Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

"So… it was all a coincidence?" Alex asked.

"Destiny, maybe?" the man said before laughing a little. "No, I don't know if it was a coincidence. If it was, it is a hell of a coincidence. It could be that it grew thanks to your Life aura too, but I have doubts in that regard. Most likely, the Nine Yang Divine tree's roots threatened the existence of the World Tree, forcing it out of its shell."

"Maybe that was how it was supposed to grow in the first place," the man said, musing to himself. "Those gods should have just tried tossing the seed into hot magma and see what happened. Alas, they were too scared to hurt it and didn't dare. I can't blame them, I would've been the same."

Forced to mature in a harsh environment, was that what it was? Was that how a World Tree seed was supposed to find life? Somehow he didn't think that was correct. 

Somehow, he didn't think that was the right set of circumstances. Surely the Nine Yang Divine Tree's roots feeding on its seed could have forced it to sprout, to protect itself, but to naturally grow out, it would need something more.

Alex didn't have much knowledge of World Tree aside from what Senior Yang had told him. His knowledge lacked the trees that were blessed by the true gods.

The World Defying mushroom in parts was a distant descendant of the World Tree. It was so far off the main line that it wasn't even a plant anymore, and yet it had in part a property of the World Tree, albeit twisted to work differently.

The World Defying mushroom changed their energy as per what they came in direct contact with. They changed what they had into something else almost unnaturally. 

The World Tree, on the other hand, took all the energy it could come across and turned it into pure Qi. In a way, they were the complete opposites of one another, yet one came from the other.

'That is how she blessed them,' Alex thought before pausing for a moment. 'She?' he questioned himself as a thought grew in his head.

"The World Tree," Alex said. "It was blessed by one of the true gods."

The man looked back sharply when he heard Alex speaking again. 

"It was the Moon Goddess, wasn't it?" he asked.

The man looked confused as to why Alex seemed so surprised by his own statement. "Yes, it was," he said. "At least, that is what we believe."

"Then… could the World Tree have properly sprouted when coming into contact with her?" he asked. "Just as the Nine Yang Divine Tree, which was a Sun God's creation, came into contact with me."

"Young man, the True gods are no more," the man said. "All that remains are—"

"Imitations, yes. I understand," Alex said. "I was talking about the Mood Goddess's imitation."

The man paused at that. "Why are you talking about that?" he asked.

"Because I might have met with the current holder of the Moon Goddess's body."

The man gasped. "You met her? Are you absolutely certain?" he asked.

"To be honest, no," Alex said. "I do not know what you know senior, so I cannot tell you if the girl I met had the body you talk about or not, but I can tell you that when I touched the girl to help with her Yin problem, I felt a connection that I instinctively knew belonged to my body and not me."

"It was an ancient connection, which I felt with my master as well, who I think might have been the previous holder of the Moon Goddess' body."

Alex's words surprised the man and at the same time confused him. "Explain to me in detail what happened. What girl? What master?" he asked.

Alex did as the man asked. He explained what he knew regarding his master and the white-haired girl's body. After a minute or two, the man's eyes widened.

"That… that must be the Moon Goddess," he said, remembering some ancient words he had read a long time ago. He was about to say them, but he realized he couldn't. He couldn't tell Alex those prophecies. He couldn't influence his future here. He had too much to do.

He couldn't tell him that throughout the hundreds of thousands if not millions of years since the True Sun God and Moon Goddess had disappeared, the ones that were born with an imitation of their body were always attracted to each other, as if by fate.

And in the hundreds of thousands of years, of the ones that met each other, every single time, one of them was to die, as if by fate.

The day the two met and one didn't die… what would happen then? The man was curious and excited for such a day in the future. At the same time, scared that either Alex or the girl he mentioned would die.

One had already passed away, how many times could he be the survivor of the two?

"If you can," the man spoke. "Try to stay away from her."

Alex frowned a little. "I can't meet her?" he asked. "I was hoping to see if she was my master's reincarnated soul."

The man hesitated a bit. "I do not have the ability to tell whether she is what you think she is or not. I do not even know how real reincarnation is. But still, listen to me, and try to stay away where you can. Or at least, take things slow."

Alex didn't understand, but he nodded. "So… could the World Tree have grown out of her presence or her Yin?" he asked.

"There's a good chance," the man said. "Much better than what I thought the seed did to protect itself."

"I thought so," Alex said. He thought for a bit and asked, "But if the sea isn't protecting itself, then won't it die soon enough? I fear the Yang tree might suck it all away."

"That you don't have to worry," the senior said. "I think the Tree is handling it just fine. From what I see, the two of them are in perfect harmony as of yet."

"Perfect harmony?" Alex asked. "How do you mean?"

"They are giving and taking energy to help each other right now."

"The Yang tree glows with heat, all of which is absorbed by the World Tree to create Qi. The Qi is then absorbed by the Yang tree to turn it to heat. The roots also take and give resources as they need from each other, all of which return back to the cycle in the end, helping themselves."

Alex was slightly surprised. "So… it's a perpetual transfer of energy?" he asked. "They don't need anyone else to grow?"

"No, they do need help to grow," the man said. "Their seeds have enough nutrients for them to grow, for now, there's still food inside there. The seeds are also absorbing the Life aura your body produces."

"While minuscule, they are growing. And if you continue this for long enough, give them additional nutrients, they will certainly mature into the Nine Yang Divine Tree and the World Tree."

"Together at that. That would be a sight to see."