Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The majestic statue of the Black Tortoise progenitor was of no less grandeur than any of the other three he had seen. It looked equally menacing as every other one, and now that Alex focused on it more, the craftsmanship looked almost the same as well.

As if they had all been created by the same master.

‘Weird. The stones they’re using look the same as well,’ he thought, wondering if the sculptor had somehow used stones from the same place for all four beasts.

He stepped a little closer. Lingkai tried to stop him but stopped at the last moment, knowing that he wouldn’t do anything rash. He couldn’t. She would stop him before he even acted if it came to it.

Alex looked at the statue from up close and noticed something that the other progenitor statues did not include. A somber emotion.

Each one of the other three statues looked quite prideful, but this one had a sadder expression than what Alex had been expecting. That came as a genuine surprise to him.

‘Why would the sculptor choose to place such an expression on their face?’ Alex wondered. Surely the sculptor didn’t act on his own to make this one change from all the other beasts. He wondered if this was the direction they wanted to take the statue.

He turned around and asked if there was a story behind the expression.

Lingkai gave a blank stare. “I’m not sure if there is one,” she said. “We… are not even sure if the progenitor was alive when this was created. As far as we know, the statue was made long after the progenitor’s demise.”

Alex paused for a moment, frowning. “How did he die, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Lingkai struggled to answer. After a moment, she confessed. “I know very little about his demise, and what I do know, I cannot divulge. You must ask the matriarch. Although, I’m certain she won’t answer either.”

Alex frowned. What secret were the beasts hiding?

From what Alex had guessed all this time, the progenitors had died because they had ended up living for too long and perished under their Immortal tribulation.

Now, however, he wondered if something bigger happened that led to their death. ‘It’s unlikely the matriarch will answer,’ he thought. ‘I’ll have to first figure out a way to establish my authority as the Sun God, and then I can get the answers I want!

So, he would have to wait until after his trip to the Sun’s Talon realm before he found out anything at all.

After spending some more time around the statue at the center of the crater, Alex left to see the various other places around the palace. And then, not long after, he arrived back at his room.

With some time to go, Alex decided to cultivate as he waited. He also had to add more aura to his Origins, so focusing on that for some time wasn’t a bad idea either.

Alex ate a pill and started cultivating.

What he expected to be a month-long session didn’t even last an entire two weeks before he received a message from the matriarch. He read the message and his eyes brightened as a result.

The evolution was a success.

Half an hour later, Alex stood before the two matriarchs who delivered him the good news directly.

“It was a great success,” the snake matriarch said, failing to hide the excitement in her voice. “We’ve never had a beast with so little bloodline in them evolve to become a Black Tortoise so easily. With

your help, our family will thus thrive quite a lot. Thank you.”

Alex smiled. “You don’t have to thank me, matriarch. It is but a trade. We’re both coming out with something in the end.”

The snake giggled. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep our promise. You can visit the pool whenever you want, just once, and stay in there for as long as you need. Would you like to do so with someone in the pool or without it?”

Alex narrowed his eyes for a moment. “Is it okay if I were to be there with a beast? I need to examine their exact changes for my need.”

“That’s fine. We will have a few children prepare for their next session. It should take no more than a few days. Hand the blood over to Lingkai and we can deal with all by ourselves. You need only wait in

your quarters.”

Alex was more than happy to.

“By the way, did they form the bond?” Alex asked. “Or did they just evolve?”

“Yes, there was,” the matriarch answered, still smiling. “The so-called bloodline elements seem to truly be the factor for every part of our bloodline, including our bond. I’m sure there are more requirements as well, such as being brothers and such, but we’ll figure that out as

time goes on.”

Alex nodded. “And one more question. It has nothing to do with the current topic, but I visited the progenitor’s statue and wished to learn about something. Please tell me if I’m going beyond my bounds by

asking this and y-“

“Just ask,” the snake said.

Alex paused and nodded. “How did the progenitor die?” he asked. “Not

just the Black Tortoise progenitor, but all the other ones as well.”

Alex watched the expression on the two sisters change as they conversed mentally for a long time before turning toward him. And

for the first time in this conversation, the tortoise matriarch opened her mouth.

“They gave up their lives for the sake of their descendants,” she said.

Alex blinked for a moment. “They sacrificed themselves?” he asked, too stunned to believe their words. “Why?”

The snake matriarch held a pensive gaze. “I cannot tell you more than that. To reveal that is to betray the confidence of every single other Heavenly beast who holds this knowledge as well.”

Alex clenched his fist and let go, nodding. “Then I will not ask you any

more.”

“You won’t have to,” she said. “I fear, the truth will be clear to you very

soon.”