Exploring Immortality Cultivation

After making a series of agreements with Ai Changyuan at the Ai Family's Other Mansion, Wang Qi and Wu Shiqin left together.

As soon as they stepped out of the Ai Family's Other Mansion, Wu Shiqin immediately slapped Wang Qi on the top of his head, "Didn't I just mention, 'Do not forget me in your bounty'? Aren't we old friends who graduated from the same Immortal Institute? Why would you leave me out of such a big matter?"

"To be honest, creating a new Law Gate... one that isn't a Combat Skill, could you manage it?"

Wu Shiqin gave Wang Qi another unceremonious punch, "Now I see how you've regarded me over these years!"

Wang Qi rubbed his arm, "Alright, alright, I approached Ai Changyuan because he has a good head on his shoulders and is quick with his hands. As long as we produce the first Artificial Golden Core before the Immortal Alliance does, no matter what happens afterward, we'll have the capital to be involved. And both of us are slated for Core Formation within the next year or two. Finishing this would be highly beneficial for my Core Formation."

"We graduated the same year, and at most, you'll achieve Breakthrough to Heavenly Communication half a year before me," Wu Shiqin frowned. "Six years at Foundation Establishment, that timing seems about right."

"I'm aware, but I know myself better," Wang Qi said. "Anyway, this is the first phase; we need to be quick and need someone who understands the Golden Core. Shiqin, have you even decided which Golden Core to choose?"

"It should be one of the eighteen kinds from the Heavenly Song Golden Core series," Wu Shiqin sounded a bit uncertain herself.

"Exactly," Wang Qi shook his head. "There are later phases in this research, such as streamlining and popularizing it, where your input will be needed."

"I see," Wu Shiqin nodded and then asked, "Would you like to have a spar with me?"

"We just sparred today, and I'm exhausted both physically and mentally, let's not," Wang Qi declined.

Wu Shiqin looked a little disappointed, "Oh... where do you live now? So we can meet up in the future."

"I've mostly been staying at sea over the past half year and have hardly spent nights in Langde, so I've been staying in inns. However, my plans have changed recently, and I plan to stay in Langde City for a while, so I'll probably rent a place. What about you?"

"At the Immortal Alliance Inn, a cave dwelling specially used by the Criminal Law Department. It's superior in every aspect to a high-end inn."

"Feasting on the public grain is indeed enjoyable," Wang Qi gave a thumbs-up and then said goodbye, "See you around."

"Until next time."

After returning to the inn where he was staying, Wang Qi began packing his things and started looking for a suitable house at Beichang Port in Langde.

Beichang Port is a "Military Port," heavily bound by Spirit Prohibitions, with access permitted only to Guardian Envoys on duty who are able to enter and exit freely using their badges. The vicinity of Beichang Port is populated primarily by Guardian Envoys; these individuals are either low to mid-level Cultivators looking to strike it rich in the West Sea due to their lack of exceptional talents and daring, or Sect Cultivators engaged in the Red Dust Heart Refining process. Typically, they wouldn't stay in the Western Border for too long, with new people arriving daily to become Guardian Envoys and others leaving. Many come with dreams of pursuing the Immortal Path, some succeed and join the ranks of the Ghost District, others leave with their dreams shattered.

Here, there were always vacant houses waiting to be rented.

After casually looking around, Wang Qi found seven or eight vacant houses. Each one was built to withstand attacks from level transformations Demon Beasts, so Wang Qi felt he didn't need to worry about accidentally destroying the house if he was careful enough. For truly dangerous trial Laws, he could head to the Dao Sea to test them. Nevertheless, he chose a house near the coast, where it was more open and there was less risk of collateral damage.

After signing the lease, Wang Qi moved into the house.

Once he activated the Restriction that isolated him from outside communication, Wang Qi called out, "Teacher Feng."

Feng Luoyi's phantom appeared before Wang Qi, "Regarding the matter at noon, it seems you still have something you want to say to me?"

"No, I just wanted to confirm, how do you view this?" Wang Qi scratched his head, "After all, what I'm doing is essentially taking food out of the Immortal Alliance's mouth."

"Unless a Cultivator's research leads to catastrophic consequences, the Immortal Alliance does not interfere with any Cultivator's research. This is a matter of principle," Feng Luoyi stated. "Me not warning you is essentially tacit approval."

Wang Qi said, "Well, I feel like, I've already cornered a sizeable portion of the Immortal Alliance's total assets in my future projections, nearly an eighth. Once I manage to produce the Artificial Golden Core, that share will probably increase even more. The Immortal Alliance cannot just sit by as this happens, so I figured you guys would stop me."

"The Immortal Alliance has its own considerations. First of all, principles are very important. Without principles, the Immortal Alliance would lose its backbone, and the hearts of the people would scatter. This is the only negative impact of 'rules.' However, because the benefits brought by the 'rules' outweigh this cost in most situations, we choose not to break them," Feng Luoyi said. "When establishing rules, we need to be prepared for the day when they may restrict us."

"Furthermore, the future vision you have proposed is based on the Human Dao Law and Artificial Law Foundation, but that is not everything. You also cannot complete everything on your own. The majority will be distributed by the Immortal Alliance to the various Sects. So, you will definitely benefit in the end, but you won't be able to take as much."

Wang Qi frowned, "This is a reshuffle for Immortal Dao, isn't it? The smaller Sects will receive more."

Feng Luoyi laughed, shaking her head, "At noon you spoke of others having a small pattern and narrow vision, aren't you doing the same? Do not view the Immortal Alliance and Modern Immortal Path with traditional eyes. Now, all Sects and all aristocratic families' laws are within a single framework. This system is based on Mathematics, with axioms as its framework. The great Sects seek the 'Dao,' while the smaller Sects and families proliferate its 'application.' The closer the 'Dao' approaches natural truth, the more powerful the 'application' becomes, and conversely, 'application' itself can become a method for Cultivators seeking the Dao, or at the very least, provide more resources."

Wang Qi realized the implication in his mind. Quantum Mechanics, penetrating atomic structures and probing the essence of chemical reactions, had led to leaps in the chemical industry and metallurgy. And advanced industry had made things like particle colliders possible, which in turn promoted the advancement of physics.

Technological progress equates to the advancement of observational methods, and the improvement of observational methods promotes scientific progress. It's a mutual process.

"Regardless, in the end, the Immortal Alliance will be the one to profit," Wang Qi exclaimed in awe.

"Considering the Human Dao as bounds is like playing a game of chess, where the ultimate pattern is limited, and so is the final victory or defeat. If you regard Heaven and Earth as the bounds, you should not focus on the gains and losses of a single entity, 'harmony' is what we seek."

Wang Qi sincerely agreed, "I understand now."

In this universe, the main resource is 'Spiritual Energy.' Excluding Immortals, Spiritual Energy is relatively easy to obtain. Thus, a strategy of cooperation and win-win is exceptionally clever under such circumstances.

Feng Luoyi shook her head again, with a look of a headache, "But just as you said, this is a major change. To avoid letting the old system collapse overnight and plunging Shenzhou into turmoil, the Immortal Alliance deliberately took a hundred years to gradually replace the increasingly valueless Spiritual Energy with Merit as currency. Your sudden intervention disrupted the pace of the Immortal Alliance. To prevent the Cultivators with less steadfast hearts of Seeking from seizing large fortunes by luck during this transformation, and to prevent a significant devaluation of Merit, the exchange prices for various Laws will need to be raised — this is entirely contrary to the policies of the Immortal Alliance over the past hundred years."

"There will probably be some turmoil, right?" Wang Qi could only express regret, "Can I tell others about this news?"

"Not at all. After some time, the Immortal Alliance will begin to spread these messages through various channels, and the process will likely take a decade. The Immortal Alliance needs that much time to buffer."

"Then, what about the situation with Holy Dragon Abyss? Anything special?"

Feng Luoyi shook her head, "Their East Wing is odd. Monitoring has found that well-known Great Demons are rushing between Holy Dragon Abyss and the Western Border. It seems they are fortifying heavily, either to prevent us from going there or something else from coming here. With the West Sea Dragon King at the lead, the Dragon Clan has already begun to retreat. There shouldn't be any major changes in the short term."

Wang Qi changed his tone, "Teacher Feng, since the plans have already changed, I would like to make a request. I want to go to the Zhenhai Navy barracks to see the Zhenhai Navy myself, to explore the technology within, and to compare it to my current Cultivation methods."

"Granted."

After securing the right to collect data inside the Zhenhai Navy through Feng Luoyi's assistance, Wang Qi left the courtyard and headed north of the city.

The Zhenhai Navy barracks were somewhat crowded. The makeshift tin houses looked like temporary shelters used for refugees on Earth, but they were undoubtedly Immortal Dao Magic Artifacts, very comfortable, and durable. Since all members of the Zhenhai Navy were Cultivators with Storage Bags, there were no warehouses or servant quarters here, and supplies were distributed on time to each soldier. When Wang Qi arrived, the Zhenhai Navy had already disbanded into their free rest period.

The military discipline of the Zhenhai Navy was now the responsibility of the Criminal Law Department, and there were about two dozen Law Enforcement Officers patrolling around the camp. Wang Qi looked around, seeking the person in charge among this group of Law Enforcement Officers. He knew that his research wouldn't be a one-off visit, so greeting all the Law Enforcement Officers each time would be too much trouble. Coincidentally, Wu Shiqin was on duty. Upon seeing Wang Qi, she greeted him, "Have you found a place to stay yet?"

"Yes." Wang Qi brought out his credentials, "Where is your superior? I need to confirm these contents."

"Oh!" Wu Shiqin exclaimed, surprised, "Just now you didn't know about the Zhenhai Navy, but now you've already got approval for research?"

"This is my technology. Of course the application was approved quickly," Wang Qi said smugly. "Now I need to find your superior."

"Deacon Ma is inside, follow me."

After walking seven or eight steps, they encountered two other Law Enforcement Officers coming towards them. One of them said, "Junior Sister Wu, who is this Daoist Fellow? Why did you let him in? Isn't this area off-limits to visitors?"

"He has applied for research permission," Wu Shiqin said. "Since he's an acquaintance of mine, I led him inside."

Wang Qi showed his credentials once again, "Wang Qi of Wanfa Sect, nice to meet you."

Upon hearing Wang Qi's name, one of the men's faces changed dramatically, "You are that Banished Immortal Wang Qi?"

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)