Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

It took Grimsight a moment to process what Killshot had just said. His anger vanished as he understood her words, replaced by confusion.

“You… aren’t recruiting me to fight in the war?” he asked.

“No, I’m recruiting you to try and stop the war from happening,” she said. “You seem to hate war anyway, so you’re perfect for it.”

Grimsight felt he lacked far too much information at the moment to understand what was happening.

“Hold on. So you’re against the war?” he asked.

“A few of us, yes,” Killshot said. “Is that so surprising?”

“For you, yes,” Grimsight said.

Killshot gave a meek smile. “I don’t kill innocents, brother Spearheaven. Just like you. And if a war were to start, the Demons would all be innocent in this case. I don’t want that.”

Grimsight frowned for a moment. “So the Gods are really trying to start the war again?”

“It does look like many of them want it. Not all, so it’s still a matter of debate, but they are drawing in more and more people to their cause, and that’s not helping.”

Grimsight frowned. “What about the Sky God? If the war hasn’t started already, she hasn’t made her decision yet. She has the final say in everything, as far as I can remember. Just get her on your side, and it’ll be over. Her single refusal will be enough, and you won’t have to recruit anyone else.”

Killshot grimaced at that moment. “The Sky God… is the one who created this group. She’s the one who is against war the most.”

Grimsight narrowed his eye in a confused look. “Okay? So you’re done. What more do you need?” he asked.

Killshot shook her head. “The Sky God created this group, because she needs it. She doesn’t hold the same power she did back when you were active. She doesn’t have the influence to deter the war if someone else wants it.”

Grimsight was even more confused. “Why not? What happened?”

Killshot narrowed her own eyes. “Did you not hear about what happened to her?”

Grimsight took a moment to think about it, and his face paled the longer he thought. “I… heard about some treasures being stolen from her. It couldn’t have been those treasures, could it?”

Killshot nodded. “If you’re thinking about the treasures from the War Deterrent Treaty, then yes. Those were the treasures stolen,” she said. “Worse still, it was her own disciple who stole them, so her influence has been undercut a lot.”

Grimsight frowned. “How would stealing those treasures stop war?” he asked. “Those treasures were gathered there to deter the humans from going to war. Was that disciple an imbecile?”

“Her disciple was only trying to steal one treasure,” Killshot said. “Or at least, that’s what the Sky God said when she called the court a few decades ago.”

Grimsight waited for her to speak further.

“From what I understood centuries ago, the ones who wanted to bring back the war were trying to justify it by saying they wanted to find a way to grow the World Tree’s seed.”

Grimsight took a step forward at the mention of the tree. “The World Tree’s seed? What about it?”

Killshot was surprised by his reaction but then slowly nodded. “That’s right, you were there, weren’t you? When the tree was cut down.”

Grimsight nodded. “What about the seed? How would getting rid of it stop the war?”

Killshot shrugged. “The World Tree was what created so many Divine realm and Celestial realm fighters for the Demons during the war. So the Warmongers wanted to find ways to get the seed to take root. And for that, they would have to fight the Demons and find their secret.”

“But the Sky God’s disciple stole it, and along with it many other treasures. With the seed gone, the Warmongers lost their reason to go to war. But the Sky God lost her influence over everyone as well. She no longer had the treasures to deter others from going to war.”

Grimsight gave a quizzing look. “Why didn’t they just catch him then?” he asked.

Killshot chuckled. “That bastard was smart enough to go to the one place where the Godkiller was last seen. So no one else dared to go there. None of the gods, at least.”

Grimsight thought for a moment. “About a century ago, I talked with the Winter God. She wanted me to work on a job of recovering some treasures. Could that have been this?”

“Snowchild did? From what I know, her Yin treasure was stolen too, so that may be right,” Killshot said. “The Sky God’s disciple returned some time ago, but many of the treasures were still lost. I heard she sent people to gather the rest, but from what I’m aware, among other things, the seed is still missing.”

Grimsight took a long moment to think through what he’d been told. The information he had just been provided was one that even the other gods were likely not privy to. It was quite shocking to hear all of this.

“So?” Killshot asked. “If you really hate war so much, why not help us stop it?”

Grimsight didn’t know what to do. He felt so awkward about it all. “What’s the other side like? Who is the most vocal about war?”

“Most of the ones speaking out are irrelevant. They have the current Sword God and Blood God who are a little influential, I suppose, but even they can’t make much noise. But they now have the Forest God and Storm God on their side, so their voice is beginning to matter. Also, apparently the Ocean God has received his predecessor’s artifact back, so he is free to join anyone without much thought. If they get to him, he might join too.”

Grimsight frowned. Those were 3 of the 10 most important gods. “You have Sky God and who else? Who else that matters?”

“I think we’re in talks with Stone God and Fire God, but I can’t confirm. I’m not doing the talking, so I don’t have current information.”

“And the others? They’re neutral?” Grimsight asked.

“I think they’re ready to follow the tide, so we need to appear before them as the stronger force. So, what do you say? Will you join us?”

Grimsight couldn’t answer immediately. It had been so long since he gave up that life that returning to it, even for a good purpose, felt wrong. He felt somewhere deep within him a call to action, but he was still very much divided in mind.

“I… I will have to think about it. I cannot just leave,” he said.

Killshot looked at him for a moment and nodded. “Just promise me you won’t join their side. If you do, I will kill you.” Her words were not a threat. They were a promise.

“I won’t,” Grimsight said. “If I were to fight in a war, I will put my own spear through my heart.”

Killshot chuckled. “If that’s what you want, then sure. Still, you need to make a decision quickly and let me know. You have until the end of this tournament before I leave.”