An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 16: You Deserve to Die, You Truly Deserve to Die

A stern shout erupted into the night sky, "The Dajiang Gang is handling business here. Bystanders, step aside!"

Luo Chen froze momentarily, then was overwhelmed with joy.

Carrying his snakeskin bag, he hurried toward a dark alley, retreating backward as he fled.

His gaze remained fixed on the four individuals, afraid that they might casually launch an attack against him. Under his observation, he realized the four weren't a group. Clearly, three cultivators were vaguely encircling a man who was closer to his side.

Due to the night and the fact that their backs were turned, Luo Chen couldn't discern their expressions.

However, when the man spoke, Luo Chen could roughly guess his expression, for he was familiar with the person being surrounded.

"Li Zixiong, do you know what I do, are you sure you want to stop me?"

"Stop you? Kill you! You, Wang Yuan, are just a scoundrel who handles dirty work for the Poshan Gang. Do you think anyone's truly scared of you?"

"Kill me? With just you and these two stage five cultivators?"

"Enough, attack!"

A thunderous shout signaled the start of the battle.

Meanwhile, a certain bystander had retreated into the dark alley.

Luo Chen's heart raced, his face slightly flushed; anyone who didn't know might think he was fighting.

In truth, it was rare for him to witness a cultivator skirmish, and he was overly tense.

He had heard of the Dajiang Gang and Poshan Gang.

The Dahe Market was established by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, and its main administrators were their powerful members.

Within the market, businesses aside from those owned by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect were run by the other five great sects of the The Far East Six Domains.

However, a large market with tens of thousands of rogue cultivators was bound to have a highly complex structure.

Especially near the Great Million Mountains in the Eastern Wilderness, where there were abundant resources that many coveted. There were so much resources there that even the scraps from that place could provide rogue cultivators with a comfortable living.

Thus, over the years, three formidable forces had emerged in the Dahe Market.

Aside from the foreign Lianyun Trade Alliance, there was the Poshan Gang.

The Poshan Gang thrived off the mountain, most rogue cultivators hunting there would join them. They banded together to hunt demons and, when encountering lone rogue cultivators, were fine with killing them for their treasures.

Then there was the Dajiang Gang, who lived off the Lancang River. The benefits brought by that river, in some ways, made the Dajiang Gang as powerful as the Poshan Gang.

On the surface, the two seemed to keep out of each other's way.

Yet, where there were people, there was conflict. Friction and skirmishes were not uncommon.

And this time, Luo Chen witnessed it firsthand.

Of course, from the daytime conflict and Wang Yuan's earlier conversation, Luo Chen had pieced together some truths.

This fight, while partially sparked by the longstanding discord between the two gangs, had more to do with the enchanted artifacts Wang Yuan had been selling.

As expected, the original owners of those blood-stained artifacts were members of the Dajiang Gang, likely relatives or friends of Li Zixiong.

Huddled in the alley, Luo Chen held his breath, concentrating.

He had the urge to watch the fight outside but, after a brief thought, decisively took another small path home.

Such a fight was beyond his capacity to involve himself in.

Standing by and watching might very well cost him his life.

"Since Brother Wang lent me the book earlier today, it feels a bit ungrateful to be doing this."

Luo Chen wasn't someone to forget favors, but with only a stage three cultivation, risking his life to help would likely only cause more trouble.

Thus, slipping away was the best option!

A few minutes later, Luo Chen entered another alleyway.

If he remembered correctly, there was a small grove at the end of this alley, and passing through it would bring him close to home.

Just as he planned to quicken his pace, the sound of rushing wind came from behind him.

Luo Chen turned abruptly and, under the moonlight, saw a figure. He quickly hid at the alley's corner, concealing himself.

It was one of the two fifth stage Qi-Refining cultivators.

He seemed to be

Now, in his rushed state, it couldn't even withstand the third fireball before collapsing entirely.

By the end, the fireballs were no longer hitting a person but a charred corpse.

Luo Chen leaned against the wall, his face pale as a sheet and his body trembling uncontrollably.

A man may have no intention of harming a tiger, but the tiger might still want to kill the man.

He had no intention of starting any conflict, yet other party wanted his life!

Had it not been for the other party’s depleted enchanting power and poor condition, along with his constant vigilance and quick use of the enchanted sword and robe to block the initial shadow attack, he would have been dead by now.

Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen forced himself to stand. "You deserve to die! You really deserve to die!"

There was a deep hole as thick as a finger on his abdomen and he could feel something like a nail inside his body, causing him unbearable pain.

Enduring the pain, Luo Chen walked up to the pile of charred remains.

The guy was completely burned, and his mid-grade robe was utterly tattered, devoid of its earlier luster.

As Luo Chen poked around with his broken sword, his eyes lit up. "At least something was left behind."

A pitch-black storage pouch was hidden beneath the tattered robe.

Just as he picked up the storage pouch and before he could celebrate, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the rooftop.

Looking up, he saw under the moonlight a burly man holding a large blade, carrying two heads, descending like an eagle.