Longevity begins with alchemy master

Broken walls and collapsed beams and pillars.

The outline of a city came into view.

Several figures rushed over, each with a strong sense of curiosity on their face.

"In the wilderness, there is an ancient city built by humans!"

"These architectural styles are different from those of the five continents in the present-day Shan Hai Jie, and seem to be from ancient times?"

"Huh, there seem to be some remnants of murals on this wall? They look like they depict some kind of monster?"

"That's really strange. Apart from the Hundred Beasts Sect, the buildings of our human sects usually only have carvings of various auspicious beasts. Why are there so many ferocious beasts painted here?"

"It should be the ancient city of Loulan."

"Loulan?"

Everyone was surprised and looked at Luo Chen with curiosity.

Luo Chen pondered for a moment, then began to explain: "The Five Sacred Lands of the Mountain and Sea Realm were not actually native sects of this realm, but came from the Outer Heavens Mystic Realm. They came to this realm, and through hardship, they hunted demons and slaughtered wild beasts, gradually opening up the Five Continents of Immortal Cultivation. But this world is not without indigenous human races."

During his travels in the wilderness, Luo Chen would occasionally recount the stories of the Five Continents Holy Lands of the Mountain and Sea Realm to the others.

He possessed the "Secret Records of the Mysterious Realm," a gift from the God of the Netherworld, and could recount most situations in great detail.

Combining current historical records with modern texts, it is not difficult to deduce events from ancient times.

Gu Caiyi asked curiously, "Does my husband mean that this ancient city of Loulan was built by the indigenous people of the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

“Yes.” Luo Chen’s gaze swept over the buildings that had been weathered by time and were beginning to crumble into sand, where the remnants of murals depicting birds and beasts were still faintly visible. “The natives of this world were weak, either enslaved by spirited wild beasts or used as food by powerful ones. Therefore, driven by natural fear and longing, they worshipped the wild beasts that once ruled this world as totems of faith. These remaining murals are the evidence.”

Because of fear, there is worship.

Because of its strength, it inspires aspiration.

The reasoning behind this is not difficult to understand.

As Gu Caiyi pondered this, she subconsciously asked, "But why would they choose to establish their settlements in such a resource-poor place as the Wilderness? Oh, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem so barren."

The next sentence made everyone else laugh.

People generally believed that the area was wild and dangerous, and extremely poor in resources.

But after traveling for several years, Luo Chen and his companions discovered that the wilderness was completely different from what people described. There was no sign of resource scarcity; instead, there were surprises everywhere.

It possesses rare mineral deposits, medicinal herbs that take thousands or even tens of thousands of years to grow, and many extinct primordial species.

Aside from hunting high-level wild beasts, the medicinal herbs, mineral veins, and even top-grade spirit stones that Gu Caiyi, Tianxuan, and the others casually collected have already exceeded their entire fortune from a lifetime of cultivation.

This may be related to the fact that there have been no traces of human cultivators in the wilderness for thousands of years.

Some resources that are of great use to human cultivators are worthless in the eyes of wild beasts, and thus are preserved without their knowledge.

Of course, if you're thinking of coming here to harvest the abundant cultivation resources of this wilderness, that's just wishful thinking.

Without the protection of a Nascent Soul cultivator like Luo Chen, even an ordinary Nascent Soul expert would be in mortal danger if they entered.

Those top-tier wilderness cultivators don't care about the esteemed status of Nascent Soul cultivators in the outside world.

The topic has strayed a bit. Gu Caiyi asked in confusion, "The five continents and mountains are all places rich in resources. Why don't the native humans build cities in the heartland and use the abundant resources to strengthen themselves?"

Luo Chen felt somewhat helpless about this problem.

"The answer lies in your question. Sometimes, Caiyi, don't rely on me too much. Try thinking instead of asking questions!"

Gu Caiyi was taken aback, but then she understood Luo Chen's intention.

If you get too used to something, you'll become dependent on it.

But if Luo Chen ascends to heaven and leaves, who will she be able to rely on?

A sense of sadness welled up inside me.

But soon, Gu Caiyi rallied her spirits. At least for her, these ten years of wandering in the wilderness were a beautiful and unforgettable memory.

She then pondered the previous question and instantly understood the reason for Luo Chen's helplessness.

The answer is actually hidden in the question itself.

Gu Caiyi blurted out:

"Because of their weakness, they were forced to leave the heart of the five continents and build cities and states in the barren wilderness of that time."

Luo Chen nodded. "Yes, also because of their weakness, the wild beasts fled across the five continents and retreated into the wilderness. Because of their retreat, the human race flourished. However, the ancient city of Loulan in the wilderness was destroyed because of the intrusion of a large number of wild beasts."

The historical truth buried by the yellow sand was unearthed in such a simple and direct way.

Amidst the sighs of dismay, the crowd acted swiftly.

One by one, figures separated and began searching among the ruins.

Treasure hunt!

Even the weak human races of ancient times may have had some unique characteristics.

If one can find even one or two of these insights, it might serve as a lesson learned from others in one's own spiritual practice.

Luo Chen smiled, swept his divine sense across the area, and then focused his gaze on the very center of the ancient city of Loulan.

With a leap, Luo Chen landed in that spot.

With a wave of his sleeve, the smoke and dust vanished.

A huge altar was fully revealed, with blurry patterns on it. Although most of it was broken, the outline of the formation was still visible.

A huge pillar collapsed onto the altar.

Judging from the layout of this place, it should stand in the very center of the altar.

With a thought, Luo Chen erected the pillar with a rumble, inserting it into the central recess of the altar.

At this moment, the pillars are painted with many birds and beasts, and the overall color is blood red.

"Is this a totem pole?"

Luo Chen's cultivation period is not long; compared to a normal Nascent Soul stage expert, he is definitely a young man.

But his knowledge is by no means lacking.

From the Qi Refining stage onwards, Luo Chen developed a passion for reading books, not only those related to cultivation, but also those classics that recorded local customs, strange tales, and secrets.

What stood before him at that moment was none other than the most important link in the cultivation system of the ancient people.

Totem pole!
The birds and beasts engraved on it are depictions of those powerful wild beasts.

And this altar...

As Luo Chen pondered, he waved his hand and scattered materials from his storage ring.

He methodically refined the materials and poured them into the cracks.

Gradually, the altar began to shimmer with spiritual light.

In the distance, Gu Caiyi and the others noticed the strange occurrence and flew towards this direction.

When they met again, Luo Chen was already sitting on top of the totem pole.

"If I'm not mistaken, this altar is similar to the enlightenment school for mortals and the spirit-testing ceremony for cultivators."

Luo Chen muttered to himself, as if explaining to others, or perhaps trying to boost his own confidence.

"But unlike normal enlightenment and qualification testing, because of this totem pole, the children of the ancient people could use their own blood to resonate with the blood of the wild beast inside the totem pole, thereby mastering certain special wild beast abilities."

"Is this the cultivation method of our ancient ancestors?"

"Body refinement? Qi refinement? Or perhaps neither, simply using the power of wild beasts to strengthen oneself?"

"Then how was the blood of the powerful wild beast inside this totem pole collected?"

As he pondered and questioned, the spiritual light from the surrounding altar gradually shone upon Luo Chen.

The totem pole beneath them also began to tremble.

One after another, totems of birds and beasts began to flash. In the end, only a crane-like wild beast with red markings, blue body, white beak, and one leg remained, lifelike and poised to take flight.

Luo Chen could sense that after he reactivated the altar, a faint but infinitely powerful force within the totem pole wanted to penetrate his body.

"Heavenly Fire Crane?"

"wrong!"

"It is so well-suited to my Fire Spirit Body, and look at the bloodline power that contains infinite potential. Its rank must be above that of the Heavenly Fire Crane Wild Beast."

"Moreover, although it belongs to the fire element, it is born from wood, and its characteristics are extremely similar to the fire of withering and flourishing."

"It's the divine bird Bifang!" In immortal legends, there are many gods of fire.

Like the phoenix, the golden crow, and also the Vermilion Bird, Bifang, and so on.

But each of the gods of fire has its own emphasis.

Like the phoenix, though it holds the sacred fire of rebirth, its true nobility lies more in being the king of all birds.

The Golden Crow is actually a symbol of the sun, and whether such a divine bird actually exists in the world is still unknown.

This divine bird, Bifang, is recorded in ancient texts as being genuinely born from the fire of bamboo and wood, which is why it gave Luo Chen a feeling that was extremely similar to the fire of withering and flourishing.

Luo Chen became interested and took the initiative to release his own magical shield, drawing that wisp of energy into his body.

The moment this wisp of energy entered, it tried to mobilize Luo Chen's blood.

Luo Chen's source blood is almost comparable to that of a fifth-order cultivator, so how could a mere wisp of aura be mobilized?

Luo Chen deliberately mobilized a portion of the source blood, still guided by that aura.

Then, this wisp of energy, carrying the source blood, began to flow throughout Luo Chen's entire body.

Time passes little by little.

One day, two days...

Perhaps Luo Chen's physical body was too powerful, causing his blood circulation to be somewhat slow.

After a long time, Luo Chen vaguely sensed that this seemed to be a cultivation path, a method of practice.

It is quite different from traditional body-refining techniques, and is closer to Luo Chen's early self-created "The Confluence of Myriad Paths", which aims to temper the cultivator's physical body in the direction of wild beasts.

"Totem Body Refining Technique?"

While Luo Chen was comprehending, Gu Caiyi and the others had already been waiting in all directions, preventing any creature from disturbing him.

suddenly!

As night fell, Kongchan suddenly looked up.

"careful!"

The other three spirit beasts and Gu Caiyi were puzzled and subconsciously looked up.

Under the cover of night, a shooting star, resembling a broomstick, trailed a long fiery tail as it descended from the heavens.

Gu Caiyi's expression changed drastically, "It's Benxing!"

Without a second thought, she was about to soar into the sky.

"My husband is currently comprehending ancient methods; we must not let this celestial phenomenon disturb him."

The other four spirit beasts were about to get up when a voice interrupted them.

"Everyone stop it!"

Everyone looked at Luo Chen with surprise and delight.

He said with a slightly solemn expression, "A meteor of this size is beyond your ability to confront head-on. Get closer to me."

During these years of wandering in the wilderness, everyone had long been accustomed to accepting Luo Chen's arrangements and flew to the altar in unison.

Luo Chen sat atop the totem pole, looking at this unexpected visitor from outer space with a solemn expression.

First, an umbrella was released and placed over everyone's heads.

Then a long sword appeared in his hand; it was Yuan Tu!

With a thought, sword energy burst forth.

A vast galaxy of sword light surged upstream, heading straight for the stars.

A thousand clouds flow together, their spirit soaring to the Milky Way!
boom!
In that instantaneous collision, boundless light and heat burst forth.

A terrifying destructive force erupted in an instant.

The entire earth trembled, as if it had been crushed several feet.

Everyone looked up and saw that on the Burial Umbrella, stars were falling like rain and flames were filling the air, as if it were about to destroy this world.

Luo Chen stared blankly at the scene, seemingly understanding something in his heart.

For a powerful being of divine transformation, it is not difficult for human strength to contend with celestial phenomena.

They could even create terrifying celestial phenomena themselves.

However, the destructive power caused by this enormous shooting star was still somewhat beyond Luo Chen's imagination.

Even a direct attack from the front, "Thousand Clouds Flowing Together," failed to completely destroy it.

With a deafening roar, the remaining meteor crashed into the ancient city of Loulan.

The already desertified ancient city of Loulan was completely reduced to dust by this earthquake.

This scene possesses a beauty that evokes the complete annihilation of history.

Luo Chen seemed to be deep in thought, and with his fingertips he drew over a wisp of spark.

"By using its own immense power, it disrupts the normal flow of the universe's primordial energy, thereby unleashing destructive power. This grand method of the universe is almost indistinguishable from supernatural abilities. If it were me, what would I do?"

After the upheaval of heaven and earth.

Night fell, and the rib umbrella was folded up.

Gu Caiyi and the others jumped up and looked at Luo Chen with a level of reverence far exceeding what they had shown before.

This power, which could almost destroy the world, was severed by Luo Chen's sword. Even though they had witnessed it many times during their previous trip to the wilderness, they were still shocked.

"Mistress, that shooting star was quite large. There should still be remnants left after Master's sword strike," Tianxuan reminded her.

Gu Caiyi nodded, "Yes, these extraterrestrial meteorites are top-grade materials for refining weapons. We should go and find them quickly."

Without hesitation, the group flew in the direction in which the star had fallen.

Luo Chen remained seated cross-legged on the totem pole, his mind no longer focused on the totem body-refining technique of the ancient city of Loulan. That technique was only rudimentary to him, not even as good as the "Convergence of Ten Thousand Paths." His mind was now filled with the scene of the meteorite falling from the sky and the city being burned by starfire.

If one could master such a technique, it would surely be a great supernatural power no less than the Dao Finger of Withering and Flourishing or the Flow of a Thousand Clouds!
But how do you master it?
Luo Chen released the restrictions, and his primordial spirit subconsciously emerged, gradually merging with this world.

……

Deep in the wilderness, at the very edge of the vast ocean.

There is a mountain whose entire body is covered with golden sand, and inside the mountain is a cave called Golden Sand Cave.

The cave was filled with the remains of human and demon skeletons, a sight that inspired fear.

A colossal divine bird sat atop, looking down upon the tiny humans below.

The sound that came out of his mouth was deafening, but which he thought was gentle.

"Young friend Qi Ying, have you made any progress on the relic pill I ordered you to refine?"

The human, amidst the skeletal remains, maintained an expression of neither servility nor arrogance.

“If it were just the relic pills circulating in the Western Desert Buddhist Land, I could refine them with ease. But the relic pills that the Great Roc King wants to refine are not so simple; they are still missing many key ingredients.”

The Golden-Winged Divine Bird snorted coldly, "The most important ingredient is the relic that the high monk of the Hanging Temple turned into after his death. What else could be missing? I heard that you are a disciple of a human alchemy master. You have this most important ingredient in hand, yet you have made no progress. Could it be that you are deceiving me and intentionally delaying?"

The cultivator named Qi Ying sighed inwardly.

He actually had a clue as to how to refine the relic pill that the other party wanted.

But I fear that the day I achieve mastery will be the day I die.

Suddenly!
A violent tremor came from the outside, causing the sea of ​​bones in the Golden Sand Cave to surge and golden sand to flutter.

The Golden-Winged Roc King was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something and rushed out.

Qi Ying followed without hesitation.

As far as the eye can see, in the distant sky, there are fiery tails of shooting stars falling straight down from the heavens, and also a vast expanse of sword light flowing upwards against the current.

The collision generated endless light and heat, which caused his eyes to sting.

He instinctively closed his eyes, but then heard a sound of ecstasy in his ears.

"A meteorite falling from the sky must contain rare iron, which may help me forge a spiritual treasure. I've truly had enough of the humiliation of being suppressed by human spiritual treasures!"

"Qi Ying, you wait here and don't wander around. I'll be right back."

"Remember, if you're not here when I return, don't blame me for being ruthless!" (End of Chapter)