Exploring Immortality Cultivation

The two Xiaos are ripe, and the world is sufficient.

Before Burning Gold Valley dispersed spiritual fertilizer throughout the world and Tianling Ridge planted high-quality crops in Shenzhou, the two great cities east and west of the Xiao River were always Shenzhou's granaries, lands that military strategists vied for. It was precisely for this reason that, for sixty thousand years, this place had always been where mortals dwelled.

Mortals do not live in dangerous places, and the Great Sects of the Immortal Dao also give up land that is fertile but far from major spirit veins. It is not some unwritten rule, but rather is driven by interests. Cultivators internally also have division of labor and cooperation, and the cultivation efficiency for Great Sects gathered in one place is higher. These kinds of Sects must be established above major spirit veins. And the resources that Cultivators need often appear where spiritual energy is dense. In such places, wild beasts easily acquire strong souls and become demonized. For mortals, these places are dangerous lands.

Hence, in places abound with Cultivators, few mortals dwell.

This also led to the Immortal Alliance's lack of control over certain areas where mortals lived, such as Xiaodong and Xiaoxi.

In the year before last, when the fervent anti-cult actions just began, everyone thought it was merely a farce by those people in high places. The Modern Method was established two thousand years ago by eradicating the primeval Hongyuan Sect of Divine Tao, and afterward, there were anti-Divine Tao activities every year. Now, on the vast land of Shenzhou, where can general Divine Tao find a foothold?

Yet, it turned out that the Hongyuan Sect was no ordinary Divine Tao.

In one year, the Immortal Alliance and its subsidiaries eradicated countless Hongyuan strongholds. But this cult was like weeds that could hardly be extinguished. Even if the roots were cut off, a neglected seed might still spawn a disaster there.

How hateful...

Li You looked at the distant village, grinding his teeth.

He was a True Disciple of Thunder Pavilion, and at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, he began the process of Red Dust Heart Refining, experiencing worldly affections, and seeking one's True Heart as a Security Guardian. This was something every Modern Cultivator must experience. Mana that grew too rapidly could interfere with the soul, causing a Cultivator's will to become twisted. Perhaps it was a very small deviation, but this tiny deviation might infinitely magnify over an endless life. Thus, every Cultivator inevitably serves a time as a direct worker for the Immortal Alliance.

For the past two years, Li You had spent his time combating the Hongyuan Sect.

Battling on the front lines of anti-cult operations, he witnessed too many heinous deeds. He was not numb but became increasingly angry.

This time, he could hardly contain his fury and wanted to re-enter the village in front of him at the earliest opportunity.

This village, every household were followers of Hongyuan Sect. Among them, there were even Witches!

The Peacekeeping Department had orders, if you can save, then save; if power is insufficient, all may be killed.

"Let's wait for just a moment longer, Senior Brother Li." A Yangshen Pavilion Disciple beside him shook his head, "You're not in the right state now."

Li You took a deep breath and said, "No problem..."

Actually, he didn't quite like this Disciple from Yangshen Pavilion named Chen Feng. His reputation was notorious, he was arrogant, and he wouldn't even listen to his own teacher's viewpoints. However, Li You was not one to let personal feelings affect the mission, and he definitely wouldn't quarrel with Chen Feng during their task. Moreover, upon getting along, he found that Chen Feng was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you." Chen Feng looked at the distance village, calmly saying, "After you've seen too much of what's negative, perhaps it will be difficult to hold onto your True Heart."

"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you..." Li You echoed, smiling, "This saying seems simple, but it's enough to serve as a guideline for refining the heart."

"That's what my brother said." Chen Feng continued to observe the enemy situation, "True Self and True Heart difficult, indeed not an easy task."

When Chen Feng mentioned "that brother," Li You's expression flashed a hint of frustration.

Compared to this Cultivator from Yangshen Pavilion, he liked that True Inheritor of Wanfa Sect named Wang Qi even less.

It was precisely because, at this moment, as they were about to attack the Hongyuan Sect stronghold, Wang Qi was still studying the Hongyuan Sect's scriptures! Not only that but the arrival of these two also forced their team to pause their offensive against the cult!

Heaven! This Wang Qi was simply the maddest madman Li You had ever seen!

But it was because they held a permit from the Immortal Alliance. These two were researching the cult, so the eradication team had to cooperate with these two as much as possible!

The Immortal Alliance was a research institution, thus seeking the Dao was the foremost principle.

Li You couldn't help but curse, "Don't forget, there was also an order from the Immortal Alliance before, to pluck out all Hongyuan followers in the Xiaodong area within five days, not allowing them any chance of backlash! There are only four more two-hour periods until the final deadline. When the time comes, we must attack, and you must not obstruct in the slightest!"

"Yes, of course." Chen Feng nodded, then leaned towards Wang Qi, asking, "Are you done with that thing?"

Wang Qi's eyes rapidly moved, scanning the pages. Even so, he could still ask distractedly, "What do you mean?"

"The wind-media type Mechanical Beast." Chen Feng shrank his neck a little. Approaching December, the Xiao River Hills region was also somewhat cold.

"Oh, it's all good, Jarvis has already dispatched all my bionic Mechanical Beasts, lurking in every corner of that village, observing the villager's actions, recording everything. With the upcoming four two-hour periods, we will have collected a full ten two-hours of actions from an entire village, enough to build a model." Wang Qi had already finished reading a book. He put down the one in his hand, picked up another, and flipped through it quickly. This method of reading, to finish a book only takes a few seconds. However, the books by his side combined were thicker than a dictionary, so that's why he was still reading now.

Reading word by word, and scanning the text to understand it in the mind later, the efficiency difference was more than tenfold.

He was reading the Hongyuan Sect scriptures, which he and another had snatched from a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment level witch earlier that morning during a joint operation to eradicate another cult outpost.

Chen Feng sighed, "Truthfully, if our gathering of information delays us by ten two-hours and results in people dying inside who could have been saved, it would sit heavy on my heart."

"Rest easy, rest easy. Not to mention it's been confirmed that everyone here is fair game for killing," Wang Qi said with closed eyes, tapping his forehead. "Besides, according to the Hongyuan Teachings, one must not offer sacrifices to the divine at night."

"How odd these doctrines are..." Chen Feng remarked. "Most beings yearn for light and heat; it's a basic instinct of the majority of life beings."

"Some beings fear the light; perhaps Hongyuan is one such kind," Li You decided the conversation was too boring and simply moved closer to the two to hear what they were researching.

Wang Qi nodded vigorously in agreement, "That's very possible. If Hongyuan's body is a demon creature that feared the light and underwent Transformation, it would make sense for it to establish such a doctrine contrary to human nature."

"Are you serious?" Li You couldn't hold back.

"Just joking."

Li You sighed, "Indeed... How could a demon creature turn to the cultivation of the Divine Tao?"

Wang Qi shook his head, "That's not the part I was joking about. 'The possibility of Hongyuan being a converted demon creature' and 'the Hongyuan Teachings going against human nature' are both true. There's just no causative relationship between the two."

Li You scoffed, "Are you really studying the Divine Tao? Why not even try? For a demon creature to possess human-like Spirit Wisdom, they must at least be at Core Formation. And how could a Great Demon above Core Formation abandon its foundation to cultivate the Divine Tao?"

Wang Qi asked, "Brother Li, have you ever seen a senior Hongyuan Sect witch, at the level of a Priest?"

Li You shook his head, "No, I've only ever seen their Divine Officials, who were just at Foundation Establishment. I assume the Priests are merely elite Foundation Establishment, not worth fearing."

Li You himself could contend with an Ancient Golden Core; Chen Feng might have a notorious reputation, but his name as a genius was just as well-known. Wang Qi was rumored to be a True Inheritor of the Wanfa Sect, so he should at least be able to handle an Ancient Golden Core, right?

Wang Qi shook his head, "The Hongyuan Priest is a Divine Pill Cultivator, equivalent to an Ancient Golden Core, and their Divine Arts are mysterious. Even among the Ancient Method, they would be considered elite."

Li You frowned, "How do you know?"

"A little over a year ago, I was nearly killed by a Hongyuan Priest." As he spoke, Wang Qi switched among several books. His eyes served merely as a scanner; it was Jarvis reading these brain-straining books. "The Hongyuan Priest was already at Golden Core, and judging by their ranks - Heavenly Army, Divine Official, Priest - they mimic the Holy Infant Sect. So, above the Priest, there must be a Heavenly Master at the least... and if we're unlucky, there may be four more levels above that: Great Priest, Heavenly Master, Great Heavenly Master, Master Lord."

"If even the Great Priest is at Golden Core Peak, then the Great Heavenly Master must be at Nascent Soul Peak. Master Lord..." Li You shivered, "You mean to say, we might face a witch at Divine Separation Stage?"

"That's unlikely," Wang Qi scratched his head. "With the Primordial Spirit Stage monitoring all directions, the chances of a Divine Separation Stage witch appearing are too slim. I'm just trying to say one thing—if even the witches are at least at Nascent Soul Stage, how powerful must this Hongyuan Divine Spirit be?"

All Divine Spirits, except for the personality-stripped Holy Infant, must be at least two levels higher than their witches.

"Mahayana Realm?" Li You frowned. "Impossible? That would mean hundreds of millions of believers, one-tenth of Mortals in Shenzhou!"

"But the Hongyuan Sect has clearly been a secretive faction that has only emerged in recent years. So the only explanation is this—Hongyuan might not be a god, but some other entity that was already powerful before becoming a Divine Spirit."

"So, it uses its own strength to nourish its Divine Tao witches?" Li You frowned. "What exactly does it want to achieve?"

By then, Wang Qi had finished reading the last book. He closed the book, then burned the cult scriptures. "Perhaps, we might glean something from its doctrines."

Li You stared in research, "You, a disciple of the Wanfa Sect, are trying to decipher the doctrines?"

He glanced at Chen Feng. Isn't this the task of those from the Yangshen Pavilion?

Chen Feng crossed his arms under the cold wind, "His methods are not something just anyone could learn."

In Wang Qi's open palm, a ball of Spirit Light sprang forth, morphing into complex patterns. Li You felt a headache upon just one glance, "What is this?"

"Xiangyu Calculation, a specialized algorithm designed to deal with Divine Tao Teachings."

Li You stared in research. He knew what Xiangyu Calculation was, a common algorithm used for handling quantum systems. But...

Using Xiangyu Calculation to study the Divine Tao?

Had this Wanfa Sect disciple gone mad?(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)