An Alchemist's Path to Eternity-Chapter 728: The Fall of Jiang Yu; Luo Chen Emerges from Seclusion (I)

"Senior Brother Xu, is this the future headquarters of our Luo Tian Sect?"

"That's right. The highest mountain in the center, with that plateau, is the estate of the Luo Tian Sect. Fellow Daoists from Ailao Mountain are now building palaces and halls there on a large scale. In the future, it will surely become worthy of an immortal sect. Right, those smaller mountains nearby were moved here last year by the Supreme Elder and the others using mana. From now on, they also belong to our sect."

"Has it been named yet?"

"Not yet. But I once heard the Supreme Elder mention that once everything settles down, he plans to change the name from Snow Wolf Plateau to Snow Moon Mountain."

The two women behind Xu Haizhen exchanged glances, and one of them revealed a curious expression. Hmm, not Luo Tian Mountain, but Snow Moon Mountain?

Yuan Xiaoyue seemed to realized what she was thinking and spoke thoughtfully, "The Supreme Elder is a nostalgic person. He probably chose the word 'moon' as a remembrance of the Crescent Moon Valley from the founding days of the Luo Tian Sect."

She was among the earliest group to follow Luo Chen, so she knew him well enough to understand his intentions. Moreover, the word "moon" was not out of place at all here; it could also be said to borrow from the name of the Howling Moon Mountain Range.

Upon hearing this, Yao Mingyue, who had the highest chance of inheriting the sect leader position in the future, revealed a pleased smile.

"Come to think of it, I was born in Crescent Moon Valley as well. Hmmm, Snow Moon Mountain... Xiaoyue, isn't that a reference to your name? Hehe..."[ref]The "yue" 月 in both Xiaoyue and Mingyue means "moon."[ref]

There was a faint hint of provocation in the last sentence. Yao Mingyue's master was Sima Huiniang; meanwhile, although Yuan Xiaoyue had no official master, Gu Caiyi stood as both teacher and close companion to her. Due to discord between Sima Huiniang and Gu Caiyi, the two disciples were also somewhat at odds. Moreover, the future sect leader position had not been fully decided, and Yuan Xiaoyue also had a strong chance to compete for it.

Hearing these words, Xu Haizhen could not help but shake his head in despondency. He could not stand to see them fighting, so he immediately called out, "Junior brothers and sisters, and all you junior disciples, do not linger here. Follow me into the estate!"

Behind Yao Mingyue and Yuan Xiaoyue was another group of the Luo Tian Sect disciples. There were three Initiates and nearly a hundred Qi Refinement cultivators. They had all been transferred here to support the construction of the sect's grounds.

Wang Yuan and Chu Kui had recently entered seclusion one after another, while Luo Chen focused on cultivation and rarely showed himself. Mei Ruoqi and Zeng Yilong, who had been in charge of a lot of the sect matters, had gone to the battlefield. As things progressed, those handling affairs instead became Fu Jiusheng and Min Longyu. Neither of them excelled at managing trivial administrative work. Thus, a group of people proficient in administrative duties was dispatched from Danxia Peak.

Besides the obvious, this was also a signal—it showed that the Luo Tian Sect's operational headquarters was slowly shifting.

A group of nearly a hundred people sat aboard a top-grade flying boat and slowly flew toward the bustling Snow Wolf Plateau. Along the way, many alliance cultivators cast curious glances at them. In particular, when they saw the two young female cultivators standing at the bow, each graceful in her own distinct way, many could not help but take a few extra glances.

Quite a few people silently sighed to themselves. The Luo Tian Sect truly produced talents without end. There was no need to mention the older generation; as for the younger generation, all manner of talented disciples also emerged one after another. Compared to the battered Myriad Phenomena Sect, the Cen family that focused solely on raising a successor, and the nigh-unmanaged Stormwind Manor, only the Luo Tian Sect within the entire alliance displayed the bearing of a great immortal sect.

Just as the Luo Tian Sect flying boat docked on a grassy patch at the foot of the mountain, the group of Initiates suddenly raised their heads and looked toward the distant sky. A massive dragon boat came crashing through clouds like a fire dragon.

At that, Yao Mingyue let out a soft sound of surprise. "That is the Supreme Elder's Crimson Flame Dragon Boat. Is he aboard it?"

Xu Haizhen frowned. Something was not right! Luo Chen was currently in his cave residence, cultivating in seclusion. That flying boat had been lent to his fellow Adept Jiang Yu for his three-year stint on the battlefield. Yet only two years had passed, so why was the flying boat returning?

While he was still uncertain, three figures shot into the sky from three different directions. They were Diwu Qi, Cen Qiusheng, and Fu Jiusheng.

At the same time, a figure flew out from the flying boat and headed straight for Snow Wolf Plateau. Upon closer inspection, it was Zeng Yilong, who seemed to be carrying an unconscious woman in his arms.

Yuan Xiaoyue had always been close with Zeng Yilong. When he was little, she had even taken care of him herself. Seeing him, she hurriedly flew over. "Yilong, what happened?"

Zeng Yilong, his face filled with anxiety, froze for a moment upon seeing her. "Senior Sister Xiaoyue, why are you here?"

Before she could answer, he spoke urgently, "Adept Jiang Yu has fallen in battle. His body is on the dragon boat. The alliance cultivators have suffered heavy losses. Ruoqi was struck by glacial demonic energy and is on the brink of death. Please ask Senior Brother Xu to inform the Supreme Elder and have him come out to take charge!"

At these words, everyone was shaken to the core. As the three Adepts rose into the sky, large numbers of cultivators also began to appear atop the surrounding mountain peaks. Figures emerged one after another.

***

"Supreme Elder!"

"You are Wang Yuan's disciple. Just call me Daoist Uncle."

"Daoist Uncle, you must save Junior Sister Ruoqi. She was injured because she blocked the aftershock of a third-tier demon king's attack for me."

Inside the cave residence, Luo Chen's gaze shifted between the woman lying on the ground and Zeng Yilong, who was kneeling before him. After a long moment, he withdrew his divine consciousness.

"Fear not, things are not as bad as you think. I can treat her."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Yilong could not help but reveal a look of joy. Even the scar on his face seemed less ferocious than before.

Luo Chen formed seals with both hands, but halfway through, he let out a muffled grunt. "Hmph!"

Zeng Yilong froze. "Daoist Uncle, what is wrong?"

Luo Chen shook his head. He was wearing a black Daoist robe with a large hood, so his appearance was entirely hidden. Zeng Yilong found it weird, but it was not his place to ask questions.

"It's nothing. But while I treat Ruoqi, tell me about what happened on the battlefield."

Zeng Yilong nodded repeatedly. After briefly organizing his thoughts, he slowly recounted the most terrifying scene buried deep within his memories.

"The Sword Enforcer Hall is just as you said. Most of the time, there really is nothing major going on. The primary duties are law enforcement, battlefield supervision, and rescue. Over the past two years, we carried out four missions in total.

"One was catching and killing a late-stage Initiate bandit. The man got greedy while attacking a third-tier spirit vein, and he took the opportunity to ambush a True Inheritor of a major sect. The Sword Enforcer Hall was furious and dispatched us on a thousand-li pursuit to hunt him down. Another mission was mediating a conflict between two major sects that nearly erupted into a full-scale war. They kept arguing over a captured third-tier spirit vein, tempers flared, and they nearly started fighting.

"The final mission was supporting a campaign to conquer a supreme-grade third-tier spirit vein located ten thousand li away from Defiant Howl's personal territory. Five sects joined forces to attack the place, and they went all in to seize it. The place had a lot of powerful demonic wolves defending it, but that was to be expected. What we didn't expect was that Defiant Howl would immediately dispatch some demon kings as reinforcements. Once we got the news, the Sword Enforcer Hall mobilized all forces to deal with those reinforcements and ensure the success of the campaign. We engaged them in battle... and I will never forget that battle for the rest of my life."