Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

"Fellow Daoist Nie, what is the purpose of crafting this golden statue?"

Chu Zheng was somewhat puzzled as he looked at the golden statue before him.

Nie Longhu had used only the most ordinary clay, devoid of any spiritual energy, just like what Chu Zheng had seen in the Cangyun Secret Realm before.

The statue he had previously encountered in the Cangyun Secret Realm was originally of high rank, reaching the Fifth Order.

This statue before him, according to the information displayed by his Spiritual Eye, was also just an ordinary divine statue, which had not reached any Entry Stage and did not possess any divine mysteries.

He really could not see what use such a golden statue might have.

"To collect a portion of the incense from this realm for the Ancestral Dao."

Nie Longhu lit three sticks of Pure Incense, respectfully bowed three times, then placed them in the incense burner, turning around to explain:

"The Ancestral Dao is not one of the Incense Fire Deities. The incense within this golden statue can guide those who come after and also serves as a contingency for the Ancestral Dao."

"With the Ancestral Dao's level of cultivation, even if faced with a dreadful calamity and his original form was obliterated, as long as one golden statue remains, there is a chance for rebirth, preventing complete extinction."

At this, Nie Longhu laughed lightly: "In all my years of cultivation, I have never enjoyed the slightest bit of the Ancestral Dao's blessing, but I have constructed golden statues for the Ancestral Dao, no less than eight hundred if not a thousand."

Qi Cultivators seek Heavenly Fate for themselves and not for others. Even as Qi Cultivators, they cannot enjoy any benefits brought by the Ancestral Dao.

The path of a Qi Cultivator is destined to be one of extreme solitude, everything besides oneself is mere illusion.

Yet, for the sake of constructing a statue for the Ancestral Dao, he was still willing.

It was a mountain, supporting the lineage of the Taoist School, representing the pinnacle a Qi Cultivator could aspire to reach... representing the end of the road he might someday attain.

Nie Longhu was more than willing to do things for beings of such stature.

A flicker of understanding passed through Chu Zheng's eyes. Perhaps, once upon a time in the Cangyun Realm, there was a Qi Cultivator who arrived there and constructed that temple, forging a golden statue.

Suddenly, a spark flashed across his mind, and looking at the statue before him, he gained some insight.

The fact that the Ancestral Dao alone possessed two and a half portions of Heavenly Fate may have some inextricable connection with these golden statues scattered throughout the Myriad Heavens and Realms.

However, this was only his speculation with not much concrete evidence.

Chu Zheng stepped forward, raised his head to look at the golden statue that bore a striking resemblance to himself, lit three sticks of Pure Incense, and bowed deeply three times.

The moment he lifted his head, he felt a trace of confusion. Was he worshipping the Ancestral Dao, or was he worshipping himself?

In that moment, Chu Zheng seemed to vaguely grasp some of Nie Longhu's thoughts.

In the eyes of many Qi Cultivators, this was likely equivalent to worshipping their own future self.

One day, to sit in the position of the Ancestral Dao was perhaps the goal of all Qi Cultivators.

"These past few days, I have been observing the stars at night and after some calculation, found some clues."

Without paying too much attention to Chu Zheng's thought process, Nie Longhu turned to share his recent findings:

"This Star Domain must once have been a Great Realm surrounded by many Life Stars. For some reason, the Great Realm experienced drastic changes and collapsed, with the consciousness of Heavenly Dao nearly dissipating completely."

"The remaining Life Stars began to wander, gradually evolving into this expanse of starry skies. Over time, Heavenly Fate settled and showed signs of revival. However, due to the lack of nature's spiritual energy, civilizations like the Tianyao Federation that lean towards external things came into existence."

"Such civilizations combine their understanding of nature with practical applications of learning, comprehend and utilize Universal Laws, and with the frail bodies of mortals, they have carved out a path capable of slaying Immortals and eradicating Deities, which they call 'technology'."

Everything in the universe operates according to its own laws, and the stars are no exception. Nie Longhu's proficiency in star observation was remarkably high, far beyond Chu Zheng's reach.

This profound foundation, derived from a Heavenly Immortal, was something Chu Zheng knew would take him an indeterminate amount of time to match.

After digesting this information, Chu Zheng instinctively asked: "Are there many civilizations like the Tianyao Federation in the universe?"

From many of Nie Longhu's reactions, it was clear that he was not encountering such a technological civilization for the first time.

"Not a few, but the vast majority have a low ceiling, managing to rival only those at the Refine Spirit Realm is already difficult. For cultivators at the Unity Realm Stage, they are but easily extinguished."

As he said this, Nie Longhu suddenly shifted the topic:

"But there are always exceptions. Within the Myriad Realms, there is one Great Realm that has developed technology to its pinnacle, containing terrifying weapons capable of contending with Golden Immortals, and even capable of reversing time and space within a small scope."

"Reverse time and space?"

Chu Zheng was shocked; this was somewhat unimaginable within his concepts.

Reversing time and space was different from traversing it; reversing time meant reverting events that had already occurred back to their origin, effectively overturning certain laws.

Prosperity and decline, gains and losses, life and death, these could all be changed.

Even those above the Immortal Kings and up to Daluo Golden Immortals simply traverse through the river of time, not reverse it.

"Reversing time and space naturally has many constraints, but this is enough to prove its power," Nie Longhu added without elaborating further.

Actually, the true strength of a technological civilization lies in its ability to mass-produce its peak combat forces, provided there are sufficient resources. This single aspect is enough to make all forces wary.

Resources are always scarce; even the most powerful worlds need to replenish energy and cannot use it without constraints.

Thus, that particular technological civilization was directly restrained within a single Great Realm and has made no progress in expanding outward for many years, having nearly come to a standstill.