Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

Dao Lightnings were the series of lightning bolts that came after someone’s Immortal Tribulation when they broke through to a major realm. Each bolt of lightning contained an aura of that particular Dao they attacked the individual with, leaving behind the aura afterward, which others could use to try and learn the Dao.

While they followed behind the nine tribulation lightnings, they were technically a different type of lightning, now that Alex thought about

it.

What confused him even more on this topic was that the same clouds that formed the nine tribulation lightnings were the same clouds that formed the Dao Lightnings as well.

So, if his understanding that the Pill Clouds were the same as the Immortal Tribulation clouds was correct, then it wasn’t the clouds themselves that mattered, but rather something else entirely.

As for what that was, he now had a guess.

“Shumi, please try connecting to it this time. I’m going to start again.”

As soon as he told Shumi as much, he ate the pill to neutralize the Immortal Tribulation aura around him and not cause the Heavens to be biased enough to increase the strength of the falling bolts of lightning.

Alex spent another ten thousand years of his lifespan and began the Immortal Tribulation.

Shumi sent her senses out the moment the clouds formed in the sky and tried connecting to them. Just like with the Pill Clouds, she was allowed the connection as something made space for her to take over. As soon as she did, her mind was overwhelmed with the Intent that lay within the clouds. It was the same feeling as with the Pill Clouds, but far stronger than she could imagine.

She truly felt like it was her job to maintain the balance of this world, to stop the strong ones from becoming too strong. Those who did not deserve to be strong instead deserved to have their Qi returned to the world.

It was just too much for her.

Even after all the training with the Pill Clouds, she could not handle the Immortal Tribulation clouds for more than just half a minute.

Pills, when eaten, would return their energy to the world after all, but cultivators kept it forever. They required a much stronger influence.

In the end, she failed after barely starting.

While Shumi failed rather quickly, Alex had used the time to go through the Immortal Clouds again and check them for anything in the slightest that he could find that was different enough to account for the changes between the two lightning bolts.

When he couldn’t find it, Alex could only come to the conclusion that it wasn’t the clouds that affected what the lightning bolt did.

It was the Intent behind its formation instead.

He went through the nine tribulation lightnings with that thought in mind and churned it inside his head until he came to a few

understandings.

The clouds formed the lightning, but it was not the clouds that mattered for what the lightning did in the end. It was the Intent behind it. That would make sense why Dao Lightnings formed right after regular tribulation lightning. The clouds didn’t have to change; only the Intent did.

He turned toward Shumi, the thoughts still trying to reach something definitive as the pills he had eaten before still affected his mind and his thoughts.

“What happened?” Alex asked. “Was it too strong?”

Shumi nodded. “It felt like the Intent was trying to unintentionally

take over my mind. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Alex said, but he did end up frowning. “But that doesn’t make sense at all.”

“What doesn’t?” Shumi asked.

“The Intent. I’m reaching conclusions faster than I can think them through. Give me a moment,” Alex said, closing his eyes as he went through his thoughts and ordered them all. Then he spoke again.

“When you connect to the cloud, you can feel something giving way for you, can’t you?” he asked.

Shumi nodded.

“What do you think that is?” Alex asked. “Do you think it’s the Heaven?”

Shumi thought for a moment. “That’s what I thought it was.”

“I think so too. But that begs the question-what was it doing there?”

Alex asked.

“Waiting for someone to take over, maybe? Or making sure someone strong didn’t interfere?” Shumi asked.

“Maybe,” Alex said. “But I have a different possibility in mind.”

Shumi waited.

“The Heaven was what was running the cloud. It was the Intent that made things happen,” Alex said.

Shumi narrowed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “I don’t think so. If we believe that the Heaven was what gave way for me, then the Intent wouldn’t have been there.”

“No, that’s not true,” Alex quickly said. “We know for a fact that Intent. lingers around even after an individual is gone. What you felt could just be the remnant of what the Heaven’s Intent was.” Shumi’s eyes slowly widened as she considered the possibility. The

unimaginably strong Intent that she believed to be actively interfering with her mind, consuming it all in less than a minute, was nothing more than just… leftover Intent? Not even the direct thing?

Alex continued. “It makes sense when you think about it. The Intent is strong, so it affects you. But you are in control, so it doesn’t do

anything. When your mind is no longer connected to the clouds, the Heaven takes over, resuming the lightnings. Otherwise, it should have continued far sooner even with you being around.”

Shumi considered the possibility for a long time before slowly

nodding her head.

“What… what does this mean then?” she asked. “Did we discover

anything important?”

“I think so,” Alex said, looking back at the sky that had cleared up now.

“I believe that there is only just one cloud that I have to form into my Creation. I don’t have to find a compromise between any of them since they are all the same thing.”

He looked down. “What I have to do instead is carve my Intent onto that lightning bolt, and I can make whatever I want happen.”