Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Huge bursts of golden light exploded, and the domineering mana transformed into arrows that galloped along the seafloor. The surrounding Water Element Spiritual Energy dared not disobey and converged onto the arrows. Wrapped in golden light, a torrential flow of thick Spiritual Energy erupted across the backs of three little dragons.

They were all immature members of the Dragon Clan, with neither Divine Skills nor mana fully developed. The formidable combat power that would dominate their planet as adults had not yet taken shape. The habitual arrogance of the Dragon Clan made them unsuspectingly vulnerable at the entrance to the Holy Land.

In a sudden ambush, blooms of blood burst from the bodies of the three young dragons who had just reached the Transformation Stage. Their slender bodies, like rotten ropes, slowly sank to the seafloor under the influence of the seawater. Dragon blood dyed the nearby seawater pink. The color spread gradually and disappeared into the sea.

As the dragon blood seeped into the sea, the originally calm waters erupted in turmoil. The first to react were the sharks. These marine creatures had the sharpest sense of smell. Even if the blood were diluted by a million times, they could still identify it through scent. However, this time, the thick scent of blood not only did not awaken their predatory instincts but also sent them into a panic, fleeing in disarray. Fish with weaker perceptions, upon sensing the dragon blood, also hurriedly swam away.

For billions of years, all life forms unafraid of the scent of dragon blood had been slaughtered—a conscious "natural selection."

For a moment, shoals of fish in the shallow sea scattered, revealing a group of Cultivators protected by a layer of blue light. The leading Cultivator wore a golden robe and held a longbow, with one hand supporting a Spiritual Pearl. The light was emanating from this pearl.

This rare Magic Artifact had been refined by the West Sea Dragon King over tens of thousands of years. According to the classification of human Magical Artifacts, it had long become an Immortal Artifact. It merged with the ocean currents of the West Sea, allowing the manipulation of the vast marine Spiritual Energy. This treasure concealed their mana signatures, allowing them to strike successfully.

These intelligent beings were the only life forms not scared away by the scent of dragon blood. Although limited by their own bloodlines, they instinctively reacted to dragon blood. Contents like adrenaline, corticosterone, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and thyroid hormones in their blood surged rapidly, accelerating their heartbeats. However, being innately sentient creatures of intelligence, instincts did not override their reason. These Cultivators, who had experienced the transformation of life, had minds anchored in their Nascent Soul Bodies, unbound by physical constraints. This sense of fear was far from crushing them; instead, it excited them unusually.

"Killing members of the Dragon Clan at the entrance of Holy Dragon Abyss! We must be the first to ever do so since ancient times," remarked a Divine Separation Stage Cultivator with a click of his tongue, "Thrilling!"

"Holy Dragon Abyss might appear unified on the inside and outside, but in reality, it's divided into three realms with interconnected Grotto Heavens," backed by the endorsement of the West Sea Dragon King, the group was quite unrestrained. "If not for the Dragon Clan, no one else could enter or exit the Holy Dragon Abyss. Relatively, information also finds it hard to filter in or out."

One Cultivator tossed a porcelain bottle, laughing, "Dragon blood is a precious commodity, not to be wasted."

A cheerful sentiment of "dividing the spoils" rippled among the Divine Separation Stage Cultivators. They did not dare act rashly against high-level Cultivators, including the massive bodies of the Dragon Clan, but they could collect the scattered dragon blood individually. More than a dozen Divine Separation Cultivators led their respective storage artifacts to gather the dragon blood.

Yet, they had underestimated the Dragon Clan.

"Roar—"

Beneath the crimson sea, one green and two purple radiances burst forth. Before this strike, there was no disturbance in nature's spiritual energy. The two Dragon Demons did not borrow any bit of it, seemingly burning themselves to launch such an attack. Caught off-guard, three Cultivators were directly hit head-on.

Protective Spirit Light useless, Protective Gang Qi useless, Defensive Magic Tools useless, Magic Robes useless, Inner Armor useless. All of these, under the dying counterattack of the three dragon demons, were shattered in a single strike, fragile as paper mache.

Dragon Power, Dragon Attack, the most basic Divine Skills of the Dragon Clan. The former stirs the Infinite Sea of Vacuum, conjuring Spiritual Power from nothing, while the latter disrupts matter on a microscopic level!

The three cultivators struck by this relentless assault were torn in half, their flesh and blood flying everywhere. The other cultivators retreated while continuing to gather dragon blood, even collecting their comrades' blood as well. Though not as potent as dragon blood, the blood of cultivators, too, contained powerful luck, a treasure of heaven and earth.

"Ao—" Accompanied by the unique war cry of the Dragon Clan, a tangible thought descended. Several cultivators attempted to expand their Divine Power Domains, but their tangible domains were scattered by this intangible "Majesty."

Under the pressure of the Dragon's Majesty, these cultivators' combat power dropped by a whole third!

A dragon dove down, bursting through a mass of blood, trying to return to the Dragon Abyss. The Unification Stage Cultivator hastily threw out a treasure bead, shouting, "Rise!" When the bead was activated, it gathered the endless Spiritual Energy from the sea. The Spirit Light churned, blocking the True Dragon's route of escape. Simultaneously, the Unification Stage Cultivator flicked his right hand on the bowstring, shooting seven arrows in quick succession onto the dragon's head. The dragon cried out in pain, yet it was not wounded.

Dragon Guard.

"Too bad, you still haven't mastered the Dragon's Ascending Cloud." The Unification Cultivator sneered coldly, his fingers spinning like a wheel, shooting arrows intertwined with energy like rain, bombarding the dragon demon until it could only parry in pain. The dragon demon cried out in pain and secretly burrowed into the dense blood.

"Without magical treasures, incomplete Divine Skills. In my eyes, you don't have the qualifications to roam the four seas!" The Unification Cultivator manipulated the borrowed treasure bead, gradually trapping the Dragon Clan to their demise.

This was a battle planned in advance, plus with the Immortal Artifacts borrowed by the Dragon Clan themselves, there was no suspense in the entire battle. In just a short time, the mournful cries of the Dragon Clan vanished under continuous bombardment. However, Ancient Method Practitioners were not entirely unscathed. The intense Dragon Essence contained within the dragon blood, stirred by the Dragon Power, created a "geographical advantage" using their own blood.

The Unification Cultivator paused to catch his breath, "The natural talent of the Dragon Clan is indeed terrifying but these three youngsters completely failed to use it. They panicked, forgot to first seal their wounds with demonic power and instead tried to use their blood to cover their tracks... Hm?"

After the blood mist dispersed, everyone realized there were only two dragon corpses!

"This is…" As if a cold spirit had descended upon them, all the cultivators felt an involuntary shiver.

Holy Land Envoy… had actually escaped…

One dragon's back wound, enlarged several times and penetrating the main blood vessels, created the horrific blood loss. Amplified several times by the Dragon Power, the Dragon Clan Essence within the dragon blood, along with the intense Primordial Qi, disrupted the Spiritual Sense, covering the tracks of the other dragon.

This dragon, at the final moment, was using its life to fulfill the Holy Emperor's entrustment.

They did not know that the battle cry of the Dragon Clan was not just a mere roar. Due to the unique structure of their language, they could embed countless faint sound conversions into their battle cries, which were difficult for human ears to discern.

In between their roars, they spoke these words.

"Dragon's Ascending Cloud, who will go?"

"I will!"

"Head to the east."

Without asking why, without pondering the meaning of this action, without considering life and death, and aware there might still be other enemies nearby; they made such a choice.

"It's bad..." the Unification Stage Cultivator shouted, "Chase! Hurry up and chase! It's just a young dragon! The arrows within it were personally condensed by the Daoist Master, and its injuries will only worsen over time! Don't give it a chance to meet other highly skilled members of the Dragon Clan!"

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The Holy Dragon Abyss was twenty thousand miles away from the Western Border. Everything happening in the Dragon Clan's Holy Land seemed unrelated to Langde City. The greatest impact the Holy Dragon Abyss had on Langde City was instead a current created by the Dragon Clan.

The Holy Dragon Abyss had a forbidden technique, shallow oxygen-rich seawater was drawn into the Holy Land, while seawater containing powerful spiritual power was constantly released from within. The Dragon Clan could survive in anoxic environments, but oxygen still made them more comfortable. This cold current, laden with strong spiritual energy, flowed all the way to the Guiyi Alliance Western Border, forming the best fishing ground among the four seas.

The fish from the Western Border had exceptionally good meat quality, maintaining a delicious flavor even when made into the indescribably named fish-head cakes.

Now, Wang Qi had several plates of fine fresh fish in front of him. Opposite him, Ai Changyuan was clapping down a few cups, then pouring wine himself: "I really didn't expect it, Old Wang. I wouldn't have thought we'd still be able to meet in Langde."

"Old Wang... This name sounds so strange, doesn't it?"

I don't live next to you...

"It sounds more heroic this way!"

Wang Qi shook his head, deciding not to fuss over the name, "It's been five years, and you've already left the sect."

Ai Changyuan waved his hand: "I haven't just left the sect. I've been serving as a Guardian Envoy here for half a year already."

Wang Qi exclaimed, "Red Dust Heart Refining? So soon?"

This guy's talent was really too strong, wasn't it? Wang Qi's cultivation speed was faster than ordinary people because the Life Flame caused his mana to increase abnormally. But Ai Changyuan didn't have that ability; all his cultivation came one step at a time.

"Ugh, just talking about it frustrates me!" Ai Changyuan shook his head, "I studied in the Guiyi Alliance for three years, felt I had a decent grasp on the current stage's macro rules, then planned to slightly delve into researching the Mysterious Path to get into the microscopic details. But I couldn't control it, my mana surged several times. Last year at year's end, when I was at a critical moment of deducing theory, exactly when insights were flooding in, they kicked me out to undergo the Refining Heart trial! Those guys! They even sent someone to watch me, prohibiting me from doing deductions privately!"

Wang Qi glanced at the tall Cultivator standing behind Ai Changyuan. That Cultivator was frowning but still nodded respectfully at Wang Qi. Wang Qi could relate. Feng Luoyi had been doing similar things for the past half year. However, he still responded to Ai Changyuan with a bitter smile: "What can we do? Only by achieving Longevity first, can we have the leisure to pursue the Great Dao, right?"

Ai Changyuan nodded, "That's true, but that feeling of being just one step away from the Great Dao... that feeling..."

"To live is what I desire, yet if the Dao is before my eyes, who would still care about life and death!"

"Exactly, that's the feeling!" Ai Changyuan nodded enthusiastically, "It's not like we're going to die immediately, what's wrong with thinking a bit more? But since you can say such words, it seems like you're also restless because of this, Old Wang! I knew you're not the type to get disheartened!"

"Are you still studying gravity?"

"More accurately, it's about how to integrate gravity into the Mysterious system, combining Mysterious and Shape Comparison into one," Ai Changyuan corrected.

So it's like bridging quantum theory and relativity?

Wang Qi nodded, immediately understanding the other's approach. Relativity worked at macro levels but failed in the microscopic, quantum theory was always unable to transition to the macro. Both had contradictions in many areas. Completing these two systems in the Immortal Realm was equivalent to taking a major step forward on a new path.

"Speaking of which, I've also been wanting to study the Opening Heaven Four Spirits, particularly gravity," Wang Qi smiled as he unleashed the Ghost Soldier "New Moon," "Let's discuss cultivation methods, it shouldn't violate the prohibition, should it?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote and recommend at qiidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)