Exploring Immortality Cultivation

In this universe, no phenomenon is ever governed by just a single rule. Take the "falling water droplet" for instance—it involves air friction, water's surface tension, and more profound interactions such as intermolecular forces, gravity, and the three laws of mechanics, not to mention even deeper aspects like the "structure of fundamental particles," and "what imparts mass to matter."

So-called experiments are about minimizing the influence of certain laws as much as possible to highlight the workings of a single rule.

Whereas "thought experiments" are about conceiving a scenario in which all laws are in an idealized state, influencing the phenomenon minimally, whilst one specific rule's effect is infinitely emphasized.

Comparing heaven and earth to a dense and delicate web woven from "rules." How can one dance upon such a web using just one or a few rules? Upon threading the "line" from one level to the next, how can one avoid getting entangled with the level above?

Mysterious Palace's micro-to-macro scale bridging doesn't replace the macroscopic laws with those of the microscopic level throughout this realm; it simply accentuates one.

If Wang Qi truly allowed himself to operate entirely by the rules of the microscopic world, then he would likely be unable to maintain a physical form—everything he did would be probabilistic.

Spells are merely facets of the laws seized.

After grasping this point, looking at the laws of Modern Cultivators again, one sees them in a whole new light.

Wang Qi stood up and gazed out at the Primordial Spirit's Magical Domain looming over the sea's surface, feeling as if he'd gleaned a few secrets. The path beyond the Golden Core also revealed itself to him a little more.

"In that universe, no law could ever step outside its own bounds; yet here, in this rule, there appears to be a few loopholes." Wang Qi pondered, "Across different scales, the definition of energy remains constant, and Spiritual Energy is an attribute attached to energy; the laws of Spiritual Energy are similar across different domains..."

As he contemplated, Jarvis began infusing Spiritual Sense into Wang Qi, previously collected; the Cultivation Technique whirred crazily, unexpectedly restoring the moment Wang Qi had tapped the Infinite Sea of Vacuum, shattering the "Yin Yang Purgatory" with a single palm strike.

His Unpredictable Body Technique and Heavenly Entropy Technique working to reduce entropy ran to the extremes, balancing momentum and position in an Indeterminate state to cancel out the momentum.

A new Divine Skill formed within him, then iterated upon itself, automatically simplifying.

"A skill just like that was created," Wang Qi felt the changes within himself and tried to launch a forward palm strike, but Feng Luoyi cut him off with a gesture, "Don't test it here. You can't possibly wield smoothly a Divine Skill involving the Infinite Sea of Vacuum."

"By the way, the 'Infinite Vacuum Skill' should be owned by Mysterious Palace, right?" Wang Qi suddenly thought, "I shouldn't have to pay extra for developing it on my own, should I?"

"There's no issue with your skill; it's not the same as one by Daoist Fellow Di," Feng Luoyi nodded, then went on to say, "This time, have you understood the gap between yourself and those much stronger?"

"That giant worm is a Jiao Dragon of Dragon Eyes, innately superior to the average Sea Demon, and it's undergoing Dragon Transformation; its combat effectiveness is stronger than that of those transformed into human form. However, considering it has only been transformed for one or two months... its combat power should only be about the average for the Transformation Demon Clan. Disregarding the Mysterious Uncertainty Cloud Sword, which is an extremely limited trump card, I can only say I've fought it to a standstill."

"Above Transformation, there are the Divine Power Stage and Demon God levels to overcome. Away from Holy Dragon Abyss in the East Sea or Southern Nether or Beiming, there may be other Great Dao Demon beasts, but in the West Sea, the only High Order Alien Clan in the Mahayana Realm is the Dragon Clan. Breaking through the heavy blockades and getting close to the Dragon Abyss is no easy task."

Feng Luoyi raised her eyebrows, "Not easy?"

Was it not "difficult"? To what extent was this young man audacious?

"I possess Life Flame, which, in most situations, allows me to cling to life. And with a moment's breath, there's a lot I can do—like using the Cave Heaven Ruler, or the Unpredictable Body Technique," Wang Qi answered honestly, "If I can't escape under those conditions, it means I'm facing something incredibly powerful. The only ones in the West Sea capable of preventing my escape are from the Dragon Clan. When that time comes, you can step in."

"It's good that you have this realization. However, there's been a change to the task at hand," Feng Luoyi summoned a sea chart and pointed, "I can confirm now; there's something else we need to prevent from reaching the Shenzhou Continent. This time only Great Demons above Transformation are participating, no Low-Level Sea Demons. This means that whatever they're trying to block isn't a threat that can be worn down by a sheer number of Sea Demons. Demon creatures often appear in groups, and it's only the High Order Divine Skills and Demon God Level Sea Demons that hold territory on their own."

Wang Qi made a deduction: "Are they blocking a dragon? A Transformation Stage Dragon Demon?"

Fear of the Dragon Clan is an instinct for all living beings; a multitude of Low-Level Sea Demons wouldn't even scratch them, hence the only ones capable of intercepting dragons are the partially instinct-free Transformation Sea Demons. The Dragon Clan's combat power is immense, matching or even surpassing that of Elite Present-Day Cultivators at the same level. A Dragon Clan member at the Divine Power Stage can easily sweep aside all creatures besides those of the Dragon Clan and Shenzhou People Clan. The only thing that would give those Sea Demons a window to intervene would be a Transformation Dragon Clan member.

"Cross this blockade line and find it," Feng Luoyi said, "Perhaps, it knows the truth behind the abnormal changes of the West Sea Dragon King."

"I'm going over there... isn't that much the same as it coming here?" Wang Qi asked in confusion, "If it's really as significant as this, wouldn't just sending a Carefree Stage Cultivator over do the job?"

"A Carefree Stage Cultivator would at best stand an even chance against a Dragon Clan member at the Mahayana Realm. The Dragon Clan defies normal standards. If a Carefree Practitioner were to step into the West Sea, it might lead to a tragedy like the one seven years ago. Especially now, during the critical time of Western grain filling, if it triggered a Heavenly Calamity, it would be even more dreadful."

Wang Qi then remembered that the West Sea Dragon King truly had the power to wipe out the Shenzhou People Clan.

"So, this task has become about crossing the blockade line— the smaller the target, the better…" Wang Qi pondered, "Does this mean even a Low-Level Primordial Spirit Cultivator can't be brought along?"

"Judge for yourself. Visit the Immortal Alliance Branch in three days. There will be a package there containing several Magic Artifacts; I'm giving them to you, they'll definitely be of use this time." After saying this, Feng Luoyi disappeared once again.

"Hey, teacher, this surprise is a bit sudden! You've got to tell me what all this stuff is first."

After Feng Luoyi left instructions, Wang Qi began making final preparations for the trip. He had already touched base with Ai Changyuan, and in less than half a month, Ai Changyuan would be ready to prepare for the voyage. In this last bit of time, Wang Qi needed to prepare some consumables and magic artifacts.

Speaking of which, although Wang Qi followed the "technology path" and was least concerned with using outer objects, he practically had none that he could use. Besides a ring and shoulder armor, he had only a low-grade treasure-level Flying Sword, discarded by Zhen Chan hundreds of years ago, which was rather shabby.

"As for elixirs, the red bottles and blue bottles… Revitalizing Pills and Recharge Pills are unnecessary, Life Flame solves everything. The same goes for poison avoidance and antidote pills. Ordinary elixirs can't destroy as fast as Life Flame can repair, and the poisons that can kill me generally have no antidotes. Elixirs with special effects… Senior Sister Ai sent me a batch not long ago, standard from the Tianling Ridge Laboratory, more than enough to handle general situations."

"Talismans… seem unnecessary too. I'm not worried about mana at all, casting spells myself or throwing talismans makes little difference…"

The feeling of having money but nowhere to spend it…

Wang Qi sighed, feeling it was better to take stock of his own gains from this battle.

Just as he was about to leave the house, someone knocked on the front door. A flash of bright orange hair whizzed by in front of him: "Xiao Qi!"

Wang Qi nodded to Mao Zimiao: "Oh, you're back."

Mao Zimiao nodded vigorously: "Surprised, meow? Happy... huh? Wait a second, meow!"

Wang Qi actually walked past Mao Zimiao and straight out the door.

Mao Zimiao was shocked and chased after him, asking, "Xiao Qi! How come you don't look happy or surprised at all to see an old friend! It's me, meow!"

Wang Qi puzzled, "Is there a problem?"

"Shouldn't you show a bit of surprise when you see a good friend you haven't seen for a long time?"

"Surprise? I knew two months ago that you'd be coming." Wang Qi said, "I expected this; didn't I give you a smile as a greeting?"

"That smile... that was totally a distant one, meow!" Mao Zimiao frowned, "And shouldn't we catch up first?"

Wang Qi appeared contemplative, then reached out and grabbed Mao Zimiao's ear: "Oh, indeed, this feels right."

"Meow! What are you doing!"

"Catching up."

"Let go!"

...

Mao Zimiao, covering her ear, glared at Wang Qi beside her: "Xiao Qi... your way of 'catching up' makes it seem like our relationship in the past was only about my ears…"

At this moment, the two were queuing in the Immortal Alliance's Langde Branch identification department. Aside from the rewards the Immortal Alliance would give for hunting demon beasts, all the body parts and materials obtained by a Guardian Envoy from slaying demons belonged to them personally. However, if a Guardian Envoy thought the materials they had were rare, they could also exchange them for Merit. For specimens of research value, the Immortal Alliance always offered a high price.

Wang Qi had only killed two demon beasts in this battle. The Sea God Whale died under the Heavenly Entropy Technique, and all its Demon Energy was burned away. In the end, Wang Qi only managed to cut off some flesh as a bloodline sample and extracted an Innate Divine Seal. But he did not let the Black-Bearded Jiao King's corpse go to waste.

"How have you been these past six months, Xiao Qi, meow?" Mao Zimiao asked out of curiosity, "When I heard Divine Capital blew up, I was really worried, meow."

"The explosion in Divine Capital? Such a trivial thing." Wang Qi was dismissive, "I've been diligently cultivating every day for the past five years, I haven't had the time to care about those things. If it weren't for my place getting hit by the blast, I wouldn't have been transferred to the West Sea."

Mao Zimiao sighed, "You're really hardworking, now I'm so far behind you, meow."

Mao Zimiao was now at the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, just half a step from Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.

"I told you back at the Immortal Institute, I want longevity. If one wishes for longevity and to witness the Great Dao, how can one be idle?"

Mao Zimiao shook her head: "I was worried at first that you'd be in the dumps because of the Banished Immortal thing... but yeah, you wouldn't get depressed, meow."

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)