Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

With her domain broken, Fairy Xin quickly realized that the ones who called themselves Gods should have noticed the happenings of this courtyard.

She grabbed the unconscious Shumi and arrived next to Windborn. “Dumei, we need to leave. Now.”

Windborn pointed to Alex in a hurry. “He’s unconscious. I can do it.”

Fairy Xin took a fraction of a second to consider it. “If you fail, do not let them capture you. May the nine moons shine upon your fate.”

Windborn nodded. “May the Goddess embrace your fate.”

The two parted ways. Windborn moved toward the unconscious Alex, while Fairy Xin took Shumi and flew away.

The moment she departed, the ice dome behind her melted away, turning into nothing more than a cloud of Water aura and Yin aura.

Fairy Xin knew she had to move away quickly, but something caught her attention. She looked around her, trying to sense what it was. She could tell something was off, but it wasn’t something she could grasp.

She flew away from the courtyard, conscious of where the Gods would be just behind her. She couldn’t sense any divine sense yet, so she was fine. But soon, she wouldn’t be.

She looked down at the people as she passed, hoping they wouldn’t notice her. She was hiding herself and Shumi, but who knew what sort of people would be below her?

As she passed one of the roads, something strange caught her eye.

When she passed the next road, she looked for the same strangeness, and it caught her eye again.

The people on the road were moving at a snail’s pace. No one, not a single human, moved as quickly as they should. They appeared sluggish, as though moving through honey.

‘They’re slowed,’ she thought. ‘But why?’

She couldn’t understand. Did that mean she was slowed too? Was that what the strange feeling was? Was she captured in some sort of time formation?

‘No, I would be slowed down too,’ she thought. ‘Then it must be the opposite. My time must be accelerated instead.’

She had figured it out, but it made no sense still. Why would she be in a surrounding with accelerated time? How was it around her in the first place?

‘Think less,’ she told herself. ‘You need to move now. You cannot let them get their hands on the Goddess.’

She was ready to move. But just as she was about to, she heard someone speak.

“Greetings, Daoist. Would you mind if we had a small talk?”

Fairy Xin spun in the direction of the voice, but she saw no one. She turned around again, searching for more, but she didn’t see the person.

“Who is this? Where are you?”

“I have chosen to keep myself hidden for the time being so you don’t attack me out of some misguided sense of self-preservation. I do not wish to bring harm to you or your companion, nor do I want to capture you,” the person spoke again, the voice clearly belonging to a man.

“Is that so?” she asked, using her divine sense to try and find him, but he was too good at hiding.

What did it mean? What did it mean that there was someone who could hide from her divine sense? Was it a technique, or was he stronger than her?

“If not to hurt or capture, what do you want from me?” Fairy Xin asked the man.

“As I said, I just want to have a small talk.”

Fairy Xin began to get nervous by the second. Time was sped up for her, yes, but the Gods would still be here anytime soon. Her eyes perked up, and she looked around her again.

“Are you one of those Gods?” she asked.

“Please, just a small talk.”

“No!” Fairy Xin said and turned to leave. Whatever the man was trying to do, she wouldn’t be a part of it. She ran, flying across the city, but the city never ended.

She flew and flew, but the city continued underneath her. She became very conscious of where she was and started trying to figure out what sort of illusory formation she had been put under.

It was then she noticed something. Similarities. Every few seconds, she would arrive right back above the streets she had first been standing over, as if she was being teleported against her consent.

She stopped, horrified. She hadn’t even realized it was happening to her.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“Just a concerned party,” the man said. “And again, I just want to have a small talk.”

“What talk?” she asked, her anger beginning to touch her voice.

“About your departure,” the man said. “I would like to ask you to not leave this city with her for the time being.”

Fairy Xin grew suspicious. “Why not?”

“She needs to remain here for some time.”

“Why?” Fairy Xin demanded.

“Because of her immunity. Her presence means a great lot in this place, especially when accompanied by the young man you just left behind. Which is why I ask that you do not leave for a while.”

Fairy Xin frowned. “What about the young man? What does he have to do with this?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?” the man asked. “He is the counterpart to your Goddess. A Yang to her Yin.”

Fairy Xin fell into some thought, confusion flashing through her eyes. “The records speak of only the Goddess. There is no counterpart to her.”

“Your records are incomplete; a flaw of the world your ancestors used to live in. That young man is just as special as the young lady in your embrace,” the man said.

“No, that can’t be. There cannot be two of them. There is only one true God.”

The man didn’t say anything for a while, making Fairy Xin fear that she might have offended him somehow.

“You may be correct,” the man said. “But we cannot know anything for certain. What I can tell you for certain is that your friend back there will fail. The young man will prevail. And yet, I still must ask you to stay back.”

“And get caught by the other Gods?” Fairy Xin asked.

“You won’t. I will promise you that.”

“You are strong, but are you stronger than the Gods present in this city?” Fairy Xin knew the strength of these Gods. She had seen her elders fight them during the war.

“No, I am not. There are two here that are perhaps far stronger than me,” the man said. “But I do have some tricks of my own that can help you.”

“And will they protect us?” she asked.

“Look below you.”

Fairy Xin narrowed her eyes at the suddenness of the command. She slowly looked down at the bustling crowd that moved ever so slowly. She wondered what he could have wanted her to—

She froze. “That’s… impossible. How?”

“Now do you trust that I can protect you?” the man asked.

Fairy Xin breathed harder and harder. The thing she saw below should have been impossible. And yet…

“Okay, I will stay,” Fairy Xin said. If the man wanted her here, he could keep her here. “But for how long?”

“Precisely ten days,” the man responded. “After ten days, you are free to make your way to the Eclipsing Heaven Realm.”