10 A deal, a rise, and another fiancee!?

"No, I Have a better idea." was all that was said when the mother of the boy finally stood up from the ground and awaken from the shock that her son could contend with a woman with higher strength than herself.

"Well mother I think you should speak then, no one will interrupt you here." Alex shifted his arm as a talisman appeared inside his hand.

"Of course, they're welcome to try it." The underlining threat caused the wounded woman that was still recovering from her injuries and chaotic internal energy.

"I have no reason to object to her suggestions here." The woman gritted her teeth as she wondered what the woman, she just humiliated was going to demand to let them live and the giving the refining technique.

"How about an exchange of resources for pill concocting, materials for forging, and tools to make said items in exchange for my son's refining technique and your lives." Marie looked at her son to confirm that he was okay with the conditions she added on.

While Alex was in thought about his conditions for the refining technique, as well as his mother's suggestion he carefully planned out his next move.

'My mother has covered the conditions for our cultivation, along with having a way to gain capital within the cultivation world in this new Era, also the new tools of this time for me to practice concocting my elixirs, but unfortunately my own olden 'Medicine Pill Dragon techniques' might have problems due to me requiring full control of the making of them. I also need to research the cultivation techniques for my mother and sister.'

The decision of relying on this family in the future is based on this moment, Alex must come up with a solid foundation for this as an exchange for the technique that he will give to the Jin De family is worth a lot.

"Alright woman, the deal is in exchange for this technique you must give us said items along with basic Qi, body, and forging techniques for cultivation, and to solidify the deal we will both swear on the great Dao to upheld both sides of the agreement." Alex held out his hand to her as to finish the deal.

The woman, now healed enough to stand on her own gave a face as she disregarded the hand as she spoke of a condition of her own, "Since I must give all of this in exchange for my life and a refinement technique, I require an additional request…"

She paused to let Alex know that she won't say until he agreed to the request since it was a swear on the Dao of the world, Heaven and Earth shall be the judge, jury, and witness to this deal.

Nodding to the woman to continue with her sentence and that he would listen to her request so that in the end it would be fair so that the way of the Dao of the world won't hold an open clause to the deal.

"I request that you marry one of my granddaughters here so our family will leave you alone and free of our supervision until you are of marrying age, and we will also support you and your family until you pass on."

As the words were spoken from the older woman's mouth both girls that were barely recovering from the nearly fatal injuries stared at her in surprise and anguish at the fact that they weren't already beaten by a boy but one of them had to marry him.

Alex was shocked at the fact that the woman he just outwitted in combat had just proposed that he could marry either of her granddaughters for a marriage contract to the family so that the main family can keep him under their control.

Laughing in astonishment and at the audacity, that she had this to request this of him but in turn of this condition there is leeway, there must be a condition to any request that someone of higher cultivation would add to a Dao contract before accepting the deal on the Dao.

"Fine I will take the hand of your granddaughter when I am old enough to marry but I won't be connected to the family in any way when that time comes. Meaning that she will marry into the Cross family instead of me marrying into the Jin De family."

As the final nail landed on this deal to be agreed upon by both parties a piece of golden paper appeared in front of Alex and the older woman, the paper was flawless and written in an unknown language but at the bottom were two spaces that held an ominous power that made anyone take this matter very seriously.

"From this moment on this deal shall be upheld until the death of both parties and their entire line." Alex with practice ease cut a bit of the flesh on the tip of his finger and infused his lifeforce and Inner Qi to sign his part of the contract as the woman just wrote hers in useless blood and in turn caused heaven and earth to enforce its power as witness.

The world shook for the first time in eons, the sky roared in fury, the Earth raged in a fit of fire, and the air whipped around the mansion in protest at the fact that someone would try to dupe the Dao with just blood.

The blood that the woman used was made into a blade of crimson blood and cut her from hip to shoulder as the paper forcibly took the lifeforce and Inner Qi into itself that the woman didn't give freely like the first and this caused the woman to drop a few levels in cultivation.

"The Dao cannot be tricked, and neither can I as I know of the ancient ways of drawing the pact of Dao Laws from the heavens and earth itself, now that your foolish attempt at taking advantage of a loophole is finished, I need to tend to my family. Also due to this, I have one more demand from that trick you tried to pull."

Alex pulled out another piece of paper from his sleeve and infused it with his Inner Qi and teleported back to his home. "I will collect on this when the time comes in the future Elisabeth Jin De."

"Seeing as I am no longer needed, I will see myself out and just an FYI we hold a dept to that boy and we shall help and support him if need be." That was all Baihe's mother said as she left as well, just vanished in a flash of thunder.

When Alex and his family made it home, they relaxed for the first time that evening especially Alex as he just faced many battles from his time of leaving the school till now that he collapsed right onto the couch as his mother put his sister into her bed.

+Inner World+

As Alex fell unconscious the effects of many life and death battles along with connecting with the world around him caused him to enter through the fabled Gate that allows one to cultivate onto the true path of immortality and power.

The first level of the Open gate path is when the cultivator takes in the past that they have lived and forms the first obstacle of the Dao path, known as surface demons, they connect to the past and hold the surface thoughts that cause doubt and weakness.

Staring right at Alex were two mirror images from his past and current life and slowly they formed into a single entity and ran at him.

Before impact, Alex held up his palm as a golden Dragon formed and coiled around the powerful demon of two lifetimes. "Savage, I see you have awakened now."

Savage the embodiment of rage, hatred, and surprisingly honor was forced to lower its head as the master of the mind was too strong for it now. "I see that you haven't lost your edge nor your path even though the last moments that came from those you trusted Immortal Master."

The demon may be weak against Alex but if someone in the Forging or even the building realms would have to be forced to watch the horrors that make up this inner demon.

"The Deal is the same as before, you may cultivate inside my soul temple when I'm awake and that any soul wisp that bypasses my mental defense shall be yours." Alex released savage as a pure and translucent temple built itself in the middle of the void.

From the void a pool of mental and soul Qi surrounded the walls of the temple as it glowed to the mass amount of power stored inside the pool.

Then from the pool rose another entity that had an air of scholarly energy as it walked toward Alex, "Immortal Master, scout greets you."

Scout is a demon that is formed from the loopholes, underhandedness, and greed that Alex had from his first few hundreds of years on the earth.

This demon would cause the karma of the Dao to influence in the negative if Alex took in any of its advice but compared to savage, they are the opposite that many would call the wisdom of man.

As Alex was going to greet his former advisor in deal-making and forewarning a pitch-black tree sprouted next to the temple, the demon of knowledge has formed as it connected to the two demons as they sat down to cultivate for the coming storm that is sure to come from their Masters' effect of releasing his curse.

It is only due to his last life that he was able to ascend so quickly into the third level of the Open Gate Path as the three demons represent the three states of Dao, the past, the present, and the future.