Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex found it difficult to imagine that Death could sense people this far away. This was a range where one would need to have unrestricted Spiritual sense to sense these things. Did Death have that?

‘No,’ Alex thought.

Even if she somehow had a way to ignore Hell’s restrictions, she would’ve long since located him when he was following her in the sky. And more than likely, he would’ve sensed her Spiritual or Divine sense as well.

Beyond that, he didn’t think she was capable of ignoring the restrictions.

‘Then why did she change her route?’ Alex thought.

He should’ve checked the first two times as well and seen if there were people up ahead. That would at least confirm his suspicions much more.

For now, this one information was all he had, and he could think of no other possibilities as to why Death would change her route except to avoid those who were up ahead.

‘If she really did want to avoid them, then what was the reason?’ he thought. ‘Was it for her sake, or for their sake?’

Did Death not want to kill people?

That statement alone sounded absurd to Alex. If Death didn’t kill, then who did?

‘But she couldn’t be afraid of these people, could she?’ he thought. He wanted to find out more. So, he flew down toward the settlement and arrived at their gates.

He walked a short distance to not let them see that he had flown in here. Whisker hid underneath his robes, witnessing everything along with Alex.

Whisker had better senses than Alex for now, so it was essential to keep him around.

The people of this settlement appeared to be members of the same tribe. They simply greeted Alex, asking if he was lost or if he needed help.

Alex greeted them back, saying nothing more except that he was nearby and thought to see what this place was. The people there appeared friendly, allowing him to stay for a few days if he needed to.

They understood the dangers of the world outside of the settlement, so they were more than happy to let anyone stay there if they wanted to.

Alex walked around, observing these people. None of these people seemed that strong at all, considering how close they were to the core region of Hell. They were at best around Immortal Transcendent realm in terms of physical strength, which was something everyone in the cities could reach by drinking just a single jar of Elixir.

Alex asked the people more about the settlement, learning about the place as he went.

They were the Dullshade tribe, and this was the Dullshade village. They were a small tribe that had been living in this region of Hell for long enough that they did not know where the original tribe members came from.

Alex asked them how they fed themselves when they were not so strong, and it appeared the answer was quite simple.

“There is a breeding ground nearby. We attack the ground and get what we need,” the people explained to Alex.

“There’s a breeding ground nearby? I haven’t actually seen one before at all.”

Breeding grounds were weird locations in Hell that seemed to pop out of nowhere. Beasts that were pregnant or needed to lay eggs found a safe region to give birth. When one beast found such a location, other beasts went there as well.

Soon, it became a nest of beasts with their spawns crawling all around.

Such a place was considered a safe region for all of the beasts, and none dared attack another newborn. These beasts would stay with their children for some time, helping them grow. Once they were big enough, they left their nest, becoming one of the many beasts in the desert.

Breeding grounds popped up regularly and randomly. No one could tell where was one or where one would grow.

But once one did pop up, it would generally last for a long time. Unless something drastic disturbed the peace around the breeding ground, those beasts wouldn’t leave the place.

It appeared that the people of the Dullshade tribe hunted these beasts exactly. The stronger ones hunted the beasts elsewhere, but they camped the breeding ground too and killed beasts that tried to leave it.

Most of their kills were young beasts that had only just matured and were ready to leave the nest.

It sounded quite harsh when just listening to what they did, but they had to do something to survive.

Alex roamed the place for a while longer before deciding to leave. However, as he was going to leave, he saw a small group of people gathered outside of a small hut.

Some of these people were bleeding and wounded.

“What’s going on? Are you guys hurt?” Alex asked the group.

“Yes,” a young man said. “We’re in line to get treated. If you are wounded, you should get in line as well. You will get treated too.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Who is the healer? What do they take as compensation?” he asked.

“Compensation?” the young man asked, and the others laughed. “We are one tribe. We help where we can and we do not seek to be compensated for that help. You need not worry about this costing you anything. Your wounds will be treated just like everyone else’s.”

A woman walked out at that moment, carrying a toddler on her back, tied with clothes.

“Is he sick again?” one of the people in the line asked.

“Didn’t you bring him here 2 days ago too? Did he not get better?” another one asked.

The mother appeared worried. “I don’t know what’s going on. He got better for a few days, but then went back to being like this again. I came to show him again, and I was given the same thing. I hope it works this time.”

Alex looked at the child, quickly realizing just how sick the child was.

He walked toward the mother. “Excuse me, would you mind if I took a look at him? I am a healer.”