Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

"I will die?" Alex asked. He found it hard to believe that he could die just because the man in front of him was going to enter his Soul Space. But then again, this was the only man he knew that knew what could happen if one were to enter another person's Soul Space.

As a disciple of a god who dealt with wind and space, he was most likely the only one in this realm who understood this.

"There is a chance," the man said. "If I were to enter you, you will be burdened."

Alex frowned a bit. "But I wasn't burdened when Whisker and Pearl entered," he said. "They've entered many times and I never felt anything."

"That's because they are not foreign entities to your soul," the man said. "Your beasts are already connected to you through your bond. Any burden you would face with them inside is something you already face even when they are outside as well."

"The beast space in your body is proof of that," he said.

"Ah, I see," Alex said. "So it will be different when you enter."

"Yes," the man said. "Your Soul Space is in part connected with your soul and spirit. When another being with their own Soul enters your Soul Space, you have to bear the weight of their Soul with your own. That includes their spirit, their spiritual sense, and even their Intent."

"And your soul will be especially strong," Alex said softly. "Stronger than anything I've sensed. How does it compare to the Weapons God's Intent?" 

The man thought for a bit. "I don't think you'll find it to be very different," he said. "The Weapons God is someone that died a long time ago. The Stone Sword he left behind has lost most of its Intent in the thousands of years that he had been dead."

"I would be an ant to him in his hay day, even now my living Intent would be weaker than his dead one, especially when I don't mean to harm you at all," the man said. "However, Intent is not all you're going to have to bear when I enter."

"You'll have to bear my soul and spirit, and as a Divine Cultivator, it has never been stronger."

Alex took a deep breath out of shock and fear. "A greater pain than that time, huh?" he thought, remembering the day when he pulled the stone sword out of the ground and read the contents carved onto it.

"I've grown stronger since then," Alex said. "It might not be a lot, but I'm sure I can handle you."

"Good, you must," the man said. "If you cannot, your soul will break, your spirit will dissipate, and your consciousness will be no longer."

Alex sucked in cold breath once more out of fear. "Then is it safe at all?" he asked.

The man chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, I intend to get out the moment you ask me for it," he said. "Although I will need you to remain conscious of that. If you feel yourself getting weak, you'll have to let me know. Without your intention, the only way for me to come out of your Soul Space is to break through your Soul Space, at which point you would die."

Alex nodded. "I understand," he said. "I'm ready."

"Alright, as long as you are clear," the man said, slowly taking off his storage rings, noticing that Alex was looking at them. "There are items with spirit in here. Those would burden your soul too."

"Oh," Alex said with a hint of surprise.

"Anyway, get ready," the man said. "Send me in."

Alex nodded and at the next moment the man vanished from in front of his eyes. 

The moment the man vanished, Alex felt it, a deep pain in his mind. The pain emanated through his chest and his dantian too. He, the Nascent Soul, was the one feeling most of the pain.

Alex balled his hand into a fist, his fingernails digging into his palm, as he tried his best to handle the pain. It felt as if someone placed a large rock on his spiritual sea and he needed to carry it.

The man hadn't been lying. This was most certainly more painful than when he tried to read the Spiritual Providence skill carved onto the Stone Sword. 

After a few seconds, he got used to the pain and looked inside his Soul Space where he found the man staring directly at something in the complete opposite direction of where he should have been looking at.

* * * * * 

The man surnamed Yang entered the Soul Space without any fanfare. One moment he was outside and the next he was here, surrounded by darkness that he felt would fit the title of Void far better than the colorful silver and purple world. 

He had been inside a Soul Space before, multiple times even. But the ones he entered belonged to his master, the Sky God, and hers was not empty like this, devoid of most things. 

He wondered if this was how her Soul Space used to be before he ever met her, before she ever became the Sky God, before the event that was now forbidden to even be talked about.

The Massacre of Gods.

'Stop getting distracted,' he told himself. This was not the time to reminisce. He needed to find the two seeds and learn as much as he could about them in the short time frame he had.

However, he wasn't sure where that was. He couldn't use his Divine sense to check where it was unless he wanted to destroy Alex's Nascent Soul at once. This entire world would crumble if he did so.

He needed to wait for Alex to show him the way. And it was taking him a few more seconds than he had expected him to.

'It should be around here,' he thought. 'The kid wouldn't send me far away.' He tried to sense what he could with just his cultivation base, without bringing out his Divine sense.

Something caught his attention in a certain direction. He tried to look at what it was, but there was no light there. However, it was something that felt both strong and familiar. He couldn't tell why.

'What is there?' he wondered curiously. Was it perhaps the Blood God's Manual? 

"Senior!" Alex spoke to him through his spiritual sense. "Please hurry, I can't hold much longer."

"Oh, sorry," the man said quickly, returning to his senses. "I got distracted. Where are the seeds?"

"In that direction."

Alex led the man through the void. As he got closer, he saw a sliver of a golden light peeking through something large. He could see roots that were coming out of the bulbs that were still the seeds, even though there was already a sprout coming above.

"You should stop there, senior," Alex said with a pained voice. "Any further and the roots will try to absorb whatever you have."

"I see," the man said. "The Nine Yang Divine Tree is said to be a creation of the Sun God. It is understandable if it wishes to destroy everything and anything it comes in contact with."

Alex was taken aback. He hadn't been aware of that, but he didn't have it in him to show his surprise at this very moment.