Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The light before them was a blob in the fog, a pale yellow shining like the sun on a misty morning.

They stared at it for a while, watching it move forward. The blob became more focused as it moved toward them, gaining features. Then as it appeared close to them, they finally saw it for what it was.

“A… kitten?” the old man asked in surprise.

Alex was surprised as well. He hadn’t expected the light to turn out to be a kitten. It looked young and cute, just like Pearl had all those years ago. It had a yellow body, translucent, almost making him think it was a Sun Wraith.

But it didn’t feel like a Sun Wraith. There was no aggression in its features that would qualify it as being a Sun Wraith.

“Not a kitten,” Bladedance said. “A cub. A tiger’s cub, if I’m not mistaken.”

Alex looked at the features on the newly appeared feline, and he did indeed see some signs of tiger-like markings on its body. It was a little difficult to tell the difference because it had no physical body at all.

“You would be correct, young lady,” the cub suddenly spoke.

Bladedance’s eyes widened at the voice, not having expected the thing before her to be capable of speech. There was no beast in Hell that could speak, so its appearance was a shock to everyone involved.

“Who are you?” the old man asked. “Are you the owner of this place?”

“Owner?” the cub chuckled lightly. “I am just a caretaker. You may call me the guardian of this place.”

“Senior Guardian,” Bladedance spoke. “What is this place?”

“It is a place that you should not have come to,” the cub said. “Return to whence you came and never enter this place again.”

Bladedance stared at the cub. Despite its cuteness, she could tell it was strong. “Are you going to kill us?” she asked.

“Us?” the cub asked. “Those two are welcome. It is only you that we deny entry.”

She frowned at those words. “Can I have a reason?” she asked.

“It is because you have a lot of deaths attributed to you. Humans and beasts, you’ve slaughtered them all mercilessly. You are a danger to this place, to this world. You are not welcome.”

“Umm… senior Guardian,” the old man spoke up quickly. “Please forgive her. She only did what she did because she didn’t have a mind. She had to fight for her own safety. She regrets everything that she did. Please do not send her away.”

The cub turned its head, looking toward the old man next.

“We’ve been watching you, little Wu. It is only thanks to you that this world has survived for as long as it has. We’ve watched you share your gift with the rest of this world, saving them from what would’ve otherwise been a sure case of extinction for all of them.”

The old man felt his chest swell at those words. He had never helped others to be thanked, but knowing that there was someone out there who knew of his past and how much he had helped made him happy.

At the end of the day, he was still human.

“Thank you for letting me enter,” the old man said. “And if I may vouch for her, she is a good person too. If you would only give her the chance.”

The cub said nothing. Next, it turned toward Alex.

“We are honored to have you come here.”

Alex blinked. “Am I welcome?”

“We have waited ages for your arrival. We were hoping you wouldn’t come alone, but one is better than none,” the cub said.

Alex was confused. “I’m sorry, what do you mean by that? Why were you wai—”

Alex’s words stuck to his throat as the cub walked toward them, its body growing larger and larger as it moved closer toward him. It wasn’t just its body that grew, but also its age.

The cub grew, becoming a young tiger, then an adult, muscular tiger. Its body was still made of light and translucent, but unlike before, it appeared very real and scary.

The beast stopped right before Alex, its snout next to him.

Alex could see its body up close, see the energy that formed it. And to his surprise, he realized that the color wasn’t yellow at all. But rather golden.

The tiger took a deep breath suddenly, taking in Alex’s aura.

Then, it moved back, slowly reverting back to how it was before, a cub. The cub smiled, with a happy face.

“It’s been a while since I’ve smelled Father’s aura,” the cub said. “But I never expected to smell Mother’s blessing on you as well.”

’Huh?’ Alex thought in surprise. Was the cub talking about Pearl by any chance? Was it reacting to the White Tiger’s bloodline? But Alex didn’t have any on him anymore. What was going on?

And what was this talk about mother?

“Do you allow this woman to stay?” the cub said. “This is not your realm, but we value your opinion.”

Bladedance turned toward Alex, her eyes pleading.

“Yes. She is a good person,” Alex hurriedly said without even looking at her. Anyone whose first thought upon losing their soul was of the people she would hurt by doing so had to be a good person.

“I would hope so,” the cub said. It turned toward Bladedance. “You are allowed to stay here, but should you do anything more than just observe, you will be eradicated.”

Bladedance nodded fervently. She had no reason to believe the cub was boasting. It would kill her.

“May I ask a question, senior? Are you… real?” she asked.

The cub smiled.

“What is real? I am but a memory of what once was, surviving only to fulfill my duty. Is that real?”

Alex frowned. “Senior, what are you?”

The cub turned toward him. “I am the remnant of what was once called the Guardian Tiger. Have you heard of me?”

Alex’s eyes slowly went wide in realization of what stood before him.

The Guardian Tiger.

A Primordial.