Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 3508: Another One

Pearl moved with the prince, going from place to place, shutting down the pseudo-Voidgates. The second one after Raingear City was right at the surface of the ocean to the west, which he shut down.

The third was deep in the mines in the mountains of the north.

The fourth one had destroyed two Sacred Jade Lotuses on the Jade Lotus Continent.

The fifth one had appeared to the south of the continent, deep in the ocean where apparently a fearsome Divinity called the Squid Prince ruled. The massive beast was thankful for Pearl taking care of it all and even provided him with some reward for his troubles, which included some inks that were apparently good for making talismans.

The sixth one was to the north in the Holy Beast Continent, deep in the ancestral grounds of some massive sect. However, Pearl didn’t have to do anything there, as someone in the sect seemed to have taken care of it already. There was someone there who was capable of manipulating space.

Whether it was the result of someone understanding space or just utilizing a tool to do so was unclear. They were rather secretive about it.

The final one was to the south, inside a massive forest. Once Pearl closed it, he should have been done with all seven.

However, news had come just before they went there.

"Apparently, another crack has been discovered in the ocean between the Jade Lotus Continent and the Drunken Spirit Continent," the prince explained. "After we’re done here, we’ll need to head there."

"Another one?" Pearl asked.

The prince nodded. "This is all a new development for us, so we’re still discovering them. This one might not even be the last one as far as we know. We might have to ask you for help once again."

Pearl didn’t mind that, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. He went along with the prince, clearing the crack in the forest, and then prepared to leave for the one in the ocean.

However—

"Your Highness, it might be a good idea not to close this one," Pearl said as they were preparing to leave.

The journey from the Holy Beast Continent would have taken them to the Jade Lotus Continent, from where they would’ve flown to the ocean. But Pearl was suddenly against it.

"What’s wrong? Are you tired?" the prince asked, wondering if he might have overworked Pearl. He was, after all, only an Immortal. Alex was an anomaly for what he was, so it was understandable if he had mistakenly started judging Pearl by the same standards. It would, in fact, be normal if Pearl was extremely tired. What did he know about closing the Void?

"No, that’s not it," Pearl explained. "I think it’s just a good idea to keep this one open. Just in case."

The prince frowned. "Just in case what?" he asked. "Do you think we might get something out of these by keeping them open? I don’t think we can. At least, they are certainly not as usable as a regular Voidgate."

"No, that’s not what I’m talking about," Pearl quickly said. "You brought me here, saying this was the last of the 8th pseudo-Voidgate, didn’t you? But it turned out not to be true."

The prince nodded. "As I mentioned before, we’re still discovering things."

"I understand. I do not fault you for that," Pearl said. "But the cracks may have formed elsewhere too—places you might not discover for a long time. Distant regions where humans don’t visit at all."

"Maybe," the prince said. "I don’t see your point."

"My point is, we’ll never be certain how many cracks there really are out there. Since these cracks appeared due to the explosion of the ship that entered the Void, the only way to know the total number would be to enter the Void and close them from inside."

The prince paused for a moment before slowly nodding. "I see what you’re getting at now. But can you enter the Void? As far as I was aware, only young Dawnblade can."

"Only my brother can do that. So we will have to wait for him," Pearl explained. "He will need to enter the Void again and close everything from inside. That way, we won’t miss anything."

The prince’s eyes narrowed as he slowly nodded. "For that, we will need to keep one of the cracks open so he has a place to enter through, huh?"

Pearl smiled. "That’s what I was getting at. Since we will need my brother to make sure we didn’t miss anything, we should leave one open so he can enter. Otherwise, we could never be certain they are all closed. If that happens, who knows what disaster could be awaiting the world."

After understanding this, the prince nodded.

"I will relay this to my father and the Beast God. Thank you for your help, little brother. You have been extremely helpful these past two days."

Pearl smiled. "It was my pleasure, senior."

"Pleasure or not, you shall be rewarded for this. If there is something you want, please don’t hesitate to ask me."

Pearl could hardly think of anything. "There’s nothing that immediately comes to mind, senior, so I’ll be happy with whatever you decide to give me."

The prince looked away for a moment, scratching his chin as he fell into thought. "Do you like wines?"

"Not particularly," Pearl answered.

The prince paused. "Well, you probably wouldn’t even like it since your brother already makes you such good pills," he said. "Do you want any artifacts?"

Pearl could not answer.

"Doesn’t seem so," the prince said, becoming quite curious as to what exactly he could give Pearl. In the end, he could only come up with a single answer.

"How about some sessions with the Sacred Jade Lotuses?" he asked. "I can set you up for it."

Pearl didn’t mind that reward. He smiled.

"I shall look forward to it."