Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Pearl arrived at where the artifact was after a few days of rest. Cultivating out in the open was a bit dangerous, but because everyone’s spiritual senses were so confined, it was hard for anyone to find him, especially when he used a formation to keep himself hidden.

This close to the artifact, he expected a few more ambushes, and rightfully so. Two more groups tried to ambush him, but one of them was weaker than he had expected, so they were defeated rather easily.

While the second group posed a bigger threat, it was nowhere close to what the blue birds had been. After fighting those two, Pearl was free to finally approach the artifact.

The artifact was a massive metal monolith with various runes drawn upon it. It was created in multiple parts, stacked neatly upon each other, with several lines within it aligning in a certain way.

The runes meant that the artifact worked based on a script, but at the same time, the aligned lines made Pearl wonder if this artifact

doubled as a formation as well.

Even though Pearl knew little about formations, he could recognize them enough to know when one was present. In the artifact before him, the lines were much too scattered for it to be a formation itself. However, there was a possibility that instead of this artifact being a formation, it could be a formation node.

If that were the case, then this artifact would be no different than a formation rod, and when many rods were placed in a pattern, the formation would activate.

‘So beyond just doing something by itself, it is also activating a giant formation, huh?’ Pearl thought. He wondered how much of it was to keep the Divinities away.

The artifact on his chest buzzed slightly, and Pearl knew this location had been recorded. That meant he had to leave this place soon and go find the other artifact.

“There’s really no other reason to find these artifacts than to keep us moving, is there?’ Pearl thought. The main purpose of the Fighting Island was to keep the Immortals fighting at all times, and part of that was done by forcing them to constantly travel.

This way, one couldn’t hole up in one location and spend the remainder of their stay on the island. They had to keep moving and find a new location.

Pearl left the artifact and searched for the closest location that could allow him to see the rest of the land clearly. He hadn’t the slightest clue where the rest of the artifacts were, so he would have to start searching somehow.

After seeing a mountain range afar, he headed in that direction, hopefully finding something good along the way.

Alex was rather proud of Pearl. The battles he had been through had been quick and decisive. While he wasn’t as bloodthirsty as the other beasts, he didn’t hold himself back when it came to hurting those that wanted to hurt him.

Only a few had died by his hands, and that too because they had to.

Alex could sense that he needn’t worry about Pearl as much as he already was. He could allow things to get more serious for him. He followed Pearl, or rather waited for Pearl to follow him.

Pearl walked in a single direction, so it usually became easy to realize where he was headed and go there beforehand. That not only allowed Alex to survey the land ahead of Pearl, but also rest and focus on his own tasks while knowing that Pearl would only be getting closer. He still stayed far enough away so that Pearl would never notice him

from afar. The earrings made sure of that.

Pearl fought three more times before getting to the mountain range, while Alex only had to fight once. Alex’s speed made it difficult for most people to challenge him.

There was also the fact that Alex liked to drag out his fights, mostly to continue learning his Sword Intent. After a couple of fights, he had already begun to understand at a deeper level what exactly it was that he intended when using a sword.

His Intent changed based on the shape and size of the sword, its weight, its material, and even its color to a certain extent. They were minor and mostly imperceptible, but they were there, and Alex had begun recognizing them after he began pouring his Sword Intent into any object he could find that he could consider a sword.

He couldn’t just find any piece of rock and use it as a sword, but a stick worked wonders, especially if it was long and flat. He continued training without much stop and even used basic sticks and grass

stalks to fight his opponents.

Keeping an eye on Pearl became an afterthought at some point as his attention was mostly focused on himself.

Alex improved drastically, now understanding his Sword Intent at a level that his master would be satisfied with.

To Alex, the sword was more than just a weapon to kill his enemies. It was a tool for survival. It was the thing that he used to protect his

friends and family.

To Alex, the sword was a means to live.

Sure, he hadn’t chosen it to be that. In fact, any other weapon could

have come to replace it had he really wanted to. But over the course of his life, he had spent too much time honing his talent with the sword, so now, the sword had become his closest comrade.

If things became difficult and his life were on the line, it would be his sword that he would turn to for help.

Sword, or rather Swordsmanship, was now an irreplaceable part of

him, and his Intent reflected just that. He didn’t need any specific sword either.

Just any sword. And he would use it to fight his enemies and defend his friends.

That was what a sword meant to him. And that was his Sword Intent.