Eternal Cultivation Of Alchemy

The Qi Alex used to cultivate while missing a few spirit roots appeared to be virtually the same as when he cultivated normally. Its quality hadn’t changed in any way whatsoever, and neither had the cultivation technique.

As such, when Alex realized that his cultivation session had been much poorer this time around than when he cultivated normally, he came to the obvious conclusion that spirit roots did matter to someone’s Unity.

That conclusion was the floodgate that opened, and now Alex would have to let in the flood. Hundreds of sessions of tests for Unity were now firmly placed in his future henceforth.

Once that was settled, Alex finally left to deal with the tortoise Xuan Luhei’s bloodline improvement session.

The matriarch was already there, as well as the two brothers, so once Alex arrived with Lingkai, they began.

Alex first had the matriarch examine the tortoise’s blood essence. That was primarily the reason for this test, so it was essential they understood the baseline before any tests were to be performed.

The matriarch did her part and nodded, letting Alex begin.

Alex’s task was simple. He drained the tortoise’s blood and added the condensed blood into him from the other side. They did it in batches like they had with the snake, allowing a portion of the blood to be put in places where the Qi moved through the tortoise’s body.

That allowed for the most bloodline consumption possible. An entire session lasted between 3 and 4 hours in general, and after just 3 sessions, Alex was asked to stop.

These sessions were already better than what the snake had gone through, and since the tortoise had already been at his peak from the start, there was no need to improve his bloodline any more than

necessary for this test.

The matriarch let the tortoise rest for a few moments before asking him to reveal his blood essence again. She used her Divine Sense to examine it, a genuine look of surprise forming on her face.

She nodded in the end, dismissing the two brothers.

Xuan Luhei thanked the matriarch and Alex, and left the place. Lingkai was made to leave for a moment as well, and then the matriarch turned toward him.

“It is as you say. His blood essence has improved by a certain degree from before,” she said. “It’s not just improvement either. If I’m not mistaken, his blood essence is changing to become that much closer to what the progenitor’s would be. If he were to continue, he would be a mix of the progenitor, his partner, and himself. It might be a little worse than even their children, but that would still put him firmly above me. That is, if he were to continue cultivating to the fullest.”

Alex smiled slightly, happy that his theory had been proven. “Since we’ve proven this, when do we start the next test? I’m curious what sort of test you have in mind for me.”

The snake matriarch turned toward him for a moment before shaking her head. “It is the same as this,” she said. “Except, the one you’ll be working on will be a pair of brothers who are not yet a Black Tortoise and have quite a weak bloodline. Our interest in this test is to see if we can place our descendants at a safe threshold in terms of what bloodline they need to evolve to be a Black Tortoise.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed for a moment. “Will this threshold be anywhere close to what your purity tests would accept?” he asked. “You do have those, right?”

“We do,” the matriarch answered. “And this will be far lower. If anyone could reach the threshold to be considered a Black Tortoise, then they wouldn’t need an evolution. We’re more so preparing for those that are way below what we would count as a proper Black Tortoise.”

“The safer we can make an evolution for them, the better. That is what the test is going to be.”

Alex slowly nodded, understanding the matriarch’s desire even more. “The blood I have prepared will be a bit too dense for them. I will need to dilute it first. I’ll need their blood for that,” Alex said. “You said they would be siblings, right? Are you trying to test if they can form the connection during their evolution too?”

“I am,” the matriarch said. “It wouldn’t hurt to test if their starting bloodline has anything to do with whether they receive that bond or

not.”

Alex nodded slowly, considering his options.

“Is it possible for me to sit beside them while they evolve?” Alex asked. “Or will I not get the chance to enter the bloodline pool until the

end?”

The matriarch shook her head. “I cannot allow you to enter our ancestral bloodline pool just yet. As I discussed it with our ancestors, until you can pass these two tests, you cannot be let anywhere close

to the pool.”

“Oh… okay,” Alex said.

“If it were up to me, I would’ve allowed you, but this is my ancestors. Let us just hope that you pass the second test. If what you’ve discovered brings a new surge of Black Tortoises, then no one would stop you from visiting the pool at all.”

Alex just had to hope for the best and wait.

‘The gap that a beast crosses during evolution is far too wide for both body and soul. If I can understand how their soul is sustained throughout that change, then I can help Pearl!

That was the entire reason Alex had come here, even going as far as to

leave Pearl alone. And soon, he would find the truth.

So long as he passed the next test.

“When is the next test?” Alex asked the matriarch.

“The children have been ready for quite some time. So we can begin whenever you are ready,” the matriarch said.

Alex raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, then what are we waiting for?” he asked in a hasty tone. “Let us

get started right away!”