Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The Pill Clouds were a manifestation of the Heaven, so theirs was the only authority it accepted.

However, because the Heaven itself was a manifestation of the Intent of the two True Gods, they could use that connection to provide their authority to the Pill Clouds. That way, they had a say in what the Pill Clouds did.

Alex could tell that the Heavens were trying to relinquish their control over the Pill Clouds, but failing to do so each time because he couldn’t create a proper connection. There was some sort of barrier stopping it from happening, which Alex understood to be his seal around the Sun God.

It made him realize that he was as close to a Sun God as he could possibly be without actually being him. Had he been the Sun God, he wondered just how much easier it would’ve been to form this Creation.

Thankfully, what he had gained was more than enough for him to start learning more about the Pill Clouds.

He understood the basic principle of the Pill Clouds, which was to gather energy from the area and convert it into a bolt of lightning. How it did that was beyond Alex’s understanding just yet, but he would slowly get there.

He had barely begun learning when Memory’s call distracted him. Only then did he realize that Memory had taken over six Pill Lightnings already, and after the next one, she would be unable to handle anything else.

The barrier surrounding Memory shattered after the seventh Pill Lightning, and Alex provided his blood aura to stop the final two. Once the Pill Lightnings had all struck, the Pill Clouds vanished.

Alex remained where he was, his mind focused on analyzing the

information he had received from the clouds. It hadn’t been a lot, but what he had gotten was important.

The cloud itself was formed out of a combination of various auras that Alex wasn’t sure if he wanted to break down. Breaking it down would make things easier, but that would also make it harder to absorb the combined aura as a whole.

Besides that, he also couldn’t help but think about the near

connection he had made with the Heaven that could have given him authority over the Pill Clouds. If he gave some leeway to the Sun God’s seal, could he gain a connection to the Pill Clouds? That would help him a lot.

‘No,’ he told himself in the end. Whatever he had to do, he wasn’t going to give the Sun God a chance to return. Any mistake could result in a catastrophe for him after all.

Alex thought for a moment longer, preparing to make the next pill. His mental pills were still in effect, so he needed to get right into it. However, before he could start, he saw Shumi, who had been patiently waiting for him to continue. As soon as he saw her, his eyes widened slightly.

“Shumi!”

Shumi blinked in surprise. “Yes?”

Alex felt as if he had found a way to cheat now. “Can you do me a favor?” he asked. “When the Pill Clouds form next, try and connect to them. I believe the Moon Goddess should be able to do it.”

Shumi blinked for a moment. “Okay,” she said, unable to truly understand what it was that he was asking for until she actually did it.

Alex began making the pill right away, moving through the session with the relative swiftness he could muster while holding on to as much mental energy as he could.

At the same time, Shumi prepared herself, staring at the sky as she waited for the clouds to form. It wasn’t long before they started

appearing from all around, suddenly arriving atop them. Immediately, Shumi sent her senses to the sky, trying to connect to it as Alex had asked.

As she tried, something did happen. She could feel something move away from her presence, slowly allowing for a free space where she could move in. As soon as she did, she felt as if she was floating in the sky, looking down at everything.

A strange feeling blossomed in her heart, a sense of duty. She was the protector of this world and the one who balanced everything within it. When something became too big, she came down to test whether it deserved to fly that high. Anyone who couldn’t was beaten down, the power stripped away from them.

She was the arbiter of their fate.

“Strange,” Shumi said out loud. “This must be the Heaven’s Intent. It’s so strong, it’s nearly taking over my own thoughts.”

Alex had the smallest bit of his focus on Shumi, but upon hearing her words, he was forced to put more of it on her. “Take over your thoughts?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s a strong Intent that is interfering with me now that I’ve connected to it.”

“The Heaven’s Intent?” Alex asked.

“Has to be, right?” Shumi said. “It can’t be the Pill Cloud’s Intent.”

“Maybe it is,” Alex said. “I’ll see what I can find out. See if you can keep the pill lightning from falling for as long as you can.”

Shumi nodded, getting to it.

Alex gave his all to learning what he could from the Pill Cloud this

time around, which did last a long time. He analyzed each aspect of it. The more he continued, the more he came to understand that there just wasn’t a way for him to do this without breaking down what made the clouds.

He had been given this opportunity to learn, so he could at least not let it go to waste. So, Alex began looking into the inner workings of

the cloud, seeing what it did.

The Pill Clouds remained seemingly frozen for many minutes while Alex studied every second of that. Then, after such a long time had passed, they finally moved, gathering energy once again to form a bolt

of lightning.

Shumi staggered next to him, her breathing ragged.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m just not strong enough to keep going

anymore.”