Writer: StarReader

Proofreader: Silavin

There was a thunderous detonation. The world went suddenly, entirely silent but for a faint, high-pitched whine. The earth shook.

Wind ripped and eddied through the Luo Clan’s compound, tearing at the people walking about their business and nearly dragging them over from the sheer blast. A cloud of choking dust filled the air, nipping at their lungs and making them cough.

“Master! Not again!” One man ran like mad through the billowing dust, straight to the source. What used to be a guest room to the side of the compound was now reduced to a crater as its main attraction, with its four walls still somewhat intact.

They didn’t last either, as a man crawled out with groan from the rubble, peppered with metal fragments from heaven knew what from the middle of the crater, which was painted a vivid shade of red. It boggled the mind how so much blood could come from one person.

It was a miracle he was still alive, though by the looks of things, not for long.

“Why do I always fail? What am I doing it wrong?” The man tottered as he fell to his knees, gazing at the prismatic sky with longing, desire, and desperation. “It’s the third time already! What am I missing?!”

“Master, please calm down! We must get you some help or you might really die this time and all sacrifice will be for nothing!” Yan Fu helped the man up, scrambling for some pills to patch him up for now and get him out of immediate danger.

“You’ve seriously overdone it this time, old man.” Sea Ao’s lone eye trained on the miserable figure and his crazed look. “You’re obsessed with Sovereignty. You are sinking further and further away from your path instead of nearing it. How many times must I say it? You may seek it, but it will only come to you when you’re ready. The last two attempts were mild in comparison to this one. You were on the brink of erasing your very being from this world. It’s ironic how the very thing you sought saved you in the end, stopping your refining before it took you down with it. The sudden break of concentration let the volatile energy run amock.”

Sea Ao glanced at the prismatic sky with hope.

“Anything for alchemy!” Yan Song declared without care about his precarious state, only to enter a coughing fit, spilling more blood on the ground.

“Master, please calm down!” Yan Fu was frantic.

Hs master casually took out a black vial, struggling to open it with his wounds, and a translucent pill fell in his bloody hand, with a hint of prismatic glow. The action actually healed his hand like it was brand new, with the metal shrapnel simply falling out of his mangled hand. Even the prismatic sky shone stronger with its presence.

“I hoped not to use it so soon. I’ve refined it from sheer luck and insight when Ye Lin triggered the prismatic event and hoped to study it to deepen my knowledge of alchemy, to complete my path!” His other hand suddenly fell limp. “Alas, this is the only thing that can save me to pursue it further!”

His eyes hardened, trying to raise his healed hand to eat the pill, only to find it numb as well. Yet under his widening gaze, the translucent pill sank into his hand, sending spikes of agony throughout his body in an instant. Next came the screams, a kind of scream one let out when begging for release.

Yan Fu was beside himself with worry, not knowing what to do, what to say, yet fully aware of his futility.

“Amazing.” Kunpeng landed next to Sea Ao, impassive at the man’s plight of his own making. “In all my long life and knowledge of humans, I’ve never seen them make something of so monumental importance. That pill, right there, can do anything. Almost. If it were complete, I believe it would even make any mortal into a Sovereign, albeit only in power!”

“How is that possible?” Sea Ao gasped.

“This is the path of alchemy. As one delves deeper into its secrets, nothing is impossible.” Kunpeng spoke with veneration. “It is only right that such power comes at a price.” He trained his flat gaze on the jerking man on the ground.

With such a commotion, the Luo Clan’s leadership responded swiftly, soon coming to realize that it was their greatest alchemist once more. The last two times had been mild, in a manner of speaking, a mere shaking of the entire compound the first, followed by a collapse of an entire building the second. But this, this was downright catastrophic.

This was a prime example of what some would go do to reach the Sovereign Stage. Their desire to wielding power beyond their imagination. There was no describing one could do and see at such a level, earning the envy and greed of the rest of the population.

As Yan Song finally finished floundering like a fish on land, he stood up, his cultivation restored to peak Saint Stage after having not only his body butchered from the inside out, but his soul mangled in thousands of pieces barely hanging by a thread.

“I couldn’t care less about the Sovereign Stage. My gaze has ever been set on alchemy! Nothing is of more importance, nothing!” Yan Song declared.

“That’s exactly your problem.” Kunpeng analyzed. “You’re so obsessed with pursuing it that you are unable to see other aspects of the world. They will help you complete your path. You can’t only look at alchemy. They say that to become a true expert, you need to pass down all your knowledge to someone completely ignorant in your field. Since you want to give it another go, try reaching your disciple first. Think of it as a trial to teach another of the things you’ve seen and discovered about alchemy. It will also help you calm down from your suicidal tendencies.”

“Yes, master! Please show me what you see! I want to learn everything from you!” Yan Fu kneeled and banged his head.

Touched by the man’s dedication, it stirred his own feelings of admiration for alchemy. “I don’t know if I can stop, but you’ll follow me at every step. Together, my disciple, we will achieve the perfect pill!”

Luo Yunhai eased a breath, glad there wouldn’t be any more destruction around his clan. “Which is it this time? Can it be Zhuo Fan?”