Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Alex asked what had happened to Xue Meirong and Gu Zhanrou. 

Xue Meirong was the daughter of Xue Mufan, the other of the two Saint Alchemists that were around when Alex was here over 30 years ago.

Gu Zhanrou on the other hand was someone who had managed to beat Xue Meirong in a small competition Alex had held and had managed to become the Royal Alchemist after him.

They had both shown tremendous talent in the Alchemy competition that Alex had won, so now that he learned what Zhou Ren was up to, he wanted to learn what the other two were up to as well.

It turned out that Xue Meirong was an elder in the Falling Lotus sect, working along with her father to make the sect the best Alchemy sect in the empire.

Gu Zhanrou had returned back to her own sect, which was also trying to compete against the Falling Lotus sect to become the best Alchemy sect.

As of now, the Falling Lotus sect was winning, but it wasn’t ahead by that much.

Alex also asked about a few other people and learned about them.

The gardener, Wei Ruoran, who had taught him how to grow plants and rear for them had ended up overcoming his Qi deviation and had broken through to the Saint realm in what was the biggest spectacle anyone had produced to enter the Saint realm.

Because he had learned a dao, the man had to go through lightning tribulation to successfully become a Saint realm expert.

Alex wanted to greet him and thank him for what he had done for him, but unfortunately, it turned out that the man was currently in closed cultivation.

Aside from him, Alex asked a bit about the various prince and princesses that he had gotten to know during his stay. After he got everything he wanted, he let the princess go and cultivated for the night

Tomorrow morning, he left the royal palace with his mother and made his way to the Dawnspring city that was to the southeast. 

It took him nowhere near as much time as it had taken him when he had come to the Radiant city from the north.

Due to the short distance, Alex and Helen arrived outside the city before they even knew it. Along the way, Alex saw the Han family’s ancestral ground with many people currently training outside in the sun.

He wondered how Han Daiyu was doing. The beefy young girl who liked using her hammer had most likely entered the Saint realm, given how close to it she was all those years ago. Since the Han family was one of the ones that attacked Alex however, he did not wish to go meet them directly.

He skipped the city as well, flying over it to go to the Flowing Brush sect. They arrived at the top of the mountain peak where the gate was and landed.

The few people there were surprised to see someone come and got a little hesitant and apprehensive. 

Alex walked up front and everyone looked at him. However, no one remembered what Alex looked like, so they didn’t react in the way Alex expected them to.

On the other hand, when his mother walked forward, they all immediately greeted her, calling her elder Hei in the process.

Alex was surprised to see that there were people here that remembered her amongst the guards even though she had already left the sect over 2 decades ago. She must’ve been pretty popular in her sect before she left.

But, they didn’t recognize Alex at all. 

They waited outside for a few minutes before the two of them sensed a group coming flying toward them. They both looked in that direction and saw 5 people, of which only 2 were in the Saint realm.

“Disciple Hei greets master and elders,” Helen spoke immediately, bowing toward the people that had arrived.

Alex recognized none from the group except for Qin Shan, who was his mother’s master. The last time he had seen him was when he left his mother in the sect before he made his way to the Demon realm. 

“Lin’er, you’re back?” Qin Shan couldn’t help but ask in surprise. “Are you alright? Did the beasts kick you out?”

Helen smiled softly after hearing her master’s worry. “No, master. I came at my own discretion. It had been so long and I wanted to meet you.”

“Is that so? Then I have nothing to—”

Qin Shan’s eyes moved toward Alex who was a little further away. Because he couldn’t sense any aura from Alex, he had completely overlooked his presence. However, now that he had noticed him, his shock only grew exponentially.

“Aah! Yu Ming? That’s you, right?” Qin Shan asked.

“It’s good to meet you again, senior Qin,” Alex spoke, bowing slightly toward his mother’s master.

“You… you survived?” Qin Shan asked, unbelieving of his own eyes. “Lin’er, your son came back. I-I can’t believe this. I’m so happy for you.”

“Yes, master,” Helen said with a bright smile. “Not only him, I found my husband as well, and I also have a granddaughter now.”

“What?” Qin Shan’s surprises were truly unending.

Helen and Qin Shan immediately started asking about each other, trying to learn what had happened to each other in the time they were separated.

Alex was brought into the conversation a few times as well and was asked how he survived at all with the Saints trying to kill him. Alex told them that he was teleported away from this continent to the next one.

The people there were surprised to hear that there was a way to visit other continents. Most of them had to even make an effort to remember there were other continents. Because of how uncommon the topic was, it had been centuries since the last time they had to think about that knowledge.

“Oh right, Lin’er. You are a player, aren’t you?” Qin Shan asked. “There is news going around that the players can be sent back home. Apparently, if you go to the Lightsworns in the city, they will help you go back to your home. I don’t know how true that is, but you and your son should try that.”

Helen smiled. “I know that, master. I and my son were the ones that had the emperor spread this message,” she said.

“Oh… is that so?” Qin Shan was surprised. “Then… do you not plan on staying here for long?”

Helen shook her head. “I only came for a small visit, master,” she said. “I don’t know how long I’ll stay, but at most, it will be a day or two.”

“Is that so,” Qin Shan was a little disappointed.

“Yes, I’ll be going home, master,” she said. “After that, it’s unlikely that I will be returning to the Western Continent for a long time.”

“I see…” Qin Shan got a little sad. “Well, I suppose I can’t expect you to come back just because you’re my disciple. As long as you are happy, that will be enough for me.”