Longevity begins with alchemy master

On a small island.

The islet is clear and the sand is white, with birds circling overhead.

A solitary figure stood alone, gazing indifferently into the distance.

In his line of sight, a huge white bird flew across the sea from afar, its wings spread high, almost blotting out the sky.

With a flap of its wings, it had already traversed dozens of miles and arrived at the edge of the small island.

She landed on her belly and transformed into a slender, graceful figure, kneeling on one knee.

"Tianxuan greets Master!"

Luo Chen's gaze remained fixed on the distance as he softly asked, "Where are they?"

Tianxuan lowered her head, her tone tinged with excitement: "They've all arrived. As you instructed, they're thousands of miles away from the Eastern Continent, ready to launch an attack at any time. Now we're holding back, just waiting for your command, Master!"

Luo Chen hummed in response, his expression remaining largely unchanged.

Tianxuan raised her head slightly in confusion, "Master, when do we launch an attack on the Tianyuan Dao Sect?"

Luo Chen smirked, "We still need to wait for the right opportunity, an opportunity where we can bet all our chips!"

Yes, Luo Chen was waiting for the right opportunity.

When the formation Li Canghai mentioned is activated, and the Tianyuan Dao Sect puts all its power on it, that will also be the time when the Dao Sect's power is at its weakest.

At that point, he will bet all his chips and go all in!
In a past life, there was a joke that said, "Going all in is a kind of wisdom."

This wisdom is mainly reflected in strategic choices, information asymmetry, decisive decision-making, and resource integration.

Luo Chen asked himself, he had already integrated as many resources as possible, and he might never be able to assemble such a powerful lineup again in history, or even in the future.

In terms of information and intelligence, he currently has a certain advantage over the Tianyuan Dao Sect.

The Tianyuan Dao Sect once attempted to swallow up the Shan Hai Realm, but failed and instead made many enemies. Both the North Sea and the Southern Frontier have grudges against the Tianyuan Dao Sect. Compared to these, Luo Chen's personal entanglements with the Tianyuan Dao Sect are not worth their attention. Therefore, with him deliberately controlling the leak of information, the Tianyuan Dao Sect will not notice Luo Chen's "small actions."

Ultimately, he was just a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Under these circumstances, Luo Chen's all-out effort to break through the Eastern Continent, one of the three continents of the Tianyuan Dao Sect, was undoubtedly the most correct strategic choice and the most decisive decision.

But no matter how correct or decisive he was, the enemy's resources were beyond his ability to withstand.

Therefore, if this card is not played, all is well; but if it is played, it must be played to win everything!
Otherwise, death and the loss of one's cultivation would render four hundred years of arduous practice meaningless, a mere illusion.

Luo Chen looked down at Tianxuan, the demon beast he had forcibly subdued three hundred years ago, who had finally cultivated to the fourth stage of human form.

The magical power flowing through her body was so familiar, originating from the Feather Clan technique "The Secret Manual of the Universe Feathers" that she had created specifically for her years ago.

Long ago, Luo Chen removed the slave mark from her body.

The other party was a free person, but still addressed him as "master" repeatedly, which showed how much he trusted him.

"Of the four demon beasts under my command, you are the weakest in strength, but the most intelligent. I have a task for you."

Tianxuan perked up, "Please give me your instructions, Master."

Luo Chen nodded slightly. "After the war begins, you won't be involved in the main battle. Instead, you'll be on the only route between the Eastern Yuan Continent and the Northern Li Continent. Once powerful figures from the Northern Li Continent begin to reinforce the Eastern Yuan Continent, immediately notify everyone to prepare for a retreat. This task isn't difficult, but it's very important. It requires intelligence, quick thinking, sharp eyesight, and a fast escape speed, which are your strengths. Can you do it?"

With great excitement, Tianxuan replied emphatically, "Tianxuan will definitely complete the mission perfectly!"

Luo Chen smiled, feeling slightly relieved.

Although Li Canghai said that he had reached an agreement with the powerful demons of the North Sea, a large number of demons would attack the Northern Continent at the appropriate time to hold back the top experts there.

But Luo Chen didn't have much confidence.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Li Canghai, although he didn't really trust him much; what he truly didn't trust were the powerful demons of the North Sea.

If the other side doesn't put in the effort and can't hold off the people from the north, then the situation on the Eastern Continent battlefield will suddenly change.

Regardless of whether he succeeds or not, the group of powerful cultivators from the Eastern Wilderness cultivation world will inevitably be plunged into a fierce battle.

Now that he had brought people with him, he still hoped to take as many people back as possible.

"Master, I'm leaving now."

Tianxuan accepted the task and left in a hurry.

As Luo Chen watched her disappearing figure, his expression, which had been as calm as a still lake, was now turbulent with emotion.

close!

After a century of planning, that day is finally approaching.

He should also go to his own battlefield.

However, before that, he needed to go to the Eastern Continent to present a great gift to the Tianyuan Dao Sect.

……

With the conclusion of the Jiazi Grand Competition, Tianyuan Dao Sect should have been able to relax after the lively event.

But in fact it is not the case.

Although it was indeed much quieter than before, the atmosphere was even more somber.

Throughout the entire Eastern Continent, Daoist cultivators could be seen patrolling everywhere. Cultivators from various major families were also ordered to remain within their family territories, unable to move about freely. Commercial and trade activities, which had gradually flourished as the Central Continent recuperated, also ceased entirely.

All these signs indicate that something big is about to happen at the Tianyuan Dao Sect.

This important matter was no secret among the Nascent Soul cultivators.

The ancestor wants to reunite the Central Plains, rebuild the Heaven and Earth Peak, and restore the eternal foundation of that once mighty holy land that dominated the entire world!
The Dao Sect had been planning this for over a hundred years, and the manpower and resources they had poured into it at the last minute were astonishing.

There are corresponding arrangements on all three continents.

Furthermore, all the registered Nascent Soul cultivators in the Rotten Ke Mountains, a total of thirty-six, were dispatched to enter the Mirage Dragon Cave.

Moreover, above Dongyuan, the four great families of Lianke, Shi, and Li, along with the nine great Nascent Soul clans, all sent their experts to guard the key points of the formations.

On the other two continents, there are also two major palaces overseeing the overall situation and carrying out corresponding work.

In this oppressive yet restless, desolate and chilling atmosphere, Luo Chen traveled upstream along the Shijiang River and once again arrived at the Dao Sect's ancestral home—the Lankeshan Mountains!
This should be the most desolate time in the once spiritually abundant Rotten Ke Mountain Range, with hardly any Nascent Soul cultivators left.

At least in Luo Chen's divine sense, he only found a handful of five people.

They are all at the late Nascent Soul stage!

"It should be that the elders of the four great clans have all been sent to the Rotten Axe Mountain Range to guard the core of the formation."

Luo Chen smiled inwardly, not particularly surprised.

According to his and Li Canghai's deductions, the Tianyuan Dao Sect's land-gathering formation, in addition to the many small formation eyes, also has four main formation eyes.

These are the three major Daoist palaces located on the three continents, as well as the Heaven and Earth Island.

All four locations contain fifth-order spiritual veins.

With a fifth-order spiritual vein as the array core, plus a pre-arranged array, reuniting in the Central Plains is a matter of course.

The pulling process itself isn't particularly difficult; the real challenge lies in stabilizing each continent and preventing major collisions during the reunification and fusion process, which could lead to even more terrifying geological disasters.

At that time, as long as these four array points are destroyed and people are prevented from repairing them, the Tianyuan Dao Sect's plan will be completely thwarted.

On the Eastern Continent, Luo Chen would entrust the management of other minor array points to powerful cultivators from the Eastern Wilderness. But here, he would personally take charge!
Luo Chen continued walking, entering the Rotten Axe Mountain Range, his gaze suddenly fixed on the towering, cloud-piercing, spiritually vibrant mountain peak.

Its name is Zuowang!

This is the place!
Luo Chen moved as silently as a mountain, entering the depths of Zuowang Peak without alerting anyone.

With a flick of his wrist, a flag appeared in his hand.

The flag was entirely black, with fine cracks showing through the pole, as if it could break at any moment.

Because of these cracks, roaring and howling sounds could be heard from time to time, which was quite terrifying.

"Stop howling, you will be free soon."

Luo Chen spoke with a smile, but his expression was extremely cold and murderous.

With a forceful thrust, the Million Soul Banner plunged into the hard rock and soil, and black lines, like a spider web, spread out in all directions from the center of the Soul Banner.

Then, Luo Chen's ten fingers flew, casting a series of hand seals at the Soul-Slaying Banner.

Within the Soul Banner, the aura began to expand rapidly, and a ferocious, bull-like phantom emerged from the banner's surface, roaring as if it wanted to devour someone.

But under the suppression of those hand seals, no matter how much the Kui Niu demon roared, it could not break free.

After Luo Chen finished casting all the hand seals, the terrifying aura of the fifth-tier ghost god was suppressed once again. Next, as long as Luo Chen detonated the Soul-Slaying Banner at the right moment, he could release the Kui Niu Ghost God.

Having done all this, Luo Chen strode away.

Without a Nascent Soul stage expert personally overseeing the situation, no one in the entire Tianyuan Dao Sect discovered how terrifying a "nuclear bomb" Luo Chen had planted within their sect.

In fact, it shouldn't have come to this.

The mistake was that back then, at the Yellow Springs Sea, Mo Shouzhuo called out to Luo Chen, who wanted to leave.

Since he wants Luo Chen to stay, Luo Chen should reciprocate by giving the Tianyuan Dao Sect a great gift today!

……

hum!
The Shan Hai calendar is 3,780 years old.

On the day of the first autumn, a strange sound began to spread outwards from the center of Tiandi Island.

The sound was like a heartbeat, or like howling wind and thunder, with a great sense of rhythm and cadence.

Despite the lack of unified command and coordination, the moment the voice rang out, the three continents, separated by tens of thousands of miles, resonated with it.

The same sound resounded throughout heaven and earth.

Under this grand sound, the three continents of Dongyuan, Tiannan, and Libei began to tremble violently.

An unprecedented earthquake swept across the entire region.

Houses collapsed, trees were uprooted, and mountains toppled; it seemed as if the end of the world was approaching.

Even the once-sunken western continent was swept away by monstrous waves.

But as starlight shone down from the sky, all the earthquake anomalies vanished in an instant.

Not only that!

Centered on these massive pillars of starlight, array patterns began to spread rapidly, crisscrossing like lines on a chessboard, gradually covering every piece of land on the three continents.

Amidst these dense array patterns, the three continents suddenly became as solid as a rock!

Then, all the starlight pillars converged in the void, gathering towards the central island of heaven and earth, forming a dome that covered an area of ​​tens of millions of miles.

Scattered like stars, in harmony with heaven and earth!

At the center of the dome, an immense pulling force emanated, beginning to pull apart the three separated continents.

If someone has good enough eyesight and looks down at this land from the heavens, they will see that the three continents are slowly closing in on the direction of the Heaven and Earth Island at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within the Rotten Ke Mountains, the five Grandmaster cultivators who remained behind breathed a sigh of relief upon witnessing this scene.

"The spiritual vein restriction has been broken!"

"The earth's energy flows smoothly, and the formation operates without obstruction."

"Ancestor Liancheng's plan is sound. With this Heavenly Dome Continent Gathering Formation, we can indeed reunite the Central Continent!"

"hope everything is fine."

"We're all set on our side. Now it's up to the other two continents."

at the same time.

On the northern continent, in the Dao Palace, seven Grandmasters of the Yuanhou level sat around the center of the main hall, looking at the lifelike sand table beneath them with expressions of great anticipation.

Even though the scenery on the sand table is shrunk to the extreme, anyone who looks at it can tell that it is the entire view of the Northern Continent.

"Aside from the initial activation of the formation causing some major earthquakes, there are no problems overall."

"As expected of the only sixth-order formation that my Dao Sect brought with it when it descended to this world, the Heavenly Dome Continent Gathering Formation is truly wondrous and extraordinary. After activation, it can actually move continents without damaging the earth's veins in the slightest."

"Brother Tan, are you perhaps unaware that during the ancient great war, when my Tianyuan Dao Sect established its dominion in Zhongzhou, we once activated this formation? Otherwise, how could the area of ​​Zhongzhou far surpass that of other continents in the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

In the midst of this joyous conversation, a cultivator suddenly burst in.

Someone shouted, "Gu Yuan, who let you in without prior notice?"

Gu Yuan looked tense. "Reporting to the Abbot, a large number of demonic beasts have attacked from the direction of the North Sea. The number and reason are unknown. However, according to the observation of the Guardian True Person, at least three Great Demon Emperors are among them."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The abbot, Gu Zhongtian, turned cold and gestured with one hand to signal everyone to calm down.

“It’s one thing to have minor conflicts on ordinary days, but this is a big day for my Dao Sect. These wretches are tired of living.”

"Gu Daoyin, Tan Linxian, and Gu Muye, the three of you... Tan Wushuang, you go too. The four of you join forces to annihilate the invading demon race, leaving no survivors!"

"The rest of you, stay with me at the Libei Palace and don't panic."

The crowd responded with a resounding roar, and then each went off to carry out their orders.

After everyone left, the remaining people looked at the still serious-looking Abbot Gu Zhongtian and kindly advised, "Abbot, there is no need to worry. Our three great families have preserved our strength relatively intact during the Great Calamity of Zhongzhou. Dealing with these evil creatures will not be a problem."

Gu Zhongtian shook his head. "I'm not worried about Li Bei. With the four great families and nine Nascent Soul clans in Dong Yuan, it's not a problem at all. What I'm worried about is Tian Nan!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone suddenly understood.

Compared to these two sides, the Southern Continent is the weakest.

The Mo and Zhan families, originally the strongest of the twelve great families, suffered the most damage in the Great Calamity of Zhongzhou, so much so that after the war they only had the smallest place in Tiannan as their place of refuge.

At this critical juncture, if anyone were to launch an attack on the Southern Continent, it would undoubtedly disrupt the plan to reunite the Central Plains.

However, it was not what they feared.

At this moment, the Tiannan Dao Palace was filled with peace and tranquility.

Zhan Bingtao and the Mo family patriarch, who rarely appears in public, sat facing each other. On the sand table beneath their feet, the entire landscape of Tiannan was laid out before them.

"Have all four Palace Masters been dispatched?"

"Yes, having our two great families overseeing Tiannan is enough. The four palace masters will be dispatched to the four directions to inspect the various array nodes and ensure that there are no mistakes."

"That's good. If we can get through these few days, the Tianyuan Dao Sect will be reunited as one."

“Liheng, have you ever thought about actually entering the Tiannan Dao Palace? You know that once the Central Plains are reunited, the power structure of the Dao Sect will not return to its former state. The three Dao Palaces will become the platform for us to compete.”

"Let's talk about it later. The Mo family can't withstand any more trouble right now."

……

Southern Continent, southeast direction.

Fu Qinglan rode in a cloud chariot, constantly surveying this territory.

From time to time, Golden Core disciples from the Houtu Palace would return from the outside world to report on the situations they had observed.

Everything was normal; no one disobeyed orders, and no enemies appeared.

Suddenly!
A figure rushed back.

A woman's beautiful voice rang out from within the cloud-borne chariot.

"Fu Bin, why are you in such a hurry?"

Fu Bin bowed and said, "This disciple has discovered a Nascent Soul family that disregarded orders and moved towards the outer sea after the formation was activated."

"Hmm? Which company is so audacious?"

Fu Bin took a deep breath and said with utmost seriousness, "The Zhou family!"

On the Tiannan Continent, there aren't many Nascent Soul families, at least not as many as the nine families on the Dongyuan side.

Among them, there is only one family with the surname Zhou.

"The family that the mayfly belongs to?" The voice inside the cloud carriage changed unusually.

Fu Bin nodded. "Yes, it is the Zhou family of Bailuze!"

Inside the cloud carriage, there was a moment of silence.

The next moment, a surge of magical energy rippled out, and a beautiful figure emerged from it.

"I'll go take a look. You all continue your previous patrol duties."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman transformed into a streak of azure light and vanished into the horizon. (End of Chapter)