Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 2320  Waiting for Death

"I will continue until the day you accept my request, senior," Alex said.

"I won\'t accept your request. Just leave me alone already," the old man said.

Alex could see the old man\'s frustration now. It had been nearly 2 weeks since he began doing this, and each day the man rejected him. But now, he was getting angry.

"You say you don\'t want my spirit stones," Alex said. "What do you want? If it is within my capacity, I will get it for you."

"I want nothing," the old man practically shouted at Alex now. "Surely that is not true," Alex said. "Please stop me if I\'m wrong, but Emerald Ravens easily grow back their tail feathers. They aren\'t such an important part of your body that you can\'t part with. Is there a sentimental value to them perhaps? Or are there other issues that I can not know?"

Alex waited for the old man to speak, but the old man simply grumbled. He nodded slowly. "I shall return tomorrow then."

He turned around to leave.

The old man reached forward and grabbed Alex\'s shoulder, but Alex teleported at the very moment, arriving a dozen meters away from the man.

The man looked stunned for a moment, his head slowly turning up toward Alex. "Did you need something, senior?" Alex asked, trying to keep his voice calm. He had been on his toes the entire time, so he ended up teleporting at the smallest act from the man.

"Just… don\'t come back," the old man said.

"I\'m sorry for what is happening, senior, but I must come until I get those feathers. They are very important to me. I hope you understand," Alex said. "As such, I shall return tomorrow again."

"If you come back tomorrow, I will kill you," the old man shouted back.

Alex didn\'t immediately leave. He looked at the man, puzzled. "Can you answer me this one question?" he asked. "Why are you so adamant about not selling? Isn\'t it easier to just give me the feathers and have me go on my way?"

The old man seemed to be in a lot of mental duress with the situation.

Alex really didn\'t want to burden him anymore. He pitied the guy and whatever situation he was going through. "You say Spirit stones are useless to you as a trading option. So you are either rich or you don\'t rely on Spirit stones anymore," Alex said. "Whatever the case, I have other things I can offer. I am an Alchemist, and while I don\'t like boasting about my skills, I am one of the best Immortal realm alchemists you will ever meet. If there is something I can make you, please do tell me."

"Pills won\'t help me," the old man finally spoke. "Nothing will."

"Something must," Alex said. "Otherwise you would just be a man, waiting to die."

"And that I am," the old man said. "I am glad you realized. Now leave and don\'t ever come back."

Alex tried to see the man\'s expression and try to see if he was just saying this all to get rid of him. And while there was that in what Alex saw, he also saw the sadness behind the man\'s anger. The sorrow behind his rage. The truth behind his anger.

He was a man who was waiting to die.

"Are you dying, senior?" Alex asked him.

"None of your business," the old man said.

"If you are dying and I can treat you in exchange for those feathers, then it is my business," Alex said. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

The old man looked at Alex now with a disgusted look. He snorted and returned to the house, shutting the door behind him.

Alex waited for a few moments on the street, watching the closed door. "I am not just an Alchemist," he said. "I am also a healer. If you are dying, I may be able to heal you. I shall return tomorrow, senior. Please think about this until then."

Then he left.

Alex returned to his room, where he was forced to sit and think about the old man. How could he be dying? A multitude of possibilities shot through his mind, but none landed anywhere concrete. He wanted to learn more about the old man, but he had exhausted all possible knowledge Scarwolf had on him about the old man. He now knew the old man\'s name to be Guang Fuzhen. He knew that he was a disciple of the sect for easily over a hundred thousand years. And he had no family. That was all that Alex or anyone else for that matter really knew about the man. Perhaps the elders would have more information, but they weren\'t going to give it to an outsider like him.

Alex sighed as he lay on his back on the bed. "What do I do?" he thought. "I need to go to the secret realm soon. I can\'t be stuck here the whole time."

After much consideration, Alex came to a decision. If in a week, he went nowhere, he would leave. There was no point in staying in this place for much longer than that when he could be productive elsewhere.

After a night of cultivation and halfway through the day, he finally made his way back to the old man\'s place once again to request the feathers. This time around, however, the old man seemed to be outside, waiting for him.

Alex slowed down when he got close to the house, looking at the old man apprehensively. The old man saw Alex and walked out of his house. "I told you, I would kill you if you came back."

"That you did, senior," Alex said.

"And yet you still came all the same," the old man said, a massive green illusory feather appearing behind him. "Then you must be prepared to die."