Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Alex stared down at the broken world with many emotions swirling through his head. He couldn't stick to a single one, as he wasn't sure what he was even supposed to think in that moment.

Surprise? Anger? Amazement?

None of them made sense, and somehow at the same time, each one did. Alex stared at the world for some time before he spoke up again.

"So, the two gods broke a single planet into many smaller worlds?" he asked. "Why?"

"I couldn't tell you," Bai Jingshen said. "I can't even tell you if we're correct or not."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "Didn't your master tell you the truth?"

"He was vague about it, but he hinted at the fact that there was more going on, and that they likely were not the only ones involved in this alone," Bai Jingshen said. "It could be that they were not even the main culprits behind the cataclysm that broke the world apart, just someone who wanted to help when it happened. But I could never be sure."

Alex nodded slowly. "Did your master know the whole truth?" he asked.

"He did, I believe. He even told me that he had known the truth for a long time and had spent his time in this world searching for someone to pass it along to. But not just anyone, only a certain someone."

"Is that someone me?" Alex asked.

"I want to believe that," Bai Jingshen said. "But, as you know, there are more than just one of you, isn't there?"

"So it could be the new Moon Goddess too?" Alex asked.

"One of the two of you, at least," Bai Jingshen said. "And the only way to be certain is for you to go there."

"Go where?"

"My master's tomb," Bai Jingshen said. "That's where he has left the knowledge after all. That is where the truth is hidden. You'll have to go find it."

"The Godkiller's tomb," Alex said softly and sighed afterwards. "I have other reasons to go there. But unfortunately, I don't think I can go there any time soon. I don't have any ticket, and I need to go find my family first."

Bai Jingshen nodded. "Take your time. The tomb or the knowledge within it is going nowhere."

Alex and the rest stayed there for some time, looking at the world below. Alex brought out both Whisker and Battlesage to allow them to see this sight as well.

Whisker had previously seen such a sight at least, but for Battlesage, never had he ever even imagined such a thing to be possible.

They were hanging in the void outside of their world, watching the piece of land floating on its own, turning ever so slowly like every other world out there did.

Alex didn't tell either of them the truth of what they were seeing just yet. Maybe he would tell Whisker in a few days, but it was better for everyone else to remain ignorant.

There was a certain bliss in that.

After some time, when the living surface of the world was covered in its own shadow, Alex sent Whisker and Battlesage back to his Soul Space where they had work to do.

Then, Bai Jingshen took the ship back down to the world, slowly descending from the sky. The many Divine senses passed through them momentarily again before retreating.

Alex watched the world grow bigger and bigger, certain questions forming in his mind.

"How many people do you think know the truth?" he asked. "Does your patriarch know that this world used to once be part of a greater whole?"

"I have never asked him, but I believe he is aware," Bai Jingshen said. "Or at least he has suspected as much. The worlds are far too similar and have far too much in common for him to not realize the fact. And more than that, anyone who seriously wonders how the same Heaven can exist throughout the many worlds will have come to the same conclusion as well."

"It exists through them all because it used to be a single Heaven," Alex said softly.

"It would be difficult to create and link Heavens throughout this world if you had to go one by one to each one. The easier option is that it was formed, either close to the cataclysm or after it, when the worlds were still close to each other and hadn't yet separated far enough."

Alex nodded slowly. "But then… why so much difference?" he asked. "Humans and Demons, why are they so different?"

"Just two different races of the same species," Bai Jingshen said. "It's no different than a White Tiger being a thing when there already exists a regular tiger, right? The blessing is one thing, but without it, we would just be two different tigers, just slightly different in color or shape."

Alex slowly nodded. That frankly made a lot more sense than he thought it would.

The Black and White Continent could be seen now, growing larger.

Alex could see the expansive land before his eyes, and it was still just a smaller part of the Land of the Blessed Sun, which was nothing more than a chunk of the old world.

A thought came to him, one that didn't fit so neatly with the puzzle that had been drawn up in his mind.

"If all these lands were truly part of a larger world, how did that world exist?" Alex asked.

"Hmm, what do you mean?" Bai Jingshen asked.

"Am I wrong in thinking that the reason gravity stays in a certain direction in every world is because of Heaven?" Alex asked. "Because, without it, the worlds should have collapsed into a ball long ago."

"I'm not too knowledgeable on the topic of gravity, but I do think you're right. The Heaven, as I know it, was created around the period of cataclysm to keep the worlds from killing everyone on it even when broken apart."

"Then… how did the old world exist?" Alex asked. "If we are to take the curvature of this world as a basis for how large that planet was, its size should've long since destroyed everything with its gravity."