Rise of the Alchemy God

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The path leading from Sun City to Goldstone was flanked on both sides by a forest and a medium-sized lake.

The clear water of the lake sparkled in the sunlight, and the sound of the rustling green leaves of the Spirit Forest created a serene and harmonious atmosphere.

An atmosphere that sharply contrasted with the gruesome scene just ahead.

At the site of the incident, seven figures stood scattered across different parts of the area, each examining the surroundings.

Six of these figures wore white disciples' robes, with red stripes outlining the clothes and the image of a coiled phoenix on their backs.

On the left chest of each disciple, there was a silver emblem with an engraving that closely resembled the phoenix design on their backs.

These were all inner disciples of the Phoenix Sect.

The seventh person, however, stood out from the rest, as he wore a blue robe with golden trimmings and embroidery.

He appeared to be a man in his fifties, with a mix of long gray and black hair tied back in a half ponytail.

His expression was serious, and though he appeared calm, a faint murderous intent radiated from him.

A heavy atmosphere hung over the area, and all the disciples present felt the pressure of this atmosphere weighing on them as they searched for any clues that might help them understand what had happened.

Adding to this invisible and subtle pressure was the scent of blood lingering in the air, making it difficult for an ordinary person not to succumb to the tension here.

But it was different for these inner disciples.

They had spent years diligently cultivating, and each had seen their fair share of blood in their lives.

It wasn't uncommon for them to end up in difficult, often deadly, situations due to missions or conflicts with other groups.

This group had been carefully selected by Elder Léi for this rescue mission.

After examining the area for a while, one of the sect's disciples respectfully approached Elder Léi and said:

"Elder Léi, we've confirmed that none of these bodies belong to anyone from our sect."

He received a silent nod from the elder.

"We've verified that these are indeed the remains of the convoy the group of disciples was protecting.

However, aside from the remains of a few mercenaries and what we believe to be the merchant's subordinates, there doesn't appear to be anything else here.

From the battle marks, we can tell they weren't attacked by a group of beasts, but rather by a group of at least five people," the disciple stated, confirming what the elder had suspected upon arriving at the scene.

For an expert of his level, detecting these signs was easy.

Even more so, he could sense the remnants of spiritual attacks used here.

Though beasts were capable of unleashing Qi-infused attacks, their control over it would have been far more basic, not as refined as what he could perceive.

If that had been all, he wouldn't have been overly concerned and would have immediately tried to track the source of these spiritual energy traces, but there was a problem.

Upon arriving at the scene and trying to examine these traces, he felt a slight sense of unease.

He wasn't sure why, but these traces of spiritual energy were unusual, and they gave him a sense of danger.

From this, he could tell that the situation wasn't as simple as it seemed, and the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.

"We believe the merchant fled with them during the attack.

Based on the battle marks, we think the group headed into the forest."

The disciple finished and awaited the elder's orders.

Elder Léi nodded and spoke in a firm voice:

"I'll go first. You and the others, catch up with me as quickly as possible."

He had decided to move ahead alone to avoid wasting any more time.

With his strength, he could explore the direction the disciples had gone far more quickly.

He knew that was likely the right direction.

The intensity of spiritual energy in that direction seemed slightly stronger than in the rest of the forest.

He could also sense the traces of that strange spiritual energy he had felt here.

It was morning, and they had only just arrived at the scene a few minutes ago.

He knew he couldn't afford to waste any more time.

A faint purple aura enveloped his body, and small crackles of lightning could be seen flickering across it.

He lifted his body into the air and sped off in that direction.

Seeing this, the disciple who had approached earlier to report their findings couldn't help but sigh in awe.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's always amazing," he said, watching the display of a soul cultivation expert's abilities.

Like him, his fellow disciples admired this demonstration of power.

Then, one of them, still in awe, asked:

"By the way, does anyone know which beast soul Elder Léi is cultivating?"

The others also became curious and all turned to look at the disciple who had interacted with the sect elder.

This disciple, unlike the rest of the group, had been in the sect longer and had far more interactions with the elder.

In a way, he was their senior, so after the elder, he was the one leading this team.

Hearing the question from his companion and seeing that the others were also particularly interested, he spoke without scolding them or anything of the sort.

"I'm not entirely sure which beast soul Elder Léi is cultivating, but I've heard some rumors.

A couple of years ago, the elder supposedly defeated a mid-stage level 4 spiritual beast.

It's believed that the beast in question was a Purple Thunder Bird."

At the mention of this spiritual beast, everyone was slightly shocked.

Although finding a level 4 spiritual beast wasn't too difficult, finding one with a rare element like purple thunder was.

If the location of such a beast were discovered, many sects and experts would rush to subdue it and capture its soul.

It was known that among the various types of thunder, purple thunder was one of the rarest.

The power of this thunder was far superior to that of other types, which made it highly sought after by many cultivators, especially those with a strong affinity for the thunder element.

Those cultivators, in particular, would see a massive increase in their strength, and if they managed to cultivate the beast soul of such a creature, they would dominate over anyone at the same cultivation stage.

It was also said that the current sect master had an extremely rare beast soul, which is why she was considered one of the strongest experts in the Long Empire.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the disciple who had just spoken turned to his companions:

"Alright, let's stop wasting time.

We need to catch up to the sect elder quickly, or we'll be in trouble," he said,

then dashed at full speed in the direction Elder Léi had gone, followed by the other four inner disciples.

Thus, while this group was heading toward the presumed location of their sect's disciples, elsewhere in the forest, two individuals were swiftly passing through the trees, drawing closer to the scene of the incident.

***

Several hours passed, but eventually, the two arrived at the scene.

To avoid any delays and encounters with beasts, they had opted to stay on the outskirts of the forest.

The two moved at a speed that no ordinary person could reach, even if they were two or three times faster than usual.

Da Shu had been certain that his friend would tire at some point and wouldn't be able to keep pace with him.

But apparently, he was wrong.

Ethan had shown no signs of slowing down or fatigue the entire time.

His expression was like someone merely taking a light jog, which surprised Da Shu a little and made him doubt his friend's cultivation level.

But he didn't dwell on the subject.

For now, it was more important to reach the site of the incident.

Both knew that the escort group wouldn't still be there, but it was the only starting point they had, so they quickened their pace and headed toward it without stopping.

Because they hadn't taken any breaks, their travel time was much shorter than they had originally anticipated.

By the afternoon of the next day, both were almost at the site of the incident.

As they drew closer, Bai Yu's voice resonated in Ethan's mind.

"I sense the presence of two powerful auras a few miles from here," she said, alerting Ethan.

Her voice was calm, but at the same time a little confused, as if unsure of something.

Ethan could sense this and wanted to ask what it was about, but just then, as if to confirm Bai Yu's words, a loud explosion echoed from a location not far from where they were.

The force of the sound was so great that even the ground beneath their feet vibrated slightly, and powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy spread throughout the eastern part of the Spirit Forest.

Da Shu, who hadn't heard what Bai Yu had said, was caught off guard and almost fell.

"What in the world was that?" he asked in a voice tinged with fear and caution.

He, too, could feel the powerful spiritual energy fluctuations coming from the direction of the sound.

"I don't know, but I believe it's where the sect's rescue team went," Ethan replied with a serious expression.

He could tell from the spiritual energy fluctuations that someone powerful was fighting in that direction.

It didn't take long for him to figure out that it was probably the sect elder fighting someone there.

With his heightened senses, he could distinguish two different types of spiritual energy.

Bai Yu confirmed that one of them belonged to the sect elder, but the other...

She wasn't sure if it belonged to a person or a beast.

Da Shu, hearing Ethan's words, didn't ask why he thought that was where the sect's group had headed.

He, too, thought the same, as they were close to the site of the incident.

It was only natural to assume that this explosion of spiritual energy was due to the sect elder.

Da Shu didn't know the situation regarding the missing group of disciples, but if even the sect elder had to release his power, then the situation definitely wasn't good.

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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:

Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, don't hesitate to do so below.

See you tomorrow with another chapter.