Dual Cultivation (WN)

"The poison fog would enter the city? Even though the Jaded Garden is almost a thousand miles away?" Su Yang was surprised to hear this.

He didn't think the poisoned fog would affect these people who are living so far away.

"Of course. Over a thousand people have died from the poison fog throughout the years." The man said.

"Yet you're out here working diligently? I admire your dedication and bravery," Su Yang said to him.

If he were in this man's shoes, he wouldn't risk his life working such a dangerous and unrewarding job.

"Bravery?" The man scoffed in a way that made it seem like he was mocking himself, and he said, "I only dare to work when there is no wind. If I feel even the slightest breeze, I will immediately—"

The man suddenly stopped speaking when he felt a gentle breeze blowing his figure, and he immediately turned around and ran away, leaving Su Yang speechless.

"Do you think the God of Alchemy is aware of what's happening in this city because of her?" Luo Ziyi asked him a moment later.

"Highly unlikely. However, this isn't the first time that she's affected others' lives unintentionally. Due to her thoughtless character, she has a habit of doing something without thinking about the consequences, nor the trouble it may cause others. I have experienced this many times when I studied under her."

"In fact, due to her unrivaled alchemy talents and her eagerness to experiment on new things, she has caused the people within all Four Divine Heavens more than just a few headaches. I cannot count the number of times her experiments have resulted in disastrous results, sometimes even creating calamities."

"I have heard some stories about her deeds, and they are shocking to say the least…" Luo Ziyi said.

Su Yang showed a bittersweet smile on his face and said, "Many people have warned her about causing trouble for others, and even the Heavenly Emperor tried to talk her out of experimenting with dangerous recipes, but she just doesn't listen, and there's nothing anybody can do about it since the majority of the most powerful pills available in the Four Divine Heavens come from her."

"If they offend her and cause her to stop concocting these pills, who will bear responsibility? Nobody dares! Even the Heavenly Emperor doesn't dare to anger the God of Alchemy, as the consequences could potentially affect the entire cultivation world!"

Luo Ziyi looked at Su Yang in silence as he somewhat bragged about the God of Alchemy, sounding like he was quite proud of it.

"Hearing all of this only makes me wonder how you managed to…"

Su Yang smiled and said, "We go way back."

"Anyways, let's go take a look at the Jaded Garden."

They proceeded to make their way to the Jaded Garden while making sure to stay as far away from the ground as possible to avoid the poison fog just in case the wind carried it.

Sometime later, they arrived at the Jaded Garden.

However, the place looked nothing like it did in Su Yang's memories.

The Jaded Garden used to be filled with natural and exotic plants, but he couldn't even see any plants currently due to a thick black fog enveloping the entire place.

"I thought you were exaggerating about the poison… but heavens… I can feel my lungs burning with every breath I take despite not being anywhere near the poison, and I even have the Hundred Poisons Body that increases my resistance to poison." Su Yang muttered in a dumbfounded voice.

"So is it hopeless?" She then asked.

"Can we protect ourselves using spiritual energy?" Su Yang responded with a question.

"Yes, but even cultivators at Immortal Ascension have trouble keeping their spiritual energy active for more than a few seconds, as the poison fog tears through spiritual energy like a sword tearing through paper."

"As for someone at your level… Your spiritual energy will disappear the moment it even touches the poison gas, so it's not possible if you're thinking about running in there. I haven't tried it, but looking at it now, I think my spiritual energy will last around seven seconds."

"Seven seconds…" Su Yang narrowed his eyes at the Jaded Garden.

He then turned to look at Luo Ziyi and said, "What if you cover the both of us with your spiritual energy?"

"You want me to share my spiritual energy with you? That will definitely shorten the amount of time I can protect us against the poison fog by at least half." Luo Ziyi looked at him with wide eyes.

He nodded and said, "I know this may sound crazy, but I want you to believe in me."

"If we give up now, we can forget about seeing the God of Alchemy until she decides to leave seclusion or I become strong enough to enter, and that might take a few hundred if not thousand years."

"The God of Alchemy and her pills are essential to some of my plans, and if I don't have her assistance before I need them, the majority of my plans will have to be tossed out the window."

"Are you sure we can enter her special place in under three seconds?" Luo Ziyi asked him.

"Yes. I will open up the portal to her place from here, and once it's opened, we only need to fly into it, which won't take more than a second," he said in a confident voice.

"If you say so." Luo Ziyi nodded.

Su Yang then retrieved the ingredients they acquired at the Grand Celestial Plaza and used his alchemy flames to concoct the pill while in the air.

A few minutes later, all nine ingredients were consumed, leaving behind a single semi-transparent pill that looked almost otherworldly.

"Are you ready? I only need to burn this pill and toss it inside the Jaded Garden."

"Give me a moment to prepare," said Luo Ziyi, and then she began releasing her suppressed cultivation base, causing her aura to soar.