Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The Serenading Cicadas were similar to the Dragon-Blooded Pillbugs in that they didn’t have a single controlling figure that could be directly bonded.

Instead, they had to be trained on the person’s aura and the unique essence of their soul.

Blueflake prepared the food for the cicadas by mashing in the various ingredients together, ready to feed them. She stopped right before placing the food down and turned around.

“Would you mind standing a little further back? I don’t want them to be confused by your aura,” she explained.

Alex understood exactly what she meant, so he nodded and moved a few steps back without saying anything. Once he was far enough, he stood with his arms behind his back, watching Blueflake continue from where she had stopped.

Alex could see an increase in the aura surrounding her, as if she were trying to get the insects used to it. According to the instructions he had been given, he needed to do something similar as well.

Since he only fed blood, it would already carry his aura, but if he wanted to expedite the process, he would have to flare up his aura each time he fed the insects.

With Blueflake showing off her aura, it helped the cicadas learn who their feeder was. The feeding process itself took no more than half an hour, and once they couldn’t eat anymore, she simply sat in the meadow amidst the cicadas.

She turned toward Alex. “I’m done feeding them for the day. They will need feeding again in three days,” she explained.

Alex gave a firm nod. “You’re staying there to get them more used to your aura, right?”

Blueflake nodded.

“In that case, I should feed my insects too,” Alex said, sitting down. He brought out a small cauldron and placed the Dragon-Blooded Pillbugs inside them before cutting his palm atop them.

Blueflake raised an eyebrow upon seeing the insects. “What are those?” she asked.

Alex looked at her. “You don’t know?”

The woman shook her head. “I’ve never seen them before.”

Alex couldn’t help but feel a little amused. “Are you saying you’ve never been to the end of the hall?”

“Us disciples aren’t allowed to go further than Grade 7,” she explained. “But I know the insects in Grades 8 and 9, and those aren’t the ones there.”

“Do you know about Grade 10?” Alex asked her.

“I know there is one. I’m not entirely sure what it is,” she explained without much thought before she seemed to realize why Alex had asked her that in the first place. “Wait… are those…”

“These are the Grade 10 insects, the Dragon-Blooded Pillbugs,” Alex explained.

“What?!” the young woman shouted in surprise, failing to keep her composure. “There’s… there’s no way those are the Grade 10 insects.”

“I have no reason to lie to you,” Alex said. “There’s a reason I’ve been given the chance to follow you. It is so I may learn what I must do and not screw up these insects.”

The woman failed to comprehend how it was possible that Alex had gotten himself the Grade 10 insects. Even now, she didn’t fully trust him.

However, it was impossible that she couldn’t recognize any of the other insects, and these were definitely ones she had never seen before.

So either Alex had managed to find insects that she had never been taught about, or he had indeed gotten the Grade 10 insects. The latter would explain the Insect Sage and Reverend Strongclaw’s attitude toward him.

“What do they do?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

“Apparently, they can come together to learn and emulate some sort of aura,” Alex said. “I’m not entirely sure how that works, but there is some information to help me learn along the way.”

“Oh. And what do they eat?”

“Blood,” Alex said. “But not just any kind, rather a special one.”

“I see,” she said, not daring to ask what was so special about the blood.

The tiny insects seemed to come alive in the presence of Alex’s blood, almost as if they lived only to be fed and nothing else.

As per the talisman, these insects would have to be fed for a long time before they were satisfied enough to finally start working. It also took a while for them to lay more eggs, which would then begin the same long process of feeding.

While the ten little bugs fed on the blood he bled into the cauldron, Alex finished reading through the talisman and put it away.

The remaining information was regarding the soul resonance and Fastening of the bugs, and Alex wanted to learn that practically through observing Blueflake.

After a while, Blueflake had nothing more to do there, so she gathered the cicadas and spoke of her intent to depart for the moment.

Since the insects only needed to be fed every three days, there wasn’t much left for Alex to do there either, so he decided to leave as well. He would return when something new happened with the cicadas.

With Blueflake leaving, Alex returned to the palace, making his way back to where Whisker and Battlesage were staying. He walked inside and was immediately bombarded with words he wasn’t ready for. They both spoke at once, their sentences slurring together into a mess.

“Slow down,” Alex quickly said. “One at a time, please.”

Whisker fell silent and turned toward Battlesage, letting him speak.

“Okay, so we’ve thought of an incredible idea on how to deal with the temporal issues in your Soul Space,” the old man said.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Are you not just doing what was there to begin with?” he asked. “What’s this new idea that’s so incredible?”

The old man grinned. “It’s definitely inspired by the old scripts that were there. And truthfully, I might even just be adding onto what existed in the past, but I truly do believe this to be an idea that you will certainly love.”