Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Godslayer spoke a bit more about this barrier that was around the world, and how it affected the entire world and was weaker as it got lower.

There wasn't much to learn after that, but at least Alex was now happy to know why there was atmosphere only on one side of the land. That made him want to see the other side.

How did it look on the other side of the world? A place with no air, no life, nothing. He would go there one day, but it would be a long time in the future.

They continued walking silently, a few of them silently panting for more air, failing to get used to the lack of air. They knew they didn't have to breathe, but even then muscle memory took over for the most part.

Alex was the same many times and had to keep himself from trying to suck in air and fail.

The other worlds that glittered in the sky, or what most people simply referred to as the stars, slowly dwindled as dawn seemed to be on the horizon.

"Just 2 more kilometers," the King said. "We should be able to make it."

The moon had moved further to the west as well, so there wasn't a lot of time to go up.

The pathway up got more and more ragged by the distance, and the closer they got, the worse it was. Still, they were good enough for them to continue climbing.

As they climbed, Alex felt a peculiar sensation that he couldn't give a feeling to. It was like a gentle wind caressing his hair, but there was no wind for his face to feel. Something was there but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Do you guys feel that?" Alex asked.

"Feel what, Your Majesty?" Yao Ning asked.

"I don't know," Alex said. "But it is growing stronger I believe. But still, it is very mild."

Nobody knew what he meant. They tried using their spiritual sense, but even with that, they felt nothing. "If you're not feeling well, Your Majesty, we can rest for a while before climbing. Or we can go back down and come back tomorrow."

"No," Alex quickly said. "I'm alright. And this feeling isn't necessarily a bad one either."

But what was he feeling?

Alex decided to continue his climb and see if it became apparent once he was closer to the top. So, the climbing continued.

Around the time they reached the 21-kilometer mark, the sky had brightened to the point that nothing but the moon was visible. Around half an hour more and the sun would rise.

"We should go faster," the King spoke. His voice was soft now, which had nothing to do with his lack of ability to speak, but rather the lack of air to transfer those sounds to their ears.

They picked up their pace and as they continued, the feeling Alex felt got stronger. It got stronger, but it was still very mild. He couldn't tell what he was feeling or if he was really even feeling anything.

After climbing for another 15 minutes, they arrived at the peak.

The peak was a small plateau of around 20 meters of uneven ground and crumbling rock. There were several people there already, all of whom were cultivators in the Saint realm.

A few of them recognized the King and others and made simple greetings, but this was no time to talk with someone else. Just minutes from now, the sun would come up and they would experience something that one could only experience in this place.

Alex found a place without anyone there and sat cross-legged on the freezing dirt. The feeling here was stronger than ever, but he found it hard to focus on it. Especially, he had something else to see in front of him.

Sitting at the edge of the peak, he saw the other side of the mountain range. 

The tall mountain cascaded rapidly and a dark land lay below from where Alex could see. Large glowing cities looked like embers floating from a campfire in the night. They were many and far spread, but they were tiny from this height.

From where he sat, he almost thought he could reach the ground in a single step. It felt like he would be jumping down a slightly taller step. He knew how far down that land was, but it felt right at his fingertips.

Beyond the land, which there wasn't much of in his vision, lay the slightly glistening ocean of dark colors. It was only visible thanks to the brightening sky and it looked like the sky itself, reflected in its colors.

There were many dark spots along those waters, like tiny pieces of trash floating in a small puddle. But Alex knew those were islands, and some of those were as large as cities if not countries.

How incredibly small they looked.

As Alex's vision moved forward, in the distance he saw something. His eyes glowed purple and what he saw became clear as daylight. His breath grew slightly haggard at the sight.

He saw the edge of the world.

Like jagged pieces of land jutting out from the ground, they covered the horizon. Their silhouettes were clearly visible with the sun slowly shining behind them.

It was coming out of the horizon and soon they would see the sunrise. 

Alex stared at the jagged pieces of land, surprised they were there in the first place. He had heard about edges, but never knew there were lands on those edges. Curious, he asked Godslayer about it.

"Every world has it," Godslayer said. "I don't know how they came to be, but they were tall and they are strong. Not as tall as mountains, but those jagged edges go for a few kilometers in some places."

"Why are they there?" Alex couldn't help but ask.

"To stop the water in the ocean from flowing out," Godslayer said, his tone almost making it seem like it was supposed to be obvious. "If not for that, your world wouldn't have oceans."

"Huh?" Alex asked. "That barrier doesn't stop the ocean?"

"No, only the atmosphere," Godslayer said. "I told you, it's not a real barrier."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for telling me," he said.

"That's alright. You wouldn't know these things anyway," Godslayer said. "I don't even know if you're supposed to know it. Not that there is any purpose to learning about it this early. What can you even do with this information?"

Alex said nothing. 

"Now that you do know this, make sure never to attack those lands," Godslayer said. "If you do, the Heavens will destroy you the moment you even show any intention of doing so."

"What?" Alex asked Godslayer in surprise. "Then I should have known about this. This shouldn't have been hidden from us."

"It doesn't matter," Godslayer said. "Not that any of you can go—"

A few shifting of clothes and movements around the plateau told Alex that it was beginning. Just as he understood it, the first ray of light trickled its way past the jagged lands of the edges.

And fear gripped Alex's heart.