975 Pill Cloud
Before the 5 major sects of the current northern continent existed, they were but a part of a super sect known as the Snow Immortal sect.
The Snow Immortal sect ruled over the Northern Continent for thousands and thousands of years, producing dozens of Immortals in the process.
And it all came crumbling down when Xue Kuangren, the sect leader of the Snow Immortal sect of 8 thousand years ago failed in his lightning tribulation to become an Immortal.
In doing so, he was said to have died, and along with him died the Snow Immortal sect.
And yet, here he was, in front of Alex. He wasn’t in his best state, but he was alive, and he was very strong.
‘Godslayer!’ Alex shouted in his head to try and call for help. ‘I need your help.’
Godslayer heard his calls and shifted into Alex’s body. But when he sensed the man that stood in front of him, he quickly went back.
“I’m sorry, kid. I can’t help you on this one,” he said. “The man in front of you is the closest thing to an Immortal. The only one that can hurt him is an Immortal, and I, unfortunately, don’t have that sort of power in me.”
Alex was terrified when he realized the severity of the situation. There was no getting out of here.
* * * * * *
“Xue Kuangren? He is supposed to have died 8 thousand years ago,” the sect master of the Blazing Earth sect said.
“He didn’t,” the old woman said. “We speculate that the coward realized that he was going to fail and most likely die during his ascension, and thus ran away from his own tribulation.”
“In doing so, he implicated the many elders of the Snow Immortal sect at the time, all of whom died there. He himself got out of it with half of his body damaged,” the old woman said.
“Had we realized at the time this was the matter, we would’ve killed him before he had some time to recuperate. Alas, he had gone off to the southern Shuang where he established the massive formation that brought down lightning that he then used to hide.”
The sect master’s eyes went wide. “Xue Kuangren created the Lightning Peninsula?” he asked in surprise.
“Did it never seem too coincidental to you that exactly 8 thousand years ago when he was supposed to have died was the same time the Lightning Peninsula was first created?” the old woman asked.
“I… see, that makes sense,” the sect master said. “So he’s been hiding this whole time? Why hasn’t he come to reclaim his sect? Why did he just watch and let his sect be destroyed?”
“He can’t come,” the old woman said. “His wounds are too severe for him to do anything.”
“Then… why couldn’t you kill him?” the sect master asked.
“His physical body is too strong for us to do anything,” the woman said. “The only one who can hurt him is he himself.”
The sect master was confused. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“He’s a False Immortal, meaning that he has the attributes of an Immortal but not their power. His Body and Soul have combined together as it always does when one enters Immortality. His physical body was reborn to become as strong as his cultivation base. As such, we simply cannot hurt him as we are.”
“However, he is wounded. From what we know, part of his meridians are destroyed and thus he can’t use his Qi properly. Every time he does, it only aggravates his wound. And since his meridians are wounded so badly, he can not even cultivate anymore.”
“Then… what can he do?” the sect master asked.
“All he can do, and all he has been doing for the past thousands of years. Kidnapping Alchemists and forcing them to make pills for him to heal,” the old woman said. Since her oath to keep quiet had been lifted, she told the sect master everything she knew.
The sect master finally understood what was happening. “That is why everyone is so against alchemy,” he said. “Because if Alchemy grows then…”
“Then he comes back,” the old woman said. “And if he comes back, the Snow Immortal sect is reborn, and we will be forced to live our lives under the hands of the madman.”
“We wanted the young man to grow and become strong enough to kill the madman, but… dammit, he got to him before he could grow,” the old woman said. “If he somehow is able to make pills to heal the madman then… we can be certain that most of us will die.”
* * * * * *
The madman took Alex to a room full of working cauldrons that were left behind by the alchemists that had just been killed.
It didn’t take him that long to realize that these were the alchemists that had gone missing many times in the past dozens of years.
It was never the 5 sects that did anything to the Alchemists, it was this madman. The 5 sects were only trying to help the alchemists, but they couldn’t outright do anything because of their oath.
As such, they had to seem underhanded to make the alchemists think being one was a bad idea.
‘Dammit, if only I hadn’t reached 100%,’ Alex thought.
“Sit somewhere, you will start making healing pills for me,” he said.
Alex looked around and frowned. “Senior, I’m only a Saint realm cultivator. I cannot make a pill that can help you,” he said.
“Oh, but you can,” the man said. “You brought the pill clouds. That means you can definitely help me.”
Alex couldn’t help but be confused. “Senior, you need Immortal Qi to heal you. I cannot make Immortal pills while I’m in the Saint realms,” he said.
Alex frowned and shook his head. “That was the first time I ever saw something like that happen. It was pure coincidence,” he said.
“Haha, then pray that there are more coincidences like this,” the man said. “When you make a 100% harmony pill, the heavens put it on a trail, calling forth a storm that we call Pill Clouds.”
“It will send down 9 different lightning bolts, of which you have to go through at least one before you can hope to stop. Each lightning bolt the pill survives improves the pill to a point that it has some chance at affecting a cultivator of a higher cultivation base.”
“So, if you a Saint realm cultivator make a Saint ranked healing pill that can survive through enough of the lightning strikes, I will have a high chance of restoring my body and then I can finally go back and make the Snow Immortal sect great again.”
The man started laughing like the mad man he was.
Alex frowned when he realized what a troublesome situation he had gotten himself into. “What if I did heal you? What will you do?” he asked.
“What will I do?” the man thought. “If you heal me, I will make you my heir as the next leader of the Great Snow Immortal sect that will once more rule over all of the Northern Continent.”
“Hehe, you may think I’m lying, but here’s an incentive for you. Every time you make a pill that is over 98% in harmony, I will give you whatever you want,” the madman said. “Except knowledge on talismans. I had someone man a talisman to escape previously, so you can’t have that.”
“Anything?” Alex asked, making a face that said he was willing.
“Yes, anything,” the old man said. “You will do it right?”
Alex had no choice. “Yes,” he said.
“Good, I will go and gather some ingredients for you to start. Rest for now,” the man said and left.
After the man left, Alex sat there thinking of what had just happened. He had been kidnapped by a False Immortal, forced to make a pill for him.
As he thought of what he was going to do in the future, a few words from the past, of the future, came to his mind.
He remembered the divinations he had seen back in the Nine Wells of Time.
One of the divination was a glimpse of his future where he saw Storms, Shards of metal, and Madness.
Alex had been through the storm that was the pill cloud. He had seen the shards of metal that had been the broken pieces of his cauldron that were the last physical reminder of his master.
And now he had seen madness.
Alex felt stunned once more, even after everything that had already happened today. He was stunned when he realized that the visions of the future he had seen 4 months ago were all coming true.
At least, the vision from one of the wells had come true. This meant, more than likely, the other wells had also shown his visions that were true as well.
That was when he remembered the first prophecy he had heard in there, and a deep fear couldn’t help but grow in his heart.
“I hold the key to a fallen power,” he thought. He was the only one in the entire continent that could heal the fallen power that was the sect leader of the Snow Immortal sect after all.
He realized that another one of the divinations, this time a prophecy, was coming true right in front of him.
However, if it was coming true, then he was in grave danger.
“I hold the key to a fallen power,” he remembered and slowly continued. “I shall help restore that power… and that shall bring my death.”