Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The moment Shumi’s brief conversation with Alex ended, she noticed that something about the Moon Goddess had begun to change. She grew more frantic, seemingly running out of time. She couldn’t imagine why that could be, and the god wasn’t planning on telling her anyhow.

“I do not have much time,” the Moon Goddess said. “Please, Shumi. You must accept me. The world needs me to return, and I cannot do it without you.”

Shumi didn’t say anything for a good few seconds. “I do not want to die,” she said finally. “So I cannot accept you on that premise alone.”

“You must accept it!” the Moon Goddess said, sounding even more frantic. Her eyes kept darting toward Alex as she said that. Shumi couldn’t help but wonder what it was that Alex had done that made her so anxious.

“What are you so worried about?” she asked her.

“My power will go to waste. All this energy will go to waste if you do not accept me immediately,” the Moon Goddess said. “You cannot let this all go to waste. This is the only way to help the world. Please, accept it.”

Shumi hesitated a little. It was true that she did not want the power to go to waste, but at the same time, she also didn’t want to die. She closed her eyes, trying to find what it was that her heart desired

more.

Prosperity of the world, or her own survival.

Shumi opened her eyes. The answer was obvious now. As much as she wanted to help the world, she did not want to die. She had friends, family, masters, and so many more that she cared about. She couldn’t dare sacrifice all of that, even if it was for the prosperity of the world.

“I cannot. I’m sorry. I’ve thought about it and I really don’t want to die,” she said.

The Moon Goddess remained silent. It was unclear whether she was disappointed by Shumi or angry at her. Her expression was impossible to read. After a brief moment, the Moon Goddess spoke again.

“If you do not accept me, this power that belongs to me will vanish. This power that could be used to help people will be gone. Are you sure you are okay with it?” she asked. “Do you care so much about yourself that you want to give up on the chance to save the world?”

Shumi looked away for a moment, feeling guilt creeping up inside her. It was sadly true that she did care more about herself. But… should that be a bad thing? Was self-preservation something to be frowned upon?

What was wrong with trying to survive?

Her head snapped back up toward the Moon Goddess. “What about you?” she asked.

“What about me?” the Moon Goddess asked.

“Your power can be used to save the world. It will be gone if you don’t give it to me,” Shumi said. “Are you okay with that? Are you okay with it vanishing forever?”

“No,” the Moon Goddess said. “That’s why I want you to-“

“You want me to sacrifice myself because you want to save the world. But what about you?” Shumi asked. “How about you sacrifice yourself and give me the power? Or do you care so much about yourself that you will give up on this chance to save the world?”

Having her own words spat back at her placed the Moon Goddess in a situation that she hadn’t ever been in before. The questions were ones that she had never considered.

All this time, she had lived with the guilt and regret of what she had ended up doing while trying to improve the world back then. As such, her mind was tunnel-visioned on her having to improve the world.

That was the reason why they had sought out vessels in the first place.

And yet, hearing Shumi’s words, the Moon Goddess began to understand something so profoundly simple that she was surprised she hadn’t given it any consideration at all.

It didn’t have to be her. She didn’t have to save the world.

She turned once to the side where Alex was moments away from sealing the Sun God. If he was sealed away, it would be dangerous for her as well. So, it was now or never.

She turned back toward Shumi and gave a soft nod.

“I want you to promise me something” the Moon Goddess said, looking directly at Shumi. “I want you to promise me that you will always seek to help others, no matter the situation. You will live to do everything you can to save the people and the world. Promise me that until the world is put back together, you will not stop.”

Shumi’s eyes sharpened, and she gave a curt nod. “I promise you that.” The Moon Goddess smiled. “That is enough,” she said. “You don’t have to accept me anymore. I accept you.”

The Moon Goddess herself turned into motes of light, the power that she was now flowing into Shumi. Shumi felt as though a floodgate had opened up in her body as the energy flowed into her.

The energy flowed into her, as frigid as a glacier, as bright as moonlight, and as soft as the feathers of a phoenix. She could hear a distinctive screech in her mind as the energy flowed into her Origin.

The Spirit Quelling Mist finally moved apart to make space for the Origin. The rest of the energy flowed into her, settling down in her Dantian next to the Yin bead.

As the energy continued flowing, Shumi could feel the Origin filling up rather quickly. Within seconds, it completely filled up, but nothing more happened. The Moon Goddess had no intention of being reborn

within Shumi, so she had given her all her powers.

So, the Origin stopped taking in more energy once it was full. The rest of the energy flowed down into her Dantian, slowly filling it until

all of it was fully inside her.

And when Shumi had taken in all the energy, especially now when the Moon Goddess was completely gone, she had become the new Moon

Goddess.