Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The return to the Golden Dao realm was easier for Steelmind. What should’ve taken more than a few decades with five total teleportations was cut down to two teleportations thanks to the two Voidgates in between.

From the Spirit Blossom Realm, he used the Voidgate under the Wood God to arrive at the outskirts of the Medicine World, from where he waited a few years to teleport to the Silver Soul Realm.

He could’ve used his newfound status to make the workers activate the teleportation formation immediately but chose not to, as there was no hurry.

He only had to wait six years to arrive at the Silver Soul Realm, where he found the Voidgate protected by the Hell Emperor’s people. From there, he quickly arrived at the Five Elements Realm, now known as the Formation Monarch’s Realm.

From there, he teleported to the Golden Dao Realm, arriving home in less than twenty years.

Along the way, Steelmind could see the effects of the ongoing war—people moving in swathes to help at the frontline. He heard various news, including how much stronger the Undying God was getting.

No one had yet found a way to kill him like the Fiend had. Everyone still searched for a way.

With the war being worse than ever, his workload increased. Making artifacts was hardly what he did anymore, and repairing them was what took the majority of his time.

He didn’t just want to work on repairing them, but he had no choice.

Years slowly passed, and the war seemed to keep up its intensity even now. The new Undying God continued to be a bigger threat with time, and it seemed his ability to come back to life from any attack had gotten better as well.

News of death and destruction was all that filled Steelmind’s days.

He still received Steelheart’s letters, but they came less often as time went on. He himself hadn’t had the chance to send many letters either, as nothing much had changed.

A few millennia passed, and another one of Steelheart’s letters arrived. His wife had died recently after a complication that arose following her Immortal Tribulation.

She had survived the tribulation, but the wound she received during it made the wound in her spirit worsen, causing her rapid decline over the past few years, at which point she finally died.

Steelmind felt a deep pain at her death and wondered if he should visit his friend again in this time of need. Alas, the situation with the war forced him to stay where he was.

He continued working for some time before receiving a letter bearing the Sky God’s emblem, calling him for a council of gods. After some thought, he decided not to visit.

He could guess what this call was for. The Hell Emperor had apparently died in a recent battle, so it was most likely a call to decide who would be the next War God. Based on what he had heard about the man, Steelmind wasn’t sure anyone could take the spot.

Steelmind focused on his own work, spending years and years fixing broken artifacts day and night, with very little rest. He was less a god of artifacts at the moment and more a cog in a machine that created or repaired artifacts.

And as more years passed, he realized that he wasn’t that integral a cog either. He could remove himself from the machine, and it would hardly notice his disappearance.

Steelmind wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

He still kept at it for millennia, working non-stop, but he could tell that he was beginning to be fatigued by the years of work. He was getting burnt out.

If he was feeling this, he wondered how the ones actually fighting in the war felt. Maybe they were much more burnt out than he was.

Or maybe no one really fought that long since most of them ended up dying.

As far as he could tell, the only name that consistently came from the battlefield was Spearheaven, who had grown to gain a reputation in the war that was barely a step beneath the gods themselves.

And even then, many believed he was likely stronger than many gods.

Steelmind wondered if Spearheaven’s spear skills had risen to a point where he could be a god. He wondered if the man would ever consider challenging the Spear God for his spot.

A few letters arrived again—some personal, some just information about the world.

Steelmind saw that there was another letter from the Sky God and opened it first. Reading it, he realized it was another summons.

’Should I?’ he wondered at first before shaking his head. This one didn’t say anything about making someone a god, so it might have been for actual talks about the war.

Steelmind ignored it for now, opening a few more letters. Some spoke about the war and the battles, the intensity, as well as success in fighting their way to one of the Demon Immortal Realms known as the Forest Moon Realm.

It was one of the biggest assaults in recent days from the human side, as they had actually entered the world. That was not something that happened in most battles, as they usually took place out in space.

The other letters had less intense information, one of which was about a man who was handing out high-ranked artifacts for free in the Three Jewel World.

Steelmind couldn’t see himself being this charitable.

He opened the last letter and was surprised that it wasn’t one given to everyone. Instead, it came from someone specific.

Shen Yaojia, his goddaughter, had sent this letter. It did not bear the usual signature that Steelheart sent, so he hadn’t realized. He wondered if she had decided to send a letter to once again ask him to take her away from her father.

With a smile, Steelmind opened the letter and read through it. As he did, his smile immediately faded away, his heart sinking in his chest.

Steelheart, a man closer to him than any of his family ever was, was dead.