Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 3314 Pearl at the Shore

Pearl stood at the edge of the first island with many other beasts, all of whom were now on their way back to the Blackland City. Ray had been with him until he arrived at this island before leaving him alone.

Everyone who failed the trial was led back to this one island, which then took them all back to the starting location, ready to take in the next batch of trial takers.

It had taken Pearl less than half a day to return, which he hadn't expected. Considering how long it had taken them to reach the center, he was certain it would take a few days, but thankfully it didn't.

The beasts on the island were all downtrodden and regretful, except for a few who seemed to have reached far enough to feel

disappointed. For many, this was their last trial, either because they had gone through all four before or because they simply gave up. But many would surely leave for the other claws as soon as they returned and try once again.

Once they arrived, the island met with the obsidian beach, and everyone got off one after another.

Pearl did too, once again feeling the familiar heat of being close to the lava. The islands were protected from the heat, after all.

As the old batch got off, the new batch of beasts got back onto the island, excited to take on the trial.

Pearl slowly moved away from the beach and headed toward the beast city. As he did, he noticed a spiritual sense keeping track of him. It tried not to be obvious, but Pearl could tell that it was watching

him.

He continued walking for a decent few minutes into the city, far from where the crowd had gathered, before turning around to confront the beast.

"Can I help you, senior?"

No one approached for a moment, but then, a few seconds later, a massive ox with intense musculature showed itself to Pearl. Its gait was slow, but with each step, Pearl could sense the immense aura coming out of it.

It was no doubt a Divine Realm beast.

The ox was much closer before it spoke up with a hint of laughter in its voice.

"You knew I was following you, and yet you stopped to talk to me. I cannot tell whether you are courageous or stupid."

Pearl narrowed his eyes. "Why are you following me?"

"What trial did you fail at?" the ox asked instead of answering.

Pearl paused for a moment, slowly understanding what was happening.

"Ninth," he answered.

The ox gave a look of surprise. "Ninth? You got past both the fire birds and the poison forest?"

Pearl remained silent.

"What did you receive from it?" the ox asked.

"Nothing," Pearl said.

"Don't try to hide it, junior. Tell me what you received from the trial."

Pearl paused for a bit. "A Celestial-grade artifact," he answered. The ox froze for a second, unsure if it had even heard correctly. After a moment, however, it was certain Pearl had lied to him.

"Show it to me then," the ox said. "This Celestial-grade artifact."

"Are you sure, senior?" Pearl asked. "We're in the middle of the road, and once I pull it out, you're not the only one who will notice it."

There were beasts walking past the two, none stopping to wonder what they were doing, staring at each other intently. As their conversation happened mostly through their senses, no one else was privy to it.

The ox found it hard to believe that Pearl could have received a Celestial-grade artifact. But on the off chance that he did...

"You'll come with me," the ox said. "Once we're far from here, you can give it to me. Do that, and I will let you live."

Pearl smiled. "Thank you."

The ox nodded for a second before stopping. "Why are you thanking

me?"

"He threatened to kill me, Grandpa," Pearl shouted out loud.

The ox's eyes widened, but before it could do anything else, it felt another aura pressing down on it.

"I would like to learn the name of the beast that dares to threaten my kin," Bai Jingshen's dominating voice came from all around before he slowly flew down from the sky.

The ox slowly raised its head, staring at the new beast that had arrived. And when it saw the white fur and black stripes, its eyes

nearly popped out of its head.

"W-White Tiger?"

Its head snapped back toward Pearl, staring at him much more closely now. Due to the lack of black stripes, it hadn't made the obvious connection, but it knew that a White Tiger needn't be white or a tiger

to be a White Tiger.

Unknowingly, it had ended up messing with someone it shouldn't

have messed with.

"What?" Bai Jingshen asked as he slowly walked toward the ox. "Come on. Speak your mind."

As Bai Jingshen got closer, the ox calmed itself. Slowly, it felt out Bai Jingshen's aura, coming to the understanding that he was actually not

that strong.

The initial panic of seeing a White Tiger slowly faded as the ox realized that Bai Jingshen wasn't strong in the first place. He had the oppressive aura at first, but that didn't mean much without a cultivation base to back it up.

The ox scoffed. "Do not think for a moment that I'm scared of you just because you're a White Tiger."

"Why?" Bai Jingshen asked. "Are you that courageous, or just plain old

stupid?"

The ox was angered easily and quickly let out its cultivation base aura to press on Bai Jingshen.

Bai Jingshen stood where he was, not a single fur on his body moving. He stared at the ox for a long few seconds before slowly nodding.

"Stupid it is."

Before the ox understood what had happened, it was already flying toward the sea of lava, half its body broken and bleeding. Bai Jingshen turned around, already forgetting about the ox.

"Why are you alone?" he asked Pearl. "Where are the rest?"