Applied Immortality

“Ancient Nascent Soul cultivator?”

The girl grimaced after Wang Qi explained while sobering her up, “We’ve really bumped into a foul ancient cultivator!”

Beginning with Transcendent’s generation, the framework of the modern system for immortal cultivation had been put in place, leading to modern cultivators fighting against ancient ones. As time went on, the ancient cultivators stealing from the world were rooted out. In Supreme Lord and Daoist Proscribe’s time, there was hardly any remnant of the ancient cultivators left in Divine Province.

Hardly did not mean none.

The surviving ancient cultivators were either old monsters who already reached Nascent Soul before the cultivation revolution and couldn’t keep up with the times, or those who didn’t have the minimum aptitude to understand the new system, yet it turned out their body was suitable to the ancient way. While modern cultivators didn’t need a lot of support, the ancient cultivators had extreme needs for specific spiritual energy or resources. To achieve immortality, ancient cultivators would steal, cheat, and lie, ruining the world in the process. As modern cultivation was utterly against such foul practices, its practitioners hated them with a passion, resulting in their near extinction today. 

The ancient cultivators had the same level of animosity with the modern world.

“Curses…” Xiang Qi bit her lip, tense, “There’s no time…”

“Wha — agh!”

Orange lights shot in their direction. Wang Qi had no clue what magical art made them, but he felt death just from looking at them.

The thick power the magical art carried made it hard for Wang Qi to breathe. Xiang Qi spread her arms, her eyes sharp. Many silver sword discs floated like butterflies in the air.

Scorching Metal Valley’s legacy sword art, Celestial Blade Discs!

Xiang Qi’s sword energy surrounded Wang Qi, taking the pressure off while a dozen blade disks drew a white arch in their wild dance as they met with the enemy attacks. Xiang Qi wavered as they clashed, and then the sword disks unleashed their own strikes.

Boom~!

Albion Village was littered with balls of fire as Xiang Qi made sure to aim for every enemy attack.

The Nascent Soul cultivator’s magical art was so devastating that more than half of Albion Village lay in ruins, filled now with the cries of the fortunate survivors. 

Wang Qi stood dumbly at the sea of fire.

[So this is how my first home in this new world is laid to waste.]

“What the hell is this…”

“Reality!” Zhen Chanzi waylayed Wang Qi’s panic, “This is the cruelty of seeking immortality.”

Xiang Qi glared at the enemy in the distance, hissing threw her teeth, “Sorry.”

“Bastard…” Wang Qi was outraged, “Yesterday when you showed up to get Old Hai was bad enough, now this?”

Xiang Qi’s hands danced as she controlled the discs, “Ancient cultivators never cared for anything outside of their own selfish needs.”

“That’s…”

“I would’ve taken you away if I had known. I got careless, never expecting to find an ancient cultivator here.”

Zhen Chanzi defended, “I’m but a soul fragment, and my meager spiritual sense isn’t what it used to be.”

Wang Qi grew restless, “What do we do?”

Xiang Qi bit her lip, “Against a Nascent Soul with my sloppy flying we’ll be easy targets. Our only small hope at surviving is by fighting.”

Wang Qi jumped, “Sister, what are you saying? No matter how much stronger the modern system is against the old one, you’re not even in Golden Core Realm yet! A Nascent Soul cultivator would murderize you!”

Xiang Qi placed talismans in Wang Qi’s hand, “Red goes boom, silver shields you, green heals and orange enhances. Take care, for I don’t have the luxury to.” 

Xiang Qi turned into a light and shot into the sky, “Disgusting cowardly bastard, where are you hiding?”

Another light floated not far in reply, caring a creepy and shrill voice, “Big words, coming from an Immortal Alliance peacekeeper.”

The ancient cultivator’s voice was powered by his spiritual power, grating Wang Qi’s ears. Zhen Chanzi shouted, “Put your spiritual power into a silver talisman!” Wang Qi followed his advice and the talisman exploded in a silver light, covering his body.

A talisman was a seal that upon receiving spiritual power, it would activate the symbol written on it and its effect. Since it already had spiritual power itself, it only needed a little bit to trigger the magical art. 

“A Nascent Soul is so scary…” Wang Qi gnashed his teeth, “Old man, what’s the situation? What are the girl’s chances?”

Zhen Chanzi sighed, “I fear his empowered voice has killed all mortals around. He’s only an early Nascent Soul, his energies a mess, making him hardly impressive.  Modern cultivation offers a higher spiritual power reserve and recovery compared with a corresponding ancient cultivation stage. Coupled with the girl’s incredible foundation and sword skills, she would last for a while. You’re better off looking after yourself instead.” 

“What do I do?”

“Run, ignore everything, and just flee! That guy has three Foundation Establishment cultivators under him but the girl could only block the Nascent Soul cultivator. So hurry up and get away!”

Zhen Chanzi warned Wang Qi of the enemy numbers, all while the battle heated up above. The red shield blocked the cultivator’s face, but Xiang Qi felt his pressure and knew this was going to be a tough battle. 

Xiang Qi was in no hurry to attack, mocking the man instead, “Is your head screwed on right, actually revealing yourself in this time and age?”

“Ha-ha, you got spunk, girl, but I’ve done my due diligence and know there’re only two cultivators here. I came here just to kill you, direct disciple of Scorching Metal Valley, Xiang Qi!”

Xiang Qi was taken aback at having her identity known, “How did you know who I am?”

“A true disciple of Myriad Arts Sect can only be handled by others. Hah, there’s also a Qi Refining guy over there, I see. He-he, he deserves to die for training in your foul arts. One, Two, and Three, kill him!”

“Oh!”

The light split as three figures broke off, all Foundation Establishment cultivators. Xiang Qi shouted, “I don’t think so!” She made a sign and two sword discs went after the three. Modern cultivation had a supreme advantage against ancient cultivation, not to mention Xiang Qi stood out among her peers. Any ancient cultivator would be shot down against her attacks. 

Unfortunately, there was a raging Nascent Soul just in front.

He let out an eerie whistle and scarlet lights shot out. Xiang Qi had no choice but to call her sword discs back and form the Celestial Blade Formation to block.

“A Foundation Establishment blocking a Nascent Soul…” Zhen Chanzi gasped at the fight above, “Modern cultivation is miraculous.”

Wang Qi activated an orange talisman, speeding up in his escape, “Leave it for when we survive, old man!”

“There’s a ravine behind the village with rough terrain. Go there!” Zhen Chanzi directed Wang Qi with his boundless battle experience.

Wang Qi was a Qi Refining cultivator that underwent Spirit Body refining of the ancient system, tougher than the average man. Adding the talisman’s power, he bounced like a rabbit straight for the village exit, with a speed no less than a late Qi Refining flying magic item. 

“Jump!”

Zhen Chanzi screamed and Wang Qi executed. He felt something hard smash into his back, making the glow on his body tremble before the silver faded.

Wang Qi was quick to react, adjusting himself in midair, using the force of the blow to fly ahead while taking out another silver talisman.

“The talisman can take two strikes, don’t waste it! The girl only gave you three, as well as one for healing, three explosive ones, and one to enhance you. Run!”

Wang Qi had gone a fair distance with the help of the recoil, reaching the exit. “Where do you think you’re going!” A roar came from behind, just as a hammer glowing blue shot in front before coming back at him. 

“Rats!” Wang Qi used inertia to throw himself to the ground. The hammer, whizzed above, breaking the last of the faint glow around him. Wang Qi rolled on the ground to the side, just in time to avoid a sword energy attack. Wang Qi was not about to stop after avoiding just one life-threatening strike, planning on running still. Beyond the village was a slope, with trees at the bottom. Therein lay his hope of living. 

Wang Qi no longer felt the ground under him and he fell.

“Old man, use the ring to help me hide my energy!” Wang Qi screamed in his mind.

Zhen Chanzi was all in favor of such a decision. There would have been no point in reaching the forest if all Wang Qi did was use talismans with their obvious light show and spiritual power signatures.

[The kid’s got a weird style, but he’s no fool.]

There was grass and shrubs to cushion his fall, but Wang Qi’s eyes still went black for a moment on impact. Not bothering to catch his breath, he ripped off his white robe and threw it hard before escaping in another direction. 

Seconds later, sword lights struck where his robe was.

Wang Qi had a beige shirt on as he ducked behind a shrub and used the stealth art Zhen Chanzi taught him. 

The three Foundation Establishment cultivators lowered their magic weapons and stayed put.

One of them huffed, “Curses, this guy’s slippery!”

“Second brother, watch your temper.” Another cultivator said, “Something ain’t right. I can’t sense the kid.”

“He must be hiding his energy.” The last added.

A stealth art that isolated him completely from the world made him stick out like a sore thumb, to modern cultivators. But for ancient cultivators, it was the best thing yet.

The trio searched around the area, but without knowing the land so well, they couldn’t find him. The second cultivator blew his gasket, flying high to look. The other two feared Wang Qi was getting away so they didn’t stall much either. 

Wang Qi eased a breath, sending, “What now?”

“Below Golden Core, there’s a limit on the amount of spiritual energy they can use. Without a special magical art or magic weapon, it’s impossible for them to raze the forest and force you out. Don’t do anything, just wait for Li to return or Xiang to finish her fight.”

Wang Qi gnashed his teeth, “Just wait?”

Zhen Chanzi mocked, “You got any brighter ideas? Your spiritual power might win against a late ancient Qi Refining cultivator, but without magical arts or magic weapons, you’re an easy target. Kid, it’s admirable to seek a carefree life, but without strength to keep you safe, you won’t last long. This is how the world works.”