Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

The leader watched in surprise, not understanding what was happening at all but knowing that whatever it was, was very unconventional.

Alex filled the room with Yang Qi for a while, which inadvertently tried to activate some of the formations in the room. However, they were so scattered and unfocused that none of the formations actually activated at all.

He forced the Qi to stay out while also pumping out more just to be safe for a few more minutes before letting it all go. The Yang Qi remained in the air for a while but slowly dissipated.

It would later come into contact with the Yin energy that was prevalent during the nighttime and turn into normal Qi.

"What did you do exactly?" the leader asked.

"I tried to destroy the poison," Alex said. "I'm not sure if it worked though. How do we find out?"

"I ask someone to bring a pill swine," the leader said and sent a message. A few minutes later, someone was outside the door with a pill swine.

"How do we get it in?" the leader asked since he didn't want to open the door at all.

"Leave that to me," Alex said. He instantly disappeared outside his room and appeared back inside with the pill swine.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" the leader couldn't help but ask.

"Teleportation skill," Alex said. "Now, let's see."

He let the pill swine stay in the room and even let it go around licking the desks and walls before finally confirming that the poison was all gone from the room.

"You can open the door now," he said and let the pill swine walk outside.

The pill swine was taken away and the leader closed the door again.

"We need to find out who would do something like this. Could it be an alchemist?" the leader asked.

"Maybe, but it could be just about anyone now that I think about it," Alex said. "My recipes are very wanted after all. Many think that they would be able to make a fortune just by having it."

"I will go ask the person who brought this," the leader said and turned to leave.

"No, wait," Alex said. "They wouldn't have left any clue. They were smart enough and rich enough to distract us with the silk threads. We cannot underestimate whoever it is."

The leader became quiet because he knew Alex was right. "Then what do we do?" he asked.

Alex took the talisman and handed it over. The leader read it and his eyes narrowed. "No, it's too dangerous. We can't let you do this," he said.

"I can't let anyone get away with trying to kill me," he said. "This person also knows about my father, so I have to get him."

The leader felt conflicted. "But what if this person is too strong? What if their original purpose is to kill you?" he asked.

"Well, maybe, but I still have to go," Alex said.

The leader sighed. "Fine, I'm coming with you," he said.

"No, you cannot," Alex said. "They might have people outside watching us constantly. If you do leave, they will notice and tip off the person. Besides, you're not that strong yourself."

The leader wanted to argue but he couldn't. He was quite weak after all.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on going without any backup," he said.

Half an hour later, Alex wore a blue robe and a red hat and started walking out of the city.

He looked around, trying to find anyone that might be following him, but he didn't see anyone like that.

He continued walking and went outside of the city too, but no one came. 'How far am I supposed to walk?' he thought.

He continued walking until he was in the forest. "Is there no one waiting for me?" he thought. "What's going—"

"I can't believe you really came," A voice spoke from somewhere.

Alex instantly turned around and tried to look using his spiritual sense. It was hard, but he found someone hiding amidst the tree as if they were leaves themselves.

'Such an amazing concealment ability,' Alex thought.

The man jumped down from the tree and looked at him curiously. "You actually came," he said.

"Of course, I need the antidote for the poison," Alex said as he looked at the man.

The man wore a mostly green robe that was perfect for blending in with the trees. His hair was tied in a ponytail and half his face was covered with a golden mask.

The other half of his face was terrifying. It was a decrepit face that seemed to have rotted to the bone, and all of it was just as green as his own robes.

"I know you came here for the antidote, but how did you survive the poison long enough to eat the powder in the talisman?" he asked. "You weren't meant to succeed in that."

Alex looked surprised. 'He wanted to kill me, why?' he thought.

"Why would you want to kill me when you want the recipes?" he asked.

"I didn't," the man said. "But now that you are here, let's have them. I'm sure I will earn a lot once I hand it over."

"Where's the antidote?" Alex asked, looking desperate.

"Hehehe, just wait. I'm starting to enjoy this," the man said.

Alex wanted to attack the guy and incapacitate him, but he seemed to be a Saint Core 4th realm cultivator.

If he wanted to defeat him, he would have to use a blood aura. However, the man would certainly react before he could, so Alex needed to be careful.

"Here are the recipes you wanted," Alex said as he pulled out some talismans and handed them over. "Now give me my antidote."

"Oh?" the man quickly looked at the recipes and nodded to himself. "I will be rich with this."

'So, not an alchemist,' Alex thought. The recipes he had handed were the non-improved versions of the pill, and somehow the man hadn't realized.

"Hehehe, so stupid. So goddamn stupid. That's why you need external experiences too," the man said while almost giggling to himself. "Don't you know that when you give your kidnapper what they want, then they have no reason to keep you alive?"

"What do you me—"

The man pulled a long and thin needle and thrust it at Alex's heart. Alex saw the man move quickly, even to his own eyes. However, he still managed to react and move just slightly enough that the needle instead went a bit away from his heart.

"Huh? Not bad on protecting your heart, but you have to be stupid to think I wouldn't have poison on this needle," the man said.

"I know," Alex said. "And you are definitely stupid to let me do exactly what I have wanted to do this whole time."

Blood burst out of where he was attacked and it wrapped around the needle and the man's hands.

The man tried to let go, but Alex's blood constricted his hand from moving. At the same time, blood poured from all over him as it formed an armor around him, covering not just his chest, but also his face and legs.

"What the hell are you bastard?" the man shouted and tried to pull the needle or even just his hands, but it didn't work.

He then tried to push it instead, but even that didn't work.

His left hand moved as he tried to punch Alex in the head. Alex was slow enough that his punch actually even landed.

However, just because he was slow didn't mean that he was weak. The place where he was struck gave not even a feeling of being hit to Alex as the armor had absorbed all the damage.

At the same time, the blood on his head moved as well. It traveled up the man's left arm, constricting it too in the process.

Then, from his head and his chest, his blood flowed out into the man's body, completely covering him in what looked like a very thin bloody net.

Alex used his blood to straighten the man and keep him steady in the air. He rubbed his chest a little, but the little hole had already been healed.

As for the poison, that was the most useless part of the attack anyway.

"Now that our positions have changed, let me ask some questions," Alex said. "I know you think you're being smart by not giving me what I want, but trust me, that will only make it better for me as I get to enact my revenge one finger at a time."

"First question," Alex said. "Why are you trying to kill me?"

"Go to hell, bastard!" the man said in between grunts.

"Oh, that's not what I wanted to hear."

Instantly, Alex's blood moved and the index finger on the man's left hand came out as easily as a twig on a branch.

The man tried to shout, but Alex used his blood to grasp his throat to keep him from screaming. "I want you to answer me using your spiritual sense now. Why did you come here to kill me?"

The man didn't speak at all. "Okay, I see you love losing fingers then. There goes another one."

The man grunted internally, but he couldn't produce any loud sounds at all. His screams had all been internal.

"Alright, if you don't want to answer that, I have another question," Alex said. "How do you know the Graham Benton?"

The man looked at Alex with anger and fear as he knew that he was going to lose all of his fingers today, and then his life.