Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Alex wasn't entirely sure whether he wanted the old man to stay with him or leave with his master.

He considered all of his options as closely as possible.

"The main reason I would want senior to stay with me is because I need him to help change how the third mountain functions. I don't know how far along he has come, or how much longer it would take, which is mostly why I would want him around."

"But at the same time, I understand how selfish it is of me to keep senior here when I don't even know how long I'm going to stay here. It could be decades before I get the chance to leave here, in which case, you would be correct, master. I would not have the time to help him with anything, and he would be alone here."

Bladedance thought for a moment. "Do you think it is important that the mountain change how it acts?" she asked.

"The time manipulation there is spread among specific rooms. If I could get it to act in one location, I could use it to grow my own ingredients at a tremendous rate. If I could have just a small patch focused fully with sped-up time, I could grow Immortal rank ingredients in mere years. That sort of speed is not something I can give up on."

Bladedance narrowed her eyes. "That is true," she said. "But that is also selfish."

"I know," Alex said. "That's why I want senior to make the decision for himself."

Bladedance agreed.

Battlesage had a question. "I don't need to be with you to do that though, do I?" he asked.

Alex paused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I can spend the next few weeks going through those rooms and runes and everything I could find for now. And then I can work on them in my own time while I'm gone. Then once you get out of this world, you can come find us and I'll fix it then. Surely I'll have come up with a solution to your issue by then."

"That's… not entirely impossible," Alex said. "You surely know more than me about runes and scripts, so I will let you be the judge of that. If you can gather all the information you need within the next two weeks, and then spend the next decade or two in the other world fixing this very issue, then that works perfectly for me."

Battlesage smiled. "That is great then. I will leave."

"So that is your decision," Bladedance said. "It's a good decision. I just can't see you enjoying your days to the fullest if you were to spend all your time trapped in palaces doing nothing."

She turned her head. "Speaking of which, what are you going to do while we're away? Young Pearl will have his family to spend his time with. What about you? I thought you were worried about your family."

Alex sighed deeply. "I am," he said. "But I will have to wait with Pearl. I might have a thing or two that are important for me too."

Bladedance shrugged. "When you're free, prepare some information about your family for me to take away. Once I'm at the Sacred Lotus Dominion, I will send it to the Sky God. She can go ahead and start searching for your family if they aren't already there."

Alex's eyes slowly widened. He hadn't even considered that option.

"That would be great, master. I won't have to worry so much about wasting my time if you can do that for me."

"It's a simple task," Bladedance said. "So long as you can be without worry and not have to suffer while fighting your Inner Demon, I will have done my job as your master."

Alex smiled. "In that case, I will make full use of my time," he said. "Perhaps, when I leave here, I will have figured out what I want for my Creation."

"You still aren't sure?" Bladedance asked. "I assume you don't want a simple sword like I chose."

"I… would rather not," Alex said. "I already have an incredible sword after all."

"Godslayer's? It's just a body without a soul," Bladedance said. "But if what Godslayer is claiming he can do is true, then I cannot complain. That would indeed be as good, if not better, than my own Creation."

Alex nodded. "I did recently have a thought for a Creation that I wanted to ask you about. Is it possible to somehow turn tribulation lightning into a Creation?" he asked.

"Tribulation Lightning?" she asked. "You want to make that as your Creation?"

"Yes," Alex said. "Is that perhaps not possible?"

"Practically, yes. It's not possible," Bladedance said. "Maybe it is possible in some extreme case, but I have never heard of anyone making Tribulation Lightning into a Creation."

"Never?" Alex asked. "No one even tried?"

"No, many tried. I know of dozens that tried. But not a single one succeeded. You see, there are mainly two issues with trying to make Tribulation Lightning into your Creation."

"First of all, it is just a regular lightning bolt in the end. The only extra part it carries with it is perhaps an ability to turn into energy that is later absorbed by whoever it attacks. I do not think you want that, do you?" she asked.

Alex shook his head. "That wouldn't be ideal as a Creation," he said, growing thoughtful. "And what's the second issue?"

"The second issue is the most important one. How are you ever going to get enough aura out of the tribulation lightning to turn it into your Creation? The lightning bolts are instantaneous. As fast as they turn into lightning bolts, they disappear even faster, leaving behind just energy. How would you ever gather their aura?"

"I…" he thought. "I would have 9 chances with each Immortal tribulation, right? With my current physical strength at Divine realm, I can…" he quickly calculated the number. "I can go through exactly 324 tribulation lightning. Would that not be enough?"