His fate was predetermined: fight, defend, and perish with the stars, a mere cog in the great machinery of creation. But something within him resisted this cruel fate. A seed of defiance sprouted in his heart, whispering of freedom. He sought a way to transcend the cosmic chains—to escape, to defy destiny, to seize freedom at any cost. As a mortal, he felt the agony of watching his loved ones wither and die, powerless to stop the decay of time. He wept for children, lovers, friends. As an emperor, he conquered kingdoms and wielded unimaginable power, only to be betrayed by those he trusted most, dragged from his throne, and executed in shame. As a beggar, he wandered the streets, starving and shivering under the cold gaze of uncaring gods. As a villain, he became the monster in stories told to frighten children—burning cities, drowning nations in blood, only to be hunted and killed by the heroes of those same tales. As a saint, he gave everything—his wealth, his strength, his life—to others, only to discover that gratitude was fleeting and the world did not remember the sacrifices of the righteous. But, Every failure, every death, every betrayal—they were nothing but steps on a long, infinite path. And the path had only one direction: up, through the layers of existence, through the fabric of reality itself. No prison could contain him. No curse could hold him. His heart whispered one thing to him, a truth carved into his soul:Move forward. Always forward. Because he was Li Shenrong—the Lord of the Celestial Throne.
When li shenrong was waiting for the staff's appraisal, a young man approached him.
The young man was wearing an excuisite yellow robe with red dragon patterns drawn on it. He was full of smiles as he walked toward him.
"Greetings, sir alchemist."
Li shenrong nodded his head indifferently.
"Sir, alchemist, You can call me wu tong. May i have the honor to be acquainted with you." Wu tong smilingly spoke.
At first, wu tong was disdainful after seeing li shenrong coming out of the refinement room. He hid in a corner and witnessed the whole event.
He felt doubtful when the staff screamed about the pill being one hundred percent purity. Soon after, a sweet fragrance hit his nose, only then did he dare to believe it was a real one hundred percent purity pill. Disbelief and shock was the only thing that could describe his feelings.
Then he heard that it was an unknown 'soul and cage severing pill' with soul power amplification effect which could help someone break-through to spirit accumulation realm without any side effects.
He felt bewildered again. It could be said that the 'soul and cage severing' pill was complete revolutionary. Because the difficulty in stepping into spirit accumulation realm was extremely dangerous and arduous. But with the help of this pill it would be a different story.
If i can obtain this pill racipy, wouldn't our family have more spirit accumulation expert? Then we can be the holy city's overlord. I can make a great contribution to the clan and increase my influence to compete for young master's position.
Wu tong was tempted to snatch it from him but first he wanted to try soft handed methods.
For him, It would be good if li shenrong willingly sell the pill recipy.
Li shenrong understood the guy's motive. His lips curled into a faint arc as he replied.
"Li shenrong."
"So, you are alchemist li, it's an honor. I won't beat around the bush alchemist li, how about you sell this pill recipe to our wu clan? Our wu clan will definitely not mistreat you and offer you something of equal value. You will also be welcomed as our clan's special guest. You can also choose to work with our wu clan, you'd definitely be able to achieve greater merits with your talent." Wu tong spoke proudly as he stared at li shenrong.
If this guy is smart, he'll understand his position and accept the deal.
Wu tong thought the recipe was already in his hand.
"What price do you think is equal to my unique pill recipe, which is the only one in the world." Li shenrong asked in a serious tone as if he was considering the offer.
Wu tong felt the cat was already in the bag so he thought for a while and said.
"Indeed, your pill is extremely magical and unique. And the pill recipe is thousand times more valuable than the pill itself. How about this, you can choose any treasure from our clan's treasury."
"The whole of your clan's trash treasury won't be equal to my pill recipe." Li shenrong shook his head and said.
Wu tong was stunned for a moment.
"Do you want to die? How dare you humiliate our wu clan!" Wu tong flew into rage out of humiliation as he spoke with a chilling glare.
How dare this puny bastard toy with me. I'll make him suffer a life worse than death.
"I am humiliating not only your wu clan but also humiliating you. What can you do about it?" Li shenrong provoked him further. He doesn't mind killing some blind fools.
"Bastard, i'll tear you to pieces." Wu tong was livid from anger. But he still restrained himself. This was wu clan's alchemy shop, he doesn't want to break the rules wantonly.
"Alas, you don't have the ability." Li shenrong laughed.
"Good good good. I'll see you outside, you can not hide inside the shop forever." Wu tong turned around and left.
Li shenrong, laughed disdainfully. Wu tong was just a peak bone tempering realm expert. Li shenrong could kill him with a flick of his finger.
Soon, the staff walked in, at the front was an old man. The old man had a golden badge on his chest. It meant he was a grandmaster alchemist.
Apprentice, alchemist, master, grandmaster, great grandmaster, supreme grandmaster, alchemy god and the highest stage of alchemy was becoming an alchemy emperor.
In the wu clan, there are three grand master alchemist and the old man was one of the them.
"Sir, may i take a look at the pills you made?" The old man asked politely.
Li shenrong gave him the pill bottle which had nine pills lying inside.
The old man observed and exclaimed in surprise.
"It really is one hundred percent purity pill. Goodness, this is unbelievable. Hahaha." The old man was so happy and excited that tear's fell from his eyes.
"All my life I devoted in alchemy, never found the door to increase my pill's quality over sixty five percent. This is a godsend opportunity, heaven really is not blind hahaha."
Li shenrong was amused at the old man's reaction. This old man was an alchemy fanatic.
"Great grandmaster, you graced us with your presence, it is an honor for our entire wu clan. Allow this old man to serve you with greatest hospitality." The old man spoke in an extremely respectful tone, afraid that li shenrong would scold him for being negligent.
"No need, i'll sell the pill's to your shop. Determine the value and send me the money." Li shenrong waved his hand and walked away.
"Please rest assured, I'll personally carry this out." The old man's gaze fell on the staff behind him who was shocked into a statue.
The old man snorted and slapped the staff's cheek, making it flushed red.
"Go, serve the great grandmaster properly. Do not slack off, or else i'll break your third leg." The old threatened.
The innocent staff nodded like chicken pecking on rice. He wanted to cry but no tears came out.
Break my third leg if i am negligent? What does it have to do with my third leg. Unreasonable old man.