Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

"So, Yu Ming. Can you tell us how you defeated Xue Kuangren?" the elders that were on the boat asked.

"Oh, it was quite simple actually," Alex said. "I did as he asked."

"You did… as he asked?" the people looked around curiously.

"Yes," Alex said. "He wanted me to make him a healing pill, so I did. Once he was healed, the lightning tribulation he had half done continued and the final two lightning strikes killed him."

"What?" the elders were surprised. "He wasn't done with his lightning tribulation? And here we thought he was arrogant and randomly started trying to break through once more."

"No, it was because I healed him," Alex said. "That was why I healed him in the first place."

"How did you heal him though?" one of the elders from the Heaven's Frost sect asked.

"Right, Saint pills shouldn't work on him or the many alchemists he had taken hostage would have healed him completely," the elder said.

"Of course," Alex said. "But I'm sure senior Tai here should have told you guys already that I don't make normal Saint pills, hasn't she?"

The elders looked around and nodded. They had heard of the pill cloud that had formed but beyond that, they knew nothing.

"Did you… improve your alchemy skills while you were inside?" the elders asked.

"Actually, I did," Alex said. "I wouldn't necessarily say my skills improved, but my knowledge about a few things definitely did, which quite helped me in making the pills I needed."

The elders were jubilant hearing this.

"Young man, do you want to return to the sect?" Lady Xuan asked. "The Frozen Heart sect welcomes you every time."

"What are you talking about?" Huang Xinyi said before turning around to Alex. "Come to our sect. You need beast cores if I remember correctly. We have a lot of those laying around."

"We can teach you everything we know about poison," the Nether Poison sect's leader spoke, trying to persuade Alex too. He knew he didn't have any connection with Alex, but he tried what he could.

"He's my disciple's nephew. If anywhere, he will come with us," Tai Guan said. "Isn't that right, Yu Ming?"

They all turned toward Alex to hear his answer.

Alex simply smiled. "Well, let me start by clearing one thing. My name is not Yu Ming. It's just something I had to use because I didn't want people to know my real name."

"My real name is Alex, and I hope you can call me so from now on," he said.

"Oh," the elders were a little surprised, but not enough to see how that was relevant to their question.

"Secondly…"

Alex reached into his storage ring and pulled out something that finally caught the eyes of all the elders.

The gleaming, golden crown made them speechless as they watched it settle on top of Alex's head.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I am actually the King of the Southern Continent, and as such, There is no way I can join any of your sects."

The elders as well as Liz remained stunned for an entire minute without anyone saying anything.

"You're joking, right?" Liz was the first to break the silence.

"No, I'm not," Alex said.

"He is the King," Graham said. "He became one about a decade ago, the after he found me, actually."

"H-how?" Tai Guan asked with a quivering voice.

Alex smiled, saying nothing else.

"My prophecy," Liz spoke. "The one with the crown, was that… this?" She looked at Alex's crown and was pretty sure that this was what it was.

"Maybe," Alex said. "It definitely was mine."

Liz's face remained blank. "So the prophecies do come true," she said.

Alex hesitated a bit to agree with her even though he knew 2 of the 6 divinations he had received had already come true.

After all, one of them was a divination about his death.

If all prophecies were true, then the one about his death was true as well, and he did not like that idea at all.

"What's this about prophecies, father?" Ronron asked. "How did you receive this prophecy?"

"There's a place in the east that can do it," Alex said.

"I don't suggest you do it," Hao Ya quickly said. "Divinations can be good, but they also can be bad. If you end up receiving bad divinations, it usually ruins your life because your perception of what you would be capable of in the future changes."

"Not to mention it's near impossible to find a seer that can do proper divinations," Hao Ya said.

"Did master say these things?" Ronron asked.

"Yes," Hao Ya said. "Unless the seer has a very good grasp of the Time Dao, it is a good idea to not trust their words."

"Time dao?" Alex asked. "Divination is related to the time dao?"

"Somewhat," Hao Ya said. "I'm not sure if it's fully related or not, but having a good grasp of time is certainly helpful if someone wants to see the future."

Alex turned toward his aunt. "You have learned the Time Dao right?" he asked.

"I have," Liz said. "Are you saying… I should learn how to do divinations?"

"That's your decision really," Alex said. "But it seems you have a choice that most wouldn't."

Liz thought about it for a few seconds and decided to leave the decision for the future.

The ship flew for an hour or two more before they arrived in the Blue Spring sect. Huang Xinyi called out a couple, who were there to escort Alex and the rest to their quarters while the elders made their decision.

Ma Tianxin and Ren Xiuyin stood outside where the ship landed as they were here to escort the guests. However, when they saw who the guest was, they couldn't hide their shock at all.

"B-brother Yu Ming?" Ma Tianxian looked at the boat with an open mouth.

"Brother Ma, Sister Xiuyin, how is it going?" Alex asked as he simply waved.

Huang Xinyi quickly went to the two couples and whispered something to them. Their shock only grew larger when they heard what Huang Xinyi had to say.

Ma Tianxin's posture grew stiff and he quickly bowed down. "Welcome, your Majesty," he quickly said.

"Aw, come on. You don't have to be like that," Alex said. "I already get that enough in the Southern Continent. You don't have to call me that as well."

"But… we have to," Ren Xiuyin said. "After all, you are—"

"Please, I insist," Alex said.

The couple looked at each other and nodded. "Okay, brother Yu," Ma Tianxin said.

"Oh, and please call me Alex, that's my real name," Alex said.

"Your real name?" Ma Tianxin looked quite surprised. "Alex… you're a player?"

Alex nodded.

"I am a player too," Ma Tianxin said.

"I know," Alex said with a smile. "You hadn't gotten rid of your speech pattern, so I recognized it quite easily."

"Oh," Ma Tianxin said. "I see. Alex, huh? Call me Matt, then."

"Oh, is that your real name as well?" Alex asked.

"It is," Ma Tianxin said. "Although, I suppose Ma Tianxin is more authentic now."

"Dear we shouldn't keep them outside for so long," Ren Xiuyin said and turned toward the group. "Please follow us, we will take you to a place where you can stay."

"Thank you," Alex said and the group walked away with the two couples. He noticed the speech between the two and was a little surprised.

"You two got married? He asked.

"Yes," Ma Tianxin said. "About 5 years ago."

"Congratulations," Alex said. "Any children?"

"No," Ma Tianxin said. "It's too early for us."

"I see," Alex said.

"Father, are you embarrassed you have a daughter?" Ronron asked.

"Fa-father?" Ma Tianxin quickly turned around. "That's your… daughter?"

"She is," Alex said. "Ronron, greet your seniors."

"Greetings, Uncle Ma, Aunt Ren," Ronron bowed a little.

"Your daughter is so pretty," Ren Xiuyin said.

"She is, isn't she?" Alex asked while patting Ronron's head.

The group was taken to a rather fancy room Alex wondered if he would have been brought here had he not been a King. 'The title sure does come with a lot of benefits,' he thought.

The group settled down and the two couples left. Hao Ya was taken away as well to speak with the elders regarding the mass teleportation of players.

Alex and his family were left alone, so they caught up on things. They talked about what they had been doing all this time, where they had been, and such.

Liz was more than happy to see not just her nephew that she had found and lost, but also her brother. If now she found her husband and daughter, she wouldn't want anything else from life.

A few hours later, Hao Ya entered the room with a gloomy look and walked directly toward Alex.

"Can you come with me?" she asked.

"What's the matter?" Alex asked.

"There's a slight problem that I need your help with," she said and walked away.

Alex followed her to a room full of people with status so high that had he not been a king, he would have to bow in front of everyone.

The figures gathered here were sect leaders, ancestors, and strong individuals with a lot of say in the happenings of the Northern Continent.

And all of them were gathered in the room to talk about sending the players back to where they had come from.

And from what Alex could see, they hadn't come to a conclusion at all.