Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Pearl was wounded, his left arm bleeding and difficult to move. His right arm held the spear tightly, still strong, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last.

The Azure Dragon before him was so strong that it had barely taken any wounds at all. He supposed he should have known that by now. Defeating a beast this strong was impossible as he currently was, especially given how much he was still hiding.

Most of his White Tiger techniques were hidden, which would’ve given him quite the advantage. There was also the Mark of the King, which allowed him to improve his battle prowess by three more realms. There was even the Blood Essence that could give him a strong boost. Not to mention his physical body that could surely defeat the beast before him.

And yet, he could use none of them.

Using any right then would result in something bad happening to him afterward. Unless he was going to die, he would not use them.

Pearl took a healing pill out and ate it. Within seconds his wounds vanished, his arm as perfect as it had ever been. He took a deep breath, feeling his body rejuvenated, and then fell into a fighting stance as he prepared for the dragon’s next attack.

Which made him wonder. Why was the dragon waiting?

There was something strange about the beast’s fighting style. Each time it gave Pearl time to prepare and attack. After the first few bouts, where both had figured out that teleportation was not going to help them win the fight, they had fallen into this back-and-forth state.

“You want something from me,” Pearl said.

“I’ve said as much already,” the dragon answered, still in his human form.

“Then why don’t you come out and say it openly? What is it that you want from me?” Pearl asked.

The dragon smiled. “If I tell you, then you will never reveal it to me. I need to force you to show it to me.”

Pearl frowned. “What generation dragon are you?” he asked.

The dragon gave a curious look. “Fifth generation.”

“So the patriarch is your great-great-grandfather?” Pearl asked. “More like great-great-granduncle. Our bloodline follows the patriarch’s aunt’s,” the dragon explained.

“I see. My grandmother is the patriarch’s youngest daughter. If I had a strong enough bloodline to become an official Azure Dragon, I would’ve been considered a fourth-generation Azure Dragon,” Pearl said. “If any part of you has respect for seniority, then I ask you to explain what it is you want from me. Why do you attack me when you know you can defeat me? If it is something I can tell you, I will.”

The dragon was about to say something when it frowned. It looked at Pearl for a moment, staring directly into him as if trying to find a glimmer of a lie in his eyes, but was only met with a cold calmness that was the truth.

“Well then,” the dragon said, its stance changing from one ready to fight to one that just wanted to talk. “That changes things quite a bit. How can you teleport?”

“How? I learned the Dao,” Pearl said.

“Hmm, I thought I sensed it too,” the dragon said. “Well… now I don’t know what to do. Let’s pause our fight for now. I’ll return later if things change.”

Before Pearl could say anything or even attempt to show an emotion to the sudden change in the dragon’s attitude, it vanished from the place, gone beyond the range of his senses.

Pearl stood where he was, the healing energy left over in his body

slowly fading as there was nothing more to heal. As it faded, his body slumped a little, and confusion filled his mind in droves.

‘What the hell is going on?”

*****

Alex turned his attention toward Pearl to check up on him. After noticing the dragon’s departure, he was quite confused as well. It didn’t look like Pearl had won the fight. It wasn’t even like the last one, where the young female dragon had been attacked before she

ran away.

This one just left without continuing the fight, despite winning early

on.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Alex asked the woman who sat by the tree, attempting to cultivate.

The Azure Dragon had changed to her human form, not wanting anyone to recognize her for who she was. She opened one of her eyes and looked toward Alex.

“I did not speak any oath to answer your question, so I will answer them if I want to and not if I don’t,” the woman said. “You may ask as you wish.”

Alex scratched his head, wondering if the woman was going to be just as annoying to work with while he was there. Well, she had mellowed a little after learning he had many more healing pills, so she might come around if he could persuade her with them.

“You know about the hybrid despite having been here, so someone must’ve filled you in on who he is,” Alex said. “Is there a reason why you guys are trying to go after him?”

Azure Dragons were proud beasts that would not stay in a group at all, so seeing three in the same area could not have been a coincidence.

The female dragon kept quiet for a bit, and Alex almost believed she

had chosen not to answer his question. However, she spoke up.

“Before I answer that, I want to ask something,” she said.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“You used some space dao earlier,” she said. “How?”

“I learned them, of course,” Alex said with a shrug.

“You learned Space Daos?” she asked, seemingly unbelieving.

“You saw me use it, didn’t you? And since you’re an Azure Dragon, you

should’ve been able to sense the aura. It wasn’t some artifact or

technique. It was a genuine Dao.”

The woman couldn’t help but nod.

“In that case, I have another question,” she said. “How many space

daos have you learned?”