Rise of the Alchemy God

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The arrival of a being at the fifth stage of cultivation had alarmed all the major powers of the Long Empire.

From the White Tiger Kingdom to the Phoenix Kingdom, all the top forces could sense the presence of this strange existence that had appeared out of nowhere.

Naturally, this raised many questions and led many to decide to investigate the matter further.

The appearance of another fifth-stage being could be either a cause for celebration or concern.

It should be noted that currently, only a few beings at this level existed in the empire, and all of them held very high positions in the realm.

From the three masters of the empire's top sects to the emperor himself and the crown prince, all of these figures held prominent positions, some more influential than others.

The emergence of another being at this level could potentially disrupt the balance of power carefully established over centuries by these five individuals.

Certainly, the imperial family wielded the greatest power, managing the other forces in the empire, but that didn't mean the three ruling sects lacked influence.

Each of them controlled key aspects of the empire, from its protection to its economy, and so on...

They were pillars of the empire, each crucial in its own right.

The arrival of a new pillar would unsettle the balance of all the others because, depending on who it was and their intentions, it could lead the empire into a new era of prosperity, or ruin.

This was what everyone powerful enough to sense the aura of the new being was contemplating.

Only those at the peak of the realm, the pillars of the empire, could tell that this new presence was far from good news.

They could sense that the being in question wasn't human, nor did it seem to be a beast.

In other words, it was something else.

Something dark and malevolent, constantly exuding a sinister aura.

If not for the fact that Crown Prince Long Jian was already on the scene, some others would have considered acting personally to eliminate this sudden threat.

They could tell that both sides were evenly matched in terms of sheer strength, and they wanted to wait and see how the situation would unfold.

If it worsened, they would act. Otherwise, they would observe the battle from their residences.

The one closest to the battlefield was, of course, the Phoenix Sect, as the fight was taking place in a region within the Phoenix Kingdom.

Most likely, it would fall to the sect master of the Phoenix Sect to intervene if necessary.

She had already heard about the distress signal that had reached the sect the day before, so she had a vague idea of what was happening there.

She just wondered how the situation had escalated to this point.

She had decided to personally investigate the incident once the sect elder had brought everyone back.

With her perception, she could tell that they had all managed to survive the incident, an unexpected outcome given the magnitude of the event.

She was especially curious about one individual in particular.

"It seems I wasn't wrong about him after all," she thought, sensing a faint aura currently darting through the Spirit Forest.

She hadn't been able to witness the entire incident, so she couldn't say exactly what her disciples had faced.

So, after the appearance of the being, she expanded her senses throughout the Spirit Forest and managed to locate the sect elder, as well as the disciples who had set out to rescue the team in danger.

Although she was at the fifth stage of cultivation, even for her, it was difficult to keep her spiritual senses active over a vast area for too long, especially in this case, where the area spanned several miles from the Phoenix Sect.

Therefore, among the few things she was able to pick up from her scan of the forest was the aura of this particular disciple, who had been saved by her over a year ago.

At her level, few things could be hidden from her, so the moment she sensed his presence, she realized the disciple had already advanced to the second stage of cultivation.

Judging by the intensity of the Qi within him, she could tell he had made good progress in this stage.

Over the past year, he had been checking in on Ethan's progress and learned that he had been stuck at a bottleneck, unable to break through even in the Body Refining stage.

A rather strange situation, as anyone who reached this point could at least manage to advance past the Body Refining stage.

Even more unusual was that, after several months, he still hadn't made any progress and remained stuck at the same point.

The more she heard about this disciple's lack of progress, the more she felt her intuition had been wrong this time.

She had all but given up hope for this disciple and stopped checking in on him.

Only yesterday, when she sensed two individuals sneaking out of the sect, did she remember him.

She wondered what had happened to him in recent times to allow him to advance so quickly in such a short time.

For a moment, she considered questioning him upon his return, but then, upon further reflection, she dismissed the idea.

Everyone had their secrets, and it wasn't unusual to find people in the cultivation world who had some fortuitous encounter.

It was normal to find individuals who one day were nobodies and the next had suddenly become someone remarkable.

'Hm, perhaps I could try this.

I don't think he'll refuse, after all he'd only benefit from it.'

With this thought, the Phoenix Sect master made her decision.

Whether this decision would ultimately benefit Ethan or not, no one could say.

Including Ethan, who at that moment had nearly reached the outer edge of the Spirit Forest.

'What was that sudden chill?' he thought, feeling as though some beast had set its sights on him.

Ethan couldn't figure out what it was.

It felt like a fleeting sensation, lasting less than a second, so he didn't give it much thought.

But the same couldn't be said for Bai Yu.

Even though the gaze from the sect master had lasted only an instant, it was enough for her to pinpoint its origin.

'It seems she's finally noticed him,' she thought, choosing to remain silent on the matter.

Judging by her instincts, there hadn't been any malice in that earlier glance, at most, a bit of curiosity.

She knew that Ethan's progress couldn't remain hidden forever, and sooner or later, it would attract attention.

Having been a figure of some standing in the past, she understood that it was impossible for him to continue cultivating and advancing at such a pace without drawing the attention of the fifth-stage figure from the Phoenix Sect.

The only reason he had stayed under the radar was that most of the time, he spent his days in his minor dimension, and it was there that he had broken through the various levels of his stage.

That was how he had managed to keep a low profile for so long.

She didn't give the matter too much importance.

As long as it wasn't dangerous for Ethan, it was fine.

At the moment, her mind was elsewhere.

'That man clearly had demonic Qi within him.

Even if it was a small amount, it shouldn't be here in the first place.

Could the seal have been broken?'

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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.