Exploring Immortality Cultivation

The small Cave Heaven of the Yi Family was born conjoined with the Spirit Vein of Divine Capital. The Spiritual Power here is inherently related to that vein, tightly intertwined. For a Golden Core Cultivator, the power that stems from the bounteous earth is practically boundless.

Around Zhao Qingfeng, points of Spiritual Energy condensed endlessly, eventually coalescing into one mass. In just a short while, the entire Cave Heaven was filled with the brilliant five-colored glow of dawn.

The booming of the aurora echoed loudly. It was the sound of wind and thunder produced by the sudden magnification of Spiritual Energy in the air. The sky of iridescent light roiled with thunder, swiftly converging from all directions toward the center. Near Zhao Qingfeng was a blindingly bright sphere about thirty feet in diameter, its radiant light swirling within, too dazzling for the naked eye to bear.

Spiritual Energy surged like the mighty ocean, and Zhao Qingfeng became an abyssal sea vortex. The incessant flow of Spiritual Energy streamed into his acupoints and meridians, pouring into his Dantian, then funneling into his Golden Core.

His Golden Core, his Physical Body, had long been fortified through the power of medicinal herbs. He had absorbed the majority of that cauldron's medicinal strength. A mysterious reaction was produced within him from the mystical vitality.

Then, something shattered.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he completed the Alchemy Shattering Infant Formation.

Unbeknownst why, he had long possessed the memory of forming the Nascent Soul. Countless experiences in cultivation lifted his understanding of the Immortal Dao to new heights. This vast accumulation was something no other Cultivator possessed.

For him, breaking through was as easy as splitting bamboo.

Above his head, at the crown of his spirit, hovered a miniature infant about an inch tall, curled as if in the womb, in the fetal breath position. The infant was tender and fair, enveloped by a Spirit Light Shield, its facial features identical to Zhao Qingfeng's.

This was the Nascent Soul!

In the instant the infant formed, more memories surfaced in his mind.

A voice was urging him, an instinct engraved deep within his soul.

Faster, faster!

Get stronger faster, faster!

As long as you can harness this span of memory to become stronger, you can reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao!

"I am a Heavenly Saint..." A smile curled upon Zhao Qingfeng's lips.

The mere form of a Nascent Soul could not yet bear his grand will.

He needed a stronger body.

Or rather, a Divine Body.

"Hehehehe... Wang Qi, oh Wang Qi, even though you stole the Divine Tao Core I painstakingly nurtured, did you ever consider? My life was intertwined with that Magic Artifact, reaching the point of becoming as one. By taking that artifact, you still cannot sever the connection I have with the Divine Tao trend I built!"

Zhao Qingfeng, feeling the power of the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell mixed within his mana, had a sardonic grin plastered on his face.

Although the lack of a port reduced his authority, he was still part of a network!

"That's enough," Zhao Qingfeng murmured. His robe trembled violently as a terrifying will extended from his soul, reaching into that vast system.

The speed of High Spirit Quantum Radiation spread allowed him to seize control over all those cursed in Divine Capital in an instant. Divine Capital boasted the densest population of any Mortal City. Aside from the ten major Immortal Cities like Leiyang and Xinyue, no other area had a higher population density. At this moment, nearly a third of the population was infected, as the pink light of the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell permeated the entire Divine Capital.

"Alert! The Heart Demon Network is under attack!"

WTF?

That was Wang Qi's first reaction.

The concept of a hacker was unknown in Shenzhou. Since Calculator Theory and soul research were closely related, a virus capable of affecting such could also affect the soul. Hence creating computer viruses was akin to creating biological ones in this realm. Any daring individual would be swiftly apprehended by the Dark Department; those who developed any mature calculator viruses were treated to 'free meals' and 'persuasions' by the Dark Department, with their information tightly controlled by the Immortal Alliance.

Not to mention, the Heart Demon Network and the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm were not concepts on the same plane. Protocol upon protocol was needed just for inter-network communication.

In this world, would anyone attack the Heart Demon Network?

Wang Qi quickly stood up and inserted the Heart Demon Great Curse Memory into his belt. He needed to investigate this matter himself.

Then, he felt an evil and grand will. This will was ancient, stubborn, and malevolent, vast enough to fill the entire network.

That will seemed to have detected Wang Qi. Wang Qi distinctly felt a surge of excitement—"Wang Qi? Go to hell!"

In an instant, Wang Qi felt as if a massive hammer was smashing directly onto his skull. The great will flooded him with an overwhelming amount of data, hitting several thousand TB per second. It felt as if his brain was boiling, his soul beginning to fray.

Upon detecting data flows exceeding safe limits, Jarvis quickly ejected the memory body. Wang Qi hadn't allowed his consciousness to enter the network; he was merely reliving the network scene with Jarvis's computational assistance. Even so, his head spun, and his body felt weak.

Chen Youjia quickly caught Wang Qi, "What's the matter?"

"Run... run!" Wang Qi wrestled free, speaking to Chen Youjia, "Hurry..."

"Sister! Junior Sister Chen! Something big has happened!" Ai Qinglan's panicked voice harshly pierced the room, "Come out and look fast!"

Wang Qi gave a wry smile: "It's over."

He didn't need to witness it to know what had happened. The pink light soared into the sky outside, as the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell that Wang Qi and the Imperial Family had barely contained for a month erupted violently. The pink Curse Light washed over the city like a flood, with the number of infected rising exponentially!

Chen Feng frowned, "What exactly happened?"

"Jarvis, through which port did the attacker enter?"

"Identified individual, Zhao Qingfeng."

Ai Qinglan was taken aback, "That person, I remember, should be..."

"Whatever the case, he didn't die," Wang Qi sighed. "He just used some method to instantly flood the Heart Demon Network with too much data. These data overwhelmed our system, causing a system collapse. Since the incident occurred while the two Heart Demon Networks were connected, the Xia Gai Demon Worm System was also destroyed."

Chen Youjia frowned, "Do we need to install it again? We still have the source code, and reinstalling won't take much time."

"It's useless; right now, that network is pervaded with immense Spirit Sense, surpassing any system Path Rank that the three of us control. It's not impossible to code, but it would take at least a month. For now, you all should hurry and leave."

In the midst of speaking, Wang Qi had already reached the courtyard. The pink light of the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell engulfed the horizon, swaying in the sky like the aurora, beautifully splendid.

However, behind that beauty, there could only be destruction.

Wang Qi pulled out three Heart Demon Great Curse Memory Bodys, "These Memory Bodys also contain the power of the Heart Demon Great Curse, capable of protecting you as you escape to safety. Unless you're targeted by Zhao Qingfeng, the Heart Demon Curse won't come after you."

Ai Qinglan quickly took the Memory Bodys, "Thanks!" Chen Youjia, who was more meticulous, asked, "What about you?"

Chen Feng thought farther ahead, "You're not going to..."

"Zhao Qingfeng remains an infected of the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell. This is the first Dao Heart Pure Yang Curse Memory Body created using the divine body of the Holy Light God, always holding Zero-Level Authority," Wang Qi pulled out a Memory Body and said, "It can't forcibly stop Zhao Qingfeng's authority, but it can forcefully command the Demon Spell power in Zhao Qingfeng's body to return — in other words, destroy his interface on a physical level. Since Zhao Qingfeng is heavily infected and his soul and mana have become part of the Heart Demon Great Curse, he will also die. To send a false message to the other Banished Immortals, I deliberately refrained from using it before."

Chen Youjia frowned, "The Heavenly Sword is coming soon."

"Won't be much longer," Wang Qi patted Chen Youjia's head. "As long as I find Zhao Qingfeng, or — indiscriminately command all the spell forces to return, refining and consuming at least seventy percent of the mortals in the Divine Capital."

When two hackers duel, one only has a DOS machine, while the other possesses a supercomputer like the Tianhe-2. In that case, the former will never be able to defeat the latter. The simplest path to victory at this time is to personally smash the computer of the other hacker.

Chen Feng sighed, "Only at this moment do I feel like it might be better if we were all bad people."

"Don't think like that; when things can't be rectified, I will refine the lives of the whole city," Wang Qi said with a smile. "Considering that I might actually become a bad person this time, you shouldn't follow me."

Wang Qi activated the Memory Body and then tried to insert it into his belt. However, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Wang Qi. This hand didn't belong to Chen Youjia, Chen Feng, or Ai Qinglan. The one who grabbed Wang Qi was none other than Liu Yi, the Dark Sect Master from the Immortal Alliance Dark Department!

Liu Yi was still all smiles, "Long time no see, Brother Wang."

Wang Qi smiled bitterly, "Are you here to arrest me? Senior, may I finish my last bit of business?"

Liu Yi waved his hand, "No, no, I am just tasked to borrow something from you. One of those Zero-Level Authority Memory Bodys."

Wang Qi exhaled, "Indeed, this thing is too dangerous for an individual to control."

After Liu Yi received the three Memory Bodys from Wang Qi, he swiped his hand over the Storage Bag but did not store them away. Instead, he produced a mirror.

Every Modern Cultivator knows that the first calculator, the Bronze Immortal, is mirror-shaped. Aside from Wang Qi's mathematics, discrete theory, all other Advanced Calculator items are in the form of mirrors.

That was an Advanced Calculator!

Liu Yi cast a spell, and the mirror, stimulated, emitted a deep blue light. Then, a column of light descended from the sky. It pierced through the atmosphere, the Geng Wind, the clouds and struck the mirror squarely.

The apparition of Feng Luoyi appeared before Wang Qi.

Liu Yi tossed the three Memory Bodies out, and, right on time, the mirror emitted a green light, capturing the three Memory Bodies. Numerous operators emerged, interweaving, and then surged towards the Memory Bodies. Pink, blue, and white lights—three different Heart Demon Curse forces appeared and entwined together.

"New system injection."

"Physical Layer protocol, complete."

"Link Layer protocol, complete."

"Ten Thousand Immortals Layer protocol, complete."

"Spirit Sense Layer protocol, complete."

"Illusion Layer protocol, complete."

"Path Rank Layer protocol, complete."

"Magic Layer protocol, complete."

"The merging of the four networks begins. The Heart Demon Network becomes a subnet of the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm."

Jarvis, still connected to the Five Pestilences Master Spell Network, recounted the transformations happening within the network to Wang Qi. Wang Qi watched the continuing sequence of reports with a strange expression on his face.

Feng Luoyi cast a glance at Wang Qi but did not show any anger or blame. He asked, "Zhao Qingfeng died for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense earlier. Did you have control over the Immortal Dao Burning Book List?"

Wang Qi nodded, "That was a variable."

"Very good. You are adept at discerning the essence of things," Feng Luoyi actually praised. "Now, you just need to focus on your new task — and the three of you as well, to complete this together with Wang Qi."

In Feng Luoyi's voice was an unquestionable authority.

"Your final task is only one — protect the mortals, kill all the Ancient Method Practitioners you encounter."

As Feng Luoyi spoke, another voice echoed through the Divine Capital —

"The Immortal Alliance Criminal Law Department orders: In the current emergency situation in the Divine Capital, all local Cultivators are ordered to stay in their homes and not leave their residences. Immortal Alliance Disciples, assist mortals in evacuation. Should any Nascent Soul or above wander outside, they shall be killed on sight!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)