Exploring Immortality Cultivation

The Shenzhou Immortal Path had maintained a dualistic state of Immortal and Mortal for eighty thousand years.

Coincidentally, the Demon Clan did the same. It is verified that within the civilization of the Ancient Demon Clan, creatures that had not undergone Spirit Awakening had no rights whatsoever. Even their own parents, if unawakened, were treated as livestock; after their offspring awakened their spirits, selling or killing them was done without stress.

From the perspective of the Human Clan, such practices seemed exceptionally cruel and unreasonable. However, in reality, this was just an extreme manifestation of the dualism between Immortal and Mortal. The only difference was that the "Mortal" among the Demon Clan lacked Spirit Wisdom, preventing the newly awakened demonized individuals from feeling empathy or compassion.

After all, "Demon Clan" is not a concept of lineage, but rather one of culture.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the "Dualism between Immortal and Mortal" is not a phenomenon unique to the Shenzhou People Clan's civilization.

And the primary culprit responsible for all this happens to be the cornerstone of the Immortal Dao civilization—Spiritual Energy!

If Earth and Shenzhou were swapped from their respective cosmic realms, and if we assume that they wouldn't collapse due to different physical laws, this situation would actually be a huge disaster for both civilizations. For Shenzhou, it would mean the severance of the Immortal Dao, the loss of Divine Skills, the despair of never achieving eternality. But the same would be true for Earth.

Before a scientific system could be rebuilt, people would have to face the reality of a completely dysfunctional industrial system. Since Spiritual Energy is an exponential form of energy, even the slightest fluctuations are noticeably significant. Delicate electronic circuits would not withstand the suddenly fluctuating currents and would burn out instantly; all electronic products would fail at once. Even rough industrial machinery could become deformed and unusable within a short time due to distortions in kinetic energy and mechanical stress.

In this world, the only long-term sustainable machinery, aside from basic machines like water wheels and millstones, would be the spirit transmission machinery of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

This is the real reason behind the formation of a dualistic Immortal and Mortal society. According to a theory by a German classical economist, productive forces determine production relations, and the economic base determines the superstructure. Mortals can only use exceedingly limited production tools, thus their productive capacity is fixed. Most labor products they can offer are of no value to cultivators. Meanwhile, the production of cultivators, the products of Spirit Energy Technology, are mostly unusable by mortals. Their economies are severed.

Of course, over the two thousand years of the Modern-era, there have been considerations to design a "Spirit Net" similar to Earth's power supply or the Mana Web system under the DND worldview for mortal usage. The idea was to change the Cosmic Breathing, to create an artificial Qi Vein River, to constantly supply it to every household, always open, and then to invent switches and valves that even mortals could use to control machinery. However, Spiritual Energy as a physical quantity is too easily influenced, and the Cosmic Breathing and Qi Vein River are chaotic systems difficult to calculate, making construction challenging. A minor disturbance could cause a massive change, leading to the collapse of the Spirit Net.

Another point is that on Earth, there is no Magnetic King, no strong wielders of magnetic fields, or LV5 electrics who might use the power grid for terrifying exploits. However, if a Spirit Net were established, even a not-so-strong Demon Cultivator could potentially use it to bloodily cleanse a city, or a small Demon Beast exploit a leak in the Spirit Net to quickly evolve into a Great Demon.

The achievements of Earth's civilization cannot be transferred to Shenzhou.

But what if it used a different model?

Instead of creating a power grid, every individual would possess the most basic Mana.

That is—If the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to the mountain!

"Normally, sensing Spiritual Energy depends on innate talent and the strength of the Soul. And the strength of the Soul largely depends on the health of the mother during pregnancy, particularly if she is a Cultivator; secondly the early education of infants and young children, and only thirdly on lineage," Wang Qi counted on his fingers, calculating: "But given the material constraints of the Mortal World due to tools, the first two are not so easy to manage."

"This already eliminates a batch. The remaining talented individuals, many spend their lives just sensing Spiritual Energy and nourishing their Physical Body, because even the Learning Stage requires a certain level of Intelligence."

The requirement to Breakthrough Heavenly Communication was "to have a correct, scientific worldview," which at a minimum demanded a primary school education. But the reason primary school students were not valued on Earth was because everyone could receive correct early education, and public education was sufficiently strong.

By that reckoning, very few people could actually become Cultivators.

Wang Qi's plan, however, was to skip this step, directly granting every person a basic level of Mana.

By refining the Divine Tao System's Law Gate and applying it to the Human Dao, it would harness the power of Human Dao and then distribute this power into the bodies of every individual. In this way, everyone would possess the basic Mana, able to enjoy the fruits of the Immortal Dao Civilization and participate in various forms of production!

By adjusting the Spirit Energy Eigenform, this Daoist Skill would nurture ordinary people's physical bodies, akin to medical welfare. But this strength wouldn't belong to the individuals themselves. If they wished to further their Cultivation, this "Power of Human Dao" wouldn't obstruct them but rather would facilitate the accumulation of Mana in the early stages.

Chen Feng pondered and said, "That's a good idea, but have you considered that this force might exceed the limits of a mortal's control?"

"The Court's power comes from its citizens," Wang Qi said with closed eyes, speaking with a deep and unfathomable tone.

"Clarify that."

"Human Dao is a social contract. In this contract, each person assumes responsibilities and gains a portion of Mana; in the process of participating in politics, each individual equally relinquishes a portion of Mana to the collective, which the Court then controls and distributes to officials," Wang Qi said, his eyes twinkling with ambiguous light. "This portion of Mana will become the salaries and rewards of capable ministers and efficient bureaucrats. Since official positions bear on longevity, civil servants will be granted opportunities—this is the 'Immortal Official' system I'm talking about!"

A slightly modified theory of the social contract. To the people of Earth, this theory originating from Western philosophers was common sense.

Not everyone is a science student. Perhaps Wanfa Sect cultivators can use game theory and Yitian Calculation to solve many social issues, but the normal operation of society still depends on professional administrative personnel.

Chen Feng shook his head, "Without seeking the ultimate truths of Heaven and Earth, how can one achieve a Primordial Spirit? The Immortal Alliance will not allow for Nascent Souls to come into being."

"Before the Primordial Spirit, the Magic Foundation and Golden Core can be solved artificially; as for the Primordial Spirit... First, the Human Dao is also the Dao of Life Beings, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth; second, do you really think an Artificial Primordial Spirit is impossible?" Wang Qi said with a smile. "And you're thinking too far ahead. This big issue won't be resolved in just a hundred or two hundred years."

Chen Feng took a deep breath, "I see…"

"By the way, according to my speculations, the higher the average quality of the Shenzhou People Clan is, the larger the population, and the more stable the society is, the stronger the Power of Human Dao becomes," said Wang Qi, spreading his arms. "By that time, the 'Judicial System' itself will possess strength, and Law Enforcement Officers could be manned by ordinary Cultivators. Militarily aligned Cultivators will also emerge, with Security Guardians and Guardian Envoys greatly strengthened."

The reason why researchers like Chen Feng existed among the Immortal Alliance Law Enforcement Officers was to ensure that the Law Enforcement Officers possessed absolute martial strength. Now, those with the highest martial strength among their peers were also the ones most adept at research, a reluctant necessity. However, if the "Judicial" system possessed inherent strength, allowing ordinary Cultivators to automatically gain powerful martial strength upon assuming the role of Law Enforcement Officer, then more researchers could be freed up.

Wang Qi already wore the expression of a prophet. His face full of aspirations, his voice brimming with allure: "By then, 'division of labor' will no longer be a joke. The Immortal Alliance will see the emergence of Seeking Dao Seekers who specialize in research, military Cultivators for martial roles, and Immortal Officials for civil roles. The Immortal Officials will manage the entirety of Shenzhou, integrating the strength of mortals into the system of the Immortal Alliance's Great Society [Big Industry], while military Cultivators maintain peace across the land. The Seeking Dao Seekers, utilizing resources produced by the aforementioned, will set forth toward the starry ocean!"

This was a reimagining of Plato's ideal state. The ruling class was changed from philosophers to scientists, led by rational Seeking Dao Seekers.

Wang Qi gazed at Chen Feng with an ill-meaning stare: "Now, would you like to join?" (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)