Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 3785: Strong Poison

Alex felt the poison inside his body, inactive at the moment but ready to strike. As the man said, he could release it any moment he liked, as the poison was part of his Creation. It was connected to him.

He took a deep breath, wondering how he could get through this situation. While he didn’t believe the poison could hurt him, he also needed to make sure that the man didn’t know that. At least, not until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

"That’s an interesting Creation," Alex said. "Is that an artifact you found somewhere, or is it some sort of family heirloom?"

The man looked at his own staff and gave an affirmative nod. "It’s something that only a certain few among our family are allowed to form as a Creation. You can call it an heirloom, yes."

"One side is poison and the other side is an antidote?" Alex asked.

"One side is poison and the other side is simply healing," the man corrected Alex. "It’s a strong enough healing that it can undo the poison’s effect as well."

"That’s quite incredible."

The man chuckled. "Are you going to just ask questions or make a decision?" he asked. "If you won’t give up, I will do what I said. Once the poison takes hold, you truly may die unless I give you this healing."

Alex watched the staff and nodded. "I understand. But if you were to kill me, aren’t you worried you might have to answer to those backing me?" he asked. "You do realize one cannot just become this strong, right?"

The man hesitated for a moment. That was something he had considered in the back of his mind, but he hadn’t actively thought about it. Now that Alex said as much, a slight worry grew in his mind that he might truly have to answer to someone stronger than he would want to.

Alex could see the man’s hesitation, and that was exactly what he wanted, as every second the man hesitated to do something was another second that passed, bringing Alex closer and closer to victory.

As of this moment, his Spiritual energy had depleted to a point where he could maybe last a minute or so on its own, which would not be enough.

The man’s look suddenly changed as if a thought had come out of nowhere, taking hold of his mind. He turned toward Alex with a proud look on his face.

"I only need to be wary of whoever is backing you if you die," the man said. "If you manage to survive, I have nothing to worry about."

"That’s a big if," Alex said.

"Yes, it is, but I will call you out on your bluff too," the man said. "If you think you would rather die than give up, I’m willing to test it."

Alex felt the cluster of poison inside his thigh suddenly break apart and activate as it surged throughout his body. He tried to keep it away from the rest of his body, but it was much too strong for him. More than that, Alex hadn’t tried hard enough, because he had a feeling he could handle it.

As soon as the poison spread through him, Alex immediately felt an intense pain rage throughout his body, sharp like a thousand blades cutting him all at once from the inside. It wasn’t just a feeling either. His muscles and tendons were being ripped to shreds.

The poison fully took effect.

Alex nearly buckled as his legs gave way. He managed to keep himself up, but then he swayed backward. Blood started leaking from his lips.

He looked up toward the Divinity, showing a pained expression. Even his eyes were blood-red.

The Divinity stood tall, watching Alex suffer from his poison. He was slightly surprised by two things. First, Alex hadn’t immediately collapsed. Even Divinities would struggle to remain standing, and Alex had. Second, he still wasn’t giving up.

The man couldn’t help but hold a degree of respect toward Alex in that moment. And more than that, he wondered just what sort of monster he could become when he finally did become a Divinity. Just how strong would he be?

He could only wait and find out.

"You should give up soon," the man said. "As it is now, the poison hasn’t reached deep enough. But soon, it will reach your brain, your heart, and worse, your Dantian. There is a good chance that if you keep this up, you will be crippled. You do not want that, do you?"

Alex watched without a single change in expression, though he likely couldn’t change it since the only expression he had was one that showed just how painful the entire thing was for him.

"I can fix it right now," the man said as the golden snake with yellow eyes moved forward. "Just one bite from this snake, and you will be as good as new. All you have to do is give up."

The man waited for Alex to say something, but Alex remained silent the entire time, simply enduring the pain and poison. He wondered if Alex could actually go all the way through this way, but the chances were low. Even if he could, he would just attack and end it.

The problem was that Alex wasn’t asking for the healing. If this kept up, there could be irreparable damage, and the man didn’t want to be responsible for it.

"Come on, just give up already," he said in an exasperated tone. "How much more do you wish to suffer for just a few stars?"

Still, Alex said nothing. He stood still, taking the pain and poison without moving a muscle.

The man sighed. There was no point in waiting now. In a short while, the challenge would be over, and he didn’t want that to happen.

He raised his clubstaff, ready to attack. However, just as he did so, Alex’s face twisted into a smile.

The moment the man saw that, he realized something was wrong.