Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Bladedance left to finish her cultivation that she had left to come meet him. It was going to take her another few months to properly be done with it, since that was the average time it would take for a Celestial to cultivate.

Once she left, Alex remained in the open room, with a lot of thoughts going around in his mind.

The biggest one was that his family was safe and sound in the Sky God’s Palace. He still found it quite difficult to believe that was real. He had been so worried that he would have to start searching for them, but it seemed none of that had been necessary.

That also stung a little, as his family had been waiting for him for nearly 2,000 years now, and because of the Gods’ decision to send him to Hell, they hadn’t gotten the chance to meet him.

He was nearly there too. Had he decided not to accept Silvermist’s offer to join the Alchemy Tournament and directly gone to the Sky God’s Palace, he would’ve been with his family already.

That didn’t mean that he hated Silvermist or anything. Just that there was another life he could have led where none of this would’ve happened.

’But then, if I didn’t go with Master to the Tournament, I wouldn’t have been sent to Hell. Hell is where I improved my physique. It’s where I met the Tree and the Guardian Tiger. It’s where I met Master,’ Alex thought. ’Without Hell, I would’ve likely failed to go to the Sun’s Talon realm, and the chances of me being a God or a Half-God would be nonexistent.’

Alex wondered if it was just meant to be. The prophecy of him meeting his Master, and him finding the people in the Void, along with the Book of Boundless Healing, had long since been foretold to him.

So he was always supposed to have gone to Hell, wasn’t he?

Alex ignored those thoughts. There was no point in mulling over what had been or could have been.

If things hadn’t gone the way they had, he wouldn’t have met Shumi either, so all was fine in the end. His family had to wait a little longer, but that was fine as well.

While it was over 1,500 years, it was good practice for how long they would have to stay separated as cultivators. There would come a time when tens of thousands of years away would feel like days too.

Alex pulled out a talisman and messaged Battlesage, alerting the old man of their arrival. He asked him to return as soon as possible. Hopefully, the old man would return within the week. Alex really wanted him to fix his Soul Space’s temporal script.

Alex called Pearl and the rest out, and together they sat at the balcony, overlooking the beasts and humans training in the fields outside.

After a while, the Beast God arrived.

“Senior tells me you’re looking for a place to get some people settled? What is this about?” the Beast God asked.

“Yes,” Alex said. “I know of a group of people that have nowhere else to go. I promised to help them relocate, so I’m looking for a place where they can.”

The Beast God twirled her locks in thought. “There might be a place to the west if they’re fine with being around beasts. If they have an issue, the Drunken Spirit Continent will be for them.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Does the Wine Continent not have beasts?”

“The other continent is not as accepting of beasts as we are,” the Beast God said. “My Master started the trend, and I kept it up, so we have beasts that live freely with the humans, but not everyone wants that. Those that don’t want it go to the other continent.”

“What about the Jade Lotus Continent? Any people staying there?”

“There are plenty, but they live around the coast. The central regions are heavily protected because of the Sacred Jade Lotus,” she said, her eyes narrowing for a moment. “Speaking of which, do you wish to use it?”

Alex blinked. “Can I? Wasn’t its usage restricted?”

“Restricted per my and the Wine God’s decisions. If we allow it, anyone can use it,” she said. “Although, I must warn you, its effects are far worse once you reach the Immortal realm, to a point that they might as well be nonexistent.”

“Well… then I’ll leave that decision up to you, Senior,” Alex said. “Whether I should or not, you can decide.”

The Beast God nodded. “It’ll take some months to settle the logistics anyway, so I can make a decision by then.”

Alex nodded. He would agree to anything she said.

“Although you should use it, just to see if it can heal your soul,” she said.

“Heal my soul?” Alex asked. “I’m not wounded though.”

The Beast God smiled, pointing to Pearl and the rest that were right next to him. “Your soul is stripped away each time you bond a beast. Most people are scared of bonding more than two, and you have three. Two of which are Heavenly Beasts. Your soul definitely needs some healing.”

Alex slowly nodded, although he still didn’t believe he needed anything.

“And Artifact Spirits too,” the Beast God suddenly said. “They take away not a small bit either. How many artifacts do you have with a spirit in them?”

“Uhh… three,” Alex said.

“Three?” the Beast God asked in surprise. “I am aware of the cauldron that evolved in the Medicine World. Did the others evolve, or…”

“No, one is a nascent spirit. Can’t even be called a spirit. The other one I found when it already had a spirit,” Alex quickly explained.

“Oh. Okay. That still makes six times that your soul has been stripped, and not a small amount at that. A cultivation session in the Sacred Jade Lotus wouldn’t hurt.”

Alex nodded in acceptance and then looked back at her. “May I ask how many times you’ve done it before, Senior?”