Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex listened to what his master said and found himself not really agreeing with his words. At least, not entirely.

“I was under the impression that we could hold off on deciding what our Creation must be until afterward, Master. Is the Immortal Origin realm not just to create Origins? Do we have to pour the aura of our Creation into it as well?”

Silvermist shook his head. “It is not a necessity, no. But you will be wasting a lot of time if you don’t decide beforehand.

Alex grew curious as to why that was, and Silvermist saw it in his disciple’s eyes. He continued.

“While you create an Origin in your Spiritual Sea during the Immortal Origin realm, the process of Transcendence-*that is, you creating aura to fill your Origin with*— has nothing to do with your Qi but rather your Intent.”

“You create your own aura using your Spiritual Energy. How well you can create this aura heavily depends on your understanding of that aura. Some people have a bloodline advantage, some know techniques that help them with it, while some have a Dao to guide them through it.”

“Whatever the case may be, it all relies on your ability to create that aura using your Spiritual Energy. Since the creation of Origin is entirely exclusive to its Transcendence in terms of the resources it uses, doing those two things concurrently saves you a lot of time during the Immortal Transcendence realm, allowing you to break through much faster instead of having to wait around to be done.”

“Otherwise, you are simply creating more work for yourself later on if you don’t decide what you want your Creation to be right now.”

Alex thought for a moment and nodded to himself. “So it’s like getting a head start,” he said. “That does sound important.”

“It is.”

“But, Master,” Alex said. “I… I’m not entirely sure what I want my Creation to be. I have half a mind that says it needs to be something to do with Alchemy, but the other half of my mind says I need to make it my sword. Will my future in alchemy depend on what I choose to make my Creation?”

Silvermist couldn’t immediately answer. He had to think this through wisely. He couldn’t just tell his disciple to choose one thing if the other might be what his heart truly desired. The thing that stopped most cultivators from growing later on was not the lack of opportunity or a lack of resources. It was a lack of motivation.

A clouded mind and a heavy heart were the worst offenders when it came to slowing down one’s improvement.

“You do not need a Creation aligned to Alchemy to be a great Alchemist. It can help, but it is no more help than having a good cauldron or a good technique. You are already doing great as you are, even without a Creation. I have no doubts you will continue to do just as well.”

“As for what your Creation should be, I cannot tell you what you must choose,” Silvermist said. “What I can tell you is that no matter what you choose, it will be the correct answer.”

“If your mind is divided on this topic, then go with your heart.”

Alex felt somewhat relieved hearing his master say this. Maybe he didn’t have to worry too much about Alchemy. Given how good his sword skill was, making his sword the Creation was perhaps the right choice.

“You don’t have to choose just yet either,” Silvermist said. “How many more years do you have until you break through? Easily more than half a decade. You have plenty of time to make your decision. Who knows, maybe you will come to realize that there is an option other than sword or alchemy that you will want in the end.

Alex nodded. “I will take my time deciding, Master,” he said. “I won’t make a decision I will regret.”

Silvermist smiled.

“I will leave you to it then. I’ll go make you a few pills so you can continue. I shall only make you the best of pills.”

“Thank you, Master.”

After his master’s departure, Alex took some time to ready himself for the many years of closed cultivation he would be entering. Unlike the other times, he wouldn’t be making pills all that often this time around, so the routine would be much different. After all preparations were done, he went to meet with Momo one last time to tell her how things were going to be.

“Learn what you can and take your time with your cultivation. There is no hurry,” Alex told her. “You can reach the Saint realm whenever you want to.”

“I will try, Master. But I should enter the Saint realm around the same time you break through,” Momo said.

“That would be great, wouldn’t it?” Alex asked with a smile. “Don’t push yourself though. And take care not to improve your poison too quickly. If something goes wrong, contact Grandmaster immediately.”

“I will take good care of myself, Master. You can cultivate without worrying about me,” Momo said.

Alex still found it a little hard not to worry about her, but there had to come a point. where he should let her do her own thing instead of holding her hand the entire way

through.

“For me, it will be a quick few years. But for you, I will be gone for a long time. You aren’t yet used to the passage of time as a cultivator.”

“I shall learn it then, Master,” Momo said.

Alex smiled. “If you feel bored, find Pearl. He should be bored too, so he won’t mind helping you relieve some of your boredom.”

“I will, Master,” Momo said. “Good luck.

Alex nodded and got back up. He left Momo’s room, returning to his own. He waited,

and a day later, Silvermist arrived with many pills.

“I will make more as you use them up. I will bring you resources for your cauldron too. You just focus on cultivating.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you, Master,” he said and returned to his room to begin his years-long closed cultivation.