Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Alex’s words caused the old man to narrow his eyes.

“You’re here to join the sect? Then you have to take the Entrance test.”

Alex shook his head. “I wish to skip it.”

“You can’t skip the test,” the old man said with clear disdain. “If you want to join, you need to take the test.”

Alex frowned. “But I don’t…”

He frowned.

When Alex persuaded the Blue Silk sect’s sect master to let him go on a journey to find his family, part of the oath he made was that he would never become a disciple to another sect. If Alex were to join one here, he would be breaking that oath.

While it didn’t matter if he broke an oath here, when he escaped from this place —and he was certain he would— he would find himself punished by the heavens quite strongly, to the point that he may even die.

Joining the sect was out of the question.

‘But an Entrance test doesn’t necessarily mean I will be joining the sect, does it?’ he thought. Even if he passed all the way, so long as he refused at the final moment, he would never be a disciple of that sect.

So all Alex really had to do was participate in the entrance test, pass it, and then get taken to the Endless Night sect. At that point, he would know where it was.

“The next Entrance test is in a decade?” Alex asked.

The old man nodded. “And it will be held in another city. The details will come a year prior to when the test takes place.”

Alex nodded.

“I see. Thank you,” Alex said. He would have to wait for 9 or so more years. He thought of leaving for now, but there were more questions he had. “Right, is there a fee requirement to the entrance test?”

“No, it is free. All the cost is borne by the Endless Night sect,” the old man said. “So long as your sect has recommended you, you can take part.”

Alex paused for a moment. “My sect?” he asked. “I do not have a sect.”

The old man stared at him. “And you’re trying to directly join the Endless Night sect? That’s bold of you. Go join another sect for now. We only test those that the sects recommend.”

Alex was quite stunned at that moment. Why the hell did he have to join a sect just to join another sect? It made no sense.

‘I can’t join any sect,’ he thought. It seemed the possibility of joining the Endless Night sect this way was not something he could possibly do.

He needed other options.

“Are there other ways to join the sect without becoming a disciple?” Alex asked. “Could I become an Elder perhaps? Are you guys looking for an elder?”

The old man suddenly burst out into laughter. “An elder?” he asked. “You?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Alex asked. “I am an Immortal.”

He took one step toward the old man, letting the aura of his cultivation base surround him. At the same time, as close as he was, he could sense the old man’s cultivation base as well.

The old man was an Immortal in the Immortal Ascendant realm. Compared to Alex, he was an entire minor realm below.

The old man’s laughter shut immediately, swapped with a look of pure shock. He took a step back, disbelief clear in his eyes. “You… who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter,” Alex said. “Tell me what other ways there are to join the Endless Night sect, without becoming its disciple.”

“There is no other way. The Endless Night sect raises its own people to become elders, so unless you become a disciple, you can’t join,” the old man said. Although, even as he said so, he could understand why Alex couldn’t be a disciple.

“May I ask how you gained your cultivation base, senior?” the old man asked.

“I was born with a physique that makes cultivation possible even with the weakest of Qi,” Alex lied. “I gained this cultivation base naturally, but it has taken me a long time to do so. When I heard there was a way to do so in this part of the desert, I finally came.”

The old man nodded slowly. He had no reason to doubt Alex at all since other than the Endless Night sect, no one else could possibly have made it possible for people to cultivate past the True realms.

The genuine talent needed to make such a thing happen could not be present anywhere else in Hell.

The old man thought for a moment and said, “I cannot think of any possible ways for you to enter the sect right now. I will mention you to my senior and ask him to pass along your request. If things work out, they may contact you.”

Alex didn’t see anything else he could ask the man to do, so he nodded.

“If it helps, tell them that I’m really good at making pastes as well,” Alex said.

The old man smiled. “I will, although that won’t help you at all. Our sect members don’t use pastes at all.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “What? Have you replaced pastes with formations?” he asked with a chuckle.

“No, it’s simply something better than pastes,” the old man said.

Alex paused, looking at the old man dead in the eyes. “You guys aren’t making pills, are you?” he asked.

The shock in the old man’s face was all the answer Alex needed. His own eyes widened as he realized that these people had actually started making pills.

‘Where are they finding the ingredients for that? Most ingredients here are heavy with Yang,’ Alex thought. But that wasn’t the most important thing here. If they were making pills, then…

The old man suddenly spoke up, before Alex could even tell him about his own proficiency in Alchemy.

“Senior!” the old man asked. “Did you come from outside of Hell?”