens to be countered by my power."
With a flick of his finger, the Golden Great Peng’s hidden trap vanished. Qi Ying stared blankly, feeling his abdomen; the discomfort was gone.
"Little friend Qi Ying, we are passing through the Western Desert to return to the Eastern Wilderness. What are your plans?"
Qi Ying stammered, "Junior... Junior wishes to travel with Senior, if I may?"
"Haha, then let us travel together!" Luo Chen laughed heartily and turned to board the hovering shuttle.
Qi Ying looked at the sky and then back at the road he came from, feeling as though he were in a dream.
(End of Chapter)