Exploring Immortality Cultivation

Regarding Wang Qi's question, Yue Luo Liu Li fell silent for a moment before saying, "The Dragon Dao... is actually not the true name of that path. 'That path' is even older than our Dragon Clan... but in the last few hundred million years, only the Dragon Clan has used it. Hence, other clans call it 'Dragon Dao.'"

Wang Qi curiously asked, "Then what exactly is it? Who built it?"

Yue Luo Liu Li's eyes sparkled with yearning: "It is a wondrous Heavenly Road…"

Pfft…

Wang Qi couldn't hold back and spurted out a stream of bubbles, striking Yue Luo Liu Li's face. Yue Luo Liu Li asked in confusion, "Is there something so funny about what I said?"

I'm almost singing out loud! Could that path even bring you closer to a Mortal Heaven of some sort?

However, on the surface, Wang Qi still calmly said, "Nothing, nothing, please continue."

"It allows us to step into the Heavenly Vault Universe."

Pfft… it's roughly the same idea…

Yue Luo Liu Li stared at Wang Qi, puzzled, thinking that there must be something particularly amusing about her words within the culture of the Human Clan. Shaking her head, she continued, "The Dragon Dao is divided into three layers. The outermost layer is built according to the celestial gravitational pull, connecting nearby celestial bodies through that pull, also known as the 'Gate of Wonders'; the middle layer, beyond the six voids, lies in an inexplicably high place, connecting the Infinite Heavens and Earth, also referred to as 'Gate of Xuanpin'; the highest level, even the Holy Emperor has not mentioned to me, only rumors say that it exists beyond time and space, in a paradoxical place..."

Celestial gravitational pull is probably referring to what is known as gravity. Beyond the six voids, in an inexplicably high place, is akin to a place higher-dimensional than three-dimensional space. However, Wang Qi did not understand the last level.

"'Paradoxical'?" Wang Qi asked in surprise: "Outside of time and space? A paradoxical place? What paradox?"

"It is said that there, some things are completely illogical, yet strangely they have their own reasons, inscrutable and enigmatic," she shook her head, "In short, the highest layer, the 'Daoist Land,' is the most terrifying, and it seems to hide some special secret. The Dragon Clan has ancestral teachings, one must absolutely not enter the last layer. As for why, even the Holy Emperor never speaks of it."

"Daoist Land, paradoxical place…" Wang Qi pondered, "Are you saying, what our Human Clan calls 'Immortal Heaven'?"

Yue Luo Liu Li shook her head: "I'm not particularly clear on the Dragon Dao. However, 'Ascension' does seem to be achieved through that Dragon Dao. It appears to have a mechanism for taking in life beings who are breaking through to Undying."

Wang Qi finally understood why the Sea God Type had no so-called "Ascension." They are born as Longevity Guests, without any process of breaking through from finite to infinite.

Wang Qi questioned, "Your Dragon Clan must have many who have attained Longevity, right? Then why are there no ascension phenomena?"

"As long as one is strong enough, they can forcibly resist this special mechanism. However, by doing so, there's no way to go through the Dragon Dao," Yue Luo Liu Li sighed, "Therefore, those who are able to arrive in Shenzhou in a short time are either the Tianhe Dragon Army who have not yet become Undying, or ancient elders who achieved Undying two hundred million years ago."

Wang Qi reflected thoughtfully, "So, the so-called 'Dragon Dao,' 'Heavenly Road'…"

"A billion years ago, the work of Immortals," Yue Luo Liu Li said with emphasis, "the real Immortals, not the current Undying Beasts."

"A billion years ago! Real Immortals? Undying Beasts?" Wang Qi felt his confusion growing and couldn't help asking, "What's the difference between the two?"

"Having attained an endless Life Span, in theory, they can be called Immortals, but do the Longevity beings you see truly deserve the title of Immortal?"

The words of Yue Luo Liu Li made Wang Qi fall into contemplation. After a while, he said, "The 'Galaxy Battlefront,' 'Universal Calamity' passed down from the Ancient Dragon Emperor, is this the power of the true Immortals?"

Yue Luo Liu Li thought she had already had her fill of surprises for the day, but to her astonishment, Wang Qi filled her again: "You… how do you know about it?"

Wang Qi chuckled and forced out a Dragon Clan Coin from within himself: "From the inheritance given by your Holy Emperor, the True Sun, Deep Space, and the Half-God Disaster."

The Little Dragon was shocked: "Why did you not reveal this from the beginning?"

Scratching his head, Wang Qi said, "Er, I was initially just focused on verifying the Banished Immortal and forgot about this… Speaking of which, what use does this have?"

Yue Luo Liu Li shook her head, "If we speak of use, this object has nothing special. It is merely a status."

"A status?"

Yue Luo Liu Li nodded, "An identity recognized by the Holy Emperor of the Dragon Clan."

It turned out that since the Dragon Clan was capable of inventing the Transformation Technique, it naturally wasn't the kind of race that clung strictly to bloodlines. Cases in which members of other races shed their forms to become dragons and join the Dragon Clan were not unheard of. The law referred to as "Thoughts Become Reality" was also considered a gift from the Ancient Dragon Emperor. Should a person with first-rate talent acquire the power of the Dragon Emperor, that power would completely submit to the individual's refinement.

A bit of power, a bit of inheritance, on top of that, a status equivalent to "citizenship" within the Dragon Clan.

Wang Qi still had questions. "What use is this dual identity?"

"It can be said to be useless, yet it can also be said to have great use," Yue Luo Liu Li said with a smile. "The importance of this identity largely depends on you. If you can gain recognition from the other members of the Dragon Clan, then naturally there will be numerous benefits. If not, then it is useless."

The two of them split the water and headed east as they journeyed. Along the way, they did encounter a few solitary Golden Core members of the Demon Clan on patrol who discovered Wang Qi and Yue Luo Liu Li. However, these Little Demons were easily dealt with by Wang Qi with a wave of his hand, posing no significant difficulty.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the small island designated by Feng Luoyi.

This "island" was more of an oversized rock than an actual island. There were no plants on the island, but instead, there were numerous shells from crustaceans—oysters, razor clams, crabs, and more. Additionally, this place was once home to nests of Demon Birds. But with the increasing and frightening presence of the Great Demon's energy in the sea, the original inhabitants of these nests had long since fled. Wang Qi and Yue Luo Liu Li found themselves a dry spot on the island. Wang Qi then used the Elephant Phase Wave Skill to twist the rocks and create a spacious cave to hide in. After concealing the entrance, they waited quietly for rescue.

After preparing everything, Wang Qi called out to Feng Luoyi again. He first reported on the content of what he and Yue Luo Liu Li had just discussed. Feng Luoyi nodded, manifesting in front of Yue Luo Liu Li once more and posed the next question, "Daoist Fellow Yue Luo, within this Sun System, is the Ancient Dragon Emperor truly the strongest?"

Yue Luo Liu Li nodded. "The Holy Emperor has indeed been the strongest over these countless eons. Next would be the Renewal Demon Emperor, Donghuang. This individual has extraordinary roots, not made of flesh and blood like you and me, but rather, born from a seed of life planted by the Holy Emperor within the Great Sun billions of years ago. It took shape through the reverse process of the Transformation Technique. Subsequently, it reached the peak of the demon's Divine Tao, with thoughts accumulated over myriad years. Aside from inherent life forms transformed from entities like the Great Sun and nebulae, few beings were stronger than it. Following the two of them, the Primordial Demon Emperor 'Qilin Yue King·Constant' and the Demon Emperor 'Struggle' are on par. After them comes the Dragon Clan Rebel 'Historical Dragon Xuan Yu', sealed in ice two billion years ago."

"Any one of these five has the capacity to destroy celestial bodies."

Feng Luoyi nodded, "That's good enough to know these individuals are strong. I have another question."

"Please ask, Mr. Feng."

"About the Immortal Transmission, was it the Dragon Emperor's doing?" Feng Luoyi asked. "The Human Clan's Immortal Dao began with the Transmitting Method. But there is something that doesn't quite sit right with this."

"It can be said that it is, and it can be said that it is not," Yue Luo Liu Li answered.

Feng Luoyi persisted, "Why do you say that?"

"The so-called Immortal Transmission of your Human Clan was actually the work of two beings. According to the Holy Emperor's original intent, he planned to wait until your Human Clan developed a mature Cultivation system, and then he would selectively pass down laws that complement your own system. However, tens of thousands of years ago, the Demon Emperor took the initiative."

Yue Luo Liu Li continued, "The Demon Emperor found a loophole in the seal once again, extended its consciousness, and passed on forty-nine complete methods to the Human Clan. By the time the Holy Emperor discovered it, it was already half a step too late. Left with no choice, he could only reinforce the seal and then incarnate as that 'Immortal', continuing the act of transmission to diminish the Demon Emperor's influence."

The Immortal Transmission was the Demon Emperor's attempt to break out of its prison, and it was also its counterattack against the Ancient Dragon Emperor.

You want to nurture the newcomers to transcend the unknown barriers! Then I shall ruin your fields and disrupt your laws!

The subsequent Immortal Transmission had become a game between the Dragon Emperor and the Demon Emperor.

The Ancient Dragon Emperor supported the "newcomers" like conducting a social experiment, observing the development of different civilizations, seeking methods to surpass the "Great Filter." Although the Human Clan has weak innate abilities, they have been the only species, apart from the Dragon Clan, that inherently possess Spirit Wisdom over the last two billion years!

You see, evolution is always an accumulation of probabilities, often favoring short-term over long-term benefits. In the initial stages of evolution, attributes like Spirit Wisdom rarely show any advantages, much less efficient than developing muscles and sharp claws. Therefore, intelligent life forms are relatively rare evolutionary paths.

However, it is precisely because they are rare that the Ancient Dragon Emperor found them more valuable.

He was reluctant to interfere too much with such a race.

Yue Luo Liu Li didn't know just how much the Ancient Dragon Emperor valued the Human Clan. According to the Ancient Dragon Emperor's plan, only after humanity had progressed along the path of the Undying Beasts and had reached a stage of negation, would he eradicate all traces of the Immortal Dao within the Human Clan and reform the planet's environment!

If the Modern Cultivator hadn't appeared by then, he would act to revamp the entire planet's ecosystem, creating an environment of "rebirth after calamity" for the Human Clan.

Feng Luoyi suddenly realized, "So, the Demon Path law that invites the Outer Demon to aid in battle is actually drawing on the Demon Emperor's power? This must also be one of its strategies to escape its fate, right?"

"The essence of the Demon Path is to devour heaven, earth, and all life. Should there be a Cultivator capable of disrupting this part of the universe, it would trigger a chain reaction throughout the entire Sun System, weakening the seal," Yue Luo Liu Li nodded in agreement. "The seed of the Demon Path has been planted and cannot be eradicated. Since that's the case, then it would be better to plant another seed to counteract and suppress the Demon Path."

Feng Luoyi nodded, "Then, is there a problem with the forty-nine methods?"

Yue Luo Liu Li shook her head with a wry smile, "This, I really can't answer. The memories the Holy Emperor imparted to me about this matter are very vague. All I know is that they were originally True God Right Methods, absolute truths, but later encountered some sort of problem."

Feng Luoyi nodded, indicating that he understood. Then, he asked one last question, "Regarding the matters of the Immortal Heaven, how much do you, Daoist Fellow Yue Luo, know?"

Yue Luo Liu Li shook her head, "That's truly beyond my knowledge. According to the Holy Emperor, the less you know about it, the better for you." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and support me. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)