Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

”What god?” Alex asked, his mind immediately going to the possibilities.

”Yeah,” Yang Renye said. ”If it was before, I would’ve sworn that you would become the Alchemy God. But after hearing that you’ve made yourself a disciple to the previous Sword God, it’s only natural that I now have choices. Not to mention, considering your body and talent, there are a lot of other choices too.”

”What other choices?” Alex asked.

”Well...” Renye thought for a moment. ”Your knowledge of alchemy helps you a lot in terms of understanding poisons and toxins. That way, you could become a Poison God if you tried. You have the Dao of Techniques too, which could help you become the Technique God too if you tried at it. Not to mention the Blood God’s Manual you own, which can easily help you become the Blood God.”

Alex hadn’t even thought about the other possibilities at all, so he was surprised when Renye mentioned them. The only ones he had ever considered becoming were the Alchemy God until recently, and now the Sun God.

Of the two, he didn’t know which one he would choose.

”I guess if I had to become one, I would be the Alchemy God,” Alex said. ”That is what I have been training for my entire life after all. But... I have met the current Alchemy God, and it is for sure not going to be easy at all.”

Renye understood that much. ”I have met the Alchemy God a few times too. And I understand that it might not be possible for you at the moment. But if you continue training, I have no doubt you will surpass him.”

Alex nodded.

”Although... his book will be a little difficult to get past,” Renye said. ”That is an incredible treasure after all. You may have to find the other two books if you want a chance.”

Alex shook his head slightly. ”I’m aware of what other two books exist, and I do not believe I could have a chance even if I had them right now,” he said.

Renye narrowed his eyes. ”Really?”

Alex nodded, pointing to his head. ”The inheritance I received from the first Alchemy God speaks of the two books. One is a book meant for healing, the other is a book meant for understanding ingredients. While both are great for an alchemist, neither helps you in forming new pills the way the third book does.”

Renye was quite stunned to hear that. ”I would’ve never considered that. Then you might really have to try your hardest to beat the current Alchemy God,” he said before letting out a slight chuckle. ”No worries though. I trust you will be able to do it.”

Alex smiled and nodded.

”Anyway, tell me of the rest. How is your family doing? How is Ronron doing?”

Alex spoke of his family, telling the man about how much they had improved. When he told him about Ronron and everything she had done, how much she had grown, the man seemed to hold a bit of sadness in his eyes.

”Do you regret it by any chance?” Alex asked.

”What?” Renye asked, looking up. He hadn’t expected the question at all.

”About what you did,” Alex explained. ”Do you regret ever stealing the things you did? Do you regret running away from here? Or rather, do you regret coming back?”

Alex looked around at the drab world that existed for Yang Renye within the confines of the courtyard. From now until the day he died, he would simply live in this small place, knowing that there was a world out there, vast and wide, and yet he could not leave.

Anyone would likely regret that.

”No, I do not regret it,” the man spoke in a pure voice. ”I can’t say I haven’t thought of doing things differently if given the chance to do it all over again. But the main thing I did, I do not regret it.”

”Is that so?” Alex asked.

”Of course,” Renye said. ”I know better than many how close to war the current world had come. Every god out there, every sage, every ancestor wanted to jump at the chance to attack the demons again. I stopped that. They wanted to find a way to make the World Tree work, but that was only for a few. For many, it was an excuse to go and steal more resources. The world would’ve returned to how it was a hundred thousand years ago, if not for me. I saved billions of lives by stealing what I did. Do I hate how I am being punished? Yes. Do I regret it? Not one bit.”

Hearing the determination in the man’s voice made Alex feel a level of respect toward him that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The man had lost so much because of his one action, and while it had led to many things going bad, the good he had done far outweighed the bad. In a way, he didn’t even deserve what was happening to him at all.

He was someone meant to be celebrated for his actions, and yet he was imprisoned for it.

Alex could see why that was though. Even the Sky God likely saw him as someone who had done what he thought was good. After all, she understood how dire the situation was more than anyone.

So when the things were stolen, she might’ve even been happy about it.

However, she couldn’t reveal that side of her to anyone. She had to keep her thoughts in. And when Renye came back, she had to condemn his actions.

Many gods likely wanted him dead, but the Sky God didn’t. That was why she had chosen to imprison him here instead of punishing him in any other way.

This was, for the Sky God, a leniency she had shown her disciple because of the actions he had taken.

It was only now that Alex fully understood it all.