Should I Call You Desolate Hermit or Alchemy Grandmaster?

Across the boundless sea, a beam of dark light traversed the waters without raising the slightest wave. Its speed was blinding, yet its commotion negligible. This spoke volumes of the treasure's exceptional flying speed as well as the exquisite finesse of the one piloting the shuttle. Even so, tempestuous waves surged in from the surroundings from time to time, echoing with beast-like roars. Whoosh! A streak of white light slipped outside the central chamber of the shuttle, quietly waiting for its master's summons. Yet while waiting, the white light instinctively kept its distance from the room. A peerlessly sharp sword intent seemed capable of piercing through anything from within; even though it was kept under tight suppression by its master, Bai Meiling still did not dare rush inside rashly. After a long pause, that sword intent finally dissipated. A low voice emerged from inside the room. "What is it?" Her spirits lifting, Bai Meiling flew inside. Bowing before the cross-legged Luo Chen, she reported, "Master, vast numbers of sea monsters have appeared across the East Sea, stirring up storms and acting rather brazenly." Luo Chen frowned slightly, not having expected this. In the past, a vast expanse of ocean had spanned between the Central Plains and the Eastern Desolation. Although few visible landmasses broke the surface, the world called it the East Sea. As far as Luo Chen knew, while demon beasts existed within the East Sea, their numbers had never been large. Spread over such an immense expanse, they were even rarer. This was largely due to how formidable the Tianyuan Dao Sect had once been. Any waters near the Central Plains had been thoroughly culled year after year until most demon beasts were cleared away. Now, only thirty-odd years had passed since the collapse of the Central Plains and the severe blow dealt to the Dao Sect. By demon beast growth cycles, how could so many sea monsters have emerged in such a short time? Luo Chen questioned Bai Meiling in detail about what she had observed before reaching a conclusion. "Such a change goes against natural patterns. Someone must be behind this deliberately. The question is whether this is only happening in this sea area, or if similar situations are occurring around all three continents of the Tianyuan Dao Sect." Luo Chen could not guess who was pulling the strings, but he had an inkling that troubled times lay ahead for the Tianyuan Dao Sect. "Did they attack the Frost Eagle Shuttle?" "No, master. The shuttle flies too swiftly; by the time they notice it, we have already moved beyond their reach." "Very well. Leave them be for now." Bai Meiling nodded and respectfully took her leave. After she left, Luo Chen pondered the matter a bit more before shaking his head and letting it go. Instead, he focused his attention on the blood-colored longsword resting across his knees. The Yuantu Sword! Originating from the Land of the Fallen Demon, it was a treasure casually forged by the Heaven Refining Demon Lord in his leisure time. The moment it came into being, it had slain a Deity Transformation mighty figure. From early on, it had been regarded as a pseudo-spirit treasure. Later, after over a century of nurturing by Luo Chen and absorbing countless pools of blood—including the entire cultivation of the Mingyuan mighty figure, Patriarch Heize—it should, by all rights, have taken the final step long ago to become a true spirit treasure. Yet even now, the Yuantu Sword remained in the category of True Artifacts. Luo Chen had a vague sense of what final element was missing. However, he had not yet made up his mind. A sword was an instrument of slaughter; in harming the foe, it could also harm oneself. A slight lapse could damage his very foundation. To ensure nothing went awry, Luo Chen needed enough certainty before taking that final step. And as for how to build that certainty, he already had a plan in mind. "It has reached Adept level!" Luo Chen gazed into the empty air, where an entry was faintly glowing on the status panel invisible to others. [Myriad Firmaments Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture: Adept 201/300] This sword scripture had been specially gifted to him years ago by Fu Chaosheng to compensate for the fifty years of lifespan he had lost. Its rank was exceptionally high, reaching the fifth tier, though the scripture itself was not particularly subtle or intricate. The reason it could reach the fifth tier despite not being overly complex was that once mastered, it possessed terrifying might comparable to a divine ability. A thousand firmaments flow together, qi piercing the celestial river! Once one attained that stage, even a Deity Transformation mighty figure could not easily withstand such a pinnacle strike. Yet mastering that strike was simply too arduous for ordinary cultivators. An ordinary person required a year, or even several years, just to refine a single strand of firmament qi, meaning the Thousand Firmaments realm would take over a millennium. Even with Luo Chen's astonishing capability, he had previously only managed to refine one strand every six months. Furthermore, the technique's greatest drawback was that it was a single-use offensive measure; once the sword qi was released in combat, it was virtually impossible to recover. In other words, even if someone painstakingly spent centuries cultivating several hundred strands of terrifying sword qi, a single battle could wipe it all away, sending them right back to square one. Luo Chen was no exception. During his journey to the Southern Border, in order to survive the pursuit of the Nether Earth Dragon, he had exhausted his multi-year reserves, squandering every last strand of Crimson Firmament Sword Qi he had accumulated in a single strike. Now, returning to this sword scripture, his intention was obvious. Even if it was only a one-time trump card, so long as it proved useful at a critical juncture in the future, every bit of effort would be well worth it. Moreover, Luo Chen had discovered early on a remarkable difference between his cultivation of the *Myriad Firmaments Myriad Transformations Sword Scripture* and that of ordinary people: As his proficiency grew, his efficiency in refining firmament qi increased substantially each time. From half a year per strand at Entry level, to three months per strand at Practiced level... until recently, during his travels, Luo Chen had refined firmament qi in succession, finally breaking through to the Adept tier. Sure enough! Luo Chen discovered that his efficiency had doubled once more! Cutting the time needed in half from three months, it came down to forty-five days per strand—roughly a month and a half! Because of this, Luo Chen saw hope of bringing this sword scripture to Great Perfection within his lifetime. "Following this pattern, when I reach the Perfected level, will it drop to twenty days per strand? And at the Grandmaster level, could it be one strand every ten days?" "If that is truly the case, in less than a hundred years, I will have the chance to master this sword dao divine ability!" "The only constraint is the supply of firmament qi." Luo Chen's gaze fell upon his storage ring. Earlier, Deng Taiyue had used his Nascent Soul Formation Pills as the main draw to hold a grand, high-profile auction, collecting a substantial amount of Nine Firmaments Qi for him. Two hundred strands in total! On average, each Nascent Soul Formation Pill had fetched twenty strands of Nine Firmaments Qi that met Luo Chen's requirements. This price was somewhat above fair market value. Collecting Nine Firmaments Qi was not difficult, but it was extremely time-consuming, requiring a Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivator to ascend to the Nine Firmaments and keep their divine sense spread open day in and day out to search and capture it—a laborious and draining task. Generally, Nascent Soul cultivators would not go out of their way to do such thankless work, usually only collecting it in passing when they ascended to the Nine Firmaments in search of suitable materials. The reason he had managed to obtain so much this time was largely that the Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivators of the Eastern Desolation had given Luo Chen face. They gave face to the Alchemy Grandmaster! After two centuries of the Human-Demon War, the Eastern Desolation had suffered catastrophic losses. Nascent Soul Formation Pills were the supreme resource, capable of bolstering the high-end combat strength of major sects in the shortest time. Luo Chen could concoct them and was willing to trade them, so even at a premium, everyone tacitly agreed to the exchange. All to curry favor with Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen. "Two hundred strands won't be enough to reach Grandmaster level, but it will suffice to push my proficiency to the Perfected level." "Once they are exhausted, I will have to take matters into my own hands and collect Nine Firmaments Qi myself." Though he knew collecting it personally would be troublesome, Luo Chen had not lost confidence. He had planned for this long ago. The True Artifact he had obtained on loan from the Nine Spirits Sect was specifically borrowed for this purpose! Of course, before that, he still had to arrange the most important matter first. The shuttle forged ahead, veering away from the Dongyuan Continent and heading toward the Tiannan Continent. ... A year later. Luo Chen stirred slowly from his secluded cultivation. "Master, we have arrived!" Bai Meiling's voice carried a hint of fatigue. Piloting the Frost Eagle Shuttle continuously for a whole year had exacted a significant toll on her soul and magic power. Yet thanks to this, what had once taken three full years to cross the East Sea had been cut down to just one year. "You have worked hard. Go rest in the Soul Nurturing Banner for a while." Luo Chen produced a white banner and took Bai Meiling inside, then shrank it and tucked it into his sleeve. Stowing away the Frost Eagle Shuttle, Luo Chen's feet finally touched solid ground. Looking out, sea birds circled in the sky, and lush greenery dotted the distant horizon. "So this is the former southeastern region of the Central Plains, now the Tiannan Continent?" Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen closed his eyes. Spiritual soul power vast as an ocean transformed into divine sense, rippling out gently from him in all directions. Though awe-inspiring as the sea, as it washed over this continent, it was as gentle as a breeze; not a soul could detect Luo Chen's arrival. Even when sweeping past the occasional Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivator, none reacted in the slightest. The gap between them had long since become an impassable gulf. Luo Chen's divine sense spread with astonishing speed and reached immense distances. In mere moments, it surpassed the limits of the Nascent Soul realm, extending over ten thousand li away! The Grand Elder of the Dongyang Sect was reputed to be at Nascent Soul Great Perfection, yet his divine sense could only cover eight thousand li. Luo Chen, with utter ease, traversed over ten thousand li. The expansion of his divine sense showed no sign of stopping, with every indication that it could reach even further. He wondered how far the divine mind of an ordinary Deity Transformation cultivator could extend. The fleeting thought arose, only to be suppressed in the next instant. Luo Chen had found his target! "Old friend, so this is where you are!" Luo Chen smiled faintly and took a single step forward. When he reappeared, he was already an immense distance away. This was still an application of the physical technique Airburst Step. Yet compared to the explosive sonic booms in the void that used to accompany this technique, Luo Chen now executed it without the slightest trace of ostentation, bordering on blending seamlessly into the void. As for the reason behind this improvement, Luo Chen could not fully explain it, but it likely had something to do with Qingshuang, with whom he shared a life-and-death pact. ... Bailu Marsh. Once a moisture-rich area of the Central Plains endowed with a third-tier spirit vein, it had belonged to a humble clan surnamed Lu. With the collapse of the Central Plains thirty years ago, the Lu family had been completely wiped out. Bailu Marsh had likewise suffered catastrophe in the collapse: rivers diverted, and miasma spread rampant. Yet misfortune and fortune went hand in hand. After the Tiannan Continent broke away, the shifting earthly qi had coalesced beneath Bailu Marsh into a spiritual cavern. The originally ordinary third-tier spirit vein leaped directly to the fourth tier thanks to the birth of this cavern. Later, when the various clans of the Tianyuan Dao Sect divided the lands, this place drew the covetous eyes of many humble and prominent clans alike. But the outcome had been quite unexpected: Bailu Marsh had been claimed by the family of a Star Gate guest elder. Even though some powerful aristocratic clans were dissatisfied, under the constraint of established rules, they had ultimately pinched their noses and acknowledged the territory's ownership. Thus, Bailu Marsh became the territory of the Zhou family! However, this was not permanent. If after a century the Zhou family had no Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivator to guard it, the land would still fall into the hands of other great houses. Inside a simple, unadorned hall. Looking frail and near the grave, Zhou Yunshen gazed at the three Golden Core cultivators kneeling before him, his wrinkled face etched with profound worry. "Perhaps I was wrong. I should not have seized this land for you, only to invite mortal disaster." The three harbored reluctance in their eyes. A sturdy man among them spoke aloud, "Why worry so, Ancestor? As long as Brother Zhou Cang uses the fourth-tier spirit vein to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, it will be enough to protect the family for another five hundred years!" Zhou Cang was the eldest of the three, his hair and beard already turning salt-and-pepper. His cultivation was at the ninth layer of Golden Core! Yet Zhou Yunshen shook his head. "Cang'er's foundation and accumulation are still insufficient. In particular, thirty years ago he damaged his foundation while protecting his kin. The odds of him breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage are far too slim." Zhou Cang lowered his head and sighed softly. The third person was a young woman whose eyes held deep concern. "Ancestor, as long as you are here, isn't our Coral Sea Zhou family still as steady as Mount Tai?" Zhou Yunshen's lips trembled as he whispered, "Zhenniang, do you remember when my eight-hundredth birthday celebration was held?" Zhou Shuzhen froze. In her mind, the memory of that grand and joyous birthday celebration had already grown faint and blurry. Back then, she had barely reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Now, she was already at the mid Golden Core stage, and a full one hundred and seventy years had passed! According to rumors, the lifespan of an ordinary Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivator was only around a thousand years; even with life-extending methods, it rarely exceeded eleven or twelve hundred years. And that was assuming one suffered no grievous wounds. Their old ancestor had led the family to break through the encirclement of demon beasts from the North Sea all the way to the Central Plains. During that time, he had lived through the North Sea War and, not long ago, a brief clash against three Nascent Soul Perfected Cultivators. To say he had escaped all of that without injury was utterly impossible. Zhou Shuzhen's voice choked with emotion. "Ancestor..." Evidently, the other two Zhou family Golden Core cultivators were no fools either and caught onto the crux of the matter. Their old ancestor's lifespan was nearly spent. Once he passed away, how could the weakened Zhou family possibly hold onto a fourth-tier spiritual land like Bailu Marsh? An atmosphere of sorrow gradually settled over the hall. Right at that moment! Zhou Yunshen's aged eyes suddenly erupted with a mixture of shock and delight. "You three, withdraw for now!" "Huh?" The three had not yet reacted. Zhou Yunshen added, "Cultivate diligently and do not slack off." Though perplexed, each bowed and respectfully took their leave. After they departed, Zhou Yunshen took a light breath and looked toward the entrance. Amid shifting light and shadow, a figure both familiar and unfamiliar was reflected in his pupils. With mixed emotions, Zhou Yunshen said, "Fellow Daoist Luo, should I call you Desolate Hermit, or Alchemy Grandmaster?"