Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex looked closer at the metal plate and could tell that it really was a formation.

It wasn’t a true formation, or at least a formation that the Humans had developed. It was more so a script written using runes that was developed by the Demons. It was what the people of Hell called a formation.

Alex stood by the side, watching the old man slowly carve away at the formation.

He appeared so gentle with it, using a hammer and a curved chisel to slowly carve away indents that formed the runes. Alex looked at the runes, trying to see what the script did.

The metal plate wasn’t even halfway done yet, so it was difficult to understand the exact purpose of the formation through the runes alone, but he could still try.

Alex looked through the various runes, quite surprised at how many the old man had already used. The runes were small, so in the large metal plate, there were hundreds that were being added in.

He saw runes for heat and barrier, for large and spherical, for illusion and deceit. There were so many different runes being used that Alex believed the old man was simply throwing in every rune to see what worked.

However, the more he looked through it, the more he understood the genius of the old man’s work. The runes were being placed around in such a strategic fashion that if it were a sound, it would certainly be a heavenly melody.

Alex was entranced by the runes, sometimes surprised at a few ones he didn’t even recognize. He had never yet seen runes he didn’t recognize. He kept watching, trying to figure out more of the script, but the old man was rather slow at making them.

He hadn’t even gone halfway through it, so it would take quite some time before he was done with it.

Alex thought for a moment and sat down by the well. The old man glanced in his direction just once before focusing back at his work.

Alex took a moment and pierced through the seal around his Soul Space to access it. He quickly searched inside and found what he was looking for.

Frostfire Inkbrush

It was an incredible brush with red and blue design on the shaft that could be twisted to reveal a pen nib from within the brush. The nib could be large or small, depending on how much one twisted the shaft.

Alex pulled the brush out of his Soul Space and revealed its nib before rolling it next to the old man.

The old man continued hammering away for a while until he finished the rune for ‘Hide’ and turned around. He took the brush off the ground and looked at it with a curious face.

“Do you want me to write you something? I don’t have any ink, I fear,” the old man said.

It took Alex a moment to realize he was joking. “The nib of that brush is incredibly sharp and robust. You can slice through metals as if a knife through a fruit. Use it to make the formation; you’ll have an easier time.”

The old man appeared surprised. He tested the nib on his finger and nodded as if impressed by the brush. And yet, he tossed it back toward Alex.

“Keep it. I can’t change my style now that I’m so deep into it,” the old man said and continued hammering away.

Alex took the brush and paused for a brief moment before letting Whisker place it into his Soul Space.

He then waited and watched as the old man got back to work. He continued adding on runes here and there, each one of which Alex took into note. He was confused in some instances because he didn’t know the rune that was used, and surprised in other instances how the old man had used a simple rune in a clever way.

He did it for a while before stopping and stepping away. He wasn’t done yet, barely through with three-fourths of the thing. But it seemed he was going to stop.

“You’re not going to continue?” Alex asked.

“No,” the old man said. “I find it that I do this better when I stop periodically and come back to it later. If I continue on without taking a break, I risk ruining it.”

Alex nodded. “Can I ask a question about the runes?”

“Sure.”

“What’s that one?” Alex pointed to one he didn’t know.

“Which one?” the old man asked.

“That, the one next to Heat. The one that ends in a curl,” Alex pointed.

The old man looked back at the metal plate. “There’s multiple Heat, young man. Which one are you talking about?”

Alex sighed and walked over. “That one on your lower left, with the Heat above it, and Stealth—”

Alex froze in his steps when he was close, his eyes narrowing as he looked away from the metal and toward the old man. Considering how long the old man had been around him, he was surprised it had taken him this long to sense this.

But then, the old man had never come closer than 3 meters from him, so it was no surprise it took Alex this long to find out.

“You’re… an Immortal?” Alex asked.

The old man paused and grinned. “Didn’t think you would figure it out yet. Quite the keen sense you’ve got there.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “You knew I was an Immortal all this time?” he asked.

“Hard to not figure that out when you’ve been openly showing off your Soul Space,” the old man said. “Did you think no one would notice?”

Alex didn’t know what to say. “I heard only people of the Endless Night sect were supposed to be Immortal here. Are you one of them?” he asked.

“I am,” the old man said. “And I heard you were supposed to be dead.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Death was said to have killed you a few months ago, and yet you’re still alive,” the old man said. “How?”