Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

In a setup between Yang, Metal, and Wood roots, Yang partially empowered Metal, Wood Ruined Metal, and Metal Controlled Wood. Yang did nothing to Wood at all.

With that particular combination, even when the Yang root did empower the Metal root a bit, it was still Ruined by the Wood Root. Going the other way around, if someone were to cultivate with the Wood root instead, they would still find the Metal root, which was empowered by the Yang root, being a burden upon the Wood root as it would be quite a bit stronger.

It was just such a bad combination of spirit roots that unless one root was particularly stronger than another root, it was always better for someone to resort to cultivating using their Yang root instead.

However, that combination wasn’t exactly what he was meant to be testing at the moment. Since this was Pearl’s spirit root combination, it needed to match that variable. Sadly, he just couldn’t do it.

Pearl had two Supreme spirit roots in Metal and Wood, which Alex had no way of replicating. As such, he could not possibly perform any test to figure out a solution.

All he could do was use the bits and pieces of clues he had received from performing all of the various tests and apply them to this particular issue to hopefully get a proper answer.

The facts were as such.

Pearl used to have a faster cultivation speed in the past when he only had a single Supreme Metal root, a somewhat superior Yang root, and a very inferior Wood root.

However, when he had evolved and pushed his Wood root to the Supreme Grade, his cultivation speed had dropped by about 20% according to him.

Despite that, however, Pearl had managed to reach a score of 91 in the Talent test.

And Alex had now come to learn more about Supreme roots, and the fact that they usually weren’t affected unless it was another Supreme root.

Taking in all that information, Alex began formulating a possibility which could explain everything.

”Pearl’s cultivation technique is a Metal-based technique, meant for the White Tigers. So whatever he cultivates, it’s almost entirely going to be affected by his Metal root,” Alex thought. ”Based on my tests, I know Yin and Yang roots can affect Supreme grade Roots, even if they themselves aren’t at the Supreme grade, so Pearl’s Metal root has to be affected by it somewhat.”

”That should make his Metal root slightly stronger than his Wood root. But since Wood Root has an advantage against Metal root, when they clash, it will either result in a stalemate or Wood root’s victory.”

In such a scenario, it would be much preferable for Pearl to cultivate using the Azure Dragon’s cultivation techniques. However, from what he understood, Pearl hadn’t received a cultivation technique at all, and there had been no one to teach him that either.

Unlike his White Tiger bloodline that was the strongest it ever was, his Azure Dragon bloodline was quite weak. As such, he hadn’t received the proper bloodline inheritance and only gained a few of the techniques the progenitor had.

”In that case, if he were to use a cultivation technique meant for Wood Qi, perhaps his speed would increase as well. Maybe it will return to how it was supposed to be.”

That felt a little impossible as well. It was clear that his Wood root wasn’t going to come out of this combination unaffected, so whatever cultivation speed a solo Wood root may have given him could not be gained.

Because of Pearl’s evolution to becoming a true hybrid Heavenly beast, his cultivation speed had ended up suffering. Based on the spirit root interaction, it would’ve been much better had he gotten the Tortoise half of the Black Tortoise’s bloodline.

But Pearl didn’t have such a choice.

”The decrease isn’t as high though. It hasn’t suffered all that much in the first place, only 20%,” Alex thought. While that was certainly a big difference when compared over many years, the number itself was smaller than it would’ve been if both spirit roots were not in the Supreme grade.

Them being in the Supreme Grade had somehow kept them from being fully affected.

”Wait...”

Something crossed Alex’s mind just then.

”Metal and Wood roots oppose each other. While one opposes more than the other, the weaker one is strengthened by the Yang root to a point where they are closer to being equal. In the case of equality, is it not the same as a Yin and Yang root?”

Alex had tested the two roots and understood just how differently they performed from any other roots. One moment they were at each other’s throat, neither letting the other get any peace. And then, at the other moment, they ignored each other and their speed reached a peak he hadn’t seen before.

Were the Metal and Wood roots in Pearl perhaps similar? Were they too flip-flopping around, which made it worse for one moment, and then great the other? That could lead the average to be weaker than that of a solo spirit root, but stronger if both were to be used at the same time.

”Perhaps there is a way to improve Pearl’s spirit root combination to make up for whatever is happening to him, but given that both of his roots are in the Supreme Grade, whatever can be done will certainly be quite difficult to find.”

That was the truth of the matter. As such, there was a much simpler solution.

”He should use a different cultivation technique,” Alex thought. Since he was actively ignoring his Wood root during cultivation sessions, should he make use of it, it would definitely improve him immediately. The improvement may even be to a point where it would be more than double his current speed.

That did require them to find a Wood root cultivation technique that was good enough to be used alongside a Heavenly Beast’s cultivation technique.

Thankfully, they were at the Sky God’s palace, which had exactly that.