Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

"Say that number again," Bladedance said with a strange look on her face.

"324?" Alex asked. "What about it?"

"How many times do you think you will get a chance to go through Immortal Tribulation?" she asked him.

"36," Alex said. "I have yet to go through a single one, so I have 36 chances before the tribulations start becoming unbeatable for me, right?"

"I see. No wonder you think you have a chance."

Alex felt strange at that moment, as if he had missed something quite obvious. But he couldn't think of anything, so he could only wait for his master to speak up.

"The Heavens aren't so kind as to let you go through 36 different tribulations," she said. "You won't even get a chance to go through maybe 4."

"Huh?" Alex was confused. "What do you mean? Don't I get 36 chances at Immortal Tribulation?"

"Yes, but each tribulation is 10 thousand years apart," Bladedance said. "When you start forcing the tribulation to come down on you sooner and sooner, the Heavens will start to realize that you are strong and that you can handle it. At that point, it will simply skip up to the level of strength where you couldn't possibly handle it."

"That was what happened to me. I missed 6 tribulations, and yet just a single one came down for me. A single strong one. You ask for it too many times, and it will start skipping realms for you too. After that, there is no going back. That will have been your last Immortal Tribulation and the next one will be stronger."

Alex took in a deep breath, somewhat frowning at what he had been told. "So I won't get the chance like I think I would. There won't be 324 different lightning bolts for me to analyze."

"No," Bladedance said. "Not when you want to do it back to back. It's just not possible."

Only now did Alex realize the issue with his thought process. "If I won't even get as many times, then I can't imagine it being possible."

"Hence why I said it's practically impossible," Bladedance remarked. "It isn't impossible because it can't be done. But if you want to be practical about your Creation, then you shouldn't do it."

Alex nodded. "I think I have a technique that allows me to replicate auras so I can form my Creations on my own even if I am no longer present near where the aura is. Could I maybe use it to learn the barest aura from the lightning and then try? Even if I don't get 324 chances, if I could just learn the aura from 10 of them, I should be able to do something, right?"

Bladedance cocked her head to the side, falling into a deep thought. "That is a powerful technique that I don't think I've heard anyone use before. If the technique does work as you say it does, then maybe it can work. Maybe. I can't say anything confidently since we're in strange waters with this idea of yours."

Alex's eyes perked up. At least, it was no longer 'practically impossible' from what he inferred through his master's words.

"Then I should give it a try when I break through to the next realm," Alex said.

Bladedance didn't nod or shake her head. She simply remained frozen, her gaze unfocused, her mind in thought. After a moment, she asked a question. "Do you want to form tribulation lightning as your Creation to use it as perhaps a tool, or to use it instead as an offensive Creation?"

Alex paused for a moment. "I don't see how I could use tribulation lightning as a tool," he said. "Shouldn't it have to be an offensive Creation?"

"That's the fundamental issue with your idea then, isn't it?" Bladedance asked. "Because tribulation lightning isn't necessarily a good offensive technique. After all, it allows the one attacked to use its aura to heal themselves and get stronger if you can't defeat them in a single strike."

Bladedance's words caused Alex to frown. "Yes, I think you're right," he said. "But tribulations are so dangerous that I thought it was better if I made it my Creation."

"In that case, tribulation lightning isn't even the worst, is it?" Bladedance asked. "Heavenly Judgment is far stronger and harsher than tribulation lightning. It also doesn't leave behind any aura that could be later used to heal your enemies."

Alex's eyes lit up before dimming again. "Where would I even find Heavenly Judgment?" he asked.

"Nowhere," Bladedance said. "So it might be better to stop thinking about turning tribulation lightning into your Creation right now. I don't want to dissuade you from trying it, but do consider it thoroughly if you really do want to make one. With the amount of miracles I've seen happen around you, I wouldn't be surprised if you do succeed. But the true question isn't if you can, but if you should. Think about it."

Alex took in a deep breath and gave a small nod.

Truth was, he really hadn't thought much about it. Tribulations were so feared that he mistakenly conflated that with the fear of the lightning bolts themselves. In truth, the lightning bolts were never the main danger. It was the bombardment of them one after the other, and that came from the Heavens.

Heavenly Judgment would perhaps be a better option since the lightning bolts were meant to punish and kill, but there was no feasible way to get that.

If he tried to get one for himself, he could die. If he tried to get it from someone else's Heavenly Judgment, then he would have to face a Heavenly Judgment for interfering, in which case also, he could die.

'So annoying,' he thought with a sigh.

It seemed he might have to give up on the idea itself. Or at least, not go through with it until he had thought everything through.

'I have time,' Alex thought. 'I'm sure I can think of something useful.'